Monday, Monday

Elizabeth (Betty) Marchitti

HOMAGE TO MY KNEES
—Elizabeth Marchitti, Totowa, NJ

These knees are good knees.
They have bent and stretched
and carried me up and downstairs
countless numbers of times.
They have bent backwards,
telling the world I am double-jointed,
and now they will not bend
or kneel or flex easily,
but creak and act like
they are very old.

The rest of my body
does not feel that old.
My agile hands massage my knees,
trying to convince them
to work the way they used to.
My eyes stare at them,
noticing that they have made
my legs crooked
when they used to be straight.

I feed them glucosamine sulfate
and beg them to be strong.
My brain sends them messages:
take care of yourself,
do the best you can.
You must last me
for many more years.

__________________

Thanks, Betty! Elizabeth Marchitti is the grandmother of eight and the mother of many poems. She has done readings in various New Jersey libraries, the JCC in West Orange, N.J. and Watchung Booksellers in Montclair, N.J. Her poetry has appeared in The Journal of New Jersey Poets, Lips, The Paterson Literary Review, and Breath and Shadow. Her most recent chapbook, Pause . . . And Begin Again, was published in 2007 by Northwind Publishing of Redbank, N.J.

This week in NorCal poetry:

•••Monday (11/3), 7:30 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center presents Jan Beatty at HQ for the Arts, 1719 25th St., Sacramento. Sponsored in part by Poets & Writers. Open mic after. [See last Friday’s post for bio.]

Next Monday (11/10), SPC will feature Edward Mycue and Nancy Keane.

•••Tuesday (11/4), 9 PM and Thursday (11/6), 5 AM: Moore Time for Poetry TV Show presents Poetry from the Culture Collection Poetry Series featuring Tchaka Muhammed, Pacha Gibson, Ebony Blake and more. (If the football game of the week is on, the show will run after the game ends). The Moore Time for Poetry TV series is on cablecast the 1st & 3rd Tuesdays @ 9pm on Ch. 17 Comcast; also SureWest and Strategic Frontier. Also, visit this website: www.accesssacramento.org, and click on the BIG "Watch Channel 17" button to watch our program! (This goes for friends in France, or family in Chicago.) Hosted by Terry Moore & 4-year-old daughter Tyra Moore.

•••Tuesday (11/4), 7 PM: “Life Sentence” poetry reading/open mic every Tuesday at the Coffee Garden, 2904 Franklin Blvd., Sac. Info: www.myspace.com/lifesentenceshow/.

•••Weds. (11/5), 8 PM: Mahogany Poetry Series at Queen Sheba, 1704 Broadway, Sac., with Khiry Malik Moore. Open mic and feature every Weds.

•••Weds. (11/5), 9 PM: Bistro33 Poetry Series, 3rd and F Sts., Davis. Featured readers, open mic. Info: www.bistro33.com/bistro33_davis. Free.

•••Thurs. (11/6), 8 PM: Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sacramento. Featured readers; open mic before and after.

•••Friday (11/7), 9 PM: Second Friday Poetry Reading at HQ for the Arts, 25th & R Sts., Sacramento. This reading (usually held at the Vox, which is in the process of moving) features Bob Stanley (whose chapbook, Walt Whitman Orders a Cheeseburger, is forthcoming from Rattlesnake Press next spring); Rebecca Morrison (aka Eskimo Pie Girl, author of five chapbooks); prize-winning poet Jenny Jiang and Jeff Knorr (author of four collections). Hosted by Cynthia Linville. Free and family-friendly!

•••Sat. (11/8), 10-11:30 AM: Sacramento Poetry Center 2nd and 4th Sat. workshop with Emmanuel Sigauke and Frank Dixon Graham. South Natomas Community Center (next door to S. Natomas Library), 2921 Truxel Rd., Sacramento. Bring ten copies of your one-page poem. Info: grahampoet@aol.com/.

