Sacramento Poetry Center

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2012-01-21T22:25:00.001-08:00

Visit our new website and blog at: http://sacramentopoetrycenter.org/

An Evening for Amnesty

2011-06-14T14:20:00.000-07:00

Monday, August 29 · 7:30pm - 9:00pm

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1719 25th St., Sacramento, CA
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A truly international community of writers and activists will entertain you with a poetry reading to benefit Amnesty International. With so much conflict in the world today, there remains a powerful means of expression as well as an encouraging source of peace, in written and spoken word.

Among those speaking are California state labor leader and Cesar Chavez protege, Al Rojas, and Zimbabwean activist poet and professor, Emmanuel Sigauke. Brian Ang will also bring vigor to the SPC stage - he is the author of two new books, Communism (Berkeley Neo-Baroque, 2011) and Paradise Now (Grey Book Press, 2011). He lives in Oakland, California.

Also: world music, refreshments.

See if Josh Fernandez has a New Tattoo

2011-05-31T14:18:00.001-07:00

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 - 7-10 p.m. - Spare Parts and Dismemberment

josh fernandez book release party at the SOL Poetry series

Combining Mics and Moods poetry series at Sol Collective.

2574 21st Street (near 21st Street and Broadway). Free.

HOT Poetry in the Park

2011-05-31T14:14:00.000-07:00

MONDAY, JUNE 20 - 7 p.m.

Hot Poetry in the Park featuring "Hellcat Hymns",

A poetic performance by Kenya Mitchell, Matthew Chenoweth Wright, Christina Davis and Anara Guard.

In Fremont Park, 16th and P Streets, Sacramento.

Please note early start time of 7 p.m. This reading replaces the normal Monday night reading at the Sacramento Poetry Center. http://fremontpark.net/.

Bring a blanket and a picnic dinner. This is always a fun event when the weather is good - and it usually is!

Hosted by the lovely and talented Rebecca Moos.

SPC Free Tuesday Workshops for Poets (of all kinds and all levels)

2011-05-20T10:56:00.000-07:00

by Frank Graham

The trademark and longest tradition of the SPC is a thriving workshop. Poets of every level, each week, on a drop-in or regular basis, assist each other in their writing endeavors. Many workshop attendees have published widely and have won significant contests. Many have gone on to more prestigious quarters or have stayed to learn, grow, and assist others. For those who love the craft of words, or simply want a way to unwind, the SPC's opportunities are abound.

Come visit us sometime at the well lit and always comfy Hart Senior Center at 27th and J Street, the building in the park, (usually in the Spruce room), any Tuesday night, except major holidays, at 7:30pm. Bring a pen. There will be adults of all ages and backgrounds, fun people to meet and learn from. The group promises to be not too serious, nor too silly, but they almost always provide a good laugh and good advice. The roundtable critiques last until 9:00pm. Bring at least 10-15 copies of your one page poem so that workshop attendees may read and respond.

Memorial Day at the Poetry Center

2011-05-13T13:17:00.000-07:00

Monday, May 30 · 7:30pm - 9:00pm
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The Sacramento Poetry Center
1719 25th St.
Sacramento, CA
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Hosted by Frank Dixon Graham
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A very special reading with Tulsa, Oklahoma spoken word artist, dramatist, advocate, and poet, Deborah Hunter -- and also, Modesto Poet Laureate Sam Pierstorff. These two remarkably gifted poets will be hosted by Frank Graham and sponsored by the Sacramento Poetry Center. The best part -- this event is free!

Ms. Hunter is appearing one night only. She is a jazz influenced poet whose poems can range from heart-bendingly passionat...e to light, pure, and delightfully expressive. Her prize winning poems are as effective as her award winning activism for mental health and social justice. Ms. Hunter owns the stage when she speaks. Her powerful presentations of word are quite palpable. At times, she is capable of drawing raw reaction from audience members.

Sam Pierstorff was selected specifically to compliment Ms. Hunter's style for this momentous reading. He enrapts the audience's attention with his activity on stage. His athletic delivery is unmistakably his own style. A humorist at heart. A college professor who delivers an often silly, but honest, approach at addressing life's issues. He was the youngest poet laureate in the state of California and certainly one of the most talented. A gifted poet you don't want to miss!

This event coincides with the Sacramento Jazz Festival. So come and hear all that jazz in Sacramento on Memorial Day weekend. Then relax at the Poetry Center and enjoy some jazzy poetry on Monday night!

BIOGRAPHY

DEBORAH HUNTER is a leading regional spoken word artist, poet and dramatist. Ms. Hunter has the following recognition: Winner of $5000 Jingle Feldman Award, Community Arts Training Institute Faculty/Fellow, Oklahoma Arts Council Grant Selection Committee, OkRep 24-Hour Play Festival, Invitational Playwright; Fellowship Residency - Norcroft Retreat for Women Writers, Board Member, Mental Health Association in Tulsa, Board Member, NAMI-Tulsa (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill); Board Member, T.K. Wolf, Inc., Charter Member, Tulsa Indian Coalition Against Racism, Member, Alternate ROOTS (artists org for activists), Community Arts Training Institute Faculty/Fellow, Board of Trustees, Church of the Restoration UU; Board of Directors, Center for Racial Justice; Task Force, Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless Guest speaker on mental health issues for various groups including Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Mental Health Association in Tulsa , NAMI Tulsa and Leadership Tulsa, Recipient of Tulsa PAC Diversity Grant, Oklahoma Mental Health Planning and Advisory Council, Mental Health Association in Tulsa Education Award.

SAM PIERSTORFF was born in 1975 to a Syrian/Muslim mother and an Americas/military father from Kentucky. After their imminent divorce, Sam was raised alongside one older brother, a tough-as-nails mother, and a parakeet named Tiki in Orange County, California. After moving to three homes in three cities over the next seven years, Sam finally graduated from high school, moved on to college, and eventually received his Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from CSU Long Beach before going on to become the youngest Poet Laureate ever appointed in the state of California when he was selected to the position in 2004 by the city of Modesto. Sam currently teaches English at Modesto Junior College where he is also the founding editor of Quercus Review, a national journal of prose and poetry, and host of Modesto's monthly poetry slam, "Slam on Rye." His debut poetry collection, Growing Up in Someone Else’s Shoes, was published by World Parade Books last year, and most recently, he has just won an Award of Merit from the California Association of Teachers of English. In his private life, he used to benchpress competitively (up to 355lbs.) before hurting his back. Now he swims daily and only lifts his three children when he must: Hakeem (8), Ameena (5), and Deen (2).

American River Review reading October 4

2010-09-28T16:48:00.000-07:00

Join us as we celebrate in verse with the poets of American River Review, the award-winning literary journal from American River College. Gold Medal winner of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and finalist in the Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker contest, the A.R. Review encompasses a wide range of creative work including oil painting, photography, poetry, digital art, fiction and more. From start to finish, students decide the what and the how of the magazine. This reading will showcase the "best of the decade" - poets who will be featured in the upcoming 2011 issue!

Reception at 7:00pm
Reading at 7:30pm
Hosted by Bob Stanley, Meagen Youngdahl and Toshi Casey

Introductions by Toshi Casey, ARR 2011 Editor-in-Chief
Ryan Cicak - Poetry
Greg Sabin - Poetry
Viola Allo - Poetry
Nathan Feutz - Poetry
Marilyn Wallner - Poetry and Nonfiction
Toshi Casey - Poetry
Eric Myers - Poetry
Meagen Youngdahl - Fiction
Judith Ryan - Poetry
Candace Coulombe - Poetry

Tule Review Submission Guidelines

2010-09-16T14:40:00.000-07:00

Tule Review: New Submission Deadline October 30, 2010!

The Sacramento Poetry Center welcomes submissions for the winter Tule Review - now 50-60 pages and perfect bound - with an anticipated publication date for January 2011. We consider poetry of all styles and forms from both local and far-flung places as long as the poems are strong and well crafted.

For our September 15 changes to the submission guidelines and the address for sending your work, click the following link:

http://www.sacramentopoetrycenter.org/tulereview.htm

Poetry Sept 13, 16, Fundraiser Sept 17

2010-09-06T22:55:00.000-07:00

Monday Sept 13 at 7:30 pm
CJ Sage and JP Dancing Bear read at SPC (25th and R)
Followed by a talk about Small Press Publishing
Hosted by Valerie Fioravanti

Thursday, September 16
Michael Luis Medrano, reads for a Mexican Independence Day reading
presented by Escritores del Nuevo Sol/Writers of the New Sun.
at La Raza Galeria Posada, 1022-1024 22nd St.
Free (donations welcome)

Friday Sept 17
A Benefit for Haiti's University at the Newman Center
Featuring Yves Voltaire, University Rector
5:45 pm at the Newman Center (Carlson between H and J)
Potluck dinner - drinks will be provided

2010-08-29T22:09:00.000-07:00

Here comes September – a few poetry events you might want to consider

Sept 6, Monday
Monday at 7:30pm at SPC – 25th and R
Tim Hernandez and Maceo Montoya
Hosted by Tim Kahl

Sept 8, Wednesday
(note – this event is second Wednesday this month)
Sacramento Room Wednesday Reading – Poets featured in Sixteen Rivers Press Anthology
6 to 7:30 at Sacramento Room, Central Library, 828 I Street, Second floor

September 13
Monday at 7:30pm at SPC – 25th and R
J.P. Dancing Bear and CJ Sage, hosted by Dorine Jennette

September 16, Thursday
Bring a favorite poem to read to Brown Bag Poetry at the Central Library
828 I Street, 12 noon
Hosted by Mary Zeppa and Lawrence Dinkins

September 18, Saturday
Lawrence Dinkins and Ross Hammond celebrate the release of electropoetic coffee
Luna’s Café 1414 16th Street $10-general admission

September 20
Monday at 7:30pm at SPC – 25th and R
2010 Calaveras Station Literary Journal reading
Hosted by Trina Drotar

September 27
Monday at 7:30pm at SPC – 25th and R
Mark Statman and Kurt Brown
Hosted by Tim Kahl

for more details, or information on more events, go to

www.eskimopie.net or

www.medusaskitchen.blogspot.com

The Londonberry Salon reads

2010-08-24T21:56:00.000-07:00

The Londonberry Salon showed up at the Sacramento Poetry Center on August 23, 2010. The salon was responsible for putting out The Larkfield Review in 20o9 which was edited by husband and wife team Greg Randall and Toni Wilkes and featured four poets: Shawn Pittard, Mary Petrosky, Roy Mash, and Christina Hutchins. These four poets were the featured readers, introduced by Randall and Wilkes, on this night at SPC.

