Photo by Katy Brown, Davis
IF I COULDN’T
—Tom Goff, Carmichael
I would die if I couldn’t write
these hazy mornings into these glaring days.
If I couldn’t grasp, as a landscape painter does,
the oak trees whose roots clench almost four-footed,
like bison, into knobs of dark red rock, into yellow stalks
whose dry gold, under the summer lamp, is the grasses’
corrosion: fearful to see. I would die if I couldn’t
praise the wife who is about to pass her
thirteenth anniversary alongside me, who shines
as these hills might, stripped of their vegetation,
knowable only by their earth and mineral element;
for her skin, one warm shade or another, tan or cream,
enlivened by the good and peaceable blood
beneath, is nourishment, is healthful to admire
and comprehend under the fingertips. I would die
if I couldn’t once a year mourn the father gone,
the mother vanished, if I couldn’t hear, even see wearing
their white collars, the killdeer on the campus where I work,
if I couldn’t witness the mockingbird, just this morning,
that wouldn’t quit attacking the crow at the tip
of the college evergreen, and the crow wouldn’t budge,
nor would it let the smaller bird dislodge
the twig or scrap in its beak. And still the mockingbird
harassed the crow, and at last the black-feather
was driven off, the mockingbird’s young, or its nest-hoard
of forage, or its simple content at holding place in the tree,
safe now. That is how determined I cling, claws hard in the bone,
sharp in the cartilage, flexing around gnarls of branch,
to the love of my wife’s touch and family’s remembrance,
to the senses that witness, to the acts and thoughts of the writer.
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Thanks, Tom! What would poets do, indeed?
And bon voyage to Katy Brown, who is off to Maine tonight on a week-long quest for the ultimate moose photo.
This week in NorCal poetry:
•••Tonight (6/16), Sacramento Poetry Center presents a Summer Solstice Reading at HQ for the Arts, 25th & R Sts., Sacramento. Free, refreshments, open mic after. Next Monday (June 23) will feature James Lee Jobe and Gailmarie Pahmeier.
•••Thursday (6/19), 8 PM: Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sacramento. Open mic before and after.
•••Friday (6/20), 7 PM: Poetry at Wild Mountain features Jeanine Stevens and Kimberly White. A short poetry open-mic follows (signup before the featured readers). Wild Mountain Books and More is located at 352 Main St., Placerville. There is no charge.
•••Saturday (6/21), 7 PM: Brad Buchanan will be performing poems from his new book, entitled Swimming the Mirror: Poems for My Daughter, at Underground Books, 2814 35th St., Sacramento, 916-737-3333. Brad is Associate Professor of English at CSU Sacramento, where he teaches creative writing and British literature. His poetry and essays have appeared in more than 130 journals worldwide, among them Canadian Literature, Fulcrum, The Wisconsin Review, and the Journal of Modern Literature. His first book of poems, The Miracle Shirker, appeared in 2005, and his new book, Swimming the Mirror, was published in June of 2008. Brad and his wife are also in the process of establishing Roan Press, which he says will be a literary press that will fill the gap in Sacramento publishing venues.
•••Saturday (6/21), 7:30 PM: Poems-For-All presents William O’Daly reading Pablo Neruda at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento. William O’Daly is the best-selling translator of six of Pablo Neruda’s books, including The Book of Questions and The Sea and the Bells. This reading will be the first celebrating the release of The Hands of Day (Copper Canyon, 2008) and will feature readings from that book as well as excerpts from the forthcoming translation of World’s End (Copper Canyon, 2009). O’Daly may toss in a few poems of his own, but this will be primarily a reading of translations from Hands. Copies of the book will be available for sale at the free reading.
Pablo Neruda is one of the world’s great poets, and Copper Canyon Press has long been dedicated to publishing translations of his work in bilingual editions. The Hands of Day—at long last translated into English in its entirety—pronounces Neruda’s desire to take part in the great human making of the day. Moved by the guilt of never having worked with his hands, Neruda opens with the despairing confession, "Why did I not make a broom? / Why was I given hands at all?" The themes of hands and work grow in significance as Neruda celebrates the carpenters, longshoremen, blacksmiths, and bakers-those laborers he admires most-and shares his exuberant adoration for the earth and the people upon it. Info: Richard Hansen at (916) 442-9295 or e-mail: richard@poems-for-all.com/ or http://www.poems-for-all.com/.
•••Sunday (6/22), 11 AM-3 PM: El Camino Chapter of California Federation of Chaparral Poets, Inc. meets at the Hart Center, 27th & J Sts., Sacramento. Bring 10 copies of one poem for critique.
•••Sunday (6/22), 2-4 PM: Women's Writing Salon at Coffee Town in Grass Valley featuring Karla Arens, Terry Kent-Enborg, Bevery Lyon, Ronnie Paul, Elizabeth Soderstrom and Robin Wallace. Please join us as we celebrate these wonderful writers who will each share a tasty tidbit of their poetry, stories, essays and more. It always proves to be a delightful banquet. Come and eat up! (We'd encourage you to come early so that you can gather your beverages and treats and be settled in time for our first reader.) Info: Patricia Miller at dovepat@oro.net, 530-265-5165 or Betsy Fasbinder, bgf2u@sbcglobal.net, 530-613-9947.
