Twigs in Water Close Up, Tonto Bridge, AZ
Photo by Bob Dreizler, Sacramento
KNOCK ON MY DOOR
any morning
and I will be waiting for you
oh, and bring the light with you
light that breaks out behind the mountain
light that sparkles dew
light that glistens leaves
light that pours through windows
light that sits down with us at the kitchen table
light that we share for one sweet hour over coffee
any morning
and I will be waiting for you
oh, and bring the light with you
light that breaks out behind the mountain
light that sparkles dew
light that glistens leaves
light that pours through windows
light that sits down with us at the kitchen table
light that we share for one sweet hour over coffee
—Patricia Hickerson, Davis
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Thanks to Pat Hickerson for the response to one of our past Seeds of the Week: Light, and to Bob Dreizler for the photo. Bob is a midtown Sacramento investment advisor/financial consultant and author of Tending Your Money Garden. He is also an artist and photographer whose works are seen in venues around town, including (most recently) Old Soul Co. His works and rants can currently be viewed at his www.bobdreizler.com and in The Art Studios behind Michelangelo’s Restaurant (18th and I Streets) on Second Saturday.
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Additions to this week's calendar:
•••Weds. (1/7), 9 PM: Poetry Night at Bistro 33 presents Terry Ehret, a poet and teacher, as well as one of the founders of Sixteen Rivers Press, a nonprofit, shared-work publishing collective representing poets of the San Francisco Bay Area watershed. She has published three collections: Lost Body (1993), Translations from the Human Language (2001), and most recently Lucky Break (2008). Literary awards include the National Poetry Series, the Commonwealth Club of California Book Award, and the Nimrod/ Hardman Pablo Neruda Poetry Prize. In 1997, as the writer-on-site at the Oakland Museum of California, she created a poetry audio tour for the Gallery of California Art; and from 2004-2006, she served as Sonoma County Poet Laureate. She has taught writing at San Francisco State and Sonoma State Universities, California College of the Arts, Santa Rosa Junior College, and with the California Poets in the Schools Program. She currently leads private workshops in Sonoma County, California, where she lives with her family.
Poetry Night at Bistro 33, hosted Andy Jones and produced by Brad Henderson, occurs on the first and third Wednesdays of every month beginning at 9 P.M. with an open mic at 10 P.M. Poetry Night events are free and open to the public.
•••Sat. (1/10), 10-11:30 AM: 2nd and 4th Poetry Center Saturday Poetry Workshop at the South Natomas Community Center (next to the library), 2901 S. Truxel Rd., Sacramento. Bring 10 copies of your one-page poem for workshopping. Frank Graham and Emmanuel Sigauke, facilitators. FREE!
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Feb. 13-15: San Francisco Writers Conference:
The Sixth San Francisco Writers Conference (to be held at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel) has announced an expanded poetry track this year. The poetry track will include sessions on craft and becoming a successful poet. Attendees will meet editors who work with poets and they can participate in readings and 'open mics'. Coordinating the track are UC Davis professor/lecturers Brad Henderson and Andy Jones (also the host of "Dr. Andy's Poetry & Technology Hour" on KDVS radio) and Joan Gelfand, president of the Women's National Book Association. The Conference will have more than 59 breakout sessions with over 70 speakers, "Speed Dating with Agents", and a faculty boasting many bestselling authors including keynoters Richard North Patterson, Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley, and Lolly Winston. In addition to poetry, other tracks at the event will include the craft of fiction and nonfiction, children's books and publishing/marketing. Attendees will be able to pitch to literary agents and editors and get feedback on their work. Registration is $625 until February 12. Information about the conference and on-line registration are available at www.SFWriters.com or www.sfwriters.org/.
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AND STILL HE BURNS
—Kathy Kieth, Pollock Pines
Fanned into a witch fire, this anger
has set his frame ablaze: makes him
a crackling will-o'-the-wisp, a teetering
scarecrow held up by smoke
and sparks and the flicker of what was
done and what was said—winking
embers of insults that fume
and smolder, blister his feet. . . But
this pitchy anger is all
his: ashy prop that keeps
him burning, then settles into a homey
campfire with a toasty glow that
warms him as he sleeps: warms him
until, when morning comes, it combusts
back into full flush: flares bright orange
in the chilly dawn, like a signal
beacon: skyrockets his witchy wildfire
right back up to flashpoint. . .
