Total Pageviews

Christopher Luna by Alisha Jucevic for the Columbian

Christopher Luna by Alisha Jucevic for the Columbian
Christopher Luna by Alisha Jucevic for the Columbian

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Children's Poetry/Diverse Voices at Giddens School (Seattle) May 2

Thanks to Connie Walle in Tacoma for forwarding this. From: "Sheba Burney-Jones" <garysheba@earthlink.net> Date: Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:11:09 -0700 Subject: Children's Poetry Workshop Saturday - Everyone Welcome Children's Poetry/Diverse Voices Saturday, May 2, 10am - 1pm FREE and Open to the Public Giddens School: 620 - 20th Ave. So., Seattle 98144 http://www.giddensschool.org/ <http://www.giddensschool.org/> , (206) 324-4847 Giddens School's 2nd annual Children's Poetry/Diverse Voices is a free, hands-on poetry workshop to create, read and listen to poetry written for, by or about children. Young writers (ages 6-12) and their families, teachers and others interested in pursuing poetry from plural perspectives are invited to explore poetry - from hip-hop to haiku, sonnet to song - with celebrated poet Kathleen Flenniken, spoken-word troupe Youth Speaks Seattle, local poet Aaron Counts, plus featured guest Tiana Townsell, Miss Black Washington 2009. Poems will be generated at the workshop for the first volume of a Giddens School poetry chapbook entitled Words Alive. Come spend a morning interacting with your children and poetry! If you have a favorite children's poem, bring it along to share. Snacks provided. On-site child care available for children under 6 for a nominal fee. Email library@giddensschool.org to RSVP for childcare. Questions or further information: Call Sheba at (206) 324-4847 ext. 37.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Christine Eagon at Angst Gallery May 1-30

Christine Eagon & Felix : 1990-2009 Travel Photos with a Feline Twist Felix at Stonehenge 1990 OPENING RECEPTION Free and open to public Friday May 1, 5-9 pm Angst Gallery 1015 Main St , Vancouver WA 98660 360.253.1742 Exhibit runs through May 30th GALLERY TALK AND SLIDE SHOW Wednesday May 13, 2009 Doors open 6:30 Slide presentation begins at 7pm Wine and cheese will be provided COST: $10 Contact the Angst Gallery to RSVP Leah.angstgallery@gmail.com 360.253.1742 Christine Eagon let a cat out of her camerabag, and photographed him visiting ancient standing stones, next to classic gargoyles,totem poles, frolicking amongst frogs, orrelaxing on a Scrabble board in her studio. Felix the wonderful, wonderful cat's travels withChristine started the summer of 1990 on a tripto England. The exhibition at Angst Gallerychronicles this creative photographer's international travels with a small stuffed Felix,various camera formats using a variety of films and processes. Felix Scrabble 2000 Visit my website www.ChrisEagon.com Chris@chriseagon.com -- Angst Gallery 1015 Main St Vancouver WA 98660360.253.1742Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat 12-5pm(or by appointment)

Monday, April 27, 2009

Collaboration between Paulann Petersen and Barbara Mason May 6-31

A Collaboration Solar Plate Intaglio by Barbara Mason Poetry by Paulann Petersen May 6 – 31, 2009 Please join us to celebrate our collaboration Preview Party May 6, 5-8pm First Thursday Reception May 7, 5-9pm Waterstone Gallery 424 NW 12th Avenue Portland, OR 97209 503.226.6196 www.waterstonegallery.com WATERSTONE GALLERY Hours: Wed-Sat 12-6 pm Sundays 12-4 pm Paulann Petersen paulann@paulann.net Visit my web site at www.paulann.net

Friday, April 24, 2009

California Poets David Meltzer and Michael Rothenberg visit Vancouver, WA May 14

For Immediate Release California poets David Meltzer & Michael Rothenberg visit Vancouver for two events on May 14. Contact: Christopher Luna 360-694-9653 christopherjluna@gmail.com May 14th, 1 pm - David Meltzer and Michael Rothenberg talk and reading “ROCKPILE ON THE ROAD: Collaboration and The Troubadour Tradition in the 21st Century” Columbia Writers Series Clark College (www.clark.edu). Penguin Union Building Rm 161 Clark College 1933 Fort Vancouver Way Vancouver, WA 98663 ROCKPILE ON THE ROAD: Collaboration and The Troubadour Tradition in the 21st Century: Beat generation dissident poet/musician David Meltzer and poet/songwriter and editor of Bigbridge.org Michael Rothenberg talk about the evolution of song and poetry throughout history, censorship and activism, and the role of poetry and song as an instrument of change. May 14th, 7pm- David Meltzer and Michael Rothenberg reading and open mic hosted by Christopher Luna Cover to Cover Books 1817 Main Street, Vancouver (McLoughlin Blvd. & Main Street) For more info call 514-0358 or 694-9653 or email christopherjluna@gmail.com http://christopherluna-poetry.blogspot.com DAVID MELTZER A leading poet of the Beat Movement, David Meltzer was raised in Brooklyn during the War years; performed on radio & early TV on the Horn & Hardart Children¹s Hour. Was exiled to L.A. at 16 & at 17 enrolled in an ongoing academy w/ artists Wallace Berman, George Herms, Robert Alexander, Cameron; migrated to San Francisco in l957 for higher education w/ peers & maestros like Jack Spicer, Robert Duncan, Joanne Kyger, Diane DiPrima, Michael McClure, Lew Welch, Philip Whalen, Jack Hirschman, a cast of thousands all living extra-ordinary ordinary lives. Beat Thing [La Alameda Press, 2004] won the Josephine Miles PEN Award, 2005. Was editor and interviewer for San Francisco Beat: Talking With The Poets [City Lights, 2001]. With Steve Dickison, co-edits Shuffle Boil, a magazine devoted to music in all its appearances & disappearances. 2005 saw the publication of David’s Copy: The Selected Poems of David Meltzer by Viking/Penguin, a collection spanning over forty years of work that paints a vivid portrait of Meltzer’s life as a poet through poems taken from thirty of his previous books of poetry. With a versatile style and playful tone, Meltzer offers his unique vision of civilization with a range of juxtapositions from Jewish mysticism and everyday life to jazz and pop culture. In 1967, Vanguard Records released The Serpent Power, a collaborative effort featuring the poems of David Meltzer, which would appear that same year in print in The Dark Continent from Oyez. The Serpent Power was not simply a spoken word album, but poetry made into rock 'n' roll. It featured David Meltzer on guitar and harmonica, Denny Ellis on rhythm guitar, David Stenson on bass, John Payne on organ, Clark Coolidge on drums, and vocals by David and Tina Meltzer. The final track, "Endless Tunnel," also featured J. P. Pickens on the electrified 5-string banjo. It is this long and sophisticated track that we present to you here. The Serpent Power is now available on a double-album CD with Poet Song, another poetic-rock collaboration by David and Tina Meltzer. Rolling Stone says about David Meltzer and Serpent Power: "Think of the Serpent Power as the Bay Area's version of the Velvet Underground. Led by poet David Meltzer, with Meltzer on untutored post-folk guitar, Meltzer and his wife, Tina, singing his songs, poet Clark Coolidge clattering behind on drums and the soon-vanished John Payne fixing a hole on organ, their music was minimalist folk rock with noise - the climactic, electric-banjo augmented "Endless Tunnel" goes on for thirteen minutes. Some songs began as poems, others didn't, but all feature notable lyrics - some romantic, some gruff, some both. And all but a few are graced by excellent tunes, none more winsome than that of the lost classic "Up and Down." For more info visit www.meltzerville.com or http://epc.buffalo.edu/authors/meltzer/index.html MICHAEL ROTHENBERG is a poet, songwriter, and editor, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Born in Miami Beach, Florida, Rothenberg received his Bachelor of Arts in English at UNC-Chapel Hill. Afterward, he moved to California in 1976, where he began Shelldance Nursery, an orchid and bromeliad nursery. In 1993 he received his MA in Poetics at New College of California. In 1989, Rothenberg and artist Nancy Davis began Big Bridge Press, a fine print literary press, publishing works by Jim Harrison, Joanne Kyger, Allen Ginsberg, Philip Whalen and others, and Big Bridge webzine, www.bigbridge.org. Rothenberg is co-editor and co-founder of Jack Magazine, a literary publication that relates to, but expands beyond, the beat generation. His books include Unhurried Vision, Paris Journals, What The Fish Saw, Nightmare Of The Violins, Man/Woman (w/Joanne Kyger), Favorite Songs and most recently CHOOSE, Selected Poems (Big Bridge Press). Editorial projects include Overtime, Selected Poems by Philip Whalen, As Ever, Selected Poems by Joanne Kyger, Way More West, Selected Poems of Edward Dorn, and The Collected Poems of Philip Whalen. Rothenberg received his MA in Poetry and Popular Song. His songs have appeared in Hollywood Pictures' Shadowhunter and Black Day, Blue Night, and most recently, TriStar Pictures' Outside Ozona. Other songs have been recorded on CDs including: The Darkest Part of The Night and Born Too Late by Bob Malone, Difficult Woman by Australian Rhythm and Blues legend Renee Geyer, Global Blues Deficit by Cody Palance, and The Woodys by The Woodys. Rothenberg's 2005 CD collaboration with singer Elya Finn, was praised by poet David Meltzer as "fabulous-all [the] songs sound like Weimar Lenya & postwar Nico, lushly affirmative at the same time being edged w/ cosmic weltschmertz. An immensely tasty production." For more info go to http://epc.buffalo.edu/authors/rothenberg_m/

Alex Appella's Artist's Books created from Alaska to Argentina

From David Abel: Alex Appella: "Where Are You From?" Artist's books created from Alaska to Argentina May 1 - 31 First Friday, May 1, 6:00-9:00 p.m. Reception for the artist Saturday, May 9, 5:00 p.m. Poetry reading and acoustic Latin music by Alex & Magu 23 Sandy Gallery 623 NE 23rd Avenue www.23sandy.com 503-927-4409, 23sandygallery@gmail.com Gallery hours: Thursday-Saturday, Noon to 6:00 p.m. Alex Appella began binding her original poems and short stories while living on a boat in Juneau, Alaska. She then took her creations to the streets and plazas of Latin America as she and husband travelledoverland from Alaska to Costa Rica. Since then, binding has taken the couple to mining camps in Bolivia; to remote locations near their home in the sierras of Córdoba, Argentina; and to a number of more conventional venues both in South America and the US. For the first time, artist book fans can experience Appella’s books in their original presentation: as if you had stumbled across them while visiting their little stand in an outdoor market in Oaxaca, or Omoa, or Oncativo. Except this time, their little stand will be in the 23 SandyGallery, in Portland, Oregon. Alex Appella (born in Oregon) began bookbinding as a way to share her writing and collage art while travelling. What began as a temporary solution within a nomadic lifestyle has turned into a way of life. Alex now writes and binds from her home in Córdoba, Argentina. Alex’sself-published artist’s books can be found in numerous private and public collections throughout the US and beyond.

