Saccharine Spring

Photo by Barbara March

IS IT A SIN

to say saccharine sweet spring cloys me?
I trudge between barn and corral
forced to step over cheeky green tourists
here just in time for the fashionable season.
Look at their puny limbs, goofy, green,
could they pull their weight in 10 below?
Galls me no end, their total disregard
for the hidebound ways of winter.
Each day more arrive, foolishly
poking their heads into
our serious business with clichéd
breaths of spring, fresh as daisies
pollyanna this
pollyanna that.

—Barbara March, Cedarville

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Poetry from the people:

Nancy Moody writes from Eugene, OR: April is National Poetry Month, and several poet friends (Lydia Foster, Quinton Hallett, Vicki Harkovich, Be Davison Herrera, Colette Jonopulos, Susan Kenyon, Laura LeHew, Karen Lindley, Cathy McGuire) and I would like all of you to participate in a project we're developing for April and beyond. Our idea stems from a desire to bring poetry closer to the public, a step toward encouraging others to discover the pleasures of the art.

Erik Muller (Traprock Books, Eugene) keeps a poetry box in his front yard. He fills it monthly with a new poem for neighbors and passers-by to take and enjoy. We've appropriated Erik's delightful idea, and we hope you will want to join in with us.

The concept is simple. Anyone who's interested mounts a brochure box (such as the ones real estate agents use to display house information) at home, near the sidewalk or street, somewhere easily accessible to the public. At the beginning of each month copies of a new poem are placed in the box for others to enjoy. We'd like to keep this a vital, ongoing project. A list of locations will be kept and distributed at readings and similar events; one will even be posted on the Internet.

Nothing is standardized. The monthly poem as well as the format would be the choice of the participant. The type of box used, they way it’s mounted, the location: all are at the discretion of the participant. Green metal "U-Posts" are available at hardware stores for about $4 and make good stakes. Or check your sheds and garages for a scrap length of board. We encourage creativity and think that interesting displays will just enhance the experience for everyone. For example, I'm temporarily using a U-Post, but I plan to create a mosaic on a wood mounting post.

We have already begun to put boxes in our yards, and at this moment, the weather looks ideal for a small outdoor project. We hope you will join with us in being part of a poetry treasure hunt in your neighborhood. E-mail Nancy Carol Moody at poetryeugene@gmail.com for more info about the Oregon project.

Linda Gelbrich replies: Another small idea we’ve discussed in Corvallis, OR, is the notion of Random Acts of Poetry. Poems on paper for bookmarks or whatever— left in libraries, pinned on bulletin boards, etc and poems in trees, a poem in the back window of your car, or poems left wherever they might be noticed. Maybe it's the idea of “changing the world one poem at a time.”

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Calendar addition for this Sunday:

•••Sunday (3/29), 1:15 PM: As a preview of National Poetry Month in April, the Unitarian-Universalist Society of Sacramento will present a public forum entitled, “What is the Point of Poetry?” UUSS PoemSpirits (Tom Goff, Nora Staklis, and JoAnn Anglin) will address this issue in a meaty discussion and Q/A from those attending, followed by a rich dessert of poem readings by regional poets James Lee Jobe and Allegra Silberstein, both rattlechappers and members of the UU Church of Davis. In the grand old tradition of poetry readings, we’ll invite audience members to share favorite poems, written by them or another. UUSS is located at 2425 Sierra Blvd., Sacramento (between Fulton and Howe, one block off Fair Oaks Blvd.). Info: 916-483-9283 or www.uuss.org/Home/Contact/. [For more info on Allegra Silberstein and James Lee Jobe, see their web pages on rattlesnakepress.com—click on “RattleChaps” on the menu and scroll down to find their Rattlesnake Press chapbooks; click on their names in red.]

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B.L.'s Drive-Bys: A Micro-Review by B.L. Kennedy:

THE MAN ON THE CEILING
by Steve Rasnic Tem and Melanie Tem
Discoveries
366 pp, paperback, $14.95
ISBN: 978-0-7869-4858-1

Of The Man on the Ceiling, master short story writer Harlan Ellison referred to the book as “exquisitely compelling”. Both Steve Rasnic Tem and Melanie Tem have re-imagined and expanded, on their own, the novella’s surreal tone by creating what they call “a [maybe] novel”. It’s hard to explain why I so like this book, for there is a thin line here that blurs memoir and myth, as well as a thin line that divides story and reality. Some people call this The Truth; all I can tell you about The Man on the Ceiling, winner of the World Fantasy Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and the International Horror Guild Award (all at the same time) is that you should READ IT—because this is one fucking fine book! If I had to rate this book on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the highest rating you could possibly get and one being the lowest, I'd give it a rating of 57-and-three-quarters! Buy it!

