Poetry: Christopher Luna in Ghost Town, USA

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic at Cover to Cover Books Featuring John Sibley Williams February 9

2012-01-16T19:04:00.000-08:00

GHOST TOWN POETRY OPEN MIC

Hosted by Christopher Luna and Toni Partington

all ages and uncensored since 2004

7pm Thursday, February 9, 2012

and every second Thursday

Cover to Cover Books

6300 NE St. James Rd., Suite 104B

(St. James & Minnehaha)

Vancouver, WA

360-993-7777

mail@covertocoverbooks.net

christopherjluna@gmail.com

http://www.printedmattervancouver.com

http://christopherluna-poetry.blogspot.com

With our featured reader, John Sibley Williams:

John Sibley Williams is the author of six chapbooks, winner of the HEART Poetry Award, and finalist for the Pushcart and Rumi Poetry Prizes. He has served as Acquisitions Manager of Ooligan Press and Publicist for Three Muses Press and holds an MFA in Creative Writing and MA in Book Publishing. Some of his over 200 previous or upcoming publications include: Bryant Literary Review, The Chaffin Journal, The Evansville Review, RHINO, Rosebud, Ellipsis, Flint Hills Review, and Poetry Quarterly. The following chapbooks will be available for sale on February 9: From Colder Climates (2012, $7 for the green and $10 for the signature edition); The Longest Compass (Finishing Line Press, 2012 for $12); and The Chapbook Box Set (four 2011 chapbooks for $15: Autobiography of Fever, Bedouin Books; The Art of Raining, Knives Forks and Spoons Press; Door, Door, Red Ochre Press; and A Pure River, The Last Automat Press).

The Voice in the Shell

by John Sibley Williams

If it really began with a woman

ten thousand years ago placing

conch to ear—

listening interrupted

and enhanced

by translation—

to form this sea

separating us,

I’d build a time machine

and retrace the roots of metaphor—

language, superstition,

expectation—

to that older world without magic

and sit for a moment

holding your hand

that is not yet a hand,

listening together to the sea

that hasn’t yet a voice.

Sketch of John Sibley Williams by Christopher Luna

COMING IN MARCH: John Burgess

The Work poetry workshop returns today

2012-01-14T10:15:00.000-08:00

Today at noon we will gather at Niche Wine and Art Bar (1013 Main Street) for The Work a monthly poetry workshop designed to help you generate some new work. After a brief hiatus for the holidays, we're ready to get back to it. We'll take our inspiration from poems by Gwendolyn Brooks, Ishmael Reed, Jack Kerouac, Langston Hughes, Suheir Hammad, Marge Piercy, Victor Hernandez-Cruz, Richard Krech, and Dan Raphael.

Well, while I'm here I'll

do the work –

and what's the work?

to ease the pain of living.

Everything else, drunken

dumbshow

Allen Ginsberg, “Memory Gardens”

Why do we write? What is the poet’s place in the world? What can we do to increase our ability to inspire and provoke with our words? How do we integrate our compulsion to create into our everyday lives? These and other questions and will be addressed in The Work, facilitated by Christopher Luna. At noon every second Saturday we will gather at Niche Wine and Art to listen to, discuss, and write poetry. The cost is $20 per session or $45 for three months. For more information contact Christopher Luna at christopherjluna@gmail.com or 360-910-1066.

The Work is sponsored by Leah Jackson, Angst Gallery, and Printed Matter Vancouver.

THE WORK Poetry Newsletter January 2012

2012-01-06T13:38:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the latest edition of The Work. As always, the newsletter is quite long, so I have provided a table of contents. The New Year is off to a rollicking start, as you’ll soon see. Here’s hoping 2012 will be filled with poetry, art, music, and discovery.

Artist and Writer April Bullard at Cover to Cover Books

I was very moved by April Bullard’s remarks at December’s VoiceCatcher launch at Cover to Cover Books. If you’d like to read what she had to say about her work and her opinions about the local literary community, go to: http://printedmattervancouver.com/2012/01/05/april-bullard-talks-about-her-work-in-voicecatcher-6/

Christopher Luna goes Roman at

Cover to Cover's Book Fair December 10

Photograph by Lilith Saintcrow

I’d also like to thank Cover to Cover Books for inviting Printed Matter Vancouver to participate in its first Holiday Book Fair. Toni and I enjoyed meeting the other writers and publishers, and conversing with the booklovers who attended the event: http://printedmattervancouver.com/2011/12/17/printed-matter-vancouver-thanks-cover-to-cover-books-for-the-holiday-book-fair/

Hope you can join us for what promises to be a party:

CELEBRATE FIVE YEARS OF GHOST TOWN POETRY

OPEN MIC AT COVER TO COVER BOOKS

with Christopher Luna, Toni Partington, and musical guests

Jennifer Pratt-Walter, Bret Jorgensen, and Lincoln’s Beard!

Bring a dish to share and arrive early at 6pm (open mic begins at 7):

Thursday, January 12, 2012

COVER TO COVER BOOKS

6300 NE St. James Rd., Suite 104B

(St. James & Minnehaha)

Vancouver, WA

360-993-7777

mail@covertocoverbooks.net

Printed Matter Vancouver would like to thank the following businesses and individuals for making 2011 another great year for poetry in the ‘Couve: John Barber, The Catalyst, Clark County Historical Museum, Everybody’s Music, Gallery 360, Leah Jackson (Angst Gallery and Niche Wine and Art Bar), Marci McReynolds, Mint Tea, Moe’s, One World Merchants, Paper Tiger Coffee, Pop Culture, Susan Tissot, and Urban Eccentric. We would also like to thank the featured readers who shared their work with our community in 2011: John Amen, Judith Arcana, Turiya Autry, John Barber, April Bullard, Michael Daley, Tommy Gaffney, Brad Garber, Alice Hardesty, M, Eliel Lucero, Peter Ludwin, Dennis McBride, Dan Nelson, Jane Ormerod (Uphook Press), Deb Scott, Mary Slocum, Leah Stenson, Meredith Stewart, Dawn Thompson, and Carolyne Wright. In addition, we owe a debt of gratitude to the many poets who have moved and entertained us at the open mic—without your continued participation and support, we would have nothing to celebrate. Finally, our thanks to Mel Sanders for staying open late once a month and demonstrating her undying commitment to local writers.

Performer Bios:

Jennifer Pratt-Walter is a former RN and freelance musician. She lives in Vancouver, WA with husband Craig, children, and farm animals. She sings in a women's trio, "Circle Round." Jennifer also teaches harp, with emphasis on the beginning adult. Jennifer communicates her reverence for her instrument and music with her hands, searching to define and transcend human experience. Her musical background includes band, choir, and madrigal performance, and she has studied piano and fretted dulcimer. Her true love for the past 27 years has been the Celtic harp. “Celtic Muse” came into being in 1995, when Jennifer and Valerie Blessley started performing together for weddings. There has been no stopping them since, and they have been privileged to play in a variety of settings throughout the Northwest. Jennifer’s recordings include “Ancient Realms” (1998), “Wind and Wood: A Sylvan Dance" (1998 with Celtic Muse), "Merry & Bright" (2000, with Celtic Muse), "Ancient Muse: Celtic Harp and Friends," and "Crossroads," 2009, with Celtic Muse). Jennifer is a Certified Healing Musician, playing at the bedside of the dying. Her most recent recording, "Ancient Slumbers," is representative of mastery of creating a feeling of reverence and peace with pure solo harp played in a rich improvisatory style.

Bret Jorgensen is a kid who likes to write and sing songs. He likes to sing songs about love. He also likes to sing about the sad parts of life using simple chords and simple words. Bret Jorgensen sings songs to sing songs. He can be seen about riding his bike and singing at the top of his lungs while doing so.

Kris Chrisopulos, Tyler Morgan and Dwayne Spence formed Lincoln’s Beard during the summer of 2006. Playing as a trio (and without a drummer) Lincoln’s Beard charged ahead, writing, recording, and gigging as a three piece. After the release of Our American Cousin, well-known local percussionist Eddie Esparza joined the band. Lincoln’s Beard began playing longer, heavier sets, developing a unique sound which ultimately led to the follow up album Brothers Grace. Lincoln’s Beard’s sound continues to evolve with the attributed guitar work of Ross Morgan and Conner Ghormely on the group’s latest album, entitled Lincoln’s Beard, and the recent addition of Aram Arslanian on lead guitar and lapsteel.

Ghost Town Poetry, the recent anthology of poetry from the series edited by Toni Partington and Christopher Luna, is available for purchase at Cover to Cover Books.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

On January 14, my monthly poetry workshop entitled “The Work” will begin again at Niche Wine and Art Bar. The workshop, which runs from 12-2:30, costs $20. Please bring a poem to share. We will listen to, discuss, and write poems. I like to conduct these workshops at a fast pace so that you can leave with several potential poems, so come prepared to work and have fun.

On January 18, we will celebrate the winners of Niche’s Coaster Poetry Contest. See item 6 for details.

On January 21 at 4pm, April Bullard and Dennis McBride will help us celebrate the life and work of William Stafford at Cover to Cover Books. For information on this and other Stafford events, see item 1 below.

On January 28, sculptor Olinka Broadfoot will read poetry in Czech and English. This is the latest in my ongoing series of bilingual readings at Niche. See item 7 for more details.

On January 29, Printed Matter Vancouver will be among the participants in the second annual National Unpublished Writers Day at the Clark county Historical Museum. We will have books for sale, and will be facilitating a workshop entitled “Poetry As Survival” inspired by Gregory Orr’s book of the same name. See item 8 for more information.