Why I Don't Write Confessional Poetry

So many laws argue so many sins — Milton, Paradise Lost

When I was nineteen, I confessed my sexual indiscretions to an eighty-year-old High Priest — a Latter-Day Apostle — who wrote them all down on a long, yellow pad. He meticulously transcribed each incident, by category, while asking clarifying questions. Was that you on her? Or her on you? His Mont Blanc scribbled furiously.

Below a painting of the blue-eyed Jesus, praying desperately for His own deliverance in Gethsemane, I could taste the contents of that bitter cup.

The old man pushed a box of Kleenex across the cluttered desktop. Sometimes, he said, people show sorrow for their sins. The second hand ticked on the wall clock. Basketballs bounced on the hardwood floor down the hallway — Church League. He nodded toward the white tissue with a thin smile of encouragement. It's a matter of excommunication.

Lot's wife was told do not look back or she would be turned into a pillar of salt. Some days, I can feel the heat of that burning city in the middle of my back — as I walk, and walk, and walk away.

— Shawn Pittard

Alberto's Love Song

When Lena turns,

rises slowly onto her toes

above the other young women,

Alberto is mesmerized

by the arc of her calves

through yellow cotton, by

her stillness, this cactus flower

barely open to the sun amid red

poppies whose flutter and nod

tantalizes the passing Sunday crowds.

Again and again, he watches Lena

glide from her canvas-covered soles

to point. Each time catches

the quiver of her jaw

just as she breaks

pose and slides down

into the bevy of skirts.

He know how small

is the gate to vulnerability.

Knows Lena is a thorn bird,

weaves her nest into a dome

of barbed twigs. He doesn't

mind getting his hand pricked

coaxing her

out, little camastero

he can make fly.

—Mary Petrosky

Pinkie

here's my pinkie finger

weakest of any

I use it

for entering small places

nose holes eye nooks ear mazes

incorrigible pansy

scrupulous peon

immaculate pal o' mine

always at the end of things

like an aisle seat

always coy always

the lilting one

junior partner of the firm

the one who attends to the details

itself a detail

daughter I must leave out

of the boy scout salute

who flirts with my thumb

when I'm nervous

definitive unit of etiquette

meticulous imp

ultimate runt

I've tried to teach it guitar

make it type

play golf

karate

it's useless!

It wants to be insignificant or nothing

to know at the end no one

have no one

know it

unfamous as a thread

ninny of my care

stick without width.

—Roy Mash (first published in miller's pond)

A Way Back To Life

From Russians I learned never to shake hands

across a threshold, but a half-hour after

rising, I return to set my cool hand into the bed

where a river of a dreamheat lingers, the still-warm

flank of our horse's dark gallop.

To make sure it was me they got, my parents

put up all night with a mockingbird

perched aloud in one of three liquid birches

a handspan from their open window. Do you

I'd make that up? Ask me,

and I might tell you the joke that rolls

like a yellow marble from all that I have made.

A cloak of lightning around my shoulders,

I can slip like a drumbeat into the actual world.

If only making love did not

also make loss. If only a curtain call

and the dead lifted their bodies,

lithe. From the surprise taxi emerged a child

beautiful in her buttoned coat, but on the stones

even her small feet sang

the terrible clatter. You have suggested we

take the floating trip, meaning, perhaps, without

formal destination. Will you bury your head

in the softness of my belly where old

yearnings still sleep? Continent

to continent, homeless and without

fixed beliefs, perhaps a large part laughter,

there is nowhere loss will refuse

to take us. I have decided to trust

the late night horse and its riders.

—Christina Hutchins (first published in The Missouri Review)

All poems were published in The Larkfield Review 2009 and were read on August 23, 2010.

2010-08-22T22:06:00.000-07:00

The Londonberry Salon
with
Shawn Pittard, Christina Hutchins, Gregory Randall, Toni Wilkes, Roy Mash, and Mary Petrosky
Monday, August 23 at 7:30 PM
Sacramento Poetry Center — 1719 25th St.
Crossroads for the Arts at 25th and R Street

About the Larkfield Review:
from editors, Gregory W. Randall and Toni L Wilkes

In June of 2009, our desire to provide space for local or regional poets manifested itself in an inaugural volume of The Larkfield Review. The anthology featured four poets who read for the spring Poets We Know Londonberry Salon. The criteria was simple: to bring together friends and acquaintances laboring away at the craft of poetry who had not yet had the opportunity to publish a full-length manuscript of poems.

In the end, we brought together Shawn Pittard’s luminous imagery springing from everyday experiences in the Sacramento Valley and foothills with Mary Petrosky’s re-imagined histories and lives of figures in old Argentine photographs with Roy Mash’s playful and humorous take on objects we so often take for granted–fingers, playground antics–with Christina Hutchins’ shimmering lyricism weaving together love and the realm of nature, a weave that “blooms and revises the world.”

Shawn Pittard is the author of These Rivers—a chapbook of poems from Rattlesnake Press. His poems have most-recently appeared on-line in Convergence and In Posse Review, and in print in the North American Review. He co-wrote a screenplay, Junk Sick, with his brother, Trent, and divides his time between his home in Sacramento, California and his family’s cabin outside Flagstaff, Arizona.

Christina Hutchins teaches poetry and Whitehead’s philosophy at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley. With degrees from UC Davis, Harvard, and Graduate Theological Union, she has worked as a biochemist and a Congregational (UCC) minister. Her poems have appeared in Antioch Review, Beloit Poetry Journal, Denver Quarterly, The New Republic, Prairie Schooner, Salmagundi, The Southern Review, and The Missouri Review. She has won the 2010 Annie Finch Prize of The National Poetry Review, the 2010 Robin Becker chapbook prize of Seven Kitchens Press, the 2009 Missouri Review Editors’ Prize, the Villa Montalvo Poetry Prize, and she has received two Barbara Deming Awards for Women in Poetry and was selected by Robert Hass for a fellowship to the Summer Literary Seminars in St. Petersburg, Russia. Christina is the Poet Laureate of Albany, CA. The Stranger Dissolves was chosen by Sixteen Rivers Press for publication in early in 2011.

Gregory W. Randall majored in English and Latin at St. Olaf College and spent innumerable hours in the music library.

Mark Doty selected Double Happiness for the 5th Annual Camber Press Chapbook Award for 2009. His chapbook A Room in the Country will be published by Pudding House Press in 2010 and Uncommon Refrains is forthcoming from The Lives You Touch Publications. Greg also received a 2009 Pushcart Prize nomination, and his chapbook Blue Water Views was recently accepted by Finishing Line Press.

First published by The Pedestal Magazine, his poem “Confessions of an Apothecary” has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. He is a recipient of a Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Prize for 2008

His recent work appears or is forthcoming in The Bitter Oleander, CQ, Cream City, GW Review, Louisiana Literature, Louisville Review, Pedestal, Rosebud, Southern California Review, South Carolina Review, Sow’s Ear, Stand, and other noted journals.

Greg owns a financial planning practice with his wife Toni Wilkes in Santa Rosa, CA. []

Prior to relocating to Northern California, Toni L. Wilkes was a freelance screenwriter and fulltime story editor for feature film director Peter Hyams in Los Angeles. She is now a member of the California State Poetry Society and the Marin Poetry Center. Wilkes serves as a board member for the Sonoma County Library.

Wilkes is the author of Stepping Through Moons (Finishing Line Press, 2009). Her work appears or is forthcoming in California Quarterly, Confrontation, Cream City Review, Folio, GW Review, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Healing Muse, In Posse Review, Iodine Poetry Journal, Pinyon, Poetry East, Roanoke Review, Rosebud, Southern Humanities Review, Sow’s Ear Poetry Review, Touch: The Journal of Healing, The Texas Review and other noted journals. She lives with her husband, Gregory Randall, in Santa Rosa, California where they own a financial planning practice.

Roy Mash is an electronics technician living in San Rafael. He is currently co-chair and webmaster for Marin Poetry Center. His poetry has been published in Agni, Atlanta Review, Barrow Street, The Evansville Review, Nimrod, Poetry East, Rhino and Two Review among others.

Mary Petrosky received her MFA from Antioch University, Los Angeles, and is a member of the Squaw Community of Writers. Her poems have appeared in literary magazines including Blackbird, Calyx, The Comstock Review, Tattoo Highway, Kalliope, and the Metronome of Aptekarsky Ostrov (published in St. Petersburg, Russia), as well as anthologies such as Above Us Only Sky: An Anthology of Atheist Poetry, The Larkfield Review, and Tweets from Arctos Press. A freelance technology writer, Petrosky lives in San Mateo, CA.

SPC to feature Zimbabwean novelist/poet Chris Mlalazi and renowned US poet, Ron Slate

2010-08-21T14:52:00.000-07:00

October 11 is a big hosting day for me and SPC, when I present the Mlalazi-Slate double feature. Chris Mlalazi, a Zimbabwean novelist, has written and published poetry and plays. He usually reads his short prose, but on this day he will also share some of his poetry. I have known Chris through the internet for a long time, and on July 31st, I had the priviledge to share the stage with him on Los Angeles, when Eso Won Bookstore co-featured us. We read our proetry and prose and launched the recently published short story collection, "African Roar", which I co-edited with South Africa-based Zimbabwean writer, Ivor W. Hartmann. I am very happy that Chris will be reading at SPC. Below are some details:

Villa Aurora’s 2010 Feuchtwanger Fellow, Zimbabwean writer Christopher Mlalazi’s two books, Dancing with Life (2008, amaBooks), a collection of short stories, Many Rivers (2009, Lion Press, Ltd., UK), a novel, and his latest play Election Day (2010), deal with the social and political disintegration of his native Zimbabwe. In 2008 he was co-awarded the OXFAM NOVIP PEN Freedom of Expression Award at the Hague, which he received with Raisedon Baya for their play The Crocodile of Zambezi. The Crocodile of Zambezi (2008), a satire of the Mugabe regime set in a fictional country along the Zambezi River, was officially banned and members of its cast and crew were harassed and beaten by state agents. Christopher Mlalazi’s work has received numerous honors and awards, including the ‘2009 Best First Published Creative Work, National Arts Merit Award in Zimbabwe’ for Dancing with Life: Tales from the Township, which also received the NOMA Award Honorable Mention(UK) in 2009; Many Rivers was shortlisted for the 2010 National Merit Award for Most Outstanding Book of Fiction. He has also published poetry in several international anthologies. Mr. Mlalazi has completed a new novel while in residence at Villa Aurora.

