Poppies, Lilies & Banana Slugs

Spring Poppies
Painting by Susan Hazard

ARRANGED MARRIAGE
—Katy Brown, Davis

The bride of poppies
pauses on her wedding day—
dressed in scarlet, gathering

her bouquet of leaves and flowers:
cardinal red to match her gown
and green for hope.

Modestly covered,
yet bewitchingly revealed
in flowing robes that reach the ground,

she works alone, reaches deep
into the flowers, harvests their sleep
to mitigate the day.

___________________

VALENTINE
—Katy Brown

Parent of my dreams,
brother of my heart,
offspring of my desire:

you resolve the longing
of my spirit
for companionship.

__________________

EVE GATHERS THE LILACS

and wild lily blossoms out in the meadow
of that first perfect world.
She pauses in sunlight,
listens for skylarks and watches
the bees going back to their hive.

This ideal moment—this ideal woman—
suspended for now in the azimuth of joy—
caught in her innocence—
who could betray her?
What powerful forces tempt her to stray?

For now, honeyed Eve rests in the shade
of an elegant tree, heavy with fruit.
Somewhere in the branches, a serpent is waiting
to whisper his promises into her ear.
All of this sunlight, all of this ecstasy

fleeting as shadows cast in the grass.
And Eve all alone in the afternoon meadow
gathers the lilacs, lilies and thyme
to weave in her hair and place in her pillow
while she dreams of the whispers
she hears in the air.


—Katy Brown

__________________

Thanks to Katy Brown for the poems! Watch for Katy's "Snake Eyes" column in the up-coming Rattlesnake Review, due out March 11 (the Snake turns 21!).


Next TUESDAY at Sacramento Poetry Center:

Yes, this is an unusual day for an SPC reading, but next Tues. (3/3) at 3:30 PM, Sacramento Poetry Center (1719 25th St., Sacramento) will present Brian Turner, a soldier-poet whose debut book of poems, Here, Bullet, won the 2005 Beatrice Hawley Award, the New York Times “Editor's Choice” selection, the 2006 Pen Center USA "Best in the West" award, and the 2007 Poets Prize, among others. Turner served seven years in the US Army, including one year as an infantry team leader in Iraq with the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. Prior to that, he was deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1999-2000 with the 10th Mountain Division. Turner's poetry has been published in Poetry Daily, The Georgia Review, and other journals, and in the Voices in Wartime Anthology published in conjunction with the feature-length documentary film of the same name. Turner was also featured in Operation Homecoming, a unique documentary that explores the firsthand accounts of American servicemen and women through their own words. He earned an MFA from the University of Oregon and has lived abroad in South Korea.

This reading will be in addition to Monday's reading, which will feature Richard Loranger (see Friday's post for his bio).

___________________

Santa Cruz Lighthouse

We're having a give-away here in the Kitchen. Send your own poems about Santa Cruz to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726 by midnight Monday, March 2, and I'll mail you a copy of Julia Connor's new rattlechap, Oar. See below for three dandy examples.

Patricia Wellingham-Jones writes: I was lucky enough to live in Santa Cruz County (in Felton, in the redwoods about 10 miles inland) for almost a decade. Was a camp nurse in the summer, school bus driver the rest of the year for much of that time. Loved it, still miss living there. So here's a poem for Medusa, a real life story. Sister Betsy and I still howl at the image we made.


SANTA CRUZ BEACH
—Patricia Wellingham-Jones, Tehama

My sister visited
with her baby in a stroller,
my lad was three years old.

We had to go to the beach, of course,
let these newcomers dip toes
in the Pacific Ocean.

I packed tea for the mothers,
juice for the kids,
and cookies—the all-purpose picnic.

Drove us down from the redwoods,
smiled at Betsy’s sigh
at beholding the sea.

We parked,
found the perfect place on the shore,
started our trek.

That’s when we discovered
a law of physics: Strollers do not wheel
through loose sand.

Forevermore, we remember
carrying stroller, baby and food
in that endless stagger across Santa Cruz beach.

