Thursday, August 11, 2005

Put on your listening shoes...

Lots of readings this weekend:

*Poetry Unplugged tonight at Luna's, 1414 16th, Sac, 8-ish

*PWJ Publishing presents the Skyway Poets, featuring Joy Harold Helsing and her new book, Confessions of the Hare and other old tales, in a reading on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Art, Etc., 122 W. Third Street, Chico, California. 530-895-1161. Other poets include Patricia Wellingham-Jones, Audrey C. Small, Sally Allen McNall, Lara Gularte, Ann Doro and Kathleen McPartland.

*Poems-for-All Saturday night at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sac, 7:30: Frank Andrick, Michelle Tea, Rachel Savage and Rachel Leibrock.

*Sunday's Pomo Literati (two-hour quarterly radio program) hosted by Frank Andrick: KUSF 90.3, SF (www.kusf.org); 2-4 pm. A plethora of poets, live or on tape. It's Frank Andrick's birthday bash!

*Sac Poetry Center presents Brad Buchanan (see my earlier posting) at HQ (25th and R, Sac), 7:30 pm. on Monday. Here is another wee sample from Brad:


QUIET ALERT
—Brad Buchanan

Not sad, but crying,
the baby is signaling
her newfound needs—
the world’s in a holding
pattern, and knows it.
We work the angles
of blankets and breastfeeding,
tilt at the windmills
of burping, navigate
the pink circumference
under a diaper,
discover the truth behind
rumors of new uprisings
from the south,
decode the morsels
that drop from her mouth,
and then relax all the way
back to delight
seeing her eyes open,
quiet, alert.

___________________

Thanks, Brad!

Meanwhile, I continue to perserverate on the genocide of mosquitos. Herewith is an ode of my own:


MOSQUITOS OVER THE WATER
—Kathy Kieth, Fair Oaks

hover in the twilight: land
on the meniscus of the dark

pond, then lift off again—lift
without getting caught, without

being pulled under by watery
claws that tug at small feet: under-

tow that drags them, tries to suck
tiny pontoons down into its teary

darkness, its black, watery arms. . .
Mosquitos in the twilight float

like random thoughts: drift over
the water like seagulls ready to nest:

drift and wander in gathering night:
weightless, random meanderings

at the end of the day. . .

_____________________

And thanks to all of you who attended last night's rattle-read by Master Poets Susan Kelly-DeWitt and Victoria Dalkey. The joint was jammed, but Man! can those ladies write (and read!). Medusa was so proud...

Coming up tomorrow: The Snake doubles his staff!

—Medusa


Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their poetry and announcements of Northern California poetry events to kathykieth@hotmail.com for posting on this daily Snake blog. Rights remain with the poets.