Dear Literary Folk,
I have just returned from a road trip to Colorado where the aspens are in their autumn glory. Here in Petaluma, the air has a crisp feel in the mornings and evenings, but we’re also still in the midst of fire season, as well as the unpredictable COVID-19 pandemic.
2021 marks the second autumn without some of the literary events that have brought us together for years, especially the beloved Petaluma Poetry Walk and the Poetry of Remembrance Community Reading.
On Sunday, September 19, Bill Vartnaw hosted a virtual Poetry Walk, bringing together poets and friends of Geri DiGiorno to celebrate her life, her visual art, and her poetry. It was lovely to remember Geri’s sassy, generous, and unconventional approach to living, writing, collaging, painting, and embracing the world. Thanks to Bill and Bridget Reymond for organizing this tribute to a great Sonoma County poet.
El Día de los Muertos Returns for 2021
The Petaluma Arts Center is curating an exhibit on the theme Amor Nunca Muere/Love Never Dies, which runs from October 9-30. An artists’ reception is scheduled for Saturday, October 9, 6-8 PM, and a special closing celebration on Tuesday, November 2, 3-7 PM.
Poesίa del Recuerdo/Poetry of Remembrance Website
Those who wish to honor the memory of someone who has died are also welcome to send a poem, comment, favorite memory, photograph, video, audio, to our website called “Poetry of Remembrance/Poesía del recuerdo: welcome@poetryofremembrance.com.
The website is hosted by John Johnson.
Join Us for a Virtual Poesίa del Recuerdo/Poetry of Remembrance Community Reading on Thursday, October 28, 7:00- 8:30 P.M.
Come enjoy an evening of friendship as members of the community gather virtually to read poems in honor and remembrance of special people in our lives. Hosts for the evening are John Johnson, Sande Anfang, Phyllis Meshulam, Jabez Churchill, and Terry Ehret. If you are interested in attending or sharing a poem, please contact Terry Ehret to sign up at tehret99@comcast.net. You will receive the zoom link at that time.
“La poesía…es la resurrección de las presencias”
“Poetry…is the resurrection of presences”
– Octavio Paz
The Petaluma Día de los Muertos Committee has put together a calendar of events to keep this important tradition going through our second year of the pandemic. For more information, visit Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/El-D%C3%ADa-de-los-Muertos-Petaluma-154451587898565/
Black and White in Black and White: Ekphrastic Poetry Reading October 1
The Petaluma Historical Library & Museum is hosting a virtual exhibit of photographs by John Johnson, an African American photographer from Lincoln, Nebraska, whose work portrays the dignity, hope, and diversity in America. The exhibit is available online through November 6. https://www.petalumamuseum.com/black-and-white-in-black-and-white/.
On Friday, October 1, 7:00 p.m. The Petaluma Museum is hosting an ekphrastic poetry reading and slide show featuring the winners of the recent poetry contest for its new online exhibit, Black & White in Black and White. The reading will be on Zoom. The public is welcome to attend, though there will not be an open mic. Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87432536427?pwd=OWtKcFVZVnF4cEQ2a1pDQ0oxZExpdz09
Marlene Cullen Offers Free Jumpstart Writing Sessions
If you’re looking for an inspirational way to get back into your writing rhythms, discover new wellsprings of creativity, or break out of familiar habits, check out the Writers Forum series starting on Saturday, October 2, 1:00-3:00 p.m. Writers Forum hosts four afternoons of writing on the Zoom platform with Marlene Cullen, who will lead these free writing sessions, using prompts from The Write Spot to Jumpstart Your Writing: Discoveries. Registration is required. Details on the October Calendar page.
Lit Quake Returns In-Person and Online October 7-23.
Litquake 2021 offers 80+ Events, 300 authors, Online & In-Person. Many events are free, including KidQuake and Lit Crawl. Lit Quake is a ten-day literary spectacle for booklovers, complete with cutting-edge panel discussions, unique cross-media events, and hundreds of readings. See Fest Schedule: www.litquake.org/upcoming-events.html
Reawakening American Democracy
Never was it more urgent for us to consider the fragility of our democracy, as well as the efficacy of youth-led resistance movements from Black Lives Matter and Standing Rock to March for Our Lives, the Global Climate Strikes and #MeToo.
