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<html> <head> <title>In Memory of Ray Pospisil Poet/Journalist</title> <meta name="Ray Pospisil memorial page" content="GoLive CyberStudio"> </head> <body background="/bg3.gif" bgcolor="#666699" text="#00cc99" link="#0099ff" vlink="#0066ff"> <table cool width="1473" height="24257" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx usegridx gridy="16" showgridy usegridy> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="16" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="16" height="1"></td> <td width="16" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="16" height="1"></td> <td width="16" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="16" height="1"></td> <td width="144" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="144" height="1"></td> <td width="16" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="16" height="1"></td> <td width="16" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="16" height="1"></td> <td width="16" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="16" height="1"></td> <td width="16" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="16" height="1"></td> <td width="244" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="244" height="1"></td> <td width="28" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="28" height="1"></td> <td width="48" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="48" height="1"></td> <td width="143" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="143" height="1"></td> <td width="32" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="32" height="1"></td> <td width="16" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="16" height="1"></td> <td width="48" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="48" height="1"></td> <td width="97" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="97" height="1"></td> <td width="319" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="319" height="1"></td> <td width="32" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="32" height="1"></td> <td width="32" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="32" height="1"></td> <td width="175" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="175" height="1"></td> </tr> <tr height="16"> <td width="1" height="16"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="16"></td> <td width="16" height="16"></td> <td width="560" height="64" colspan="10" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="16" content csheight="51"><font size="6" color="#66ffff">Welcome</font><font size="5" color="#66ffff"> to this page dedicated to the memory of a wonderful poet, Ray Pospisil ......Updated 3/8/08 & 6/11/09 & 6/22/09</font></td> <td width="143" height="16"></td> <td width="32" height="16"></td> <td width="16" height="16"></td> <td width="48" height="16"></td> <td width="97" height="16"></td> <td width="319" height="16"></td> <td width="32" height="16"></td> <td width="32" height="16"></td> <td width="175" height="16"></td> </tr> <tr height="48"> <td width="1" height="48"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="48"></td> <td width="16" height="48"></td> <td width="143" height="48"></td> <td width="32" height="48"></td> <td width="16" height="48"></td> <td width="464" height="825" colspan="3" rowspan="6" valign="top" align="left" xpos="767" content csheight="656"><font size="5" color="#99ccff">Ray Pospisil, a Brooklyn poet and journalist, died January 28 at his home after a fall. Pospisil, 54, was born in Bogota, Colombia, and early in his life moved with his parents to Union, New Jersey. He spent most of his life in New York City. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Rutgers University in 1975, Pospisil began his career in energy and environmental journalism in 1981 working for Fairchild Publications. In 1984 he joined McGraw-Hill and later became a freelance journalist, working for two years in the early 1990s in San Francisco before returning to New York. Until his death, he worked chiefly for McGraw-Hill's stable of energy publications, although throughout his career he worked for other publishers in the United States and the United Kingdom. It was poetry, though, that was his passion. Pospisil's poems, which he often read for audiences in the East Village and elsewhere in Manhattan, were intensely personal, filled with vivid imagery and ranging from the humorous to the harrowing. His work has been published by Lyric, Iambs & Trochees, The Newport Review, Rogue Scholars and others. In 2006, his chapbook of poems, Some Time Before the Bell, was published by Modern Metrics Press. A collection of his work is scheduled to be published in Ireland by Seven Towers Publishing in 2009. In recent years, Pospisil enjoyed tutoring immigrants in how to read and write English at the Brooklyn Public Library. He is survived by a brother, Carl, sister-in-law Mary, niece Brook and nephew Bryan, all of Daytona Beach, Florida. Other survivors include cousins Scott Fisher, of Hollywood, Florida; Joe and Irene Pospisil of New Jersey; and Sue Arave, of Columbia, South Carolina. The date for a memorial service has not been set. </font> <p><font size="5" color="#99ccff">Ray's guest book...NYTimes.<br> Please visit the </font><a href="http://www.legacy.com/Link.asp?I=GB000102483637 "><font size="5" color="#99ff99">Guest Book for Ray Pospisil</font></a><font size="5" color="#99ff99">.</font></td> <td width="32" height="48"></td> <td width="32" height="48"></td> <td width="175" height="48"></td> </tr> <tr height="195"> <td width="1" height="195"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="195"></td> <td width="16" height="195"></td> <td width="224" height="195" colspan="6" rowspan="1" valign="top" align="left" xpos="16" content csheight="189"><font size="5" color="#fff431">Scroll down for Ray's Book Launch info </font> <p><font size="4">Ray's obituary is in the Sunday Times Feb 3, 2008 in the small-type "notices' </font><font size="4" color="#99ccff">Ray's guest book link NYTimes.<br> Please click on this link to visit the </font><a href="http://www.legacy.com/Link.asp?I=GB000102483637 "><font size="5" color="#fff431">Guest Book for Ray Pospisil</font></a><font size="5" color="#fff431">. read or add entries</font></td> <td width="16" height="195"></td> <td width="244" height="240" colspan="1" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="256"><img src="Ray_copyrite_supolo2007sml-8.jpg" width="242" height="223"></td> <td width="28" height="195"></td> <td width="48" height="195"></td> <td width="143" height="195"></td> <td width="32" height="195"></td> <td width="16" height="195"></td> <td width="32" height="195"></td> <td width="32" height="195"></td> <td width="175" height="195"></td> </tr> <tr height="45"> <td width="1" height="45"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="45"></td> <td width="208" height="45" colspan="5" rowspan="1" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" content csheight="32"><a href="../First%20page%20013108/Saturn_Series_Poetry.html"><font size="5">Back to Saturn Poetry... </font></a></td> <td width="16" height="45"></td> <td width="16" height="45"></td> <td width="16" height="45"></td> <td width="28" height="45"></td> <td width="48" height="45"></td> <td width="143" height="45"></td> <td width="32" height="45"></td> <td width="16" height="45"></td> <td width="32" height="45"></td> <td width="32" height="45"></td> <td width="175" height="45"></td> </tr> <tr height="32"> <td width="1" height="32"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="32"></td> <td width="208" height="32" colspan="5" rowspan="1" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" content csheight="29"><a href="http://www.supolo.com/"><font size="5">Back to supolo.com . . .