LIGHT READING
—Donald R. Anderson, Stockton
He would do a little light reading in his cubby,
sitting half lotus, in a deep, rich brown cushy lounger.
The waves would crash in the distance, and the clock would tick,
lamp rattling in place, little shelves and sleeves tucking away
all the little notes and love letters, yellowed and folded in
the olden days. His glasses lean in towards the letters,
riddling out their constituents in a peaceful room walled with
bookshelves, a parlor in the lighthouse.
Like clockwork he would climb the cylinder, stairs around and round,
damp with the ocean and scent of salt, mustard seed, oil.
At the top, still safely below the light, he'd maintain the flaring light.
And from the clouds, and the wind, came the seagulls, mist, and the vessels
using his landmark in a celestial dance across the waves till infinity.
__________________
LIGHTHOUSE MENAGERIE
—Marie J. Ross, Stockton
Little wooden lighthouses:
a menagerie of keepsakes
that please my eyes.
I gaze at them,
imagine them positioned with
ocean waves thrashing against
boulders.
I see fisherman caught in tides, rocking
heavy on the swell, “man overboard”,
little wooden lighthouse, the savior beam.
On my coffee table are nautical logs, books
about lighthouses and their commitment to cast
illumination across the ocean,
to guide ships through a rash of storms that
batter and tilt upward and downward against
the tidal surge.
And from my menagerie of lighthouses, each splinter
of wood, each decorative hue is a painting of sky and
water—their moving canvas, my eyes positioned on them.
__________________
This weekend in NorCal poetry:
—Donald R. Anderson, Stockton
He would do a little light reading in his cubby,
sitting half lotus, in a deep, rich brown cushy lounger.
The waves would crash in the distance, and the clock would tick,
lamp rattling in place, little shelves and sleeves tucking away
all the little notes and love letters, yellowed and folded in
the olden days. His glasses lean in towards the letters,
riddling out their constituents in a peaceful room walled with
bookshelves, a parlor in the lighthouse.
Like clockwork he would climb the cylinder, stairs around and round,
damp with the ocean and scent of salt, mustard seed, oil.
At the top, still safely below the light, he'd maintain the flaring light.
And from the clouds, and the wind, came the seagulls, mist, and the vessels
using his landmark in a celestial dance across the waves till infinity.
__________________
LIGHTHOUSE MENAGERIE
—Marie J. Ross, Stockton
Little wooden lighthouses:
a menagerie of keepsakes
that please my eyes.
I gaze at them,
imagine them positioned with
ocean waves thrashing against
boulders.
I see fisherman caught in tides, rocking
heavy on the swell, “man overboard”,
little wooden lighthouse, the savior beam.
On my coffee table are nautical logs, books
about lighthouses and their commitment to cast
illumination across the ocean,
to guide ships through a rash of storms that
batter and tilt upward and downward against
the tidal surge.
And from my menagerie of lighthouses, each splinter
of wood, each decorative hue is a painting of sky and
water—their moving canvas, my eyes positioned on them.
__________________
This weekend in NorCal poetry:
•••Mon. (2/2), 7:30 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center presents Richard “Bo” Lopez, Crawdad Nelson, and Miles Miniaci, with Litany (Miles Miniaci, Chéne Watson, and Bob Wilson) at HQ for the Arts, 1719 25th St., Sacramento. Richard Lopez, in addition to reading at such local venues as SPC and the Book Collector, has been published in such journals as Shampoo and Galatea Resurrects, and is the author or co-author of several collections of poetry, including Parts of the Journal: Night, Hallucinating California, and his latest, Super 8.
Crawdad Nelson is a meat-eating, fish-catching, homerun-hitting, ham-and-egger from the north edge of the sticks. Not only that, he grows his own corn, eats his own spinach, writes his own dialogue and answers his own phone. He is a student of history and a tutor of English. He is a recent winner of the Reynolds Scholarship from Phi Theta Kappa, the International Honor Society of two-year colleges. His work has appeared in the Anderson Valley Advertiser, New Settler Interview, Sacramento News & Review and other places in print and online.