•••Sat. (11/8), 2 PM: A reading of Vol. 5, #4 of Song of the San Joaquin Quarterly will be held in the downstairs theater of the McHenry Museum, 1402 “I” Street, Modesto, (209) 577-5366. Poets will read their own poems which were published in that issue. The reading is free and open to the public. Open mic to follow. Light refreshments will be served. Info: Cleo Griffith, PO Box 1161, Modesto, CA 95353-1161, cleor36@yahoo.com or (209) 543-1776.

•••Sat. (11/8), and every first Sat: Rhythm N Rhymes open mic, webcast and filmed for public TV at Butch N Nellie’s, near corner of 19th & I Sts., Sacramento. Info: myspace.com/RNRshow/.

•••Sunday (11/9), 3-5 PM: Lincoln poets present Brigit Truex and an open mic at the new Twelve Bridges Library in Lincoln, in the Willow Room. After the feature, guest poets are welcome to read up to 3 poems. Sponsored by The Friends of the Lincoln Library; Open Mic is presented by The Poets Club of Lincoln.


Congrats to local poets...

...for their wins last Saturday at the Ina Coolbrith Circle contest in Orinda, including Allegra Silberstein, Carol Frith, Elsie Whitlow Feliz, Joyce Odam, Katy Brown, and Jeanine Stevens. [For those of you who came away empty-handed from this or any contest, see Elizabeth Marchitti's "Pity Party" poem below.]


Bay Area Poets Coalition contest:

The Maggi H. Meyer Memorial Poetry Contest 2008 (BAPC's 29th Annual Contest) is open for entries until November 15 (postmark deadline). See guidelines posted on BAPC website, or a flyer attachment can be e-mailed to you upon request. That’s www.bayareapoetscoalition.org or poetalk@aol.com or (510) 527-9905.


Take a poetic "vacation":

•••Dec. 7-12: WRITING AND KNOWING: 5th Annual Poetry Workshop with Ellen Bass, Dorianne Laux, and Joseph Millar at Esalen, Big Sur, CA. Ellen Bass writes: We will write poems, share our writing, and hear what our work touches in others. We'll also read model poems by contemporary poets and discuss aspects of the craft. But mainly this will be a writing retreat—time to explore and create in a supportive community. Though the focus is on poetry, prose writers who want to enrich their language will find it a fertile environment.

The focus of this workshop is on generating new poems. We will each give a short talk on craft to help us extend our skills. The topics for this year's workshop will be:

Dorianne: THE RANT: IN PRAISE OF THE INVECTIVE

We are all feeling betrayed by recent events—anxious, fearful, distrustful. sad. This might be a good time to explore the joys and benefits of The Rant Poem which has a long and venerable history, from Alan Ginsberg's "Howl" to poems with titles like "Easter, Schmeaster". Catulus, who lived in the waning days of the Roman Republic, is most remembered for his homo-erotic poems. But he also wrote poems of invective with titles like "Caught in a Boast", "Shaming a Napkin Thief" "Screwed Over by Politicians" "Waste of Money by Politicians" and my favorite, "My Friend, The Utter Dunce." Charles Simic, our new poet Laureate, has written an essay called "In Praise of the Invective", the first line of which begins: "At the end of a murderous century, let's curse the enemies of the individual." We can all let off a little steam before heading to the baths!

Joe Millar: LYRIC AND NARRATIVE

The narrative in a poem usually assumes various time-related elements—this happened and then this happened next—and sometimes various causative relationships as well—this happened and that made this happen, etc, so that the narrative arrives in a context, with mud on its shoes, picked up in some distant field or river. The lyric on the other hand bursts forth whole, sufficient unto its voice and its moment, singing out loud to itself beyond time. We'll examine both of these elements as they occur side by side in poems of our own, as well the poems of such writers as Yusef Komunyakaa, Denise Levertov, David St John and William Blake.

Ellen: LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: THE POETRY OF PLACE

Stephen Dobyns wrote, "If the poet can get us to believe about a small thing, we will be more likely to believe the poet about a big thing. One of the quickest ways to establish the reader's trust is through precise description of physical setting." We'll look at poems that have a strong foundation in place and explore how that setting works to create both the meaning and emotion of the poem. Then we'll write our own poems that strive to achieve a detailed, accurate, evocative sense of place.