2010-08-21T08:16:00.000-07:00

Tule Review needs poems for next issue

2010-08-19T19:00:00.000-07:00

Call for Submissions!

The Sacramento Poetry Center welcomes submissions for the winter Tule Review - now 50-60 pages and perfect bound - with an anticipated publication date for January 2011. We consider poetry of all styles and forms from both local and far-flung places as long as the poems are strong and well crafted.

Submission Deadline: September 30, 2010.
As of June 16, 2010, we have changed our submission guidelines.

For our new complete Submission Guidelines, please click on the link below:

http://www.sacramentopoetrycenter.org/tulereview.htm

MICHAEL PAUL and TAYLOR GRAHAM Aug. 16, 2010

2010-08-17T21:20:00.000-07:00

Michael Paul came down from the foothills to read some poems from his big black book. The following was one of them. This poem is one he wrote a long time ago for his current girlfriend (which Paul admitted she still doesn't like . . . but he does).

HE BEING DEAD YET SPEAKS, PIPES, WRITES

Listen:

Lessons in bone.

Jazzman lifts brass, like knife riffing

Filigrees of sadness, sonic scrimshaw,

Upon tiny hammers, anvils, stirrups, all

The smallest ossicles of this

Benighted head

Bowed head

Bowed head. Eyes burn.

Listen:

My love comes,

Kittenlike,

Bearing gifts. Four roses odorless

And still as newly killed mice.

Lays them out like my heart

At her feet

With the news of her leaving.

Alone now,

Taking all the wine dark lines

Of haunted face

Written by the blind luck draw

Of double helix,

Scribed by horn

(Not ax, but knife)

Now sharpened

On the castanet clatter

Of my loves knocking

My loves leaving. I raise

A toast,

A cup of gladness

Turned to vinegar and gall,

Put four roses in it:

The color of memory

The complexion of time

The shade of solitude

The hue and pattern of

The chiaroscuro coloratura

The jazzman scratches on my bones.

Listen: I will

Raise a toast to the woman

Whose tuition though bitter,

Costly as a mouthful of ants,

Is the unwilling dues

I pay to hear

All the way to my bones,

That hard bought beauty

Of the blues.

Then Taylor Graham read from Walking with Elihu: poems on Elihu Burritt, The Learned Blacksmith. The following is an excerpt from that book.

A GOOD LONG WALK

One of my motives . . . was to look at the country towns

and villages on the way in the face and eyes.

— Elihu Burritt, A Walk from London to John O'Groats

For two minutes and forty-five seconds

the Ron Horse stands waiting

in the harness at the station, trembling with impatience

of metal and steam; a snort,

a roar as he plunges into dark passages

under the city. Who could

catch his breath, as he's hurled through a tunnel

under paved streets and church vaults?

Then, re-emerging into daylight, those deranging

glimpses of tenements and black-throated

chimneys, children trying to

make-believe in backyards eight feet square;

and wicked boys flinging dead cats —

You won't travel that way.

Seven hundred miles by footpath —

you'll take your time

through pasture and yellow field,

see pied cows ruminating in noon shade,

and hear the song of bees.

You'll pass the time of day

with a hundred pleasant greeting:

a farmer at the stile,

reapers with scythe or sickle

across the hedge. It will be a good

long walk.

A healthy open mic followed afterwards with Lawrence Dinkins (NSAA), Moira Magneson, Hatch Graham, Wendy Williams and others.

2010-08-15T19:17:00.001-07:00

2010-08-15T19:15:00.002-07:00

2010-08-15T19:15:00.001-07:00

POETRY READING ON MONDAY, AUGUST 16

2010-08-12T15:17:00.000-07:00

Join us on Monday, August 16, as Taylor Graham reads from her new book and Michael Gregg Paul returns to the poetic stage. Reading starts at 7:30 p.m., 25th and R. Refreshments. Free. Please listen to capradio.org at 10 a.m. on Friday, August 13, to catch the interview with Taylor Graham.

Taylor Graham has been a volunteer search-and-rescue dog handler for many years. Her book The Downstairs Dance Floor was awarded the Robert Phillips Poetry Chapbook Prize, and her newest, Walking with Elihu: poems on Elihu Burritt, the Learned Blacksmith, is just out. For a recent article on Taylor in the Sacramento Bee, visit http://www.sacbee.com/2010/06/02/2791845/poets-fascination-with-elihu-burritt.html. She will be featured on capradio.org at 10 a.m. on Friday, August 13.

Michael Gregg Paul is author of 6 chapbooks; co-editor of two poetry anthologies in national distribution; sometime journalist; award winning visual artist in several media; and once-upon-a-time garage band drummer. Michael Paul's poems have appeared in a number of literary journals including Spillway, Pearl, Blue Satellite and The Valley Contemporary Poets Anthology. Michael's next volume of poetry, "Dog Whistle Politics," will be released in the fall from Lummox Press.

Two Poems by Taylor Graham from her new book:

A Ship Goes Aground off Nantucket

based on Elihu Burritt’s “A Child’s Question”

Fifty-four Forty or Fight! It looks like war,
United States against the Motherland.
And off the coast of Massachusetts, Mother
Nature brews a storm.

Against the wind, British sea-men
wrestle down their sails.
But still, their ship
wrecks on the shoals off Nantucket.

Merchants and whalers, good Nantucketeers
rope themselves in, throw themselves
into the waves to save foreign sailors
from a common foe and friend, the Sea.

Now observe this English mariner
shivering and drenched,
wrapped in Yankee
comforters and warmed with tea

as a small child asks
her father, isn’t this the enemy
we wish to go to war
to kill?

Fluency

I felt somewhat astonished that my countryman, who was said to be master of fifty languages, had to get some one to read his speech in French.
- William Wells Brown at the Paris Peace Congress, 1949

It’s one thing to decipher Nous connaissons
la vérité so Pascal’s words make English sense.
Harder to compose your own thoughts
into French that a Parisian might grasp.
Beyond that, what genius, to turn correct grammar
into phrases that move intellect and heart?

But how ticklish, without language-labs,
to speak your lofty words out loud,
to master accent and emphasis; inflection
and the affective pauses.

Elihu, even with quick-and-easy travel tapes,
I can’t get my mouth around
the word for “no” in Greek.
My Spanish will not romance its “rr”s
with a trill of the tongue.
In French, my nasals sound like whining.

At the Peace Congress you gave up
your script to a Frenchman,
believing your sense and phrasing, in his
fluent mouth, might better fire
the world
to your passion.

2010-08-12T10:34:00.000-07:00

The Sacramento Poetry Center welcomes all styles of strong, well-crafted poems for the winter Tule Review—now 50-60 pages and perfect bound with an anticipated completion in January 2011.

Seeking Submissions for the winter Tule Review

Submission Deadline: September 30, 2010

Please note: As of June 16, 2010, we have changed our submission guidelines.

Submission Guidelines:

Include no more than three poems, maximum 96 lines per poem.
Include three (3) copies of each poem
Include the following information at the right-hand, top of each page: your legal name, name used for publication (if applicable), e-mail address, phone number
Poems continuing onto a second page should be indicated as follows: "Title of poem, page 2"
Also, indicate if there is or is not a stanza break between the first and second page: (stanza break) or (no stanza break)
We do not accept simultaneous submissions, but sometimes consider previously published poems. If previously published, note the name and date of prior publication on the page below your poem.
Include a 12x9 SASE envelope with your submission (ensure sufficient postage for return of your work) which we will use to 1) notify you of decline and/or 2) return your poemsand/or 3) mail you your contributor copy of the finished publication (if your poem(s) are selected for inclusion).
Mail your submission to: Sacramento Poetry Center | c/o Tule Review | P.O. Box 160406 | Sacramento, CA 95816
If your poem(s) are accepted, you will be notified via email (or via US mail if you do not have an email address). We will, at that time, ask you to submit an electronic version of your poem(s) as well as a short, five line bio.

2010-08-12T10:29:00.000-07:00

VS Chochezi and Rob Anthony at Sacramento Poetry Center August 9, 2010

2010-08-11T00:49:00.000-07:00

Rob Anthony started the evening off with an assortment of poems that skillfully bridged the gap between acting and the written word. His poem "I, Poet" and his seasonal cycle on "winter" and "the summer fling" produced the most audible gasps from the audience.
During a collaborative piece about no two bodies being able to occupy the same place which featured both poets standing back to back and alternating recitations, Anthony's and Chochezi's eyes lock
VS Chochezi performed her mix of political poems and personal statements of faith. She even let a love poem sneak in there (though she let everyone know that usually such poems are not meant for sharing). She left the stage with the audience considering the nature of the godhead from the tripartite God of the Christian faith to the orixas of the Yoruba tradition. As she left the stage, she let out a plea to "Free Mumia".

Salvatore Salerno and Tim Kahl at The Barkin' Dog Grill in Modesto, CA on August 10, 2010

2010-08-10T23:20:00.000-07:00

The Poetry reading series in Modesto hosted by Gillian Wegener at The Barkin' Dog Grill featured Salvatore Salerno and Tim Kahl on August 10, 2010.

There was good turn-out and a pretty good-sized contingent participating in the open mic.

So the next time you pass through the Modesto area on a second Tuesday and travel beneath the beloved Arch with its motto — Water, Wealth, Contentment, Health — stop by the Barkin' Dog Grill for the Papa Burger, a milkshake, and some poetry.

Wednesday August 4th 6pm at the Sacramento Room: By Heart

2010-08-03T15:36:00.001-07:00

Judith Tannenbaum will read from the dual memoir:
By Heart: Poetry, Prison and Two Lives.

Don't miss a chance to hear her work, as well as the work
of Spoon Jackson, her co-author, who is serving a life sentence in the
California prison system.

6pm at the beautiful Sacramento Room - 2nd floor Central Library
828 I Street!

Tule Review Reading

2010-08-03T15:34:00.001-07:00

Thanks to all for a great event - over 70 attended the August 2 celebration of
the new Tule Review. Most of all thanks to Editors Linda Collins and Theresa McCourt!

Summer 2010 Tule Review Reading

2010-08-03T09:13:00.001-07:00

The Summer 2010 Tule Review reading took place on Monday August 2, 2010. It was a packed house; over 70 people were in attendance. It featured 13 readers who came from Northern California and beyond to participate.

