Dear Literary Folk,
What a beautiful rainy day, this Day of the Dead, following one of those wild Petaluma-style Hallowe’ens and an extra hour to sleep or dream … or crank out the monthly Literary Update. Terry is away in some blissfully non-cyber woodsy space celebrating her 60th birthday and, no doubt, the rain. It’s a fitting salvo for the winter season. All is relatively quiet on the Sonoma literary front in November, unless you are a novelist participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), in which case we can only hope it will be quiet for you. Here are some highlights of upcoming events.
Of note on the poetry scene: Tonight and tomorrow, poetry readings at Redwood Cafe and Aqus. First Sunday Poetry & Music, 5:00-7:00 p.m. at Redwood Cafe in Cotati, features Renée Owen, accompanied by musician Brian Foster on shakuhachi, mandolin & harmonica. Iris Jamahl Dunkle and Rebecca Foust will also be reading. The Rivertown Poets: A Muse-ing Mondays (Monday, November 2, 6:30 p.m. at Aqus in Petaluma) reading features Bay Area poets Joel Fallon and Clara Hsu, followed by an open mic.
On Friday, November 6, 7:00 p.m., there are readings in Sebastapol and Santa Rosa: Pat Nolan will read from his new book Poetry For Sale, a selection of linked poetry written over thirty years with a variety of poets including Keith Abbott, Gloria Frym, and Maureen Owen. Many Rivers Book & Tea, 130 S. Main Street, Sebastopol. And in Santa Rosa, 7:00-8:00 p.m., a reading features writers from Cry of the Nightbird: Writers Against Domestic Violence. At Stepping Stones Books & Gifts, 2075 Occidental Road, Santa Rosa.
Thursday, November 12, 7:00-9:00 p.m. Cloverdale Performing Arts Center presents Books on Stage with poet Rebecca Foust, author of Paradise Drive, and essayist writer Dani Burlison, author of Dendrophila and Other Social Taboos: True Stories. Free. At the Cloverdale Performing Arts Center, 209 North Cloverdale Boulevard, Cloverdale.
There are two readings to choose from on Sunday, November 15: 1:30-3:30 p.m. Healdsburg Literary Guild Third Sunday Salon, featuring novelists JC Miller & Marsh Rose. The Bean Affair, 1270 Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg. An open mic follows. And at 2:00 p.m. an Occidental Center for the Arts book launch for A Poetry Crossing: Celebrating California Poets in the Schools with Editor, Phyllis Meshulam. Students and adults read their poems.
Saturday, November 28, 5:00 p.m. Opening Reception for Healdsburg Center for the Arts’ holiday show/gift gallery, which, in addition to art and crafts, will include books by more than a dozen Sonoma County authors. To name but a few: Sandy Baker, Susan Bono, Anne Chadwick, Jeanne Jusaitis, Phyllis Meshulam, Camille Picott, Jo-Anne Rosen, Patrick Taylor. Authors will be at the opening reception to meet and greet and sign books. Location: 130 Plaza St, Healdsburg. The show is open until December 31.
For a list of all the calendar events across the county and beyond, visit the calendar page, which is updated every few days: https://socolitupdate.com/current-calendar-of-literary-events/.
Last but not least: Authors, consider submitting your poems, stories or memoir to the Sonoma County online lit journal, Wordrunner eChapbooks. OK, I’m the publisher and am making a pitch! We publish collections by one author at a time and once a year, a themed anthology by multiple authors. Submissions open on November 15 for the next anthology, whose theme is “Devices.” Read about it in the Calls for Submissions section or here: http://echapbook.com/submissions.html. Do check out the current issue, Family Ties by Ellyn Bache and mid-November, look for the latest echapbook fiction collection, The Marriage Bed by Elaine Ford.
That’s it for November,
Jo-Anne Rosen
co-editor, Sonoma County Literary Update
Sonoma County Literary Update 