On Sunday, October 17, 4:00 p.m., Occidental Center for the Arts hosts a book launch for Michael Levin, author of Generation Occupy: Reawakening American Democracy. On the ten-year anniversary of Occupy Wall Street, Levin examines how this movement marked a new era of social and political transformation, altering the way Americans see themselves and their role in the economy through the language of the 99 versus the 1 percent.
Details at www.occidentalcenterforthearts.org/upcoming-events/generation-occupy-reawakening-american-democracy
Connections: A Benefit for California Poets in the Schools October 21
Five local poets bring you a live evening of poetry: Sandra Anfang, Kirsten Avilla, Ernie Carpenter, Hilary Moore and Larry Robinson, with music by John Christian.The event will be held at Sebastopol Center for the Arts from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Donations at the door. Net proceeds to benefit California Poets in the Schools. Attendees must be vaccinated; check website for mask requirements.
Rebecca Solnit at Point Reyes Books on October 30
Acclaimed essayist and memorist Rebecca Solnit, winner of the Northern California Book Award in Nonfiction for Recollections of My Nonexistence, will discuss her new book, Orwell’s Roses, a reexamination of George Orwell’s life and writings through the lens of his passion for gardening, in conversation with artist and writer Jenny Odell. For details and to purchase tickets, click here: www.ptreyesbooks.com/event/rebecca-solnit-and-jenny-odell
Poem for October
In the many years since Marlene Cullen and the Poet Laureate Committee helped me launch the Sonoma County Literary Update, and in the years that Jo-Anne Rosen has kept this rangy animal going strong, I’ve concluded each post with a poem, sometimes by local writers, sometimes by contemporary poets, often reaching across borders or back to our literary roots.
By request, for October, I am offering this poem of my own, first composed two years ago.
Waking in Fire Season
Remember when you awaken to be still.
Whatever dream you have been wearing
in the dark body of sleep
still lies near, a deep fold
of pleasure, a sleeve of old trouble,
a name on a grave. Leave the dream-clothes
under your skin that now you wash
and lotion and paint. Dress slowly for the day
just dawning in the smoky east. Remember
from time to time to touch the prayer fringe
of dream-fragments as you walk
down the path under the falling sycamore leaves.
Remember the sound they make
rattling all night in the wind.
Terry Ehret
Sonoma County Literary Update Co-Editor
by Roque Dalton, 1935-1975
Petaluma poet, executive director of the Poetry Walk, Sonoma County Poet Laureate Emeritus, and founder of Taurean Horn Press, Bill Vartnaw will be reading with several poets he has published on Sunday, August 15, 2:00-3:30 p.m. San Francisco Public Library is hosting the event, which will be online. Bill Vartnaw (Suburbs of My Childhood) will be joined by poet and musician Avotcja, poets Gail Mitchell (Root Tracings, Bone Songs) and Jeanne Powell (February Voices), Tom Sharp (Spectacles: A Sampler of Poems and Prose), and San Francisco Poet Laureate emeritus Kim Shuck (Clouds Running In). 
Brian Fies will discuss the art of graphic storytelling—how words plus images add up to more than the sum of their parts—and how Brian used comics to tell the story of our community’s trauma and renewal during recent fires in his latest book, A Fire Story. The event will be on Saturday, August 21, 1:00-2:30 p.m., and will be hybrid in format: In other words, you may attend in person at Finley Center, 2060 W. College Ave., Santa Rosa, or virtually via
American Sansei poet, dancer, and community activist Janice Mirikitani was celebrated for her poetry and for her dedication to helping others. Mirikitani co-founded Glide Memorial in San Francisco with her husband, Cecil Williams. She passed away on July 29.
Five Sonoma County authors were nominated for a Northern California Book Award this year: Joan Frank, Kathleen Winter, John Johnson, Nancy Morales, and Terry Ehret. At the awards ceremony on July 11, Plagios/Plagiarisms, Volume One was honored by the Northern California Book Reviewers with first place in Poetry Translation. This year, for the first time, the translation competition was statewide
A bright light in the Sonoma County literary community has gone out. Like many of you, I knew Amy from her presence at so many readings and events in the community, especially at the Sitting Room. I didn’t really know her poetry, though, until I read a stunning selection submitted to accompany her nomination for Sonoma County Poet Laureate (which I believe was 2015). Amy’s poetry was a gift, as was her indelible presence—gentle, strong, spiritual, funny. Amy’s friend Nancy Dougherty composed this remembrance of Amy. And if you scroll down to the end of this month’s post, you’ll find two poems of Amy’s, selected for the Literary Update by Nancy and Abby Bogolmony.
