Chez Kieth, without the snow
Photo by Kathy Kieth, April 15, 2008
GRADATION
—dawn di bartolo, Mather
nuance interwoven
with the old maple;
a branch of meaning,
twig of understanding;
and the green means
something else entirely.
there are blooms
soon to become
idea ~
cyclical cognitive
progress ~ what we thought
we knew of autumn
has regained freshness
with the spring…
a warmer way
to look at things;
and marvel
at divine ingenuity.
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Thanks, dawn! dawn di bartolo's littlesnake broadside, Blush, is available for free; just e-mail kathykieth@hotmail.com and ask.
This weekend in NorCal poetry (it's a big 'un!):
•••Friday (4/18), 7:30 PM: Writers of the New Sun/Los Escritores del Nuevo Sol presents Two Poets, Bridging the River: Art Mantecón and James Den Boer. La Raza Galeria Posada, 1022 – 22nd St., midtown Sacramento. Cost: $5 or as you can afford. [See last Monday's post for bios.] Info: 916- 456-5323. Website: www.escritoresdelnuevosol.com/
•••Friday (4/18), 7 PM: Poetry at Wild Mountain (3rd Friday series formerly held at Our House Framing and Gallery in El Dorado Hills). Featured readers are Jeff Knorr and rattlechapper Tom Miner. An open mike follows. Wild Mountain Books and More (formerly Hidden Passage Books) is located at 352 Main St., Placerville. There is no charge for this reading.
•••Friday (4/18), 7:30 PM: Poems-For-All is pleased to welcome Charles Curtis Blackwell back to Sacramento. Presently a poet and performer in the Bay Area, Charles once graced the Sacramento scene with his exceptional readings. He comes with a new book of poems, or rather, two vignettes of poetry in one book: Is, The Color of Mississippi Mud and Lou Next Door. The book's publisher/editor, Vincent Kobelt, has also been invited to read.
•••Saturday (4/19), 11 AM-3 PM: Cache Creek Nature Preserve's Day for the Arts. Mark your calendars for this annual day retreat for artists and all creative practitioners in honor of Earth Day. This is a great chance to reconnect to the earth and find your way into some new work. Bring your yoga mat, your guitar, your paints, your notebook, or just yourself. See www.cachecreekconservancy.org for maps and directions to the beautiful Preserve site in Woodland.
•••Saturday (4/19), 7-9 PM: Underground Books presents rattlechapper Brigit Truex plus Lori Jean Robinson, Sidney Singleton and Sean King. 2814 35th St., Sacramento (off 35th and Broadway). $3.00.
•••Saturday (4/19), 7:30 PM: Special Saturday reading at Sacramento Poetry Center, HQ for the Arts, 25th & R Sts., Sacramento: (Tim) John Amen and Brad Henderson. John Amen [http://www.johnamen.com/] is the author of two collections of poetry: Christening the Dancer (Uccelli Press 2003) and More of Me Disappears (Cross-Cultural Communications 2005), and has released one folk/folk rock CD, All I’ll Never Need (Cool Midget 2004). His poetry has appeared in various journals and anthologies, including, most recently, Rattle, The New York Quarterly, The International Poetry Review, Gargoyle, and Blood to Remember. He is also an artist, working primarily with acrylics on canvas. His second CD, Ridiculous Empire, was just released (Spring 2008) and is now available for purchase. Amen travels widely giving readings, doing musical performances, and conducting workshops. He founded and continues to edit the award-winning literary bimonthly, The Pedestal Magazine (www.thepedestalmagazine.com).
Brad Henderson is the author of Drums: A Novel. He is the the co-author (with Andy Jones) of Split Stock [2006, John Natsoulas Press], and teaches in the University Writing Program at UC Davis. He has worked as a nightclub drummer, design engineer, cowboy, and corporate consultant. His friends sometimes refer to him as Mr. Yippy I. Oh, and he is the driving force behind the new literary movement of neo-cowboyism.
•••Saturday (4/19), 8 PM: Special reading at Luna's Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sacramento which will feature Phil Weidman, D.R. Wagner, and nila northSun.
•••Monday, (4/21), 7:30 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center, HQ for the Arts, 25th & R Sts., Sacramento, presents Sac City Ethnic Theater!
____________________
LOST POEM
—dawn di bartolo
empty of the sky,
i was glad
for sunset.
flaming cloud
spun a web
for me…
spider-leg thin
were my thoughts…
caught up
in the opulence
of heavenly brushstroke,
my eye
sought corners
to color ~
cinnamon; sepia;
mahogany… slate;
late desires
have set
upon the page…
moon
will rise
to my rescue
__________________
PROM NIGHT
—dawn di bartolo
satin nerves
spilling from a magenta
marilyn monroe halter dress…
3-inch silver heels
and shirley temple curls ~ contradiction;
she’s stuck somewhere in between.
forgo the fake lashes ~
just match the shadow
to the flesh,
authentic pretty…
so young, with
womanhood knocking
at open doors;
and her date is late.
she poses and smiles
because i insist
the limo will wait…
my heart breaks
realizing that she’s already gone.
____________________
Today's LittleNip
Did you hear about the person who sent ten different puns to friends, with the hope that one of the puns would make them laugh? No pun in ten did.
(one of the winners of the International Pun Contest)
____________________
Photo by Kathy Kieth
—Medusa
Here's Medusa's weekly menu of features. Contributors are welcome to submit to 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 SOW; 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: 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 favorites.
Thursday: B.L.'s Drive-Bys: Micro-reviews by our irreverent Reviewer-in-Residence, B.L. Kennedy
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 ever-hungry poetic souls.
And poetry! Every day, poetry from writers near and far! The Snakes of Medusa are always hungry.......!
_________________
SnakeWatch: News from Rattlesnake Press
New in April: Ann Menebroker’s new chapbook (Small Crimes); Ted Finn's SnakeRings SpiralChap of his poetry and art (Damn the Eternal War); and Katy Brown's blank (well, not really) journal of photos and prompts, MUSINGS (For Capturing Creative Thought). All of these are now available at The Book Collector and will soon be available through rattlesnakepress.com.
Coming in May: Join us on Wednesday, May 14 for the release of Among Summer Pines by Quinton Duval; a littlesnake broadside, Before Naming, by Stephani Schaefer; and Volume Three of Conversations, our third book of interviews by B.L. Kennedy. That's at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, 7:30 PM.
Also in May: Deadline for Issue #18 of Rattlesnake Review is May 15. Free copies of Issue #17 are available at The Book Collector, or send me two bux and I'll mail you one.
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.