Editors: Theresa McCourt and Linda Collins

Gillian Wegener

William O' Daly

Lenore Myers

Allison Meraz

Kathleen McClung

Katie McCleary

Devi Sen Lasker

Penelope La Montagne

L.A. "Lisa" Jones

Taylor Graham

Susan Flynn

Margaret Duarte

Naomi Benaron

2010-07-31T15:28:00.003-07:00

2010-07-31T15:28:00.001-07:00

2010-07-31T15:27:00.001-07:00

Tonight at SPC

2010-07-22T09:26:00.000-07:00

Tonight Monday July 26 - don't miss an evening of poetry with
Dorine Jennette Urchin to Follow
and
Rob Schlegel The Lesser Fields
7:30 at SPC

This Friday July 30
Valerie Fioravanti presents Stories on Stage

Aug 2 - Monday - Tule Review Reading

Advance notice - two new classes at SPC Wednesday evenings this Fall:

Kathryn Hohlwein - Homeric Imagination - The Odyssey
Six Wednesdays from Sept 8 to Oct 13

Rae Gouirand - writing Creative Nonfiction
Wednesday evenings beginning October 20

Sactown Poetry Bands - Bravo!

2010-07-20T00:56:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Frank Graham and all the musicians and poets who performed last night at the first ever Sactown Poetry Band fest. From Jennifer and Mike Pickering at the opening, to Anna Marie and Fo Shang at the close, this was one evening of great music, poetry, and fun. Who thought we'd be sitting under a midnight moon, in mid-July in the R25 parking lot, grooving to Vincent Kobelt's amazing ensemble. Thanks to all - Robert Grossklaus and Litany, James Israel, Pat Grizzell, Steve Bird and Ken on mandolin, Lawrence Dinkins, Mario Ellis Hill and (do i have this right?) the Dread-i Knights, Jackson Griffith, Anna, Vincent and company, Mike and Jennifer, and a great crowd - all i can say is bravo - and let's do it again!

Now accepting submissions for next Tule Review

2010-07-13T14:34:00.000-07:00

Call for Submissions!

The Sacramento Poetry Center welcomes submissions for the winter Tule Review— now 50-60 pages and perfect bound — with an anticipated publication date for January 2011. We consider poetry of all styles and forms from both local and far-flung places as long as the poems are strong and well crafted.

Submission Deadline: September 15, 2010
Please note: As of June 16, 2010, we have changed our submission guidelines.

New Submission Guidelines: Please click on the link below:

http://www.sacramentopoetrycenter.org/tulereview.htm

Tule Review Reading August 2

2010-07-13T14:29:00.000-07:00

Celebrate Sacramento Poetry Center’s
Summer 2010 Tule Review !

Poetry Reading on Monday, August 2, 7:30 p.m.

Fourteen of 38 contributors from California and beyond will read from the new Tule Review, edited by Linda Collins and Theresa McCourt.

Host: Bob Stanley, Sacramento’s Poet Laureate

Copies of the summer Tule Review (perfect bound) on sale after reading for $10

1719 25th Street
Sacramento, CA 95816
(Between R and Q streets)

SPC Website:
http://www.sacramentopoetrycenter.org/

Tiger's Eye and more

2010-07-13T12:18:00.000-07:00

Great Reading at SPC July 12 - thanks to Tiger's Eye editors Colette and JoAn, and all the readers who traveled from far-off lands like Eugene and Modesto! And thanks to all of you in the crowd - it's heartening to see forty in the audience for poetry on a cool July evening.

Don't forget BL Kennedy and Charlene Ungstad read this Wednesday at 7pm at Beatnik Studios - 17th and Broadway. $3 at the door.

And, if you like to run and raise money for local arts organizations (subliminal message - think SPC) sign up to run and get pledges for Race For the Arts - August 28 at 8:30 am.
Surely there are poets who can run 5 kilometers!

2010-07-12T15:54:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all who attended the reading for Quinton Duval last week.
We got a lovely note/poem from Alfred Guajardo, who read there, having
dropped in for the first time:

"Sacramento Poetry Center"

Sophistication in the air
I know I was there
Not even a mumble
Afraid I'd stumble
Introduced I felt comfort and loose
I then felt I could have
Delivered a Golden Goose

Thanks, Alfred, for sharing - see you again soon.

poetry this week

2010-07-12T11:30:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, July 14 - new series - BL Kennedy and Charlene Ungstad read
at Beatnik Studios - 17th and Broadway. Genelle Chaconas hosts. $3 at the door. Come and help support poetry at this exciting new venue!

Thursday, July 15 - Brown Bag Lunch Series. Noon at Central Library - 828 I Street. (Theme: Independence)
Bring a poem or short piece to share (by a writer other than yourself) which explores or celebrates some aspect of “independence,” metaphorically as well as literally.

2010-07-12T00:37:00.001-07:00

July 12
Poets featured in the new edition of Tiger's Eye Literary Journal will read at SPC -
Monday night at 7:30. Come celebrate the new edition of Tiger's Eye!

2010-06-26T14:42:00.003-07:00

2010-06-26T14:42:00.001-07:00

Poetry Now - July/August 2010

2010-06-21T12:36:00.000-07:00

Open publication - Free publishing - More sacramento

Poetry Now

2010-06-21T07:35:00.001-07:00

Poetry Now is on its way to the printer. This issue is a special issue featuring many tributes to Quinton Duval. Files have been emailed to contributors, board members, and others. If we do not have your email address, please forward it to us so that you'll receive a full-color, PDF version of Poetry Now before the printed, black and white copies arrive.

Trina

Keely Dorran Reading - June 22, 2010

2010-06-21T07:33:00.001-07:00

Please note:

The Keely Dorran reading in honor of Summer Solstice has been moved to the SPC location at 25th and R due to technical difficulties. The reading tonight will not be held at Fremont Park. I hope to see you all at 25th & R.

Trina

June News and Musings

2010-06-17T14:59:00.001-07:00

ZML was both intense and delightful on Monday - thanks to Sandra, Maggie, Emily and all.
Keep wringing the truth from the word!

Recent news - we are excited that Indigo Moor has agreed to judge SPC's individual poem contest! Send your poems in now - deadline is July 15th.

July 7 - A full night ahead.
6pm at the Sacramento Room we'll honor Quinton Duval - make sure you get your copy of the July/August Poetry Now which has a number of tributes to Q.
7pm at the Book Collector: Jose Montoya with accompaniment by Esteban Villa.
Not sure how I'm going to get to both, but I'll try. Hermione?

A new local poetry series begins next month - Genelle Chaconas will begin hosting at Beatnik Studios (17th and Brodadway) on July 14th - check out this exciting event - details to follow.

Remember - next Monday June 21 - Poetry in the Park - Fremont Park, not 25th and R!
Keely Dorran features!

And Stories on Stage is coming again soon - Friday, June 25th. Fiction the way it was meant to be heard! Dorine Jeannette hosts.

Zen Marxist Launderettes

2010-06-10T12:10:00.001-07:00

Monday Nights at the Poetry Center
featuring
Mira Kores, Emily Wright, Sandra Senne, Laura Ann Walton
Monday, June 14, 2010 at 7:30 PM
R25: An Intersection of Arts — 1719 25th Street
Host: Emmanuel Sigauke
- - -
The Zen Marxist Launderettes is a writing group that formed seven years ago in Sacramento. A newly completed anthology of writing entitled Wring has been released with contributions by current members (Margaret S. Burns, Erin Exstrom, Ellen Johnson, Mira Kores, Cecile Martin, Carolyn Schneider, Sandra Senne, Laura Ann Walton and Emily Wright).
- - -
Mira Kores has been writing poetry off and on since college. That was, of course, in the last century. Turning 80 was a bit of a shock but as luck would have it she then got published in a respectable literary magazine.
- - -
Emily Wright has published poetry and prose in Quercus, Pinchpenny, Phantasm, The Suttertown News, and Pacific News Service newspapers. A co-founder of La Semilla Cultural Center in Sacramento, CA, she was also a co-founder of the Sacramento Labor Chorus. She has found meaning in work as a nurse's aide, air-photo interpreter, violinist, historian of Central America, and psychotherapist for children and their families. Her long narrative poem, "Love's Laundry" received its first complete public reading in September, 2008.
- - -
Despite her B.S. In physics and M.A. In sociology, Sandra Senne has found literature, art and music to be the loves of her life. She believes that reading and writing have possibly saved her life as they led her into territory otherwise unknown.
- - -
Laura Ann Walton has worked on a Master's Degree in creative writing, became the founding Director of Mary House of Loaves and Fishes and went on to found the Women's Wisdom Project, an arts empowerment program for disadvantaged women. At long last in her sixth decade, she is focusing on her own work, writing poems and creating collages.

Poetry Now - May/June 2010

2010-06-10T00:37:00.000-07:00

We're testing a new way to present the Poetry Center's Poetry Now and other publications digitally. Please take a look and leave a comment to tell us what you think. Thanks!

Open publication - Free publishing - More sacramento

Brave New Voices SAYS Fundraiser - June 18, 2010

2010-06-03T11:14:00.000-07:00

On June 18, please join others at Sacramento High School (6-8 p.m.) to raise funds to send students to the Brave New Voices finals in L.A. in July. Two students are finalists. There will be spoken word by other students who will accompany the finalists and support them during the competition. The event costs $4 - $6, and children are free. Special performance by E-Legal Tag Team. Please help spread the word about this youth poetry fundraiser. They need to raise $1200 to send the 3 additional students.

First Wednesday at the Library - June 2, 2010

2010-06-01T12:20:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the First Wednesday reading at the Central Library from 6 - 7:30 p.m. Featured readers are: Paco Marquez, Sue Thomas, Trina Drotar, and Sandy Thomas. Bob Stanley hosts. Open mic to follow.

Thanks to Frank Dixon Graham for Hosting the Poetry Bomb

2010-06-01T12:17:00.000-07:00

Frank hosted this wonderful event, and as you can see from the photos he posted, it was a lot of fun and featured a lot of voices.

Below are the people featured in the photos.

S.A. Griffin taking poems from the bomb
S.A. Griffin at the bomb
Allegra Silberstein reading
Strider the Shadow Maker reading
B.L. Kennedy reading
Robert Roden reading
Genelle Chaconas reading

Great photos Frank!!