Emilie Lygren is a poet and outdoor educator who loves talking to strangers, taking long walks, cooking for friends, and reading Naomi Shihab Nye’s poetry. Emilie has developed dozens of publications and curricula focused on outdoor science education and social-emotional learning through her work at the award-winning BEETLES Project at the Lawrence Hall of Science. Her first book of poems, What We Were Born For, was published in April by Blue Light Press. Visit Emilie’s website for more of her work and words: 
Naomi Shihab Nye is a longtime fan of Emilie Lygren and her work. They met at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center years ago and have spent many happy weeks writing together there. Naomi lives in San Antonio, Texas, is on faculty at Texas State University,. and is the Young People’s Poet Laureate through the Poetry Foundation (Chicago). She is author of author of Cast Away (Greenwillow/HarperCollins), The Tiny Journalist (BOA Editions), and many more books we all love.
The poems in Fog and Light were selected by Diane Frank. A love letter to San Francisco… in this collection of poems, we show you the city that most tourists miss…
Congratulations to Sonoma County authors who have been nominated for a Northern California Book Award this year! This year’s nominees include and Joan Frank in Creative Nonfiction, Kathleen Winter in Poetry, and John Johnson, Nancy Morales, and Terry Ehret in California Translation in Poetry.
Each year, outstanding works are selected by Northern California reviewers and editors, members of Northern California Book Reviewers. All of the nominated books are acknowledged and celebrated at the ceremony. The Fred Cody Award for Lifetime Achievement and Service will also be presented to a distinguished member of the Northern Californian literary community; the award carries a $1,000 honorarium.
A Cauldron of Crows
by Priscilla Jane Thompson
‘Tis a time for much rejoicing;
Let each heart be lured away;
Let each tongue, its thanks be voicing
For Emancipation Day.
Day of victory, day of glory,
For thee, many a field was gory!
Many a time in days now ended,
Hath our fathers’ courage failed,
Patiently their tears they blended;
Ne’er they to their, Maker, railed,
Well we know their groans, He numbered,
When dominions fell, asundered.
As of old the Red Sea parted,
And oppressed passed safely through,
Back from the North, the bold South, started,
And a fissure wide she drew;
Drew a cleft of Liberty,
Through it, marched our people free.
And, in memory, ever grateful,
Of the day they reached the shore,
Meet we now, with hearts e’er faithful,
Joyous that the storm is o’er.
Storm of Torture! May grim Past,
Hurl thee down his torrents fast.
Bring your harpers, bring your sages,
Bid each one the story tell;
Waft it on to future ages,
Bid descendants learn it well.
Kept it bright in minds now tender,
Teach the young their thanks to render.
Come with hearts all firm united,
In the union of a race;
With your loyalty well plighted,
Look your brother in the face,
Stand by him, forsake him never,
God is with us now, forever.
This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on June 19, 2020 by the Academy of American Poets.
Terry Ehret
Sonoma County Literary Update Co-editor
Two of the most talented, brilliant, generous, and gracious writers I’ve ever known have passed away this past month. Gerald Haslam, Sonoma State University professor emeritus and Penngrove resident, passed away at 84 on April 13. And Mississippi poet, jazz musician, music historian, novelist, screenwriter, and professor Al Young died on April 17, after suffering a devastating stroke over a year ago. So many of us were touched in personal ways by the generosity and inspiration of Jerry and Al. I will try to capture a little of this in today’s post.
And even before I moved to Sonoma County and met Haslam, I had the great good fortune to meet Al Young (along with Tobias Wolf, Carolyn Kizer, and Ursula LeGuin) at a writing workshop in San Jose for writers interested in crossing genres. He had the unique ability to make you laugh, which was just what a scared young writer like me needed. And from then on, whenever our paths crossed, he welcomed me like a long-lost friend—an intimacy he fostered with hundreds of writers. I have so many Al Young stories, but the one I’ll share is when Al was selected as California’s Poet Laureate in 2005. I waited every morning for a month to see an article about his appointment in the San Francisco Chronicle. Finally, I wrote a letter to the editor about this oversight, and when my letter was published, I received a very sweet note of thanks from Al. Apparently Al and the editorial staff at the Chronicle had some kind of falling out—a petty reason to overlook his being awarded the state’s highest literary honor.