Create something beautiful in 2012,

Christopher Luna

THE WORK JANUARY 2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Stafford Reading at Cover to Cover Books featuring April Bullard and Dennis McBride January 21(Vancouver, WA)/ Stafford Birthday Reading Schedule
Figures of Speech Critique Group and Stafford Reading with Leah Stenson, Paul Merchant, Cindy Williams Gutierrez, and Lars Nordstrom January 8 at Stonehenge Studios/ Stafford Reading at In Other Words Books January 17 (Portland, OR)

3. Dirty Queer Open Mic Five Year Anniversary at In Other Words January 13 (Portland)

4. Ruby Hansen Murray, Deborah Woodard, and Sam Lohmann at Powell's on Hawthorne January 15 (Portland)

Matt Meighan’s Songwriting as Truth-Telling workshop begins January 17 (Portland)
Coaster Poetry Contest Winners Reading at Niche January 18 (Vancouver)
Poetry in Czech and English with sculptor Olinka Boradfoot at Niche January 28 (Vancouver)
National Unpublished Writers Day at Clark County Historical Museum January 29 (Vancouver)
Stafford Reading at Barnes & Noble Vancouver with Leanne Grabel, Steve Sander, and FWS board member Tim Barnes January 31

SUBMISSION CALLS AND OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST (January 15 deadline)

Printed Matter Vancouver, Cover to Cover Books, and Christopher Luna are proud to present a celebration of the life and work of William Stafford, one of many events throughout the Portland metropolitan region during January.

William Stafford Reading

Featuring April Bullard and Dennis McBride

and your host Christopher Luna

Cover to Cover Books

6300 NE St. James Rd., Suite 104B

4pm

January 21

Artist, photographer, poet, and musician April Bullard lives with her husband aboard their 50-foot-long houseboat near Vancouver, Washington. She creates work inspired by living cradled on the magically reflective and tumultuous undercurrents of the Columbia River. “Living full-time on the water,” April explains, “I’ve come to realize I inhabit three distinct worlds: the real world my body exists in; the reflected world on the river’s surface; and the underwater world with its universe of currents and creatures struggling to survive.”

Dennis McBride’s essay “Reflections on the Mystery of William Stafford” was a highlight of last year’s Stafford birthday celebration at the Vancouver Library. Irreverent and thought- provoking, the piece was later published in the Spring 2011 edition of the Friends of William Stafford newsletter. Dennis is the author of Looking for Peoria and Killing the Mockingbird (both from Quiet Lion Press) and the recipient of the 1996 Andreas Berger Award for poetry. Vancouver’s literary community has embraced McBride, whose sardonic wit and speedy delivery make every reading an event.

Christopher Luna is the co-founder, with Toni Partington, of Printed Matter Vancouver, which recently released Ghost Town Poetry, an anthology of poems from the popular Vancouver, WA open mic reading he founded in 2004. His books include GHOST TOWN, USA and The Flame Is Ours: The Letters of Stan Brakhage and Michael McClure 1961-1978, an important piece of film and literary history that Luna edited at Brakhage’s request, available on Michael Rothenberg’s Big Bridge.org.

JANUARY BIRTHDAY PARTIES HONOR POET WILLIAM STAFFORD

PORTLAND--Come out of the winter cold and celebrate with local poets and writers the birthday of Oregon’s most famous poet--and one of America’s most important 20^th century poets--in venues throughout the Northwest and other states and two foreign countries throughout the month of January.

The venues for these popular “birthday parties,” known formally as the William Stafford Birthday Commemorative Readings, which are sponsored by the Friends of William Stafford (FWS), include libraries, bookstores, art galleries, college campuses, a national park, a hospital, even a prison--wherever poetry can be read to and heard by appreciative audiences. Local poets and speakers provide the programs. The public is invited to these free events.

This year FWS is sponsoring more than 61 poetry readings and presentations not only in towns and cities throughout Oregon and Washington, but also in California, Nevada, Ohio, New Jersey, Vermont, and New York City. Events will also be held in Glasgow, Scotland, and Sapporo, Japan.

More than 225 poets, musicians, and speakers will participate in these programs. Featured Northwest poets and writers include (and this is a fractional list) Oregon Poet Laureate and FWS Board Member organizer for these events, Paulann Petersen, Ingrid Wendt, Joel Nightingale Berning--now of New York City, Ralph Salisbury, Bob Balmer, Greg Simon, Diane Holland, Sharon Wood Wortman, Kit Stafford, Jennifer Hager, Joe Green, James Bertolino, Joanna Rose, Martha Gatchell, Linda Gelbrich, Mark Thalman, Penelope Scambly Schott, Joaquin López, Harold Johnson, Willa Schneberg, A. Molotkov, and Shirley Plummer.

Different from most poetry readings, the “parties” usually feature four or five local poets, each of whom read a Stafford poem and one of their own written in the spirit of Stafford's writing. Some events also include speakers who address topics related to Stafford and his work, short films, or Stafford poetry-related musical pieces. After the featured participants’ presentations, the guests, members of the audience, are then invited to read a favorite Stafford poem or to tell a personal anecdote about the late Oregon poet laureate.

As always, several programs are particularly noteworthy. On Sunday, January 8, 7-9 p.m., Stonehenge Studios, 3508 SW Corbett Ave., Portland, the program, "Stafford in Translation," features Paul Merchant who will talk about the translation of Stafford's poetry into various languages as well as Stafford's work as a translator of Spanish, Cindy Gutierrez who will read Spanish Stafford translations, and Lars Nordstrom who will read his translations of Stafford into Norwegian.

The program on Sunday, January 15, 2 pm, at Sanctuary, West Hills Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship, 8470 SW Oleson Road, Portland, features Susan Bucharist, David Hedges, Bill Siverly, and the VOX Spoken Word Chorus. At the Sunday morning worship services, 9 and 11 a.m., Sulima Malzin will speak on "Another World Instead: The Life and Vision of William Stafford."

On Sunday, January 22^nd, 2 p.m., the Beaverton City Library, 12375 SW 5th St., Beaverton, features three-time Oregon Book Award winner John Daniel who will read from William Stafford's poems and his own and talk about Stafford's life and work in relation to his own writing, both poetry and prose.

At the Northern Nevada Correctional Center, Jan. 23, Shaun Griffin conducts a reading of Stafford’s poems; and on Jan. 28, 2 p.m., Paul Willis again hosts a reading at the First Crossing Day Use Area, Santa Barbara, CA. This event, now in its fourth year, is held on the exact site of the Los Prietos Civilian Public Service Camp where Stafford was stationed during WWII. (For a full list of the dates, times, contacts for these and all the readings, go to the FWS Website: www.williamstafford.org)

William Stafford was born on January 17, 1914. A favorite professor at Lewis and Clark College, where he taught for 30 years, he remains one of America's most celebrated poets. Known for his encouragement of other writers and for his advocacy of free expression in writing and speech, Stafford is the author of more than fifty books and a recipient of the National Book Award. He died in August 1993.

The Friends of William Stafford is a non-profit poetry-advocacy organization that, by keeping alive Stafford's gift as a teacher devoted to all types of free expression, provides ongoing education in literature, particularly in poetry, in ways that will encourage and broaden the community of readers and writers. FWS also supports and helps to underwrite a variety of literary projects and events open to the public.

For its commitment to promote the reading, writing, and enjoyment of all literature, FWS received from the International Society of Philosophical Enquiry the 2001 Whiting Memorial Award for public service to the arts.

Joseph A. Soldati
www.josephsoldati.com

From Steve Williams:

A busy poetry January awaits. First up is our monthly critique group meeting at Stonehenge Gallery at 4 p.m. on January 8th. Our first meeting went well and we're looking forward to Sunday afternoon. Bring 8-10 copies of a poem and join us for a marvelous afternoon of poetry and discussion. Followed by Leah Stenson's reading in the same locale at 7 p.m. So stick around, have something to eat in the cafe and make a night of it.

Join us for our January William Stafford event at In Other Words Bookstore at 14 N. Killingsworth St., PDX January 17th at 7 p.m. We will have open mic, but this month we have a Stafford theme. So bring a poem inspired by or of a theme by William Stafford. In addition to our normal fare of cookies/poetry prompts/broadsides, there will be Stafford broadsides as well. Hope to see you there.

The Studio Series: Poetry Reading and Open Mic will feature “Stafford in Translation,” at Stonehenge Studios, 3508 SW Corbett Avenue, Portland 97239 on Sunday, January 8 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Stafford Archivist Paul Merchant will speak about the translation of Stafford's poetry into various languages as well as Stafford's work as a translator of Spanish; Cindy Williams Gutierrez will read Spanish Stafford translations; and Lars Nordstrom will read his translations of Stafford into Norwegian. Attendees are invited to share a Stafford poem or anecdote at the open mic. The event is hosted by FWS Board Member Leah Stenson, organizer and host of the Studio Series. Free and open to the public, the Studio Series is held monthly on second Sundays. For additional information please contact leahstenson@comcast.net.

A native of Wales, Paul Merchant studied at Cambridge, the Shakespeare Institute, and the University of Athens, and taught for many years at the University of Warwick. Since 1996, he has been Director of the William Stafford Archives and co-edited two collections of Stafford's prose. He has also edited plays by the early 17th-century English dramatist Thomas Heywood, essays on contemporary American writer Wendell Berry, and two publications relating to the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He is currently Special Collections Associate at Lewis and Clark College. Some Business of Affinity, a finalist for the 2007 Oregon Book Award in poetry, follows three earlier collections of poetry: Salt Water Island, Bone from a Stag's Heart and Stones. He is also the translator of four collections of modern Greek poetry: Modern Poetry in Translation, Eleni Vakalo’s Genealogy, Monochords by Yannis Ritsos, and Twelve Poems for Cavafy, also by Ritsos.

