FLAMING DESIRE
Hearts aflame
Desire
Wind swept wildfire
Sun Summer passion
Soft pedals
Lips
Tongue licked
Sweet Delicious
Photo and Poem by Ronald Edwin Lane, Weimar
Hearts aflame
Desire
Wind swept wildfire
Sun Summer passion
Soft pedals
Lips
Tongue licked
Sweet Delicious
Photo and Poem by Ronald Edwin Lane, Weimar
_________________
LOVE
—Samar Sen (Bengali, b. 1916)
Like a poisonous snake in my blood
unwinds this desire for you.
Sometimes I see a strange yellow moon in the sky
restless spring trembles among the leaves
and in the dark a red gravel path
stretches like an idle dream.
All day and all night
my desire for you
unwinds like a poisonous snake.
___________________
B.L.'s Drive-Bys: A Micro-Review by B.L. Kennedy:
THE FUCKER INSIDE
By S.A. Griffin
Zygote 69 Chapbook # 1
Zygote in My Coffee Press
1417 Southlyn Dr.
Kettering, OH 45409
28 pp, trade paperback, $6.00
One can never get enough of S.A. Griffin. This man is a true American Poet who does not pull his punches, and The Fucker Inside proves that as a no-bullshit fact. This handsome volume is kind of a tip of the old hat to all those Ace Doubles that seemed to crowd the newsstand back in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s, and which generally featured full novels by two writers. In this case, the second poet is C. Allen Rearick, whose excellent Through These Eyes fills out the pages of this very cool collection. Both the poets who make up this volume write from the underbelly of America, yet both share that voice which fractures the skull of all that bullshit, academic, over-the-top crap that seems to dribble from the universities and other dishonest poetry groups. I highly recommend both S.A. Griffin’s The Fucker Inside and C. Allen Rearrick’s poetry to all of you who like your verse to hit fast and hard.
—B.L. Kennedy, Reviewer-in-Residence
Alarcón at the Mondavi!
JoAnn Anglin, Coordinator of Escritores del Nuevo Sol/Writers of the New Sun, writes to remind us that Chicano Poet & Educator Francisco X. Alarcón will make two appearances at the Mondavi in Davis on January 28, presented by the UCD Dept. of Education. The first is entitled "Words Take Wing; Honoring Diversity in Children’s Literature", a Matinee for children and teachers, including illustrator Maya Gonzalez (Jackson Hall, 10:30 AM). The second will be an Evening Lecture & Conversation with the Author in the Studio Theatre at 7 PM. Tickets are $11 General; $7 Student/Child. Purchase them at the Box Office, online at www.mondaviarts.org, or call 866-754-ARTS. Info: Dr. Joanne Galli-Banducci, Lecturer and Supervisor, University of California, Davis School of Education
jagallibanducci@ucdavis.edu or (530) 752-4877; (530) 752-5411 (fax).
For more about Francisco Alarcón: /spanish.ucdavis.edu/people/faculty/Alarcon
ALSO: TV Appearances on Spanish-Language TV: a note from Francisco:
Estimados amigos
Primero les deso un muy Feliz Año 2009. Este viernes 9 de enero me van a entrevistar en dos programas de televisión en español en Sacramento.
En el Canal 19 de UNIVISIÓN 9 a las 6 am y en el Canal 64 de TELEFUTURA a las 7 am. Es muy temprano pero quizás estén levantados a esas horas y le interese vesr esta entrevistas. Van a ser sobre mi labor como poeta y sobre el programa del 28 de enero que tendré en el Mondavi Center de UC Davis.
Saludos,
Francisco X. Alarcón
___________________
THE ARBOR
—Sappho, c. 212 B.C.
He seems to be a god, that man
Facing you, who leans to be close,
Smiles, and, alert and glad, listens
To your mellow voice
And quickens in love at your laughter
That stings my breasts, jolts my heart
If I dare the shock of a glance.
I cannot speak,
My tongue sticks to my dry mouth,
Thin fire spreads beneath my skin,
My eyes cannot see and my aching ears
Roar in their labyrinths.
Chill sweat glides down my back,
I shake, I turn greener than grass.
I am neither living nor dead and cry
From the narrow between.
