Sonoma County Literary Update

Dear Literary Folk,

Off to Antartica!
Our incredible engine behind the Sonoma County Literary Update, Jo-Anne Rosen, will be briefly on hiatus from January 17 through February 4. Jo-Anne is off on a cruise to Antarctica with her sisters! I’ve asked her to send us photos and notes about her journey, and she has promised a write-up for the February post. During Jo-Anne’s time away, she will not be available to update the blogsite, and the February Literary Update will be delayed… unless a volunteer steps up to cover her absence. (Knowledge of WordPress and MailChimp needed.) If you can help out, please contact Jo-Anne at sonomacountyliteraryupdate@gmail.com.

Board of Supervisors Honors Poet Laureate Elizabeth Herron
The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors will adopt the Gold Resolution honoring Elizabeth Herron as our 12th poet laureate at their meeting on December 12, 2023, 1:30 pm. Elizabeth and her guests will arrive around 1:15 pm. I hope some of you can join us in person!

The address is: 
Board of Supervisors Chambers
575 Administration Drive
Room 102A
Santa Rosa, CA 95403

Elizabeth will be offering a Being Brave Project Poetry Workshop on Saturday, January 20, 1:00-3:30 p.m. Occidental Center for the Arts Literary Series. Details and registration forthcoming: occidentalcenterforthearts.org/upcoming-events

Send Us Your Poetry Selections for 2024
Regular readers of the SCLU know that I conclude each post with a poem for the month, sometimes honoring the season, sometimes celebrating a local author or honoring a literary voice we have lost. I always enjoy reading through the many possibilities to find the one I think will complement the content of the month’s post. But it occurred to me that I’d really like to be featuring more work by Sonoma County authors.

I’ve tried this several times before: first in 2014 with poems on the drought, then in 2020 with pandemic poems, and one other time with poems that summed up the year in a few lines. These were great!

Starting this month, I’m inviting you to send me poems (or short prose pieces), your own or by someone else, and in any style. Choose something that you think fits the season and is not too long. (Readers are often in “skim mode” by the end of the post).

During the month of December, send me poems/prose that reflect upon the new year. We’ll start there and see how it goes. Here are the guidelines—I’ll keep it simple:

Send your submission to me at tehret99@comcast.net, with the words “SCLU Poem of the Month” in the subject heading.

Send me just one submission, no more than a page (or less).

These can be previously published, provided you identify the publishing source. If the poem is not your own, provide the author’s name and source. The author should be a Sonoma County voice, and if contemporary, please ask the author’s permission to submit.

Deadline: You can send the submission any time during the month, but I’ll need to receive your submission a few days before the month’s end to give me time to read, make my choice, and contact the author of the piece selected..

California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick’s Our California Project
Here’s a great opportunity to join in a state-wide conversation about living in California. Our state poet laureate Lee Herrick and the California Arts Council invite all Californians to write a poem about their city, town, or state, exploring what they love about it, what joy they find in it, what they would change about it, or what they hope for.

Guidelines: Please note the following:
Please submit one poem per person.
Submissions must be unpublished works.

We will not censor any poems, but we reserve the right to remove poems from our service if they are plagiarized or if they contain content deemed offensive on the basis of race, sex, ethnicity, class, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

If you don’t know Lee Herrick’s work, you’re in for a treat. Lee was born in Korea, and came to California when he was adopted at 10 months old. He grew up in Danville and now lives with his family in the Fresno area. Lee served as Fresno Poet Laureate from 2015-2017. He teaches at Fresno City College and in the low-residency MFA program at University of Nevada Reno at Lake Tahoe. He is the 10th California Poet Laureate, and the first Asian American to serve in the role. His poems are infused with his deep compassion and humanity, his ear for music, and his love of place.

Here is the link to read more about Lee Herrick and this project. The link will also take you to the page where you can submit your poem. https://capoetlaureate.org/ourcalifornia

At the end of this post, I have included Lee Herrick’s poem “My California” from his 2012 collection Gardening Secrets of the Dead. To hear the author read this poem, use this link: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/play/77155.

Upcoming Literary Events
Miss Austen’s Mistake?
I am an Austen aficionado. I don’t collect memorabilia or tea cozies (though my sister once gave me a Jane Austen action figure). Instead, I read her books. During Covid, I reread them all. Recently my husband asked me to recommend an Austen novel he might read. I considered Sense and Sensibility, but it runs a bit long—“too many notes,” as the Emperor of Austria once said of an early Mozart opera. Don’t get me wrong; I’m still in awe of the 19 year old Austen who could draft such a book! The opening of that novel is a brilliantly funny and scathing portrait of how the wealthy convince themselves it’s in their poor relations’ best interest to be denied their inheritance. But in the end I steered him to Pride and Prejudice or Persuasion, my personal favorites for their compression and elegance.

So I’m curious about a Book Passage event coming up on Saturday, December 9, 2:00 p.m. Charles Swensen will read from his featured book: Miss Austen’s Mistake: The Real Story Behind Sense and Sensibility. A reading in the Book Passage Corte Madera store, followed by a Q&A. Event hosted by the Left Coast Writers®. More details: bookpassage.com

Readers Theater Presents Two Holiday Classics
Kick off your holiday season with a Petaluma tradition, Petaluma Readers Theatre’s annual Christmas show: Two holiday classics, Truman Capote’s A Christmas Memory and Dylan Thomas’ A Child’s Christmas in Wales.

These are two of my favorite holiday stories, ones I’ve taught countless times and read to my own kids till they have them memorized. I’ve attended the Readers Theater productions in the past, and if you’ve never treated yourself to this (or like me, missed these performances during the Covid years, mark your calendar for Friday, December 15, Saturday, December 16, 7:00 p.m. and Sunday, December 17, 2:00 p.m. Polly Klaas Community Theater, 417 Western Avenue, Petaluma. Tickets: brownpapertickets.com/event/6138216

Calls for Submissions: December 2023
Jo-Anne maintains a Calls for Submission page of the Literary Update, and if you’re looking for a publishing home for your writing, this is a terrific resource. Here are a few that caught my eye.

Landlocked Magazine Biannual Call for Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry
Deadline: December 10
LandLocked seeks writing that is innovative, that pushes beyond the dense thicket of the unexplorable. We accept all genres―speculative, realistic, and those hybrid bodies of works yet to be named. We want new voices, experienced voices, and everything in between.
landlocked-magazine.com/submissions

The Good Life Review: Open Call for Micro Prose and Short Poems
Ends on Friday, December 29
Work submitted here will be considered for our “Micro Monday” segment (online) and not our quarterly issues. We currently pay $25 per piece for work published in this segment. Maximum word count: 500
Guidelines: thegoodlifereview.submittable.com/submit

Call for 10-Minute Play Submissions
Ten-minute plays sought from local authors for the Inaugural Grand Central Petaluma 10×7 BY THE RIVER. Bare stage, with some giant cubes, no additional scenery, 1-4 characters, very limited props and costumes.

Any subject matter is okay — suitable for a general audience in a daytime outdoor setting. To be performed on an outdoor stage in the rear of Grand Central, 226 Weller Street, Petaluma.

Reviewing submissions through the end of 2023.
Production scheduled for Summer of 2024.
Deadline: December 31, 2023
Send pdf to: ndrwbrier@gmail.com

Annual Call for Submissions for Book-Length Poetry Manuscripts
Sixteen Rivers Press invites Northern California authors to submit book-length poetry manuscripts between November 1, 2023 and February 1, 2024. All manuscripts will be read blind, and typically one or two manuscripts are selected for publication. The winner/s will be announced on the press’s website during Summer 2024. Selected manuscripts will be scheduled for publication in Spring 2026.

Sixteen Rivers values diversity. We encourage poets of color, young poets, and LGBTQ poets to submit. If you’ve submitted in the past and not been selected, please don’t be discouraged. Because we only publish two new authors a year, sometimes it takes a few tries. We are a unique organization, run by the poets themselves. In joining us, you have the chance to learn about all aspects of book production.

For full submission guidelines, use this link: https://sixteenrivers.org/submit-work.

Poem for December

My California
by Lee Herrick

Here, an olive votive keeps the sunset lit,
the Korean twenty-somethings talk about hyphens,

graduate school and good pot. A group of four at a window
table in Carpinteria discuss the quality of wines in Napa Valley versus Lodi.

Here, in my California, the streets remember the Chicano
poet whose songs still bank off Fresno’s beer soaked gutters

and almond trees in partial blossom. Here, in my California
we fish out long noodles from the pho with such accuracy

you’d know we’d done this before. In Fresno, the bullets
tire of themselves and begin to pray five times a day.

In Fresno, we hope for less of the police state and more of a state of grace.
In my California, you can watch the sun go down

like in your California, on the ledge of the pregnant
twenty-second century, the one with a bounty of peaches and grapes,

red onions and the good salsa, wine and chapchae.
Here, in my California, paperbacks are free,

farmer’s markets are twenty-four hours a day and
always packed, the trees and water have no nails in them,

the priests eat well, the homeless eat well.
Here, in my California, everywhere is Chinatown,

everywhere is K-Town, everywhere is Armeniatown,
everywhere a Little Italy. Less confederacy.

No internment in the Valley.
Better history texts for the juniors.

In my California, free sounds and free touch.
   Free questions, free answers.
Free songs from parents and poets, those hopeful bodies of light.


Lee Herrick, “My California” from Gardening Secrets of the Dead. Copyright © 2012 by Lee Herrick, published by WordTech Communications LLC.
____________

Terry Ehret
Co-editor, Sonoma County Literary Update

November 1, 2023

Dear Literary Folk,

Today and tonight mark the Day of the Dead/el Día de los Muertos, a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2. Although related to the simultaneous Christian remembrances for All Hallow’s Eve, All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day, it has a much less solemn tone and is portrayed as a holiday of joyful celebration rather than mourning.

My altar (ofrenda) at home has photos of my mom and dad, my husband’s parents, and the beloved friends and family who have gone before us. Each year there are more to remember, and I’m reminded of my mom’s prayer book with her list of those she prayed for each day. One column listed the living, the other the dead. The first column grew steadily shorter till, by the time of her own death, there were very few left.

Among those I’m remembering today are my departed classmates and teachers who weren’t able to join the 50th high school reunion gathering last month. I promised to give an account of how that reunion went, and here it is in brief. The gathering itself was incredibly moving—50+ classmates returning to the school where our identities as young women were nurtured and forged. Most of us had not seen each other in 30 years or more, but after a brief moment of uncertainty, we were able to recognize our old friends by their smiles, their eyes, their mannerisms. The profound joy of being together again was palpable in the room. We organizers thought we might need an ice-breaker to spark conversations, but quite the opposite. For me the most moving moments were when our former teachers got up and spoke about the work they’ve been doing since our classroom days in the early 70s, It’s fascinating and humbling to realize how little we actually knew about our teachers, how smart, multi-talented, and influential they were, not just in our lives, but in communities far beyond the classroom.