Contemporary Artist's Books and Broadsides at Collins Gallery through May 10

Thanks to David Abel for this announcement: Book + Art = Contemporary Artist's Books and Broadsides from the John Wilson Special Collections March 16 - May 10, 2009 Collins Gallery 3rd Floor, Central Library 801 S.W. 10th Avenue Information about the exhibition, gallery hours, links to the artists,and more can be found at www.multcolib.org/events/collins/bookart.html For more information, contact Jim Carmin, jimc@multcolib.org or 503.988.6287 === Artists have been associated with books since the beginning of book production centuries ago. But around the mid-20th-century, fine artistsbegan making books that are works of art that critics now call "artist'sbooks" or "bookworks." Because the Pacific Northwest is particularly rich in book artists, Multnomah County Library's John Wilson Special Collections has been actively collecting these materials for more than a decade. This exhibition features selections from the hundreds of titles within the special collections and includes "prototypes" of artist's books fromthe early 20th century; books by Oregon artists; books with unusual structures or made with unusual materials; letterpress books; books produced using copy machines or typewriters; one-of-a-kind and multiple edition books; and hand-printed broadsides of poetry and other texts. Artists in the exhibit include: Claire Van Vliet Walter Hamady Barbara Tetenbaum Sandy Tilcock Chris Stern Warja Honegger-Lavater Kathy Kuehn Emily Larned Sarah Chamberlain Timothy Ely Jessica Spring Shu-Ju Wang Inge Bruggeman Diane Jacobs Ken Campbell Clemens-Tobias Lang Sarah Horowitz Mare Blocker Sabine Golde Catherine Alice Michaelis Leonard Baskin Alison Knowles and many others

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Christopher Luna, Laura Winter, and Leanne Grabel read tonight at the NW Branch of the Multnomah County Library

VIP READING WEDNESDAY APRIL 22, 7-8 PM: LAURA WINTER, CHRISTOPHER LUNA, LEANNE GRABEL, J. STUART FESSANT:POETRY AND MUSIC AT VERSE IN PERSON, NW BRANCH OF THE MULTNOMAH COUNTY LIBRARY, 23 & NORTHWEST THURMAN Overheard on the bus: #37 Bus Vancouver WA January 2004 “It's cold out there, isn't it?”“A little bit, but it ain't like Korea.” #25 St Johns October 27 2008 “You gotta give men and women a break from the routine. It even says so in the Bible. Even Jesus went off and took a sabbatical. People got to get off by themselves every once in a while. Paul did it. And the saints.” #4 Fourth Plain Vancouver October 29, 2008 “I thought people were forbidden on this planet. I'm in a good mood today. It's a pink world, andit's coming down.” Christopher Luna, from Ghost Town USA, Poems and Observations of Vancouver, Wa. This is not an Albatross Press, 2008 Verse in Person celebrates poetry month with performance pieces by poet Leanne Grabel with J. Stuart Fessant on sax, and readings by poets with very different muses: Portlander Laura Winter and Christopher Luna from Vancouver. Wednesday April 22 from 7-8 PM at the NW Branch of the Multnomah County Library, 23 and NW Thurman. Free. Much of Christopher Luna's newest book, Ghost Town USA, was inspired by eavesdropping on snatched conversations in bus shelters and on the streets of Vancouver, Washington. Laura Winter's work feeds on deep listening to the silences and the sounds of the western landscape. Bridging the gap between tthese polar antipodes is poet and performance artist Leanne Grabel, whose latest appearance, in a duet with Steve Sander, won rave reviews in Hollywood this January at “The Bakery show.” Leanne is accompanied on sax by J. Stuart Fessant. Luna, poet, editor, and collage artist, is a graduate of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics in Boulder, CO. A native New Yorker, he currently lives in Vancouver, WA, where he is the host of a monthly open mic poetry series at Cover to Cover Books. Ghost Town USA-- Poems and Observations of Vancouver, Washington, is available at at Cover to Cover and Angst Gallery, or through the author. Laura Winter is the author of five books of poems. Her work is inspired by the deserts, rocks and waters of the west and by her love of improvisational music. Improvised music structures – soundscapes and silences - create an interesting tension between sound, words and silence in the landscape of her imagist poetry. Her poems have been set to music, used as liner notes for CDs, and translated and published in Germany. Her newest book, Coming Here To Be Alone, is a bilingual edition, with original poems and German translations. Winter publishes Take Out, an occasional “bag-a-zine” of writing, art and music from around the world. Leanne Grabel is a poet, spoken word performer and illustrator, co-founder of the legendary Cafe Lena. She currently is a full-time language and arts teacher at Rosemont Rehabilitation Center and School, and is working on a book of prose poems about her students at Rosemont. Author of four beautifully illustrated poetry collections, Leanne has written, produced and acted in full-length theatrical productions that include “Anger, the Musical,” “The Lighter Side of Chronic Depression, ” and “The Circus of Anguish and Mirth.” She has recently completed her first novel, “Brontosaurus.” J. Stuart Fessant is a Portland teacher, performer, mixed media collaborator, and producer. KBOO, 90.7 FM Portland, Oregon Now Broadcasting Live on the Web (kboo.fm)

Christopher Luna featured in the Weekly Volcano (Tacoma, WA)

Please check out the following profile by Tacoma poet Tammy Robacker which appeared in her blog for the Weekly Volcano. It includes an excerpt from my poem, "Burning Word Triad:" http://weeklyvolcano.typepad.com/spew/2009/04/poematacoma-lunas-literati.html

Monday, April 20, 2009

Poems and collage art by Christopher Luna on Full of Crow

Two recent poems and a selection of my postcard collage art have been published by Full of Crow, which is edited by Aleathia Drehmer and Lynn Alexander: http://fullofcrow.com/christopherluna.html. For a review of my art work, go to http://fullofcrow.com/crowreviews/2009/04/christopherlunainfull-of-crow-galleries/#more-22 I am very grateful to Lynn and Aleathia for supporting my work in this way. Please take a look at their beautiful online publication, and tell your friends about it.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Mid-April Poetry Newsletter

