Shawn Aveningo
ZEITGEIST
—Shawn Aveningo, Rescue
Eyes gawk,
but don't see.
Vision buried
beneath sand.
Dreams peril
by suffocation
in lies,
some not so white.
Armed with
knowledge at our
fingertips,
but lacking wisdom.
The world grows
smaller
but the chasm between
touch
broadens.
Consequences of Truth
breed fear.
What morals are
obeyed when
infidelity to self
is all that
remains?
____________________
Thanks, Shawn! Shawn Aveningo says she is the typical forty-something soccer mom who has always had a passion for writing, but never had the time to indulge in such pleasure. Now that her nest is approaching emptiness, she has spent the last year writing profusely. She finds inspiration from her own life, the lives of friends, lives of strangers, and everyday objects that surround her. She lives in Rescue (near Placerville) with her husband, 3 children and 2 dogs. You can see more of her work in upcoming issues of Rattlesnake Review or PoetryNow, or catch her at Open Mic at Poetry Unplugged at Luna’s Café.
Cache Creek Workshop:
Rae Gouirand writes: I'm happy to announce the final workshop in the 2008 Cache Creek Nature Preserve series: PROSE POETRY, Part II. The current workshop has been received so enthusiastically that I can't bring myself to switch gears and suggest we change directions. We're having too much fun. There will continue to be new author studies and new exercises each week, and there ought to be plenty of fodder for poets and prose writer alike. We'll continue to explore how little we know about the difference between verse and prose, and to cultivate new works that behave with astonishing unpredictability. So join us on Thursday mornings from June 5–July 24, from 9-11 AM. This workshop concludes the CCNP series for the year, and is offered free of charge to the general public thanks to the support of Cache Creek Nature Preserve and the Teichert Foundation. All you need to participate is an interest in writing. Sometimes we are studied by a bobcat. We have a good time. To register, email me ASAP at rgouirand@gmail.com (space is limited) with your name, email address, and a phone number where you can be reached. I'll send confirmation and directions to the Preserve site in the week before the first session.
Lining up your legal ducks:
•••Thursday (6/5), 12-1:30 PM: Join California Lawyers for the Arts for a workshop. San Francisco attorney and publishing expert Robert Pimm will discuss legal and business aspects related to independent self-publishing, including relevant agreements, copyright protection, product distribution, publishing strategies and other concerns. There will be time for Q/A, so you can ask questions pertinent to your specific situations. You are welcome to bring your lunch. The Avid Reader at the Tower 1600 Broadway, Sacramento. Admission: $5 students/seniors, $10 members of CLA, $20 others.
__________________
AMERICAN CANNIBALS
—Shawn Aveningo
Societies that don't eat people
are fascinated by those that do.
—Ronald Wright (one of Medusa's LittleNips last week)
We say,
we're not cannibals,
we're not barbarians,
we're civilized.
So why then do we
let our children starve,
send our sons to war,
ignore the indigent,
let disasters take control,
put citizens in formaldehyde
like seventh-grade science projects,
censor unpopular voices,
post perverts on line
lest they're politicians,
poison our food with pesticides,
encourage obesity in poverty,
deny medical treatment,
look to liars for leadership,
send our daughters to war.
Oh no,
we're not cannibals.
We're too civilized for that.
___________________
CONGO
—Shawn Aveningo
Slithering serpent speaks in tongues.
Understanding not, I comprehend,
follow willingly
in a trace,
my circumstance
forgotten,
in darkness of jumble night.
Screeching baboons I fear not.
Fierce cackles from treetops,
origins unknown,
becken my inner demons,
released.
Garments bartered for pigments
splashed across my body,
naked spirit soars
as I dance
to tribal rhythms.
Under invisible moons
light eclipsed,
beaming within.
Mother Earth smiles
as do I.
__________________
FINGER-PAINTING
—Shawn Aveningo
I could tell you about
the frustration
of finding the nursery,
newly wallpapered,
smeared with fecal finger paintings
from a palette of Pampers,
two little girls standing
proud before their Picassos.
I could tell you about
the hours spent scrubbing
on my knees,
my fingers worn to the bone,
praying to the Lysol god
for complete disinfection
of the scene.
I could tell you about
how their father left the room
in complete disgust
that daddy's little angels
could perform such an atrocity
in our quiet suburban home.
But I'd rather
save the story
for future boyfriends,
who nervously wait on the sofa
on prom night
or perhaps show you
"mommy's secret scrapbook"
over a shared pot of tea
and laughter.
____________________
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—or LittleNip, or....
___________________
Today's LittleNip:
Pocket full of keys, owns nothing.
—Stephen Dobyns
___________________
—Medusa
MEDUSA'S WEEKLY MENU:
(Contributors are welcome to cook something up for any and all of these!)
Monday: Weekly NorCal poetry calendar
Tuesday: Seed of the Week
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 favorite tools.
Thursday: B.L.'s Drive-Bys: Micro-reviews by our irreverent Reviewer-in-Residence, B.L. Kennedy. Send books, CDs, DVDs, etc. to him for possible review (either as a Drive-By or in Rattlesnake Review) at P.O. Box 160664, Sacramento, CA 95816.
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 for May: Rattlesnake Press is proud to announce the release of Among Summer Pines by Quinton Duval and a littlesnake broadside, Before Naming, by Stephani Schaefer. Both of these are now available at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, and will soon be available at rattlesnakepress.com/.
Coming June 11: Two Moons in June: Join us at The Book Collector for the premiere of Day Moon, a new chapbook by James DenBoer, and Mindfully Moon, a littlesnake broadside by Carol Louise Moon, as well as Volume Three of Conversations, our third book of interviews by B.L. Kennedy, featuring Art Beck, Olivia Costellano, Quinton Duval, William S. Gainer, Mario Ellis Hill, Kathryn Hohlwein, James Jee Jobe, Andy Jones, Rebecca Morrison, Viola Weinberg and Phillip T. Nails. All this PLUS a brand-new edition of Rattlesnake Review! That's at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, 7:30 PM, June 11.
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.