The teacher who name came up the most, Marianne Rackham, taught us English. More than that, she taught us how to write, how to think, how to see connections between literature, art, history, philosophy. She had nicknames for each of us, all literary references. Mine was Hester (as in The Scarlet Letter), a consequence of my tendency to work on embroidery projects during class. Another friend was Portia (as in Merchant of Venice), regarding her argumentative turn of mind, especially ambiguous test questions. My favorite of these was a student whom Mrs. Rackham called “Helen.” This stemmed from a lecture on the Medieval world view in our Senior Humanities class when Agnes raised her hand and asked who Helen Brimstone was. One student remembered an important piece of advice Marianne Rackham offered: “Live in the world of the author.”

Remembering Louise Glück
I am also remembering today the poet Louise Glück, who passed away on October 13. In 2020 she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal.” (poetryfoundation.org/poets/louise-gluck)

Because Glück writes so effectively about disappointment, rejection, loss, and isolation, readers often characterize her poetry as bleak or dark. I am also reminded that her father was credited with inventing the X-acto knife; her poetry had a similar precision, cutting deeply into the pain and disillusionment of our lives. But her poetry is also full of music, passion, and the longing to break through the darkness into light.

I first heard Glück’s poetry at the Napa Valley Poetry Conference back in the mid-80s, and I remember my admiration of her treatment of mythological themes, and my envy of her lyrical talents. I was very new to poetry writing myself, just recently out of grad school and a decade away from my own first publication. She had a piece of interesting advice for writers about putting together their manuscripts. She said she always looked for certain patterns, repeated tropes, phrases of words, and then from these she determined what she needed to avoid and what she needed to discover in her next poems. In her just-published collection The Triumph of Achilles, for example, she noticed she didn’t use contractions and that her voice had a kind of Delphic resonance. She decided she needed to try a more conversational voice, one more open to uncertainty and questions. I went home from this conference with Glück’s book, and set to work dismantling her poems and reassembling the language into my own poems. I wanted to use the amazing energy of her work, which so impressed me, to push myself into new territory. I still follow that advice when assembling a manuscript or helping others put theirs together. Years later, I selected Glück as one of the contemporary American women writers for the Sitting Room workshops I was then leading. I still found her poems difficult to embrace and penetrate emotionally, but well worth the work.

I’ve included “The Wild Iris” for the November poem. Scroll down to read this. If you are new to Gluck’s poetry, you might find this PBS article by Amy Canon a helpful introduction: pbs.org/newshour/arts/how-louise-glucks-quietly-devastating-poetic-voice-speaks-to-us-from-beyond-the-grave.

This quote from Canon’s article reflects my own reasons for selecting Glück as November’s poet: “Her lyric voice still reverberates after her death, in part because of how consistently she turned her attention to questions of mortality.”

Congratulations to Sonoma County Award Winners
The County News page of the Literary Update lists several Sonoma County writers who have recently received awards. Among these are Chrissi Langwell, who was awarded the Jack London Award for 2023; Donna Emerson, whose poem “Sarah Mae” won the Editors’ Choice Award from Paterson Literary Review; and Jennifer March, founder of Petaluma Readers Theater, whose podcase “Not Your Mother’s Storytime” is a finalist for the 2023 Signal Awards for Scripted Fiction.

Being Brave Workshop with Poet Laureate Elizabeth Herron
As part of her Being Brave Poetry Project, Sonoma County Poet Laureate Elizabeth Carothers Herron will lead a workshop on Sunday November 19, 1:00-3:30 p.m. at the Occidental Center for the Arts For more info: occidentalcenterforthearts.org or 707-874-9392.

Crosswinds Poetry Journal Is Now Accepting Submissions
I encourage you to consider entering your work in Crosswinds Poetry Journal’s ninth annual international poetry contest. They will be awarding over $2,000 in prizes this year and supporting literacy and food security as well. Judging will be April Ossmann.

Editor David Dragone says, “As always, I’m looking forward to joining the Crosswinds’ editorial team and getting myself ready for some enjoyable reading. Please submit some work for our contest this year.”

Crosswinds Poetry Journal – Poetry Contests – Poetry Contest Submissions     

Annual Call for Submissions for Book-Length Poetry Manuscripts
Sixteen Rivers Press invites Northern California authors to submit book-length poetry manuscripts between November 1, 2023 and February 1, 2024. All manuscripts will be read blind, and typically one or two manuscripts are selected for publication. The winner/s will be announced on the press’s website during Summer 2024. Selected manuscripts will be scheduled for publication in Spring 2026.

Sixteen Rivers values diversity. We encourage poets of color, young poets, and LGBTQ poets to submit.

Online Submissions: Send an e-mail to sixteenriverssubmissions@gmail.com with your name, address, phone number, and the name of your manuscript. Attach a PDF of your manuscript to the e-mail (name the PDF with the title of your manuscript). In the body of the e-mail, please include a personal statement (350 to 500 words) about why you want to work in a publishing collective, including any special experience or skills you might contribute, and tell us where you heard about our press and our call for submissions. The manuscript must be e-mailed no later than February 1, 2024. For full submission guidelines, use this link: https://sixteenrivers.org/submit-work.

________

Poem for November



The Wild Iris 
by Louise Glück

At the end of my suffering
there was a door.

Hear me out: that which you call death
I remember.

Overhead, noises, branches of the pine shifting.
Then nothing. The weak sun
flickered over the dry surface.

It is terrible to survive
as consciousness
buried in the dark earth.

Then it was over: that which you fear, being
a soul and unable
to speak, ending abruptly, the stiff earth
bending a little. And what I took to be
birds darting in low shrubs.

You who do not remember
passage from the other world
I tell you I could speak again: whatever
returns from oblivion returns
to find a voice:

from the center of my life came
a great fountain, deep blue
shadows on azure seawater.

Source: Poems 1962-2012, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2012. Originally published in The Wild Iris, 1992.
________

Terry Ehret
Co-editor, Sonoma County Literary Update

Hi, Literary Folk!

We had some damn good fun last month with book launches, readings, and the Poetry Walk. Such a pleasure and honor to read with Elizabeth Herron and my fellow poets laureate emeriti! The finale at Aqus Café was sublime!

Tomorrow I’ll be gathering with 50 of my high school classmates and a handful of former teachers for a celebration of our 50th reunion. I went to an all-girls school, and so the gathering will be of women only, except for on male teacher—we did have those! I’ve been helping to organize this event, and doing so has brought me in touch with women from all over the country and who have led such different lives. We had a small class, just 107 graduates, and of these, sadly, 11 have passed away. Asked to say in a pre-reunion questionnaire what memories stand out from our 4 years together, one classmate wrote, “Girls becoming women without boys!” It made me laugh, but it is different when women come of age and into their own without constantly seeing themselves in the mirror of male acceptance and approval. It can be very empowering. Next month, I’ll let you know how it goes.

Suddenly it’s October, time for another literary tradition in Sonoma County: The Poetry of Remembrance Community Reading. (And speaking of “suddenly,” check out the poem for the month at the end of the post. It’s a hoot!)

Poetry of Remembrance Community Reading
On Saturday, October 21, from 6:00 to 8:30 PM, members of the community are invited to attend the annual El Día de los Muertos “Poesía del Recuerdo / Poetry of Remembrance” celebration. We are pleased to announce that this year’s event will take place at Petaluma Historical Library & Museum, 20 4th Street, Petaluma, CA 94952.

Our featured bilingual speakers will include Lalin the Poet (Luis Vasquez) and poet Gina Tello Bugarin; poet and painter Sandra Anfang; artist and community educator Irma Vega Bijou, former Sonoma County Poet Laureate Phyllis Meshulam, and many others. Our host for the evening will be Elizabeth Herron, Sonoma County’s current Poet Laureate.

Those who wish to honor the memory of someone who has departed are encouraged to bring something—a photo or an item that reminds them of their loved one—that can be placed on a community altar for the evening.

Those who would like to participate in the community reading are encouraged to share, in Spanish (or other language) and/or English, a brief poem or remembrance.

Poetry of Remembrance/Poesía del Recuerdo is part of the month-long El Día de los Muertos celebrations held in Petaluma during the month of October, featuring community altars, bilingual storytelling, sugar skull workshops, music, dance, and a procession with giant puppets.

Admission is free. For more information about El Día de Los Muertos events, check out Facebook at El Día de Los Muertos Petaluma.

Sixteen Rivers Press Benefit Will Feature California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick
For three years, Sixteen Rivers has hosted its annual benefit reading as a virtual event. We’re thrilled to return to a live event, complete with delicious food, books by our authors, new anthologies of teen poets, and a reading by California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick.

The benefit will be held on Sunday, October 22 from 2-5 PM at Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda, Berkeley. Please join us for a delightful afternoon of wine, hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction, poetry, good company and conversation. The event is free and open to all. We ask that you use the link below to visit our EventBrite page. Once there, click on “get tickets” to let us know you’re coming. This will help us plan food and beverages for our guests. You can also use the EventBrite page to make a donation, if you’re so inclined. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sixteen-rivers-2023-fall-fundraiser-tickets-680501587567

Helping Writers Publish
Last month, I noticed a couple of workshops offered in Sonoma County focusing on strategies for getting published. Here’s another coming up next week on Sunday, October 8, 2:00-4:00 p.m. Occidental Center for the Arts Literary Series. Prepare to Publish! A General 5-Step Overview with Shawn and Crissi Langwell, Publishing Coaches. Details about cost and registration are on the calendar page.

Barbara Kingsolver reads from Demon Copperhead
When I was first starting out as a writer, I remember discovering Barbara Kingsolver’s The Bean Trees. What inspired me in Kingsolver’s novel was the breadth of its scope, and the author daring to engage the politics of single motherhood, adoption, and families that find themselves unexpectedly. I liked the way the novel wove in elements of nonwhite mythology and traditions in which women have power. This kind of writing can seem heavy-handed, yet I didn’t find Kinsolver’s writing to be didactic. It helped me imagine a female-centric narrative.

On Friday, October 13, 7:00 p.m. Book Passage will present Barbara Kingsolver reading from her Pulitzer Prize Winning novel Demon Copperhead. Hosted by Dominican University of California, In Angelico Hall (20 Olive Ave., San Rafael). Details on the calendar page.

“H.D.: Out of the Shadows” with Barbara Beattie
Another author whose struggle to discover her hero’s story inspired me is Hilda Doolittle, better known as HD. She began as an Imagist—the first Imagist, actually—and protégé of Ezra Pound. But she resisted the expectation to become the male poet’s muse, and eventually came to define herself apart from the powerful and patriarchal literary world of post WWI England and Europe. On Saturday, October 14, 2:00 p.m. at the Sitting Room Library. Barbara Beatie, an M.A. student at Sonoma State University will share with participants some of her paper that was presented at the American Literature Association Conference in May 2023. All are welcome and it is free, but please rsvp to Barbara at Beatieba@sonoma.edu. At 2025 Curtis Dr, Penngrove. More details: sittingroomlibrary.org/events.