___________________

SANTA CRUZ 1970
—Mitz Sackman, Murphys

Just say the words Santa Cruz
Memories emerge, bubbling through the mind
I went to UCSC
Back in the day when
Berkeley got our rejects
Referred to us as Uncle Charlie’s Summer Camp
Envy no doubt

Ah life in the redwoods
The school was awash with valedictorians
Surrounded by nerds
Each the chief nerd from their high school
An overwhelming lack of social skills
People desperately seeking validation
In a college with no grades

Wanting to get away from campus
My friend and I rented a summer beach residence
A single block above the boardwalk
During the school year, inconvenient but cheap
My bedroom was the front door
Hers the bath, living room, kitchen closet as well as sleep space
Life took some negotiation

We gave a wild party near the end of the year
Dressed in old high school prom gowns
Went wading at the beach
Crawling on the floor the next morning hunting glasses or contacts
We vowed never again

__________________

SANTA CRUZ
—Tom Goff, Carmichael

We were just learning
each other; or rather, skimming, outlining:

those pre-reading gambits. How much
Latvian was I to learn? How much

of our fresh new partnership lay in back
rooms, old scrolls, yellow deeds,

ancient ledgers bespeaking inherited
legal flourish, crumbling handshake,

quarrels over stock dividends we’d never
fought but stood heir to? All that

ancient office routine
we were to untangle, declutter,

streamline, our heads together,
our unfamiliar faces, our lips

together. All this shyness
and pain, love and realizing, in hot

shafts of afternoon sun, after the long
drive: my first glimpse of these shores

and where she’d studied: UC banana slugs
nested in hilly, shadowy stands of redwood.

New Year’s, a freakish eighty degrees, as,
overdressed, we shambled past boardwalk

and beach, dabbled at good café soup,
picked at used books along Pacific Garden Mall,

chafing sunburnt places on our faces,
rubbing in the newness of it all—and us.

__________________

Today's LittleNip

Those who welcome death have only tried it from the ears up.

—Wilson Mizner

__________________

Banana Slug

—Medusa


SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:

Rattlesnake Review: The latest issue (RR20) is currently available at The Book Collector, or send me four bux and I'll mail you one. Deadline for RR21 was Feb. 15; the issue will appear in mid-March. Next deadline is May 15 for RR22: 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; let us know if your submission is for the Review or for Medusa, or for either one.

Also available (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 The Book Collector or write to me and I'll send you one. Free!

New for February: Now available! A new rattlechap from Sacramento's Poet Laureate, Julia Connor (Oar); a free 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. Available from the poets or at The Book Collector (1008 24th St., Sacramento) or (soon) from rattlesnakepress.com/.

WTF is out!

Be sure to stop by The Book Collector to pick up your free copy of Rattlesnake Press's latest spawn, WTF—our new quarterly journal which premiered last night in a rousing event hosted by frank andrick which ran into the wee hours at Luna's Cafe. WTF #1 features 22 poets, artists and photogs from the Poetry Unplugged scene; next deadline is April 15 (oooo...tax day!). Guidelines are pretty much the same as the RR ones listed below, except that frank wants three poems (instead of 3-5), and you must be over 18 to submit. Send poems, artwork, and photos to fandrickpub@hotmail.com or the RPress snail address. If you can't get to The Book Collector, send me two bux and I'll mail you one, or I suspect they're available at Luna's.

What's the difference between Rattlesnake Review and WTF? The over-18 thing should give you a clue. WTF is leaner (smaller), meaner, and more geared to the "Luna's voice", if there is such a thing—and if you ever go to Poetry Unplugged on Thursday nights at Luna's Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sacramento, you'll see what I mean. Its material also tends to be more X-rated. The Review is big and fat, has articles and other features, and represents a wide variety of styles and genres. But if you're over 18, you're welcome to submit to either one. I edit the Review; frank andrick edits WTF.

Coming in March: On Wednesday, March 11, Rattlesnake Press will be releasing a new chapbook from Norma Kohout (All Aboard); a littlesnake broadside from Patricia Hickerson (At Grail Castle Hotel); and a new issue of Rattlesnake Review (the Snake turns 21)! Join us at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, 7:30. 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, or any other day!): 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.

Under the Boardwalk

Santa Cruz Boardwalk

SANTA CRUZ BEACH BOARDWALK
—Cynthia Linville, Sacramento

As we wind down 680 and 17
we three talk work and relationships
offering solace and perspective
as only friends of twenty years can:
bankruptcy, divorce, and thorny coworkers
shrink in size
when viewed beside
well-worn college stories
of delectable sins
(for a while, we are twenty again).
We catch up
on the death and success
of people we knew
until the sea comes into view.

After twelve summers
of annual visits
we know the route by heart:
turn left to buy the wrist bands
ride the Tsunami
the Tornado
the Crazy Surf twice
(for Joy, once will suffice)
our nostrils assaulted
by smells that grow stronger
as the day wears on:
sticky funnel cakes, Coppertone,
garlic fries, diesel fumes,
rank fish, and vomited beer.

Sally, the cultural critic,
points out amusing signage
("Condiments" on an arrow
pointing to a trash can)
while Joy, the naturalist,
examines the multicolor geraniums
unfurling ferns, perfect spider webs
and I, the hedonist,
lose myself in teenage memories
of boys' fumbling mouths and hands
out on the sand.