2010-06-01T07:08:00.001-07:00

2010-06-01T07:03:00.001-07:00

2010-06-01T07:00:00.001-07:00

2010-06-01T06:59:00.001-07:00

2010-06-01T06:56:00.001-07:00

2010-06-01T06:54:00.001-07:00

2010-06-01T06:52:00.001-07:00

Arrival of the Poetry Bomb - May 31, 2010

2010-06-01T00:20:00.001-07:00

The Poetry Bomb has arrived. In the photo are (left to right) Bill Drotar, Ray Tatar, the bomb, and S.A. Griffin (who looked considerably different for the show).

Poetry Bomb with S.A. Griffin - May 31, 2010

2010-05-31T23:46:00.000-07:00

Frank hosted S.A. Griffin and the Poetry Bomb tonight at SPC. S.A. is one of the friendliest and most gracious people I've ever met. His wife and son were also present, as were many people from the community. S.A. said at the beginning of the event that tonight was about poetry and that the Poetry Bomb was a way to turn this item from destruction to construction. He's nearing the end of five weeks of touring the country with the bomb and will be in Nevada City tomorrow.

Where did the idea come from? He didn't credit any one thing. He just wanted to put poetry in a bomb. His search began. It wasn't as easy to locate a bomb these day as it had been for the hippies who used to find them in the desert and smoke them, he told a full house. He searched various computer sites, finally locating a bomb on Craigslist on November 3. The guy selling the bomb even delivered it to S.A. The guy, S.A. told us, wanted to meet the buyer and wanted something creative done with it. Well, I think S.A. succeeded. The bomb is gorgeous. He spent a great deal of time telling us about the bomb, which is from the 1970 Vietnam era and was a practice bomb. He left the dents and and dings and scars, including the bullet hole near the top.

He said that he hopes to foster disagreements because "agreements come from disagreements." The bomb holds more than 400 poems (plus ashes from 4 humans and 2 dogs) from all over the world, including some from convicts and ex-convicts and people from different religions. He doesn't see the Poetry Bomb as being anti-war because that is too limiting. He said that there is "nothing more activist that you can do except be a poet."

He talked about the opening of the bomb and that this is The Only Poetry Bomb.

Frank asked what symbolism means to S.A., and he responded that they are very important to him and that the "bomb is one of the most iconic symbols of the 20th century."

Once he finished speaking about the project and the bomb, he had people read either poems that were already in the bomb or poems that they were going to have placed in the bomb. Readers were: John Bell, Frank Dixon-Graham, JoAnn Anglin, Kirk Parker, Trina Drotar, B.L. Kennedy, S.A.'s wife, Lorraine (she read the official Poetry Bomb poem written by Ellyn Maybe, the poet laureate of the Poetry Bomb), Robert Roden, S.A.'s son, Spencer, Strider the Shadow Maker, Genelle Chaconas, Lob Instagon, Allegra Silberstein, and Crawdad Nelson. S.A. will scan and catalog all of the poems from this evening and the sign up list and place them in the bomb.

What will he do with the bomb? Well, suggestions included (rather passionately) the Smithsonian and a website. The project is not about ego. If he had the money, he'd like to send it to space a la Hunter S. Thompson.

S.A. read a selection of poems that were in the bomb and others that were his own. Among those he read were one from Sacramento's own, Annie Mennebroker and a nine-year boy who wrote a poem about his dying grandfather.

He ended the event singing a poem that he had written and given to a musician friend, Carolyn Edwards.

If you want to submit a poem, you may send it to: S.A. Griffin / P.O. Box 29171 / Los Angeles, CA 90029-0171.

Poetry Bomb!

2010-05-31T11:55:00.000-07:00

Tonight at the Poetry Center.

The Sacramento Poem - Deadline December 1, 2010

2010-05-30T10:10:00.000-07:00

Zen Marxist Launderettes - June 14, 2010

2010-05-30T09:16:00.000-07:00

The Zen Marxist Launderettes released their first anthology, Wring, on January 17, 2010. They will read from this anthology and talk about their publishing adventure and their writing group at the Sacramento Poetry Center on June 14, 2010.

Big week ahead at SPC - May 31 to June 6

2010-05-27T23:05:00.000-07:00

Didn't we have our big event in April?

May 31 Monday - Don't miss S.A. Griffin and the Poetry Bomb
"A great performance poet" - Richard
"Witty, intelligent and approachable" -Tryst
Frank Graham hosts - 7:30 pm on appropriately memorial day
Co-sponsored by Poems-for-all

June 2 Wednesday - Four poets plus open mic at Sacramento Room
Sandy, Sue, Paco, Trina, and ... you.
If you haven't seen the Sacramento Room, that's worth a trip, too
828 I Street

June 5 and 6 Saturday, Sunday R25 Festival
Music, drama, poetry, prizes, and more from noon on
Food by Chita's, Wine from Heritage Oak
Free admission, donations accepted, just drop in and
see the new Frostian fence at 25th and R!

Details below, or above! Come one, come all

R25 Crossroads for Arts & Culture Festival - June 5 and 6, 2010

2010-05-27T16:17:00.000-07:00

Join the arts organizations and artists of the R25 Complex as they join together to host the first ever R25 Crossroads for Arts and Culture festival. Free admission for everyone. Bring the family. Children will enjoy puppet shows by El Teatro Espejo on Saturday and Sunday. Art lovers may bid on artwork at Sunday's art auction. On Saturday, music lovers can listen and dance to the sounds of the Christian Dewild Band, Marty Cohen and Sidekicks, and The Streamliners. Poets will read Saturday and Sunday. More music to be enjoyed on Sunday with James Israel Band, Aisle 99, and Puzzletree. On Saturday, Bill Trainor and Children's Network will also present. Vendor booths will offer art, crafts, and food. Open house and opportunities to meet the artists and find out more about the following organziations: Artists Studios, California Stage, Ed Claudio's Actors Workshop of Sacramento, Three Penny Theater, Alliance Francaise de Sacramento, MatrixArts & the PopUp Gallery, On Stage, Sacramento Poetry Center, Wilkerson Theater.

Poetry Bomb! Monday at the Poetry Center

2010-05-26T10:57:00.000-07:00

C.E. Chaffin and Christopher Buckley at SPC - May 24, 2010

2010-05-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

I'd like to begin by thanking Tim for bringing C.E. Chaffin and Christopher Buckley together for last night's reading. These two fine poets complemented one another. C.E. mentioned that his work is often considered dark, and if it was a bit on the dark side, Christopher's reading was punctuated with some humor and lightness in the stories he shared between poems.

C.E. mentioned the tie exhibit (if you haven't been to the SPC in several weeks, you should see the collection that a MatrixArts member has on exhibit - 30 years of collecting) before handing out copies of his book, Unexpected Light (published by Diminuendo Press), to audience members so that they could follow along while he read. He said that he believes it's easier.

The most touching piece he read, hands down, was "At the Vietnam War Memorial." This poem was prefaced by Mr. Chaffin with a story about visiting a cemetery and reading the gravestones of the veterans. The birth and death dates were listed alongside the wars (WWI, WWII). He noticed, however, that those veterans who died in 1966, 1968, or 1970 (these were the years he mentioned), had no mention of their war listed. Their deaths were not dignified. That was the war of his time, he told the audience. C.E. could barely contain his emotion as he finished the final stanza of the poem. From the audience's response, I think the emotion was shared by all.

Other poems he read included: "Boundaries," which had been called the best poem on the net, "Company of Crows," "Chico Creek," and "Christ's Lighthouse," a poem about redeption in a difficult world, he told us. He read "The Game of Life," after asking how many had played it, and "Glass Giraffe," the poem most often called for at readings, he said. My favorite quote of the evening might be, "Poetry as therapy is great." He also said that it is "important in poetry to get the facts right." This quote followed his reading of "Company of Crows," and a discussion of how he had to change some facts. He also read several love poems, which are located at the back of the book. His final poem was "To Kathleen, After Neruda." He called Pablo Neruda the most prolific trop generator after Shakespeare.

Christopher Buckley followed with a reading from his most recent book, Rolling Down the Bones (published by University of Tampa Press), which is his 17th book of poetry. Mr. Buckley said that the book is surrounded in place, that place is very important and is the coefficient of points of vision. Since the audience was over 29 years old, he didn't feel it was necessary to explain terms like "rolling the bones." He quipped that he often has to explain many of the terms.

Some of the poems he read were "We Need Philosophers for This?" which, he said, presumes that you've been reviewing your philosophy 101 text or have gone to Wikipedia. This poem had a tie to Chaffin's poem about the Vietnam War because this poem referenced Coppola's film, Apocolypse Now (one of the two films about that war that he believes are worth watching - the other is The Deer Hunter) in addition to Nietzsche, Emerson, Wagner, and Gilbert Roland. "Poverty" is the first poem in this collection and the second he read. It is, he said, about the spiritual poverty that may be the result of late capitalism.

Christopher spoke about the first rock star - Albert Einstein - before moving into the poem, "What Einstein Means to Me." The final line, "regardless of who is rolling the dice," relates to the Einstein quote Christopher related earlier, "God doesn't play dice with the universe."

Christopher blended stories and poetry and viewpoints seamlessly throughout his reading, moving from Einstein to Bush and Cheney and their idea to invest Social Security funds in the stock market. He said that maybe we should give everything to the guys on Wall Street and all the rest of us could get together and live in a hut. "Looking West from Montecito, Late Afternoon," was the final poem he read.

Both poets were gracious as they signed books and spoke with audience members. Three poets read at open mic.

Top photo shows C.E. Chaffin (blue shirt with red book) and Christopher Buckley (next to wall) signing books. Behind them are Sandra Senne, Mary Zeppa, and Susan Kelly-Dewitt.

Bottom photo shows C.E. Chaffin and Christopher Buckley listening as Tim introduced them.

Jane Austen Book Club at the Central Library

2010-05-25T08:52:00.000-07:00

Austen scholar Dr. David Bell will be leading discussions on Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion. This 12-part series runs from June - November, 2010. The first date is June 13. Not only will Dr. Bell introduce Sense and Sensibility on that date, but Rachel Dodge will also discuss etiquette and customs that are central to Austen's novels and of the Regency era. June 29 will include a discussion led by Dr. Bell and a talk about transportation by Ed Ratcliffe. In July, (11 and 25), Pride and Prejudice will be the focus. Rachel will lead a virtual tour of locales and architecture in Austen's novels. The Sacramento Country Dance Society musicians will play music, and dancers will demonstrate. August (8 and 22) will focus on Emma. Vima de Marchi Micheli will give a presentation on lace and embroidery from the Regency era. As a needleworker and textile artist, I know that I won't miss this opportunity. Vima is a highly skilled needle artist and sought after lecturer on the topic. In September, Mansfield Park (the least read and Dr. Bell's favorite), will be the focus. Soprano Robin Fisher and pianist John Cozza will perform, and local actors will perform scenes. This brings us to the end of September. Books for October and November will be Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. Please visit the Sacramento Public Library website for more information. http://www.saclibrary.org/

S.A Griffin's Poetry Bomb - Monday May 31

2010-05-24T23:42:00.000-07:00

Celebrate Memorial Day with a true memorial to the poem, as acclaimed poet, journalist and actor S.A. Griffin brings The Poetry Bomb to SPC.