Hello poets and poetry lovers, There are so many events for National Poetry Month that I have another newsletter for you. I wanted to let you know that I have resigned from the Board of the WPA, primarily because I am too far away from Seattle to make most of their meetings. I also wanted to let you know that David Meltzer and Michael Rothenberg will not be at the WPA Spring Festival, but they are still scheduled to be at Clark College and Cover to Cover Books on May 14. (Unfortunately, Joanne Kyger will not be accompanying them, as originally planned.) However, in order to help Meltzer and Rothenberg pay for expenses, we still need to raise $400-$500. Please contact me if you are able to help, or if you know anyone who might want to donate to the cause of bringing world-class poets to Vancouver, WA. If you’d like to know more about David Meltzer, visit www.meltzerville.com. For more info on Michael Rothenberg, go to http://epc.buffalo.edu/authors/rothenberg_m/ or www.bigbridge.org. I would like to thank Nora Nichols and the other anonymous donors who have already contributed. Many thanks to David Abel for his fantastic reading Thursday at Cover to Cover Books. The pieces he performed were witty, thought-provoking, and inventive. One piece was sewn into a long ribbon, which David unfurled as he read it. We also had several musicians and many poets at the open mic, including a few first-timers. I would also like to thank Julio Appling, who accompanied me on bass. We performed my poem, “Ode to a seashell rediscovered” (written during Lorraine Healy’s Neruda workshop in April), and he played a Mingus tune as I read from Charles Mingus’ great memoir “Beneath the Underdog.” If you want to find out more about Julio and his great bluegrass band, The Student Loan, go to www.thestudentloanmusic.com or www.myspace.com/thestudentloan. Congratulations to Sage Cohen on the publication of her beautiful book, Writing the Life Poetic. I just received my copy, and it is filled with great ideas and poetry from many diverse sources including Brittany Baldwin, Paulann Petersen, Claire Sykes, Dan Raphael, Toni Partington, Mary Oliver, Frank O’Hara and more! When I think of Portland poets who have dedicated themselves to spreading the word and making the PNW safe for poetry, Sage is one of the first people who come to mind. Please visit Amazon.com or http://writingthelifepoetic.typepad.com and order a copy of this great resource right away! My friend Sean Patrick Hill, who will soon be leaving the area, will give one of his last readings on Wednesday (see Item 1 below). I also hope you will join me on April 22, when I will be reading for the Verse in Person series at the NW Branch of the Multnomah county Library (see item 7 below). The aforementioned Julio Appling has kindly agreed to accompany me on bass that night as well. Finally, the great Dan Raphael (who, like Charles Mingus, is larger than life) just informed me of the following: “April 21st I’ll be reading at the Krakow Koffeehouse, 3990 N Interstate (at N Shaver, just up from the tiki bar), with Rosanne Parry and Christy Caballero. The show starts at 7pm and ends around 8:30. My one reading in Portland for national poetry month.” I would like to hear from those of you who have taken a look at my blog. I want it to be a useful resource for local writers. Please let me know what you think! Lots to see and hear. Enjoy National Poetry Month! Christopher Luna NATIONAL POETRY MONTH E-NEWSLETTER, PART TWO TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Sean Patrick Hill, Patrick Bocarde, and Lindsay Hill at the Press Club April 15 2. Trombonist & composer Michael Vlatkovich visits the NW (various dates/locations) 3. Show and Tell Gallery/Three Friends Coffee House Events 4/16/09-4/30/09 4. Em Space Book Arts Center Open House and Member Show April 18 5. Jane Glazer, Harold Johnson, Dennis McBride and Pat Vivian at the Fireside Room in Lake Oswego April 19 6. Location, an afternoon workshop by Paulann Petersen followed by an evening reading by Stephanie Lenox, Laura Weeks, and Paulann Petersen April 18 in Silverton, OR 7. Voice Catcher poetry editor and contributors on KBOO’s “Talking Earth” April 20/ Verse in Person Poetry & Music with LAURA WINTER, CHRISTOPHER LUNA, LEANNE GRABEL, J. STUART FESSANT at NW BRANCH OF THE MULTNOMAH COUNTY LIBRARY April 22 8. OSPA Spring conference with Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge, Paul Hunter, John Morrison, and Sharon Wood Wortman April 24 and 25, in Portland. 9. Home for rent in Index. 1. Mountain Writers and Dan Raphael present Lindsay Hill Patrick Bocarde Sean Patrick Hill Wednesday, April 15 7:30 pm Press Club 2621 SE Clinton Come hear three poets who may liberate your range of tastes and perceptions: Lindsay Hill is intense, even at parties, but when language wakes you at 2:00 am, what can you do? His most recent books are NdjenFerno (Vatic Hum) and Contango (Singing Horse). Patrick Bocarde writes of alien invasion and failed relationships as if they were related. He's active on the local reading scene, including work on KBOO, and strongly deserves a new book. Sean Patrick Hill has been published widely, including the journals Exquisite Corpse, Willow Springs, New York Quarterly, and Redactions. 2. From David Abel: An all-too-uncommon chance to hear trombonist & composer Michael Vlatkovich -- four upcoming shows in Portland and Astoria, April 15-18 Michael Vlatkovich, Greg Scholl, & Mark Burdon Wednesday, April 15 9:00 pm Tugboat Brewing Co. 711 SW Ankeny St. http://www.d2m.com/Tugwebsite ===== Call & Response: Dottie Grossman & Michael Vlatkovich; Lisa Radon & Tim DuRoche Thursday, April 16 8:30 p.m. Sliding scale admission Gallery Homeland 2505 SE 11th Ave. www.galleryhomeland.org ===== Poet Dottie Grossman, Michael Vlatkovich, and Dave Storrs (drums/percussion) Friday, April 17 8:00 p.m. Astoria Visual Arts Center 453-A 11th Street (at Exchange St.) Astoria, OR ===== Rich Halley, Michael Vlatkovich, Andre St. James, & Carson Halley Saturday, April 18 9:00 pm Tugboat Brewing Co. 711 SW Ankeny St. http://www.d2m.com/Tugwebsite 3. From Melissa Sillitoe: Hi Friends-- The Show and Tell Gallery is located at Everett Station Lofts: 625 NW Everett Street #231—a working/living art space community in Portland. Featuring visual, literary, and musical programming, Show and Tell Gallery Productions hosts free artistic events in public places and promotes collaborations between indie artists. Find out more about Show and Tell Gallery: www.showandtellgallery.org or Keep up with event listings through Myspace: www.myspace.com/showandtellgalleryproductions or Check out reviews of our events at: http:/www.brokenhours.net/blog Show and Tell Gallery Productions 4/16/09-4/30/09 Here's what's happening for the next two weeks at Three Friends Coffee House and the Show and Tell Gallery. We hope to see you at some of these upcoming events! Mark your April Calendar: Three Friends Mondays Caffeinated Art Series: The Telling's Wayne Pernu and Michael Donhowe, 4.20.09, 7:00pm Three Friends Coffee House, 201 SE 12th Avenue Portland, Oregon, US Cost: FREE This week, your hostess Show and Tell matches up 3 performers who really should meet and perform together. Friends 1 and 2 are: Wayne Pernu and Michael Donhowe from the Telling. The Telling has been together since 2001. We’re a rock band with country overtones and count among our spiritual heirs Gram Parsons, the Velvet Underground, Leonard Cohen, Lucinda Williams, and Warren Zevon.The as-yet untitled album we’re working on consists of 12 songs about modernist and post-modernist poets; prefacing each song on the record will be a poem by each the relevent poet. ........and they will be matched up with...a 3rd mystery guest! Check back, boys and girls! Show and Tell Open Mic, 4/20/09, 8:00pm Three Friends Coffee House, 201 SE 12th Avenue Portland, Oregon, US Cost: FREE You know, you know--this is the Portland community's open mic. With the casual comfort of the coffee shop as your backdrop, and a welcoming audience of artists and appreciators, standing on that stage is everything thrilling. You will be pod-cast so later you can show and tell with all your friends who couldn't make it. In the meantime, you'll enjoy the pleasure of performing with other passionate people and maybe making new friends in the process. Amateurs and verbal veterans alike are in high demand every Monday, so just jump and come do it. You know you're a star, so show us! Three Friends Mondays Caffeinated Art Series: Kristen Curry, 4.27.09, 7:00pm Three Friends Coffee House, 201 SE 12th Avenue Portland, Oregon, US Cost: FREE Caffeinated Art happens every Monday from 7-8 p.m. at Three Friends Coffee House when 3 creative friends present a musical/poetic/artistic show for you! Kristen Curry is tonight’s featured performer. Bios: Kristen Curry artist/poet/princess A self -taught artist and writer, Kristen engages and inspires with her presence, her honesty, and her rhythmic verbal offerrings. She writes, paints, and responds out of her heart from her own experience. She takes her patchwork life, and looks for beauty and meaning in the stitches. A Minnesota born modern mystic, she explores ancient wells and the regions of her heart, writing visual and verbal letters to herself, to God, to the people of her past and future in search of truth. Nikki O’Brien singer/songwriter/ sweetness "With a casual approach and a gentle spirit, Nikki is a small town Oregon girl who has travelled the world, and taken the time to write about it. On Streetlight, her Quiver debut album, she has presented six songs chockful of soulful honesty". This newlywed’s melodies are authentic offerings that are both simple and deep. Tasha vocalist/bassist/beauty This lanky, freeform songstress swims in soul as she sings the scriptures, shares her mantras, and experiments with looping, accompanied by her badass bass. The featured artists invite and encourage artmaking to take place during their performance. And would like to display them near the front during the open mic segment. (we’ll get a bulletin board or something) So bring your notebooks, sketchbooks, pens, whatever. Show and Tell Open Mic, 4/27/09, 8:00pm Three Friends Coffee House, 201 SE 12th Avenue Portland, Oregon, US Cost: FREE You know, you know--this is the Portland community's open mic. With the casual comfort of the coffee shop as your backdrop, and a welcoming audience of artists and appreciators, standing on that stage is everything thrilling. You will be pod-cast so later you can show and tell with all your friends who couldn't make it. In the meantime, you'll enjoy the pleasure of performing with other passionate people and maybe make new friends in the process. Amateurs and verbal veterans alike are in high demand every Monday, so just jump and come do it. You know you're a star, so show us! Submissions: Do you do art of any kind? Please do let us take a look and consider your creation(s) for one of our many events. Especially if you have a piece for Let's Play, send to attention Melissa at showandtellevents@gmail.com. Where else is Show and Tell? * become a "Fan" of Show and Tell on Facebook or a "Friend" on Myspace; stay informally informed about indie art in our community: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Portland-OR/Show-and-Tell-Gallery/62939922906 www.myspace.com/showandtellgalleryproductions Hugs, Melissa Sillitoe, Host/Producer and Nikia Cummings, Marketing Coordinator Show and Tell Gallery: “Art. Caffeine. Collaboration. Good times.” www.showandtellgallery.org 4. From David Abel Em Space Book Arts Center Open House and Member Show Saturday April 18 6:00 - 10:00 p.m. 407 SE Ivon St. Come visit the new 2,400 sf studio, which is filled with letterpress and bookbinding equipment. Check out the opening of our member show, featuring a wide range of book-related art and letterpress prints (show runs through May 31). The Open House will include tours of the space and equipment, a silent auction, raffle, libations, great food generously provided by Salt, Fire & Time, and the