</font></a></td> <td width="16" height="32"></td> <td width="16" height="32"></td> <td width="16" height="32"></td> <td width="244" height="32"></td> <td width="28" height="32"></td> <td width="48" height="32"></td> <td width="143" height="32"></td> <td width="32" height="32"></td> <td width="16" height="32"></td> <td width="32" height="32"></td> <td width="32" height="32"></td> <td width="175" height="32"></td> </tr> <tr height="313"> <td width="1" height="313"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="313"></td> <td width="16" height="313"></td> <td width="703" height="313" colspan="11" rowspan="1" valign="top" align="left" xpos="16" content csheight="302"><font size="5" color="#fff431">SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2011 MEMORIAL READING OF RAY'S WORK<br>ELIZABETH PUBLIC LIBRARY, NJ, From 2 - 3 PM, 4th Floor Auditorium - FREE <br>Please come to Ray's hometown and celebrate his work. His book "The Bell" <br>Is now "on the shelf" and we invite you to read his work in the open mike <br>and dedicate this hour to the remembrance of this wonderfully talented writer. <br>11 South Broad Street Elizabeth, NJ 07202-3486 (908) 354-6060 <br>... DIRECTIONS ... NJ Transit light rail at NY Penn Station takes you to Elizabeth (NOT North Elizabeth) go to corner and then walk to right a couple of blocks, across from Court House. </font><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Main+Library,+4th+Fl.+Auditorium&hl=en"><font size="5" color="#beff94">[ MAP ]</font></a><font size="5" color="#66ffff"> </font> <br> <br><font size="5" color="#22ccff">WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2009 @ Nightingale Lounge. 7 to 9 PM</font><font size="5" color="#66ffff"><br> Seven Towers book launch for Ray Pospisil posthumous work <i><b>'The Bell'</b></i> on Wed June 17 @ Nightingale Lounge.<br> <a href="http://www.seventowers.ie/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=79&Itemid=1 ">http://www.seventowers.ie/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=79&Itemid=1<br> </a>http://www.the-chimaera.com/May2008/Theme/Essays/Lehr.html</font> <p><font size="5" color="#66ffff"><i><b>The Bell</b></i> is also available at Amazon</font></p> <p><font size="5" color="#66ffff">Several friends of Ray puchased extra copies of The Bell to hopefully donate them to public librarys to make them available on the shelves. If you are interested in helping with this please contact Maureen McElheron at </font><a href="mailto:[email protected]"><font size="5" color="#beff94">McElheron(AT)aol.com</font></a><font size="5" color="#66ffff"> </font></p> <p> </p> <p><font size="4" color="#66ffff">Memorial Gathering on March 26, 2008 @ Nighingale Lounge 213 2nd Ave. @13th Street, NYC 7:30pm <br> </font></p> <p><font size="4" color="#66ffff">If you have an idea of involvelment, question or suggestion <br> please email <a href="mailto:[email protected]">Su Polo</a> </font></td> <td width="32" height="313"></td> <td width="16" height="313"></td> <td width="32" height="313"></td> <td width="32" height="313"></td> <td width="175" height="313"></td> </tr> <tr height="192"> <td width="1" height="192"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="192"></td> <td width="16" height="192"></td> <td width="16" height="192"></td> <td width="496" height="192" colspan="8" rowspan="1" valign="top" align="left" xpos="32" content csheight="144"><font size="5" color="#66ffff">Below are 3 video links </font><font size="4" color="#66ffff">to Ray's performances at Saturn Series Poetry Reading available for view on the BamBamSlam.com web site.</font> <p><a href="http://beta.bambamslam.com/content.php?a=subcat_player_view&&category_id=1&subcat_id=14&content_id=1211 "><font size="5" color="#66ffff">1. Ray Pospisil, Amber Light </font></a></p> <p><a href="http://beta.bambamslam.com/content.php?a=subcat_player_view&&category_id=1&subcat_id=14&content_id=1211 "><font size="5" color="#66ffff">2. </font></a><a href="http://beta.bambamslam.com/content.php?a=subcat_player_view&&category_id=1&subcat_id=14&content_id=1019"><font size="5" color="#66ffff">Ray Pospisil, Empire's End</font></a><font size="5" color="#66ffff"><br> </font><font color="#66ffff"><br> </font><a href="http://beta.bambamslam.com/content.php?a=subcat_player_view&&category_id=1&subcat_id=14&content_id=1018"><font size="5" color="#66ffff">Ray Pospisil, The Ten Commandments </font></a></td> <td width="48" height="192"></td> <td width="143" height="192"></td> <td width="32" height="192"></td> <td width="16" height="192"></td> <td width="32" height="192"></td> <td width="32" height="192"></td> <td width="175" height="192"></td> </tr> <tr height="46"> <td width="1" height="46"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="46"></td> <td width="16" height="46"></td> <td width="16" height="46"></td> <td width="16" height="46"></td> <td width="144" height="46"></td> <td width="308" height="432" colspan="5" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="192"><img src="Ray_copyrite_supolo2007sml-9.jpg" width="304" height="240"></td> <td width="28" height="46"></td> <td width="48" height="46"></td> <td width="143" height="46"></td> <td width="32" height="46"></td> <td width="16" height="46"></td> <td width="48" height="46"></td> <td width="97" height="46"></td> <td width="319" height="46"></td> <td width="32" height="46"></td> <td width="32" height="46"></td> <td width="175" height="46"></td> </tr> <tr height="386"> <td width="1" height="386"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="386"></td> <td width="16" height="386"></td> <td width="16" height="386"></td> <td width="16" height="386"></td> <td width="144" height="386"></td> <td width="28" height="386"></td> <td width="48" height="386"></td> <td width="143" height="386"></td> <td width="32" height="386"></td> <td width="544" height="560" colspan="6" rowspan="3" valign="top" align="left" xpos="751" content csheight="520"><font size="5" color="#66ffff">A Poem By Steve Bloom:</font> <p><font size="5" color="#66ffff">Ray is a character in the following poem which I wrote in 2006. He's not the first poet I mention (the featured reader on the evening in question) but the second one, my "fellow reader on the open mike." I thought it would be nice to share this with Ray's family and friends. <br> <br> ONE STEP FORWARD<br> <br> It is a night the featured poet<br> shows us how to put the super<br> back into superficial,<br> and nobody seems to notice my verses<br> especially not the new one I am trying out<br> for the first time.<br> <br> One fellow reader on the open mike, however,<br> offers me words I expect to remember<br> forever.<br> And so I decide<br> that on this particular evening<br> poetry has taken another giant step forward.<br> <br> Steve Bloom (Brooklyn, NY) </font></td> <td width="175" height="386"></td> </tr> <tr height="48"> <td width="1" height="48"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="48"></td> <td width="16" height="48"></td> <td width="208" height="48" colspan="5" rowspan="1" valign="top" align="left" xpos="16" content csheight="48"><a href="../First%20page%20013108/Saturn_Series_Poetry.html"><font size="5" color="#99ffff">Back to main page . . .