Miles Miniaci received his B.A. from San Francisco State and his M.F.A. from the University of Southern California. His poetry and fiction have appeared in The American River Literary Review, Poetry Now, Catchphrase Collection, and Harpoon, among others, and he has been a featured reader at such venues as Luna’s, H. Q. Center for the Arts, Café Montreal, Amnesia (S.F.), and M Bar (L.A.). His prose (mostly humor and music pieces) has been seen—or heard—in ‘zines, e-‘zines, and podcasts, including Morbid Curiosity, Short Bus, Retrocrush, and The Backseat Kiss. He also publishes the occasional scholarly article for journals such as American Quarterly (California American Studies Association) and ATHE News (The Association for Theatre in Higher Education). In addition to writing, Miles has made his living, at various times, as a professional actor, a high school and college instructor, and an arts administrator. He makes his home in Sacramento with his partner Beth and his children Gabriel and Maya, and considers himself incredibly fortunate.
Litany is a non-traditional power trio consisting of three multi-instrumentalists bent on defying genres and expectations. Bob Wilson, Miles Miniaci, and Chéne Watson are veterans of numerous Sacramento-area bands, playing a range of styles from folk to power pop to progressive rock. Between the three of them, they sing and play not only the standard guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards, but also less familiar instruments including dulcimer, mandolin, harp, marimba, and many others. The band has been performing regionally for the past five years, appearing at venues such as Cesar Chavez Park, Southside Park, Capital Garage, The Distillery, Luna’s, The Space, and various Second Saturday galleries. They have also produced a self-released demo and appeared on KVMR and nationwide on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Coming Up at SPC and Elsewhere:
•••Tues. (2/3), 12 noon at Sacramento City College in A-6 (the Little Theater): Gary Short
•••Monday (2/9), 7:30 PM: Hannah Stein and Katherine Hastings
__________________
OVER
—Mitz Sackman, Murphys
Did
You know
Me ever?
Who did you see
When you looked here?
What did you really want?
What did I know about love then?
What have we learned about love now?
For me, to be loved is to be known.
I don’t know what the answer is for you.
__________________
Today's LittleNip:
WHATEVER HAPPENED
—Adam Zagajewski
Whatever happened had already happened.
Four tons of death lie on the grass
and dry tears endure among the herbarium's leaves.
Whatever happened will stay with us
and with us will grow and diminish.
But we must live,
the rusting chestnut tells us.
We must live,
the locust sings.
We must live,
the hangman whispers.
(translated from the Polish by Clare Cavanagh)
__________________
—Medusa
SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:
Rattlesnake Review: The latest issue (#20) is currently available at The Book Collector, or send me two bux and I'll mail you one. Deadline for RR21 is February 15: send 3-5 poems, smallish art pieces and/or photos (no bio, no cover letter, no simultaneous submissions or previously-published poems) to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. E-mail attachments are preferred, but be sure to include all contact info, including snail address. Meanwhile, the snakes of Medusa are always hungry!
Coming in January: Other than the ever-restless Medusa, the Snake will be snoozing during January; no releases or readings.
Then, in February: On Weds., February 11, Rattlesnake Press will be releasing a new rattlechap from Sacramento's Poet Laureate, Julia Connor (Oar); a littlesnake broadside from Josh Fernandez (In The End, It’s A Worthless Machine); and the premiere of our new Rattlesnake Reprints, featuring The Dimensions of the Morning by D.R. Wagner, which was first published by Black Rabbit Press in 1969. That’s February 11 at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, 7:30 PM. Refreshments and a read-around will follow; bring your own poems or somebody else’s.
And on February 19, the premiere of our new, free Poetry Unplugged quarterly, WTF, edited by frank andrick, will be celebrated at Luna's Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sacramento, 8 PM. (For those of you just tuning in, Poetry Unplugged is the long-running reading series at Luna's Cafe.)
Also available (free): littlesnake broadside #46: Snake Secrets: Getting Your Poetry Published in Rattlesnake Press (and lots of other places, besides!): A compendium of ideas for brushing up on your submissions process so as to make editors everywhere more happy, thereby increasing the likelihood of getting your poetry published. Pick up a copy at The Book Collector or write to me and I'll send you one. Free!
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, or any other day!): 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.