What's the Poetry Bomb?

"The Poetry Bomb is a former U.S. military practice bomb. The artifact will be completely converted into a beautiful object filled with poetry from around the world. When finished, it will have a primo paint job just as if it were a classic car, complete with pin-striping. It will also have a window or portal that will open and close making it possible to not only see inside of the piece, but to take poems out at performances to read out loud, and to add future submissions." (from the fundraising incubator site Kickstarter)

Griffin is now taking take The Poetry Bomb on tour across the United States. Next stop: Sacramento. Sure, you can check out The Poetry Bomb online, but don't miss this event. Frank Graham hosts on May 31st - 7:30 at SPC.

Wednesday June 2 6pm at the Sacramento Room

2010-05-24T22:44:00.000-07:00

Wednesday June 2
6:00 to 7:30 pm

SPC presents Four Poets at the Sacramento Room – plus open mic.
Sacramento Room – Central Library
828 I Street – 2nd floor

Trina Drotar
Paco Marquez
Sandy Thomas
Sue Thomas

Sandy Thomas, a third generation poet, was born in San Francisco. Her poems have appeared in 24th Street Irregular Press, Rattlesnake Review and WTF Quarterly. Her latest chapbook, These Stones, was published by Two Trees Indie Press in 2009. She lives in Sacramento.

Trina Drotar is a poet via fiction, memoir, art, and design. Her writing has been published, or is forthcoming, in Word Riot, Medusa's Kitchen, and Rattle. A clothing designer and artist, Trina has worked as editor of Calaveras Station and is the current editor of Poetry Now. Originally from San Francisco, she has lived in Houston once and Sacramento twice, where she is completing her MA in English - Creative Writing. She spends July in Fresno studying with writers like Carole Maso, Lance Olsen, Rebecca Brown, and Debra DiBlasi.

Sue Thomas is a former newspaper reporter, freelance writer, and advertising copywriter. She taught high school English in Elk Grove for 23 years before retiring, and has taught in Costa Rica, Washington, D.C., and Humboldt State University in Arcata. She was awarded a fellowship to the Vermont Studio Center and was awarded an NEH grant to study the Renaissance in Florence. Sue has been writing poetry for about 20 years.

Paco Marquez, landed in Sacramento from Leon, Mexico a long time ago. Paco received his BA in Philosophy from UC Berkeley and since then has done all kinds of jobs: rental-car, fair housing, library assistant, casino manager. He's been trying his hand at poetry since he was fifteen. Paco is a board member of the Sacramento Poetry Center. As of May 2010, he is in the process of driving from South Carolina to Sacramento, so his biography has many new chapters to be written. This is his first public reading in Sacramento.

Terryl Wheat performs at SPC on May 17, 2010.

2010-05-24T11:11:00.000-07:00

Poets on Board Update

2010-05-22T20:14:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I haven't been taking the bus as much as I usually do, so I haven't actually seen the placards on RT, but a friend of mine (Marcelo Hernandez) rides the bus, saw a placard, and this is what he said, "ok, so I'm on the bus this morning, I look up and what do I see? a poster for the SPC with a design that looks like painted circles with words in each of them. Pretty cool. :)" Now, I think that's a thumbs up for the Poets on Board placards. If you've seen the placards, please forward your sighting information to PoetryNowEditor@gmail.com. The circles mentioned are the artwork of Mario Uribe, and the words are those of Viola Weinberg. Both the artist and the poet (an artist, too) spoke, as you might recall, about their collaboration on May 3 at the SPC. There are still placards available for sale, including some autographed by Mario and Viola. Inquire at SPC.

Festivals and Poetry

2010-05-22T19:54:00.000-07:00

If April was the month for writing conferences in Sacramento and early May brought out college literary journal release parties, then late May and June must be the time for festivals. I attended the SNR Block Party festival on Del Paso today, and while I didn't hear any poets reading, I did see Josh Fernandez and Kel Munger and discussed poetry. I also heard a band, Streamliners, perform. As it turns out, this band will be performing at the R25 Arts Festival scheduled for June 5 and 6 at the 25th and R location. Streamliners is scheduled to perform on Saturday, but there will be events the entire weekend, including poetry readings. All of the arts organizations at the R25 complex will come together and present music, art, poetry readings, puppets, skits, and there will also be vendors. This will be a great time to come and meet poets, artists, actors, and make new friends. In between now and then, if you need more festivals to attend, you might consider these - Pacific Rim Festival in Old Sacramento on May 23, the Jazz Festival over Memorial Day Weekend (but be sure to leave time to attend the Poetry Bomb event at SPC on Monday, May 31), and there will be many other festivals as spring turns into summer.

Carrie Rudzinski at SPC on May 17, 2010

2010-05-20T18:07:00.001-07:00

April Ranger at SPC on Monday, May 17

2010-05-20T15:57:00.001-07:00

Friday May 21 - Stories on Stage

2010-05-20T01:02:00.000-07:00

Check out Stories on Stage -
Sacramento's newest monthly reading series features short fiction read by actors.
This Friday evening May 21st, at SPC - 1719 25th Street.
Hosted by Valerie Fioravanti

Pamela Metzger will read Elise Winn's "Picture Our Mother" and
Victoria Goldblatt will read Megan Harlan's "Minor Goddesses."

Doors open at 7, reading begins at 7:30. $5 Donation

Festival at R25

2010-05-19T16:49:00.000-07:00

Saturday and Sunday, June 5 and 6

Please stop by for the first ever R25 Festival - that's the parking lot where SPC lives at 25th and R - on Saturday June 5th (noon to 8pm) or Sunday, June 6th (noon to 6pm)

There will be artists' booths, live music, an art auction on Sunday, poetry, puppets, some drama performances, something for everyone.

We've been wanting to collaborate with the other organizations in the complex for a long time - this should be a fun weekend of music, art, poetry and more.

Participating Bands include: Marty Cohen and the Sidekicks, The Streamliners, Christian Dewild, Peppertree, Aisle 99, and the James Israel Band.

Thanks to Matrix Arts, Alliance Francaise de Sacramento, California Stage, Ed Claudio, and all the participating groups. The event is FREE, but we'll be asking graciously for donations, and selling raffle tickets during the afternoons.

If you want to donate an item for the raffle, donate to the R25 beautification project, or have any questions or suggestions, please contact me at bobstanley@sbcglobal.net. Or just come by for an hour or two - look forward to seeing you on June 5 and 6!

SPC 2010 Poetry Contest

2010-05-18T17:05:00.000-07:00

Entry dates:

May 15 through July 15, 2010.

1st place: $100.00

2nd place: $50.00

3rd place: $25.00

Plus ten honorable mentions – $10 gift certificates from The Book Collector.

How to Enter

Send two copies of your poem(s), one without your name, and a second with your name, address, phone number and e-mail address.

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Entry fee is $3.00/poem.

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Winners and honorable mention recipients will be invited to read their pieces at SPC this fall. Also, winners will be published in Poetry Now.

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Send to :

Sacramento Poetry Center

1719 25th Street

Sacramento, CA 95816

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Telephone for SPC: 916-979-9706

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Coordinator of Contest: Sandra Senne

e-mail: sennesk@yahoo.com

Christopher Buckley, C. E. Chaffin

2010-05-18T11:37:00.001-07:00

Monday Night at the Poetry Center

Monday, May 24, 2010 at 7:30 PM
1719 25th Street (at 25th and R)

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Christopher Buckley's Rolling the Bones won the Tampa Review Prize for Poetry last year — his 17th book of poetry. Buckley has been a vital and compelling voice in American poetry for three decades, and this latest book may stand as his best. Buckley was raised in Santa Barbara in the 1950s, and he currently teaches in the Creative Writing Department at the University of California, Riverside.

Buckley's poetry has appeared widely in periodicals including The New Yorker, Antaeus, American Poetry Review, Ploughshares, The Georgia Review, The Southern Review, The Sewanee Review, Prairie Schooner and Poetry. He is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in Poetry, two NEA grants, a Fulbright Award to Yugoslavia, four Pushcart Prizes, the James Dickey Prize from Five Points magazine, and two Gertrude B. Claytor Memorial Awards from the Poetry Society of America.

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C. E. Chaffin M.D., FAAFP (Fellow of American Academy of Physicians), is a contributing editor for Umbrella. He published The Melic Review for eight years. His new volume, Unexpected Light, was released by Diminuendo Press in 2009. He also teaches an online poetry tutorial. Inquiries can be made at http://www.cechaffin.com. He has never been published in Poetry, Ploughshares or The Paris Review, though he has appeared in other journals that start with 'P': The Pedestal, The Philadelphia Inquirer Book Review, Plum Ruby Review, Poetry Tonight, Poetry SZ, Poetry Magazine, Poets' Canvas, Poetry Superhighway, Poetry Cafe, Poetry Exchange, and PIF. If he listed credits for more letters this would be an insufferable bio. A retired family physician, CE lives in Northern California with his wife and editor, Kathleen, two cats and a dog. He considers himself a Classicist in art, a Lutheran in religion and a Libertarian in politics. Shoe size: same as mouth.

Quinton Duval

2010-05-18T09:37:00.000-07:00

In the "Remembrances" section of The Sacramento Bee, these words were written about Quinton Duval.

"A man of elegance, great charm and wit, Quinton could make a song out of anything. He will be missed by all who knew him."

For those of you who have wondered, "there will be no formal service [at his request]. Donations in his name may be made to the Quinton Duval Fund/Sacramento Poetry Center, 1719 25th Street, Sacramento, CA 95816."

My thoughts go to those left behind: his wife (Nancy), brothers (William and John), and sister (Clare), as well as all of the people whose lives were touched from having known Quinton as a friend or mentor, from having read his words, or from having heard him read.