(translated by Guy Davenport)
___________________
DOING, A FILTHY PLEAURE IS, AND SHORT
—Petronius, d. A.D. 65
Doing, a filthy pleasure is, and short;
And done, we straight repent us of the sport:
Let us not then rush blindly on unto it,
Like lustfull beasts, that onely know to doe it:
For lust will languish, and that heat decay
But thus, thus, keeping endlesse Holy-day
Let us together closely lie and kisse,
There is no labour, nor no shame in this;
This hath pleas'd, doth please, and long will please; never
Can this decay, but is beginning ever.
(translated from the Latin by Ben Jonson)
__________________
ONCE UPON A PRINCE
—Kate Wells, Placerville
This particular prince stares
from a high castle window.
The grounds hold the world’s
everything.
One part of everything is a very brown,
very loud toad. She sings
in this kingdom.
Her croak is the world
and the prince loves her.
Not the fly-by-night love of someone
with everything.
This is the inside and outside love of someone
with less.
This particular night the prince slips
from his rock-cold castle,
hunting for the loud croak
that holds his heart and everything else.
The brown, earthy croak that calls him
to the edge of the pond.
He drops to one knee.
“Will you marry me?” he whispers to the cold.
She creeps out, dripping, earthy and gnarled.
“Kiss me,” she croaks, a line
of toad lips pointing to every star.
Their lips meet in cold night air,
pink pressing brown.
Stars whirl
and when the prince opens his eyes,
one brown, cold, gnarled toad turns into
one euphoric, brown, cold, gnarled toad.
The wedding is set for Wednesday.
__________________
Today's LittleNip:
LOVE’S LESSONS
—Mitz Sackman, Murphys
The
Perfect
Partner is
Seldom found by
Searching hard for him
You have to trust your life
Knowing what you will be given
Is that which you most need right now
Sometimes a lesson you need hard, true
Other times life hands you joy beyond price
__________________
—Medusa
SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:
Rattlesnake Review: The latest issue (#20) is currently available at The Book Collector, or send me two bux and I'll mail you one. The last of contributors' copies has gone into the mail. Deadline for RR21 is February 15: send 3-5 poems, smallish art pieces and/or photos (no bio, no cover letter, no simultaneous submissions or previously-published poems) to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. E-mail attachments are preferred, but be sure to include all contact info, including snail address. Meanwhile, the snakes of Medusa are always hungry!
Coming in January: Other than the ever-restless Medusa, the Snake will be snoozing during January; no releases or readings. But our October road trips inspired a new Rattlesnake publication, WTF, to be edited by frank andrick. This 30-page, chapbook-style (free) quarterly will primarily showcase the talents of readers at Poetry Unplugged at Luna’s Café, but anyone over 18 is welcome to submit. Deadline is Jan. 15 for a Feb. 19 premiere at Luna’s. Submission guidelines are the same as for the Snake, but please send three poems (each one page or less in length), photos, smallish art or prose pieces (500 words or less) to fandrickfabpub@hotmail.com (attachments preferred) or, if you’re snailing, to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. And be forewarned: this publication will be for adults only! so you must be over 18 years of age to submit.
Also available now (free): littlesnake broadside #46: Snake Secrets: Getting Your Poetry Published in Rattlesnake Press (and lots of other places, besides!): A compendium of ideas for brushing up on your submissions process so as to make editors everywhere more happy, thereby increasing the likelihood of getting your poetry published. Pick up a copy at TBC or write to me and I'll send you one. Free!
Coming February 11: A new rattlechap from Sacramento's Poet Laureate, Julia Connor (Oar); a littlesnake broadside from Josh Fernandez (In The End, It’s A Worthless Machine); and the premiere of our new Rattlesnake Reprints, featuring The Dimensions of the Morning by D.R. Wagner, which was first published by Black Rabbit Press in 1969. That’s February 11 at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, 7:30 PM. Refreshments and a read-around will follow; bring your own poems or somebody else’s.
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 SOWs; 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.......!
_________________
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.
LOVE SONG
—Anonymous, Africa (Bagirmi), c. 1900
I painted by eyes with black antimony
I girded myself with amulets.
I will satisfy my desire,
you my slender boy.
I walk behind the wall.
I have covered my bosom.