</font></a></td> <td width="16" height="48"></td> <td width="16" height="48"></td> <td width="244" height="48"></td> <td width="28" height="48"></td> <td width="48" height="48"></td> <td width="143" height="48"></td> <td width="32" height="48"></td> <td width="175" height="48"></td> </tr> <tr height="126"> <td width="1" height="126"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="126"></td> <td width="16" height="126"></td> <td width="16" height="126"></td> <td width="16" height="126"></td> <td width="452" height="978" colspan="6" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="48" content csheight="752"><font size="5" color="#66ffff">Poem For Ray Pospisil By David Elsasser:</font> <p><font size="5" color="#66ffff">CHIAROSCURO<br> "Do your best, my nightmare snickers. What the hell, You've got some time before the bell.", Ray Pospisil, EXAM DAY<br> </font></p> <p><font size="5" color="#66ffff">Your bell resounds, echoing <br> on though our nights-<br> the toll you thought would wait<br> a long day dreaming yet<br> tumbling us down into that blackness<br> you struggled to chart, lost and found <br> your way through time and again <br> by feel and tenacity.<br> But peeling for joy too <br> brilliance punching through <br> confounding gloom. <br> Black square after white, you <br> strove to game the whole board.<br> As quickly as light pierced dark <br> you smack into eclipse from sunlight.<br> Living in this chiaroscuro <br> hodge-podge of laughter and loneliness<br> insight and despondency<br> you watched illuminated angels <br> square-dance demon partners,<br> studying their steps, barking <br> the tune in peerless couplets <br> or eloquent blank verse.<br> Thinking there was time yet<br> you danced to get the steps down pat<br> relishing every do-si-do <br> time before the bell<br> a chance to tell it all,<br> you who told so well.<br> <br> David Elsasser Manhattan, NY</font></td> <td width="28" height="126"></td> <td width="48" height="126"></td> <td width="143" height="126"></td> <td width="32" height="126"></td> <td width="175" height="126"></td> </tr> <tr height="852"> <td width="1" height="852"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="852"></td> <td width="16" height="852"></td> <td width="16" height="852"></td> <td width="16" height="852"></td> <td width="28" height="852"></td> <td width="48" height="852"></td> <td width="143" height="852"></td> <td width="32" height="852"></td> <td width="16" height="852"></td> <td width="48" height="852"></td> <td width="448" height="1362" colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="815" content csheight="969"><font size="5" color="#66ffff">Poem By Leigh Harrison:</font> <p><font size="5" color="#66ffff">WHEN POET'S DIE<br> <br> When time has caught us <br> with our boots off<br> and the slow, steady reign of years<br> into eternity begins,<br> even poets pause<br> <br> Uncertainty lies in the space <br> between life, and all else<br> that has been conjured,<br> between paths we walk<br> and the unknowable darkness.<br> Hesitant or canny, the poet digests<br> mood and moment, crochets ideas,<br> defines the unthinkable...<br> Sometimes we weep....<br> <br> But when Death makes others<br> kneel and pray, the poet<br> sharpens tongue and writes --<br> And though galaxies will swallow <br> us whole into the memories <br> of those who loved us or feared<br> us, those who bestowed praise<br> or blame, who recall us with<br> anger or delight or desire,<br> who whisper our names <br> on moonless nights -- <br> we will be enveloped in pillows<br> of infinite stars, take clouds<br> for beds in that seamless night...<br> <br> Then let death come!<br> Not as the thunder of hoofbeats<br> under ochre desert skies, <br> but soft as butterfly wings <br> upon your cheek, <br> sweet as dew-drizzled lilacs,<br> light as winged hope ascending...<br> O let it be a rolling dreamless<br> iambic sleep.... <br> <br> (c.) 1993<br> www.leighharrison.com <br> <br> Leigh Harrison (Rego Park, NY) </font></td> <td width="32" height="852"></td> <td width="175" height="852"></td> </tr> <tr height="510"> <td width="1" height="510"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="510"></td> <td width="16" height="510"></td> <td width="16" height="510"></td> <td width="16" height="510"></td> <td width="144" height="510"></td> <td width="16" height="510"></td> <td width="32" height="510" colspan="2" rowspan="1" valign="top" align="left" xpos="208"><img src="/RayP113_1400.jpg" width="242" height="233"></td> <td width="16" height="510"></td> <td width="244" height="510"></td> <td width="28" height="510"></td> <td width="48" height="510"></td> <td width="143" height="510"></td> <td width="32" height="510"></td> <td width="16" height="510"></td> <td width="48" height="510"></td> <td width="32" height="510"></td> <td width="175" height="510"></td> </tr> <tr height="21445"> <td width="1" height="21445"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="21445"></td> <td width="912" height="21445" colspan="16" rowspan="1" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" content csheight="21445"><font size="5" color="#66ffff"><br> <br> <br> Guest Book for<br> <br> Ray Pospisil<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Page 1 of 6<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> January 28, 2009<br> <br> A year has past and our hearts are filled with memories of Ray that will be<br> cherished forever. <br> Ray, your poetry lives on ... a gift to all ... your legacy.<br> Until we meet again on the other side.<br> We love and miss you "Bro".<br> Carl and Mary <br> <br> Mary Pospisil (Daytona Beach, FL) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> January 28, 2009<br> <br> Ray, It's one year ago today that you left us. We miss your sense of humor, your<br> smile, and the way you always had a funny story to tell whether past of present.<br> You left us way to soon. Love Always, Karen, Bryan, and Brook Pospisil <br> <br> Karen (Pospisil) Wenzel (Port St. Lucie, FL) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> November 5, 2008<br> <br> I never met Ray but we are linked through Rutgers and through concern for the<br> environment. My sympathies to his friends and family. <br> <br> Phillip Gordon (Berkeley, CA) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> June 13, 2008<br> <br> NO WORDS EXCEPT THOSE WRITTEN BY RAY POSPISIL <br> WILL BE SPOKEN ON THE STAGE.<br> <br> <br> Modern Metrics Press<br> in association with MTP-Montauk Theatre Productions<br> presents<br> <br> THE BELL<br> The Poetry of Ray Pospisil<br> <br> with readings by<br> R. Nemo Hill, Quincy Lehr,<br> Thomas Fucaloro, Rick Mullin, <br> Jane Ormerod, Oran Ryan, Michelle Slater <br> <br> <br> Saturday, 14 June, 2008 ~ 7:30 PM<br> The Shooting Star Theatre<br> 40 Peck Slip<br> at South Street Seaport<br> www.shootingstartheatre.org<br> www.modern-metrics.com <br> <br> <br> Directions to the Shooting Star:<br> <br> By subway: take the 2, 3, 4, or 5 to Fulton or the A or C to Nassau.<br> Walk east on Fulton toward South Street Seaport.<br> Turn left on pearl, walk two blocks (Beekman, then Peck Slip).<br> Turn right on Peck Slip.<br> The Shooting Star Theatre is on the south side of the street, at #40, on the Third<br> Floor.<br> <br> By Bus: M15 down Second Avenue to Peck Slip stop.<br> <br> There is parking available across from the theater. <br> <br> R. Nemo Hill (New York City, NY) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> May 23, 2008<br> <br> I met Ray in 1980,,,I lived in the E Village then and we'd often ride bikes across<br> the Verazanno Bridge and BBQ on my E 6th St, fire escape.<br> <br> Ray would laughingly recite the most grim poems....<br> "Dust and ashes dead and done with<br> Venice spent what Venice earned."<br> <br> Ray was the most sensitive soul I ever met.<br> I am so honored that he invited me <br> "down the shore" to meet his Uncle, mom<br> and cousins in Manesquan.