Poets Richard Wilhelm and James DeCrescentis have a lot in common. Both bards have worked together at McLean Hospital as psychiatric counselors for years; both are painters with many exhibitions under their belts, and both are published poets. Both Wilhelm and DeCrescentis are children of the sixties and much of their work is laced with strong convictions formed in that era. Both poets read at “The Somerville News at Toast Poetry Series” Jan. 7.

Before the event started, Chiemi, a singer/songwriter who performs at many of these events, talked about the readings at the Toast Lounge, and her own poetic sensibilities: “I am not a poet person really, but if I didn’t write music I would write poetry. I love “Toast” because of the intimate atmosphere. I like my music close to people.”

 The first to read was Richard Wilhelm. Wilhelm is one of the founders of Somerville’s “Ibbetson Street Press,” and currently its arts/editor. His poetry has been published in many local publications, and his paintings have been exhibited at the “Somerville Community Access TV” gallery, to name just one. Wilhelm feels his poetry and painting feed off each other in subtle ways. The visual work often embodies lines that he writes. Wilhelm said the poetry he would read during the evening would deal with childhood memories, along with a healthy dose of anti-Bush material.

Wilhelm read like a pro: his cadence deliberate, his voice dramatic but not overblown. He read a compelling poem that dealt with the history of his relationship with his late father. The poem explored the yin and yang of their relationship, and the premonition of his father’s death as illustrated in this line: “The dreaded hints of winter; when he rolled down his sleeves.” Wilhelm’s verse also dealt with his love of dogs, the trappings of his youth such as: leather jackets, Motown and surfing music, fast girls, fast cars, and all the games kids play. He also read with great emotion poems about the Vietnam War, which he protested against while in college. Wilhelm displayed an eclectic range, and read work that people could relate to on many levels.

 James DeCrescentis, a resident of the “Piano Factory” of Boston, a well-known artist residence, was decidedly more abstract than Wilhelm. DeCrescentis, who broke into the Boston poetry scene at the famed “Stone Soup Poets” venue at the foot of Beacon Hill in the 70’s, made no bones in his work about where he stood politically. Many of his poems were strongly polemical, expressing his distaste with the doings of George W. Bush. He used an account of a dead crow on the White House lawn as a starting point to rail against the current administration. He also had an interesting character- study of a poem that took place at “Wally’s Café,” the famous jazz spot in Boston’s South End. DeCrescentis, not content to take on only Bush, also threw a few poetic barbs at the Reagan administration, and even at Nancy Reagan for good measure.

 Many of the audience members seemed to know each other, and were familiar to some extents with the poets’ work. Peter Espiefs, a jazz musician from Arlington, said: “ I’ve read both guys’ work. They write about the possibilities of change. They want people to be aware of how much the culture these days lacks the human element.”

 As usual there was an open mic after the reading. Poets Janet Cormier, and Natasha Schneider read from their work. Later Cormier did a comedy piece that had the crowd in stitches. All in all it was another engaging evening at the Toast Lounge.

Doug Holder

* Jan 28^th at 8PM Ryk McIntyre and Regie Gibson will read from their work http://WWW.TOASTBOSTON.COM