While you’re at the Sitting Room, check out the Poetry Room. On the wall in a hinged display frame is the issue of Poetry Magazine in which Ezra Pound introduces HD and coins the term Imagiste, a donation to the Sitting Room from Crystal Ockenfus.
_______________________

Poem for October

“Tension”
by Billy Collins

“Never use the word suddenly just to create tension.”
– excerpt from Writing Fiction

Suddenly, you were planting some yellow petunias
outside in the garden,
and suddenly I was in the study
looking up the word oligarchy for the thirty-seventh time.

When suddenly, without warning,
you planted the last petunia in the flat,
and I suddenly closed the dictionary
now that I was reminded of that vile form of governance.

A moment later, we found ourselves
standing suddenly in the kitchen
where you suddenly opened a can of cat food
and I just as suddenly watched you doing that.

I observed a window of leafy activity
and, beyond that, a bird perched on the edge
of the stone birdbath
when suddenly you announced you were leaving

to pick up a few things at the market
and I stunned you by impulsively
pointing out that we were getting low on butter
and another case of wine would not be a bad idea.

Who could tell what the next moment would hold?
Another drip from the faucet?
Another little spasm of the second hand?
Would the painting of a bowl of pears continue

to hang on the wall from that nail?
Would the heavy anthologies remain on their shelves?
Would the stove hold its position?
Suddenly, it was anyone’s guess.

The sun rose ever higher.
The state capitals remained motionless on the wall map
when suddenly I found myself lying on a couch
where I closed my eyes and without any warning

began to picture the Andes, of all places,
and a path that led over the mountain to another country
with strange customs and eye-catching hats
suddenly fringed with little colorful, dangling balls.
____________________

Terry Ehret
Co-editor, Sonoma County Literary Update

Dear Literary Folk,

Under the light of a blue super moon, we turn the calendar to September and take a look at literary events coming up as we welcome Indian Summer and the approach of fall.

Petaluma Poetry Walk on Sunday, September 17 11:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.
The Petaluma Poetry Walk is back! Last September, we bravely ventured to outdoor venues after COVID’s interruption of the Walk for two years. And then, of all things, it RAINED! A first for the Poetry Walk. We scuttled to move readings indoors and held umbrellas for each other as we moved from venue to venue. Who know what the weather (and fire season) will bring? But rain or shine, here is the spectacular line-up of venues and readers:

Hotel Petaluma, 11 AM: Kary Hess, Matthew M. Monte, Joseph Zaccardi
Artaluma, noon: Melissa Eleftherion, Jack Crimmins, David Rollison
The Big Easy, 1 PM: Charlie Getter, Gail Mitchell, Kurt Schweigman
Oli Gallery, 2 PM: Anita Erola, Connie Post, Dr. Jeanne Powell
Copperfields, 3 PM: Kim Shuck, Maw Shein Win
Phoenix Theater, 4 PM: MK Chavez, Gail Entrekin, Steve Trenam
Petaluma Historical Museum, 5 PM: Tony Aldarondo, Georgina Gabriela Tello Bugarin, Ernesto M. Garay
Aqus Café, 6-8 PM: Iris Jamahl Dunkle, Terry Ehret, Elizabeth C. Herron, Maya Khosla, Phyllis Meshulam, Gwynn O’Gara.

Thanks to all the local Petaluma businesses that have opened their doors to make the Walk possible. More details may be found on our County news page. Look for updates on Facebook. The complete schedule is posted at: www.petalumapoetrywalk.org. Or download a brochure here.

Long Poems at Café Frida
Celebrate the start of fall and the unique pleasures of live poetry with Ed Coletti’s Festival of the Longer Poem. Ten poets will read one poem for up to ten minutes each (see our Calendar for list of poets). The reading will be held on Sunday, September 24, 1-3 PM at Café Frida, 300 South A Street in Santa Rosa.

Maggie Tuteur’s Book Launch Coming Soon
Many of you know that I’ve been working with a team of writers and artists to bring out a remarkable collection of poems by Maggie Tuteur. Maggie has been struggling for many years with hearing loss, chronic fatigue, and dementia, but seeing her poems make their way into print has been a source of deep pleasure for her. And these are amazing poems!

The book is called How the Earth Holds Us. We hope to bring it out by the end of the month, so we invite you to look forward to October’s Literary Update where the book launches will be announced.

About the book, our Sonoma County Poet Laureate Elizabeth Herron wrote this:

“We hear in ourselves the yes of recognition when we read “A Long Life,” the opening poem of How the Earth Holds Us — our death winds around our lives as bindweed does the flowers in a garden, closer even, for it cannot be rooted out. All along death “hums beneath your breath/too familiar to hear.” In these poems, over and over Mary Holman Tuteur reminds us of our mortality using nouns that become verbs, verbs that attach themselves surprisingly to subject phrases, while her prepositions lead over and over to unusual transitions. But there are narratives too in these poems, stories to remember later, wondering and a little haunted by them. Peopled with family and friends, her poems often begin in the middle of their stories and then unfold around the reader as they unfolded around their writer. Some of her most direct phrases have enormous impact (“How could the earth not throw us to our knees?”); and her passion compels us to the implicit answer. An erotic edge permeates her poems – intimate and revealing. And there is humor, too. In “Women of a Certain Age,” the poem from which the title of the book is taken, Tuteur tells us “we discern the shift/ in how the earth holds us.” Her poems pivot from present to past and past to present as deftly as a dancer. She is “a woman who will never look forward without glancing back.” Finally, these poems invite readers into the emotional life of a sensitive adventurous spirit with a bright intuitive aesthetic ripening through time. This is a book I am glad to have read and will return to.”

Give That Unsolicited Manuscript a Chance!
Jo-Anne Rosen, co-editor of this Literary Update, maintains an excellent page with information about calls for submission in various genres. Please do visit the Calls for Submission page and check it out. Here is a call for poetry manuscripts which I’ve just learned about, and which isn’t yet up on the submissions page, but worth looking into.

2024 Perugia Press Prize is OPEN: Perugia Press is a women’s poetry publishing outfit. Poets must be women, which is inclusive of transgender women and female-identified individuals. Because gender inequity still occurs in publishing, it is part of our explicit feminist mission to support and promote women’s voices in print.

To support writers in early to mid-career, poets must have no more than one previously published full-length book. You are still eligible if you have published a poetry chapbook/s or books in other genres.

Publication of the winning manuscript comes with $2,000, author copies, and other support from the press.

Manuscripts must be submitted between August 1 and November 15. Details and guidelines are available on the Perugia Press website: https://perugiapress.org/contest/

Redwood Writers Presents a Roundtable Discussion on Writing & Publishing
Wherever you are at in your writing journey, this event will offer a rare opportunity to connect with the minds behind stories and poetry, explore the craft, and gain valuable insights into the world of literature and publishing. Saturday, September 16, 1:00-2:30 p.m. Admission: $5 CWC members, $10 non-members. More details and registration: redwoodwriters.org

Round Table Conversations at the Sitting Room Library
The Sitting Room Library is launching a new series this fall called Round Tables. Here’s how they work: These Round Tables are a new way of getting small groups in conversation using the rich resources of the Sitting Room Library. Here is how we are imagining them: no cost, no advance preparation needed. And only one meeting planned. Browse the library, select a book. Each person speaks and also listens and thus we have what we all say we are wanting: conversation. Bring your curiosity! 

Saturday, September 16, 2:00 p.m.
Round Table Introduction with Sharon Bard.
Join in for an introduction to the Round Table Conversations. All are welcome, but space is limited to the first eight who email Sharon, srbard@comcast.net.

Saturday, September 23, 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Qi Gong: Writing Gong Workshop with Karen Fitzgerald
This workshop is designed to appeal to your Creative within – be she/he a writer, painter, sculptor, weaver, designer It is a workshop aimed at all creatives, from beginners to advanced to Masters of an art form, even if that art amounts to doing life. Writing will be the act that serves to integrate the gentle movements of a qi gong practice to one’s creative practices. $30 donation benefits the Sitting Room Library. Please email Karen, thinkinc@aol.com for additional information.

Saturday, September 30, 2:00 p.m.
Round Table 2, Reading Other People’s Mail with J.J. Wilson
What could be more fun than sitting a-round-table where we pluck books from the LETTERS FROM WOMEN WRITERS SHELF and choose some worthy of reading aloud to one another. Not surprisingly, from Jane Austen to Zora Neale Hurston, they are good letter writers (tho we are warned that Virginia Woolf’s letters are “intensely performative and recipient-specific in tone”) and I think we’ll get some good insights along with some good laughs. To sign on the dotted line for this experience (ltd to six people), please telephone J.J. Wilson at 707 795-9028.

And here are the October dates and topics:
Saturday, October 7, 1:00 to 4:00 pm, Round Table 3, Savoring Woolf with JoAnn Borri
Saturday, October 14, 2:00 p.m. “H.D.: Out of the Shadows,” with Barbara Beattie, M.A. student, Sonoma State
Saturday, October 28, 2:00 p.m., Write Your Own Obituary with Marie Thomas McNaughton.Check out the Literary Update’s Calendar page or visit the Sitting Room Library’s new website at this link for details: https://sittingroomlibrary.org/events

Anyone interested in hosting a Round Table that is tailored to the resources of The Sitting Room Library, please telephone J.J. Wilson, 707 795-9028 to talk your ideas over, o.k.?

Poetry of Remembrance Community Reading October 21
On Saturday, October 21, from 6:00 to 8:30 PM, members of the community are invited to attend the annual El Día de los Muertos “Poesía del Recuerdo / Poetry of Remembrance” celebration. We are pleased to announce that this year’s event will take place atPetaluma Historical Library & Museum, 20 4th Street, Petaluma, CA 94952.

Our featured bilingual speakers will include Lalin the Poet (Luis Vasquez) and poet Gina Tello Bugarin; poet and painter Sandra Anfang; artist and community educator Irma Vega Bijou, former Sonoma County Poet Laureate Phyllis Meshulam, and many others. Our host for the evening will be Elizabeth Herron, Sonoma County’s current Poet Laureate.

Those who wish to honor the memory of someone who has departed are encouraged to bring something—a photo or an item that reminds them of their loved one—that can be placed on a community altar for the evening.

Those who would like to participate in the community reading are encouraged to share, in Spanish (or other language) and/or English, a brief poem or remembrance.

Poetry of Remembrance/Poesía del Recuerdo is part of the month-long El Día de los Muertos celebrations held in Petaluma during the month of October, featuring community altars, bilingual storytelling, sugar skull workshops, music, dance, and a procession with giant puppets.