<br> <br> Ray was an unearthly combination of common man and angelic being.<br> <br> I did not know Ray died....I was sitting in a cafe tonight on McDougal Street with a<br> pal. <br> I saw Ray ....I was sure it was Ray...sitting at a sidewalk table alone, reading.<br> No plate was in front of him.<br> I did not want to ignore my friend so I let the moment pass....I was thinking of<br> approaching Ray though I hadn't seen him in years.<br> I looked up and he was gone.<br> I went home and googled Ray and found out <br> he died via this memorial page.<br> I believe Ray appeared to me to let me know he had died.<br> God Bless you Ray. We will pray for you, please pray for us.<br> Now you know how much you were loved.<br> <br> Maureen McElheron<br> May 23 '08 <br> <br> Maureen McElheron (Peekskill, NY) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> April 28, 2008<br> <br> Hi to everybody, I want to say how lovely the 2nd memorial event for Ray was on<br> Friday evening April 25. The space is delightful and the hosts were welcoming<br> and caring. Thanks so much to Bill Coffel for creating this wonderful event and to<br> those who were there who read sang and attended or who were there in spirit... a<br> big hug to you all. We will keep the fires of poetry and writing glowing always for<br> Ray. <br> And Big Al, don't worry, I have a feeling Ray will find extraodinary ways of keeping<br> in touch with us all. <br> Sincerest peaceful wishes to Carl and Mary and family, <br> Su Polo <br> <br> Su Polo (New york, NY) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> April 24, 2008<br> <br> Me again. I am in Maryland; I can't attend this memorial. Ray was one of few<br> friends I have that I considered close. What will I do without a critic and someone<br> to laugh at my odd ideas? Only Ray and maybe Richard follow my streched<br> connections and absurd ideation. Who will be willing and able to help me sort<br> notions I have into those with shreds of validity and the majority that are, as I have<br> come to understand, kooky. Who? This sucks; this is about me; again I want my<br> friend back. <br> <br> Al Samuel (pasadena) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> April 22, 2008<br> <br> Announcement for 2nd Memorial Gathering <br> in celebration of Friend and Poet Ray Pospisil<br> <br> Friday 4/25 - 7:30pm - 9:30pm<br> Ozzies Coffee @ 249 5th Avenue (btw. Carroll & Garfield)<br> "R "train to Union St. (Park Slope, Bklyn)<br> <br> Anyone who would like to bring something or has a contribution of a poem for<br> Ray or would like to read one of Ray's poems at the gathering would<br> kindly be welcome. <br> <br> Ray frequented Ozzie's Back Room poetry open mike in<br> Brooklyn and all Ray's poetry friends and family<br> are invited. <br> <br> Bill Coffel (Brooklyn, NY) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> April 21, 2008<br> <br> A sweet soul <br> <br> Valerie Weiss (New York, NY) <br> <br> <br> <br> April 1, 2008<br> <br> I know that Ray was happy and in love the last few months of his life. I take some<br> comfort in that. <br> <br> But why? Why did someone as thoughtful and brilliant, as kind and as<br> conscionable as you Ray, have to suffer from such a ruthless illness. It wrenches<br> my heart and overwhelms my mind. Why you?<br> <br> Ray, you're so very, very missed. Your star - that curiosity and wit and deep<br> humanity of yours - won't go out. <br> <br> T. Taubes (New York, NY) </font> <p> </p> <p><font size="5" color="#66ffff"><br> <br> <br> Page 2 of 6<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> March 29, 2008<br> <br> "I'm just a simple country boy from Jersey" Ray once wrote me, "...with a Czech<br> soul"<br> <br> Another excerpt from an email that was so typical of Ray's humor and mania for<br> detail:<br> <br> After seeing the movie I am Legend, Ray wrote me: <br> <br> <br> "Mr. Know-It-All Energy Journalist gets his come-uppance. After my strident rant<br> about how the movie"I Am Legend" supposedly perpetuates the public's childish<br> ignorance about energy by assuming that, with the whole world wiped out, power<br> plants would somehow, magically continue to produce electricity for Will Smith's<br> computer, lights and tread mill......Well, I guess I'm not such a big shot. The<br> second scene in the movie shows portable generators in Will Smith's basement<br> -- small, Honda units that he could find from any hardware stores, and which are<br> easy to connect to a building's electrical system. And the film shows him<br> hand-pumping gasoline out of a filling station tank, into a container, to fuel the<br> generators. The film even shows a propane gas tank that feeds his stove and hot<br> water heater. No explanation for the water supply, though. I guess he could<br> periodically fill the tank from jugs of Poland Spring he could grab at grocery<br> stores. I know I'm a nerd, But am I too much of a nerd?" <br> <br> Tanaquil Taubes (New York, NY) <br> <br> <br> <br> March 26, 2008<br> <br> Dearer Su and Dave (and anyone else),<br> <br> A few weeks ago I happened to open your site and saw there the mention of<br> Ray's passing. Perhaps this was before you organized tonight's memorial. In any<br> case, I didn't spot a Memorial listing then. Maybe I was too distracted by the<br> actual fact to see it.<br> <br> I was quite struck by reading about Ray. We were never especially close, yet in<br> the time since I learned of his death he has been on my mind a lot. In some way I<br> felt he and I understood a small portion of each other even though we were only<br> acquaintances. I'm sorry I didn't learn until this very evening of the Memorial, long<br> after it would have been too late to attend. Even so, I'm not sure I would have<br> known what to read if I had known in time to come. But I remember him positively.<br> I think my response to this will emerge in time, maybe in a way not easily<br> recognizable to anyone else.<br> <br> I am glad you arranged the Memorial. Ray deserved it and more.<br> <br> Allen Tice<br> <br> (sorry for any typos: this machine lacks a spell checker) <br> <br> Allen Tice (Brooklyn, NY) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> March 26, 2008<br> <br> Ray was a poet, friend and gentleman and one of my first supporters when I was<br> a newcomer to the circuit over 4 ¬&Mac189; years ago. I was fortunate to have had the<br> opportunity to hear him read at the Saturn Series. He will always be remembered<br> as a first class &Mac226;Äúmetrical&Mac226;Äù and &Mac226;Äúfree verse&Mac226;Äù poet. His legacy will live on in his<br> poetry.<br> <br> In deepest sympathy,<br> <br> Patricia Carragon <br> <br> Patricia Carragon (New York, NY) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> March 24, 2008<br> <br> The Memorial Gathering for Ray Pospisil is scheduled for this Wednesday, March<br> 26, 2008 at Nightingale Lounge - 7:30 pm. <br> All are welcome. Located at 213 2nd Avenue, NYC on the Northwest corner of<br> 13th Street on 2nd Avenue. <br> <br> Su Polo (new york, NY) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> March 9, 2008<br> <br> May peace and love be with family and friends on the passing of Ray. May he rest<br> in peace. <br> <br> Hobobob (New York, NY) <br> <br> <br> <br> March 4, 2008<br> <br> I WANT TO THANK RAY POSPISIL FOR GIVING ME SOME SOUND ADVICE TO<br> APPLY WHILE PERFORMING ON THE STAGE...