Poet-dramatist Cindy Williams Gutiérrez collaborates with musicians, thespians, and visual artists. Her collection, the small claim of bones, is forthcoming from Bilingual Press/Editorial Bilingüe (Arizona State University). Poems and reviews appear in Borderlands, Calyx, Harvard’s Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, Rain Taxi, Rattle, and UNAM’s Periódico de poesía. She has performed her Aztec-inspired poetry accompanied by pre-Hispanic instrumentalist Gerado Calderón through Washington Humanities, the Miracle Theatre’s Luna Nueva Festival, the Multnomah County Library, and Associated Writing Programs (AWP). Cindy earned an MFA from the University of Southern Maine Stonecoast Program with concentrations in artistic collaboration and Mesoamerican poetry.

Lars Nordström is the recipient of several Fulbright grants, a Scandinavian Foundation grant for academic research in the USA, several Swedish Institute grants and awards, three Baltic Center residences as well as a Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center fellowship. In 1988 he won the Oregon Book Award for Nonfiction for Making it Home and has published prose, poetry, translations, interviews, oral histories, articles, and scholarly materials in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Canada, Japan and the United States in places such as The Oregon Online Encyclopedia, The Great River Review, The Greenfield Review, Hubbub, Northwest Review, Oregon Literary Review, PRISM International, International Poetry Review, The Chariton Review, and WRIT. His most recent publication is Harry Martinson: The Procession of Memories. Selected Poems 1929 - 1945 (2009), a translation of the Swedish 1974 Nobel Prize winner.

Leah Stenson is a Board Member of Friends of William Stafford, coordinator and host of the Studios reading series in Portland and a regional editor of the upcoming Ooligan Press anthology The Pacific Poetry Project. She has previously served as an assistant editor in New York City, a teacher of English at a university in Tokyo and the Managing Director of the Oregon Peace Institute. Her chapbooks include East/West (William Stafford Institute at Lewis and Clark College, 2005) and Heavenly Body (Finishing Line Press, 2011).

Dirty Queer Open Mic Five year Anniversary

It's our anniversary!!! five beautiful, sexy, smart, brave, loving, creative, resourceful years ... and many more to come.

Friday, January 13

Every 2nd Friday of the Month
at In Other Words
14 N Killingsworth at Williams, #6 & #72 buslines
wheelchair accessible building & stage, gender neutral bathroom
6:30-8:30pm, 18+, $1-$5 donation at the door for IOW, nobody turned away for lack of funds

we've got a special format for the anniversary celebration:

6-7 is mingling, treats and a fliptography booth!
7-8 is open mic part one
8-8:30 is intermission (ditto on the treats and fliptography booth!)
8:30-9:30 is more open mic
9:30-10 is mingling, winding down, possibly more fliptography.

sign ups will start at 6, and i *highly* encourage you to use not only your words, but also your dance moves, your improv, your gender performance, your secret magic skills and more. c'mon, portland, show me what you've got hidden under those layers of creativity and perversion ...

we had over 200 people last year for the anniversary so come early if you want to sit down! if you have accessibility needs around seating, please contact IOW directly ahead of time to make arrangements. (more accessibility info below.)

we'll have tasty treats at intermission from local companies. we're still seeking donations so please get in touch if you have suggestions, or even better, solicit them directly and send the confirmation info my way. we fall under the 501c3 umbrella for iow, so donations are a tax write off.

and, if you'd like to feed your fellow freaks, show off your hot(pad) skills, or otherwise tempt the taste buds of a roomful of dirty queers, please feel free to bring along some food to share. all food will be served ahead of time and at intermission, and we've no way to heat or cool it, so keep that in mind, please. (labeling things as to ingredients would also be cool.)

>> door prizes from good margot, alicia shaffer from fancy! salon, as you like it pleasure shop, and lady scarlett.

Good Margot makes gear for the Domestic Protagonist in your life! Inspired by a need for natural options for her own family, Good Margot began crafting original designs to address everyday needs and has never stopped. She's now making a diverse range of quality creations from sustainable materials including clothing, accessories, lap blankets, courtesy pads, dog beds and home decor. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Good-Margot/238435329527907

Alicia says "I hail from the bay area and am very excited to give P-town a little bit of my style. I'm in my 9th year of the craft, and I don't want to sound cliché, but I do love it. I specialize in creative color and razor cuts. I'm most definitely an out-of-the-box cutter, with the every day capability as well. If I had to give myself a niche, it would be that super-textured sexy hair, with a "rock and roll" edge to it. Whether it be your "glam chic" or your "Portland wash and wear" I do it all." http://www.thefancysalon.com/alicia.html

As You Like It is a gender inclusive, body positive, sex positive, and environmentally friendly pleasure shop that is wholly committed to being sustainable in our practices. We believe that pleasure products should be body safe. Our purpose is to provide an emotionally and physically safe environment for your pleasure shopping. We provide non-toxic and environmentally friendly products. We will also host and promote an abundance of fun and educational workshops and events for our community. http://www.asyoulikeitpdx.com/

Lady Scarlett offers a unique counseling service, using kink to work through concerns. New to kink and want to explore in a safe space? Have past trauma and want to find power over it? Queer/trans owned and friendly, sliding scale ($75-150/session, 1.5 hour sessions). Offered up tonight is a full session of "Counseling Through Kink: Using BDSM To Find Healing". For more info contact: counselingthroughkink@gmail.com.

>> sex q&a about mabel hampton
>> photo booth from fliptography!

flip•tog•ra•phy: dance, get freaky, sign, or kiss your date in front of a camera for seven seconds. in two minutes, have a flipbook of your performance in-hand. http://www.fliptography.net/

>> boot blacking by kyle minnie minstrel
>> chair massage from aster wolfe
>> dirty queer buttons and 'stir the juice' poetry books for sale: http://www.facebook.com/stirthejuice

as always, the money from the door at dirty queer goes to support in other words - the nation's last surviving non-profit feminist bookstore in the united states. show your support for this vital resource center however you can, and get involved! http://www.inotherwords.org/

sign ups for the open mic will be first come, first serve as always - we may not be able to get to everyone on the list if we run out of time. 5 mins per person unless you get specific permission from me for a longer time slot.

for more info on dirty queer, including podcasts (which will be updated soon as we've gotten a web hosting cost donation from a lovely and generous dirty queer!) from previous shows, see our website: http://www.dirtyqueer.com/

accessibility info:

+ no steps to the door, or inside the building
+ slight ramp between the two areas of the building
+ aprox 3' width for the entrance
+ gender neutral bathroom
(not sure about wheelchair access to the bathroom - it's wide, but there is a 90 degree turn from hallway to room, and no rail)
+ ramp to the stage
+ sturdy folding chairs and some couches
+ASL interpretation can be arranged for w/ a request from Deaf/HOH person to DHOR (dhor.blogspot.com) and enough advance notice

Poets Ruby Hansen Murray, Deborah Woodard, and Sam Lohmann will read at Powell's Books on Hawthorne, 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd., January 15^th at 4 p.m.

Puget Island writer and photographer Ruby Hansen Murray and Seattle poet Deborah Woodard will read from their contributions to American Ghost: Poets on Life after Industry (Stockport Flats).

With "Ghost Fishing" and a photo-essay, Murray turns what editor Lillien Waller calls a sure eye and muscular prose onto the fishing communities of the Lower Columbia River. A counselor licensed in Washington and Oregon with a background in cultural anthropology, Murray has taken personal essays from a life of listening deeply. Her work has appeared in Oregon Humanities Magazine and on Oregon Public Broadcasting Radio. She is the recipient of a fellowship residency at Playa in Eastern Oregon.

Pushcart Prize nominee Deborah Woodard was born in New York City and raised in Vermont and lives in Seattle where she teaches at the Richard Hugo House. She holds an M.A. in Creative Writing from the University of New Hampshire, an MFA from the University of California, Irvine, and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Washington. For further information: www.deborahwoodard.com.

Portland poet Sam Lohmann edits the magazine Peaches and Bats, co-edits Airfoil chapbooks with David Abel, and is one of the organizers of Portland's Spare Room reading series. He's the author of Stand on This Picnic Bench and Look North (Publication Studio) and several chapbooks, including Lines on Canvas or What I Know or Have Seen of His Life.

Sunday, January 15th @ 4:00PM Powell's Books on Hawthorne 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd. ###

Hi,

I'm writing to let you know about two upcoming songwriting events: Songwriting as Truth-Telling, a weekly workshop beginning Jan 17, and Truth-Craft, a one-day songwriting workshop which Chris Kokesh and I will offer on Feb 19.

Songwriting as Truth-Telling will meet Tuesdays Jan 17 through Feb 21 (6 weeks). There will be two sections: 7-9 pm at Artichoke Music, and 3:30-5:30 pm at my home in N. Portland. Each class is limited to 8 participants and pre-registration is required. Details at http://www.mattmeighan.com/classes.php. The evening class is nearly full, and both will likely fill up, so if you have questions or would like to register, please let me know soon. Cost is a sliding scale, $100 - 160.