opportunity to pull a print on a big old press to take home. Located at the start of the Springwater Corridor trail in SE Portland, Em Space Book Arts Center offers artists and interested community members access to equipment and beautiful, bright studio space. Studio Memberships are currently available. For more information contact info@em-space.org 5. From Joan Maiers Readings by a Remnant from Twelve Oregon Poets Jane Glazer, Harold Johnson, Dennis McBride and Pat Vivian will read their work on Sunday April 19 at 6:30 PM in the Fireside Room at 5065 Oswego Pointe Condominiums at a program hosted by Joan Maiers. Free and open to the public. Donations welcomed to support Haitian orphans. IMPORTANT! This month's location has changed from: Moonstruck Chocolate Cafe to: 5065 Foothills Drive Take Oswego Pointe entrance from State Street in Lake Oswego, follow Foothills Drive as if heading toward Foothills Park. Look for POETRY sign near Oswego Pointe Condominium clubhouse and swimming pool. Contact: 503-636-8955 or 503-697-7097 6. The Silverton Poetry Festival presents Location, an afternoon workshop by Paulann Petersen followed by an evening reading by Stephanie Lenox, Laura Weeks, and Paulann Petersen Saturday, April 18 Workshop: 1:00 - 4:30 pm Reading: 7:00 pm Gordon House Oregon Garden 879 W. Main St. Silverton, OR http://www.oregongarden.org Oregon Garden’s Gordon House was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It’s the only Wright-designed building in Oregon, and the only one in the Pacific Northwest that’s open to the public (for more information, see http://www.oregongarden.org/WYS_gordonhouse). The Gordon House rent is donated by GH members in support of the Silverton Poetry Association. This year, Kathryn and Doug Collins are donating the house-rent for the workshop and reading. The workshop fee is $30. All levels welcome. Preregister by calling 503-873-2480 or by sending a check to the Silverton Poetry Association, 303 Coolidge Street, Silverton, OR 97381. 7. From Barbara La Morticella Talking Earth Monday April 20, 10-11 PM, KBOO More Like Music We all need a line against which to measure our wildness. The park is cut back along the path. I align my spine with the heavy bench, send my legs out around your waist as the sun heats a halo through your long black hair. Today I can understand how the scientists misjudged the universe's color for turquoise when really it is beige. The sun must have been streaming through the trees such that the calculations of space divided by matter became more like music. And when the rhythm lifted like a woman's skirt in summer wind, someone sang, as you do now, of the sky being cleared by a good hard rain. Then the universe compressed like two bodies dancng, perfected with the pressure of exchange, until the planetary percussion became a salsa. Leaning into the beat, those men reached further than who they were. Surrendered fact to abstraction. They got loose in their laboratories, pressed to the truth of the blue of turquoise until it was the only answer. Sage Cohen, VoiceCatcher, 2008 MONDAY APRIL 20, 10-11 PM PACIFIC TIME READINGS FROM VOICECATCHER ANTHOLOGY, KBOO, 90.7 FM PORTLAND The new VoiceCatcher anthology catches poetry and prose from 62 Portland women, known and unknown, seasoned and new. It's both an incubator for women's talent and proof of the generous spirit of many of the more established women writers in Portland. VoiceCatcher is a collective that aims to develop and nourish an inclusive community of women writers in Portland through close and careful editing, readings, public events, and publication of an annual anthology. Tonight poetry editor Sage Cohen brings a bevy of poets from the anthology to read their poems and talk about the enterprise. Barbara LaMorticella hosts. VIP READING WEDNESDAY APRIL 22, 7-8 PM: LAURA WINTER, CHRISTOPHER LUNA, LEANNE GRABEL, J. STUART FESSANT: POETRY AND MUSIC AT VERSE IN PERSON, NW BRANCH OF THE MULTNOMAH COUNTY LIBRARY, 23 & NORTHWEST THURMAN Overheard on the bus: #37 Bus Vancouver WA January 2004 “It's cold out there, isn't it?” “A little bit, but it ain't like Korea.” #25 St Johns October 27 2008 “You gotta give men and women a break from the routine. It even says so in the Bible. Even Jesus went off and took a sabbatical. People got to get off by themselves every once in a while. Paul did it. And the saints.” #4 Fourth Plain Vancouver October 29, 2008 “I thought people were forbidden on this planet. I'm in a good mood today. It's a pink world, and it's coming down.” Christopher Luna, from Ghost Town USA, Poems and Observations of Vancouver, Wa. This is not an Albatross Press, 2008 Visions Mixed Up by Juniper & Gin bitter taste of bile and bad water litters the ground white toes grab at dust with uncertainty buzzing head filled with grasshoppers and hornets clacking louder than my thoughts how can I crawl under a rock? my head is bigger than this desert. Laura Winter, from Coming Here to be Alone, Mountains & Rivers Press, 2008 Verse in Person celebrates poetry month with performance pieces by poet Leanne Grabel with J. Stuart Fessant on sax, and readings by poets with very different muses: Portlander Laura Winter and Christopher Luna from Vancouver. Wednesday April 22 from 7-8 PM at the NW Branch of the Multnomah County Library, 23 and NW Thurman. Free. Much of Christopher Luna's newest book, Ghost Town USA, was inspired by eavesdropping on snatched conversations in bus shelters and on the streets of Vancouver., Washington. Laura Winter's work feeds on deep listening to the silences and the sounds of the western landscape. Bridging the gap between tthese polar antipodes is poet and performance artist Leanne Grabel, whose latest appearance, in a duet with Steve Sander, won rave reviews in Hollywood this January at “The Bakery show.” Leanne is accompanied on sax by J. Stuart Fessant. Luna, poet, editor, and collage artist, is a graduate of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics in Boulder, CO. A native New Yorker, he currently lives in Vancouver, WA, where he is the host of a monthly open mic poetry series at Cover to Cover Books . Ghost Town USA-- Poems and Observations of Vancouver, Washington, is available at at Cover to Cover and Angst Gallery, or through the author. Laura Winter is the author of five books of poems. Her work is inspired by the deserts, rocks and waters of the west and by her love of improvisational music. Improvised music structures – soundscapes and silences - create an interesting tension between sound, words and silence in the landscape of her imagist poetry. Her poems have been set to music, used as liner notes for CDs, and translated and published in Germany. Her newest book, Coming Here To Be Alone, is a bilingual edition, with original poems and German translations. Winter publishes Take Out, an occasional “bag-a-zine” of writing, art and music from around the world. Leanne Grabel is a poet, spoken word performer and illustrator, co-founder of the legendary Cafe Lena. She currently is a full-time language and arts teacher at Rosemont Rehabilitation Center and School, and is working on a book of prose poems about her students at Rosemont. Author of four beautifully illustrated poetry collections, Leanne has written, produced and acted in full-length theatrical productions that include “Anger, the Musical,” “The Lighter Side of Chronic Depression, ” and “The Circus of Anguish and Mirth.” She has recently completed her first novel, “Brontosaurus.” J. Stuart Fessant is a Portland teacher, performer, mixed media collaborator, and producer. KBOO, 90.7 FM Portland, Oregon Now Broadcasting Live on the Web 8. From Steve Williams: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 23, 2009 Contact Marv Lurie Oregon State Poetry Association orpoets@spiritone.com AWARD-WINNING AUTHORS/POETS TO BE FEATURED AT THE OSPA SPRING 2009 CONFERENCE Portland – The Oregon State Poetry Association (OSPA) will hold its Spring 2009 Conference on April 24-25 at two locations in Portland, OR and will feature three prominent guest speakers/workshop leaders: Ms. Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge, author of two bestselling volumes on the art of poetry writing, “poemcrazy: freeing your life with words,” and more recently, “Foolsgold: Making Something from Nothing;” Mr. Paul Hunter, author of “Breaking Ground,” a recipient of the 2004 Washington State Book Award for poetry; and Mr. John C. Morrison, author of “Heaven of the Moment,” a finalist for the 2008 Oregon Book Award for poetry. The conference will begin on Friday, April 24th, with an evening of poetry to be held in the third floor gallery at Powell’s Books Downtown (10th and W. Burnside). The festivities will start at 6:30 p.m. with presentations by Ms. Wooldridge, Mr. Hunter, and Mr. Morrison. The evening will conclude with an open mic in which conference attendees will be invited to deliver a poem of their choosing. The Spring Conference events and workshops scheduled for Saturday, April 25th, will be held on the campus of Portland State University, at the Native American Student Center (710 SW Jackson St., between Broadway and Park Ave.). The day’s programs will begin at 8:00 a.m. with a continental breakfast. There will be three workshops offered throughout the day: “Poemcrazy: Freeing Your Life with Words” by Ms. Susan G. Wooldridge; “Liftoff & Touchdown – Oral Poetry in Public Presentation” by Mr. Paul Hunter; and “Model, Memories, and Mayhem – The Play of Generating Poetry” by John C. Morrison. Other program offerings for Saturday will include a book table featuring books, for display and sale, by conference speakers/leaders and conference attendees, and the announcement of the results of the Spring 2009 Poetry Contest. Lunch will be provided. The day’s activities are expected to conclude at 5:30 p.m. In addition to the other conference features and events, Ms. Sharon Wood-Wortman, author of “The Portland Bridge Book,” will be leading a bridge walking tour on Friday afternoon, April 24th, beginning at 2:00 p.m. Ms. Wood-Wortman’s two-hour tour, “Walking Bridges Using Poetry as a Compass,” will guide guests on a ½ to 1 mile walk to some of Portland’s Willamette River bridges, including a visit inside the operator’s tower of the 1926 Burnside Bridge. The cost of the tour, not included in the Spring Conference’s registration fees, is $20 for members and $25 for non-members, and will directly benefit the OSPA. Registration is limited and tour guests will meet in front of Powell’s Books Downtown at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, the 24th. Complete information regarding the OSPA Spring 2009 conference, including details concerning Friday night’s poetry festivities, Saturday’s conference schedule, workshop descriptions, workshop leaders’ biographies, the bridge walking tour, as well as information regarding lodging, parking, and a conference registration form can be found on the association’s web site at www.oregonpoets.org. Conference registration fees are $45 for members and $55 for non-members. OSPA is a non-for-profit association whose mission is to bring together and nurture the widest possible community of Oregon poets; to help Oregon poets young and old develop their talents and skills; to stimulate, at the grass roots level, as statewide appreciation of poetry; and to raise public awareness of Oregon poets, past and present. Mark your calendars for the release of Peter Ludwin's new book A Guest In All Your Houses. April 23(Thursday) 7:00 p.m. King's Books 218 St. Helens Avenue Tacoma 9. Finally, Roy Seitz passed on this announcement about a rental in Index. Pass it on! Ok well...., If you wish or know someone. My neighbor has a very fine little cabin for rent in Index. Sweet place. In town. Great front porch. Town water, best in the land. River's right across the street. Wood floors with the right kind of squeaks. Views? yes. The local blue heron is contacted to show up at least twice a week. $450.00 a month 350.00 deposit month to month is: ok. Call Carol: 360-793-3991 Be well, Roy hanpi@seanet.com