<br> -"OBSIDIAN!!!" <br> <br> OBSIDIAN OBSIDIAN (NEW YORK, NY) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> March 1, 2008<br> <br> <br> Evie Ivy (Brooklyn, NY) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> March 1, 2008<br> <br> Ray, thank you. It was wonderful sharing with <br> you. <br> <br> Evie Ivy (Bklyn,, NY) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> February 26, 2008<br> <br> Belated but sincere condolences to Ray's family and friends -- of whom he<br> obviously had a wealth. <br> <br> A rush sadness at the news, was met by fond memories of Ray with whom we<br> shared our duplex home in San Francisco's Bernal Heights for a few years. The<br> relationship between my wife, Anne, myself and Ray quickly went from landlords /<br> tennant to friends in short order.<br> <br> At the time (mid 90s)I worked out of our home as a freelance film and vodeo<br> producer, while downstairs in our garden flat Ray plied his trade covering the<br> energy beat. His work ethic was amazing and influenced my work no small<br> amount. He was an old school tough guy when it came to getting his copy out on<br> deadline. <br> <br> But when the work was done there was always time to talk of the news of the day,<br> movies, sports, and the bizarre politics of San Francisco. I clearly remember<br> Ray's dismay and alarm when California's PUC was in the process of<br> deregulation. Ray saw all of the wretched crud Enron, Dynegy and other power<br> crooks pulled in California long before those events came to pass. <br> <br> Here on the west coast we will remember Ray always as an interesting,<br> intelligent, intense, private yet personable man who met life on his own terms.<br> <br> Rest in peace, Ray. <br> <br> john cremer (san francisco, CA) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> February 22, 2008<br> <br> I have been a regular at the Saturn Series reading for the last two years. During<br> that time I was honored to get to know Ray a little bit. Ray was a craftsman as a<br> writer, but he was big enough to recognize the value in what the most<br> inexperienced writer was doing, and to point that out to them. I always tried to sit<br> next to him at the reading to get his angle on things. I think we learn most from<br> those who are different from us, and I think Ray felt that way too. As I will miss the<br> little connection that Ray and I had, I send my sincerest condolences to his family<br> and loved ones whose loss is greater, and share a poem I wrote in honor of him.<br> <br> <br> Elegy for a Fallen Poet<br> <br> <br> Buttoned down anguish<br> Regular guy<br> Close shave maelstrom<br> Behind sunken eyes<br> Cool reserve pressed chinos<br> Faraway pallid smile<br> Wheels within wheels revealed<br> The workings of your inner mind<br> I remember you working it out<br> I remember you pacing the floor<br> On a sultry summer evening<br> In the muggy month of July<br> In the city of crashing subways<br> And smoky killer cars<br> Of insomniac static<br> And cold sweat staring dreams<br> You reasoned with the demons<br> Evaluating data streams<br> You had fun with the conundrum<br> Every breathing moment leaves<br> Can we people live together?<br> Can mankind endure world pain?<br> Anxiety, destiny, guilt<br> Grief, self-loathing and regret<br> The bulls and the bears and your federal reserve<br> Che Guevara and the baseball game<br> Snowfort sliding memories<br> With a hint of fresh rainbow shine.<br> I did not really know you<br> But could someone really know you?<br> I know it's hard to be a human being<br> A mighty challenge to be yourself<br> But I'll remember you pacing the floor<br> Rocking forward onto your toes<br> I wanted you to work it out<br> I wanted you to show me the way<br> But a poet is like a children's top<br> It topples when the momentum stops. <br> <br> David Lawton (New York, NY) <br> Contact me </font></p> <p> </p> <p><font size="5" color="#66ffff"><br> <br> <br> Page 3 of 6<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> February 21, 2008<br> <br> I'm shocked and terribly saddened to hear this news. I knew Ray from his<br> wonderful poetry, sharing meals after many a reading in Brooklyn, and from<br> casual visits and larger celebrations to discussions of things politic and feline.<br> What a loss to poetry -- to life. My deep condolences to his family and friends. <br> <br> Janet Kaplan (Brooklyn, NY) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> February 20, 2008<br> <br> Condolences and gratitude to all who've created/contributed to this site in<br> memorial of Ray. He's deeply missed. I didn't know Ray well, but I always looked<br> forward to talking with him and hearing him read at the Modern Metrics poetry<br> reading series and other venues around town. He did stalk the stage like a tiger,<br> as one of you said. He was wonderful on stage, rendering his<br> grounded-yet-lyrical poems. He was a uniquely intelligent, lyrical soul grounded<br> in a basically edgy landscape: a consumate realist. Such a terrible loss. So sorry.<br> <br> Wendy Sloan (New York, NY) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> February 17, 2008<br> <br> Carl and all,<br> <br> This is my second entry regarding my close friend Ray. When I bought a sailboat<br> too large for my experience, Ray had guts to sail with me several times when<br> seasoned sailors called me nuts to take the boat out in its questionable<br> condition. Ray purposely miss used sailing jargon to annoy me with hilarious<br> effect. In his apartment there hung a framed copy I gave him of a blown up photo<br> he took for me from Hell Gate Park in Astoria. It shows my boat passing under<br> the Triboro at slack tide. I treasure that photo since at the time I did not know he<br> was even there taking it and it is highly unlikely I'll ever sail through Hell Gate<br> again. Another copy hangs over my fireplace (please dispose of Ray's copy<br> unless someone wants it). I have a short but impressive video mpg of he and I<br> sailing at hull speed (fastest) in Long Island Sound. If anyone would like me to<br> email this short intense vid, easily downloaded in under a minute on any<br> connection, let me know via the contact link here and I'll send it. We got a few<br> funny stories of voyages between Port Jefferson and Port Washington.<br> <br> Al <br> <br> Al Samuel (Pasadena, MD) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> February 17, 2008<br> <br> I was shocked and saddened to learn of Ray's death. He was a gentle soul with<br> a tough exterior, as someone else has already pointed out, and could write<br> poetry in form like no one else I knew in Brooklyn. He was also a lot of fun to<br> watch football with, and I remember a fateful Sunday when my husband and I<br> watched the Jets actually win a playoff game with Ray celebrating at our side.