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Last week we watched a series on The History Channel entitled "The Seven Deadly Sins" which, in case you've forgotten, are lust, greed, sloth, wrath, gluttony, envy and pride. My poem above deals with anger; I find I have quite a few poems about it, actually—though I suppose gluttony is my favorite sin. (Besides, all the sins seem to overlap with each other, yes?) Anyway, send us your poems about your favorite sin for our Seed of the Week: My Favorite Sin. No deadline on this one, and as you can see, Calliope continues to inspire people for weeks and even months after any SOW appears.
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GREED
—Giuseppe Giocchino Belli
Which of the seven deadly sins is worst?
Pride sneering skyward, avarice shrieking More,
Liplicking lust, or anger, one red roar?
No, gluttony, the fifth sin, is the first.
From Adam burst a famine and a thirst
For a wormy apple offered by a whore,
A penny pippin. God has rammed its core
Down all our throats, a canker of the cursed.
That birth, that bastard, God, I gape aghast as
I contemplate the greed that could have cast us
Into the outer darkness—fed us, rather
To final fire. But our ingenious master's
As quick to cancel as to cause disasters,
And to this end kindly became a father.
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MAKE THE BEDLAMP TIPSY WITH OIL
—Antipater of Sidon (c. 130 B.C.)
Make the bedlamp tipsy with oil;
It's the silent confidant of things
We seldom dare to speak of. Then
Let it go out. There are times when
The god Eros wants no living witness.
Close the door tight. Then let the
Bed, the lovers' friend, teach us
the rest of Aphrodite's secrets.
(translated from the Latin by James Laughlin)
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Save A Bunny:
Barry Tofoli writes: Hello fellow artisans! I am organizing a fundraiser for the Save A Bunny Foundation, http://www.saveabunny.com/. It will feature poets artists and the like—you know, a fundraiser. The tentative date would be the weekend of April 17-18, probably that Saturday. I need folks to read poems or tell stories and do art and dances and make music stuff with rabbit themes, or certainly with spring and the environment in mind. I’m looking for anybody from ages 10 on up to contribute. You can read original stuff or already-published work, do original art or work around famous rabbits such as Bugs Bunny, The White Rabbit, Bunnicula, etc. This is an all ages-event, so please be PG or at least Pg-13. Also in coordination with this event I would like to have a book for sale entitled Cotton Tales. This book would include donated bunny poems (possibly works read at the event) and art that Save A Bunny can sell at their home base and we can sell at the event. Remember, all money goes to Save A Bunny, so this would be donated work and time. (Artists will get name credit and copyright credit, but no money.) I will put together the book if you'll send me poems, stories, and art to put into it. Work for the book must be 100% original. Thanks in advance to all who ride this train. And if you need motivation, just go to http://www.saveabunny.com and look at how CUTE the bunnies are!
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IPSITHILLA, MY PET, MY FAVORITE DISH
—Catullus (Gaius Valerius Catullus, 84-54 B.C.)
Ipsithilla, my pet, my favorite dish,
Plump, wanton little rabbit, how I wish
You'd bid me join you for the noonday nap
And let me spend this scorcher in your lap.
How does that sound? Make sure no man nor mouse
Opens your little gate. Don't leave the house.
Just change the sheets, break out your bread and wine,
And one by one, my puss, we'll tear off nine
And melt away in joy. Want to know how?
Then let me come immediately, for now,
Swollen with lunch and dreaming, catching your scent,
I watch my tunic hoisted like a tent.
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Today's LittleNip
Percussion, salt and honey,
A quivering in the thighs;
He shakes me all over again,
Eros who cannot be thrown.
Who stalks on all fours
Like a beast.
—Sappho (c. 612 B.C.)
Bunny with Boa
Drawing by Alex Pardee that appeared on
Rattlesnake Review #1, Back Cover
March, 2004
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—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.......!
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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.