Janet Butler with Fulmi
APRIL FIRST
—Janet Butler, Alameda
A coolness in the air yet—
A trace of winter’s eau de cologne
snow scented.
Tender greens sprout from dark soils
rain damp.
Skies once porcelain hues
waver, now, in palest shades of blue.
Spring comes in brushstrokes
all Chinese daintiness,
watercolor washes a glaze on
this first of April days.
—Janet Butler, Alameda
A coolness in the air yet—
A trace of winter’s eau de cologne
snow scented.
Tender greens sprout from dark soils
rain damp.
Skies once porcelain hues
waver, now, in palest shades of blue.
Spring comes in brushstrokes
all Chinese daintiness,
watercolor washes a glaze on
this first of April days.
Thanks, Janet! After many years in central Italy, where she developed her passion for watercolors and poetry, Janet Butler relocated to the Bay Area in California. She currently teaches TESL and Italian in San Francisco, balancing her passion for watercolors and poetry with walks with Fulmi, a beautiful abandoned Springer Spaniel/English Setter mix she brought back with her from Italy.
As for poetry tastes, Kay Ryan’s “The Niagara River” and “Dismal Rock” by Davis McCombs are among favorites, while Sylvia Plath’s and Edna St. Vincent Millay’s collected works have a permanent place in her purse, for coffee shop reading. Ms. Butler’s poems are often descriptive, as her love of watercolors seems to occasionally tint her writing pen.
Among recent publications are Literary Mary, Sage Trail, ken*again, and Poet‘s Ink. Future publications include The 13th Warrior, Mirrors, Plainsongs, Boston Literary Magazine, and Yellow Mama. Eden Fables was published as an online chapbook by Language & Culture, 2007; Collection: Ekphrastic Poems by Robert Schuler and Janet Butler was published by Canvas Press Collection Series, 2007; and Shadowline by Gatto Publishing, Scotland (2007), as an eBook.
_________________
This weekend in NorCal poetry:
•••Sat. (4/11), 2 PM: Citrus Heights Area Poets will feature some poets and photographers (including Katy Brown) who combine their talents to produce beautiful works of art and pieces of literature. As usual, the program will end with local poets reading some of their own work. Barnes & Noble, Sunrise Blvd., Citrus Heights. (While you’re there, pick up a poem from the CHAP table in the store to celebrate National Poetry Month.)
•••Sat. (4/11), 10-11:30 AM: Sacramento Poetry Center's 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/.
•••Monday (4/13), 7:30 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center (HQ for the Arts, 1719 25th St., Sacramento) presents Lisa Dominguez Abraham and Dennis Hock. Lisa Dominguez Abraham's work has appeared in a number of journals. She has more work appearing in Tule Review, The Suisun Valley Review and Prairie Schooner, and a forthcoming issue of North American Review. Her chapbook, Low Notes, was released by Red Wing Press in Fall 2007.
Dennis Hock, who teaches at Cosumnes River College, has been an English professor for over 30 years. He also works in hospitals and retreat centers with grief therapy groups that use expressive writing as a healing process. He is editor and contributing author of Looking Outward, Looking Inward: A Social Ethics Reader. His first poetry collection is entitled The Secret Cup.
_________________
NIGHT SEA
—Janet Butler
waters on pale sands
flotsam of momentary filigree
shards tossed
by the heave and crash
of sea
_________________
FIRE
—Janet Butler
Grey ash drifts on sluggish currents
above the western coast
a mass of infinitesimal flecks
deaths that dull blue skies
the cries of once green things
their burst a momentary glory
a sacrifice in luminous flame
before they fall
prey
to a brutal god
devouring all.
_________________
ADRIFT
—Janet Butler
I lose myself in light and shade
wandering a labyrinth of days
complex as arabesques on tree-laced streets
under a summer sun.
Spirit drifts to high wide skies
on afternoons thick with silence.
It wanders that curve of light defining day
to plunge, longingly, into star-crusted night.
_________________
Today's LittleNip:
Poetry is an echo asking a shadow dancer to be a partner.
—Carl Sandburg
_________________
—Medusa
SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:
Rattlesnake Review: The latest Snake (RR21) is now available (free) at The Book Collector, 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, and please—only one submission per issue.
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 APRIL: A SpiralChap of poetry and photos from Laverne Frith (Celebrations: Images and Texts); a (free!) 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. Now available from the authors, or The Book Collector, or (soon) rattlesnakepress.com/.
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.......!
_________________
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.