<br> Mostly, I know he was a serious journalist and poet, and his poetry was growing<br> and strengthening all the time. Still waters run deep and Ray ran deeper than<br> most. I will miss him a great deal. <br> <br> Alexandra van de Kamp (Port Jefferson, NY) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> February 15, 2008<br> <br> I have worked professionally with Ray for about 15 years. Ray wrote great prose,<br> great stories about arcane electric power issues. He&Mac226;Äôs one of the few people I<br> know who could define both BACT and trochee, and he had the cleanest copy<br> this side of Noe Valley. It was also precise and well written. So I didn&Mac226;Äôt often have<br> to call him for clarification on a story he had written. On the occasions when I did,<br> we would often end up swapping stories. I have a long tape loop of his one-liners<br> in my head that will be running for a long time to come, but I still miss him. <br> <br> Peter Maloney (Brooklyn, NY) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> February 15, 2008<br> <br> New York has lost a tremendous talent and a tremendous person. I met Ray<br> through his poetry. When he was outraged, in Richard Loranger's words, he<br> stalked the stage like a tiger. But he also had a sweet, affectionate side which<br> was all the more moving for being concealed in a tough-seeming exterior. <br> <br> James Wilson (Brooklyn, NY) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> February 15, 2008<br> <br> I was shocked & saddened to hear of Ray's passing. We met at the Saturn<br> Series Reading years ago, often discussing the writing process as poets back<br> then. Ray got on my jazz/poetry performance mailing list & after attending some of<br> my gigs, would give thoughtful, insightful feedback. I especially remember his<br> comments on my phrasing of Cole Porter's "Every Time We Say Goodbye". I<br> appreciated his listening, & his voice. <br> <br> DeeAnne Gorman (New York, NY) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> February 14, 2008<br> <br> I remember the sensitivity of Ray's voice and the precision of his words. His love<br> of poetry, his kindness and intelligence, sense of rhythm, curiosity, laughter and<br> talent. My deepest sympathy to his family and friends. Ray is greatly missed. <br> <br> Jane Ormerod (New York, NY) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> February 14, 2008<br> <br> I was one of Ray's editors at Platts. I'm writing this around that time of the<br> morning when I would normally be getting an e-mail from Ray &Mac226;Äì like clockwork &Mac226;Äì<br> "I'm in all day, will call with news" was usually what he wrote. Over the course of a<br> typical day, we'd talk three of four times at least, most often about the stories he<br> was working on, but at times digress to other of Ray's favorite topics, such as<br> New York politics, movies and of course his poetry readings. I and other editors<br> here were always impressed with the precision of Ray&Mac226;Äôs stories, how cleanly<br> written and clear they were. He was an editor's dream in that regard. As a<br> practice, he was usually one of the last to file a story, waiting until just around<br> deadline, wanting, I figured, for his story to be perfect. I always ascribed that habit<br> to the fact that Ray was a poet first and foremost, and the words were all<br> important to him. I can still hear his voice in my head calling to pitch a story. I<br> miss him.<br> <br> Rod Kuckro<br> <br> Washington DC <br> <br> Rod Kuckro (Washington, DC) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> February 12, 2008<br> <br> Ray <br> <br> Ray was much a part of my life for the past twelve years, and I will always<br> appreciate his talent, kindness, sense of humor, and many good times. I also<br> appreciate having had the chance to get to know his many extraordinary friends<br> and family members. <br> <br> In response to a few requests, I am posting a photo of Ray, about three years<br> ago with his "#1 girlfriend", his late cat Molly. She was a loyal companion, and as<br> we often joked, a demanding editorial assistant, sometimes contributing vocally<br> to important interviews!<br> <br> My best wishes to all of you at this time. <br> <br> Anne Chamberlain (Brooklyn, NY) <br> Contact me </font></p> <p> </p> <p><font size="5" color="#66ffff"><br> <br> <br> Page 4 of 6<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> February 12, 2008<br> <br> Ray was a regular at the Saturn Poetry Reading, which I co-host with Su Polo. A<br> modest and retiring guy, he was one of the finest poets on the circuit. He<br> regularly de-emphasized the formal metrical structure of his work, with a reading<br> style that suggested free verse. Unlike many formalists, he embraced the<br> every-day in his poems. Ray was both as accomplished and real as they come,<br> and regularly offered helpful feedback to others. He aided me in improving mine<br> more than a few times.<br> <br> I&Mac226;Äôm going to miss Ray&Mac226;Äôs new poems, friendly smile and fresh insight. Everyone at<br> the reading will miss him.<br> <br> Here is a poem I&Mac226;Äôve written in tribute to Ray:<br> <br> CHIAROSCURO<br> <br> <br> &Mac226;ÄúDo your best,&Mac226;Äù my nightmare snickers. &Mac226;ÄúWhat the hell &Mac226;Äì<br> You&Mac226;Äôve got some time before the bell.&Mac226;Äù<br> Ray Pospisil &Mac226;Äì &Mac226;ÄúEXAM DAY&Mac226;Äù<br> <br> <br> <br> Your bell resounds, echoing <br> on though our nights-<br> the toll you thought would wait<br> a long day&Mac226;Äôs dreaming yet<br> tumbling us down into that blackness<br> you struggled to chart, lost and found <br> your way through time and again <br> by feel and tenacity.<br> But peeling for joy too &Mac226;Äì<br> brilliance punching through <br> confounding gloom. <br> Black square after white, you <br> strove to game the whole board.<br> As quickly as light pierced dark <br> you&Mac226;Äôd smack into eclipse from sunlight.<br> Living in this chiaroscuro <br> hodge-podge of laughter and loneliness<br> insight and despondency<br> you watched illuminated angels <br> square-dance demon partners,<br> studying their steps, barking <br> the tune in peerless couplets <br> or eloquent blank verse.<br> Thinking there was time yet<br> you danced to get the steps down pat<br> relishing every do-si-do &Mac226;Äì<br> time before the bell<br> a chance to tell it all,<br> you who told so well.<br> <br> <br> David Elsasser &Mac226;Äì Manhattan, NY<br> [email protected] <br> <br> David Elsasser (New York, NY) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> February 9, 2008<br> <br> I was so sorry to hear about Ray's death. I didn't know him well, but it is the mark<br> of his excellence as a poet and his kindness and dignity as a human being,<br> which I sensed, that started what I felt might be the beginning of a deep<br> friendship, just from having met him a few times. He truly seemed to be a<br> wonderful person, and a charming and erudite poet. My deepest sympathy to his<br> family. <br> <br> I am enclosing an original poem I wrote, and read at the memorial for other poets<br> that I also admired deeply, and it's called<br> <br> WHEN POET'S DIE<br> <br> When time has caught us <br> with our boots off<br> and the slow, steady reign of years<br> into eternity begins,<br> even poets pause<br> <br> Uncertainty lies in the space <br> between life, and all else<br> that has been conjured,<br> between paths we walk<br> and the unknowable darkness.<br> Hesitant or canny, the poet digests<br> mood and moment, crochets ideas,<br> defines the unthinkable...<br> Sometimes we weep....<br> <br> But when Death makes others<br> kneel and pray, the poet<br> sharpens tongue and writes --<br> And though galaxies will swallow <br> us whole into the memories <br> of those who loved us or feared<br> us, those who bestowed praise<br> or blame, who recall us with<br> anger or delight or desire,<br> who whisper our names <br> on moonless nights -- <br> we will be enveloped in pillows<br> of infinite stars, take clouds<br> for beds in that seamless night...<br> <br> Then let death come!<br> Not as the thunder of hoofbeats<br> under ochre desert skies, <br> but soft as butterfly wings <br> upon your cheek, <br> sweet as dew-drizzled lilacs,<br> light as winged hope ascending...