Truth-Craft: Communicate Your Truth in Song. Sunday, Feb 19, Chris Kokesh and I will offer a one-day songwriting workshop at Artichoke Music, 10 am - 4 pm with a break for lunch. Chris & I are looking forward to hosting this workshop, a mini version of our Zigzag Mountain Songwriting Camp. Cost is $60; details at http://www.mattmeighan.com/TruthCraftPoster19Feb2012.pdf.

Give the Gift of Songwriting: I'm offering gift certificates for Songwriting as Truth-Telling classes as well as for one-on-one songwriting help. Recipients of the class certificate can sign up for the January class, or a future class that fits their schedule. One-on-one help is $50 per hour, with a gift-certificate discount to $40 per hour for 3 or more hours. Contact me for details.

Happy Holidays,
Matt

Coaster Poetry Contest Reading

7pm

January 18

Niche Wine and Art Bar

1013 Main Street Vancouver

http://lekkerentertainment.blogspot.com/

http://www.printedmattervancouver.com

http://christopherluna-poetry.blogspot.com

Leah Jackson and Christopher Luna are proud to announce the winners of Niche Wine and Art Bar’s Coaster Poetry Contest. Each of the ten winning poems will be published on a set of limited edition coasters to be used in the bar and available for purchase now. You can buy a complete set for only two dollars.

At 7pm on Wednesday, January 18 we will gather at Niche for a special reading featuring the winning poets. The winners are:

Anni Becker, "a copy of me"
April Bullard, "Ever searching clouds of wispy gray"
Ed Coletti, "haiku"
Carole Doane, "Middle child"
Dene Grigar, "I could cry"
Anne McQuary, "Botanical Suicide"
Daniel Nelson, "Crows"
Jessica Samuelsen, "An Adult Wish"
Erma Schmeckpepper, "the rain falls steadily from grey woolen skies"
Mary L. Slocum, "A Function of Sitting"

Congratulations to our winning coaster poets.

Leah Jackson is a visual artist and the proprietor of both Angst Gallery and Niche Wine and Art Bar. In late 2010, Jackson named Christopher Luna poet laureate for Niche and Angst. Along with the poetry contest, he has organized a series of bilingual readings at Niche which have featured poets reading in Spanish, Chinese, French, Vietnamese, Romanian, and Russian. In early 2012 Luna and Niche will host readings in Czech and Japanese.

Niche Poet Laureate Christopher Luna invites you to join us for an evening of poetry in Czech and English with sculptor Olinka Broadfoot.

6:30pm

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Niche Wine and Art Bar

1013 Main Street

http://lekkerentertainment.blogspot.com/

http://christopherluna-poetry.blogspot.com

Olinka Broadfoot is an accomplished sculptor and painter who recently returned to Oregon from Prague. Her work is currently available through TONDACH Sculpture Park (Jircany, Czech Republic), Siler Gallery (Portland, Oregon), TONDACH (Stod, Czech Republic), and RiverSea Gallery (Astoria, Oregon). She was included in the 2007 edition of ART IN AMERICA, Guide to Museums, Galleries and Artists. Her artwork is found in private and public collections all over the world. According to Olinka, “My work is varied because life is varied and I create from at least three different cultural backgrounds. I work in a wide range of mediums, reflecting the language of whatever medium happens to be on hand. I enjoy the challenge. One medium releases the energy for the other.” About the poems that she will share at this special event, Olinka comments: “These are mostly poems written after my husband committed suicide. It was the one thing besides sculpture and music that made any sense to me. They follow the particular form of grief and healing that this sort of death brings.” For more information about Olinka Broadfoot and her artwork, go to: www.olinkabroadfootgallery.com.

2nd Annual National Unpublished Writers’ Day Workshop

Join us on Sunday, January 29th, from noon – 5 pm for the 2nd Annual National Unpublished Writers’ Day Workshop at the museum! The museum galleries will remain open for viewing as will the Brautigan Library. The research library will be closed during the program. Admission to this event is free!

Sponsors include: Riverview Community Bank, the Clark County Historical Museum, and Washington State University Vancouver.

National Unpublished Writers’ Day is an annual event held in partnership between the Clark County Historical Museum, the Writing Center at Washington State University Vancouver, and The Creative Media & Digital Culture Program at Washington State University Vancouver. The event highlights The Brautigan Library Collection at the Museum. Washington- born writer Richard Brautigan conceived of the idea for a library where anyone could deposit a copy of their unpublished book, regardless of content or quality of writing, and all those folks who wish to create or communicate through writing.

National Unpublished Writers’ Day is free, both in terms of admission and in the spirit of a sixties “happening” with their multiple, simultaneous events and opportunities. We do, however, welcome any contributions and donations. The event will feature a series of “creative stations” and workshops around the Museum, each offering different opportunities to learn or experience something associated with different aspects or kinds of writing. These Creation Stations and workshops serve to highlight a broad approach to writing and offer a wide array of information, theory, and practice for our visitors.

Creative stations will include:

Zines
Editing/resumé writing
Writing for mobile media
Poetry
Spontaneous writing
Comedy writing
Creative writing
Radio writing
Descriptive writing

From Barnes & Noble Vancouver:

VANCOUVER, WA - Come out of the winter cold and celebrate with local poets and writers the birthday of Oregon’s most famous poet--and one of America’s most important 20^th century poets--in venues throughout the Northwest and other states and two foreign countries throughout the month of January. This year the Friends of Williams Stafford (FWS) is sponsoring more than 61 poetry readings and presentations not only in towns and cities throughout Oregon and Washington, but also in California, Nevada, Ohio, New Jersey, Vermont, and New York City. Events will also be held in Glasgow, Scotland, and Sapporo, Japan.

More than 225 poets, musicians, and speakers will participate in these programs. Featured Northwest poets and writers include Oregon Poet Laureate and FWS Board Member organizer for these events, Paulann Petersen, Ingrid Wendt, Ralph Salisbury, Sharon Wood Wortman, Kit Stafford, Jennifer Hager, Mark Thalman, Penelope Scambly Schott, Joaquin López, Willa Schneberg, A. Molotkov, and Shirley Plummer. Some events also include speakers who address topics related to Stafford and his work, short films, or Stafford poetry-related musical pieces. After the featured participants’ presentations, the guests, members of the audience, are then invited to read a favorite Stafford poem or to tell a personal anecdote about the late Oregon poet laureate.

As always, Vancouver's program is noteworthy. On Tuesday, January 31st from 7 - 8:30 pm, the local duo of Leanne Grabel and Steve Sander will read some of their Stafford-inspired pieces. The program, held at Barnes & Noble Vancouver and hosted by Shawn Sorensen, will also feature commentary from FWS board member Tim Barnes, followed by the open mic round table mentioned above.

Everyone is invited to the January 31st Stafford event at Barnes & Noble booksellers in Vancouver, 7700 NE Fourth Plain Boulevard.

Shawn Sorensen
Community Relations Manager
Barnes & Noble Vancouver
7700 NE 71st Ave.
Vancouver, WA 98662

SUBMISSION CALLS AND OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST

“The 30s Are Back,” a new poem by David Madgalene:

http://hoodoodog.blogspot.com/2011/12/30s-are-back.html

deb scott
plays with words.
http://stoneymoss.org/
http://swimmingwithpoets.wordpress.com/

Paul Nelson has put his excellent essays on Organic Poetry in one place. This page should keep you busy: http://paulenelson.com/2011/12/12/organic-poetry-essays/

Missive is a new literary journal built around the idea of community. We are committed to publishing a broad range of styles, themes, and idea. We accept art, poetry, prose, and drama. Our website is www.missivelit.com, please send all submissions to submissions@missivelit.com.

Missive stems from the idea that every piece of literature is a letter from a writer to a reader. Every literary journal is a letter from editor readers. Missive sets out to create a letter from readers to readers. Thus, at its core, Missive is about harnessing 21^st century technology to create a community based literary journal, which represents a broad range of views, tastes, and opinions.

To facilitate this, Missive is based around a readers’ panel composed of between ten to fifteen readers, which looks at all the submissions. Each reader has the ability to choose one wild card pick that automatically goes in, because even though the other readers on the panel may dislike it, the fact that one person loves it means that other people out there would enjoy it as well.

Missive is also an experimental literary magazine, with an emphasis on trying new things. The goal is to determine the best possible ways to find readers and keep them engaged.

CALL FOR POEM SUBMISSIONS

(WWW.FAULTLINESPOETRY.COM)

Dec. 15, 2011

FAULT LINES POETRY JOURNAL is calling for poets of all ages and backgrounds to submit their poems for publication: an exciting opportunity to get published in the newest poetry journal on the West Coast. Published out of Portland, Oregon, Fault Lines, is reaching out to poets from Oregon, Washington, Northern California, and British Columbia. It seeks imaginative, evocative, and powerful poetry for its maiden edition. Poetry can be on any topic in any form. I hope to receive your poems soon. Space is limited and the submission end date is looming.

The deadline is Jan. 15, 2012.

Fault Lines Poetry encourages submissions from poets of all backgrounds and circumstances: from polished, published poets to shy beginners, from the young to the middle aged to the Boomers. All are encouraged to send us poems so that Fault Lines can give them a VOICE.

As editor, I am looking for poems that nourish and encourage reflection, that enchant so that the readers turn page after page, repeatedly, because these poems inspire.

Submit your poems on the poetry website under the Call for Submission section.