SPC Brown Bag Lunch Series

2010-05-17T10:55:00.000-07:00

Third Thursdays

May 20th, Noon

Central Library

828 I Street

Hosted by Mary Zeppa and Lawrence Dinkins

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We are already deep into May, the month in which we traditionally celebrate both Spring (as in dances-around-the-maypole May Day) and Labor (as in International-Workers May Day). Bring your favorite poems (preferably by a writer other than yourself) on the subjects of Spring, Work and/or collective celebration. Think metaphorically as well as literally. Let your mind run free.

Hot Poetry in the Park

2010-05-17T08:39:00.000-07:00

Tonight's reading, hosted by Rebecca Morrison, is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. at Fremont Park. If it rains, the reading will be relocated to the SPC location at 25th and R.

Tim Z. Hernandez - La Raza Galeria Posada

2010-05-17T08:17:00.000-07:00

Tim Z. Hernandez (Skin Tax and Breathing, in Dust) read Friday evening (May 14) at La Raza Galeria Posada. I was unable to attend, but JoAnn Anglin did, and this is what she had to say:

"People laughed more than cried. As 20-plus attendees enjoyed the reading and story telling of Tim Z. Hernandez last night, he [Tim] basked in the warm lights and interest of his audience at La Raza Galeria Posada in Sacramento.

"Sponsored by the writing group, Escritores del Nuevo Sol/Writers of the New Sun, Tim read from his newest book, Breathing, in Dust, and graciously answered questions about how he came to write it as a novel, rather than a straight memoir. He also willingly explained his writing process and [discussed] his first book, the award-winning poetry collection, Skin Tax, published by Heyday Press.

"He proved to be not only a good writer and reader, but also a superb storyteller. At one point, he was the 13-year old boy, trying to evade his mother's insistence that they take part in the honoring of Cesar Chavez, on the day the hero died. Then he was the young poet, broke, taking Greyhound to answer an invitation to read his work in Los Angeles; then the shy young father taking his family to Colorado and being introduced to the beloved and legendary Trinidad Sanchez by Sacramento's late Phil Goldvang.

"Tim's demeanor is both humble about himself and proud of his work that so ably tells the story of growing up in the gritty world of San Joaquin agriculture. He is an amiable, thoughtful, and effective presenter. Don't miss him when he comes to SPC in September!" -- JoAnn Anglin

Although I could not attend this reading, I've had the opportunity to hear Tim read on different occasions in Merced and in Sacramento (CSUS a couple of years ago). I also had the fortune to study poetry with him at the Great Valley Writer's Conference several years ago. The adjectives JoAnn used about Tim (humble, amiable, thoughtful, effective) are all quite true, and I would add, "gracious," to that list. I am looking forward with great excitement to his return to Sacramento and a reading at SPC this September. If you have not read his work or heard him read, you really don't want to miss this reading.

Many thanks to my friend, JoAnn, for writing about Tim's visit to La Raza Galeria Posada.

Haiti Benefit - Poetry, Music, Solidarity - 5/15/10

2010-05-16T00:59:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to all who helped make the benefit for Haiti a success last night. Loretta Schmitz set the project in motion, and with the help of the Newman Center, Larry Castagnola, Susan Kelly-DeWitt, Sandra Senne, Zoe Kiethley, Manny and Mary, Victoria and Fred, James DenBoer, Richard Hansen, Patrick Grizzell and Brady and Liz - great music! - Dennis Schmitz of course - we raised over $1500 for Partners in Health. All the poets who read were glad to have a chance to read a piece in honor of Quinton Duval, too - he had originally been scheduled to read at the event. Thanks to the SPC board for helping to cover the costs, to all the volunteers, and especially to Loretta for all her good works! If you still want to donate to Partners in Health - and they are doing good work in Haiti - go to www.pih.org

Hot Poetry in the Park

2010-05-12T11:08:00.001-07:00

Monday, May 17, 7pm
Carrie Rudzinski, April Ranger and Terryl Wheat
Host: Rebecca Morrison
Fremont Park
(between 15th and 16th Street and Q and P Street)
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Carrie Rudzinski is a believer, kitten wrestler, performance poet, and fervent adventurer. Named "Best Female Poet" at the 2008 College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational, her work is unapologetically honest and surreal.
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April Ranger is perhaps best known in Boston as the winner of Emerson College's Nicole DusFresne Playwriting award, but she became an almost instant Cambridge favorite when she began reading regularly on the Cantab open mic. Since day one, her vivid, original imagery has been eliciting longing sighs from our audience, making her the local master of the Oh-I-Wish-I-Had-Written-That poem.
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Terryl is a performance poet who has been performing (sometimes at the edge of rapture, sometimes mightily ticked off) her poetry and the work of others in the Sacramento area for many years.

Poetry Now - Now available

2010-05-11T22:46:00.000-07:00

The current issue of the Sacramento Poetry Center's bi-monthly newsletter is now available for download as an Adobe Acrobat Pdf file.
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Double-click this link to open the pdf file in a new browser window. Or Right-Click on your mouse while your cursor is over the link to select the "Save link as..." feature which will save the pdf version of the newsletter to your computer.

Farewell Q

2010-05-11T09:32:00.000-07:00

Couldn't really sleep last night - wanted to get to Quinton's poems, see him again in that woefully incomplete way that poems try to negotiate for us. I've loved his book Joe's Rain since I bought it a few years back - "Mockingbird Farewell" is one of my favorite pieces. Here's an excerpt:

You were as musical as
you are plain, your drab colors
make you look dressed for work,
and work is repeating
the greatest hits of others.

Though he bemoans the fallen bird in the poem, he manages to laugh at it, too - it's kind of a combination tribute and roast:

No longer will you devil the cat,
or broken-record me out of
a deep well of sleep and into
another summer day full of your lip.

Quinton's poetry does a lot of things well, he writes of love and loss and nature without sentimentality or artifice: "nothing we could do/could convince the tulips/to stay down where they were." But perhaps the genius of his work is that casual, real voice - "full of your lip," he tells the bird, and "you'll be a smash, old pal." When I read these poems I get a vision of a wistful cowboy blending with a California sophisticate. Big skies, yes, but a good French white wine on the table. In Quinton's poems we see Quinton himself - a lover of life (and Nancy), a man fully realized, passionate, but calm, and always warm and giving. Here are the closing lines from "I Won't Go Back."

Kiss me. Come on over
where the light is soft
and yellow. The rain
on the window, panting
to come inside can forget it.
I'm doing homework tonight.

Whatever dipper that is,
let it keep pouring
starlight down. The geese
we hear but can't see
don't count. Have some more.
Let's not save a thing.

Quinton Duval

2010-05-10T22:27:00.001-07:00

Friends,

I came home from tonight's events to the awful news that Quinton died this afternoon about 4:30. I'm told he died peacefully, in his sleep. He wasn't in any pain. That's really all I can tell you right now.

Mary Zeppa

Aid For Haiti

2010-05-10T22:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday
May 15th
7pm
Aid for Haiti!
Newman Center
5900 Newman Court
Sacramento
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Poetry
Dennis Schmitz
Bob Stanley
Quinton Duval
James denBoer
Victoria Dalkey
Susan Kelly DeWitt
Mary Zeppa
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Music
Pat Grizzell
Blues Guitarist & his band “Junkyard Burlesque”
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Talk
Larry Castagnola
Long-time activist in Haiti
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All proceeds to “Partners in Health,” Dr. Paul Farmer and his medical workers in Haiti | The book, Mountains Beyond Mountains, by Tracy Kidder, which details the work of Dr. Farmer, will be for sale | Suggested donation: $25 but all donations welcome | Light refreshment will be served | Sponsors: Castagnola Haiti Project, Grandmothers for Peace, St. Francis of Assisi Parish, The Sacramento Poetry Center. For information: 457-2478

Tonight at the Poetry Center

2010-05-10T18:29:00.000-07:00

The Sacramento Poetry Center celebrates the fifth annual performance of !X – The Sacramento City College Ethnic Theatre Workshop. 7:30pm.

Dale "Crawdad" Nelson, Maureen Hurley - May 12 at The Book Collector

2010-05-10T18:20:00.001-07:00

Join Rattlesnake Press in celebrating the work of Crawdad Nelson and Maureen Hurley this coming Wednesday, May 12, as Richard Hansen hosts at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, 7:30pm. - - -

Dale "Crawdad" Nelson has been in Sacramento long enough to discover two excellent patches of morels, within walking distance. He also knows where to get lemons, oranges, persimmons and walnuts. His latest collection is Big Drink, from 24th Street Irregular Press, 2009. His poems have appeared in places like the Palo Alto Review, New Hampshire Review, The Bear Deluxe, Sacramento News & Review, and other print and online publications. He works as a writing tutor at Sacramento City College, where he is also a history major, and he believes the study of grammar has profound implications. Read more about Dale at www.myspace.com/crawdadnelson
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Maureen Hurley is a writer, photographer and an artist in the schools who has received many grants from local, state and national arts agencies including seven Artists in Residency grants from the CAC California Arts Council. She also teaches poetry through California Poets in the Schools (CPITS) Maureen's many awards include the Chester H. Jones Poetry Competition. Her work has been nominated for the Golden Bell Award, and the Pushcart Poetry Prize. Read more about Maureen at http://www.myspace.com/maureenhurley2

Literary Journal Season

2010-05-09T11:59:00.000-07:00

There is a season for college literary journal releases, and May seems to be the month. Friday afternoon was the release of the 12th annual Calaveras Station, a student run and produced journal by and for CSUS students. I hosted the release event which featured 12 readers in a nearly full space seating 100 people. Books were sold and signatures gathered. Sacramento's own B.L. Kennedy joined others from outside of CSUS to celebrate. On Saturday, SCC hosted its own release of Susurrus. I was unable to attend this event. CRC offers the Cosumnes River Journal, which is scheduled for release this spring. My apologies to those I might have missed. I'd like to hear from people working on the different journals. Please contact me at PoetryNowEditor@gmail.com. Consider supporting these literary journals by attending the releases, looking for the journals, asking for them at our local bookstores, and encouraging the students.