__________________

Thanks, Cynthia! Never got to actually live in Santa Cruz, myself (is there still time?), but after hundreds of pilgrimages there of my own, such poems and photos still pull all sorts of feelings/memories out of me. So I've taken the liberty of adding a couple of Santa Cruz poems of my own. (See below.)

Time for a giveaway! Send me a poem of yours about Santa Cruz and I'll send you Julia Connor's new rattlechap, Oar, or any other rattlechap of your choosing. Deadline is quick: Monday night at midnight. Send 'em to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. If you've never been to Santa Cruz, well, fake it...

Cynthia Linville's work is represented in the new WTF (stop by The Book Collector for your free copy, or order one on rattlesnakepress.com), as well as in recent and future Rattlesnake Reviews, and she was featured on Medusa's Kitchen (click on July, 2008 at the right and scroll down to July 30). She serves as Poetry Editor of Poetry Now and hosts The Vox reading series, which is about to move to the new Vox gallery in West Sac where, together with Rattlechapper James Lee Jobe (see his blog in Medusa's links), many new/old/always exciting poets will be featured in the months to come!


A FORMAL AFFAIR
—Cynthia Linville

High heels click a slow careful step over frozen pavement.
A rustle of perfumed silk swirls about the ankles
and shoulders shiver under an inadequately warm wrap.
A man in black tie, solicitous at the elbow—
the two encircled by a golden lamplight.

Just for one second
I smell White Shoulders,
feel the warmth of your arm about my waist.
Then I’m back, alone in my car,
watching a couple cross an icy street.

___________________

This weekend in NorCal poetry:

•••Sat. (2/28), 7-9 PM: "The Show" at the Guild Theater, 2828 35th St., Sacramento. $7.00. Poetry, dance and comedy, and more!

•••Monday (3/2), 7:30 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center presents Richard Loranger at HQ for the Arts, 1719 25th St., Sacramento. Richard Loranger is a writer, performer, and visual artist who wandered back to San Francisco last fall after fifteen years in less savory climes. He is the author of Poems for Teeth (We Press, 2005), which Bob Holman calls “one of the most extraordinary and virtuosic poetic feats since Francis Ponge took on Soap,” as well as The Orange Book and eight chapbooks, including Hello Poems and The Day Was Warm and Blue. He is a recent and very happy escapee from The Big Mean Dirty City (New York). Free; donations accepted. Open mic following the feature.

Coming Up at SPC:

Tuesday, March 3: Brian Turner
Monday, March 9: Dobby Gibson and Matt Hart

__________________

SANTA CRUZ
—Kathy Kieth, Pollock Pines

Sharp white spires on either end of town: one a postcard-
pristine church watching over tourists, the other a sword
of a lighthouse guarding surfers and ships.

One week each summer in a house on Ocean
Street, under the arms of a dark cypress
that was even taller than my dad.

Saltwater taffy dancing on its machine to the tune
of pinball played hard by strutting sailors.

Walking to the beach each day, where my dad and I
played gingerly at the edge. His legs, white
from a year buried under heavy work pants, always
burned to pink.

Middle-aged mansions and their palm trees turning up
noses at hitchhikers who thumbed along the cliffs.

My mother, who never sunburned, planted
in the sand in a lawn chair, far from the water.

Out on the pier: shrimp Louies with too much lettuce, then
tossing overpriced fishheads to greedy seals and seagulls.

Grandma coming with us every year (my mother’s
in-law). They hated each other, and Grandma never
went down to the beach.

Boardwalk brawlers wolfing cotton candy and flirting with
under-age girls who came over from San Jose for some risky
Saturday night adventure.

Spending the end of my money on musty motel rooms
with orange-and-avocado sofas. Two honeymoons,
at opposite ends of town. I brought my dog along
on the second one—the one that survived.

__________________

WHEN PEOPLE FLY—

kite-surfing, maybe, off the coast
of Santa Cruz: thin fabric of rainbow

skiing you up the face of a wave: flip
and dive and somersault as you pretend

those thin arms are wings: pretend for
half a breath that you are the float

of a gull or the broad soar of the pelican:
flip away from those mortal waves just

for a second or two: kite-surfing, maybe:
gift of an hour’s grand illusion that

those thin arms are wings, that flimsy
rainbows of fabric can turn you into

an angel, just because you say it’s so:
strap on a sliver of a board and dive in

somewhere off the coast of lazy,
good-for-nothing Santa Cruz…


—Kathy Kieth

__________________

Today's LittleNip:

Roar, lion of the heart,
and tear me open!

