Freeway Wall
Photo by Jane Blue
—Patricia Wellingham-Jones, Tehama
Built to keep cattle
from bunching in corners
this fence undulates
across the fields
Curves like a snake of barbed wire
scaled in tumbleweed tufts
______________________
Thanks, Jane Blue, for the photos (see also below), and Patricia Wellingham-Jones for the poems (see also below). Both Jane and PWJ are well-represented on Medusa and in Rattlesnake Review. And watch for Patricia's upcoming article in Snake 16 on "Healing Writing". By the way, the deadline for Snake 16 is coming up in a couple of weeks (Nov. 15). Have you sent your poems in yet?
This weekend in NorCal poetry:
•••Tonight (Friday, 11/2), 7:30 PM: The Other Voice, sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis, presents Sacramento poet Susan Kelly-DeWitt. The reading is in the library of the church located at 27074 Patwin Road in Davis. Refreshments and open mic will follow, so bring along a poem or two to share.
•••Saturday (11/3), 11 AM: Los Escritores del Nuevo Sol's monthly writing workshop/potluck at La Raza Galeria Posada, 1024 22nd St., Sac. Info: Graciela Ramirez (916-456-5323) or JoAnn Angliin (joannpen@comcast.net). Also: www.escritoresdelnuevosol.com/.
•••Monday (11/5), 7:30 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center presents Do Gentry and James DenBoer at HQ for the Arts, 1719 25th St., Sacramento. Open mic and light consumables.
_____________________
RIVER IN FLOOD
—Patricia Wellingham-Jones, Tehama
A river in flood
cuts away banks,
claws trees from their moorings,
scalpels another few inches
through earth's crust.
Water-rage howls
down the canyon,
sweeps away
cows and henhouses,
cars and children, tangles them
with snakes in low branches.
____________________
FALL START
—Tom Goff, Carmichael
November: American River College
pavement? Glare, glare, glare.
Friday p.m., a few last flip-
flops, Waikiki shirt petals; it’s
what’s for summer. Only
the oak leaves heard wrong: old lobes,
blown in past stuck-open doors
across Davies Hall floors. Beyond
all that rustle, what nervous waters must yet
rush through what slim random give
in the dam? But; oh well; the lazy tub, the lit
candles. So: what have we done to deserve
this one last lips-fluting-out smooch
of sun gob, glow soak?
____________________
Photo by Jane Blue
—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.) 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).
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 youngsters, Snakelets and Vyper, are on hiatus; no deadlines this Fall.
New in October: Rattlesnake Press celebrated Sacramento Poetry Month on Wednesday, October 10 with the release of Spiral, a rattlechap by Kate Wells; Autumn on My Mind, a free littlesnake broadside by Mary Field; and #5 in the free Rattlesnake Interview Series by B.L. Kennedy, this one featuring Sacramento Poet Laureate Julia Connor. Also released that night was Conversations, Volume One of the Rattlesnake Interview Anthology Series (a collection of B.L.'s conversations with eleven Sacramento poets), as well as a free broadside tribute to poet/publisher Ben L. Hiatt, commissioned by Rattlesnake Press and designed by Richard Hansen from poetry by B.L. Kennedy and artwork by Patrick Grizzell. All of these are available at The Book Collector, 100 24th St., Sacramento, or from rattlesnakepress.com, or write to kathykieth@hotmail.com/.
Coming in November: The Snake is proud to announce the release of Among Neighbors, a rattlechap from Taylor Graham; Home is Where You Hang Your Wings, a littlesnake broadside from frank andrick; and A Poet's Book of Days, a perpetual calendar featuring the poetry and photography of Katy Brown. Come celebrate the release of all of these on Wednesday, November 14, 7:30 PM at The Book Collector.
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).
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 youngsters, Snakelets and Vyper, are on hiatus; no deadlines this Fall.
New in October: Rattlesnake Press celebrated Sacramento Poetry Month on Wednesday, October 10 with the release of Spiral, a rattlechap by Kate Wells; Autumn on My Mind, a free littlesnake broadside by Mary Field; and #5 in the free Rattlesnake Interview Series by B.L. Kennedy, this one featuring Sacramento Poet Laureate Julia Connor. Also released that night was Conversations, Volume One of the Rattlesnake Interview Anthology Series (a collection of B.L.'s conversations with eleven Sacramento poets), as well as a free broadside tribute to poet/publisher Ben L. Hiatt, commissioned by Rattlesnake Press and designed by Richard Hansen from poetry by B.L. Kennedy and artwork by Patrick Grizzell. All of these are available at The Book Collector, 100 24th St., Sacramento, or from rattlesnakepress.com, or write to kathykieth@hotmail.com/.
Coming in November: The Snake is proud to announce the release of Among Neighbors, a rattlechap from Taylor Graham; Home is Where You Hang Your Wings, a littlesnake broadside from frank andrick; and A Poet's Book of Days, a perpetual calendar featuring the poetry and photography of Katy Brown. Come celebrate the release of all of these on Wednesday, November 14, 7:30 PM at The Book Collector.