Dear Literary Folk,
As I write these words, with midnight fast approaching, I can hear the early celebrations of the launch of 2013: fireworks, pots and pans clanging, car horns. 2012 has been a challenging year for so many, but now we turn toward the returning light. May it give us all the chance to realize our hopes, promises, and dreams.
January is welcomed in many ways in our literary community. Some of us will be gathering to celebrate with poetry, food, and conversation. Some will be honoring the day with family. Some will be biking or hiking over the Sonoma County hills, and some will be serving breakfast to the homeless.
However you welcome 2013, here are some upcoming events you may want to catch. Details for each can be found in the January Calendar.
Friday, January 4, 7:15 p.m. 100 Thousand Poets for Change and Book Release by Project Censored. Music by Moss Henry at 7:15. Book Release and Poetry at 8:00. Gaia’s Garden Restaurant, 1899 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa
Saturday, January 12, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Random Acts—“Open Microphone,” at Readers’ Books, 130 E. Napa St., Sonoma. (707) 939-1779.
Saturday, January 12, 7:00 p.m. The Word Temple Poetry Series presents Arisa White and Jacqueline Kudler. Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Vets Bldg., 282 S. High Street, Sebastopol.
Sunday, January 27, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Writing Workshop & Art Collage with Marlene Cullen. No special writing experience needed. Bring a notebook and pen. Material for art collage will be provided. At The Sunflower Center, 1435 No. McDowell Blvd, Petaluma.
Sunday, January 27, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Sonoma County Writing Practice writers will read from their new anthology, FOOT NOTES at the Occidental Center for the Arts.
Here’s a poem to welcome the new year, by Ranier Maria Rilke.
All will come again into its strength:
the fields undivided, the waters undammed,
the trees towering and the walls built low.
And in the valleys, people as strong and varied as the land.
And no churches where God
is imprisoned and lamented
like a trapped and wounded animal.
The houses welcoming all who knock
and a sense of boundless offering
in all relations, and in you and me.
No yearning for an afterlife, no looking beyond,
no belittling of death,
but only longing for what belongs to us
and serving earth, lest we remain unused.
— Rainier Maria Rilke
To download a pdf with pages from the Update site, click here.
Terry Ehret, Co-Editor
Sonoma County Literary Update 