Carving Through The Tree ShadowPhoto by Bob Dreizler, Sacramento
TO BE SPOKEN OVER THE GRAVE
OF NORA MAY FRENCH
—Tom Goff, Carmichael
California sweetened and needled her gift.
She combed the chaparral for sage and secrets.
Wherever she lived, she lived away from: strange rift,
the divide in her between fleshly silk and eagle
mind. Her hair a corona, golden and Western.
A diamond-edged ache embedded in her fine heart.
She despaired for love yet dispensed with lovers.
She dove for the pearl of dissolve in the shapeless dark.
****
Here rest the young bones of a vixen of liquid light.
Light shone from her poems; bleakness, her share in the world.
Long brighten her damaged lantern, suspend her flame high:
rot literal minds and scolds to shrivels and curls.
__________________
Thanks, Tom! Tom Goff, Rattlesnake Review Historian-in-Residence, has written a wonderful article about California Poet Nora May French for our new issue, due out this Wednesday night at The Book Collector (see below). His research led him to compose the above poem, and we are grateful.
OF NORA MAY FRENCH
—Tom Goff, Carmichael
California sweetened and needled her gift.
She combed the chaparral for sage and secrets.
Wherever she lived, she lived away from: strange rift,
the divide in her between fleshly silk and eagle
mind. Her hair a corona, golden and Western.
A diamond-edged ache embedded in her fine heart.
She despaired for love yet dispensed with lovers.
She dove for the pearl of dissolve in the shapeless dark.
****
Here rest the young bones of a vixen of liquid light.
Light shone from her poems; bleakness, her share in the world.
Long brighten her damaged lantern, suspend her flame high:
rot literal minds and scolds to shrivels and curls.
__________________
Thanks, Tom! Tom Goff, Rattlesnake Review Historian-in-Residence, has written a wonderful article about California Poet Nora May French for our new issue, due out this Wednesday night at The Book Collector (see below). His research led him to compose the above poem, and we are grateful.
And thanks to Bob Dreizler for another interesting photo. Bob assures us that his photos are not manipulated in Photoshop or other such means. For info and more photos, go to http://photo.net/photos/bdreizler—or check out the new Snake, or keep hanging out in The Kitchen.
__________________
This Week in NorCal Poetry:
•••Mon, (3/9), 7:30 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center presents Dobby Gibson and Matt Hart at HQ for the Arts, 25th & R Sts., Sacramento. [See last Friday’s post for bios.] Next Monday (3/16): The McKinley Park Poets.
•••Weds., (3/11), 7:30 PM: Rattlesnake Press is proud to present a rattlechap from Norma Kohout (All Aboard!), a littlesnake broadside from Patricia Hickerson (At Grail Castle Hotel), and the brand-new Rattlesnake Review #21. (The Snake turns 21!!) All at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento. Free! Refreshments and a read-around will follow; bring your own poems or somebody else’s.
•••Wednesday (3/11), 7-9 PM: California Lawyers for the Arts, the City of Roseville and PlacerArts present Copyrights and Trademarks. Join Attorney Grace Bergen to discuss copyright registration, protecting against infringements, fair use, work for hire, and copyrights and the internet. There will be a Q/A section as well, so bring your questions! Maidu Community Center, 1550 Maidu Dr., Roseville. Fee: $20 general, $10 members of C.L.A., PlacerArts and Roseville Arts, $5 student/senior members. Info: (916) 442-6210 ext. 102 or email prclasacto@aol.com to register.
•••Thurs. (3/12), 8 PM: Poetry Unplugged at Luna’s Café, 1414 16th St., Sacramento. Featured readers with open mic before and after.
•••Sat. (3/14), 2 PM: Citrus Heights Area Poets presents columnist Ken Umbach and authors Sue Clark and Lisa Augustine (who are also poets), sharing their writing experiences and talking about other authors who have published books of poetry, followed by readings by local poets. CHAP meets at Barnes & Noble in Citrus Heights (left front corner of the store).
•••Sun. (3/15), 7 PM: Douglas Blazek reads at Time Tested Books, 1114 21st St., Sacramento. $5 donation requested. Info: timetestedbooks.net/.
___________________
THE TERM
—William Carlos Williams
A rumpled sheet
of brown paper
about the length
and apparent bulk
of a man was
rolling with the
wind slowly over
and over in
the street as
a car drove down
upon it and
crushed it to
the ground. Unlike
a man it rose
again rolling
with the wind over
and over to be as
it was before.
____________________
ON WATCHING THE CONSTRUCTION
OF A SKYSCRAPER
—Burton Raffel
Nothing sings from these orange trees,
Rindless steel as smooth as sapling skin,
Except a crane's brief wheeze
And all the muffled, clanking din
Of rivets nosing in like bees.
____________________
FACTORY WINDOWS ARE ALWAYS BROKEN
—Vachel Lindsay
Factory windows are always broken.
Somebody's always throwing bricks,
Somebody's always heaving cinders,
Playing ugly Yahoo tricks.
Factory windows are always broken.
Other windows are let alone.
No one throws through the chapel-window
The bitter, snarling, derisive stone.
Factory windows are always broken.
Something or other is going wrong.
Something is rotten—I think, in Denmark.
End of the factory-window song.
___________________
CONSTRUCTION
—Patricia Hubbell
The house frames hang like spider webs
Dangling in the sun,
While up and down the wooden strands
The spider workers run.
They balance on the two-by-fours,
They creep across the beams,
While down below, the heap of wood,
A spider-stockpile, gleams.
The spider-workers spin the web
And tack it tight with nails.
They ready it against the night
When all work ends.
___________________
Today's LittleNip:
We forget how deeply happy a poet is when dealing with the rich material of her own sorrows.
—Tom Goff, from his latest Rattlesnake Review article: "Her Beautiful Passing: The Life (Not Death) of Nora May French"
___________________
—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!
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.