<br> O let it be a rolling dreamless<br> iambic sleep.... <br> <br> (c.) 1993<br> www.leighharrison.com <br> <br> Leigh Harrison (Rego Park, NY) <br> <br> <br> <br> February 8, 2008<br> <br> I worked with Ray professionally for about 15 years. He wrote great prose, great<br> stories about arcane electric power issues. He's one of the few people I know<br> who could define both BACT and trochee, and he had the cleanest copy this side<br> of Noe Valley. It was also precise and well written. So I didn't often have to call<br> him for clarification on a story he had written. On the occasions when I did, we<br> would often end up swapping stories. I have a large tape loop of his one-liners in<br> my head that will be running for a long time. I miss him. <br> <br> Peter Maloney (Brooklyn, NY) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> February 7, 2008<br> <br> Ray and I emailed a lot and we often sent each pictures of cats, our own and<br> others. In mid-rant about politics, Ray sent me this photo of a soldier in Iraq. I<br> think it expresses Ray's appreciation of love and tenderness in the face of an<br> often hostile world.<br> With love, Oriane <br> <br> Oriane Stender (Brooklyn, NY) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> Show picture <br> <br> <br> <br> February 7, 2008<br> <br> Carl and Family,<br> I am deaply saddened to hear of Ray's passing. My memories will always be of<br> my "big" cousin who I chased around and annoyed. <br> Irene Pospisil-Lightcap <br> <br> Irene Lightcap (Califon, NJ) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> February 7, 2008<br> <br> I already signed this but forgot to include my name. Ray, Sorry. <br> <br> <br> February 3, 2008<br> I'm not sure if I'm addressing Ray or Ray's friends. Either way, he was intensely<br> interesting and so devoted to finding the meaning. I saved two emails from<br> Ray--he responded to my poetry with insight and creativity. I told him he was an<br> honorary Swede...he sometimes tended to a northern style of recalcitrance as he<br> leaned against the long bar at the Saturn and watched us all. I really miss you. I<br> really miss him<br> <br> Sarah Sarai<br> New York City <br> <br> Sarah Sarai (NYC) <br> <br> <br> <br> February 6, 2008<br> <br> I was one of Ray's editors at Platts. I'm writing this around that time of the<br> morning when I would normally be getting an e-mail from Ray &Mac226;Äì like clockwork &Mac226;Äì<br> "I'm in all day, will call with news" was usually what he wrote. Over the course of a<br> typical day, we'd talk three of four times at least, most often about the stories he<br> was working on, but at times digress to other of Ray's favorite topics, such as<br> New York politics, movies and of course his poetry readings. I and other editors<br> here were always impressed with the precision of Ray&Mac226;Äôs stories, how cleanly<br> written and clear they were. He was an editor's dream in that regard. As a<br> practice, he was usually one of the last to file a story, waiting until just around<br> deadline, wanting, I figured, for his story to be perfect. I always ascribed that habit<br> to the fact that Ray was a poet first and foremost, and the words were all<br> important to him. I can still hear his voice in my head calling to pitch a story. I<br> miss him. <br> <br> Rod Kuckro (Washington, DC) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> February 6, 2008<br> <br> Not only was Ray my Brother-in-law and Uncle to my children, he was a kind and<br> loving person to everyone he met. His love of writing and poetry was what he lived<br> for. I will most miss his sense of humor and kind spirit. We love you Ray and will<br> dearly miss you. <br> <br> Karen Pospisil-Wenzel (Port St. Lucie, FL) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> February 5, 2008<br> <br> I count Ray among the few close friends I have. He and I and others above<br> sought laughs at Clarkes for years. We felt comfortable in a bar John Gotti called<br> his favorite. What we did there is relax, encounter people from everywhere<br> (sometimes with lasting consequences), argue absurdities of the day, contradict<br> each other, and compose obnoxious lyrics. Here we&Mac226;Äôd evaluate rude composition<br> against our mutually understood standards for rudeness and sometimes the<br> public&Mac226;Äôs. Ray was a tougher critic than the others. I knew I&Mac226;Äôd hit the mark when his<br> laugh would come out and light up Third Avenue with blazing sunshine. <br> <br> Our interests have not diverged over the years; I don&Mac226;Äôt think we changed at all.<br> With me in Maryland for over a decade every conversation with Ray in person or<br> on the phone or by email was like it had continued from yesterday, same values,<br> same tension, same sense of the absurd.<br> <br> I want my friend back. <br> <br> Al Samuel <br> <br> Al Samuel (Pasadena, MD) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> February 5, 2008<br> <br> More than anything this week, I am thinking of Ray&Mac226;Äôs laughter. And of his<br> questions&Mac226;Äîof his complete engagement in a conversation, his passion and his<br> sense of humor. I loved spending time with Ray, and I miss him very much. <br> <br> Rick Mullin (Caldwell,, NJ) <br> Contact me </font></p> <p> </p> <p><font size="5" color="#66ffff"><br> <br> <br> Page 5 of 6<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> February 5, 2008<br> <br> Ray is a character in the following poem which I wrote in 2006. He's not the first<br> poet I mention (the featured reader on the evening in question) but the second<br> one, my "fellow reader on the open mike." I thought it would be nice to share this<br> with Ray's family and friends. <br> <br> ONE STEP FORWARD<br> <br> It is a night the featured poet<br> shows us how to put the &Mac226;Äúsuper&Mac226;Äù<br> back into &Mac226;Äúsuperficial,&Mac226;Äù<br> and nobody seems to notice my verses&Mac226;Äî<br> especially not the new one I am trying out<br> for the first time.<br> <br> One fellow reader on the open mike, however,<br> offers me words I expect to remember<br> forever.<br> And so I decide<br> that on this particular evening<br> poetry has taken another giant step forward.<br> . <br> <br> Steve Bloom (Brooklyn, NY) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> February 4, 2008<br> <br> To Ray's family, Please accept my deepest condolences on the loss of your<br> brother, brother-in-law, uncle and cousin.<br> <br> I worked with Ray from 1986 to 1990 at the McGraw-Hill Company's Energy &<br> Business Newsletters (EBN) group. I will always remember his professionalism<br> as well as his impish sense of humor even at work. "Work hard, play hard" was<br> the motto of the office as I remember.<br> <br> Along with hard work, Ray brought a deep sense of humor and thirst for<br> irreverence to the office--we took the work seriously but not ourselves. Egos were<br> deflated with glee on a regular basis--not with unkindness but with tongue<br> planted firmly in cheek. After work, we spent many evenings bonding over food<br> and glasses of Dewar's on the rocks.<br> <br> After leaving EBN for the proverbial greener pastures, I still kept in touch with a<br> core group of work friends including Ray. The friendships created at EBN have<br> remained solid over the years and provided a support in times of prosperity as<br> well as trouble. In addition to the memorial service planned by his poetry circle, I<br> hope to meet with the EBN "family" to mourn the loss of our dear friend, Ray<br> Pospisil. May he rest in peace. <br> <br> Sandy Fong (Brooklyn, NY) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> February 4, 2008<br> <br> Many here have written about Ray's talents, which inspired us all. But his sense<br> of humor is what I remember most fondly about him. I'm afraid that citing the best<br> of it would run afoul of the New York Times', uh, style rules.