President's Message

April - a thousand things - sadness and delight - here are a few reports from a month still spinning by. Right now most of the poets I know are very concerned about Quinton Duval – much-loved poet/teacher/publisher and most of all, friend of so many of us – Quinton’s been in intensive care for nearly a week with a diagnosis of liver and lung cancer – so sudden – so many friends are sending best wishes to “Q” and Nancy: lots of us are reading his poems and thinking of him a lot.

Two big writers’ gatherings– the SPC Poetry Workshop, and Our Life Stories at Cosumnes River College – filled up Saturdays for local writers this month. Nothing but rave reviews from those I’ve talked to – congratulations and thanks to Tim Kahl for the SPC event, and the CRC staff for their Saturday of writing!

Luna’s Café bid a long and spirited farewell to the ten-year hosting tenure of BL Kennedy this month as well – it was an honor to be part of it. Some dude named Justin performed an amazing impromptu tribute like nothing I’ve ever seen – who are you, man? And Josh Fernandez rocked the house, too. Laughs, roars, and maybe even a few tears. A great job by Robbie Grossklaus who coordinated the mini-marathon, and of course by BL himself, who enjoyed the evening, and will no doubt be at Luna’s in the near future!

Thanks also to Kathryn Hohlwein, who just finished leading an incredible workshop on Homer’s Iliad. She will be back in the fall to lead an Odyssey class – all I can say is don’t miss it – her love for the subject is only surpassed by her knowledge of it. For me, Achilles’ shield will never be the same!

Monday, May 3rd Please come to SPC to see our new bus placards, and local favorite Viola Weinberg, as we celebrate the first installment of Poets on Board. Signed copies of the cards will be available, and proceeds will support the Poets on Board program.

Wednesday, May 5th at the Sacramento Room, I’m hosting Stan Zumbiel – recently retired from SPC board after more than two decades, and Edythe Schwartz, retired professor of Child Development at CSUS. Both are working hard on their poetry for sure – we’re lucky to have these two excellent poets for our 6pm event.

And don’t forget Saturday May 15 to generate Aid for Haiti. 7pm at the Newman Center – see website for details.

Bob Stanley

Iliad Class ends - Odyssey scheduled for Fall

Thanks to Kathryn Hohlwein for the wonderful Iliad class this spring. If you're interested in Western poetic roots, sign up for next time -- we're working

on confirming dates. It will probably be Wednesday evenings during late September, October and November. Five Stars!

Poets on Board with Viola Weinberg and Mario Uribe

Viola Weinberg and Mario Uribe
Monday, May 3rd at 7:30pm
@R25 at 1719 25th Street
Host: Bob Stanley
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Poetry on buses in Sacramento? Thanks to RT Metro, UC Davis Extension, and the Sacramento Poetry Center, there's an alternative to reading advertising inside local buses these days. Inspired by programs in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, the new Poets on Board program puts poetry placards inside RT's buses to feature the work of local poets and artists. The first placards were installed during April (Poetry Month) and the poem is an excerpt from Enso, by Viola Weinberg, Sacramento's 2001 poet laureate.
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Writing Workshops

April brought two writing workshops to the Sacramento area. The first was hosted by SPC, and the cost was FREE. On Friday evening, Indigo Moor and Peter Grandbois read. On Saturday, the workshops began at 10:00. A day of workshops hosted by Indigo Moor, Peter Grandbois, Toni Mirosevich, Joseph Lease, Donna de la Perriere, Tim Kahl, and FlatmanCrooked covered topics as diverse as self-publishing and how to write the big poem without thinking about writing the big poem.

Earth Day 2010 - a busy day of poetry

April 22, 2010 was not only Earth Day, but judging from the events in the area, it was also Poetry Day. CSUS featured at least three poetry events: Way Cool Daddy-O Earth Day Reading, which I was pleased to host (more on this event below); Andrea Gibson - a spoken word poet and activist (http://www.andreagibson.org/), whose reading I attended; and a poetry slam hosted by a campus fraternal organization. FlatmanCrooked was in Davis, and BL Kennedy hosted his last event at Luna's. I am sure that there were more events that day.

DA Powell

DA Powell is the 2010 recipient of the Northern California Book Awards for poetry. This event was held on April 18, 2010 at the San Francisco Main Library. His book, Chronic, was published in 2009, and he read at the Sacramento Poetry Center on January 5, 2010. Additionally, this book was featured in the Sacramento area DifPo group. Please join me in congratulating DA Powell.