Admission is free. For more information about El Día de Los Muertos events, check out Facebook at El Día de Los Muertos Petaluma.

Sixteen Rivers Press Benefit Will Feature California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick
For three years, Sixteen Rivers has hosted its annual benefit reading as a virtual event. We’re thrilled to return to a live event, complete with delicious food, books by our authors, new anthologies of teen poets, and a reading by California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick.

The benefit will be held on Sunday, October 22 from 2-5 PM at Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda, Berkeley.

Please join us for a delightful afternoon of wine, hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction, poetry, good company and conversation. The event is free and open to all. We ask that you use the link below to visit our EventBrite page. Once there, click on “get tickets” to let us know you’re coming. This will help us plan food and beverages for our guests. You can also use the EventBrite page to make a donation, if you’re so inclined. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sixteen-rivers-2023-fall-fundraiser-tickets-680501587567

Poem for September
The Poetry Foundation website has a terrific list of autumn poems by Richard Wilbur, Stanley Kunitz, John Keats, Bruce Weigl, Annie Finch, Rita Dove, and more. What caught my attention was this quirky poem by Grace Paley, one of my favorite short story writers (who also wrote essays and poetry), and one of my favorite human beings. Here’s the link to the Poetry Foundation’s fall poems page: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/101590/fall-poems

In my internet sleuthing, I also came upon this interesting and insightful commentary of Paley’s “Autumn” and thought I’d share it with you. The author is Rosandreea on the website Contagious Gothic. Rosandreea is not a fan of romantic seasonal poetry, and I think she’s onto something in her interpretation of Paley’s poem. You can read the rest of the commentary at this website: https://contagiousgothic.wordpress.com/2017/10/09/autumn-1991-grace-paley/

“Perhaps it is something of an acquired taste, but I really appreciate the humor in “Autumn” (1991). I love the streak of mock seriousness running through the whole text and the contrast between the anti-climax of the poem’s conclusion and its core of vivid natural imagery. Much nature poetry aims to give us some kind of special insight into the processes of the natural world in order to then put that insight to work on larger questions and issues having to do with human (rather than natural). Mary Oliver’s “Lines Written in the Days of Growing Darkness” (2012) is a useful example of this. There is much more going on in the poem, but one of the natural (!) conclusions from reading the poem is that the changing of seasons shows us that we have to let go of what or who we love so that they can become renewed.”

________

Autumn
by Grace Paley

What is sometimes called a
 tongue of flame
or an arm extended burning
 is only the long
red and orange branch of
 a green maple
in early September reaching
 into the greenest field
out of the green woods at the
 edge of which the birch trees
appear a little tattered tired
 of sustaining delicacy
all through the hot summer re-
 minding everyone (in
our family) of a Russian
 song a story
by Chekhov or my father

2

What is sometimes called a
 tongue of flame
or an arm extended burning
 is only the long
red and orange branch of
 a green maple
in early September reaching
 into the greenest field
out of the green woods at the
 edge of which the birch trees
appear a little tattered tired
 of sustaining delicacy
all through the hot summer re-
 minding everyone (in
our family) of a Russian
 song a story by
Chekhov or my father on
 his own lawn standing
beside his own wood in
 the United States of
America saying (in Russian)
 this birch is a lovely
tree but among the others

 somehow superficial

— Grace Paley, “Autumn” from Long Walks and Intimate Talks by Grace Paley and Vera B. Williams.

Copyright © 1991 by Grace Paley. Reprinted with the permission of The Feminist Press at the City University of New York, http://www.feministpress.org.

Source: Begin Again: The Collected Poems of Grace Paley (The Feminist Press, 1999)
________

Terry Ehret
Co-editor, Sonoma County Literary Update

Dear Literary Folk,

My husband and I have returned from our Rocky Mountain tour and revisit of the adventures we shared 45 years ago. The glaciers of the Canadian Rockies are still spectacular, though they are receding rapidly. As promised, here are a couple of side-by-side comparisons of these great ice-beings. We are lucky to share the planet with them, and I hope they will be with us for a while. Climatologists predict they may be gone by the end of the century. The top two photos are of Crow’s Foot Glacier. The bottom two are the Athabasca Glacier. Both are visible from the Icefield Parkway.





45 years ago, we traveled in a VW bug, camping most of the way. The trip took us from Pacific Grove to Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, then into Alberta as far as Jasper; we returned by way of British Columbia, Washington State, Oregon, and down the California coast back to Monterey Bay. It took us 7 weeks. This recent trip was by bus and focused just on the Rocky Mountains. We flew into Calgary and out of Jackson Hole; we were on the road for 11 days.

One of the oddest things we saw was an historical display in Banff, which featured a VW bug packed with camping gear. There was also a canvas camping tent beside it. It made us laugh to think our VW adventure is now considered an historical artifact.



Bruce Johnson — In Memoriam
Bruce Johnson, renowned local sculptor and long-time resident of Sonoma County passed away during a tragic accident at his studio on February 14, 2023. Looking back over the posts in March–July, I found a lovely “In Memoriam” on the County News page, but I didn’t see a feature in the posts of the Literary Update to honor Bruce’s work and his influence in Sonoma County and beyond—an oversight I hope to amend here.

One of my favorite memories of my years at SRJC is the time Bruce Johnson demonstrated his sculpture technique as part of a three-day residency in 2001.He brought his chainsaw and a huge stump of salvaged old-growth redwood, and set to work in front of Analy Hall, right in the center of campus.

And then in 2005, I was lucky to be present at the installation of Poetry House, his collaboration with Elizabeth Herron, first at Paradise Ridge Winery, then at Sonoma State University. While Poetry House was installed at Paradise Ridge, I held several creative writing classes there. It’s a deeply inspirational space, which Bruce described as “an empty space where attention resides.”

Elizabeth Herron, the current poet laureate of Sonoma County and long-time friend of Bruce, wrote a short “pocket poem” upon learning of his passing: “Losing a dear friend/we must be brave/remembering/laughter through tears.”

For those who wish to learn more about Bruce, his life, and the incredible art he created (including Poetry House, the Sonoma County History Museum has included some links below.

Form and Energy: Bruce’s Website 
Press Democrat Article
Documentary by Kirsten Dirksen

Benefit for Sebastopol Center for the Arts
You are warmly invited to a sparkling evening of poetry & music, a Benefit for Sebastopol Center of the Arts on Sunday, August 6, at 6:00 pm. with eco-poets  Elizabeth Herron, Sonoma County’s current Poet Laureate, Maya Khosla, also a Sonoma County Laureate, and Raphael Block. There’ll be music with improvisational cellist, RutiCelli, accompanied by Paul Lamb on bass, and food and wine to celebrate the event and Raphael’s book launch!



Please buy your tickets here.

A Sampling of Other Upcoming August Literary Events
Napa Valley Writers’ Conference
This year’s conference runs from July 30 through August 4. While applications for the conference workshops are closed, the conference schedule also includes talks by faculty writers, special panels, and readings by the faculty at Napa Valley wineries and these readings, panels and lectures are open to the general public (for a fee). Each daytime event takes place on the Napa Valley College main campus, at 2277 Napa Vallejo Hwy, Napa, CA 94558. Tuesday’s evening event will be held at Silverado Winery.

EVENING READINGS
(McCarthy Library Courtyard, Napa Campus, Napa Valley College)
Tuesday, August 1, 6:30 pm – Victoria Chang & Crystal Wilkinson
Wednesday, August 2, 5:30 pm – Brenda Hillman & Lan Samantha Chang
Thursday, August 3, 6:30 pm – Robert Hass & featured participants

DAILY CRAFT TALKS
(Performing Arts Center, Napa Campus, Napa Valley College)
Tuesday, August 1, 9 am, Ilya Kaminsk; 1:30 pm, Peter Orner
Wednesday August 2, 9 am, Carl Phillips; 1:30 pm, Katie Crouch
Thursday, August 3, 9 am, Victoria Chan; 1:30 pm, Crystal Wilkinson

FREE DROP-IN COMMUNITY CLASSES
(Community room, McCarthy Library, Napa Campus, Napa Valley College)
Monday, July 31 – Friday, August 4: Poetry Encounter with Katie Farris 10:30 am
Monday, July 31 – Thursday, August 3: Guided Reading Class with Caroline Goodwin 4:30 pm

2023 PRICING for public admission
(tickets sold on-site prior to each Reading and Craft Talk)
Individual reading: $20
Individual craft talk: $25
Full week pass (all craft talks and readings): $275
Lectures-only pass (all 9 craft talks): $200
Readings-only pass (all 5 readings): $90
Single-day pass (two lectures and one reading): $65

Julia Park Tracey’s New Novel The Bereaved
Friday, August 18, 7:00 p.m. Copperfields Books welcomes local author Julia Park Tracey, featuring her new historical fiction novel The Bereaved. Based on the author’s research into her grandfather’s past as an adopted child, and the surprising discovery of his family of origin and how he came to be adopted, Julia Park Tracey has created a mesmerizing work of historical fiction illuminating the darkest side of the Orphan Train. The discussion will be followed by a Q&A and book signing. Copperfield’s Books, 140 Kentucky St., Petaluma. More information: www.copperfieldsbooks.com/event/julia-park-tracey-0

Mistakes Authors Make: A Presentation with Brent Ridgeway
I’ll bet we can all think of mistakes we’ve made in our writing lives, whether it’s sending our work to the absolute wrong kind of journal or acting on editing advice that ends up stealing the heart right out of our work. But there are also the lovely serendipitous mistakes that enrich our writing by freeing us from our conscious intentions. These might be typos, misheard words, handwriting so illegible we’re forced to make up the words we might have intended.

I’ve chosen a poem on this theme of mistakes as the poem for August. The poem comes with a surprising twist regarding the mistaken identity of its author. Scroll down for this.

To hear what Brent Ridgeway has to say about the mistakes writer’s make, join Redwood Writers Club on Saturday, August 19, 1:00-2:30 p.m. Ridgeway’s focus will be on Essential Steps for Achieving Success as an Author. The presentation will be at the Finley Center, Cypress Room, 2060 W College Ave, Santa Rosa. CWC members: $5; nonmembers: $10. Details and registration at: redwoodwriters.org.

Whether you are a published author or have always wanted to write, there’s a place for you at Redwood Writers, a branch of California Writers Club. New member enrollment is open from July 1 through September 30. For more information and to join: redwoodwriters.org/membership/join/

Rumi’s Caravan
Sunday, August 20, 7:30 p.m. Rumi’s Caravan Returns to the East Bay. An improvised poetic conversation with music. At Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison Street, Berkeley. All proceeds from the performance will support the work of the Middle East Children’s Alliance. Advance tickets, $25. Details and tickets: https://secure.thefreight.org/12750/rumis-caravan

Poem for August
On the theme of mistakes writers make, I found this poem, attributed to Jorge Luis Borges. On closer inspection (and in search of the Spanish text and translator), I discovered that this may not be by Borges at all. Possible authors include humorist Don Herold and Nadine Stair.

