North Fork Yuba
Colored pencil drawing by Ken Waterstreet
KEN'S GIFT
—Phil Weidman, Pollock Pines
Ken Waterstreet is an interpreter of images.
His cramped studio, dozens
of paintings, various sizes,
leaning five or six deep
against its walls,
is his sanctuary.
He spends as many hours
as he can glean from each day
drawing and painting water
in its natural environment:
sections of streams,
rivers, lakes.
Studying Ken's "North Fork Yuba"
made of hundreds of meticulously
rendered interlocking shapes
that reflect a goldmine of colors,
I marvel at such
a crystal clear window
on a reality I've witnessed many times
without truly seeing...
until now.
—Phil Weidman, Pollock Pines
Ken Waterstreet is an interpreter of images.
His cramped studio, dozens
of paintings, various sizes,
leaning five or six deep
against its walls,
is his sanctuary.
He spends as many hours
as he can glean from each day
drawing and painting water
in its natural environment:
sections of streams,
rivers, lakes.
Studying Ken's "North Fork Yuba"
made of hundreds of meticulously
rendered interlocking shapes
that reflect a goldmine of colors,
I marvel at such
a crystal clear window
on a reality I've witnessed many times
without truly seeing...
until now.
_______________________
Thanks, Phil! Phil Weidman will be reading at Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe (1414 16th St., Sac.) this Thursday, March 22 (his birthday!) along with Laura Hohlwein, 8 PM. Phil has many chapbooks out, including his latest, Fictional Character: The Ernie Poems from Rattlesnake Press. Born in Alturas, California in 1936, and graduated from Chico High School, Phil Weidman served two years in the U.S. Army, then worked as a newspaper reporter, landscape gardener and warehouseman. A practicing visual artist for thirty years who exhibited throughout Northern California, he graduated from California State University, Sacramento with a Bachelor’s Degree in 1968 and a Master’s in 1970. In Sacramento, he taught a variety of subjects in Sacramento schools, including McClasky School for Handicapped Adults, and he worked with at-risk youth in an after-school program in Sacramento County. He is currently a patient care volunteer for Snowline Hospice in Placerville, California; he lives in Pollock Pines with his wife, Pat. Author of eight books of poetry, beginning with Sixes in 1968 (The Runcible Spoon), Phil’s poetry has appeared in periodicals as varied as The American Bard, Hearse, Scree, Olé, Stance, Pinch Penny, Poetry Now, Red Cedar Review, Caprice, Sure, The Wormwood Review, Nerve Cowboy, Pearl, Chiron Review and Rattlesnake Review. His work has also appeared in two anthologies: Revolutionary Poetry (New York, 1972), and Landing Signals (Sacramento, 1985). Fictional Character is Phil’s ninth collection of poetry.
Also this week:
•••Monday (3/19), 7:30 PM, Sacramento Poetry Center, HQ for the Arts, 25th & R Sts., Sac. presents Ricardo Sternberg and Stephen Yenser. See last Friday's post for bios of these two fine poets. Next Monday's poet (3/26) will be Tim Bellows.
•••Thursday (3/22), 8 PM: Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe (1414 16th St., Sac.) presents Phil Weidman and Laura Hohlwein. Info: 916-441-3931 or www.lunascafe.com. Open mic before/after. Next Thursday's poet (3/29) will be Kathy Kieth.
The Rose of Manzanita:
I had the opportunity to meet Monika Rose of Manzanita (a lovely perfect-bound anthology that appears annually, sometimes...) again last Friday at her Our House reading; she is full of energy and good poetry vibes, and she is trying to scrape together the funds to put out another gorgeous Manzanita anthology. Her people have scheduled a variety of poetic activities for the next few months, and the first two of note include:
•••Saturday (4/21), 2-5 PM: Historical reading at Historic Courthouse and Museum of Calaveras County in San Andreas. Come dressed as your favorite literary figure of the 1800's, up to the turn of the century. Read a piece from the writer's work and then read your own. $8 entrance includes museum fee, refreshments, art opening, and reading. Nonprofit event. Proceeds assist writers' and artists' future events and publications.
•••Manzanita Camp! Monday-Sunday, June 25-July 1: Manzanita Writers Retreat at Big Trees State Park. Week-long camping, where writers hike, reflect, write, share, and participate in weekend workshops, flashlight storytelling and poetry around the campfire. $180 covers campsite shared with other conference writers, weekend workshops, s'mores, etc. for the week and Friday and Saturday workshops. Weekend day-tripper rate: $75, or $35 for the day. Bring your own everything and write inspired work with help from the giant Sequoia muses and like-minded writers. Resources and field guides available with on-site library. Docents available on arranged hikes. Free public lectures on the Sierra habitat and environment daily. Small groups will hike and hold craft sessions and critiques with a writer/leader and write fresh, new work daily.
For more information on Manzanita or on these (and other) events, contact Monika Rose, Manzanita Editor, (209) 754-0577.
_______________________
ORPHANS OF WAR
—Phil Weidman
Who will hug these children,
sing them lullabies, divert
their thoughts from brain numbing
explosions, flesh tearing shrapnel,
collapsing, blood-splattered walls,
the common staccato of bone
shattering automatic weapon fire?
Who will hold them
until they stop shaking?
Who will nurse and feed them,
address their wounds
and provide safe, warm beds?
Who will teach them retribution
fuels a continuing cycle of destruction,
that forgiveness is not cowardice,
that love is more powerful than fear?
Who will convince them
they will grow into adults
and thrive in a world
they no longer trust?
("Orphans of War" currently appears in Rattlesnake Review #13)
_______________________
LOST
—Phil Weidman
I'd forgotten we had a doorbell.
Our dogs assure us it's not a dream.
I stagger to front door, flip
on porch light, hold dogs back
and ease door open.
A thirty-something, scantily-dressed woman
is slipping on shades.
She starts with apologies
and says she's lost.
I close our door and study the dark
as she shares her story,
then apologizes again.
She appears to be on foot,
but her story is as holey
as Swiss cheese.
I'm too weary to be heroic.
I give her directions
to Sly Park Road,
return to bed, reassure wife
and check the exact
location of my .45.
_______________________
—Medusa
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.)