—Rumi

_________________



—Medusa


SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:

Rattlesnake Review: The latest issue (RR20) is currently available at The Book Collector, or send me four bux and I'll mail you one. Deadline for RR21 was Feb. 15; the issue will appear in mid-March. Next deadline is May 15 for RR22: 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; let us know if your submission is for the Review or for Medusa, or for either one.

Also available (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 The Book Collector or write to me and I'll send you one. Free!

New for February: Now available! A new rattlechap from Sacramento's Poet Laureate, Julia Connor (Oar); a free 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. Available from the poets or at The Book Collector (1008 24th St., Sacramento) or (soon) from rattlesnakepress.com/.

WTF is out!

Be sure to stop by The Book Collector to pick up your free copy of Rattlesnake Press's latest spawn, WTF—our new quarterly journal which premiered last night in a rousing event hosted by frank andrick which ran into the wee hours at Luna's Cafe. WTF #1 features 22 poets, artists and photogs from the Poetry Unplugged scene; next deadline is April 15 (oooo...tax day!). Guidelines are pretty much the same as the RR ones listed below, except that frank wants three poems (instead of 3-5), and you must be over 18 to submit. Send poems, artwork, and photos to fandrickpub@hotmail.com or the RPress snail address. If you can't get to The Book Collector, send me two bux and I'll mail you one, or I suspect they're available at Luna's.

What's the difference between Rattlesnake Review and WTF? The over-18 thing should give you a clue. WTF is leaner (smaller), meaner, and more geared to the "Luna's voice", if there is such a thing—and if you ever go to Poetry Unplugged on Thursday nights at Luna's Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sacramento, you'll see what I mean. Its material also tends to be more X-rated. The Review is big and fat, has articles and other features, and represents a wide variety of styles and genres. But if you're over 18, you're welcome to submit to either one. I edit the Review; frank andrick edits WTF.

Coming in March: On Wednesday, March 11, Rattlesnake Press will be releasing a new chapbook from Norma Kohout (All Aboard); a littlesnake broadside from Patricia Hickerson (At Grail Castle Hotel); and a new issue of Rattlesnake Review (the Snake turns 21)! Join us at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, 7:30. 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, or any other day!): 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.

Everything That Breathes

Photo by Stephani Schaefer, Los Molinos


THE WAY BASEBALL HAPPENS
—B.L. Kennedy, Sacramento Well,

Well, I guess you need a ball to throw at something
From which it will bounce and maybe

Hit something or someone
Walls are good
So are windows

You can throw balls at rocks and trees
I once threw a ball at some running

Dinglehumps and Simpooginks

Once I pick-up a dead bat
To catch some vision, hit well

Above my head, out
There far out
There in the center of the world

Where the print is tiny
Too tiny to read between your toes

So one day, I invented a game
With a belly full o' wine and giggles
I walked away

To fart!

________________

WITHOUT TEARS
—B.L. Kennedy

I think of Lenny Bruce
Of his sacrifice
For freedom of language
And the consistency
Of that freedom

I show my young lover
A documentary of his life
Swear to Tell the Truth
She cries

It is so unfair
The way he was treated
I think of her generation
As closed down
Closed-minded to such issues

As freedom and equal rights
Of all things which concern themselves
With language, sex, and religion
I tell her that
Lenny Bruce is my saint

How, like him, I suffered the attack
Of the censors and their mind police
How once in Davis, California
I was pulled from the stage
Under cries of pornography and
Filth talk not poetry

The host screamed as he pulled at my arm
Holding a poem set on fire
By the candle near the podium
At which I read

That is an interesting story
My young lover tells me but,
Things are different now
Young people will not look at you
With serious eyes
They only see an old man

I think of Lenny Bruce
The Social Critic and I too cry without tears

__________________

Tonight at Luna's:

Tonight at 8 PM, Poetry Unplugged presents Noel Kroeplin, Lytton Bell, V.S. Chochezi and Sandy Thomas, hosted by B.L. Kennedy. Open mic before/after. Luna’s Café, 1414 16th St., Sac. Info: 441-3931 or www.lunascafe.com. Free.

__________________

B.L.'s Drive-Bys: A Micro-Review from B.L. Kennedy:

HESITANT COMMITMENTS
by Pris Campbell
LRB #59
Lummox Press
POBox 5301
San Pedro, CA 90733
30pp, chapbook, $5.00

I feel indifferent about Hesitant Commitments. Not that the poetry collected in this slim chapbook is good, bad, or just there. Not that I don’t think the poet Pris Campbell hasn’t done a fine job in rendering the manuscript. It’s nothing like that…it’s just that I feel indifferent. Some of the poems collected here work for me (like the title poem, “I Love”), and some don’t. Can I, in all truth, recommend this chapbook? The answer is yes. All in all, we have a nice read. So, if you have an extra $5, order it from Lummox Press. But, for me, well, I still want to see more from the author.