I shall knead colored clay
I shall paint the house of my friend,
O my slender boy.
I shall take my piece of silver
I will buy silk.
I will gird myself with amulets
I will satisfy my desire
the horn of antimony in my hand,
O my slender boy!
__________________
—Anonymous, Africa (Bagirmi), c. 1900
I painted by eyes with black antimony
I girded myself with amulets.
I will satisfy my desire,
you my slender boy.
I walk behind the wall.
I have covered my bosom.
I shall knead colored clay
I shall paint the house of my friend,
O my slender boy.
I shall take my piece of silver
I will buy silk.
I will gird myself with amulets
I will satisfy my desire
the horn of antimony in my hand,
O my slender boy!
__________________
LOVE
—Samar Sen (Bengali, b. 1916)
Like a poisonous snake in my blood
unwinds this desire for you.
Sometimes I see a strange yellow moon in the sky
restless spring trembles among the leaves
and in the dark a red gravel path
stretches like an idle dream.
All day and all night
my desire for you
unwinds like a poisonous snake.
___________________
B.L.'s Drive-Bys: A Micro-Review by B.L. Kennedy:
THE FUCKER INSIDE
By S.A. Griffin
Zygote 69 Chapbook # 1
Zygote in My Coffee Press
1417 Southlyn Dr.
Kettering, OH 45409
28 pp, trade paperback, $6.00
One can never get enough of S.A. Griffin. This man is a true American Poet who does not pull his punches, and The Fucker Inside proves that as a no-bullshit fact. This handsome volume is kind of a tip of the old hat to all those Ace Doubles that seemed to crowd the newsstand back in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s, and which generally featured full novels by two writers. In this case, the second poet is C. Allen Rearick, whose excellent Through These Eyes fills out the pages of this very cool collection. Both the poets who make up this volume write from the underbelly of America, yet both share that voice which fractures the skull of all that bullshit, academic, over-the-top crap that seems to dribble from the universities and other dishonest poetry groups. I highly recommend both S.A. Griffin’s The Fucker Inside and C. Allen Rearrick’s poetry to all of you who like your verse to hit fast and hard.
—B.L. Kennedy, Reviewer-in-Residence
Alarcón at the Mondavi!
JoAnn Anglin, Coordinator of Escritores del Nuevo Sol/Writers of the New Sun, writes to remind us that Chicano Poet & Educator Francisco X. Alarcón will make two appearances at the Mondavi in Davis on January 28, presented by the UCD Dept. of Education. The first is entitled "Words Take Wing; Honoring Diversity in Children’s Literature", a Matinee for children and teachers, including illustrator Maya Gonzalez (Jackson Hall, 10:30 AM). The second will be an Evening Lecture & Conversation with the Author in the Studio Theatre at 7 PM. Tickets are $11 General; $7 Student/Child. Purchase them at the Box Office, online at www.mondaviarts.org, or call 866-754-ARTS. Info: Dr. Joanne Galli-Banducci, Lecturer and Supervisor, University of California, Davis School of Education
jagallibanducci@ucdavis.edu or (530) 752-4877; (530) 752-5411 (fax).
For more about Francisco Alarcón: /spanish.ucdavis.edu/people/faculty/Alarcon
ALSO: TV Appearances on Spanish-Language TV: a note from Francisco:
Estimados amigos
Primero les deso un muy Feliz Año 2009. Este viernes 9 de enero me van a entrevistar en dos programas de televisión en español en Sacramento.
En el Canal 19 de UNIVISIÓN 9 a las 6 am y en el Canal 64 de TELEFUTURA a las 7 am. Es muy temprano pero quizás estén levantados a esas horas y le interese vesr esta entrevistas. Van a ser sobre mi labor como poeta y sobre el programa del 28 de enero que tendré en el Mondavi Center de UC Davis.
Saludos,
Francisco X. Alarcón
___________________
THE ARBOR
—Sappho, c. 212 B.C.
He seems to be a god, that man
Facing you, who leans to be close,
Smiles, and, alert and glad, listens
To your mellow voice
And quickens in love at your laughter
That stings my breasts, jolts my heart
If I dare the shock of a glance.