Thursday, April 9, 2009

David Abel at Cover to Cover Books TONIGHT at 7

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Spare Room collective organizer David Abel to read at Cover to Cover Books April 9. Contact: Christopher Luna 360-694-9653 christopherjluna@gmail.com Open Mic Poetry hosted by Christopher Luna 7:00pm Thursday, April 9, 2009 (and every second Thursday) Cover to Cover Books 1817 Main Street, Vancouver (McLoughlin Blvd. & Main Street) For more info call 514-0358 or 694-9653 or email christopherjluna@gmail.com “always all ages and uncensored” http://christopherluna-poetry.blogspot.com
Featuring David Abel: David Abel is a writer, performer, and multidisciplinary artist, as well as an editor, bookseller, and curator/organizer. Born in Salt Lake City in 1956, he has lived in Utah, Florida, New York, California, New Mexico, and Oregon. As an undergraduate at Deep Springs College, Bard College, and New Mexico State University, he studied language, literature, and music; in 1984 he was a member of the first class to graduate from the interdisciplinary MFA program of the Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts, where he pursued studies in poetry, music, and video.
Abel was involved in the “downtown” literary and music communities in New York City in the 1980s, appearing often with composers and artists such as Jackson Mac Low, Franz Kamin, Charlie Morrow, and others. He edited the newsletter for the New Wilderness Ocarina Orchestra and assembled the book-and-media store for the 12th Annual International Sound Poetry Festival in 1980; opened and operated the Bridge Bookshop from 1987–89; and co-directed Granary Books gallery and shop in 1990–91. From 1994–96 Abel maintained Passages Bookshop and Gallery in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he also organized the Tangents Reading Series. In 1997, he moved to Portland, Oregon. In Portland, he has collaborated with many individuals and organizations on literary, music, film, theater, and intermedia projects. Abel was a member of the Four Wall Cinema Collective (2002–03), and is a founder and member of the Spare Room reading series (www.flim.com/spareroom), now in its eighth year.
Abel is the author of numerous chapbooks and artist’s books including Twenty- (Crane’s Bill Books), Let Us Repair (with Anna Daedalus; wax paper scissors), Black Valentine (Chax), and Threnos (with Katherine Kuehn). In the spring of 2007 he curated the exhibition By All Means: Artist’s Books and Objects for the New American Art Union (www.newamericanartunion.com), and produced and edited the collection of artists’ multiples that served as the catalogue of the exhibition. He has also contribued poems, essays, and reviews to magazines, anthologies, and exhibition catalogues. This is the word before the word is by David Abel There is no word before this; that is, before this is the word nothing like the word is. The words before the word is become the words after the word after the word is. Before before the word was after this is. After the word before the word before the word is before before the word is. After the words after the word is are the words before the words before the word is.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Shawn Sorensen reviews Sage Cohen's Writing the Life Poetic

WIDE EXPANSE: THE POETIC CANVAS OF SAGE COHEN A Review of Writing the Life Poetic by Shawn Sorensen While reading Sage Cohen’s guide to creating poetry, Writing the Life Poetic, I saw a bridge open up before me, crossing the Willamette River into western Portland. I was on one side, ruminating about my literary insecurities, my smooth poems and the many that, to put it politely, needed work (read: jackhammer and saw) and what my writing voice could become. On the other side of the bridge was Cohen, waving at me to come across, where all the words I had put to paper and would put to paper were floating around, like the trees going up the hills of Forest Park, where in fact an entire poetry community was waiting for me like an welcoming, empowering Verizon Wireless “It’s the Network” commercial (but without the two year contract). I found a quote in the middle of Sage Cohen’s book that I kept returning to:
In a culture where we like things black and white, right and wrong, poetry says YES. What if there were no right or wrong - only poetry? What if everything we could possibly dream up were acceptable? Fabulous? Enough? Poetry can be your own personal oasis of invention, where you can do no wrong.
What Cohen strives for is no less an encouraging, powerful, limitless manifesto to poets and writers everywhere. Instructional without being text-bookish, inspirational without being preachy, suggestive without being demanding, Writing the Life Poetic goes beyond the assemblage of quality how-to poetry books to become a work of art - with endless rows of blank canvasses on either side for the reader’s own brush strokes. I was most impressed by Cohen’s adroit ability to turn so many poetic stereotypes on their head and give them a welcome burst of light and warmth. Not knowing everything about writing or other poets gives one an endless set of possibilities. Not making much money from poetry means one is free of editorial trimmings a novelist, for example, often gets. Having writer’s block means the writer can sit there, quiet down, let everything just be as it is - and let the inspiration to create slowly seep back in. Sets of poetry rules - and comments about one’s work from other poets - can be used or discarded freely. Above all: write. Cohen provides numerous questions this reader felt encouraged to answer, exercises that were fun and instructive to complete, and a plethora of great poems as examples. One of the book’s eighty short chapters is entitled “Finders Keepers: Found Poems.” Cohen describes getting one of those irritating spam mass emails and turning it into an opportunity to write a poem slightly outside of her usual boundaries and with a lot of creative vocabulary. I found myself trying this exercise while shopping in a Japanese grocery store. Words found on the shelves and in my mind: “origami action”, “rice counter” and my personal favorite, “elite banana”, all grist for a future poem. It’s also rare to have a book address the need to calm down and trust one’s own voice. Without the need for approval, a poet can produce more work - and find additional outlets for it. “Authenticity is a kind of homelessness I am learning to live inside of”, Cohen writes. When the work pours forth, the craft is honed and shaped, empowering the person and their creations. Cohen again:
I have been writing poems and thinking of each one as practice…. Every poem you write benefits from the poems that came before it.
Adam Kirsh, in a recent issue of the journal Poetry, asserts that poets mainly write for recognition. Cohen’s book suggests many more reasons to create this kind of art. At its very least, poetry helps us smooth out the rougher edges of our character and get closer to finding out who we really are. Cohen also suggests the outlets provided by blogs, open mics, classes, critique groups, literary journals, websites and kind words for friends, all with instructions and encouragement. Part professor, part companion and part Zen practitioner, Writing the Life Poetic walks along with us and increases the directions, dimensions and paths we can take while writing meaning into our lives. It is a monumental addition to the writing community, whose ranks should swell and build from this amazing treatise on art and all of its possibilities. Writing the Life Poetic is being released to bookstores nationwide in April. It can be purchased now at www.writingthelifepoetic.typepad.com or www.bn.com. Shawn Sorensen is a published, award-winning poet whose work can be viewed at www.manequinenvy.com, Winter 2008 edition. He just won 1st place in the Spring 2009 Oregon State Poetry Association Spring 2009 contest, New Poets category. Dozens more of his complete book reviews - including 16 for poetry titles - can be found at www.goodreads.com. This review first appeared in the Oregon Writers Colony Colonygram, March/April 2009 edition.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Sage Cohen discusses "Writing the Life Poetic" in Portland and Salem this week

From Sage Cohen <sage@sagecohen.com> Join me at Willamette Writers for a conversation about "Writing the Life Poetic" this Tuesday at 7 Hello! In celebration of National Poetry Month and the publication of my new book, Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry, I'll be speaking about "Writing the Life Poetic" this Tuesday at the monthly Willamette Writers meeting in Portland (and again on Thursday in Salem). We'll be exploring what it means to live and write a poetic life--and will do a few exercises to prime your poetry pump. I'd love to see you there! Tuesday, April 7, 7:00 p.m. Willamette Writers Portland Monthly Meeting The Old Church 1422 SW 11th Ave Portland, OR 97201 Thursday, April 9, 7:00 p.m. Willamette Writers Salem Monthly Meeting West Salem Roth's 1130 Wallace Rd. Salem, OR 97304 www.SalemChapter.com SEE EVENT DETAILS BELOW! With gratitude,Sage Cohen http://www.writingthelifepoetic.com/ http://www.writingthelifepoetic.typepad.com/ http://www.sagesaidso.com/ Sage Cohen Hosts Willamette Writers Portland Meeting On April 7th Writing the Life Poetic Poetry is one of the great pleasures in life. And no one needs an advanced degree in creative writing to reap its rewards. Sage Cohen's new book, Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry (Writer's Digest Books) is packed full of captivating new ways to generate ideas and have fun with the writing process. In her "Writing the Life Poetic" workshop, Sage will share some of her favorite exercises and invite writers of all backgrounds to experience their life through a poetic lens. Participants will discover new ways to think and write about the subjects that interest them-- and get inspired to start capturing those observations on paper immediately. About Sage Cohen Sage Cohen is the author of Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry (Writers Digest Books, 2009) and the poetry collection Like the Heart, the World. She writes four monthly columns about the craft and business of writing and serves as Poetry Editor for VoiceCatcher 4. Co-curator of a monthly reading series at Barnes & Noble, Sage teaches the online class Poetry for the People. Sage is publisher of the Writing the Life Poetic blog and zine; drop by and join in the conversation at http://www.writingthelifepoetic.typepad.com/! To learn more about Sage, visit www.sagfesaidso.com. All Portland meetings of Willamette Writers are held at The Old Church, SW 11th and Clay, near Portland State University in downtown Portland, unless otherwise noted. Doors open at 6:15 pm, with a speaker or panel at 7 pm. Meetings usually run until 8 pm, with opportunities to meet the speakers or panelists after they speak. For more information about meetings, call 503-452-1592. Meetings are free to members of Willamette Writers and students, $5 for their guests, and $10 for non- members.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