•••Sunday (6/22), 1-5 PM: The Rites of Summer Festival at 1735 10th St. (between Delaware & Virginia), Berkeley. This is hosted by H D Moe. Some of the featured readers are Blake More, Ruth Weiss, Gordon Black and Clara Hsu. The theme is Greek. Come in your wraps and bring some Greek food.
Munyori Poetry Journal:
Zimbabwean/Sacramento poet Emmanuel Sigauke was featured on Medusa and in the latest Rattlesnake Review; check out (and submit to!) his online journal, Munyori Poetry Journal (www.munyori.com). The Writing News section features Rattlesnake, and the Book Review section features our rattlechap from Quinton Duval.
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More poetry from local poets:
Stopping at the traffic signal
laid back in his seat with windows open
he emits a low sonic, "boom boom"
a frequency vibrating all cars around him
he smiles at the gals whom are lookin'
but not because they think he's cool
He must be blinded by his sunglasses
to not understand others' expressions
Communication tactics used by whales
tend to mostly fail among the humans
—Michelle Kunert
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Taylor Graham writes: Long hot exhausting day [removing weeds]. But your LittleNip [Saturday] nipped a poem of sorts out, so I guess I'm surviving.
WORKING IN
—Taylor Graham, Somerset
How do I work? I grope.
—Albert Einstein
With a long-snath tool I whack
foxtail and ripgut brome that flail
against my blade.
Bare-handed against star-thistle
invading the lower field,
I twist out each greenish braid.
With gloves I cut thorn-
branch dead for lack of water,
and prune back to a living rose.
I grab barbwire that once was
fence—rusty, tangled
into soil; coil and hang it,
watch for snakes with fangs.
Like us, they’re working
the here of home.
___________________
While they were weeding, the Grahams snagged a hidden water pipe and had the opportunity to meet a plumber from Muldova. Which I said sounded like the first line of a limerick. TG, ever the trooper, whipped one out before bed:
PAYING THE PLUMBER
—Taylor Graham
A handy young man from Muldova
with a bit of an accent left ova
found our plumbing is broke—
and so are we folk.
But he will be rolling in clova.
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Today's LittleNip:
In every fat book there is a thin book trying to get out.
—Anonymous
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—Medusa
SnakeWatch: What's Up With Rattlesnake Press
New in June: Day Moon, a new chapbook by James DenBoer, and Mindfully Moon, a littlesnake broadside by Carol Louise Moon, as well as Volume Three of Conversations, our third book of interviews by B.L. Kennedy, featuring Art Beck, Olivia Costellano, Quinton Duval, William S. Gainer, Mario Ellis Hill, Kathryn Hohlwein, James Jee Jobe, Andy Jones, Rebecca Morrison, Viola Weinberg and Phillip T. Nails. All this PLUS a brand-new edition (#18) of Rattlesnake Review! Now available at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, or (soon) from rattlesnakepress.com/. (Snake contributors and subscribers will be receiving their copies in the mail next week. If you're not among either of these, and can't get down to The Book Collector to get your free copy, send me two bux and I'll mail you one: P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726.)
The Snake will be snoozing through July and August, leaving Medusa to carry on alone. Then on September 10, we shall burst back onto the scene with Ten Poems, a new chapbook from Patrick Grizzell, plus Issue #19 of Rattlesnake Review. (Deadline is August 15.) Meanwhile, look in on Medusa every day, and, for heaven's sake, keep sending stuff! The snakes of Medusa are always hungry...
Medusa's Weekly Menu:
(Contributors are welcome to cook up something for any and all of these!)
Monday: Weekly NorCal poetry calendar
Tuesday: Seed of the Week: Tuesday is Medusa's day to post poetry triggers such as quotes, forms, photos, memories, jokes—whatever might tickle somebody's muse. Pick up the gauntlet and send in your poetic results; and don't be shy about sending in your own triggers, too! All poems will be posted and a few of them will go into Medusa's Corner of each Rattlesnake Review. Send your work to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. No deadline for SOW; respond today, tomorrow, or whenever the muse arrives. (Print 'em out, maybe, save 'em for a dry spell?) When you send us work, though, just let us know which "seed" it was that inspired you.
Wednesday: HandyStuff Quickies: Resources for the poet, including whatever helps ease the pain of writing and/or publishing: favorite journals to read and/or submit to; books, etc., about writing; organizational tools—you know—HandyStuff! Tell us about your favorite tools.
Thursday: B.L.'s Drive-Bys: Micro-reviews by our irreverent Reviewer-in-Residence, B.L. Kennedy. Send books, CDs, DVDs, etc. to him for possible review (either as a Drive-By or in future issues of Rattlesnake Review) at P.O. Box 160664, Sacramento, CA 95816.
Friday: NorCal weekend poetry calendar
Daily (except Sunday): LittleNips: SnakeFood for the Poetic Soul: Daily munchables for poetic thought, including short paragraphs, quotes, wonky words, silliness, little-known poetry/poet facts, and other inspiration—yet another way to feed our ravenous poetic souls.
And poetry! Every day, poetry from writers near and far! The Snakes of Medusa are always hungry.......!
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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.) Medusa cannot vouch for the moral fiber of other publications, contests, etc. that she lists, however, so submit to them at your own risk. 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). And be sure to sign up for Snakebytes, our monthly e-newsletter that will keep you up-to-date on all our ophidian chicanery.