I cannot speak,
My tongue sticks to my dry mouth,
Thin fire spreads beneath my skin,
My eyes cannot see and my aching ears
Roar in their labyrinths.
Chill sweat glides down my back,
I shake, I turn greener than grass.
I am neither living nor dead and cry
From the narrow between.
(translated by Guy Davenport)
___________________
DOING, A FILTHY PLEAURE IS, AND SHORT
—Petronius, d. A.D. 65
Doing, a filthy pleasure is, and short;
And done, we straight repent us of the sport:
Let us not then rush blindly on unto it,
Like lustfull beasts, that onely know to doe it:
For lust will languish, and that heat decay
But thus, thus, keeping endlesse Holy-day
Let us together closely lie and kisse,
There is no labour, nor no shame in this;
This hath pleas'd, doth please, and long will please; never
Can this decay, but is beginning ever.
(translated from the Latin by Ben Jonson)
__________________
ONCE UPON A PRINCE
—Kate Wells, Placerville
This particular prince stares
from a high castle window.
The grounds hold the world’s
everything.
One part of everything is a very brown,
very loud toad. She sings
in this kingdom.
Her croak is the world
and the prince loves her.
Not the fly-by-night love of someone
with everything.
This is the inside and outside love of someone
with less.
This particular night the prince slips
from his rock-cold castle,
hunting for the loud croak
that holds his heart and everything else.
The brown, earthy croak that calls him
to the edge of the pond.
He drops to one knee.
“Will you marry me?” he whispers to the cold.
She creeps out, dripping, earthy and gnarled.
“Kiss me,” she croaks, a line
of toad lips pointing to every star.
Their lips meet in cold night air,
pink pressing brown.
Stars whirl
and when the prince opens his eyes,
one brown, cold, gnarled toad turns into
one euphoric, brown, cold, gnarled toad.
The wedding is set for Wednesday.
__________________
Today's LittleNip:
LOVE’S LESSONS
—Mitz Sackman, Murphys
The
Perfect
Partner is
Seldom found by
Searching hard for him
You have to trust your life
Knowing what you will be given
Is that which you most need right now
Sometimes a lesson you need hard, true
Other times life hands you joy beyond price
__________________
—Medusa
SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:
Rattlesnake Review: The latest issue (#20) is currently available at The Book Collector, or send me two bux and I'll mail you one. The last of contributors' copies has gone into the mail. Deadline for RR21 is February 15: send 3-5 poems, smallish art pieces and/or photos (no bio, no cover letter, no simultaneous submissions or previously-published poems) to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. E-mail attachments are preferred, but be sure to include all contact info, including snail address. Meanwhile, the snakes of Medusa are always hungry!
Coming in January: Other than the ever-restless Medusa, the Snake will be snoozing during January; no releases or readings. But our October road trips inspired a new Rattlesnake publication, WTF, to be edited by frank andrick. This 30-page, chapbook-style (free) quarterly will primarily showcase the talents of readers at Poetry Unplugged at Luna’s Café, but anyone over 18 is welcome to submit. Deadline is Jan. 15 for a Feb. 19 premiere at Luna’s. Submission guidelines are the same as for the Snake, but please send three poems (each one page or less in length), photos, smallish art or prose pieces (500 words or less) to fandrickfabpub@hotmail.com (attachments preferred) or, if you’re snailing, to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. And be forewarned: this publication will be for adults only! so you must be over 18 years of age to submit.
Also available now (free): littlesnake broadside #46: Snake Secrets: Getting Your Poetry Published in Rattlesnake Press (and lots of other places, besides!): A compendium of ideas for brushing up on your submissions process so as to make editors everywhere more happy, thereby increasing the likelihood of getting your poetry published. Pick up a copy at TBC or write to me and I'll send you one. Free!
Coming February 11: A new rattlechap from Sacramento's Poet Laureate, Julia Connor (Oar); a littlesnake broadside from Josh Fernandez (In The End, It’s A Worthless Machine); and the premiere of our new Rattlesnake Reprints, featuring The Dimensions of the Morning by D.R. Wagner, which was first published by Black Rabbit Press in 1969. That’s February 11 at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, 7:30 PM. Refreshments and a read-around will follow; bring your own poems or somebody else’s.
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 SOWs; 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.......!
_________________
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.