NATIONAL POETRY MONTH E-NEWSLETTER

Hello, all, It’s national poetry month, and so there are many events, too many to list here. We have workshops, readings, and two poetry festivals to look forward to. I am also constantly adding new links. Just in the past few days I have linked to David Ronen, Full of Crow Press, Portland’s Writers Dojo, and others. Tammy Robacker is holding things down in Tacoma. If you’d like to read her National Poetry Month blog, go to http://weeklyvolcano.typepad.com/spew/2009/04/welcome-to-poematacoma.html In May, the Vancouver, WA poetry community will welcome California poets Joanne Kyger, David Meltzer, and Michael Rothenberg. We will be one stop on a poetry road trip. Kyger, Meltzer, and Rothenberg will appear at Clark College and cover to Cover Books. This is an event that is not to be missed. Please contact me if you are able to donate any money toward their expenses. Meltzer and Rothenberg are also scheduled to be at the WPA Spring Festival (see below). If enough people don’t sign up, these great workshops will have to be canceled. April’s featured reader at Cover to Cover will be the Spare Room Collective’s David Abel, one of Portland’s most active poetry event organizers. Info below: Open Mic Poetry hosted by Christopher Luna 7:00pm Thursday, April 9, 2009 (and every second Thursday) Cover to Cover Books 1817 Main Street, Vancouver (McLoughlin Blvd. & Main Street) For more info call 514-0358 or 694-9653 or email christopherjluna@gmail.com “always all ages and uncensored” Featuring David Abel: David Abel is a writer, performer, and multidisciplinary artist, as well as an editor, bookseller, and curator/organizer. Born in Salt Lake City in 1956, he has lived in Utah, Florida, New York, California, New Mexico, and Oregon. As an undergraduate at Deep Springs College, Bard College, and New Mexico State University, he studied language, literature, and music; in 1984 he was a member of the first class to graduate from the interdisciplinary MFA program of the Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts, where he pursued studies in poetry, music, and video. Abel was involved in the “downtown” literary and music communities in New York City in the 1980s, appearing often with composers and artists such as Jackson Mac Low, Franz Kamin, Charlie Morrow, and others. He edited the newsletter for the New Wilderness Ocarina Orchestra and assembled the book-and-media store for the 12th Annual International Sound Poetry Festival in 1980; opened and operated the Bridge Bookshop from 1987–89; and co-directed Granary Books gallery and shop in 1990–91. From 1994–96 Abel maintained Passages Bookshop and Gallery in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he also organized the Tangents Reading Series. In 1997, he moved to Portland, Oregon. In Portland, he has collaborated with many individuals and organizations on literary, music, film, theater, and intermedia projects. Abel was a member of the Four Wall Cinema Collective (2002–03), and is a founder and member of the Spare Room reading series (www.flim.com/spareroom), now in its eighth year. Abel is the author of numerous chapbooks and artist’s books including Twenty- (Crane’s Bill Books), Let Us Repair (with Anna Daedalus; wax paper scissors), Black Valentine (Chax), and Threnos (with Katherine Kuehn). In the spring of 2007 he curated the exhibition By All Means: Artist’s Books and Objects for the New American Art Union (www.newamericanartunion.com), and produced and edited the collection of artists’ multiples that served as the catalogue of the exhibition. He has also contribued poems, essays, and reviews to magazines, anthologies, and exhibition catalogues. This is the word before the word is by David Abel There is no word before this; that is, before this is the word nothing like the word is. The words before the word is become the words after the word after the word is. Before before the word was after this is. After the word before the word before the word is before before the word is. After the words after the word is are the words before the words before the word is.
Poetry for the people, Christopher Luna APRIL POETRY E-NEWSLETTER TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Upcoming readings featuring Judith Arcana (Portland) 2. Austrian poet Lilian Faschinger at the Univ. of Portland’s Buckley Center April 8 3. Dan Fisher & Rodney Koeneke at The Waypost (Portland) April 11 4. David Ronen reads from "Your Face Is a Kiss" at Mint Tea (Vancouver) April 11 5. BRAVE NEW WORDS POETRY FESTIVAL on Whidbey Island April 18 6. WPA Spring Festival at the Hugo House April 25 7. DOWNSTREAM: WRITING WITH THE CURRENT workshop with Paulann Petersen Sundays, 12-3 pm, April 26-May 31 SUBMISSION CALLS: ProtestPoems.org, The Chiron Review, The Other Journal 1. From Judith Arcana Hello Everybody ........ I trust you all are planning to be even more lyrical than usual in APRIL, National Poetry Month. There'll be many occasions to celebrate by committing poetry; this note is about a few of them. On April 1st, the day annually consecrated to fools (and therefore poets, I guess), I'll be part of a quartet: Verlena Orr, Valentina Gnup, Liz Nakazawa & I are reading at the Blackbird Wineshop in Portland at 7pm ....... On April 7th, I'll be part of a duet: at Broadway Books in Portland, Judith Barrington and I will read from Grace Paley's last book, FIDELITY, first published seven months after her death and right this minute coming out in paperback .....with the aid of remarkable devices, we'll also play a recording of Grace herself, reading one of her best-loved poems. On April 24th, I'll be one of this year's featured poets at the excellent & delightful Silverton Poetry Festival at 7pm ..... join us in Silverton! Check my website EVENTS page for info/details on these + other stuff: http://juditharcana.com/index.php/arc/events/ 2. From Laura McLary: A reading by Lilian Faschinger Wednesday, April 8 4:30 p.m. Buckley Center, Room 310 5000 N. Willamette Blvd. University of Portland www.up.edu Free and open to the public Austrian writer Lilian Faschinger is a prolific author, poet, and translator. Faschinger typically incorporates into her works a rigorous critique of Austrian society and customs, as viewed from a woman's perspective. She will read from her most recent work. Faschinger has written three novels, two radio plays, two volumes of short stories, a volume of poetry, and completed multiple translations from English-speaking authors. Her first novel "Die Neue Scheherazade" (The New Scheherazade, 1985) attracted considerable critical recognition. Her 2007 novel, "Stadt der Verlierer," (Town Full of Losers), written in 2007, won the Friedrich Glauser Prize for best (German) crime novel of the year in 2008. Presented by the University's Foreign Languages Department. For more information, call professor Laura McLary at 503.943.7264 or email mclary@up.edu. 3. from Jesse Morse: Smorg presents a reading by Dan Fisher & Rodney Koeneke Saturday, April 11 7:30 pm The Waypost 3120 N. Williams Ave. Free Food, beer, wine, and espresso all available at The Waypost. http://www.smorgreadingseries.blogspot.com http://www.thewaypost.com Dan Fisher lives on the island in the East Bay. An island that has 4 bridges and a tunnel. He makes poems and some of them have appeared in Bay Poetics, Viz, Work, Cricket Online Review, Lament, and some other places too. He also makes collages under the name Fish Fishtofferson. He works for Upward Bound at Mills College in Oakland. He's never been to Portland. Rodney Koeneke is the author of the poetry collections Musee Mechanique (BlazeVOX, 2006) and Rouge State (Pavement Saw, 2003). A new chapbook, Rules for Drinking Forties, is just out from Cy Press. His poems have been included in Abraham Lincoln, Jacket, New American Writing, ZYZZYVA, and other publications, and in the anthologies Bay Poetics and the Flarf primer due out this fall. He lives in Portland, where he curates the Tangent Reading Series with poets Kaia Sand and Jules Boykoff. This reading will be the Portland launch for Rules for Drinking Forties. 4. Poetry Reading, Singing, and Book Signing with Afternoon Tea with David Ronen reading from "Your Face Is a Kiss" Saturday, April 11, 3-4pm Mint Tea 2014 Main St., Uptown Village Vancouver, WA ATTN PDX'ers: Very Easy to get to from Portland! :-) Just 3 minutes from the I-5 Bridge!!! Here's the write-up: You're invited to you enjoy David Ronen, local author, healer, and creative mystic share selections from his inspiring book of poem-meditations, "Your Face Is a Kiss : Discovering the Miracles of Being". David (and perhaps a mystery guest!) will read selected poems with flair and passion - requests welcome. David has also written some lovely and engaging music to go with some of his poems and will sing them accompanied by acoustic guitar. Signed books will be available for purchase from Mint Tea, as well a wonderful selection of organic and ethically harvested teas and yummy sweet and savory treats. Some of the poems include: "Who's Going to Tell You You're Beautiful" "At the Gate of My Beloved" "Blue Chains (Anchor into Nothing)" "We Both Doubt and Secretly Cherish Our Divinity" and more! "David shares his heart in a joyful and loving manner that inspires self-reflection and self-acceptance. Lyrical and moving!" Rick Marshall All welcome, including kids. The reading is Free. Tea and treats available for purchase from Mint Tea Restaurant. 