—B.L. Kennedy, Reviewer-in-Residence

__________________

VARIATION ON A POEM BY DENG MING-DAO*
—Tom Goff, Carmichael

Am I the empty room
that might signify my life,

positing this space useful-trim or
wasted-vacant as these

bare floorboards, one-note
gooseflesh walls, or—god help me—

popcorn ceiling? I have decided:
I will just squat, cubic, solo,

tacit. If I’m anything, it’s window,
poorly glaziered, so that the odd

plane or jouncing truck rattles,
pane, frame and latch.

I wait, I watch, I see. I take
no responsibility for what light

does after it pierces,
and passes.


(*See last Tueday's Seed of the Week)
__________________

VASE WAITS
—Mitz Sackman, Murphys

Yellow and green glass vase
Echoes of spring daffodils
Sits alone
In a white-framed window
At peace with the role
Of waiting in emptiness
Outside daffodils
Stagger up from the ground
Beaten by recent rains
No buds yet
The vase sits waiting
For the daffodils
To experience fullness
Now empty but at peace
In its place

__________________

POEM FOR SHARI
—B.L. Kennedy


So, you appear at my door
Looking for some
God to touch

The essence of your soul
You ask

“Can I spend the night?”

_______________

I CAN SEE YOU THESE EYES
—B.L. Kennedy

—For Genelle—

Not really but,
If I use the other eyes
I can see

You like a dream
You stand naked and plain to my vision

With fishbone hips
And horsetail pubis
Dancing

With fire and shadows
In dark corners of the world
Where all things nest

In the mouth of saxophones
And brass beds
Where people die on trains

Die on trains like
Little children
Who are lost in the neverland of nowhere

I see you talking to exotic birds
With windpipe lips
And pill breath

I see you spread-legged birthing
Songs for dead cats
And worlds long ago wasted
Drowned in the urine of dream

I drink a Coca-Cola
Laugh at the ballet of things between
Your thighs

And time is not here today
Only my eyes spy
These passions of display

I see you like a dream

__________________

Today's LittleNip:

Everything that breathes will be eaten.

—Stephen Dobyns

_________________

—Medusa


SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:

Rattlesnake Review: The latest issue (RR20) is currently available at The Book Collector, or send me four bux and I'll mail you one. Deadline for RR21 was Feb. 15; the issue will appear in mid-March. Next deadline is May 15 for RR22: 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; let us know if your submission is for the Review or for Medusa, or for either one.

Also available (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 The Book Collector or write to me and I'll send you one. Free!

New for February: Now available! A new rattlechap from Sacramento's Poet Laureate, Julia Connor (Oar); a free 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. Available from the poets or at The Book Collector (1008 24th St., Sacramento) or (soon) from rattlesnakepress.com/.

WTF is out!

Be sure to stop by The Book Collector to pick up your free copy of Rattlesnake Press's latest spawn, WTF—our new quarterly journal which premiered last night in a rousing event hosted by frank andrick which ran into the wee hours at Luna's Cafe. WTF #1 features 22 poets, artists and photogs from the Poetry Unplugged scene; next deadline is April 15 (oooo...tax day!). Guidelines are pretty much the same as the RR ones listed below, except that frank wants three poems (instead of 3-5), and you must be over 18 to submit. Send poems, artwork, and photos to fandrickpub@hotmail.com or the RPress snail address. If you can't get to The Book Collector, send me two bux and I'll mail you one, or I suspect they're available at Luna's.

What's the difference between Rattlesnake Review and WTF? The over-18 thing should give you a clue. WTF is leaner (smaller), meaner, and more geared to the "Luna's voice", if there is such a thing—and if you ever go to Poetry Unplugged on Thursday nights at Luna's Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sacramento, you'll see what I mean. Its material also tends to be more X-rated. The Review is big and fat, has articles and other features, and represents a wide variety of styles and genres. But if you're over 18, you're welcome to submit to either one. I edit the Review; frank andrick edits WTF.

Coming in March: On Wednesday, March 11, Rattlesnake Press will be releasing a new chapbook from Norma Kohout (All Aboard); a littlesnake broadside from Patricia Hickerson (At Grail Castle Hotel); and a new issue of Rattlesnake Review (the Snake turns 21)! Join us at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, 7:30. 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, or any other day!): 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.

Who Remains Standing?