WWW.FAULTLINESPOETRY.COM

ANTHONY PFANNENSTIEL

EDITOR/PUBLISHER

You may contact me if you have any questions faultlinespoetry@gmail.com

Poetry in Czech and English with sculptor Olinka Broadfoot at Niche Wine and Art Bar January 28

2011-12-03T18:35:00.000-08:00

Poetry in Czech and English with sculptor Olinka Broadfoot, hosted by Christopher Luna at Niche Wine and Art Bar Saturday, January 28 at 6:30pm

6:30pm

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Niche Wine and Art Bar

1013 Main Street

http://lekkerentertainment.blogspot.com/

http://christopherluna-poetry.blogspot.com

Niche Poet Laureate Christopher Luna invites you to join us for an evening of poetry in Czech and English with sculptor Olinka Broadfoot.

THE WORK Poetry Newsletter November 2011

2011-11-04T13:38:00.000-07:00

Christopher Luna

Editor, The Work

Photo by Toni Partington

Hello,

The cold has finally arrived. It feels like just yesterday that I was sitting in the sun in my shorts.

I am proud to announce two upcoming readings. On November 20, Toni Partington and I will read from the Ghost Town Poetry anthology at Moonstruck Chocolate Café in Lake Oswego (see item 8 below for more details). On November 28, we will be featured readers for the Last Monday Poetry Group in Hillsboro (details to follow).

Mike G. and Toni Partington at Paper Tiger

Thursday, October 22, 2011

Sketch by Christopher Luna

If you’d like to read my most recent Paper Tiger collage poem, and check out a couple of sketches I drew that night, go to: http://christopherluna-poetry.blogspot.com/2011/10/my-kinda-crowd-to-multi-tendril-through.html

Christopher Luna and Leah Jackson in front of Angst Gallery

I also recently posted a poem I wrote to commemorate Niche Wine and Art Bar’s one-year anniversary: http://christopherluna-poetry.blogspot.com/2011/10/beauty-poem-to-congratulate-leah.html

There are two new posts at the Printed Matter Vancouver website about our recently published Ghost Town Poetry anthology:

http://printedmattervancouver.com/2011/10/22/thank-you-for-making-the-ghost-town-poetry-anthology-a-success/

http://printedmattervancouver.com/2011/10/22/dennis-mcbride-praises-ghost-town-poetry/

In this video, my friend and collaborator David Madgalene, the poetic mastermind of Windsor, CA tells the story of a uniquely Ghost Town encounter:

http://www.youtube.com/user/hoodoodog

And of course:

GHOST TOWN POETRY OPEN MIC

HOSTED BY CHRISTOPHER LUNA

AND TONI PARTINGTON

at COVER TO COVER BOOKS

7pm Thursday, November 10, 2011

and every second Thursday

COVER TO COVER BOOKS

6300 NE St. James Rd., Suite 104B

(St. James & Minnehaha)

Vancouver, WA

360-993-7777

mail@covertocoverbooks.net

With our featured reader, Peter Ludwin:

Peter Ludwin is the recipient of a Literary Fellowship from Artist Trust. He was the Second Prize Winner of the 2007-2008 Anna Davidson Rosenberg Awards, and a Finalist for the Muriel Craft Bailey Memorial Award. For the past ten years he has been a participant in the San Miguel Poetry Week in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where he has workshopped under such noted poets as Mark Doty, Tony Hoagland and David St. John. His work has appeared in many journals, including The Bitter Oleander, The Com-stock Review, North American Review and Prairie Schooner, to name a few. His first full length collection, A Guest in All Your Houses, was published in 2009 by Word Walker Press. A chapbook, The Door Unhinged, was a semi-finalist for both the 2010 Concrete Wolf Chapbook Award and the Floating Bridge Press Chapbook Award. His second full-length manuscript, Rumors of Fallible Gods, was a Finalist for the 2010 Gival Press Poetry Award. His poem “Terezin Concentration Camp, Bohemia,” was nominated for a 2010 Pushcart Prize. An avid traveler who has journeyed on the rivers of the Amazon Basin in Ecuador by canoe to visit remote Indian families, hiked in the Peruvian Andes, thumbed for rides in Greece and bargained for goods in the markets of Marrakech and Istanbul, he recently returned from a month in Western China and Tibet.

Tagong: the Wild West

by Peter Ludwin

A pack of dogs roams the muddy street

that bisects this one-horse Tibetan town,

and a dead one stains the sidewalk with its corpse.

Rough-looking Khampas gather by their motorbikes.

In the clinic, a young Chinese doctor

gives me a three-hour IV and a shot to bring

my fever down. Obama! he says. Kobe!

On the mountainside, prayer flags thick as stars.

Notes from a Sodbuster’s Wife, Kansas, 1868

by Peter Ludwin

What really got us in the end—

we women who didn’t make it,

who withered and blew away in the open—

was the wind. Space, yes, and distance,

too, from neighbors, a piano back in Boston.

But above all, the wind.

In our letters it shrieks hysteria from sod huts,

vomits women prematurely undone by loneliness,

boils up off the horizon to suck dry

their desire as it flattened the stubborn grasses.

Not convinced? Scan the photographs,

grainy and sepia-toned, like old leather.

Study our bony forms in plain black dresses,

our mouths drawn tight as a saddle cinch,

accusation leaking from rudderless eyes, betrayed.

I tried. Lord knows I tried.

Survived the locusts and even snakes

that fell from the ceiling at night,

slithering between us in bed.

I dreamed of water, chiffon, the smell

of dead leaves banked against a rotting log.

I heard opera, carriage wheels on cobblestone.

Cried and beat my fists raw into those earthen walls.

The wind. Even as it scoured

the skin it flayed the soul,

that raked, pitted shell.

And how like the Cheyenne,

appearing, disappearing,

no fixed location,

not even a purpose one could name.

______________________________________________

See items 9 and 10 for information about how to obtain new work by two former featured readers in the Ghost Town Poetry series: Michael Daley and Carolyne Wright.

Finally, congratulations to the women of the VoiceCatcher collective for the publication of another anthology of great Northwest women writers and artists. See item 4 below for more details. In the coming month, Voice Catcher will be presenting a number of readings to celebrate the launch of the book, and in December Printed Matter Vancouver is proud to present a book launch at the Ghost Town Poetry open mic hosted by VC co-editor Toni Partington featuring several of the authors included in the anthology.

Hope to see you on the scene,

Christopher Luna

Co-Editor, Printed Matter Vancouver

Co-Host and Founder, Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic

THE WORK

NOVEMBER 2011

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Crow Arts Manor Workshop Schedule (Portland, OR)
Unsinkable Genius: The Surreal Voyage of George Hitchcock & kayak Magazine at Multnomah County Library’s Collins Gallery through November 27
Object Poems opening Nov. 4 & 5 and exhibit (Nov. 4-26) at 23 Sandy Gallery (Portland)
VoiceCatcher 6 Reading at In Other Words (Portland) November 6
Judith Arcana and Judith Barrington at Broadway Books November 8
Figures of Speech critique group (Nov. 13) and open mic featuring Maxine Scates and Judith Montgomery at In Other Words (Portland) November 15
Paulann Petersen + open mic at Paper Tiger Coffee (Vancouver, WA) Nov. 17
Christopher Luna, Toni Partington, and Peter McMinn at Moonstruck Chocolate Café (Lake Oswego, OR) Nov. 20
Michael Daley’s Way Out There: Lyrical Essays now available as an eBook
Mania Klepto: The Book of Eulene by Carolyne Wright now available

THE WORK

NOVEMBER 2011

Crow Arts Manor Workshop Schedule

From: sid@crowmanor.org

Tuesdays, October 25th-November 29th, 7:30-8:30

Zachary Schomburg: The Narrative Prose Poem (ONLY 2 SPOTS LEFT!!!)

Primarily a workshop, this course will focus on the generation and revision of 6-8 narrative prose poems within the larger context of readings. We will examine its structure: its set-up, its volta, and its exit. And we will consider how a complex pathos can be developed, an emotional confusion through humor and heartache, within this structure.

Zachary Schomburg is the author of The Man Suit; Scary, No Scary; two forthcoming books, Fjords and The Book of Joshua; a dvd of poem-films, Little Blind Things; and several small press chapbooks. He co-edits Octopus Magazine and Octopus Books.

Wednesdays, November 2th-December 7th, 8pm-9pm

Arthur Bradford: The Short Story

Sometimes the greatest gift a writing workshop can provide is simply the motivation to write down your stories. Participants will bring in new work to present – either fiction, non-fiction, or hybrid. Work will be shared by reading aloud, though participants may also provide photocopies so that others can read along. We will discuss elements of successful short stories as well as strategies for publication. This is a class for those who want to get work out of their heads, onto the page, and in front of other people.

Arthur Bradford is the author of Dogwalker: Stories (Knopf, 2001), and the upcoming children’s book, Benny’s Brigade (McSweeney’s, 2012). He directed the new Comedy Central South Park Documentary and was the Writer/Director/Producer of MTV’s How’s Your News?

Thursdays, November 10th-December 22th, 7:30-8:30 (class will not meet Thanksgiving week)

Erica Recordon: The Business of Creativity: Developing and Submitting Your Book To Agents

This is a class for writers who have a completed manuscript, which they now want to get into the hands of a literary agent. This stage can be full of questions. What should my cover letter say? Which sample chapters should I send? Which agent is right for me? We’ll unpack the confusion and workshop your book proposal into shape. At the end of six weeks, each student will have a ready-to-send proposal, a starter list of agents, and a better sense of the publishing industry that awaits them.

Erika Recordon began her career as an agent at the Writers House, a major New York agency. From there, she accepted a position with the boutique Robin Straus Agency, where she began to take on clients of her own. Over the years, she has worked closely with a wide range of authors including Alexander McCall Smith, Ha Jin, and many others. In 2009, she left New York and moved to Portland, Oregon, where she now runs an independent editing business.

