Procyon lotor
The Über-Bandit of Suburbia
RICHARD
—Jame Lee Jobe, Davis
It's mid-winter and the sunrise knows it, and wakes me
with a shudder; I'm just a man.
For 5 cold mornings in a row, the beautiful pheasant
has come to our patio to steal some of the dry catfood,
sometimes right in front of my cat.
The house is still, and I enjoy the Sunday newspaper
with strong, dark coffee; the smell of it dances
around in the early darkness.
Driving to church there is bright, eager sunshine,
and the shadows of bare winter oaks stripe the lane
like a zebra; shadow, light, shadow.
At church I pray for my favorite aunt, Anna, her clock
seems to be quickly winding down, dear lady, widow
of my favorite uncle, Richard; mostly I just pray
that she finds her center.
The pheasant is a male, strikingly colored,
so beautiful, in fact, that I've begun to scatter extra catfood
to draw him back; we have become his grocery store.
I tell my wife that if he comes a 6th day, I'll give him a name,
Richard; but he never comes again.
_____________________
Thanks, JLJ! James Lee Jobe's poems today were sent to us for our "Wild Things in Suburbia" give-away; send me poems/photos/etc. about man's tendency to plop his houses down in the middle of the wilds and then complain that there are critters around. Every contribution will receive a rattlechap; let me know which ones you don't have. Get it all to me by midnight tonight (Friday, August 24—postmark is okay if you snail): email kathykieth@hotmail.com, or snail to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. James Lee Jobe also has a rattlechap entitled What God Said When She Finally Answered Me; pick one up at The Book Collector or order it through rattlesnakepress.com.
For the past year, JLJ has given Allegra Silberstein a respite by taking over hosting duties for The Other Voice, the monthly poetry reading sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Church in Davis. Allegra is back in harness now, and the reading has been changed back from Monday nights to Friday. The first reading of the season will be on Sept. 7 and will feature a presentation by the poets and writers from In This Quiet Light, a book of writings by the Worship Associates of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Davis. Along with other writers, the poets featured are Ray Coppock, Ruth Hall, Nancy Jungerman, Alexandra Lee-Jobe, Bryan and Rebecca Plude, and Carlena Wike. More details next week.
Coming from RP September 12:
As you know, Susan Kelly-DeWitt's new chapbook, Cassiopeia Above the Banyan Tree, will be released by Rattlesnake Press at The Book Collector in September. See the online journal, Mudlark, for a hefty sample of poems from it (http://www.unf.edu/mudlark/). And be sure to read more about Susan at her nifty new website, http://www.susankelly-dewitt.com/. Click on "Chapbooks" for a sneak preview of Cassiopeia's cover.
'Way cool, Dewell!
Last month the Angels Without Wings Foundation designated SnakePal Dewell Byrd as Senior Citizen Poet Laureate for California for 2007/2008, based on an open competition. From the five poems he submitted, the twelve judges chose "Not Every Day" as his signature poem. This poem was automatically entered into competition by the judges for national consideration. This week Dewell received notice that he has been designated National Senior Citizen Poet Laureate Runner-Up for 2007/2008! (A very nice check accompanied the notice.) Congrats, Dewell! Watch for his poetry in Rattlesnake Review #15, due out in mid-September (and he has work in just about every past issue, too).
Speaking of Poets Laureate:
You may have heard that Librarian of Congress James H. Billington has announced the appointment of Charles Simic to be the Library’s 15th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry. Simic will take up his duties in the Fall, opening the Library’s annual literary series on Oct. 17 with a reading of his work. He also will be a featured speaker at the Library of Congress National Book Festival in the Poetry Pavilion on Saturday, Sept. 29, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Simic succeeds Donald Hall as Poet Laureate and joins a long line of distinguished poets who have served in the position, including, most recently, Ted Kooser, Louise Glück, Billy Collins, Stanley Kunitz, Robert Pinsky, Robert Hass and Rita Dove. The Laureate generally serves a one- or two-year term.
This weekend, in between fighting off the critters:
•••Saturday (8/25), 7 PM: “The Show” presents Michael Guinn, frank andrick, Simoetry, Cleo Cartel, The Forgotten One and Five Stunners reading their poems while house band LSB provides live music. Wo’se Community Center, 2863 35th St., Sacramento. $5. Info: 916-455-7638.
