Worcester Magazine
ASYLUM SEEKERS: I first showed up at the Worcester Poets' Asylum the week of Halloween, 1996, back when it was held at the now long-gone Eleni's Midnite Cafe. I was living in California, then, and seeing a woman from Worcester long-distance. This was also my first featured reading on the East Coast, although I was an old hand at it on the West. Before the reading, I suspected I'd end up moving to Worcester. The relationship had been getting serious, and at that time, my life was more flexible. By the end of the reading, I was certain. The Poets' Asylum, with its mix of warmth, fun and talent, made Worcester instantly feel like home. (Which is good, because I also did a gig in Boston that week, and it sucked out loud.) Fast forward to the Sunday before Winter Solstice 2020, and my now-wife and I are in the mix of 40-odd poets in a Poets' Asylum reading on Zoom, hosted by Rush Frazier. The faces are familiar, although some have moved off to places as close as New Hampshire or as far as Hawaii. Readers such as Ohio's Scott Woods and Chicago's Molly Meacham popped in to read poems. They never lived here, but bonded tightly with the community. The spirit was warm, and the poems were good. That was my first impression of Worcester, and it was what I felt Sunday night.