To view the complete photo gallery of Friday Nights @ Toast, click here.

by Doug Holder

Poetry is infectious. It invades the most unlikely places. Deep in the bowels of Union Square’s Toast Lounge, poetry invaded the former subterranean holding cells for the Somerville Police Department in the form of poets Deborah M. Priestly, and me, Doug Holder, local bard and arts editor of the Somerville News.

On a hot Friday night, July 2 to be exact, Priestly and I opened the poetry component of the Somerville News @ Toast series, an event sponsored by the paper that alternate among music, comedy and poetry each Friday at this innovative watering hole.

Sean Sullivan, the manager of Toast, and a published poet, was an ubiquitous presence at the reading. Sullivan could be seen manning the bar, talking to the crowd and listening to the poets at any given time. “I’ve never been to a poetry reading, so I am sort of having it come to me,” he said. “I can see it first hand. Poetry goes well with the music and comedy parts of the Friday night Somerville News event.” Sullivan said he was happy with the series. “I think this is what Union Square needs.”

The crowd was an animated one that filled the tables, and the room, with a festive din. “I am here to get inspired via the word,” said Kore, a young singer and songwriter originally from West Africa, but now from The Republic of Cambridge. Nancy Kahn, a writer from Somerville, was impressed with the audience and said, “ I think it is great that there is so much artistic talent right here in Somerville.”

Also in the audience were Jennifer Matthews and Lo Galluccio, poets who are slated to appear at Toast July 23. Both poets are also vocalists who have toured internationally, and will be reading from their recently released poetry collections. Galluccio, who will be reading from her new collection, “Hot Rain,” which is about identity, loss and love, she said, was excited to hear Deborah M. Priestly read. “I am a big fan of Deb Priestly’s writing.”

Deborah Priestly, the feature for the evening, recently released the collection of poetry “The Woman Has A Voice” [Ibbetson Street, 2004]. She talked a little about the Somerville News @ Toast series.

“I am very excited about the Toast series, because, basically, it gets my butt out of the gallery (Priestly is the cofounder of The Out of the Blue Gallery in Cambridge) and into another atmosphere. The people at Toast are fun and dance well. And I feel lucky that I was asked to read and share my poetry by Doug Holder, Sean Sullivan, and everyone at the lounge. And, yeah, of course I am going to Ladies Night Thursday and will dance until I drop with some of my energetic female friends—watch out!”

Priestly then waxed philosophically. “As Henry Miller said, ‘the aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware.’ I do live, and I live in all these ways. I am positive that the Toast nightclub gives this same opportunity and encourages every type of artist—and art-enthusiast—to visit this warm and cozy home.”

Once the proceedings got started, I was pleased to open for Priestly. I lead off with a series of food poems; I must modestly insist that the crowd literally ate it up. Priestly wowed the audience with her vivid, florid and sensual verse. Later, a number of poets including James Van Looy, Ian Thal, and C.C. Ashagra, engaged the crowd during the open mic section of the show. Looy and Thal are also mimes, and, as a mime is a terrible thing to waste, both brought an interesting physicality to their work. Ashagra reminded one of a well-oiled carnival barker, trying to close a sale on a poem. Needless to say, the crowd experienced an eclectic band of bards during the reading.

At the end of the night, I tipped my cap to Sean Sullivan, who said he was more than pleased with how the night went. So, if you are a poetry, music or comedy enthusiast join us Friday nights at Toast at
8 p.m., and dig the vibes, have a guffaw or groove on some verse!