firesky
—dawn dibartolo, mather
red sun, pallid sky of smoke;
eye of fire glares.
man-ants in magnifying glass
sun-stream path.
flames lick the skin of concrete,
body of cement buildings;
the arms of trees reach for me
in the burning.
i am stone.
like the tower.
like the streets.
the fire cannot own me.
____________________
staircase
—dawn dibartolo
i walked up the stairs
and two open windows
looked at me with eyes
like ominous night.
i could see winter coming,
gray-souled and glowing.
all was dark around me
like a blanket laced in white ~
by the painted banister,
i found my way,
knowing footsteps
as they fell.
I wound up
in the papery arms of night,
where i wrote my soul
with star-ink and deemed
each poem first
for the wish it might contain.
_____________________
Thanks, dawn! Pick up a free copy of dawn dibartolo's littlesnake broadside, Blush, at The Book Collector. Or send me an SASE (P.O. Box 62, Pollock Pines, CA 95726) and I'll mail you one.
Tonight in NorCal poetry:
•••Tuesday (9/25), 8:30 PM: The second season of Poetry Night at Bistro 33 (PNB33) begins this coming Tuesday evening at the outdoor patio of Bistro 33 (downtown Davis, 226 F St.). Co-hosted by University Writing Program faculty "Dr. Andy" Jones and Brad Henderson, the PNB33 Fall 2007 season kick-off will feature the ultra-talented, dynamic, and romantic Terry Moore. The author of 15 books of poetry and several spoken word CDs, Terry Moore has earned a significant base of fans in California and beyond. The Sounds of Soul Black Music Awards named him Poet of the Year in 2001 and Best Male Spoken Word Performer in 2005. A twelve-time poetry slam champion, Moore has opened for the Temptations, Maya Angelou, and Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind and Fire. (For more on Moore, see http://www.terrymoore.info/index.html/., and check out B.L. Kennedy’s interview of him in Issue #13 of Rattlesnake Review.) The show starts at 8:30 PM and is FREE. After the featured poet, plan to stay from 9:30-10:30 PM for the energetic open-mic featuring novice poets, songwriters, and comedians from around the greater Davis/Sacto area. Many poets are currently scheduled to appear at Bistro 33 this fall, including Eve West Bessier, James Ragan, and Sandra Gilbert. Info: Bistro 33 at (530) 756-4556.
Starting next Monday:
Bay Area Poets Coalition presents the Maggi H. Meyer Memorial Poetry Contest, 2007. Prizes in each of three categories: $50 (First); $35 (Second) and $20 (Third), plus 3 Honorable Mention certificates. Open to all, except officers of BAPC and judges of this contest. Entries accepted between Oct. 1 and Nov. 15. Winners’ celebration to be held in Berkeley in Feb., 2008. Info, including fees, categories, and where to send: www.bayareapoetscoalition.org/.
Sacred Fools Press Submission Call-Out:
Americana Poetry: Send your poems about American icons and experience. Drive down that road in that classic car. Retell the tales of Johnny Appleseed and Paul Bunyan. Deconstruct American Gothic. Get nostalgic. Get bitter. Show us humor. Political poems given consideration, but should have a general audience appeal. Submit poems as text in email and 20-word-or-less bio to: sacredfoolspress@yahoo.com/. Deadline: January 15, 2008.
Speaking of flivvers:
The Towe Auto Museum is pleased to announce its Fourth Annual Automotive Poetry Contest for poems related in some way to the automobile or some form of personal land transportation. Deadline is November 10. First Prize winner receives $200, Second is $100 and Third is $50. Winners will be posted on the Towe website at www.toweautomuseum.org and will receive a Museum membership for one year. Info about how/where to send is in the current Poetry Now, or call 916-442-6802. The Towe Auto Museum is located at 2200 Front St. in Sacramento.
Women’s Writing Workshop in Magalia:
Lara Gularte writes: An ongoing women’s writing workshop will meet Thursdays from 1:30-4:30PM at my home, 13674 W. Park Dr. in Magalia, from 10/18 to 12/13. The group will be a mix of poetry and prose writers. If you are a serious poet or prose writer who is interested in improving your craft, please sign on. This workshop is a place to share your work and receive support, feedback, and critique. I will provide information about craft, usually focusing on concerns that arise from the work itself. There’s no writing in the class. Each participant will share and have their work critiqued at every session; bring your manuscript and 5 copies of poetry (approximately 3 poems), memoir, fiction, non-fiction for workshop and critique (prose approx. 5-7 pages). During the course of each 2-1/2 to 3-hour workshop there will be short breaks and tea will be served. If interested, please contact me ASAP at 530-873-4275 or laralg@aol.com. After seven have signed up, there will be a waiting list. $15/class.
Hidden Passage moves:
There will be no Hidden Passage reading in September. Beginning in October, readings will be held at The Upstairs Art Gallery, 420 Main St., Placerville, 2nd Floor—that's just a few doors farther east on Main Street; same time, 6-7 pm on the 4th Wednesday of the month. Mark your calendar for the first Upstairs reading, Oct. 24. It's an open-mike read-around, so bring your own poems or those of a favorite poet to share, or just come to listen. No charge.
______________________
luna’s
—dawn dibartolo
the first time
i was so nervous,
i sweat my thoughts
into the mic,
electrified
by the idea
that someone
might hear me.
“she’s borne words,”
they would say,
my insides
out, and
trembling on stage:
the center of everything
is a need to project.
____________________
steam
—dawn dibartolo
i was swallowed
by the black well
several days ago,
surrounded and
drowning slowly
in cement tears.
but my cinderblock woes
had holes in them
by which i’ve climbed
toward the clear-blue sky,
where i’ll wait
for fate to
draw and pour me
into the sun.
_____________________
—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.) 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).
SnakeWatch: Up-to-the-minute Snake news:
Journals: The latest issue of Rattlesnake Review (#15) is available for free at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, or send $2 to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. Next deadline is November 15. The two journals for young people, Snakelets and Vyper, are on hiatus; no deadlines this Fall.
September's releases: The Snake returned with a bang on Wednesday, September 12, presenting Susan Kelly-DeWitt's new chapbook about growing up in Hawaii, Cassiopeia Above the Banyan Tree, at The Book Collector. Also available now: a littlesnake broadside from dawn dibartolo (Blush), and a continuation of B.L. Kennedy's Rattlesnake Interview Series (#4—frank andrick).
Coming in October: Rattlesnake Press celebrates Sacramento Poetry Month on Wednesday, Oct. 10 (at The Book Collector, Home of the Snake, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, 7:30 PM) with the release of Spiral, a rattlechap by Kate Wells; Autumn on My Mind, a littlesnake broadside by Mary Field; and #5 in the Rattlesnake Interview Series by B.L. Kennedy, this one featuring Sacramento Poet Laureate Julia Connor. Also released that night will be Conversations, Volume One of the Rattlesnake Interview Anthology Series (a collection of B.L.'s conversations with eleven Sacramento poets)—plus other surprises (and cake!). Be there!