<br> There were four of us guys known as the Roosters--which included Ray, myself,<br> Al Samuel and Rob Ingraham--and we would often meet at PJ Clarkes to<br> compose raunchy songs and vignettes. We were often all in tears at times from<br> how far it would go. I think Ray was very happy on these occasions. His way with<br> words coupled with his wicked sense of humor were indeed inspiring.<br> Ray and I ourselves had a great friendship and we would often commisserate<br> with each other on our career and love lives. Even on those occasions, it didn't<br> remain serious very long, and humor and a sense of the absurd would often win<br> the day.<br> I miss Ray a lot. <br> <br> Richard Schwartz (Forest Hills, NY) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> February 4, 2008<br> <br> I worked with Ray at McGraw-Hill and stayed in touch tangentially through friends,<br> and was lucky enough to see him read "Insomnia" at Modern Metrics two years<br> ago. He was one of those people that everyone likes and admires, but that<br> somehow seems to bring more joy joy to others than he could keep for himself. I<br> am certainly glad I knew him, and am sad to see him go this young. Also am<br> thankful, and a bit awed, that he did the incredibly hard work of committing his<br> thoughts to verse. That way we can continue to know him. Thanks to those of you<br> who post pictures and link to videos. <br> <br> Ron Dionne (Chappaqua, NY) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> February 4, 2008<br> <br> My only contacts with Ray were on a professional basis when he called for<br> comments and wrote on energy issues involving the New York Power Authority.<br> He was a true professional. His writing was always accurate and fair. I see from<br> reading the entries here that Ray was much more than an energy reporter. I<br> should have figured that out because his writing style was so excellent. When my<br> colleague brought in the news that Ray had died, it was if the wind was knocked<br> out of us. We all had good working relationships with him. Though our contacts<br> were limited to phone conversaions, we came to know him as special and will<br> miss working with him. <br> <br> Connie Cullen (White Plains, NY) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> February 4, 2008<br> <br> My deepest sympathy goes to all of Ray's family and friends. Please see the link<br> below for a web page I've created in memory of Ray. <br> Information will be posted there re: a dedicated memorial gathering being<br> planned to honor Ray. http://www.supolo.com/Ray_Pospisil2 <br> 008.html There are some photos and direct links to <br> several videos of Ray you can see on bambamslam.com web site of his<br> performances at Saturn Series. I'm going to miss Ray so much. <br> I have always looked forward to hearing his lovely words. His poetry and insight<br> will continue to be an inspiration to me.<br> Ray frequented the Saturn Series Poetry reading at Nightingale Lounge, Monday<br> nights in NYC. He featured for us several times; most recently on Sept. 3, 2007.<br> Ray would also recite Shakespeare with ease and tell unusual stories. His wry<br> sense of humor mixed with environmental awareness and befuddlement of<br> society's incongruity coupled with his innate ability to write it all down in metric<br> form so smoothly flowing in almost song like delivery as he rocked on his heels<br> to tell us what he discovered, will always glisten in our memories like that golden<br> glint from the light in his window in which he found so much inspiration. <br> Su Polo <br> <br> Su Polo (NY, NY) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> February 4, 2008<br> <br> Ray was a good friend and a brilliant poet. He will be missed. <br> <br> Quincy Lehr (Galway, Ireland) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> February 3, 2008<br> <br> Carl, thank you so much for the pictures. They are a treat. I had not seen Ray for<br> such a long time; the phone was as good as it got. During that time, it was my<br> pleasure to rely on the professionalism of his work, and his caring for its<br> accuracy. I always meant to delve further into his poetry world, but never got<br> beyond just a little bit. Now that I have made it a little further in, I'm awed by the<br> power of what he expressed there. He has left that beauty to all of us.<br> I would like to refer people who may not already know of it to a lovely web page<br> that Ray's friend Su Polo made for him; the page will give information soon about<br> a memorial event at the Nightingale Lounge. Her page is at:<br> www.supolo.com/Ray_Pospisil2008.htm <br> l <br> <br> Kathy Larsen (Washington, DC) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> <br> February 3, 2008<br> <br> I'm not sure if I'm addressing Ray or Ray's friends. Either way, he was intensely<br> interesting and so devoted to finding the meaning. I saved two emails from<br> Ray--he responded to my poetry with insight and creativity. I told him he was an<br> honorary Swede...he sometimes tended to a northern style of recalcitrance as he<br> leaned against the long bar at the Saturn and watched us all. I really miss you. I<br> really miss him. <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> February 3, 2008<br> <br> RAYPOS<br> <br> The raging torrent<br> rips the gully<br> Tossing tons of prehistoric rock<br> about - like playthings<br> <br> Thunder booms on and on<br> Resurfaced landscape<br> The young genius<br> awaits the next storm<br> Bittersweet and foolish<br> A last tumultuous roar before . . .<br> <br> The gully opens<br> The river carries the storm<br> to the great sea<br> <br> Tess Kelly, San Francisco<br> 2/3/08 <br> <br> Tess Kelly (San Francisco, CA) <br> Contact me </font></p> <p> </p> <p><font size="5" color="#66ffff"><br> <br> <br> Page 6 of 6<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> February 3, 2008<br> <br> That's me, and my brother Ray on the right. 1957 or there abouts. He got the<br> brains in the family..... I got the cool shirt.<br> Gonna miss you, bro..... Carl <br> <br> Carl Pospisil (Daytona Beach, FL) <br> Contact me <br> <br> <br> Show picture <br> <br> <br> <br> February 3, 2008<br> <br> Ray and I missed out first deadlines together. We met at an orientation for the<br> WRSU radio news department at Rutgers College during our freshman year in<br> 1971. Assigned to rewrite some local political story for the 5 pm broadcast, we<br> hashed over the story, debating what the politicians should have done instead<br> and, not even looking at the clock, eventually turned in the written piece at 5:20<br> pm. But it was good enough for the announcer to record for use the next morning.<br> <br> Ray and I sometimes laughed that we were unlikely business journalists, but we<br> were both good at it and cared deeply about the craft and the public interest. I can<br> thank him for bringing me into energy reporting in 1984 -- and we each plied our<br> trades for the next two dozen years, as friends and colleagues, across the<br> continent and the Internet.<br> <br> Each time I returned to the New York area, I'd try to see him and we'd walk the<br> Village to trade stories over Indian food or coffee. I was planning to do that again<br> in April. It will be a somewhat lonely visit without my great friend to share another<br> debate about how things should be. ao'd <br> <br> Arthur O'Donnell (San Francisco, CA) <br> Contact me </font></td> <td width="319" height="21445"></td> <td width="32" height="21445"></td> <td width="32" height="21445"></td> <td width="175" height="21445"></td> </tr> </table> </body> </html>