A MOMENT
—Mitz Sackman, Murphys

The peace of quiet
So rare a gift
Quiet contemplation
Breathing into stillness
I sit
Looking to the empty
Gazing out the window
Hawk rises
Nest abandoned to life
Into the empty sky
Framed dark against
The open blue
I sit

__________________

CLEARING
—Taylor Graham, Placerville

At dawn I lead the sheep down to pasture
where drenched February grass has been
growing out of bounds while I wasn’t looking
and a seasonal creek carries its water-
language from rain to river
and a new breeze rearranges forecasts
and a flock of sheep-clouds browses the swale
and by the time I get back to the house
everything has disarranged itself
orderly-disorderly as
sheep and muddy weather
waiting for sun with a sky’s patience.

__________________

THE ROOM WHERE SHE WAITS
—Donald R. Anderson, Stockton

The echoes of rainbow’s mist,
jutting from slick corners
painted plain white, paint flecking,
the soil outside beckons…

but the bars of the window panes,
hovering above out of sight,
they threaten to come down
and fasten on clenched knuckles
worn from centuries of washing.

I am the maiden, the servant, the stool
upon which a crow perches with a thorny crown.
The music I hear surrounds the open spaces
like the reminiscing of the times I could have spent,
but was refused. The sustenance, air.
I will live on breathing alone.

_________________

Thanks to Mitz Sackman, Donald Anderson and Taylor Graham for the poems about this week's SOW: Deng Ming-Dao's lovely "empty room" poem [see yesterday's post]. See below for more of Mitz's poems from previous SOWs and other poems/art that appeared on Medusa. As she says, she's still "hooked on etherees".


Announcing the Sacramento Poetry Center's Third Annual
High School Poetry Writing Contest!

No cost to enter!
Postmark Deadline: April 15, 2009
Limit of 3 poems per student

Prizes include: $100 for our Grand Prize winner; free books and swag for finalists; publication in Poetry Now, the monthly journal of the Sacramento Poetry Center. Grand Prize winner will receive an invitation to read his or her work at the Sacramento Poetry Center in the Summer.

Be sure to include an SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope) if you want notification of winners. Note: poems should not have your name on them; include a separate cover letter with your name, address, phone and email address, and the titles of your poems. Also indicate the name of your school.

Send your original poems to:
High School Poetry Contest
Sacramento Poetry Center
P.O. Box 160406
Sacramento, CA 95816

email submissions will be accepted: send to tulereview@sacramentopoetrycenter.org/. Put "SPC HS CONTEST" in the subject line. Include above information sheet as the body of the email, and send each individual poems as an attachment (MS Word documents only).

Questions? tulereview@sacramentopoetrycenter.org

_________________

LONG AGO STEEL
—Mitz Sackman

old
hot fire
tumbling through
magic changing
iron into steel
sweating men labor hard
keeping fires burning, melting
hot metals mixing into steel
back bone of progress, moves us forward
men at work bringing us on our way now

_________________

BRIGHT KNIGHTS
—Mitz Sackman

Cabs
Yellow
Splash color
On rainy days
Bright driving safety
Against the gray drizzle
Yellow knights battle the rain
Rescuing wet weather damsels
Cabs yellow reflect sunny mornings
Light upon the tired eye with new joy

_________________

HOME SCENTS
—Mitz Sackman

Sweet
Cedar
Welcomes me
Open windows in
Summer heat swell with
The sweet scent of cedar trees
Wet wintry rains and snow bring
The scent of cedars to my nose
Telling me that I have arrived here
Safe to the sanctuary of my own home

__________________

Today's LittleNip:

WHO REMAINS STANDING?
—Andree Chedid

First,
erase your name,
unravel your years,
destroy your surroundings,
uproot what you seem,
and who remains standing?
Then,
rewrite your name,
restore your age,
rebuild your house,
pursue your path,
and then,
endlessly,
start over, all over again.

_________________

—Medusa


SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:

Rattlesnake Review: The latest issue (RR20) is currently available at The Book Collector, or send me four bux and I'll mail you one. Deadline for RR21 was Feb. 15; the issue will appear in mid-March. Next deadline is May 15 for RR22: 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; let us know if your submission is for the Review or for Medusa, or for either one.

Also available (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 The Book Collector or write to me and I'll send you one. Free!

New for February: Now available! A new rattlechap from Sacramento's Poet Laureate, Julia Connor (Oar); a free 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. Available from the poets or at The Book Collector (1008 24th St., Sacramento) or (soon) from rattlesnakepress.com/.

WTF is out!

