Arts & Entertainment
Laugh Out Loud Poetry Reading Brings Laughs To Century House
The 140-year-old Century House used to be a duck hunter's lodge and a farm, but last sunday it was filled with nearly 100 fans of funny poetry.
Pleasanton's Century House on Santa Rita Road was originally built in the 1870's as a three-story Victorian duck hunting lodge in the middle of a tule marsh before it was drained by the Spring Valley Water Corporation in the early 1900's and turned to farmland.
It's been nearly a century and a half since those years, but with a good enough imagination one could picture those hunter's holed up inside the kitchen before dawn, sipping coffee, before a morning hunt.
Fast forward to this past weekend, around 100 patrons packed the house's bottom floor to see featured poet's Sandra Kay, John A. Barry and Marilyn Slade and perhaps read some funny poems themselves during the open mic.
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"Thank you all for coming – I think this is what we would call a packed house," said Pleasanton Poet Laureate and the "Laugh out Loud Poetry" evening's host, Deborah Grossman.
Grossman, an award winning poet herself who's written books of poetry as well as articles for the San Francisco Chronicle among others, was certainly accurate in her description. Door's had to be opened all around the house's living room and chairs flooded out onto the porch and around the adjacent staircase to provide seating for the guests.
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In the end everyone who wanted a seat was given one and despite a few hiccups with the microphone and sound system being too quiet, the evening went smoothly and judging from the very loud laughter, everyone seemed to really enjoy the poets.
Sandra Kay, a poet and published book author, blogger and mixed media artist was the first to read.
Kay told the story of how her father inspired the first funny poems she would write. He apparently used to repeat morbid versions of nursery rhyms at inappropriate times.
Kay's poetry drew many laughs from the crowd for poems such as "Little Miss-Must-Have-Her-Tummy-Tucked."
John A. Barry another published poet, journalist and author, followed Kay with toungue-twisting poems that drew just as many laughs as Kay, even though he sometimes had a hard time reading his own word-packed work. Some of his poems were even re-worked versions of songs like "Silver Shells" based on the Christmas classic, "Silver Bells."
Marilyn Slade was last to go but perhaps drew more laughs than anyone with short but clever poems such as "Turkey-Lurkey" about a scared turkey who unfortunately hid in the oven on Thanksgiving Day.
Slade is a short story writer and poet, who's published over 20 haikus, and written "Twisted Christmas Carols."
None of the crowded guests left until all three featured poets had presented their work.
Afterward there were drinks and snacks and then those from the audience were invited to make everyone laugh at the open mic.
"It went so well," said Grossman, "we fit everyone in and they all laughed."
The next event from the Pleasanton Poet Laureate Program at the Century House is October's "Boo-etry 2." Guests are encouraged to dress in costume and bring scary poetry to read. It takes place on Sunday, October 31 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
For tickets and information call the City of Pleasanton Civic Arts at (925) 931-5350, or email pleasantonpoetry@gmail.com.