•••Also Saturday (8/25), 8 PM: "In the Grip of Official Treason", a spoken-word show with Jello Biafra at Center for the Arts, 314 W. Main St., Grass Valley. $18. Inifo: 530-274-8384, ext. 14.
•••Sunday (8/26), 11 AM-3 PM: Poets with Trees reading at The Jerry Garcia Amphitheater, 45 Shelly Dr., John McLaren Park, San Francisco. Bring a picnic lunch and something to share. Read poems of your own or those by favorite poets. Free, but donations for use of the park will be accepted. Info: http://www.clarahsu.com/hotel.html/.
•••Sunday (8/26), 6 PM: Borders in Stockton presents another book-release party for Sun Shadow Mountain, a book celebrating an extraordinary spectrum of poets and artists! Sun Shadow Mountain is a paperback book of 38 poets, artists, and photographers: talent from Stockton and elsewhere—rising and established stars who will enthrall and quench. The book is available at Borders, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.com/. Come and enjoy an evening of fun & entertainment at Borders Cafe, 10776 Trinity Pkway, Stockton (just off 8-Mile Road). Free.
•••Speaking of the Sun Shadow Mountain folks (Donald Anderson and Nikki Quismondo), the Aug/Sept issue of their free poetry newsletter, Poet's Espresso, is out, and it includes lots of NorCal events, art and poetry from SnakePals such as Taylor Graham, Indigo Moor and Marie Ross. Email them at poetsespresso@yahoo.com for issues or subscriptions or submission info. An online version is also available at www.rainflowers.org/.
•••Monday (8/27), 7:30 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center presents Luke Warm Water at Headquarters for the Arts, 25th & R Sts., Sacramento. Open mic afterwards. The American Indian poet known as Luke Warm Water is an enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota Tribe who was born and raised in Rapid City, South Dakota. His storytelling style of poetry is of the contemporary urban American Indian experience, intertwined with poignancy and dark humor. Since 2005, Luke has been awarded three grants for his poetry endeavors. He was the first spoken word poet to receive an Archibald Bush Foundation artist fellowship in the literature category. Luke has been featured at poetry venues throughout the United States and in Europe, and has won Poetry Slam competitions from Oregon to Germany. He has been published in various literary journals and anthologies, including Red Ink, Drumvoices Revue, and Poetry International. Recent poetry books are Iktomi’s Uprising (2007) and On Indian Time (2005). Luke currently resides in northern California.
•••Then, of course, there's always the California State Fair, the signal that summer is just about over in Sacramento. Check the schedule for poetry readings.
_____________________
More critter poems:
PIDGEON WALK
—James Lee Jobe
Pidgeons walk as if constantly
saying Thank You Thank You Thank You
Bobbing their tiny heads
up & down with every step
Bouncy little Buddhas
in a perfect state of grace
_____________________
COURAGE
—James Lee Jobe
It took weeks to train
the skittish little finch
to sit and walk on my hand.
I would praise her,
"You are a mighty eagle."
Then one day
she escaped
and was never seen again.
I think she believed me.
_____________________
—Medusa
Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their POETRY, PHOTOS and ART, as well as announcements of Northern California poetry events, to kathykieth@hotmail.com (or snail ‘em to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726) 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.) For more info about the Snake Empire, including guidelines for submitting to or obtaining our publications, click on the link to the right of this column: Rattlesnake Press (rattlesnakepress.com).
SnakeWatch: Up-to-the-minute Snake news:
ZZZZZZZ: Shh! The Snake is still sleeping! There will be no readings/releases in August, then we return with a bang on September 12, presenting Susan Kelly-DeWitt's new chapbook, Cassiopeia Above the Banyan Tree. See the online journal, Mudlark, for a hefty sample of poems from her book; that’s http://www.unf.edu/mudlark/. And read more about Susan at her nifty new website, http://www.susankelly-dewitt.com/. Click on "Chapbooks" for a sneak preview of Cassiopeia's cover.
Also coming in mid-September: The new issue of Rattlesnake Review (15), plus a littlesnake broadside from dawn dibartolo (Blush), and a continuation of B.L. Kennedy's Rattlesnake Interview Series—including #4 (frank andrick) and an anthology of interviews to be released for Sacramento Poetry Month (October). Next deadline for Rattlesnake Review is November 15.