Be sure to stop by The Book Collector to pick up your free copy of Rattlesnake Press's latest spawn, WTF—our new quarterly journal which premiered last night in a rousing event hosted by frank andrick which ran into the wee hours at Luna's Cafe. WTF #1 features 22 poets, artists and photogs from the Poetry Unplugged scene; next deadline is April 15 (oooo...tax day!). Guidelines are pretty much the same as the RR ones listed below, except that frank wants three poems (instead of 3-5), and you must be over 18 to submit. Send poems, artwork, and photos to fandrickpub@hotmail.com or the RPress snail address. If you can't get to The Book Collector, send me two bux and I'll mail you one, or I suspect they're available at Luna's.

What's the difference between Rattlesnake Review and WTF? The over-18 thing should give you a clue. WTF is leaner (smaller), meaner, and more geared to the "Luna's voice", if there is such a thing—and if you ever go to Poetry Unplugged on Thursday nights at Luna's Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sacramento, you'll see what I mean. Its material also tends to be more X-rated. The Review is big and fat, has articles and other features, and represents a wide variety of styles and genres. But if you're over 18, you're welcome to submit to either one. I edit the Review; frank andrick edits WTF.

Coming in March: On Wednesday, March 11, Rattlesnake Press will be releasing a new chapbook from Norma Kohout (All Aboard); a littlesnake broadside from Patricia Hickerson (At Grail Castle Hotel); and a new issue of Rattlesnake Review (the Snake turns 21)! Join us at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, 7:30. 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, or any other day!): 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.

If The Pen Is Mightier

Genelle Chaconas

IF
—Genelle Chaconas, Sacramento

If the pen is mightier
Kindly let me brandish it gainst the sun
And torch the rotten metropolis
Thundering bareback, angry, bloodthirsty
Howling obscene romance cut-ups
On a stallion on glossolia
Under the menstrual drowned heavens
Ready to give cesaerian birth
To antimatter.

If the pen is mightier
Kindly allow me to disembowel Webster
Boil Strunk in oil
Let the vultures pick grammars bones to dust
And sandstorms swallow their cities.

If the pen is mightier
Then surely
Let me carve my holy war in my flesh
And carry it
In the voice of my spine.


__________________

Thanks, Genelle! Genelle Chaconas says she’s not used to writing bios, but she’ll sure give it try. She is currently a student at Sac State seeking her BA in English with a focus in Creative Writing. She lives alone in a Midtown apartment and has recently begun to discover the vibrant, compassionate poetry scene thriving in Sacramento which has so graciously begun to accept her. Genelle has been writing seriously for four years, but has only in the last year rustled the courage to become part of the creative community. Her favorite haunts have been the Open Mic and special readings at Sacramento’s own Luna’s Café, where she has read her own work and enjoyed the diverse and powerful works of an amazing array of veteran and new poets, and in several other locations in the area, including the Grass Valley and Davis poetry scenes. Her publication history is short: she has recently been published in Rattlesnake Review #20 and Sac State’s Calaveras Station. She has also helped author a book of poetry entitled P.S. Don’t Read This: The Psychik Transmissions of The Psychic Bouncing Vagina with Master local poet and Urban Shaman B.L. Kennedy, which is awaiting publication.

Genelle tries to make a point to work on her poetry and first novel (in first draft, so you all know how tenuous that can be), but doesn’t pretend she achieves that goal (between school, laziness, young angst, and frequent migraines, the challenges exist only to be overcome). She is working to get more of her work published and has even started collecting rejection letters. She plans to hang them on the wall as an art piece (something useful ought to be done with them). Her philosophy on poetry? It’s about farting to the right tune in the right direction at the right time and still being humble about it, playing it off like a mistake, good luck, or a wound in your own side. A joke on yourself. A game. A long, beautiful, devious farce through which truth can sometimes come. That’s what poetry is. Or at least that’s what she’s saying.

__________________

ROMANCE CUT
—Genelle Chaconas

I have a leech on my neck
That eats my brain
And makes me walk
On four times mended knuckles.

And we walk
To white boxes.

Under the warm-high blanket,
The red circle chases.
I make a mint passing Go.
You stand on the whitewatered corner,
Aesthete,
In thrift store heels and pearls
And broadcast eyes.
You watch past me.

The rain strangles, executes,
Merciful.
If only we could play more than accomplices.

__________________

VOODOO HOTEL
—Genelle Chaconas

Through a window barely known
I'm sure I've seen it before, but I think they do it up there
That scattered about
Grease pencil
Leading me on the ladder up those maniac stairs
Spelling something I know I can't read
But know what says.

Above, that veil
A bit of string
Falling out.

