Sonoma County Literary Update

Dear Literary Folk,

A few days ago, we lost Maya Angelou, a woman of great mind, heart, and soul. She joins many other bright poet-lights on the other side of the veil. Perhaps in that sense, her work has only just begun. I love this picture of her taken by Chester Higgins in1969, illustrating what Catherine Taylor describes an “enlightened grace.” Here is a bit of that grace in words:

“I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life. I’ve learned that making a “living” is not the same thing as making a “life.” I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one. I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn. I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Last month’s post sent some of you thinking about summer writing, travel, and workshops. But for me, the days of reading and writing at my own leisure don’t begin until June. The June calendar of events, workshops, and conferences is full of opportunities. Here are some highlights, along with a few updates from the May post.

Two Local Conferences
We are very lucky to have two excellent conferences just over the Sonoma county borders. Registration is open for both the Mendocino Coast Writers Conference, July 30-August 2; and the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference, July 27-August 1, 2014. Here are the links to their websites: MCWC: www.mcwc.org; NVWC: www.napawritersconference.org.

Three Summer Retreats
Writing Retreat with Pam Houston in Santa Cruz Mountains: June 13-15, 2014: www.pamhoustonevent.com
Point Reyes Writing Retreat with Patti Trimble and Susan Bono, Friday, June 13, 6:00 p.m. to Monday, June 16, 2:00 p.m. www.ptreyes.org/camps-classes-programs/field-institute/classes/10th-annual-point-reyes-writing-retreat
Tracing the Path: Exploring Your Spiritual Journey through Memoir & Craft, a one day women’s retreat in Sebastopol with Noelle Oxenhandler and Susie Stonefield Miller. Sunday, June 22, 2014, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. www.susiestonefieldmiller.com/tracing-the-path

Happy Birthday, Sitting Room!
The Sitting Room opens its doors on Sunday, June 8 2-5 PM for its annual birthday party and reading from the 2014 publication: I Knew I Was a Feminist When . . . . For a list of upcoming Sitting Room events and workshops, visit the website: www.sittingroom.org/events.html

Free Sitting Room Workshop
To thank the Sitting Room for being such an important, supportive, creative space for writers, poet Terry Ehret, storyteller Cathryn Fairlee, and poet-musician Jabez Churchill present a one-day free workshop on the myth of Medea and the legend of La Llarona, on Sunday, June 22, 9 AM to 4 PM. Film, performance, music, pot-luck lunch, discussion, and writing prompts. Contact tehret99@comcast.net to reserve a spot.

Bibiophoria III
Thursday, June 12, 6:00-7:30 p.m. is the official kick off of Bibliophoria III with the opening of three book arts exhibits, at Sebastapol Center for the Arts: At 282 S. High Street, Sebastapol. More details: bibliophoria.com

The Art of the Fantastic
Thursday, June 12, 7:00 p.m. Why There Are Words Literary Reading Series welcomes readers from The Fabulist (www.the-fabulist.org), a journal for fables, yarns, tales and fantastical art. Studio 333, 333 Caledonia Street, Sausalito. For complete details including the authors’ full bios, see: http://whytherearewords.com

Thoughts on the Drought
Though we enjoyed the late spring rains, our hills are turning their summer gold, and our driest year in California history continues. I haven’t received any “thoughts on the drought” poems or essays this month, but here’s one from former U.S. Poet-Laureate Billy Collins, sent last month by Larry Robinson.

Water Table

It is on dry sunny days like this one that I find myself
thinking about the enormous body of water
that lies under this house,
cool, unseen reservoir,
silent except for the sounds of dripping
and the incalculable shifting
of all the heavy darkness that it holds.
This is the water that our well was dug to sip
and lift to where we live,
water drawn up and falling on our bare shoulders,
water filling the inlets of our mouths,
water in a pot on the stove.
The house is nothing now but a blueprint of pipes,
a network of faucets, nozzles, and spigots,
and even outdoors where light pierces the air
and clouds fly over the canopies of trees,
my thoughts flow underground
trying to imagine the cavernous scene.
Surely it is no pool with a colored ball
floating on the blue surface.
No grotto where a king would have
his guests rowed around in swan-shaped boats.
Between the dark lakes where the dark rivers flow
there is no ferry waiting on the shore of rock
and no man holding a long oar,
ready to take your last coin.
This is the real earth and the real water it contains.
But some nights, I must tell you,
I go down there after everyone has fallen asleep.
I swim back and forth in the echoing blackness.
I sing a love song as well as I can,
lost for a while in the home of the rain.
 — Billy Collins

Congratulations to this month’s newly published authors in Sonoma County. See who’s in print at https://socolitupdate.com/sonoma-county-in-print. 

Terry Ehret
co-Editor, Sonoma County Literary Update