One online source offered this:

Spanish versions with the shape of a poem were wrongly attributed to Borges by literary magazines like Mexican Plural (May 1989, pages 4–5) and books (such as Elena Poniatowska‘s “Todo México”, page 144).

In December 2005, Irish pop singer Bono read in Spanish some of the lines of the poem on Mexican TV show Teletón México 2005 and attributed them to the “Chilean poet Borges.”

Of course, Borges was Argentinian, not Chilean, but the attribution error was so extended that even the poet and scholar Alastair Reid translated one of the Spanish versions into English under the belief that it was a work from Borges. Reid’s translations starts,

If I were able to live my life again,

next time I would try to make more mistakes.

I would not try to be so perfect.
I would be more relaxed.

I would be much more foolish than I have been. In fact,

I would take very few things seriously.

I would be much less sanitary.

Whoever the author and translator might be, here is a poem celebrating making more mistakes.

Moments: If I Could Live My Life Again
(incorrectly) attributed to Jorge Luis Borges

If I could live my life again
I’d try to make more mistakes,
I wouldn’t try to be so perfect,
I’d be more relaxed,
I’d be more true-to-life than I was.

In fact, I’d take fewer things seriously,
I’d be less hygienic,
I’d take more risks,
I’d take more trips,
I’d watch more sunsets,
I’d climb more mountains,
I’d swim more rivers,
I’d go to more places I’ve never been,
I’d eat more ice cream and less lima beans,
I’d have more real problems and fewer  imaginary ones.

I was one of those people who live prudent
and prolific lives each minute of their existence.
Of course, I did have moments of joy
yet if I could go back I’d try
to have good moments only.

In case you don’t know what life is made of,
only moments; don’t miss the now.

I was one of those who never
go anywhere, without a thermometer,
without a hot-water bottle,
without an umbrella,
without a parachute.

If I could live again
I’d travel light,
I’d try to work barefoot,
from spring to fall.
I’d ride more carts,
I’d watch more sunrises,
play with more kids,
if I could live my life again.

But now I am 85,
and I know I am dying.

Source: : https://fabricegrinda.com/moments-by-jorge-luis-borges/

Poema atribuido a Borges, pero cuyo real autor sería Don Herold o Nadine Stair.

Si pudiera vivir nuevamente mi vida,
en la próxima trataría de cometer más errores.
No intentaría ser tan perfecto, me relajaría más.
Sería más tonto de lo que he sido,
de hecho tomaría muy pocas cosas con seriedad.
Sería menos higiénico.
Correría más riesgos,
haría más viajes,
contemplaría más atardeceres,
subiría más montañas, nadaría más ríos.
Iría a más lugares adonde nunca he ido,
comería más helados y menos habas,
tendría más problemas reales y menos imaginarios.

Yo fui una de esas personas que vivió sensata
y prolíficamente cada minuto de su vida;
claro que tuve momentos de alegría.
Pero si pudiera volver atrás trataría
de tener solamente buenos momentos.

Por si no lo saben, de eso está hecha la vida,
sólo de momentos; no te pierdas el ahora.

Yo era uno de esos que nunca
iban a ninguna parte sin un termómetro,
una bolsa de agua caliente,
un paraguas y un paracaídas;
si pudiera volver a vivir, viajaría más liviano.
Si pudiera volver a vivir
comenzaría a andar descalzo a principios
de la primavera
y seguiría descalzo hasta concluir el otoño.
Daría más vueltas en calesita,
contemplaría más amaneceres,
y jugaría con más niños,
si tuviera otra vez vida por delante.

Pero ya ven, tengo 85 años…
y sé que me estoy muriendo.

Source: https://www.poemas-del-alma.com/instantes.htm

___________

Terry Ehret
Co-editor, Sonoma County Literary Update

Dear Literary Folk,

Last week, my husband and I spend a couple of days in Yosemite Valley. I have been there several times, but always in drought years, so I especially wanted to see the waterfalls after this epic winter snowfall. They were amazing! Such beauty and power are as humbling as the granite splendor of Half Dome and El Capitan.

In a few days, we’ll be off for another high mountain adventure: touring the Canadian Rockies, then south to Glacier, Yellowstone, and the Tetons, recreating a road trip from 45 years ago. Back then, the backpack up into the Tetons and the drive up the Glacial Parkway to Jasper introduced us to glaciers on a grand scale. Now we want to see these majestic ice-beings before they’re gone. Here’s a photo of one of the many glaciers from July 1978. I’ll try to recreate this image on this year’s drive up the Parkway and report back next month.

Sonoma County Voices of Summer
Shout out to Ed Coletti for bringing together a terrific collection of poets, along with Steve (with two e’s) Shane on bass, at Café Frida last Sunday. It was such a lovely way to spend a summer afternoon!

Ed has a poem “Depriving the Vultures,” just out in the Summer 2023 issue of 2RiverReview.

Sonoma County poet laureate emerita Gwynn O’Gara has a new book, called We Who Dream, just released from Finishing Line Press. I’ve selected the title poem from this collection as the Poem for July, which you’ll find at the end of the post.

Other local authors with new books out include current poet laureate Elizabeth Herron (In the Cities of Sleep), Raphael Block (The Dreams We Share), Rachel Zemach (The Butterfly Cage: A Memoir), Karen Pierce Gonzalez (Coyote in the Basket of My Ribs), Nancy Bourne (Somewhere a Phone is Ringing), and Sande Anfang (Finishing School).

Petaluma writer Donna Emerson’s poem “Sarah Mae” has been awarded an Editors’ Choice Award from the Poetry Center in Paterson, NJ. It will be published in the Paterson Literary Review this summer, and Donna has been invited to read her poem, along with other winners at the awards ceremony in February 2024. Closer to home, Donna will be reading her poetry on Saturday July 22, 2:30-4;00 p.m., along with six other poets from the Marin Poetry Center at the Larkspur Library, 400 Main Street, Larkspur.

You can see the full list of authors with new book or journal publications on the Sonoma County in Print page.

Don’t see your work there? If you are a Sonoma County writer with a poem, story, essay, creative nonfiction, or review newly published in a literary journal, print or online, let’s help you celebrate! Likewise, if you have a book or chapbook coming out this year, send your announcement to editor@socolitupdate.com. 

Upcoming July Events
Alas, I won’t be in Sonoma County to enjoy many of the literary events coming up in July, but I have sampled the calendar, and here are a few that are not to be missed if you’re lucky enough to be home in the weeks ahead.

On Saturday, July 15, at 8:00 pm, J.L. Henker will be a guest on Outbeat Collage, a KRCB (104.9) radio show about LGBTQ arts and entertainment in the Bay Area. She will discuss her short story published in Written with Pride: Stories from Queer Authors, as well as the importance of visibility for artists from marginalized communities. Hosted by Gary Carnivele. Listen to the live stream at www.outbeatradio.org.

On that same day, July 15, 11 am-2:00 pm, the Soroptimists International of Oakmont is hosting Local Authors’ Book Faire. You’ll have the opportunity to meet 20 published authors from Glen Ellen, Kenwood, Sonoma, Healdsburg, Sebastopol and Santa Rosa, who will be on site to talk about and sell their books (historical fiction, romance novels, memoir, short stories, poetry, cook books and more). Admission is free. You’ll find this all happening at the Berger Center, 6633 Oakmont Drive, Santa Rosa.

Who are the Soroptimists?
I admit, as I typed the above announcement, I began to puzzle who or what a Soromptimist is. Just for fun, I looked them up online (www.soroptimist.org) and discovered this: They are “a global volunteer organization that provides women and girls with access to the education and training they need to achieve economic empowerment.” How cool is that?! Even better, the international organization was founded right here in the Bay Area, (Oakland) about a hundred years ago. How did I not know this? So I did a little more sleuthing online, and gleaned a few interesting facts. For example, the name “Soroptimist” was coined by combining the Latin words soror “sister” and optima “best.” In the years leading up to World War II, Soroptimists worked to assist refugees fleeing unrest in central Europe. I love the fact that our local Soroptimist chapter (Oakmont Wine Country) is supporting the writers of Sonoma County with this free local authors book fair. They seem like a very worthy organization to support.

Napa Valley Writers’ Conference
This year’s conference runs from July 30 through August 4. While applications for the conference workshops are closed, the conference schedule also includes talks by faculty writers, special panels, and readings by the faculty at Napa Valley wineries and these readings, panels and lectures are open to the general public (for a fee). Each daytime event takes place on the Napa Valley College main campus, at 2277 Napa Vallejo Hwy, Napa, CA 94558. Tuesday’s evening event will be held at Silverado Winery.

EVENING READINGS
(McCarthy Library Courtyard, Napa Campus, Napa Valley College)
Sunday, July 30, 6:30 pm – Ilya Kaminsky, Katie Farris & Peter Orner
Monday, July 31, 6:30 pm – Carl Phillips & Katie Crouch
Tuesday, August 1, 6:30 pm – Victoria Chang & Crystal Wilkinson
Wednesday, August 2, 5:30 pm – Brenda Hillman & Lan Samantha Chang
Thursday, August 3, 6:30 pm – Robert Hass & featured participants

DAILY CRAFT TALKS
(Performing Arts Center, Napa Campus, Napa Valley College)
Monday, July 31: 9 am, Brenda Hillman; 1:30 pm Lan Samantha Chang; 3 pm Robert Hass
Tuesday, August 1, 9 am, Ilya Kaminsk; 1:30 pm, Peter Orner
Wednesday August 2, 9 am, Carl Phillips; 1:30 pm, Katie Crouch
Thursday, August 3, 9 am, Victoria Chan; 1:30 pm, Crystal Wilkinson

FREE DROP-IN COMMUNITY CLASSES
(Community room, McCarthy Library, Napa Campus, Napa Valley College)
Monday, July 31 – Friday, August 4: Poetry Encounter with Katie Farris 10:30 am
Monday, July 31 – Thursday, August 3: Guided Reading Class with Caroline Goodwin 4:30 pm

2023 PRICING for public admission
(tickets sold on-site prior to each Reading and Craft Talk)
Individual reading: $20
Individual craft talk: $25
Full week pass (all craft talks and readings): $275
Lectures-only pass (all 9 craft talks): $200
Readings-only pass (all 5 readings): $90
Single-day pass (two lectures and one reading): $65

Wordrunner Press Call for Prose Mini-Collections
The Literary Update’s co-editor Jo-Anne Rosen has put out a call for Wordrunner eChapbooks open submissions. Wordrunner will select one fiction and one nonfiction (memoir) mini-collection for their 2023 e-chapbook series to be published in August and December online and as ebooks. They are looking for emotional complexity and nuanced characters. The submission deadline has been extended to July 15, 2023. For details, see www.echapbook.com/submissions.html.
________

Poem for July

We Who Dream
by Gwynn O’Gara

            my cells, which are my stars. . .
            —Frida Kahlo

Haloed by redwoods, a vulture sky
and plump, comical geese,
the soul-body of Guadalupe shimmers.