Other local poets Al befriended and championed include our dear Geri Digiorno, pictured here, and CalPoet teacher Jackie Huss Hallerberg. Her story of first meeting Al at Squaw Valley and of writing the poem “the moon” appears below.
As I write this, I’m heading to the big south, Big Sur, to catch sight of condors and walk the steep hillsides of lupine and poppies. Seven years ago, I led a Sitting Room year-long workshop on the poetry and lyrical drama of Robinson Jeffers, who built his iconic Tor House along the shoreline of what is now 17 Mile Drive, and who lived deeply in the landscape of Big Sur. For a field trip, we spent a weekend in the Monterey area, took a private tour of Tor House, wrote together in Jeffers’s library, visited Point Lobos and the Big Sur Coast. The images of his poems followed us everywhere, though perhaps it’s more accurate to say we followed his images where they led us. In one particularly memorable poem, “Vulture,” the speaker addresses a vulture/condor circling over him, and imagines after his death that these winged scavengers will free his spirit from flesh and bones, and that he will fly with the condors.
I had walked since dawn and lay down to rest on a bare hillside
Where I’m headed is a place called Ascension Point, high on the ridge above Ventana and Nepenthe. The word ventana means window in Spanish. Local Spanish speakers in Big Sur gave this area its name because the Chumash Indians used it as a place for sky-burials, and saw it as a gateway or portal for souls entering and departing and arriving the planet-sphere. The veil between spirit world and our world is supposed to be very thin at a portal, allowing a space for souls to depart and spirits to pierce through.Besides being a sacred portal, Ascension Point is also one of the places where the California Condors are released to make their way back to the wild.
In 1984, at one of the first Napa Valley Poetry Conferences, Bob Hass recited the first lines of a poem by Polish writer Adam Zagajewski. I had never heard of him before (but then I was pretty green as a poet back then), but Hass wanted us to listen to the way the words carried the poet’s thoughts and conjured the poet’s images, while his rhythms, repetitions, and variations drove the poem on a physical and unconscious level. I shamelessly imitated Zagajewski’s syntax and repetition to create a weird little prose poem called “In the Bones of My Face,” responding to Hass’s assignment to create a self-portrait in rhythm.
In 2017, I had someone copy onto a CD an old reel to reel tape made in 1960 by my late husband of Lawrence reading his poem “Pondering the Insoluble Problem.” Visiting City Lights from my by then home in Petaluma, I found Lawrence putting some new books in the window. I blurted out the first lines of that poem, attempting to imitate him. He burst into laughter, saying he had almost forgotten that one. We tried in vain to find it in his vast collection on the second floor, but could not. I sent the CD as a gift. His thank-you note mentioned that he thought he sounded wonderful, and perhaps would include it in a documentary being made of his life.
Amanda Gorman’s stellar recital of “The Hill We Climb” brought poetry front and center to the inauguration ceremonies in Washington and to the political drama on the national scene. The nation’s first Youth Poet Laureate will also be making an appearance at the Super Bowl on February 7.
On January 17, the Sitting Room posted a short article about Gina Berriault in a new online feature called “Sunday Surprise.” Many of you may be on the Sitting Room’s mailing list, and so have already seen this. But reading this reminded me that Barriault’s great talent was not known as widely as she deserved, and so I thought this article merited reproducing here in the Sonoma County Literary Update.
I was introduced to Gina Berriault’s work when I was teaching at SF State through my colleague Molly Giles. I was also teaching at SRJC and serving on the Arts and Lectures Committee, and had the honor and pleasure of hosting Berriault as a guest writer at the JC following the publication of her collection Women in their Beds: New and Selected Stories (1996), which won the PEN/Faulkner Aeard, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Bay Area Book Reviewers Award.
Here is how the so unlikely book came about and here is how it came to the Sitting Room. Again it is a local story. Guy Biederman, publisher of “Bust Out”, who was teaching workshops at The Sitting Room, noticed our Berriault books.
José Luis Gutiérrez was born in Miami and grew up in Panama. His first poetry collection, A World Less Away, was published in 2016. His second collection, The Motel Entropy & Other Sorrows, came out in 2019. He’s also a screen writer and film maker.
By Assétou Xango
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