Allegra Silberstein - Davis poet laureate

Allegra Silverstein recently accepted the position of poet laureate for the city of Davis. I've run into her at several SPC readings and at the Tuesday Night Workshop held at the Hart Center. She's a very busy lady these days with all of her poet laureate duties. Please join me in congratulating her on this new position.

April 30 - Stories on Stage at SPC

STORIES on STAGE

Stefanie Freele and Renee Thompson

read by Kent Gray, Marni Webb and Tim Kahl

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Friday, April 30, 2010  | 7:30pm
@R25 at 1719 25th Street (between Q and R)
Suggested donation $5
Join us for refreshments, beginning at 7PM

Host and Coordinator: Valerie Fioravanti

Monday, April 26 | John Murillo, John Bell at SPC

Monday, April 26 | 7:30pm

John Murillo, John Bell
Monday Night at the Sacramento Poetry Center

1719 25th Street, Sacramento

Upcoming events at SPC

The Sacramento Poetry Center has some great events coming up in May and June. Unless otherwise stated, these events take place at the Center's 25th & R street location in Sacramento.

Jack Hirschman documentary premieres; Hirschman reads in Sacramento

The documentary Red Poet: The Story of Jack Hirschman had its U.S. premiere tonight as part of the Sacramento International Film Festival.

Jack Hirschman

Joe Finkleman, Pete Eckert (Davis)

Davis Cemetery Presents:
The Works of Joe Finkleman and Pete Eckert 
Gracing the walls in the month of May, the Davis Cemetery District's office will be hosting art from two special guests.

Red Poet: The Story of Jack Hirschman

Multimedia message

April 19 - SPC Monday Night Poetry

Hot Poetry in the Park Poetry Series

Monday night, April 19th | 7pm

Fremont Park, corner of 16th and Q Streets, Sacramento.

Host: Rebecca Morrison

President's Message

Tim Kahl, SPC’s VP, poet, translator, and general organizer of events poetic, is in Denver this week at the AWP conference, sharing his experiences about the Sacramento poetry scene in a presentation to the convention. A number of other local writers are there – Susan Kelly-DeWitt, Lisa Jones, Indigo Moor – networking, learning, and enjoying the array of poets and poetry. I’m writing this vicariously, because I wanted to go, but had a lot to catch up on. Ah, well – good things to work on here, too.

The R25 Fundraiser is off to a good start – we’ve raised over $500 in the first two weeks. That’s the good news – the bad news is the fence will cost over $6000 to complete. The good news is we have incredible support from Alliance Francaise – they are matching up to $2500. And California Stage and Matrix Arts are fundraising too. Danyen Powell has generously offered to provide labor for the project, and with all these groups pulling together, we will have a new, inviting, and artistic fence that highlights our artistic and cultural center – by the end of May, in time for the R25 June 5-6 art festival, in the newly anointed “courtyard.” Please send what you can – checks to SPC, marked for R25 Beautification to Sacramento Poetry Center, 1719 25th St, Sac 95816.

Mark your calendar – or better yet email Tim (tnklbnny@frontiernet.net) to register for the upcoming Poetry Workshop – Free – April 16 and 17. Let’s fill the house for Indigo’s reading – another award-winning book – on Friday night the 16th, and fill up all the rooms all day Saturday – Tim’s put together a superb line-up of workshop leaders. See website for details.

Other events to consider

Thursday, April 22 – 5 to 7pm Earth Day poetry reading at Sac State at “The Buzz” in the University Union

Thursday, April 22 – 8pm and beyond – Come honor BL Kennedy as he hosts his last reading at Luna’s Poetry Unplugged. Word on the street is that this Open Mic will continue well into the evening!

Sunday, April 24 – Arden-Dimick Library, 2 to 4 pm – Indigo Moor, Kathleen Lynch and I will present an afternoon of poetry. Watt Avenue and Northrop.

Saturday, May 15 – Aid for Haiti – Fundraiser at the Newman Center – Poetry, Music and Community. Featuring Patrick Grizzell and Junkyard Burlesque. Poetry from Mary Zeppa, Quinton Duval, Dennis Schmitz, Victoria Dalkey and more! Hosted by Loretta and Dennis Schmitz and SPC.

Bob Stanley