North on our backs, around our necks,
in our skin, snuggled in suitcases,
constant in cages, flowing underground.

September’s feathered heat and
bountiful barbeques. Tunneling cold trickles
our legs through the water’s massage.

Girls and boys play-fight for swan, burger
and unicorn floats. Reborn in dream-water,
lovers cradle one another. Kids scream.

Late afternoons a breeze from the Pacific.
Geese gabble in, splash down with cartoon faces.
Without wings we made it. Lost a few. Lost a lot.

Among thorns children, friends, work,
hoodies unzipped with sweat and song,
we who dream know there are no borders.

From We Who Dream, Finishing Line Press, 2023.
Available from Copperfield’s Montgomery Village and Sebastopol and Finishing Line Press
https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/we-who-dream-by-gwynn-ogara
________

Terry Ehret, Co-editor
Sonoma County Literary Update

Dear Literary Folk,

Something about the Blues
Beloved poet and jazz musician Al Young passed away April 17, 2021, in the midst of the Covid pandemic, when gathering in groups was a challenge for most of us. Consequently, Al’s memorial was postponed until we could safely gather. On Saturday, June 3, at 2:00 p.m., Al Young’s life and work will be celebrated in a tribute called “Something about the Blues” at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar Street, Berkeley. Featured readers: Ishmael Reed and current California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick. RSVP to info@poetryflash.org.
You can read the Literary Update’s tribute to Al Young at this link: https://socolitupdate.com/2021/05/01/may-2021/. Discover more about Al’s life and work at this link: https://www.berkeleyside.org/2021/04/21/al-young-california-poet-laureate-berkeley-ca-dies-81

Time to Eat Cake!
Two important anniversaries are coming up in early June, and you are invited to be part of both celebrations! The first of these is the 10th anniversary of Rivertown Poets in Petaluma on June 5th; the second is the Sitting Room’s Rebirthday Party on June 10th.

Rivertown Poets Features Rebecca Patrascu and Gwynn O’Gara
You are warmly invited to join us for our next reading which takes place on Monday, June 5th, at 6:15 p.m. PDT. This reading marks the completion of ten years of continuous monthly poetry readings. We’ll be live at the Aqus Cafe, located at 189 H Street in Petaluma (corner of 2nd and H). We won’t be Zooming in for this event but our July reading will be on Zoom. Our June 5th features are Sonoma County poets Rebecca Patrascu and Gwynn O’Gara. An open mic of three-minute readings follows the features. Signup will be live on the clipboard–as in the Beforetime. Poets will have books on hand for purchase during the intermission. Plan to arrive early for a good table and an open mic slot. The Aqus Cafe serves delicious food and drinks. The kitchen closes at 7:00, so plan to order before we begin the reading. There will be cake!
—Sande Anfang, founder and host of Rivertown Poets

Sitting Room’s Rebirthday Party

Date: Saturday, June 10
Time: 2 to 5 or so
Place: 2025 Curtis Drive, Penngrove, CA 94951
(No need to rsvp, but if you want more information, call 707 795-9028)
Carpool?— it is more fun, better on the environment, AND easier on the parking
Refreshments and entertainment provided — Anything on paper presents to The Sitting Room welcome but no- present people will also be welcomed and being present is the best present of all…CUthere, IF THE WEATHER IS O.K. FOR OUTDOOR COMFORT; if not in these uncertain climes, stay home and read a book, o.k.?
—JJ Wilson and Karen Petersen

Sacramento Poetry Alliance hosts an Afternoon of Translation
with Terry Ehret, John Johnson, and Susan Cohen
If you’re up for a drive to the Central Valley, or if you know poetry aficionados in the Sacramento area, please pass along this invitation:

Terry Ehret and John Johnson will read from their translations of Plagios/Plagiarsms, by Ulalume Gonzalez de Leon, on Saturday, June 10, 4 pm. Susan Cohen will also present her translations of Yiddish poems. The reading series is hosted by Tim Kahl and the Sacramento Poetry Alliance, and will be held in a lovely garden setting in the Land Park district, 1169 Perkins Way, Sacramento, CA.

Off the Page Readers Theater
One of Sonoma County’s most creative and collaborative ventures is Off the Page Readers Theater. Founded in 2013 by Hilary Moore, Pat Hayes and Mike Hayes, they have grown to a troupe of six Sonoma County actor/directors. For some shows they invite guest actors to perform with them as well. 

Off the Page specializes in performing the works of local authors. By now they have performed the works of more than 50 writers. Twice a year they choose a theme and call for entries. For each show they create a “symphony” of stories, plays and poems. A percentage of their proceeds goes to local charities.

This month, on Friday, June 16 and Saturday, June 17, 7:00-9:00 p.m., Off the Page performs six 10-minute plays by Redwood Writers Club members David Beckman, Andrew Brier, Joan Goodreau, Crissi Langwell, Linda Loveland Reid and Maureen Studerwill. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. At the Finley Center, 2060 W College Ave, Santa Rosa. Admission $20. For details on authors, plays, actors, and ticket purchase: https://redwoodwriters.org/2023-10-minute-play-contest-winners

If you’d like to submit your work for Off the Page, you’ll find all the relevant information at this link on their website: https://www.offthepagetheater.com/submissions.

Café Frida/ Ed Coletti Poetry Festival on June 25
Come enjoy the great food, delightful courtyard setting, music, and poetry on Saturday, June 25, 1:00-3:00 p.m. at Cafe Frida. The Sizzling Summer Reading will feature Terry Ehret, David Beckman, Sandra Anfang, David Madgalene, Phyllis Meshalum, Jodi Hottel, Steve Shane soloing on his magic bass, Richard Long (editor of 2 River Review), and Raphael Block. Come early for lunch and music. Cafe Frida is located in the Santa Rosa Art District at 300 S A St, Santa Rosa. Details: https://edwardcolettispoetryblog.blogspot.com

Dale Dougherty’s Sebastopol City Limits Interview with Raphael Block
Dale Dougherty, editor and publisher of Make: Magazine, a DIY Tech quarterly, and Laura Hagar Rush, the former editor of the Sebastopol newspaper, Sonoma West Times & News have co-created the online journal Sebastopol Times. Dale and Laura invite you to be a part of a community of people who share your home town news. They welcome article submissions, as well as “letters to the editors.”

Dale Dougherty: dale.dougherty@gmail.com
Laura Hagar Rush: hagarlaura@gmail.com
You can also reach them at 707-322-8696 or drop by their office at 524 S. Main Street in Sebastopol.
 
Dale also hosts a podcast called Sebastopol City Limits. Recently he featured Raphael Block, who has a new book, The Dreams We Share, You can listen to the podcast or read the transcript of the interview by clicking on this link: https://www.sebastopoltimes.com/p/old-cat-poet-raphael-block?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email#details

Poem for June
For the past year, I’ve had the privilege to collaborate with a remarkable team to create a collection of local writer Maggie Tuteur’s poetry. Maggie’s book, How the Earth Holds Us, is scheduled for release in September from Wordrunner Press, and we’ll have a grand book launch to celebrate with Maggie, her family, and friends.

About Maggie’s book, Barbara Baer writes: “Readers of How the Earth Holds Us will come to know Maggie Tuteur as few have known her during a daring life of adventure, yearning, tragedy, and wonder. We may sometimes be shocked by Tuteur’s raw pain and her passion, but we are guided by her craft and her search for peace; as she writes, ‘I am living in the echo / of a clear bell’s ring.’ Those venturing into this rich collection of poems will hear Maggie Tuteur’s voice long after they close the book.“

For June’s poem, I’ve selected one of Maggie’s—a prose poem that evokes those long summer evenings in childhood when we might have lain after sunset in the half-light of “firefly time.”
_______

Shades of Childhood
by Maggie Tuteur

Still daylight when they tucked me in. I could feel the flowers beneath my window flexing their petals for the fat yellow bees, sweet-natured bumblers that brushed my palms. June bugs, those
ornery earth movers, lurching and bumbling. Upturned earthworms sensing the air with delicate snouts.

That was my place down there, not this holding pen of floppy dolls. Just before firefly time, the shadows cast by venetian blinds began their twilight crawl across the ceiling, transporting me, breath by breath, into that night garden I could never anticipate, where I was the soil and the seed.
_______
from How the Earth Holds Us, forthcoming from Wordrunner Press, copyright © 2023 by John Tuteur Trustee, Maggie Tuteur Revocable Trust. All rights reserved.
_______

Terry Ehret,
Sonoma County Literary Update co-editor

Dear Literary Folk,

Here’s what’s new in my writing life and in our amazing literary community.

The Slow Down
The Slow Down is a literary podcast, offering a poem and a moment of reflection every weekday—“true break from the cacophony of life.” (Alice Florence Orr). I have heard from many of my literary update friends that this is worth tuning into, and for several years, this program, hosted by our US poet laureate Ada Limón, has been on my to-do list. Ironically, I felt my life was just too busy to add The Slow Down. Before I start my day, I read Poetry Daily, The Writers Almanac, Poem-A-Day from Poets.org, Larry Robinson’s daily poetry e-mail, and all the poems that show up on my FaceBook feed, so I haven’t felt the need to stream more. But just today, I decided to give it a try, tuning in to the podcast’s new host, Major Jackson, whom many of you may know from his workshops, readings, and craft lectures at the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference.

I started with the episode from April 28, “Tea with Ann,” by Mary Brancaccio. It opens with Jackson reflecting on reconnecting with old friends on FaceBook, saying, “It is amazing to have the long view of each other’s journey on earth, to witness how time has physically changed us.” This struck home, as I’m currently collaborating with a small group of elementary school friends to arrange our 50th high school reunion this fall, though, alas, we just learned that one of our dearest friends, Ellen, passed away five years ago. How did we miss this? How could she just be gone? I had just found her on FaceBook, smiling her beautiful smile, and shared her photo with our little group. We each had an Ellen story to tell, and one of us Belmonsters (our hometown was Belmont, CA) reminisced about the day Ellen showed up barefoot and driving a Mustang convertible. Then Jackson read the poem, with its remembrance of a Catholic school acquaintance, and the poet’s remark “I can’t imagine growing old without you.” Needless to say, I’m hooked.

The podcasts run about 5 minutes each. If you want to try for yourself, here’s the link: https://www.slowdownshow.org

Avotcja at Rivertown
One of my favorite local artists is Avotcja Jiltonilro, an East Bay poet who frequents Sonoma County, especially the Petaluma Poetry Walk where you may have had the pleasure of hearing her read and perform her music. She is also a frequent open mic reader at Rivertown Poets.