Tuesdays, January 3-Febraury 6th, 7:30-8:30

Emily Kendall Frey: Poetry Workshop

This poetry workshop will focus on generating work. Poets will bring new poems to class and discussions will be centered around enhancing the workable and vital aspects of a new piece of writing. Writers will be encouraged to find and bring to class poems that inspire their craft, and exercises will be introduced based on those models.

Emily Kendal Frey is the author of The Grief Perfomance, published by Cleveland State University Poetry Center in 2011, as well as several chapbooks and chapbook collaborations.

Thursdays, January 5th-February 9th, 7:30-8:30

Shannon Wheeler: Creating Comics: A to Z

This comic class will focus on production of comics – idea, writing, sketching, thumbnails, panel layout, story arc and publishing. The focus of this class is creating rather than talking about creating. Be ready to draw.

Shannon Wheeler is the creator of the Too Much Coffee Man cartoon series and the book, I Thought You Would Be Funnier, has published cartoons in the New Yorker and has been honored with the Eisner Award for best humor publication.

Wednesdays, January 11th-February 15th, 7:30-8:30

Martha Grover: Creative Non-fiction

This class will focus on the short personal essay and the creative nonfiction narrative. As a class we will address problems of form and memory in telling our true-life stories. Students will bring in their own work to be workshopped as well as reading handouts and examples from the instructor. We will create a safe, supportive a community of writers and readers in addition to tackling the tricky task of distilling chaotic real-life into a cohesive narrative.

Martha Grover grew up in Portland and Corbett, Oregon. She has been publishing her zine, Somnambulist, for seven years. Her book, One More For the People, was published in December, 2011.

Wednesdays, February 22-March 28th, 7:30-8:30

Carl Adamshick: Lyric Poetry

The workshop will focus on the short poem. Participants will bring work and discussions will be centered around what is and what is not needed in a poem, and how to choose the right image for the right emotion being expressed. The range and variety of lyric poetry is vast and can be found in all literatures. We will use examples to help us understand the importance and art of economy. The goal being to leave class with a richer sense of how less can be more.

Carl Adamshick received the 2010 Walt Whitman Award from the Academy of American Poets judged by Marvin Bell. His book, Curses and Wishes, is published by Louisiana State University Press. His poems and essays have appeared in Narrative, American Poetry Review, Tin House, The Harvard Review, and elsewhere.

Saturdays, February 25th-April 6th, 10:30-11:30 (no class on March 24)

Mary Rechner: Momentum in Short Fiction: How to Keep Your Story Going

In this class we will use George Saunder’s essay “The Perfect Gerbil: Reading Barthelme’s The School” as a guide to escalating momentum in short fiction. Students will write and workshop a new story in this class.

Mary Rechner is the author of Nine Simple Patterns for Complicated Women. Her stories have appeared in the New England Review, Kenyon Review, Washington Square, Propeller Quarterly, Literary Mama, and Oregon Literary Review. “Hot Springs” was printed as a limited edition letterpress chapbook by Cloverfield Press.

2. Unsinkable Genius: The Surreal Voyage of George Hitchcock & kayak Magazine
October 6-November 27, 2011

Collins Gallery
3rd Floor, Central Library
801 S.W. 10th Avenue

Hours:
Monday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Tuesday & Wednesday: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Thursday-Saturday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Sunday: noon-5 p.m.

For more information: http://www.multcolib.org/events/collins/hitchcock.html

Oregon-born writer, artist and editor George Hitchcock (1914–2010) was on the cutting-edge of the small-press revolution, and in 1964 launched an incredible 20-year run of an inexpensively produced and electrifying literary journal called kayak.

"Unsinkable Genius: The Surreal Voyage of George Hitchcock & kayak Magazine" has books, kayaks (the magazine), photographs, letters, original collages, paintings, even the walking stick of George Hitchcock who died last year at age 96. It is very visual and very literary at the same time.

Object Poems
November 4 - 26

23 Sandy Gallery
623 NE 23rd Avenue
(three doors north of Sandy Blvd.)
23sandy.com

Opening Reception: Friday, Nov. 4, 5:00-8:00 pm
Reading/Performance: Saturday, Nov. 5, 4:00 pm

Object Poems
brings together striking works by thirty contemporary artist-poets and poet-artists: poems in three dimensions; poems that depart from the familiar form of the printed page.

Exhibitors include Alison Knowles, Nico Vassilakis, Andrew Topel, Marilyn R. Rosenberg, Steve McCaffery, Geof Huth, Alan Halsey, K.S. Ernst, Norma Cole, Jen Bervin, Bill Berkson, Michael Basinski, James Yeary, Kristin Prevallet, Eric Magrane, Drew Kunz, Joseph Keppler, Jim Clinefelter, and many others.

Shawna Harch of Portland Reading Local conducted a wonderful interview with me which you can find at http://portland.readinglocal.com/2011/09/interview-poet-barbara-lamorticella-on-finding-our-deepest-authentic-voice/

Incidentally, the redesigned Portland Reading Local has become one of the liveliest literary sites in Portland, well worth bookmarking

Voice Catcher 6 Reading

They're photographers, poets, painters, prose writers, and color-pencil artists who revel in the real, the imaginary, the public, the private. They're ten creative women who will be sharing their work at In Other Words on Sunday, November 6, 2011 at 2 p.m.--another lively VoiceCatcher event you won't want to miss.

Reading and Art Exhibit
In Other Words
Sunday, November 6, 2-4 pm
14 NE Killingsworth, Portland, OR

Authors
Kay Reid
Lois Rosen
Cecilie Scott
Sharon Wood Wortman

Artists
Kristin Kohl
Kari Lloyd-Jones
Heather Mikes
Elizabeth Miles
Kris Tina E. Valoppi
Lisa Valle

From Judith Arcana:

Come to Broadway Books

November 8th

Tuesday

7pm

for

TWO JUDITHS

Judith Arcana & Judith Barrington

reading

Judith Arcana

Judith Barrington

prose & poetry with politics

reflective/retroactive/right now

1714 NE Broadway

Portland, Oregon

503.284.1726

non-sneak preview: the Judiths in conversation online .....

http://www.eclectica.org/v13n3/arcana_barrington.html

the Judiths' websites .....

http://www.juditharcana.com/

http://www.judithbarrington.com/

the bookstore website .....

http://www.broadwaybooks.net/

VISIT: http://www.juditharcana.com/

Art is food. You can't eat it, but it feeds you. --- Bread and Puppet Theater

From Steve Williams:

Hi Everyone

This month we have our normal day for our critique group open to the public at In Other Words on the corner of Williams and Killingsworth in N. Portland. Bring yourself and 6-8 copies of a poem you’d like feedback on to the group on Sunday afternoon November 13^th from 4-6 p.m.

Figures of Speech is proud to present not one but two former Oregon Book Award winners this month. Please join us for Maxine Scates and Judith Montgomery on November 15^th also at In Other Words at 7 p.m. Both of these poets are from out of town so we need a good local turnout for these two outstanding writers. And as aways open mic (2 page max. pls), poetry prompts and cookies.

Maxine Scates

Maxine Scates is the author of three books of poetry, Undone (New Issues 2011) Toluca Street and Black Loam. She is coeditor, with David Trinidad, of Holding Our Own: The Selected Poems of Ann Stanford. Her poems have been widely published in such journals as AGNI, The American Poetry Review, Ironwood, The Massachusetts Review, Ploughshares and The Virginia Quarterly Review, and her work has received the Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize, the Oregon Book Award for Poetry, the Lyre Prize, and a Pushcart Prize. She has taught at Lane Community College, Lewis and Clark College and most recently Reed College. She lives in Eugene, Oregon.

Judith Montgomery

Judith H. Montgomery lives in the High Desert of Oregon. Her poems appear in such journals as Ars Medica, The Bellingham Review, Dogwood, The Evansville Review, and Hunger Mountain, as well as in several anthologies including, most recently, I Go to the Ruined Place: Contemporary Poems in Defense of Global Human Rights. (Lost Horse Press, 2009). She is the author of Passion (2000 Oregon Book Award), Red Jess, and Pulse & Constellation. With the support of fellowships in poetry from Literary Arts and from the Oregon Arts Commission, she is working on two new manuscripts (Blue Fields, Burning, and Ambiguous Gift). She has received residencies from Soapstone, Caldera, and Hypatia; several of her poems have been nominated for Pushcart prizes. She enjoys teaching as well as writing, and reviews poetry books for Calyx and the Valparaiso Poetry Review. She was the 2005-2006 Scholar-in-Residence at Central Oregon Community College.

From Dan Nelson:

Hey there all you lovers of great poetry,

My condolences to all of you who missed our October reading. We had the usual stellar cast (plus a few great new additions) for the open mic portion of the evening. And then there was the remarkable Dan Raphael. The man is a virtuoso with the english language, torqueing words until they give up there vital essences, creating imagery that crawls around your brain and burrows into your consciousness like a mole in soft earth. Plus he is a great performance artist. Thank you Dan, and thanks to everyone else who promoted, attended or participated in the event. And special gratitude to our gracious new hosts at Paper Tiger, Kenny and Sue Fletcher.