Please join us if:

*You've hit a plateau in your writing and want to break through to the next level.
*You're just beginning and want to get started with supportive teachers.
*You're an experienced writer and just want a chance to learn more from the best.
*You're in a dry spell, due to lack of inspiration or time.
*You love to write and want a gorgeous, inspiring retreat.

And there's Esalen itself. If you've been to Esalen before, you already know it's one of the most magnificent places on the planet. If you haven't, don't postpone it. It's breathtakingly beautiful and deeply nourishing. We'll be having our group meetings in the Big House overlooking the Pacific. We'll also be breaking into smaller groups for individual attention. Participants will have an oportunity to work with all three teachers.

Esalen fees cover tuition, food and lodging and vary according to accommodations, ranging from $475 to $1060. The least expensive rate is for sleeping bag space which can be very comfortable, but it's limited, so you need to sign up for it early. Some work-scholarship assistance is available, as well as small prepayment discounts and senior discounts. All registration must be made directly with Esalen at 831-667-3005 or visit www.esalen.org, but if you have questions about the workshop itself, please email Ellen or call her at 831-426-8006.

__________________

PITY PARTY
—Elizabeth Marchitti

Just as I feel pity
for the land-bound mid-west fledgling editor
who could not understand my reference
to the sullen sea,

I feel tremendous pity
for the super-critical self-important judge
who found my poem a bore
and did not recognize
the music in my line:
I love this room, this room of light.

To the fledgling editor I recommend
a damp but quiet hour
spent on the beach at Long Beach Island
after a summer storm,

To the insensitive judge
I recommend
a quiet afternoon alone
in the Solarium at St. Marguerite’s,
where the very bricks of the walls
encourage inspiration.

__________________

ALL-AMERICAN
—Elizabeth Marchitti

My nationalities cry out—
hear me, hear me!
I play the CD called Irish Hymns,
familiar words and music,
played tunefully on a fiddle.
I sing and feel like dancing,
remembering my Irish Grandmother's
generous cups of weak tea with milk,
served to a six-year-old me.

Later, my favorite FM radio station
plays Middle Eastern music,
and I long to belly dance,
if only I knew how.
My little Armenian Grandfather
smiles from Heaven,
and I remember Papa's bread,
as my mother used to call it.
He made flat bread each week,
as Grandma baked her plump, fragrant loaves.

Later I listen to music by Concertgebauw,
Symphony Orchestra from Holland.
I eat mincemeat pie, in memory
of that wise Hollander, my father,
remembering the concoction
reminiscent of mincemeat
he made each Christmas,
with whiskey soaked raisins.

Soon my favorite classical radio station plays
a beautiful composition by Luigi Boccherini.
I love to hear the announcer say his name.
For Christmas I make Lasagna,
in honor of my husband of
Italian descent. I am expert
at tomato sauce, although
I do not call it gravy.

My ethnicities clamor for attention,
and I give them each their due,
as I say to myself, You lucky Mutt,
to have this fine All-American Heritage.

__________________

Today's LittleNip:

ENOUGH
—A.R. Ammons

I thought the
woods afire
or some
house behind the
trees
but it was
the wind
sprung loose
by a random
thunderstorm
smoking pollen fog
from the
evergreens

__________________

—Medusa


SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:

Next deadline for Rattlesnake Review is November 15! Send 3-5 poems, smallish art pieces and/or photos (no bio, no cover letter, no simultaneous submissions or previously-published poems, please) to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726.

Also coming in November: On November 12, Rattlesnake Press will release a new rattlechap from Red Fox Underground Poet Wendy Patrice Williams (Some New Forgetting); a littlesnake broadside from South Lake Tahoe Poet Ray Hadley (Children's Games); our 2009 calendar from Katy Brown (Beyond the Hill: A Poet’s Calendar) as well as Conversations, Vol. 4 of B.L. Kennedy’s Rattlesnake Interview Series. That’s Weds., November 12, 7:30 PM at The Book Collector.


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 SOWs; 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 (sometimes): 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 and in-between! The Snakes of Medusa are always hungry.......!

_________________

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.