—B.L. Kennedy, Reviewer-in-Residence

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LOVE IN THE WEATHER'S BELLS
—Jay Wright

Snow hurries
the strawberries
from the bush.
Star-wet water rides
you into summer,
into my autumn.
Your cactus hands
are at my heart again.
Lady, I court
my dream of you
in lilies and in rain.
I vest myself
in your oldest memory
and in my oldest need.
And in my passion
you are the deepest blue
of the oldest rose.
Star circle me an axe.
I cannot cut myself
from any of your emblems.
It will soon be cold here,
and dark here;
the grass will lie flat
to search for its spring head.
I will bow again
in the winter of your eyes.
If there is music,
it will be the weather's bells
to call me to the abandoned chapel
of your simple body.

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MY GRANDFATHER WALKS IN THE WOODS
—Marilyn Nelson

Somewhere
in the light above the womb,
black trees
and white trees
populate a world.

It is a March landscape,
the only birds around are small
and black.
What do they eat,
sitting in the birches
like warnings?

The branches of the trees
are black and white.
Their race is winter.
They thrive in cold.

There is my grandfather
walking among the trees.
He does not notice
his fingers are cold.
His black felt hat
covers his eyes.

He is knocking on each tree,
listening to their voices
as they answer slowly
deep, deep from their roots.
I am John, he says,
are you my father?

They answer
with voices like wind
blowing away from him.

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EMILY DICKINSON'S DEFUNCT
—Marilyn Nelson

She used to
pack poems
in her hip pocket.
Under all the
gray old lady
clothes she was
dressed for action.
She had hair,
imagine,
in certain places, and
believe me
she smelled human
on a hot summer day.
Stalking snakes
or counting
the thousand notes
in sunlight
she walked just
like an Indian.
She was New England's
favorite daughter,
she could pray
like the devil.
She was a
two-fisted woman,
this babe.
All the flies
just stood around
and buzzed
when she died.

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Three LittleNips:

QUIPLASH

"Remember the Alamo."
And don't forget Las Alamos!

ON GOVERNMENT SPENDING

I'm worried that Uncle Sam
may marry Auntie Maim!

QUIPLASH

It doesn't matter how many hats we wear,
so long as we wear our own head.

—Claire J. Baker, Pinole

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Thanks to Katy Brown for finding us this photo.
Did you know that March 22 was
World Water Day?

—Medusa


SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:

Rattlesnake Review: The new Snake (RR21) is out! The issue is now available at The Book Collector, and the last of the contributor and subscription copies will go into the mail this week—or send me four bux and I'll mail you one. Next deadline is May 15 for RR22: 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; let us know if your submission is for the Review or for Medusa, or for either one.

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!

NEW FOR MARCH: Rattlesnake Press is proud to present a new chapbook from Norma Kohout (All Aboard!!!); a free littlesnake broadside from Patricia Hickerson (At Grail Castle Hotel); and a new issue of Rattlesnake Review (the Snake turns 21)!

COMING IN APRIL: Wednesday, April 8 will be our FIFTH ANNUAL BIRTHDAY PARTY/BUFFET at The Book Collector, featuring a SpiralChap of poetry and photos from Laverne Frith (Celebrations: Images and Texts), a littlesnake broadside from Taylor Graham (Edge of Wildwood), and Musings3: An English Affair, a new blank journal of photos and writing prompts from Katy Brown. That’s at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, 7:30 PM.

And April 15 is the deadline for the second issue of WTF, the free quarterly journal from Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe that is edited by frank andrick. Submission guidelines are the same as for the Snake, but send your poems, photos, smallish art or prose pieces (500 words or less) to fandrickfabpub@hotmail.com (attachments preferred) or, if you’re snailing, to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. And be forewarned: this publication is for adults only, so you must be over 18 years of age to submit. Copies of the first issue are at The Book Collector, or send me two bux and I'll mail you one.


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.......!

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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.