For November's Third Thursday reading (7pm on Nov. 17th at Paper Tiger Coffeehouse, 703 Grand Blvd in Vancouver; Located about a mile east of I-5 between Mill Plain and Evergreen) I am thrilled to announce we will be featuring the phenomenal talent of Paulann Petersen. Oregon’s sixth Poet Laureate, Paulann Petersen has five full-length books of poetry: The Wild Awake, Blood-Silk, A Bride of Narrow Escape, Kindle, and The Voluptuary, published by Lost Horse Press in 2010. She was a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, and the recipient of the 2006 Holbrook Award from Oregon Literary Arts. A current Associate Fellow at the Attic Institute, she serves on the board of Friends of William Stafford, organizing the January Stafford Birthday Events.

Paulann has the rare ability to create skeins of gorgeous imagery which she blends into a whole which offers crystal clarity. The folks who didn't get chosen to be Poet Laureate of Oregon can take comfort in knowing they lost out to a master. Kinda like all the NBA greats who didn't win a championship during Michael Jordan's reign. She is that good.

So , if you care about great verse and know you deserve the best, hie yourself on down to Paper Tiger on November 17th for a night of great company, great beverages, and some of the finest poetry in the Pacific Northwest. You will be glad you did.

I'll leave you with a sample of Paulann’s work to insure you'll make every effort to get there and hear her in person.

Dan Nelson

360-334-1129

nelsondaniel59@yahoo.com

USE

A bird’s beak. Recurved,

decurved, serrate, hooked.

Each to its purpose.

Dark, pale, honeyed, dun,

of use. Stabbing, probing, it keeps

its size, its shape, by balancing

constant growth and constant use.

A small and honed proof.

Onward it grows, fed by a heart’s

swift little engine that’s fed by

what the beak can dislodge.

Outward—against grit or bark—

it wears away as much of itself

as it adds. The use of use: to keep

a beak as beak, exactly.

Worn to perfection.

— Paulann Petersen

from The Voluptuary, Lost Horse Press, 2010

SPIRITED WORDS TO CELEBRATE THE HARVEST SEASON

Joan Maiers hosts an evening of poetry read by Christopher Luna and Toni Partington, co-editors of the Ghost Town Poetry anthology, along with fiction by Peter McMinn from Soul's Road.

Authors will provide book materials for browsing and signing.

Moonstruck Chocolate Cafe in downtown Lake Oswego, 6:30 PM on Sunday, November 20.

Seating is limited but parking is accessible and abundant.

Be sure to arrive by 6 PM, so as to order beverages and claim seating.

Moonstruck Chocolate Cafe, 45 S. State Street in downtown Lake Oswego, OR 97034.

Contact: 5003-697-7097.

Michael Daley’s book, Way Out There: Lyrical Essays, just became available as an ebook: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/68837

10.

WordTech Communications / Turning Point Books Announces the Publication of "Mania Klepto: The Book of Eulene" by Carolyne Wright

Carolyne Wright has published nine books and chapbooks of poetry, a collection of essays, and four volumes of translations from Spanish and Bengali, including the anthology Majestic Nights: Love Poems of Bengali Women (White Pine Press, 2008). Her previous collection, A Change of Maps (Lost Horse Press, 2006), finalist for the Idaho Prize and the Alice Fay di Castagnola Award from the Poetry Society of America, won the 2007 Independent Book Publishers Bronze Award for Poetry, and was reviewed in The Iowa Review 38/1, and in The Cortland Review: < http://www.cortlandreview.com/features/08/spring/rigsbee_r.html >

Wright's other recent collection, Seasons of Mangoes and Brainfire (Carnegie Mellon U Press / EWU Books, 2nd edition 2005) won the Blue Lynx Prize, Oklahoma Book Award in Poetry, and American Book Award. Wright, a visiting writer at colleges and universities around the country, served on the Board of the AWP from 2004-2008, and moved back to her native Seattle in 2005. She teaches for the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts' Whidbey Writers Workshop MFA Program.

Carolyne Wright's new collection, Mania Klepto: the Book of Eulene (WordTech Communications / Turning Point Books, 2011), features the adventures of the post-modern alter-ego, Eulene.

On his blog, publisher Kevin Walzer *confesses*: "I'm in love with Eulene, the unforgettable protagonist of Carolyne Wright's Mania Klepto. Eulene takes us on an energetic romp through her vision. These brisk poems are never dull, often funny, and always illuminating. While the poems of Mania Klepto are varied in their length and techniques, they all share a strong, propulsive energy through their scenes. . . . These poems grab your attention and never let up."

Don Bogen, editor of The Cincinnati Review, says, "Of all the descendants of Berryman’s Henry Pussy-cat, Carolyne Wright’s Eulene has got to be the most, to use the poet’s own term, bodacious. This 'gregarious loner' weaves her formidable presence from Puyallup to Calcutta, from childhood memories to apocalyptic myth. Narrative, satire, and lyric meditation come together in an intricate, vivid portrait. In Mania Klepto, Eulene demands her say— and she says a lot."

Poet Jim Daniels writes that "Carolyne Wright’s Mania Klepto: The Book of Eulene is a masterful, imaginative collection focusing on Eulene, one of the most memorable characters to ever grace the pages of a book of poems. Nothing keeps Eulene down, and nothing keeps these poems from soaring. This inspired collection of funny, audacious poems will leave you reeling with delight and wonder."

W. D. Snodgrass, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, predicted some years ago that "Eulene promises to be a compelling, disquieting figure." (How right he was!)

And David Wagoner, winner of the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, has stated that "Carolyne and Eulene rule."

* Mania Klepto: The Book of Eulene is available from WordTech Communications: http://www.turningpointbooks.com/carolyne_wright.html

*For a review copy, please query Kevin Walzer, Editor & Publisher,

< kevin@wordtechcommunications.com >; and Senior Editor Lori Jareo,

< lori @wordtechcommunications.com >

*You may also contact Carolyne Wright for a reading and/or review copy: carolyne.eulene@juno.com

ISBN 978-1936370412, 106 pages, $19.00
Cover art: "Eulene Pajaristica," Eugenia Toledo
Book Design: Christine Holbert, Lost Horse Press

Sharon Wood Wortman's Bridge Walks return

2011-10-29T16:43:00.000-07:00

I had a feeling that Sharon Wood Wortman would not be able to stay away from bridges for long. Check it out:

http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=131966233756253800

Bridge Walks Raise Funds for

The Big & Awesome Bridges of Portland & Vancouver--A Book for Young Readers

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Saturday, November 19, 2011

1-4 p.m.

Meet at Floyd’s Coffee, NW First and Couch

Bicycle racks available at ODOT, 123 NW Flanders

City Center parking garage at 90 NW Davis

Served by TriMet lines 4, 8, 35, 44, and 77 and two nearby MAX stops

Cost $55, includes a Portland-Vancouver Bridges poster

One Hundred percent of proceeds to Big & Awesome

Sharon Wood Wortman, author of three editions of The Portland Bridge Book, comes out of bridge walking retirement to lead two bridges walks to raise funds for creating and printing the first children’s book about the local bridges, The Big & Awesome Bridges of Portland & Vancouver—A Book for Young Readers.

Ride by bike, then lock up at the Oregon Department of Transportation as we visit the Region 1 bridge museum and Traffic Management Operations Center. See several bridges along the downtown waterfront, then visit the Burnside Bridge and meet the bridge operator. Bridge mechanics and weather permitting, watch a test lift while standing mid-span or inside the bridge tower. Once the traffic is stopped and gates are down, participants are free to walk mid-span to lie down and be “road kill” and live to tell about it. In another group exercise, participants build triangles with their bodies to feel tension and compression. Appropriate dress is recommended. Participants are also invited to bring a favorite bridge poem.

A project of PDX Bridge Festival, Inc., a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, Big & Awesome is the first bona fide book about the local bridges written for young readers. The goal is to donate free copies to PPS third grade classrooms and Vancouver School District fourth grade classrooms. To register, email sharon@bridgestories.com. Those who cannot walk but wish to make a donation may visit www.bridgefestival.org. All donations are tax deductible. Other questions? Call Sharon at 503.330.0900.

Partners as of October 21, 2011: Geotechnical Group of the American Society of Civil Engineers Oregon Section, THA Architecture, KPFF Engineering, TY Lin International, Portland Ironworkers Local 29, Society of American Military Engineers, Parsons Brinckerhoff Engineering, Nutter Family Foundation (Vancouver), Missionary Chocolates, and several individuals--every person, organization, and foundation to be acknowledged in Big & Awesome.

To buy a Portland-Vancouver Bridges poster with the art of elementary students featured in Big & Awesome, visit A Children’s Place Bookstore, Powell’s on Burnside, or Broadway Books in Portland and Cover to Cover Books in Vancouver.

My kinda crowd to multi-tendril through, a collage poem for Dan Raphael by Christopher Luna

2011-10-29T16:16:00.000-07:00

I'd like to dedicate my latest collage poem to Dan Raphael, Dan Nelson, and all of my friends at Paper Tiger. That evening's performances were particularly good. However, as always, it was the nervous chatter and offhand comments in between poems that struck me.

It was an honor to follow Dan Raphael, whose kindness and generosity have made me feel welcome in the Northwest, and whose work continues to inspire me to do it my way and trust that others will pick up what I'm putting down. His performances show us how it's done. His professionalism and grace remind us that it is possible to be a poet who is confident in his or herself without being an asshole.

Dan Raphael reads at Paper Tiger Coffee

October 22, 2011

Sketch by Christopher Luna

My kinda crowd to multi-tendril through
Dan Raphael

Rainy night in an Irish sweater. You introduce the meat. Is this the meat in the middle? He’s gotta nice case for it. Mine’s in a box. Wanna take Dan to the GWAR show. Perhaps his enormity will shield me as we are showered in fake semen and blood. That’s entertainment.