5. Brave New Words Saturday April 18, 2009 The Celebration of Inspiration! All-Day, All-Event Tickets Only $15 for Adults, $5 for Students! At Whidbey Island's historic Greenbank Farm. An exceptional event in an exceptional location! Performers in Order of Appearance Morning and Early Afternoon 10:00 AM - 1 PM 10 AM to 11:30 AM "Page to the Stage" Workshop taught by Matt Gano 11:30 AM to 1 PM Open Mic - Hosted by David Ossman, Judith Walcutt & Preston Ossman ----------------------- 30 Minute Break 1 PM to 1:45 PM A break to mingle, eat, and stretch ----------------------- Mid-Afternoon Performers 1:45 PM - 4 PM … Emcee Molly Cook … Swil Kamin … Arianne Bergman … Terry Martin … Kim-An Lieberman … Whidbey Youth Poetry Idol Winners … Michael Daley ----------------------- Late-Afternoon Performers 4 PM - 6 PM … Tim McNulty … MC John Burgess … Whidbey Youth Poetry Idol Winners … "La Jefa": Pesha Gertler, Felicia Gonzalez, Jourdan Keith, and JT Stewart ----------------------- Evening Performers 6 PM - 8:00 PM … Stephen Roxborough … Lorraine Healy … Oleh Lysiak … Colleen McElroy … Suheir Hammad Brave New Words operates under the auspices of Greenbank Farm, a qualified 501 C-3. All donations to BNW are tax deductible. Please send donations to: Brave New Words 765 Wonn Road - #C-103 Greenbank, WA 98253 … Please make out checks to: "Greenbank Farm / BNW" … Under "memo" please write: "For Brave New Words" Greenbank Farm, is located on Whidbey Island, at the corner of State Highway 525 and Wonn Road in Greenbank, 18 miles north of the Clinton Ferry dock. Accommodations: (Langley, Freeland and Greenbank Addresses will be closest to the festival site) For more information: Victory Lee Schouten 360-331-7099 or 360-222-3070 victory@robschoutengallery.com 6. WPA Spring Festival at the Hugo House Around the World in Poetry: A Translation Experiment Saturday 25 April 10am – 10pm On Saturday 25 April 2009, the WPA brings its annual Spring Festival to The Richard Hugo House in Seattle with a full day of workshops – a morning workshop in translation and two afternoon workshops in poetry - followed by a participatory, main-stage event showcasing poetry in multiple languages and a multi-genre translation experiment, mixing poetry, performance, drawing, dance, sound and floral arts. Don’t miss this experiment! Pre-register for all morning and afternoon workshops online at Brown Paper Tickets or by calling (206) 225-6555. The main-stage event begins at 8pm. Cost is $10 at the door. All are welcome to attend a very special, pre-show reading & panel discussion on translation, moderated by literary journalist Dave Jarcki, with visiting guests David Meltzer and Michael Rothenberg and with local literary translator Andrea Lingenfelter. The pre-show, at 7pm in the Hugo House Theatre, is included in your evening ticket cost. Please join us! Festival Activities & Fees 10am 2-hr Translation Workshop Andrea Lingenfelter Meet at Hugo House 9:45am Pre-Registration required / Register now $60 workshop There are at least as many ways to translate a poem as there are readers of that poem. Work through a poem from the source language (Chinese) to English with an experienced translator of Chinese poetry. We will look at different aspects of the poem and the discuss some of the problems, both practical and theoretical, that translators encounter in the course of the translation process. No knowledge of a foreign language required. Instructor will bring materials. Supplies: students should bring paper and something to write with. This class will meet at Hugo House at 9:45am on Saturday 25 April. This is the first workshop of the 2009 Spring Poetry Festival. Afterward this class, students are invited to return to The Hugo House for a welcome message and a social with poets Sam Green, David Meltzer and Michael Rothenberg. They are also welcome at the 4pm open mic. 12pm Welcome & Social Hour Sam Green, David Meltzer & Michael Rothenberg Hugo House Cabaret / Refreshments / Address by WPA president Angel Latterell Open to the public 1pm 3-hr Poetry Workshop with Sam Green Meet at Hugo House Pre-Registration required / Register now $100 per workshop This workshop will concentrate on the intimate art of observation in the every day. How do we translate the abstract preoccupations of our lives (love, anger, political estrangement, grief) into concrete terms? How do we translate our relationship with the physical world into comprehensible order? The workshop will explore both methodology and forms for approaching these and other concerns. We will be looking at African forms, Irish forms, the small forms of Japanese and Chinese poets, as well as certain contemporary Americans. 1pm 3-hr Poetry Workshop with David Meltzer Meet at Hugo House Pre-Registration required / Register now $100 per workshop 1pm 3-hr Poetry Workshop with Michael Rothenberg Meet at Hugo House Pre-Registration required / Register now $100 per workshop 4pm Open Mic (Featuring workshop students & teachers) Hugo House Cabaret Open to the public 7pm PRE-SHOW Meltzer / Rothenberg Reading & Translation Panel Discussion moderated by Dave Jarecki Hugo House Theatre Open to the public 8-10pm THE MAIN EVENT Around the World of Poetry: An Experiment in Translation Christian Swenson, Keely Isaak Meehan, Linden Ontjes & Barbara Ann Allin Hugo House Theatre $10 at the door / Reserve a ticket MAIN EVENT Around the World of Poetry: An Experiment in Translation Featuring: Christian Swenson, Keely Isaak Meehan, Linden Ontjes & Barbara Ann Allin 8-10 pm/Hugo House Theatre $10 at the door or at Brown Paper Tickets Pre-purchase recommended “The words on paper are only a tool, they are only a medium, they are only something that is meant to help me get to the original language, to the original poem” -Kai Nieminen On Translation a lecture a Naropa University Sit back and listen to the sounds of poetry as we bring you a stage full of international readers (Mongolian poetry, Mandarin poetry, Italian poetry…) followed by a cross-genre experimentation in translation (movement, voice, sound, flowers…). Our aim will be to carry a single poem across multiple genres. How many times can you translate a thing without losing its meaning? The source-poem, chosen in secret by our performers, will be revealed to you at the end of the evening. If someone were to dance you a poem, or draw one, or make it into a floral arrangement, would you be able to write it again? Would its message carry across? We want to know. Come listen, watch and feel a poem as it moves across genres with artists Christian Swenson, Keely Isaak Meehan and Linden Ontjes. Afterwards, we’ll ask you to rewrite that poem and contribute it to a 3-d poetry sculpture. Special "whispering" appearances by David Meltzer and Michael Rothenberg. This event produced by A. K. “Mimi” Allin. Open to the public for a fee of $10. Wine bar. WORKSHOP TEACHER BIOS Samuel Green, Washington State Poet Laureate SAMUEL GREEN was born in Sedro-Woolley, Washington, and raised in the nearby fishing and mill town of Anacortes. After four years in the military, including service in Antarctica and South Vietnam, he attended college under the Veterans Vocational Rehabilitation Program, earning degrees from Highline Community College and Western Washington University (B.A. & M.A.). A 30-year veteran of the Poetry-in-the-Schools program, he has taught in literally hundreds of classrooms. He has also taught at Southern Utah University, Western Wyoming Community College, and served six terms as Distinguished Visiting Northwest Writer at Seattle University, including six summers in Ireland. Poems have appeared in hundreds of journals, including Poetry, Poetry Northwest, Poet & Critic, Poetry East, Southern Poetry Review, Prairie Schooner, and Puerto del Sol. Among his ten collections of poems are Vertebrae: Poems 1972-1994 (Eastern Washington University Press) and The Grace of Necessity (Carnegie-Mellon University Press), which won the 2008 Washington State Book Award for Poetry. He has lived for 26 years off the grid on remote Waldron Island off the Washington coast in a log house he built himself, and is, with his wife, Sally, Co-Editor of the award-winning Brooding Heron Press. In December, 2007, he was named by Governor Christine Gregoire to a two-year term as the first Poet Laureate for the State of Washington, and in January of 2009, he was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Poetry. David Meltzer DAVID MELTZER is one of the key poets of the Beat generation. Meltzer is also a jazz guitarist and Cabalist scholar and the author of more than 50 books of poetry and prose. 2005 saw the publication of David's Copy: The Selected Poems of David Meltzer (edited by Michael Rothenberg, with an introduction by Jerome Rothenberg), which provides a current "overview" of Meltzer's work. Meltzer's Beat Thing (La Alameda Press) is his epic poem on the Beat generation. Meltzer teaches at the New College of California in the Poetics Program, which was originally founded by Duncan. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Michael Rothenberg MICHAEL ROTHENBERG is an American poet, songwriter, editor, and active environmentalist in the San Francisco Bay Area. Born in Miami Beach, Florida, Rothenberg received his Bachelor of Arts in English at UNC-Chapel Hill. Afterward, he moved to California in 1976, where he began "Shelldance Nursery", an orchid and bromeliad nursery. In 1993 he received his MA in Poetics at New College of California. In 1989, Rothenberg and artist Nancy Davis began Big Bridge Press, a fine print literary press, publishing works by Jim Harrison, Joanne Kyger, Allen Ginsberg, Philip Whalen and others. Rothenberg is co-editor and co-founder of Jack Magazine. His books include Unhurried Vision, Paris Journals, What The Fish Saw, Nightmare Of The Violins, Man/Woman w/Joanne Kyger, and Favorite Songs. Andrea Lingenfelter ANDREA LINGENFELTER is a poet and translator of contemporary Chinese poetry, fiction and film subtitles. She has lived and worked in China and travels there regularly to meet with writers and buy books. Her translations of contemporary Chinese poetry have appeared in a number of literary journals and anthologies. She is the translator of the novels Candy by Mian Mian (Back Bay Books), and Farewell My Concubine by Lilian Lee (William Morrow and Company). In the spring of 2008, she received a Pen Translation Fund Grant to translate Annie Baobei's 2006 novel, Padma. She is currently working on a collection of translations of poetry by Zhai Yongming for Zephyr Press. Future projects include Wang Anyi's novel Qimeng shidai (The Age of Enlightenment) and a volume of translations of work by Shanghai poet Wang Yin. MAIN EVENT ARTIST BIOS BARBARA ANN ALLIN is an artist, designer and gardener specializing in found and stolen materials. She has the knack for composing pieces that impact entire communities. Her work is often small and random, some might say a gift. She lives in Pennsylvania. KEELY ISAAK MEEHAN is a Seattle-based movement and video artist and the founding artistic director of Manifold Motion. Focusing on collaborative and interdisciplinary temporal art, her work is frequently improvisational, exploring the use of structure and fluidity as a means to draw great performance out of the moment. Keely has earned a Professional Diploma in Dance Studies from the Laban Centre: London, a BA in Dance from Oberlin College, and a Certificate in Arts Management from the University of Washington. She is currently studying to become a Certified Movement Analyst with Laban/Bartenieff & Somatic Studies International. In addition to her work with Manifold Motion, Keely works as a solo movement artist and has performed recently with the Asterisk Project and Kate Watson-Wallace/anonymous bodies. Her newest production with Manifold Motion, Woolgatherer, premieres May 2-10, 2009 at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. LINDEN ONTJES creates poetry installations that include visual, theatrical, and literary elements. Her most recent poetry installations include: Three Confessional Poets and the Dirty Laundry Machine at Artopia; Alfred Jarry’s Interior Designs and Window Treatments at the Smoke Farm Festival; A Cup o’ Joe at Bumbershoot; Miss Fortune and the Misfortune Cookies at Synchronicity: