Sonoma County Literary Update

Dear Literary Folk,

I can’t tell you how happy I am to have my co-editor, the amazing Jo-Anne Rosen healthy again after her bout with pneumonia. She is indispensable to this Literary Update. It would not exist without her.

This past month, I’ve had the honor and pleasure of participating in the selection of Sonoma County’s Youth Poet Laureate, reading manuscripts by seven fine candidates, and learning of their engagement in their teen poetry communities. I must say, reading their poems and listening to their visions has given me great hope for the future of poetry and the future of this new generation; they are facing such profound challenges with remarkable grace and creative resilience. (See Duane BigEagle’s comment in the article below about the selection process and our new YPL Lisa Zheng, which I agree with heartily!)

Like Duane, I’ve also had many occasions to consider how isolated I felt as a young writer without a literary community, how long it took me to find my own authentic voice, and how much longer before I found my fellow poets. When I first conceived of the Literary Update back in 2004, I hoped it would help strengthen the bonds among writers and readers in our literary community, and I hope we can widen that reach by including the many talented youth and their vital voices in our readings, events, and programs.

Sonoma County’s New Youth Poet Laureate & Youth Poet Ambassador
California Poets in the Schools (CalPoets) announces the county’s new Youth Poet Laureate Lisa Zheng, a 10th grade student at Maria Carrillo High School. Sonoma follows the lead of the nation, the state and many California counties in acknowledging a young person who has achieved excellence in poetry, allowing them to be a leader for the county in raising the profile of poetry and developing its audience. Lisa Zheng is Sonoma County’s 3rd Youth Poet Laureate.  Her one-year term will begin immediately and end in April, 2025. Within that time, Lisa is committed to conduct at least four public appearances/readings/workshops. She will receive a $500 prize and an opportunity to publish a chapbook of her own poems or spearhead a broader, youth publication opportunity.

For the first time this year, Sonoma County will also appoint a “Youth Poet Ambassador.” Sabine Wolpert has been selected for this position for the 2024-25 term. Sabine is an 11th grader at Analy High School.

Lisa Zheng was selected as Youth Poet Laureate, and Sabine Wolpert was selected as Youth Poet Ambassador, from a qualified pool of applicants by a panel of judges in April, 2024. The judging panel included distinguished poets and teachers with deep ties to Sonoma County including Duane BigEagle, Terry Ehret and Ernesto Garay. Duane BigEagle, Native American artist and writer from the Osage Nation of Oklahoma, Sonoma County-based poet and painter, and one of the panel judges to interview the three finalists writes:

“Lisa expresses her thoughts and feelings in the language of a true poet.  Her delight in metaphor and imagery is clear and powerful… light years beyond anything I was capable of at her age. As I told all three candidates, they gave me great hope. If these young women are examples of the quality of the youth coming up, our future is in good hands.”

In Lisa’s own words:  
“Poetry is an empty Google Doc or a fresh leaf of paper where I can escape the rigid rules of school essays and pour my rawest experiences out. I sometimes even translate prose into rhythmic ballads by the piano. I am a “word nerd”: I like the elegance of specific words together and experimenting with unconventional syntax…My main purpose behind writing these poems, besides personal catharsis, is to give a voice to the psychological turmoils that many teens experience that are often kept in the dark due to shame of admittance, and give them a dose of hope and cause for change.”

The Sonoma County program is organized by California Poets in the Schools, in partnership with Urban Word, and supported by the Bill Graham Supporting Foundation and the Sonoma County Vintners Foundation.

(thanks to Megan Hamill of CalPoets for providing this feature.)

Our Own Light Youth Poetry Book Launch, Celebration Party
Speaking of the voices of youth poets, Sixteen Rivers Press has just released Our Own Light, a compilation of poems written in response to the poems in the anthology America, We Call Your Name: Poems of Resistance and Resilience, which brought together poetry across the millennia, speaking from moments of crisis and uncertainty.

Please join us to celebrate the launch of Our Own Light, a collaboration between Writopia Lab, Sixteen Rivers Press, and DC Youth Poet Laureate Sophia Hall. This launch event will feature readings from 8 of our 11 featured poets: Xavier Jackson, Vicky Zhou, Joanna Liu, Calene Lee, Krithik Ashokommar, Madison Moore, Anoushka Swaminathan, and Isabella Miraflores. 

You can purchase Our Own Light, as well as the anthology America, We Call Your Name and Anthems, the previous iterations of teen response poetry, at https://shop.sixteenrivers.org/collections/all

To join this magical afternoon of poetry, use the link below to fill out an online registration form. You will be sent the link to join in.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf_8mSEDRlBtN4vZmqLTYQVeu7jOy-A6ZmdNF43_0A8Tfrumg/viewform

Off the Page Readers Theater
On Friday, May 10, 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, May 11, 2:30 p.m. Redwood Writers and Off the Page Readers Theater present Six Winning Plays 2024.

