Still on the Broad Road that Stretches

I WILL MAKE YOU BROOCHES
—Robert Louis Stevenson

I will make you brooches and toys for your delight
Of bird-song at morning and star-shine at night.
I will make a palace fit for you and me
Of green days in forests and blue days at sea.

I will make my kitchen, and you shall keep your room,
Where white flows the river and bright blows the broom,
And you shall wash your linen and keep your body white
In rainfall at morning and dewfall at night.

And this shall be for music when no one else is near,
The fine song for singing, the rare song to hear!
That only I remember, that only you admire,
Of the broad road that stretches and the roadside fire.

(Today Robert Louis Stevenson would've been 156 years old.)

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This week's line-up:

•••Tonight, Monday (11/13), Sacramento Poetry Center Board Members will be reading their own poetry; go to the monthly Board meeting with them at 5:45 PM at HQ, 25th & R Sts., Sac, and then stay for the reading at its special time, 7 PM. Bring your own poems to read, too.

•••Also tonight, 8 PM: The Moody Blues Poetry Series present One Tough Poet at "A Taste of Laguna", 9080 Laguna Main in Laguna. $5, open mic. Hosted by Ms. LaRue, music by DJ Barney B.

•••Wednesday, 11/15, 6:30 PM will be the final Urban Voices reading, hosted by BL Kennedy. It will feature Kathryn Hohlwein and Pat Grizzell. South Natomas Library, 2901 Truxel Rd., Sac.

•••Also Weds., 10 PM-midnight: Mics and Moods at Capitol Garage, 1500 K St., Sac. Features and open mic, hosted by Khiry Malik. 21 years of age and older; $5 cover. Info: 916-492-9336 or www.malikspeaks.com.

•••Thurs., 11/16, 8 PM: Poems-For-All free-for-all at Luna's Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sac. An evening celebrating Richard Hansen, publisher of the Poems-For-All mini-chap series. Selected poets will read from their works published in the series. Free.

•••Thursday (11/16), 7:30 PM: The Nevada County Poetry Series & The Center for the Arts presents NCPS's Season Finale, a party to celebrate the release of NCPS's Year 2006 Anthology. $5, or $1 for those under 18. Refreshments. Off Center Stage (enter from Richardson St.) behind The Center for the Arts, 314 Main St., Grass Valley. Info: 530-432-8196.

•••Friday, 11/17, 7 PM: Our House poetry reading features Margaret Ellis Hill and Katy Brown. An open mic follows. Our House Gallery & Framing is located at 4510 Post St. in El Dorado Hills Town Center; take Latrobe Road south and turn into the shopping center on the left. Free.

•••Sat., 11/18, 7-9 PM: Underground Poetry Series features Crawdad Nelson, Brett Freeman, Laura Cook, and Juanita "Yoke Breaker" Mason, plus open mic. $3. Underground Books, 2814 35th St. (at Broadway).

•••Saturday, 11/18, 8 PM: FRANK ANDRICK IS A NAME-DROPPING WHORE (A BENEFIT): An evening of provocative and scandalous work at HQ, 25th & R Sts., Sac. to help poet frank andrick cover his medical costs. Featuring frank andrick, Gene Bloom, Josh Fernandez, Bill Gainer, James Lee Jobe, Rachel Leibrock, Ann Menebroker, Geoffrey Neill, Barbara Noble, Bill Pieper, Rachel Savage, Teryl & Eric (and many last- minute surprises). Also: an audio-visual overlay by J. Greenberg.

frank andrick, the Lockeford-San Francisco-Sacramento poet who has given so much of himself to the Sacramento literary scene, has suffered from a series of health setbacks that have led to hospital stays and mounting medical expenses. His friends have assembled this event in an effort to help him financially. We ask those attending give what they can at the door ($2-20). Additionally, items will be available for sale and auctioned, with all the money going to frank.

This event is sponsored by Poets & Writers with a grant they've received through the James Irvine Foundation.

Several folks have asked how they can donate to frank's medical fund if they aren't coming to the event. Cards, well-wishes and donations can be sent or dropped off in a sealed envelope at The Book Collector. frank has no checking account, so checks should be made out to The Book Collector, and we will give him cash. Or mail them to:

frank andrick
c/o The Book Collector
1008 24th Street
Sacramento, CA 95816

•••Also Saturday, 4 PM: The Central California Art Association and the Mistlin Art Gallery announces a poetry reading that will feature Lisa Verigin at the gallery, 1015 J St/, downtown Modesto. Lisa ia a Central Valley native who migrated to Georgia State University for her MFA, the University of Nebraska for her PhD, then back to Modesto, where she currently lives. Her poetry has appeared in a wide variety of literary journals, including Quarterly West, Bloom, Solo, Court Green, The Worcester Review, The American Literary Review and Poet Lore, to name a few. A former editorial assistant for Prairie Schooner, Verigin is author of the chapbook, Two-Reel Comedy. There will be an open mic following her reading to celebrate the second issue of the local poetry journal hardpan, in which she is one of the 25 contributors. Free.

•••Also Saturday, 1-3 PM, Shonda René hosts a poetry workshop at Acacia Cafe, corner of Acacia St. and Yosemite Ave. in Stockton. Be sure to read T. S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" for the discussion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T.S._Elliot#The_Love_Song_of_J._Alfred_Prufrock

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REQUIEM
—Robert Louis Stevenson

Under the wide and starry sky
Dig the grave and let me lie:
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.

This be the verse you grave for me:
Here he lies where he long'd to be;
Home is the sailor, home from sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.

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Happy Birthday, Bob!

—Medusssssssa

Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their poetry, photos and art, and announcements of Northern California poetry events to kathykieth@hotmail.com for posting on this daily Snake blog. Rights remain with the poets. Previously-published poems are okay for Medusa’s Kitchen, as long as you own the rights. (Please cite publication.)