An Indie Press Sideshow; The National Grilled Cheese Poetry Booth at the Seattle Poetry Festival at the Richard Hugo House; and Limericks on Sticks, an installation of John Haines’ political protest limericks on ersatz Burma Shave signs along the route to the Dredge Festival in Fairbanks, Alaska. Linden served as General Director of Eleventh Hour Productions, a literary arts nonprofit from 2005 – 2008; as Arts Representative on the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce from 2006 – 2007; and as a current member of the Smoke Farm steering committee COW. From 2004 -2006, she served as the Poetry Editor of the Seattle Review. Currently, she teaches poetry at the Hutch School for Seattle Arts & Lectures’ WITS program. Linden received individual artist awards in 2008 from 4Culture and Poets & Writers. Her many poetry publication credits include Ploughshares, Prairie Schooner, Nimrod, Arcade, Phoebe, The Louisville Review, The Exquisite Corpse, Poetry Daily, Cranky, Filter, The Comstock Review, RE:AL, and Atlanta Review. She has published literary criticism in The Writer’s Chronicle, the Seattle Review, Cranky, Fairbanks Daily News Mine, and Page to Page: Retrospectives of Writers from the Seattle Review. She is the author of an illustrated novel-in-verse, Muluc. For more information. www.mulucthehero.com. CHRISTIAN SWENSON has an extensive background in dance, mime, voice and improvisation. He is known for his pioneering work in what he calls "Human Jazz", a global fusion of dance/drama/music for body and voice. In 1977 he received a BA in Theater from the University of New Hampshire and moved to Seattle to work with the Bill Evans Dance Company. Further training has included work with Tony Montanaro; Diane Schenker; Ruth Zapora; Korean shaman, Hi-ah Park, and with the late Pakistani master-singer, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. He has performed with Bill Irwin, The Seattle Symphony Orchestra, and The Jay Clayton/Jim Knapp Collective and in Europe with Jim Nollman of Interspecies Communication Inc. He presently teaches in the Theater programs at Seattle University. For the past 25 years he has been performing creations for the body and voice searching for a more global aesthetic. Since 1980 he has been a touring artist visiting communities and schools in the Northwest and beyond. He has performed and taught throughout North America and in Europe, and Asia. Christian released his first compact disc, “Off-Road Vocals” in 2000. As a guest artist he has been seen as: The Monster in The Minnesota Opera's production of "Frankenstein", at New York's "Serious Fun at Lincoln Center" and "The New York Improvisation Festival", with The Flying Karamazov Brother's "New Old Time Chautauqua " and the 2002 “Rolling Thunder Down Home Democracy Tour” and has been heard on National Public Radio's "Sandy Bradley's Potluck. He was a teacher/ performer at the 2005 American College Dance Festival in Buffalo, NY and at the 1998 "Body & Soul Northwest" Conference. For three years he has been a Vocalist with the Integrated Music Program at two Seattle hospitals and is a founding member of the improvisational ensemble Molten Vocals. He is also a member of the PlayBack Theater group, Threshold Ensemble. Christian has received Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Washington State Arts Commission and Artist Trust of Washington. He resides happily in Seattle with his wife, Abigail, and two children. 7. DOWNSTREAM: WRITING WITH THE CURRENT Join Paulann Petersen in a poetry workshop dedicated to creation, reflection, and craft. Using notable poems as springboards, we'll turn ourselves loose in the river of words, letting language carry us along in its current. Each session, we’ll generate some new work. We’ll also look at your poems (either ones you’ve written in our workshop, or earlier ones you’ve brought with you) for possible ways to strengthen them through revision. The word “revision” offers us a bracing truth. To truly revise is to do much more than mere editing and tinkering: it’s learning to see our poems anew, moving them toward their strengths. I’ll use critiques as opportunities for short lessons, addressing issues of craft raised by the particular poem we’re looking at. We'll be lingering in a few eddies, examining significant elements of craft such as line integrity, dramatic strategy, voice and trope. My goal is to have each participant leave the workshop with both an outpouring of new material, and some new­--or newly honed­--tools for revision. This workshop is open to writers of all levels of experience. Sundays, 12-3 pm, April 26th to May 31st Please go to http://atticwritersworkshop.com/workshop/downstream-writing-current SUBMISSION CALLS 1. Call for poems: protestpoems.org http://web.mac.com/renkat/Site/Protest_Poems.html About us: protestpoems.org is a poetry journal entirely devoted to, and fully committed to, new poetry that tackles human rights issues worldwide. The journal strives to present the best poems of protest written to promote freedom of speech and human rights. It is updated fortnightly. We publish a maximum six poems a month to keep a steady flow of relevant protests. Although we update the journal often, we are very selective. We are looking for edge. The website and mailing lists provide information about persecuted writers, along with letters of protest ready for our subscribers to cut and paste. To receive emails (once a month, on average) with protest information focused on a specific persecuted writer, send an email to (replace (at) with @). Please write SUBSCRIBE in your subject line. Submission guidelines: It’s simple. We’re not looking for partisan propganda. We’re not looking for party-political mouthings. We’re not looking for sentimental depictions of what you see on the TV. We’re not looking for rhyming greetings card verses. We want you to champion, not yourselves, but human rights; the rights of those who don’t have the freedom to write and speak as we do. Rage. Celebrate. Mourn. Demand. Scream. Dance. Formal complaints are especially exciting. There’s something wonderfully subversive about a villanelle that attacks a government deliberately making the same mistake over and over again. If you need to be inspired, read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Then check out any objective newsfeed or news site. Paste your poems (a maximum of 3 one-page poems), into the body of an email and send to write(at)protestpoems.org. If necessary, you can email a single .doc or .rtf file containing all the poems you are submitting. Include a brief bio. We will accept poems previously published on paper, as long as you hold the copyright. We will not accept poems which are already (or have previously been) published online (including blogs). We will publish a poet only once a year. If your poem deals with a specific call for action, or commemorates a specific person, please let us know. Publication dates for the first half of 2009 are : 11 Apr 25 Apr 09 May 23 May 06 Jun 20 Jun 2. The editors of CHIRON REVIEW are reading submissions for an "All Punk Poetry" issue to be published Dec. 2009. Poetry, fiction, b/w line art, comics/cartoons, photos, nonfiction, whatever should be sent via snailmail with self-addressed, stamped envelope for reply/return to: Chiron Review, Attn: PUNK, 522 E. South Ave., St. John, KS 67576. Name and complete mailing address should appear on every poem, story, etc. Deadline: Sept. 1, 2009. Material is copyrighted in author's/artist's name. Payment: one contributor's copy with 50% discount on additional copies. http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Nook/1748/chiron1.htm Chiron Review is open for submissions year-round. Postal submissions with name, complete mailing address (on every poem), and SASE are welcome at Chiron Review, 522 E. South Ave., St. John, KS 67576-2212. Writers are invited to send up to 5 poems, 1 long poem, or 1 short-story. We're also open to reviews, interviews, black and white art and photography, and essays of interest to writers and the small press literary community. We ask writers to limit submissions to four times a year or less. We do not consider simultaneous or previously published submissions; nor do we consider e-mail submissions though exception is made for book reviews and foreign/overseas submissions. CR copyrights in author's name, all rights revert to author upon publication. Pay is one contributor's copy. 3. The Other Journal seeks submissions of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction for our upcoming issue on Beauty and Aesthetics. http://www.theotherjournal.com/ Deadline has been extended from March 15 to April 10, 2009 We seek poems, short stories, and creative nonfiction that explore the beauty, especially its cultural and theological incarnations. As we navigate the many faces of beauty, we will explore the nature, function, and end of beauty. We expect this issue to address such questions as How is the body understood in Western culture? Why does beauty matter? And what does beauty have to do with issues of justice and reconciliation? All submissions should be sent via email to (replace (at) with @) with "TOJ Submission" written in the subject line. Please indicate the genre of your submission in the subject line of your email and submit your work as Microsoft Word or rich text format documents. Submissions that are pasted directly into the text of an email rather than an attached document may not be considered. Send up to six poems or one piece of prose at a time. Fiction submissions may include short stories or self-contained novel excerpts, and creative nonfiction submissions may include personal essays or memoirs. Because we are an online journal, we take a special interest in short prose submissions, especially pieces that are less than 2,500 words. We will consider simultaneous submissions, but please indicate they have been simultaneously submitted elsewhere and let us know right away if you are withdrawing them from consideration. For more info: http://theotherjournal.com/info.php?page=submissions Editorial statement: The Other Journal welcomes the submission of critical essays, reviews, creative writing, and visual or performance art that encounter life through the lens of theology and culture; we seek pieces that consider the interaction of faith with contemporary life, art, politics, sexuality, technology, economics, and social justice. We are particularly interested in works which present creative, alternative views that may otherwise fall outside the margins of mainstream narratives. And although we primarily focus on perspectives within the Christian tradition, we invite dialogue with all who are interested in exploring the ongoing role of faith and spirituality in the world. The Other Journal Mars Hill Graduate School 2501 Elliott Ave Seattle, WA 98121