Today, I attended Sarah Browning’s Sunday Kind of Love reading series at Busboys and Poets where the Vrzhu Press Book Release Celebration took place. Kim Roberts, author of The Kimnama, was too ill to read. Dan Vera stepped in for her and read a selection of the poems. Hiram Larew, author of More Than Anything, is the other of the first two authors published by Vrzhu and also read.

I was to meet S. at Busboys and Poets (bookstore and restaurant). I arrived a bit early and decided to look around the plentiful poetry section. What poet isn’t amazing by a bookstore with a big poetry section? I was getting elbowed by other people looking at the poetry books. Instead of being annoyed, I was delighted to have competition for the books. Usually, the poetry section is quiet.

S. showed up, and we had a meal of African stew and salad. I felt so holy after that healthy meal, so I had to come home and have one of Husband’s famous egg-turkey-swiss sandwiches to get my cholesterol for the day. Ah, I can feel my veins getting narrow.

After the reading, the stage opened up for other poets. S. read amazing work — poem in the voice of a jukebox anyone? — and a man in the audience invited her to read in Annapolis. Her poems — new and raw from NaPoWriMo no less — removed all of our heads from our necks.

I’ve been a poetry-purchasing fiend as of late. Travels on Saturday took us to Vertigo in College Park, and I picked up a small book of Neruda’s love poems. Saturday evening took us to Border’s Books in Silver Spring, and I purchased yet more Neruda. Sunday took me to Busboys and Poets, and I bought Kim Roberts’ The Kimnama.