Having worked on Calaveras Station for the past three years, one as Creative Nonfiction Editor, and two as Executive Managing Editor, I cannot say how exciting it is to post the call for submissions and watch the submissions come in (we accepted works in critical analysis, creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry). Working with the section editors, who spent a great deal of time reading the submissions and needing to whittle down more than 300 submissions over the four categories to a total of 40 selections for the executive editors to choose for publication, was a challenge because, unlike other colleges, Calaveras Station was not a class that met regularly nor a group that could find the time to meet regularly, which meant that we relied heavily on email communication. Another great joy was sending out notifications to writers whose work would be published. We received the electronic copies, sorted and organized them, read through biographies, then sent a cumbersome Word document to the student layout and cover designer. Once completed, proofing was tackled by me and other volunteer editors. The release party still needed to be organized, readers confirmed, a space located, and journals to be picked up from the printer. To be able to hear the writers read their published piece(s) and, in some cases newer pieces, was one of the greatest pleasures. Seeing their excitement, books in hand finding their piece(s), talking with other writers, and asking others to sign their books was another.

The work of these student run literary journals is important. It provides many skills (fundraising, grant writing, party planning, managing, copyediting, proofing, and so much more) that students will take with them into other areas. It also provides an opportunity for many students to have the opportunity to be published for the first time. If you haven't taken a look at these journals, copies should be available at the colleges or at local bookstores, and at the Sacramento Poetry Center.

Did you Miss Poets on Board - May 3, 2010?

2010-05-06T19:18:00.000-07:00

Viola Weinberg and Mario Uribe spoke to a full house on May 3, 2010 about their collaborative efforts. They met at a party and discussed collaboration, but it didn't actually occur for another two years. Mario painted a series of Buddhist Enso circles, went to a reading given by Viola, and asked her to write poems on the paintings. She wrote a poem of 24 lines to go with the 24 circles Mario had painted. She hesitated to write on the paintings, but Mario assured her that he wanted her to do just that. Viola arranged the paintings as pleased her and wrote the lines of her poem on each painting. It is the final stanza of the poem, Enso, that appears on the 275 placards that are featured on RT buses in SPC's new Poets on Board program.
Viola and Mario spoke about the many incarnations of their collaboration, including a performance by a theater group and a book that was bound in the traditional Japanese method - loose inside of a portfolio.

Viola read the poem, and she pointed out the line that is the favorite shared by her and Mario - "quiet charcoal on white." They also spoke about their connections to Japan and Japanese art. After the event, they answered questions and signed the placards. Signed placards may be purchased from SPC for $25.00 and will support the Poets on Board project.

Viola Weinberg will return to Sacramento this weekend to read at the Crocker Art Museum's 125th anniversay on Saturday, May 8, 2010. Dennis Schmitz will join Viola as one of many poets reading that day.

Tonight at The Sacramento Public Library

2010-05-05T11:11:00.000-07:00

The Sacramento Poetry Center presents Stan Zumbiel and Edythe Haendel Schwartz.

Monday, May 10th at the Poetry Center

2010-05-04T13:06:00.001-07:00

The Sacramento Poetry Center celebrates the fifth annual performance of !X – The Sacramento City College Ethnic Theatre Workshop.

Monday, May 10 at 7:30pm.

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This year, !X will present "Mis-Education Liberation."

Join us for an inspiring performance by this young and talented ensemble!

Hosted by Emmanuel Sigauke and Bob Stanley.

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The Sacramento City College Ethnic Theatre Workshop integrates various forms of art -- drama, music, dance, poetry, visual art -- with race, ethnic and gender studies. The goals of the TA 454/455 Race & Ethnicity in Performance class and of the Ethnic Theatre Workshop are to: 1) Develop artistic expressions of diverse experiences; 2) Encourage community development through participation in the arts; and 3) Promote educational equity at Sacramento City College.

Tonight at The Poetry Center

2010-05-03T14:11:00.000-07:00

Poets on Board with Viola Weinberg and Mario Uribe.

May 5 at the Sacramento Room

2010-05-03T10:38:00.001-07:00

May 5 at the Sacramento Room

The Sacramento Poetry Center presents

Edythe Haendel Schwartz and Stan Zumbiel
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6pm

Sacramento Room

Central Library, Second floor

828 I Street

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Stan Zumbiel taught English in middle and high school for thirty-five years and has had a hand in raising four children, yet doesn't have the slightest idea how he got to be old. He first tried to turn his thoughts into poetry in 1967 while serving in the Navy. In January 2008 he received his MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. He continues to write in his Fair Oaks home that he shares with Lynn, his wife of twenty-five years.

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Edythe Haendel Schwartz began making poems after retiring from a long teaching career in the department of Child Development, California State University, Sacramento. Her poems and reviews have appeared widely in literary journals including Calyx, California Quarterly, Cider Press Review, Earth's Daughters, Kaleidoscope, Poet Lore, Passager, PMS, Water-Stone, Natural Bridge, as well as several anthologies. Her 2007 chapbook, Exposure, (Finishing Line Press), was a finalist for the New Women's Voices Series, and was nominated for the California Book Award.

President's Message

2010-04-30T15:19:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-29T17:36:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-29T13:45:00.000-07:00

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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The Sacramento Poetry Center (SPC) has produced the first installment of Poets on Board, a program of bus placards that will feature poetry on RT Metro buses around the Sacramento region. Underwritten by UC Davis Extension, the Poets on Board program will feature a different poet for each season of the year. The first piece is an excerpt from Enso, a poem by Viola Weinberg, and it features the artwork of Mario Uribe. The placard itself was designed by local graphic designer Richard Hansen.
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Weinberg and Uribe will be talking about their project that produced the poem and artwork. There will also be a limited edition offering – signed copies of the full-size bus placards will be available on that date. Sales of the limited edition version will help fund future bus placards planned as part of the Poets on Board program.- - -If you have any questions about the Poets on Board program, the event, or want to participate in the project in some way, please contact Bob Stanley at bobstanley@sbcglobal.net.

Writing Workshops

2010-04-29T13:22:00.000-07:00

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.

I took workshops with both Indigo Moor and Toni Mirosevich. In both, I was exposed to new poetry (Indigo handed out a selection of poems that we examined) and new ways of approaching poems, especially the difficult subjects. Toni showed a film, and we used that for one of the exercises. It was difficult to know which workshops to choose. After the workshops, Toni, Donna, and Joseph answered questions and discussed their workshops, then they each read. After the reading, there was another opportunity to speak with the writers and have them sign books. The end of the event was a time to relax to the words and sounds of NSAA and Ross Hammond. And for those of you need to know, they did not honor Tim's request to play "Freebird."

The second conference was held the following weekend at Cosumnes River College and cost only $30 for the day. The keynote speaker was Albert Garcia of SCC. I took workshops from Dennis Schmitz and Julia Connor. This conference was the 3rd annual "Our Life Stories." Diverse workshops were presented that covered memoir, fiction, self-publishing, and poetry.

Julia Connor stated that she takes at least 3 workshops each year, and I think that this is something we can all try to do. SPC is sponsoring several free workshops with Julia Connor, Bob Stanley, and others at area libraries. MatrixArts sponsors free and low-cost workshops (I am currently taking a screenwriting class). There's the Tuesday Night Workshop at the Hart Senior Center (one of the sponsors of the "Our Life Stories" conference).

Conferences, good conferences, need not cost a lot of money as more than one participant pointed out. Look local for conferences and workshops. Don't forget the community colleges, too.

I hope to see more friends at these two conferences next April.

Until next time,
Trina

Earth Day 2010 - a busy day of poetry

2010-04-29T12:48:00.001-07:00

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.

Photo is Bill Gainer in the foreground, ESO students in the tie-dye. In the background are Martha Ann Black, NSAA, JoAnn Anglin, and Robert Grossklaus. See the rest of the Earth Day Photos at the SPC Facebook Page.

The Way Cool Daddy-O Earth Day Reading was suggested by Jasmine Greer of the Environmental Students Organization at CSUS. I was pleased to coordinate and host this event that featured some of the area's finest poets writing environmental poetry (apologies to those who did not read, but we're looking at another event for next year). In order of appearance, they were: Robert Grossklaus, Martha Ann Blackman, Bill Gainer, JoAnn Anglin, NSAA, Alexa Mergen, and Bob Stanley. This event was enjoyed by all and had a large group of students throughout the 3 hours.

It turns out that The Buzz did not have any sound system or microphone, but Bob Stanley came to rescue and borrowed the system from SPC. While waiting for Bob, Jasmine read a piece by Martin Luther King, Jr, I read a short fable piece from the introduction to Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, and Laurel played guitar and sang. The party really got going, though, when the microphone arrived.

Robert read first because he had to get to Luna's where he was hosting the huge open mic list (more on that later), and he was quite the starter. I think the most interesting part might have been when Bill took the stage. For those of you who've heard Bill read and have seen him live, you'll know what I mean. It turns out that Jasmine's dad listens to Bill on the radio, so Bill said (I'm paraphrasing here), "Your dad must be the age of my son." Jasmine told Bill that her dad was 68 (or thereabouts). Well, Bill teased her about being a love child. Yep, he did. She was great about it, too. So were the ESO students at the table Bill decided to pull into the reading, also. It was great fun.

Martha Ann reminded us about Rancho Seco, although I'm not sure the students knew about it. JoAnn and Alexa were nice complements on either side of NSAA, who read "North Pole Jihad," because their poetry was quite similar. Bob finished the reading with poems from others and some of his own. Sandy Thomas showed up midway through the event, and she read a poem, "Ocean" after Bob.

Most of the poets (and this host) wanted the t-shirts that Jasmine and her group were sporting that night. Great tie-dye colors and designs.

In between, I had Laurel return to the stage to play and sing with a microphone. We could all hear her much better.

I was pleased to have been able to work with each of these poets and with Jasmine. It was a wonderful event, even if we had some snafus at the outset. I look forward to coordinating more readings on the CSUS campus and in the community and hopefully work with Jasmine.

Andrea Gibson's performance was quite different from the previous event, but it was a nice transition between the coffee house and Luna's, another coffee house. Andrea took the stage, and the piece I recall was about her time as a preschool teacher and the children who asked her if she was a boy or a girl. She didn't answer that question, and they'd soon be more interested in swinging.

I finally reached Luna's around 9 or so. Standing room only. BL was reading when I arrived, and I saw Bob Stanley, Bill Gainer, Robert Grossklaus, and Martha Ann Blackman, who'd gone there straight from CSUS. The open mic list was quite long, but some people left before their names were announced. Josh Fernandez read this piece using BL throughout. The B and the L beginning different words. Bob Stanley played his banjo and sang. Terryl Wheat (who'll be reading at Hot Poetry in the Park in May) read a short piece about hugging a tree. There were too many poets for me to recall everyone who took the stage and read. The last open mic person finished at about 12:15 a.m.

I did not, sadly, make it across to Davis. A person can only be in so many places on one evening.

There's poetry everywhere. Just look.