Bad women. Bad whiskey. Depression and a little red wagon. Mysterious 50 beckons. Somebody at the back of the room grunts. Dog monger lover in an Irish sweater prepares to smash the state. My kinda crowd to multi-tendril through. Cavalcade of new liminalists talk shit about papa poet. Glowing tablets impart metempsychotic miracles. Beat that drum. Time isn’t my best sense. We’ll tower while we can.

Christopher Luna
Paper Tiger Coffee
October 22, 2011

Mike G. and Toni Partington listen to poets

at Paper Tiger, October 22, 2011

Sketch by Christopher Luna

The Beauty: A poem to congratulate Leah Jackson on the one-year anniversary of Niche Wine and Art Bar

2011-10-24T23:24:00.000-07:00


Christopher Luna and Leah Jackson in front of Angst Gallery

Congratulations to Leah Jackson for creating the coolest spot in the 'Couve. Late last year, Leah honored me by naming me her poet laureate. I didn't know an individual could do that, but Leah is not the kind of person to ask permission. She is the kind of person who makes things happen. Niche is a classy, fun, beautiful place to be, the food is amazing, and the wine is exquisite. I am proud to play a small role in the beauty Leah is nurturing there. Leah has supported me in many different ways since we first met. She has done more than anyone I know to make Vancouver, WA a place where poetry, art, and music thrive.

Here is the poem I wrote in her honor and presented at Niche's one-year anniversary on Saturday:

The Beauty

some hide it

while others wave it

in your face

unsolicited

some plant a seed

others born to tend

still more simply benefit

from the fruit

of their generosity

our hostess

extends her arms

to surround our light

in a canopy

of evergreen

digs in

don’t let go

builds the stage

hangs the art

lays the foundation

while we sleep

if you want to thank her

get in line

may have to make an appointment

she’s too busy making things better

for all of us

a bard needs a bicycle

a poet needs a mic

a painter needs a wall

a songwriter needs a muse

everyone needs a song

sounds like it was written

especially for you

a citizen needs a drink, companionship,

and a splash of beauty now and then

you’re not alone

you’re not invisible

not insignificant

when it begins to feel as if

no one notices

no one knows you’re there

when you begin to feel you’re on your own

remember there’s a perfect niche

down the street

waiting just for you

With love and respect for Leah Jackson

On the first anniversary of Niche Wine and Art Bar

In gratitude for her service to the community

Christopher Luna

Poet Laureate, 2011

GHOST TOWN POETRY OPEN MIC welcomes Peter Ludwin Thursday, November 10

2011-10-23T21:20:00.000-07:00

GHOST TOWN POETRY OPEN MIC

HOSTED BY CHRISTOPHER LUNA

AND TONI PARTINGTON

Presented by Printed Matter Vancouver

http://printedmattervancouver.com

at COVER TO COVER BOOKS

7pm Thursday, November 10, 2011

and every second Thursday

COVER TO COVER BOOKS

6300 NE St. James Rd., Suite 104B

(St. James & Minnehaha)

Vancouver, WA

360-993-7777

mail@covertocoverbooks.net

christopherjluna@gmail.com

With our featured reader, Peter Ludwin:

Peter Ludwin is the recipient of a Literary Fellowship from Artist Trust. He was the Second Prize Winner of the 2007-2008 Anna Davidson Rosenberg Awards, and a Finalist for the Muriel Craft Bailey Memorial Award. For the past ten years he has been a participant in the San Miguel Poetry Week in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where he has workshopped under such noted poets as Mark Doty, Tony Hoagland and David St. John. His work has appeared in many journals, including The Bitter Oleander, The Com-stock Review, North American Review and Prairie Schooner, to name a few. His first full length collection, A Guest in All Your Houses, was published in 2009 by Word Walker Press. A chapbook, The Door Unhinged, was a semi-finalist for both the 2010 Concrete Wolf Chapbook Award and the Floating Bridge Press Chapbook Award. His second full-length manuscript, Rumors of Fallible Gods, was a Finalist for the 2010 Gival Press Poetry Award. His poem “Terezin Concentration Camp, Bohemia,” was nominated for a 2010 Pushcart Prize. An avid traveler who has journeyed on the rivers of the Amazon Basin in Ecuador by canoe to visit remote Indian families, hiked in the Peruvian Andes, thumbed for rides in Greece and bargained for goods in the markets of Marrakech and Istanbul, he recently returned from a month in Western China and Tibet.

Tagong: the Wild West

by Peter Ludwin

A pack of dogs roams the muddy street

that bisects this one-horse Tibetan town,

and a dead one stains the sidewalk with its corpse.

Rough-looking Khampas gather by their motorbikes.

In the clinic, a young Chinese doctor

gives me a three-hour IV and a shot to bring

my fever down. Obama! he says. Kobe!

On the mountainside, prayer flags thick as stars.

Notes from a Sodbuster’s Wife, Kansas, 1868

by Peter Ludwin

What really got us in the end—

we women who didn’t make it,

who withered and blew away in the open—

was the wind. Space, yes, and distance,

too, from neighbors, a piano back in Boston.

But above all, the wind.

In our letters it shrieks hysteria from sod huts,

vomits women prematurely undone by loneliness,

boils up off the horizon to suck dry

their desire as it flattened the stubborn grasses.

Not convinced? Scan the photographs,

grainy and sepia-toned, like old leather.

Study our bony forms in plain black dresses,

our mouths drawn tight as a saddle cinch,

accusation leaking from rudderless eyes, betrayed.

I tried. Lord knows I tried.

Survived the locusts and even snakes

that fell from the ceiling at night,

slithering between us in bed.

I dreamed of water, chiffon, the smell

of dead leaves banked against a rotting log.

I heard opera, carriage wheels on cobblestone.

Cried and beat my fists raw into those earthen walls.

The wind. Even as it scoured

the skin it flayed the soul,

that raked, pitted shell.

And how like the Cheyenne,

appearing, disappearing,

no fixed location,

not even a purpose one could name.

100 Thousand Poets for Change in Vancouver and Portland

2011-09-18T13:13:00.000-07:00

Niche/Angst poet laureate and Ghost Town Poetry founder Christopher Luna invites Vancouver and Portland writers and artists to participate in the largest poetry reading in history on Saturday, September 24. 100 Thousand Poets for Change, a global event uniting writers who believe in the power of language to create social and political positive change, is a grassroots effort in which anyone can participate. The intention is to find ways to bring your message to the larger community through outdoor events and readings in non-traditional places. This is why I did not plan an open mic at a bookstore or coffee shop. Each of you can create your own event or get together with a few friends.

Starting at 1pm I will be reading and writing poems outside Niche Wine and Art Bar, interacting with passerby and providing help and advice to poets who would like to participate. However, in the spirit of the event, please feel free to initiate and execute your own activities. Then send all poems and photographs to me at christopherjluna@gmail.com or post them as a reply on our 100 Thousand Poets for Change blog: http://www.bigbridge.org/100thousandpoetsforchange/?cat=46

Niche is located at 1013 Main Street in Vancouver, WA, next door to the New Kiggins Theatre.

Please read the press release below for more information about this historic event.

Contact: Michael Rothenberg

100 Thousand Poets for Change

P.O. Box 870
Guerneville, Ca 95446
Phone: 305-753-4569
http://www.100TPC.org
walterblue@bigbridge.org

100 Thousand Poets for Change Organizes Largest Poetry Event in History

Number of Participants Worldwide Growing Daily

650 events in 450 cities and 95 countries will take place on September 24 to promote environmental, social, and political change. Poets, writers, artists will create, perform and demonstrate in their communities, and decide their own specific area of focus for change within the framework of peace and sustainability, which founder Michael
Rothenberg stated, “…is a major concern worldwide and the guiding principle for this global event.”

Bob Holman and Margery Snyder, in a recent article on About.com said, “the beauty of the concept of 100 Thousand Poets for Change is that it is completely decentralized and completely inclusive.” All those involved are hoping, through their actions and events, to seize and redirect the political and social dialogue of the day and turn the narrative of civilization towards peace and sustainability.

Poetry demonstrations are being organized in political hotspots such as Madison, Wisconsin and Cairo, Egypt. Poetry and peace gatherings are planned in strife-torn Kabul and Jalalabad.

In Mexico there are over 30 events, with 18 poetic actions in Mexico City, where poets as well as environmental and political activists are hoping to encourage reflection and creative responses against systemic violence through the written and the spoken word with day long street events, readings and workshops. More than a third
of these events are organized by collectives actively working towards a non-violent approach to solve the country's most pressing problems.

To date there are over 260 events in the United States. There are 20 events statewide in North Carolina where teacher/poets have mobilized to protest cuts in education funding. And along the Platte River near Omaha, Nebraska, poets will be demonstrating against TransCanada’s planned Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. More examples of events can be found at the 100 Thousand Poets for Change www.100TPC.org. Each event organizer has an Event Location blog page on the website for posting, poetry, artwork, photos, and video to document this global mega-event across national borders.

Immediately following September 24th all documentation on the 100TPC.org website will be preserved by Stanford University in California, which has recognized 100 Thousand Poets for Change as an historical event, the largest poetry reading in history. They will archive the complete contents of the website, 100TPC.org, as part
of their digital archiving program LOCKSS.

Founder Michael Rothenberg is a widely known poet, editor of the online literary magazine Bigbridge.org and an environmental activist based in Northern California.

For information contact: http://www.100TPC.org
Contact: walterblue@bigbridge.org
Phone: 305-753-4569