Anne Peters
THE TAPER
—Anne Peters, Loomis
Whispering vows
a decade ago,
we lit a pillar candle
from separate tapers
to symbolize our new
oneness.
What happened
to my taper?
Was it extinguished?
Did it burn until spent
that day?
Is it stored in the dusty
box with the favors
and photographs,
awaiting a spark and fresh air?
Or was it discarded,
like my name,
in the rush of newly-wedded
bliss?
The pillar rests on the mantle
solid and unwavering.
But what remains of
my slender, flickering taper?
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Thanks, Anne! Anne Peters lives in Northern California (Loomis) and works toward the goal of feeling justified in calling herself an aspiring poet. She says, “I work, homeschool three kids to give them a challenging learning experience, and take classes at the local college. Sometimes, my stuff gets put on the back burner…” Watch for more of Anne's work in Rattlesnake Review #19, due out—gasp—next Wednesday!
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Strictly unauthorized...
Becca Costello writes: I'm the guest editor for the 2008 Sacramento News&Review Best Of Sacramento issue and I need a favor. The theme for this year's issue is "Unauthorized Sacramento" and we're trying to collect stories from readers about the unauthorized hijinks they've gotten into over the years. I know plenty of you have had some wild nights in this town—altering billboards, sneaking into shows, planning elaborate pranks, building your own rafts for wild river runs, performing street theater, or staging art shows and concerts in parking garages. It doesn't matter how long ago your adventures took place, as long as they happened in the Sacramento area. Your stories can be any length—even a paragraph. (We can publish you anonymously if that makes you feel better!) The only requirements are that the stories must be true, they must have happened in the Sacramento area, and they must be e-mailed to unauthorized@newsreview.com no later than September 12. We will publish the best adventures in the 2008 Best Of Sacramento issue on September 25.
Silly me!
I sent out a mass e-mail ("Snakebytes") to half my mailing list yesterday, detailing all the wonderful poetry we have coming up in the next two months. But silly me forgot to list the date for the September 10 reading! So, the Grizzell/Brown/Reynolds reading is Sept. 10, in case you haven't heard. Of course, if you're a Medusa reader, you already know that...
B.L.'s Drive-bys: A Micro-Review by B.L. Kennedy:
The Collected Books of Jack Spicer
Edited by Robin Blaser
Black Sparrow Press
382pp, Trade Paperback
OP
The sad thing about the sale of Black Sparrow Books to Ecco Press some years ago was that a hell’s lot of titles were dropped. In fact, I think Ecco just kept Charles Bukowski and John Fante from the whole Black Sparrow catalog which had included Diane Wakoski, Lyn Lifshin, Edward Sanders and a host of other great and middle-weight American poets and writers (of which the late Jack Spicer was one of those cut from re-publication). Those of you unfamiliar with the poet or his work have simply missed out, but if you can find anything by Jack Spicer in your neighborhood used bookstores, grab it! A little side note here: there is a wonderful biography of Spicer and the oft-times overlooked SF scene, entitled Poet Be like God by Lewis Ellingham and Kevin Killian, which is well-worth your time to investigate.
—B.L. Kennedy, Reviewer-in-Residence
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SEPTEMBER IN SEATTLE
—Andrea Longini, Pittsburgh, PA
When she had snuffed out the light
And voyaged from afar
It took her bright metal womb
To swallow the nascent pride
And stir up labor in her breast
This undying Chinese quest
Oh the copper tails of autumn
Gravestones swept over with grass
Rooms of red walls and white salt
A sound rushing under the pass
And, with the billowing swirls of haze and particulate matter
Which make local water brackish
The deep drains, mysterious channels that let out
On the other side of the globe
Funneling into a lush bosom of green selenium
Ripe, ready and at a premium
How the winds sing the song,
“She has left the house of tabernacles
To bathe in walls of stone.”
The air, ever crisper, tempered with notes of lazy piano jazz
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Thanks, Andrea! Andrea Longini stumbled upon us on the Internet and sent us a September poem. Always good to hear from poets around the world!
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THE IRIS GARDEN
—Anne Peters
Frothy, garish heads
flirt and preen
in the breeze
with effortless confidence.
Lavish colors in every hue:
mauve, maroon, lemon,
violet, plum, peach, flame.
Mother Nature may be maternal,
but she is first and foremost,
a woman.
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WEDDING RINGS
—Anne Peters
Two bands welded
to each other.
I’ve worn them so long
they are part of me.
A flawed stone,
but that fits us
perfectly.
The design
unique, unusual,
just like this thing
between us.
And despite the soap,
the grime,
the passage of time,
these bands still
sparkle, twinkle
and shine.
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Today's LittleNip:
SPLINTER
—Carl Sandburg
The voice of the last cricket
across the first frost
is one kind of good-by.
It is so thin a splinter of singing.
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—Medusa
SnakeWatch: What's Up With Rattlesnake Press
September 10, we shall roar back onto the scene with Thirteen Poems, a new chapbook from Patrick Grizzell; #2 in Katy Brown's series of blank journals (Musings2: Vices, Virtues and Obsessions); a littlesnake broadside (Wind Physics) from Jordan Reynolds; plus Issue #19 of Rattlesnake Review (next deadline, for Issue #20, is November 15.) Meanwhile, look in on Medusa every day, and, for heaven's sake, keep sending stuff! The snakes of Medusa are always hungry...
Medusa's Weekly Menu:
(Contributors are welcome to cook up something for 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 (sometimes): 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 future issues of 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 ravenous poetic souls.
And poetry! Every day, poetry from writers near and far and in-between! The Snakes of Medusa are always hungry.......!
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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.