Avotcja (pronounced Avacha) is New York born music fanatic/sound junkie and popular Bay Area radio DJ. Her parents were Puerto Rican entertainers who launched Avotcja on a lifelong mission to heal herself and the world as a musician/writer/educator/storyteller. “I talk to the Trees & listens to the Wind against the concrete,” she writes, “& when they answer it usually winds up in a Poem or Short Story.”

You can hear Avotcja as one of the three featured readers with Rivertown Poets tonight, May 1, 6:15 p.m. Host Sande Anfang will introduce Avotcja , Ashia Ajani, and Tureeda Mikell via Zoom. The reading starts promptly at 6:15. Open mic follows. Zoom in to listen at https://zoom.us/j/6508887879 or via Aqus.com/rivertownpoets.

Avotcja’s poem “Daughters of the Drum” is our poem for May. Scroll down to read. You can find more about Avotcja at her website: https://avotcja.org/.

Bay Area Book Festival
There are plenty of terrific live and online literary events, workshops, readings listed in the May Calendar. But before it slips right past you, I want to give a shout out to the Bay Area Book Festival, live and in person again! This is a world-class literary extravaganza taking place over two days in downtown Berkeley. The festival runs May 6 and 7 with dozens of renowned speakers, including Joan Baez, Camille Dungy, Dave Eggers, Forrest Gander, and many more. A panel titled “Life in Books” features Sonoma County author Joan Frank along with Dorothy Lazard and Jane Smiley; and a “Flash Fiction America” panel that includes Molly Giles and others. There will be indoor literary programs at multiple locations in downtown Berkeley both days and on Sunday, an outdoor literary marketplace in MLK Jr. Civic Park with over 150 exhibitors. This is one of my favorite literary festivals, with FREE admission to all events. For festival schedule, author-speaker lineup and more: www.baybookfest.org/2023info

Annual Haiku Festival in Ukiah
Celebrate Ukiah’s palindrome on Sunday, May 7, 2:00-4:00 p.m. at the 21st Annual UkiaHaiku Festival at Grace Hudson Museum Wild Gardens, Ukiah. There will be a live performance from the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas’ Developing Virtue Boys School, and readings of past haiku contest winners from various local luminaries. Live music by the UkeTones and shakuhachi (traditional Japanese flute) player Karl Young, as well as haiku-inspired arts and crafts booths, and refreshments. Free and open to the public. More details: http://ukiahaiku.org

Another Chance to Celebrate The Freedom of New Beginnings!
Last month, we had a terrific reading with the rousing dance music of Onye and the Messengers and contributors to the anthology The Freedom of New Beginnings. The combination of music and poetry raises each art to a new level. On May 20 the reading will be at the Community Market in Sebastopol from 2:00-4:00 PM. The musicians will be singer Stella Heath and guitarist Ian Scherer. Readers will include Hillary Moore, Linda Loveland Reid, Lynn Axelrod, Steve Trenam, Kay Renz, Jodi Hottel, Abby Bogomolny, Judy Cheung, Ernesto Garay, Kat Kraus, introduced by the editors Phyllis Meshulam, Gail King, Gwynn O’Gara, and Terry Ehret. Community Market is located at 6762 Sebastopol Ave, Sebastopol, CA 95472.

If you’ve been following Phyllis’s Poet Laureate project from her 2020-2022 tenure, you know that the anthology revolves around three themes: “Gratitude,” “Honoring Our Pain for the World,” and “Seeing with New Eyes.” Its title, The Freedom of New Beginnings, was inspired by a poem by Katherine Hastings, which ends with these inspirational lines: “beyond the catastrophe of ash/ throbbing in the glass/of abandoned dreams/Light follows you, cuts a path//equal to the loss of the abandoned nest/equal to the freedom new beginnings bring.”

_________

POEM FOR MAY

DAUGHTERS OF THE DRUM

We were born to Drum
Somos Hijas ritmicas
We were conceived in Rhythm
Whether we knew it or not or wanted it or not
It was & has always been
About upholding La Clave en el alma
The beauty & sanctity of the Rhythm that created us
The Rhythm that is us
Somos el latído de la naturaleza
The Rhythm
Of our Mother’s labor pains announced our coming
And it’s always the Rhythm of our breathing
That lets the world know we’re alive
¡Miranos!
Bellas fuerzas místicas pero picosas
Feel it!
We walk & sing, pray, dance & cry in it
Every single word that flows out of our mouths
Is a rhythmic declaration of our presence
Somos la esencia de La Bomba
And even our sacred Mother Nature
Dances rhythmically through the Seasons
Every single year
Keeping the Rhythm of our lives in balance
Our universe is an inescapable symphony
Ritmos sagrados
Held together by vibration
By the sound of the sum of us
The always right on time
Magical, rhythmical timelessness of us
Somos la fiebre apasionada de la Rumba
The heart of Bebop & Cubop
Was born in us
Is Creation’s gift to us
Somos el corazón del Tambor
Born in the womb of creativity
An undeniable Rhythm personified
Wake up world!
¡Miranos!
Listen!
We are your Children
And we were born to Drum!!!

Copyright © Avotcja

_________

Terry Ehret, Co-Editor
Sonoma County Literary Update

Dear Literary Folk,

Remembering Sher Christian
John Christian wrote to say “I’m sorry to let you all know that my sweetie, Sher, passed away peacefully [last] Saturday afternoon. She had kidney disease and there were late stage complications that led to her declining health. We had 34+ years together and I’m very grateful for the life we shared.”

We all know Sher as the co-host of the long-running literary open mics and music series. She was a passionate member of our literary community. When John has any news about a celebration of Sher’s life, I’ll pass this along in an upcoming Literary Update.

Thank You to All Our Literary Hosts
Losing Sher got me thinking about all the members of our literary community who have hosted open mics, reading series, podcasts, etc., and who have helped nurture us all by providing a safe and supportive venue to share our writing.

I think of Fran Claggett-Holland and her Why Poetry project, and Katharine Hastings’s WordTermple Series, which is still vibrant as an online blog, now that Katherine has moved to New York. Then there is Ed Coletti, who hosted SoCoCo and Poetry Azul literary readings, and currently runs a new series at Café Frida. Michael Rothenberg and Terri Carrion gave us the 100 Thousand Poets for Change. Susan Lamont hosted a series and open mic at Gaia’s Garden. Sande Anfang has been hosting the Rivertown Poets at Aqus Café and online during the pandemic. It’s now both live and in hybrid format, and available via streaming on YouTube and at KPCA.FM. Leena Prasad has been hosting “Poets Wanted” on second Sundays. Steve Trennam runs the Poetic License series through Sebastopol Center for the Arts. Dave Pokorny hosts Westside Stories at Sonoma Valley Portworks in Petaluma. Melissa Carr at the Ukiah Library has been curating the LOBA series for many years. Marlene Cullen guides many writers from their first inklings and notes all the way to publication through The Write Spot workshops and readings, as well as the Petaluma Forum events. Our current and past poets laureate all hosted many readings during their tenures, and Elizabeth Herron’s Being Brave workshops and readings are a brilliant example of this. Check out her Poet Laureate News page on the Literary Update for details.

Putting together a reading or hosting a reading series involves a tremendous amount of behind-the-scenes effort, as well as poise and flexibility as the reading is under way. I, too, have hosted many readings, literary events, and a reading/workshop series at SRJC, so I know they don’t just “happen.”

Listing everyone who’s had a hand in reading series would take several pages. Fortunately, Jo-Anne Rosen keeps a special page on our website with ongoing series and open mics listed by day. There’s something happening every day of the week! She also puts together the monthly calendar of readings, workshops, and events. Please visit these two pages to get a fuller picture of the literary arts in Sonoma County.

You are all my heroes for all you do and have done to bring our community together through the written and spoken word.

APRIL HIGHLIGHTS

Sixteen Rivers Book Launch at Book Passage in Corte Madera April 2
Please join us for a very special reading on Sunday, April 2 at 4pm at Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte, Madera, CA. This is the book launch for our newly published authors, Joe Zaccaradi and Matt Monte. They will be joined by Barbara Swift Brauer, twice published by Sixteen Rivers.

In his afterword to Songbirds of the Nine Rivers, Joseph Zaccardi recounts how, during his time as a corpsman in the Vietnam War, he found refuge in a volume of ancient Chinese and Vietnamese poetry. This study, now lifelong, has borne fruit in his present volume of poetry.

Matt Monte’s All Tomorrow’s Train Rides is an odyssey of reading and poetic memory. What begins
as a single day in a worker’s commute morphs into a Möbius loop of literary history and cultural consciousness.

Barbara Swift Brauer’s Rain Like a Thief offers observations of the natural world that serve as a description of the poems themselves. Through lyrically precise and visually evocative language, they allow us see those familiar old containers—pain and loss, love and death—in new ways.

The View from Here: A Celebration of Our Writers April 4
On Tuesday, April 4, 3:30-5:30 PM, The SRJC English Department presents a reading featuring Eric Atkinson, Abby Bogomolny, Claire Drucker, Alfonso Gaitan, and Erica Tom—all members of the faculty at Santa Rosa Junior College. This reading series has been on hiatus during the Covid years, but returns now to Doyle Library 4th Floor Quiet Reading Room, 4520. It is free and open to the public. Parking permits are required.

Newly Translated Poems by González de León at Blue Light at the Gallery on April 7
On Friday, April 7, 6:00 pm, Diane Frank of Blue Light Press and the host of Blue Light at at the Gallery will feature the poetry of Ulalume González de León and her translators: Terry Ehret and Nancy Morales from Sixteen Rivers Press

Nancy and Terry will debut poems from the upcoming third volume of Plagios/Plagiarisms. They’ll discuss their translation process and read some of their own original work.
 
This will be a virtual event—no need to brave the Friday evening traffic! Just zoom in from the comfort of home. (Note: John Johnson and Terry Ehret will also be reading some of González de León’s poems from volume three at the Freedom of New Beginnings reading on Saturday, April 8. See the notice below.)

RSVP to bluelightpress@aol.com to get the Zoom link.

Ulalume González de León (1928-2009) was born in Uruguay and became a Mexican citizen in 1948. In the 1960’s and 70’s, she was an inspirational leader of a generation of women writers experimenting with language. Her poetry earned her many awards, including the Xavier Villaurrutia Prize, the Flower of Laura Poetry Prize in 1979 from the Center for International Studies, and the Alfonso X Prize. Nobel Laureate Octavio Paz called her “the best Mexicana poet since Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz,” recognizing the visionary quality of her work. She also translated the work of H.D., Elizabeth Bishop, Ted Hughes, Lewis Carroll, and e.e. cummings.

