A Mind of Winter

THE SNOW MAN
—Wallace Stevens

One must have a mind of winter
To regard the frost and the boughs
Of the pine-trees crusted with snow;

And have been cold a long time
To behold the junipers shagged with ice,
The spruces rough in the distant glitter

Of the January sun; and not to think
Of any misery in the sound of the wind,
In the sound of a few leaves,

Which is the sound of the land
Full of the same wind
That is blowing in the same bare place

For the listener, who listens in the snow,
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.

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PCP Chapbook Contest:

Poet's Corner Press announces its annual Chapbook Poetry Contest! Camille Norton, winner of the National Poetry Series Contest, will judge. Deadline for submission is March 1, 2007. The First Place Award of $500 will be announced June 1, 2007. Send your manuscript of 24 text pages of poetry with $20 reading fee, check or money order made out to:

Poet's Corner Press
8049 Thornton Rd.
Stockton, CA 95209

Further info: http://www.poetscornerpress.com/Competition.html#poet


Pleasanton Poetry Fest:

The 6th Annual Pleasanton Poetry, Prose and Arts Festival will be held on Saturday, March 31, 2007 at the CarrAmerica Conference Center, 4400 Rosewood Drive in Pleasanton. This all-day Festival will include poetry and prose workshops for all ages, poetry and prose contests for festival participants with over $1,200 in prizes, a fine arts show, book signings, “Literary’ Row,” music and an awards banquet. This year’s event will include presentations by Al Young, California Poet Laureate and Michael Chabon, Pulitzer-Prize winning novelist and screenwriter. Morning workshops include:

* The Lyrical Poem (Adult Poetry) presented by Gail & Charles Entrekin
* Monster Poems: Addressing the Shadow (Adult Poetry) presented by Armand Brint
* Making It Beautiful, No Matter What (Adult Poetry) presented by Susan Browne
* The Mask Speaks (Youth Poetry) presented by Grace Marie Grafton
* The Memory Thief (Adult and Teen Prose) presented by Lewis Buzbee.

Afternoon workshops include:

* The Sensory Experience (Adult Poetry) presented by Gail & Charles Entrekin
* An Animal Wearing My Clothes (Adult Poetry) presented by Armand Brint
* Making It Beautiful, No Matter What (Adult Poetry) presented by Susan Browne
* Writing & Illustrating Children’s Books (Adult and Teen Prose) presented by Elisa Kleven
* Whose House is This? (Adult and Teen Prose) presented by Lewis Buzbee.

Poetry and prose contest entries by all age groups must be submitted with early registration (must register to enter contests). Registration information and contest entry instructions are now available at the PCAC website, www.pleasantonarts.org, by contacting Michelle Russo at City of Pleasanton Civic Arts, (925) 931-5350, or contacting Kirk Ridgeway at PleasantonPoetry@comcast.net.

_______________________

WINTER SCENE
—Marguerite Young

So earth's inclined toward the one invisible,
The prince of space, and yet he was disproved,
But this is her nuptial night, a cruel season
As limbless lizards coil together in love

And her whiteness veils over the dog-faced owl,
Whitness veils over the frozen streams, the moon,
And the deer islanded without family,
Nuzzling cold tulips. Whiteness veils over the sea,

And the heart of the snail is beating slow.
But as an early bride, with heaven's rose
She is adorned, she is wound in seven veils
Even as a bride going forth to the bridegroom,

And her whiteness veils over the scarred fields.
She is celebrant for the failure of a theory,
And the white ptarmigan treads in the snow among the low hills.

________________________

—Medusa

Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their poetry, photos and art, and announcements of Northern California poetry events to kathykieth@hotmail.com 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.)