Congratulations to the 10-Minute Play contest winners:
“Who’s in Charge Now?” by Joan Goodreau
“That Ol’ Black Magic” by Joan Goodreau (won’t be performed)
“And So it Begins,” by Joyce Sherry
“Our Roommate is Dead” by Crissi Langwell
“Milkshakes in Heaven,” by Shawn Langwell
“Garage Sale,” by Russell Kaltschmidt
“Blind Faith,” by Jack Fender

These winning plays will be performed at the Finley Center, 2060 W College Ave, Santa Rosa, Senior Wing Room 5. Tickets available April 20: redwoodwriters.org

Remembering Stephen Fowler
A mighty tree in our West County community, whose solid trunk supported our community, whose deep roots spread far and wide, and whose protective branches provided shade for all, Stephen Cartwright Fowler(b. Jan 24, 1940) left us unexpectedly on Thursday, April 11. He died as he lived, (his timing uncanny, sharing his death day with Luther Burbank, April 11, 1926) in mid-stride of a vital life, playing golf with a close friend, on a beautiful sunny day. Steve was a humble Steward of Life, a man of open generosity of spirit, unerring principle, and a fierce advocacy for social justice. He was a passionate and grateful lover of nature, community, family, the arts, philosophy, and the soul. As a friend remarked, he was a warm hearth on a cold day. A keen and kind listener, he was also witty, playful, and erudite, always a twinkle in his eye. He combined wisdom and tact, in a manner and voice almost stately, a true gentleman. Though we will sorely miss hugging this tree of a being, he is within us now, showing us by example and few words, how to live a superlative life of the heart. We are better people for having known him.

Steve was a Steward of the Arts. He co-founded OCA and was the first President of our Board of Directors, working hard to grow a home for all the Arts, accessible to all people. His theater career spanned many decades, first in Berkeley and then with Monte Rio-based Pegasus Theater (performing often with his partner Andrea Van Dyke), Sebastopol Cemetery Walk/Graveside plays (with collaborator, Guy Biederman), many OCA plays and shows over 14 years, and leading member of Readers Theater with Judith Reimuller. He was preparing for OCA’s Talent Show just days away. He, and his wife Rene, were founding members of the Occidental Community Choir in 1978, and he was in rehearsals for the Choir’s Spring Concert in May.

Steve was a Steward of the Earth, a Digger and a Druid, landscape designer, Master Gardener and organic horticulturist. He became the first curator and head gardener of the Luther Burbank Experimental Garden when it was wild and untended (and continued to volunteer faithfully at the farm every Wednesday morning, right up to his last full day on Earth). He was the co-creator and caretaker of the Peace Garden at Ragle Ranch, gatherer and purveyor of soil samples across the country to Washington DC for the American Peace Garden Project, was an Earth Elder and member of the Western Sonoma County Historical Society. You could find him either quietly tending a plant in a neighbor’s garden or on a high ladder, pruning a fruit tree for a friend or community member. He had just planted a new wisteria for his love, Andrea Van Dyke, two days before he died. He loved the ocean and our coast and went there often.

Steve was a Steward of the Soul. A poet and philosopher, he wrote and presented in 2017, a collection he called 50Cent Poems. Hand-bound and printed in 3-ring binders, they instantly sold out. A Taoist, Steve thought deeply about life, did not want to draw attention to himself, and knew actions spoke louder than words. When using words, he wanted them to speak directly to and from the heart. And they do.

Steve was a Steward of his Family and Community. He loved and revered his wife Irene (Rene) and they had three children, Caitlin, Sarah and Gabriel. He lost beloved Rene to cancer in 1987 and remained an active and devoted father. He was a friend to many, whose friendships he nurtured, always showing up when needed. As he did for years, he had just helped produce the annual Fools Day Parade through Occidental (founded by his longtime friend Ramon Sender Barayon), directing traffic, cavorting with all the parade/party goers.

And Steve was a Steward of Love. Both in his life and his writing, he was a lover. He cherished and honored his partner of 25 years, Andrea Van Dyke, with whom he co-collaborated in all things artful and playful. He held bonfires, invited visions, entertained the Muses.

Though we can no longer enjoy his physical heartful hugs, he is everywhere now. As a Readers Theater member remarked, “Steve’s presence will be here to sense…if we pay attention.”
 
There will be a Celebration of Life for Steve on Sunday, June 9, at 3 PM at OCA. All are welcome to come and remember him with us. He lives forever in our hearts and in our stories. A poem by Steve Fowler is included at the end of the post as the poem for May.

(Thanks to Suze Cohen for providing this feature and Steve’s poem below.)

Poem for May
This month, we’re honoring Steve Fowler with the poem for May. Next month, I will continue the new feature of selecting a poem or short prose piece by a Sonoma County writer. I so appreciate those of you who have sent me your submissions, and invite all of you to participate. You can check the previous posts in the archives for submission guidelines.

The Love Song of S. Cartwright Fowler
by Steve Fowler

“Only thou, O, river of delight,”
I sang, as the sun’s orange disc
Skirted the rim of night.
Not I, who weeps against this
Lichen-softened beachside stone;
Not she, whose unforgettable kiss
Has marked me to the bone;
Not they, by whom I think I mean
All others, both the living and the gone—

But only thou, O, breathing firmament
Whose sentient dust it seems we are;
By physics framed, by metaphysics bent.

______

Terry Ehret
Co-editor, f Sonoma County Literary Update