I know they doing some bad voodoo baby up there
I know they do it like Charlie and the rest of them, luv

I bet they got the psychedelic reverb up there that snaps through generations
Back to the old days where Renaissance and Haight meet in the middle
And old blackadder Poe dances with that Byron cat to the tune of Joy Division
Remixed by Dj Eris and her company of Chorozon the bad old mackdaddy of them all
Doing that jungle chaos boogie on the head of a pin
Vortex written like new language
Du it lik th baybees on Sahturn du

I bet they got it going baby,
That new dimensional party at night.
I can hear them gainst that old backdrop of the gotho scaries
Dead and cold on the city scape flat baby on that coal kinda Bauhaus sky (good, but no like make me sing)
Mind game I don't get the rules I don't wanna hear it the point is baby the point is baby
Ooh but I know they do it up there.

I know, I know the done it up there
Cause I hear them when I'm awake

And frightened of the things I dream.

Outside, it’s a dead dead
Inside, up there, doing something bad.
I know they got that voodoo there
That I know, but just can't read.

__________________

It's Tuesday! Time for a Seed of the Week! How about this:

I want to make myself an empty room:
Quiet whitewashed walls with slant sunshine
And a fresh breeze through open windows.

—Deng Ming-Dao

_________________

Wrap your mind around those lines and see what comes out of your pen; send the fruit to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. Meanwhile, Patricia Hickerson continues to work her way through the seven deadly sins, this time about wrath. Watch for Pat's littlesnake broadside, At Grail Castle Hotel, coming March 11 from Rattlesnake Press.


THE WRATH OF KARENIA BREVIS
—Patricia Hickerson, Davis

red tide they call you
I call you wrathful tide
your angry swelling
clears the beach in no time
signaled by a sudden draft of dark red
coloring the currents
like blood gone bad in the gut
the ulcerous bleed of the
Gulf's digestive tract

your flowering algae blooms
catch us by the throat
cough
wheeze
don't step on the shore
you'll be choked
by Karenia brevis
explosion of dinoflagellates
toxins winged through the sea
by twin propellers

do you come from the Caribbean
via the Loop Current?
along a dense-patched phytoplankton route?
I demand to know
why you live
where you come from
how you arrive

but there you go,
in retreat,
leaving unanswered questions behind
and a trail of dead fish on the wet sand

_________________

Today's LittleNip:

We are the mirror as well as the face in it.
We are tasting the taste this minute
of eternity. We are pain
and what cures pain, both. We are
the sweet cold water and the jar that pours.

—Rumi

_________________

—Medusa


SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:

Rattlesnake Review: The latest issue (RR20) is currently available at The Book Collector, or send me four bux and I'll mail you one. Deadline for RR21 was Feb. 15; the issue will appear in mid-March. Next deadline is May 15 for RR22: 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; let us know if your submission is for the Review or for Medusa, or for either one.

Also available (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 The Book Collector or write to me and I'll send you one. Free!

New for February: Now available! A new rattlechap from Sacramento's Poet Laureate, Julia Connor (Oar); a free 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. Available from the poets or at The Book Collector (1008 24th St., Sacramento) or (soon) from rattlesnakepress.com/.

WTF is out!

Be sure to stop by The Book Collector to pick up your free copy of Rattlesnake Press's latest spawn, WTF—our new quarterly journal which premiered last night in a rousing event hosted by frank andrick which ran into the wee hours at Luna's Cafe. WTF #1 features 22 poets, artists and photogs from the Poetry Unplugged scene; next deadline is April 15 (oooo...tax day!). Guidelines are pretty much the same as the RR ones listed below, except that frank wants three poems (instead of 3-5), and you must be over 18 to submit. Send poems, artwork, and photos to fandrickpub@hotmail.com or the RPress snail address. If you can't get to The Book Collector, send me two bux and I'll mail you one, or I suspect they're available at Luna's.

What's the difference between Rattlesnake Review and WTF? The over-18 thing should give you a clue. WTF is leaner (smaller), meaner, and more geared to the "Luna's voice", if there is such a thing—and if you ever go to Poetry Unplugged on Thursday nights at Luna's Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sacramento, you'll see what I mean. Its material also tends to be more X-rated. The Review is big and fat, has articles and other features, and represents a wide variety of styles and genres. But if you're over 18, you're welcome to submit to either one. I edit the Review; frank andrick edits WTF.

Coming in March: On Wednesday, March 11, Rattlesnake Press will be releasing a new chapbook from Norma Kohout (All Aboard); a littlesnake broadside from Patricia Hickerson (At Grail Castle Hotel); and a new issue of Rattlesnake Review (the Snake turns 21)! Join us at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, 7:30. 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, or any other day!): 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.