In this month’s podcast we introduce you to John Pietaro, a life long New Yorker, author, poet, and musician. In our interview he shares his personal experience of inner city life, his involvement in the struggle for affordable housing caused by gentrification, politics and the effects of Covid 19, as well as his extensive knowledge of the historic NYC underground scene.

~ Jane SpokenWord

John Pietaro was born and raised in Brooklyn NY. His long list of credits include: Columnist/critic of the NYC Jazz Record, curator of the Café Bohemia West Village Word series, his newest completed poetry collection, ‘The Mercer Stands Burning’, a book of short fiction written during the 2020 covid lockdown, ‘Enduring Neon Moments’. His current project is a collaboration with photographer Sherry Rubel, ‘Beneath the Underground’. Pietaro is currently in the final stage of a non-fiction collection On the Creative Front: ‘Essays on the Culture of Liberation.’

John is a contributing writer to Z, the Nation, the Wire (UK), Counter Punch, People’s World, All About Jazz, Political Affairs and other progressive periodicals.
For more visit his website: http://JohnPietaro.com
Email: leftmus@earthlink.net

Jane SpokenWord

Street poet Jane SpokenWord’s performances represent the spoken word as it is meant to be experienced, raw, uncensored and thought provoking. From solos, to slams, duos, trios, and bands, including a big band performance at The Whitney Museum with Avant-Garde Maestro Cecil Taylor which garnered All About Jazz’s Best of 2016. Other collaborations include: Min Tanaka, Miguel Algarin, Beat Poet John Sinclair, her son HipHop musician/producer, DJ Nastee, and her partner in all things, Albey onBass. Combining the elements of spoken word, music, sound and song “Like those of the Jazz poets, the Beats, The Last Poets, Gil Scott-Heron and others – she is usually accompanied by Albey onBass Balgochian’s moaning, groaning, rumbling contrabass – adding double the gut-punch to her words.” (Raoul daGama) To preserve the cultural heritage of wording to document life, and foster a broader collective community, she brings her poetry and spoken word to a diverse set of venues including museums, festivals, libraries, slam lounges, art galleries, clubs, busking street corners and living rooms everywhere. She has authored two books of poetry with art and music by co-author Albey onBass: Word Against the Machine and Tragically Hip. Publications include: TV Baby A collection of Lower East Side artists – OHWOW, Shadow of The Geode, Bonsia Press, Stars in the Fire and Palabras Luminosas – Rogue Scholars Express and We Are Beat in the National Beat Poetry Anthology.

A special thank you to Albey ‘onBass’ Balgochian for the sound engineering in the prelude and postlude of the audio. Albey’s performances range from the Bowery Poetry Club to the Whitney Museum of American Art, his résumé includes many distinguished artists including  Nuyorican Poet Miguel Algarin, Beat Poet John Sinclair, Darryl Jones (Miles Davis, Rolling Stones,) and the Cecil Taylor Trio & Big Band  (“Best of ’05, ’09, ’16” All About Jazz) https://albeybalgochian.com/

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