Sonoma County Literary Update

Dear Literary Folk,

The Lovely, Glorious, Slender Rain!
Among my Thanksgiving appreciations this year is a thank-you for the rain. Isn’t it wonderful to walk out into the drizzle and smell the sweet scent of wet leaves and earth? And the days ahead promise more of what we enjoyed this past weekend. If the rain (or absence of rain) has inspired a poem, story, short essay, photograph, or art-work, send it along to us. We’d love to include it in our next Literary Update.

Got a Literary Event or Program to Promote? Guest Contributors Welcome!
In keeping with the collaborative history and nature of the Sonoma County Literary Update, Jo-Anne and I warmly invite writers from around the county to contribute features for each month’s post. We don’t have a guest feature for December, but please contact Jo-Anne and/or me if you’re interested in a feature for January: sonomacountyliteraryupdate@gmail.com.

Sonoma County’s Recently Published Authors
Congratulations to this month’s recently published authors in Sonoma County. See who’s in print at https://socolitupdate.com/sonoma-county-in-print. Thanks to Ed Coletti who keeps this page of the Literary Update current with your notices of work you’ve had accepted for publication in literary journals and magazines.

California Poets in the Schools Celebrates 50 Years Inspiring Young Writers
On December 6th, in commemoration of its 50th birthday as an organization, California Poets in the Schools will be holding a county-wide poetry reading at Sebastopol Center for the Arts, where students from many different schools will get together to share their writing.  10am-12pm, Saturday, Dec. 6th Sebastopol Center for the Arts in the “Dining Room,” 282 S. High St, Sebastopol. For details, check the Calendar page: https://socolitupdate.com/current-calendar-of-literary-events/

Along with this county-wide reading, CPITS has also just brought out Poetry Crossing, a far-reaching offering of poet-teacher lesson plans, student poems, and sample poems by student poets, poet-teachers, and some great poets from around the world. More details on our Sonoma County in Print page: https://socolitupdate.com/sonoma-county-in-print. Poetry Crossing is available at www.cpits.org.

Petaluma Reader’s Theater Presents a Holiday Double-Feature
In years past, I’ve attended the PRT’s presentation of Truman Capote’s “A Christmas Memory.” This year, they are reprising this holiday classic, and adding a performance of Dylan Thomas’s “A Child’s Christmas in Wales.” This is a delightful way to bring the arts of short story and poetry to dramatic life. I hope to see you there this year!

Two performances: Saturday, December 13 and Friday, December 19—both at 7:30 PM. at the Petaluma Arts Center, 230 Lakeville, Petaluma. For information about ticket prices and ordering in advance, use this link: www.petalumareaderstheatre.com/index-5.html.

Dine With Local Authors at Gaia’s Garden
On Monday, December 8, 6:00-8:00 p.m., come hear the authors share their books: Freedom Doesn’t Just Come Along With A Tree, children’s book, Joelle B. Burnette; Cry of The Nightbird, anthology, M. Wing, A. Hutchinson, K. Farrell; Buyer’s Remorse, poetry, Roy Mash; Growing More Beautiful, personal growth, Jennifer Robin. Call or email to request dining at a specific author’s table: 544-2491 or Local Author’s Distributor: info@jeaneslone.com. $5.00 minimum food purchase. This special event will be at Gaia’s Garden, 1899 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa.

Every Day is Christmas Eve in London at the Dickens Fair
In my family, it’s tradition to launch the holidays with a day at the Great Dickens Christmas Fair: A Victorian Holiday Party. It really is a hoot to wander the streets of Victorian London, hobnobbing with Fagin, Bill Sykes, Ebenezer Scrooge, the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, and, of course, Charles Dickens himself, reading his story to intimate audiences in his parlor. If you’ve never been, treat yourself this year. It’s family-friendly and accommodating to those with disabilities or limited mobility. The fair runs on Saturday and Sunday, December 6/7, 13/14, and 20/21. For more information, check the website: www.dickensfair.com/.

Mark Strand, 80, Dies; Pulitzer-Winning Poet Laureate
Poet Mark Strand passed away on Saturday, November 29, at the age of 80. In his honor, here is one of his most frequently anthologized poems: one well-worth yet another read. To read more about Strand’s life and poetry, check out the article by William Grimes in Saturday’s New York Times:
www.nytimes.com/2014/11/30/nyregion/mark-strand-80-dies-pulitzer-winning-poet-laureate.html?_r=0

Keeping Things Whole
From Selected Poems by Mark Strand

In a field
I am the absence
of field.
This is
always the case.
Wherever I am
I am what is missing.

When I walk
I part the air
and always
the air moves in
to fill the spaces
where my body’s been.

We all have reasons
for moving.
I move
to keep things whole.

Copyright © 1979, 1980.

Terry Ehret
Co-editor, Sonoma County Literary Update