Come Dance with Onye and the Messengers and Celebrate the Freedom of New Beginnings!
The Sebastopol Community Center hosts an extraordinary evening of poetry and music, featuring current and past Poets Laureate along with contributors to the anthology The Freedom of New Beginnings. Readers include Phyllis Meshulam, Gwynn O’Gara, Bill Vartnaw, Maya Khosla, Terry Ehret, Elizabeth Herron, Gail King, and more!

Saturday, April 8
Doors 4 pm, Event begins at 4:30 pm
General Admission: $15
Students:$5 (students of all ages!) Children 10 & under free!
Click the link for more information and to purchase your tickets today! https://seb.org/poetry-event/

Celebrating Fran Claggett-Holland April 15
Here’s our chance to honor one of Sonoma County’s literary treasures, Fran Claggett-Holland. The event will take place on Saturday, April 15, at 1:00 pm at the Finley Center, 2060 West College Avenue in Santa Rosa.


Napa Valley Writer’s Conference Deadline April 17
There’s still time to apply to the 2023 Napa Valley Writers’ Conference, if you haven’t already!

Applications are open until April 17! http://www.napawritersconference.org. The 2023 conference will take place from Sunday, July 30, to Friday, August 4, on the Napa campus of Napa Valley College.

Apply to the Conference! Applications will close on Monday, April 17. Please read our new admissions policy for returning applicants.

April 27 is National Poem in Your Pocket Day for National Poetry Month
One of the many projects the Academy of American Poets has sponsored over the years is the Poem-In-Your-Pocket Day. Poem in Your Pocket Day takes place every year on a day in National Poetry Month. Poem in Your Pocket Day 2023 will take place on April 27.

Ways to Participate
It’s easy to participate in Poem in Your Pocket Day from a safe distance. Here are some ideas of how you might get involved:
* Select a poem and share it on social media using the hashtag #PocketPoem. 
* Print a poem from the Poem in Your Pocket Day PDF and draw an image from the poem in the white space, or use the instructions on pages 57–58 of the PDF to make an origami swan. 
* Record a video of yourself reading a poem, then share it on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or another social media platform you use. 
* Email a poem to your friends, family, neighbors, or local government leaders.
* Schedule a video chat and read a poem to your loved ones.
* Add a poem to your email footer.
*Read a poem out loud from your porch, window, backyard or outdoor space. 

Discover more ways to celebrate National Poetry Month in the classroom, or at home or online!

Our current Sonoma County Poet Laureate Elizabeth Herron has some recommendations for this year. From the email stream of one of the Being Brave Poetry Workshops:

Let the walls soften & crumble
Let light in, let love in —
An explosion of opera pink!
_____________________

A torch to light the way 
Carrying the empty bowl
To the life spring
________________

These and other short poems gleaned from longer poems written in my Being Brave Poetry Workshops are perfect Pocket Poems to distribute on April 27th, official Poem in Your Pocket Day, part of April’s National Poetry Month.

Wishing you well.
With gratitude,
Elizabeth Herron

Orchard Street Press Call for Submissions Deadline April 30
This March-April, The Orchard Street Press is conducting its sixth annual Poetry Contest: $500 first prize, $300 second, $200 third. Prize-winning and other submitted poems will appear in Quiet Diamonds, our annual poetry journal, and select entrants will be invited to submit chapbooks for possible publication. This year, we are publishing 10 chapbooks from entrants to the 2022 Contest. We expect to publish a similar number from the ‘23 Contest.

Entrants should submit poems and the $15 fee to: The Orchard Street Press; P.O. Box 280, Gates Mills, Ohio 44040. Entries can also be submitted via our website, orchpress.com.

Submission details: Submit up to four original, unpublished poems (no translations and no single poem longer than two pages). Poems should be typed and should not include the poet’s name on the page. The poet should also send a cover letter (listing the poems and the poet’s contact information–including phone and email) and a SASE for results.

Deadline for submissions is April 30 (postmark).
The Orchard Street Press,
Visit www.orchpress.com for details

Poem for April
I recently watched a very fine documentary about the life and work of poet Ruth Stone. It’s called Ruth Stone’s Vast Library of the Female Mind and it aired on PBS last week. You can find out more at this link: https://www.pbs.org/show/ruth–stones-vast-library-female-mind. Here is a poem by Ruth Stone for April.

Always on the Train
Ruth Stone – 1915-2011

Writing poems about writing poems
is like rolling bales of hay in Texas.
Nothing but the horizon to stop you.
But consider the railroad’s edge of metal trash;
bird perches, miles of telephone wires.
What is so innocent as grazing cattle?
If you think about it, it turns into words.
Trash is so cheerful; flying up
like grasshoppers in front of the reaper.
The dust devil whirls it aloft; bronze candy wrappers,
squares of clear plastic—windows on a house of air.
Below the weedy edge in last year’s mat,
red and silver beer cans.
In bits blown equally everywhere,
the gaiety of flying paper
and the black high flung patterns of flocking birds.

From This Art: Poems on Poetry edited by Michael Wiegers. Copyright © 2003 by Ruth Stone.

_____

Terry Ehret, Co-Editor
Sonoma County Literary Update

Dear Literary Folk,

We’ve surely had some wild weather in February with freezing weather, wind, rain, hail, and snow on our higher peaks.

Today, in between storms, I’m headed out to Abbott’s Lagoon in Point Reyes National Seashore for a winter bird walk with writer and naturalist Becca Lawton. My husband and I tagged along in January when Becca led a poetry and birding walk at Ellis Creek in Petaluma. We saw swans, hawks, egrets, many varieties of ducks and songbirds, and Anna’s hummingbirds mating on the fly! And, of course, we saw many blackbirds. With each siting, Becca invited someone in the group to read a passage from Wallace Stevens’s “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird,” and we each offered our reflections and interpretations of Stevens’s enigmatic poem. This was such fun that we decided to hire Becca for a private group expedition to Point Reyes. Walking with a naturalist-guide is a very different experience from walking on your own. As I told Becca at Ellis Creek, “You teach us how to see.”

If this kind of outing appeals to you, check out the March events calendar. On March 25, 8:00-10:00 a.m. Becca will be leading a literary bird walk in Jack London State Historic Park, Glen Ellen, California. The cost is $10 to benefit the park. Details and tickets: https://jacklondonpark.com/events/literary-bird-walk

For more about Becca’s books and field work, visit her website: https://beccalawton.com/

Home Turf: A Bestiary of Sonoma State University
On this theme of nature writing, Thursday, March 2, 5:00-7:00 p.m. Sonoma State University’s Art Gallery will host a reading and discussion with local author Lakin Khan and artist/illustrator Shane Weare, as they introduce their newly published book, Home Turf: A Bestiary of Sonoma State University. For details check the calendar page. To RSVP, contact SSU Art Gallery Exhibitions Coordinator, Carla Stone at carla.stone@sonoma.edu or (707) 664-2295.

Book Passage Offers Two Presentations to Help Authors Realize Their Publishing Dreams
Book Passage presents John J. Geoghegan on How to Get Your Book Published, a 3-hour class offered live on Zoom. This class is designed to help writers improve their chance of getting their memoir, novel, or nonfiction book considered for publication by a reputable literary agent or publisher. Saturday, March 4, 12:00-3:00 p.m. Details and registration: www.bookpassage.com/event/online-class-john-j-geoghegan-how-get-your-book-published

Then, right after Geoghegan’s presentation, at 4:00 p.m. Book Passage presents Tzivia Gover in conversation with Brooke Warner, in person at the Corte Madera store. Featured book is Dreaming Big: A Conversation about the Private and Public Sides of Writing. Brooke Warner (She Writes Press) and Tzivia Gover (author of Dreaming on the Page) will explore questions of solitude, audience, and when and if to make our personal narratives public.

Book Passage’s Corte Madera venue is located at 51 Tama Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. Details: www.bookpassage.com/event/tzivia-gover-brooke-warner-dreaming-big-conversation-about-private-and-public-sides-writing

Jodi Hottel and Diane Lee Moomey at Rivertown Poets
Monday, March 6, 6:00 p.m. Rivertown Poets features Jodi Hottel and Diane Lee Moomey. The reading starts promptly at 6:15. Open mic follows the features. Reading time for open mic is 3 minutes per poet. (The reading list for March 6 is full.) Zoom in to listen at https://zoom.us/j/6508887879 or via Aqus.com/rivertownpoets. Also, listen to Rivertown Poets on KPCA.FM in Petaluma and live-streaming on the web every Sunday at 4:00 p.m. Each week, a pair of poets or poetry interviews is featured.

Spring Poetry Festival at Café Frida
Ed Coletti hosts the Spring Poetry Festival on Sunday, March 26, 12:00-2:00 p.m. outdoors at Cafe Frida Gallery, 300 South A Street #4, Santa Rosa. This will be the fifth quarterly festival reading (but who’s counting?) In addition to Ed, featured readers include Pat Nolan, Avotcja, Gail King, Carl Macki, Iris Jahmal Dunkle, Rob DiLillo, Pamela Singer, and Hilary Moore, with Steve Shain accompanying on bass. Details are posted at: www.cafefridagallery.com/events

The Sitting Room’s Annual Publication Open for Contributions
In answer to the questions we’ve been getting, YES, The Sitting Room Annual Publication will be happening this year and here is the wide-open topic, appropriate for our new year’s resolutions: haven’t we all some scene, some topic, some learning moment, some dream, some ________ that we have wanted to write about but never somehow got around to? Too tender or too tough or too elusive…. Most of us have, I suspect, and this is your chance to just DO IT (in two pages or less, in any genre, poetry, prose, or drawing even – wouldn’t it be fun to have a graphic novel in the publication? – ) In short, any form any genre so long as writing it fulfills a long deferred idea or inkling or mini-project. Get it off your chest. JUST DO IT!

And then send it to Karen Petersen on or before April 1, 2023 via email, kpetaluma@gmail.com

Contributions should be no more than two pages, 12 point, Times New Roman. Word, Pages or other plain text files are fine. Image files as .jpeg. If you do not use a computer, please send your work to: The Sitting Room, PO Box 838, Penngrove, CA 94951 
www.SittingRoom.org/publish
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Poem for March
March is Women’s History Month, and to honor this theme, here is a poem by the amazing poet and performance artist Patricia Smith, who is featured in the most recent issue of Poets & Writers.

VOODOO V: ENEMY BE GONE
by Patricia Smith

The storm left a wound seeping,
a boulevard yawning, some
memories fractured, a
kiss exploded, she left
no stone resting, a bone
army floating, rats sated,
she left the horizon sliced
and ornery, she left in a hurry,
in a huff, in all her glory,
she took with her a kingdom
of sax and dream books,
a hundred scattered chants,
some earth burned in her
name, and she took flight,
all pissed and raucous, like
a world-hipped woman
makin’ room.

Copyright © 2008 by Patricia Smith. From Blood Dazzler (Coffee House Press, 2008).
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Terry Ehret
Sonoma County Literary Update Co-editor