Photo by Katy Brown, DavisTHERE ARE DREAMS TODAY—
—Chrys Mollett, Angels Camp
Dog, don't bark.
Phone, don't ring.
I rise and stretch slowly.
Don't shake em' out.
They're the dewy placenta surrounding my sleep.
I let them dry out on the page—
Gently revealing themselves.
And the worlds they want me to remember...
—Chrys Mollett, Angels Camp
Dog, don't bark.
Phone, don't ring.
I rise and stretch slowly.
Don't shake em' out.
They're the dewy placenta surrounding my sleep.
I let them dry out on the page—
Gently revealing themselves.
And the worlds they want me to remember...
DREAMS
are a painful experience
away from myself
reminding me of things
things that I don't have
of desired destiny
of love far away from my reach
of a broken heart
of life yet to be lived
and of all others of my dream.
—Tinashe Muchuri, Zimbabwe
___________________
Thanks to Katy Brown, Chrys Mollett, and Tinashe Muchuri for today's fare. All of these creators will be represented in the new Rattlesnake Review (#24), which will emerge next Wednesday, December 9 at The Book Collector. Chrys and Tinashe have written about our Seed of the Week: In My Dreambook. Coincidently, our new December rattlechap by Carol Frith, also due out next Wednesday, is The Thread of Dreams...
By the way, if you'd like to read a seasonal poem—yours or somebody else's—at that reading, let me know. We don't normally have open mics at rattle-reads, but heck—it's the holidays! By seasonal I mean anything appropriate to the season, from Thanksgiving through New Year's and all the holidays (including solstice) and weather (snow? rain? sleet?) in between. (I'm ONLY announcing this on Medusa, by the way, so if you're reading this, you have a leg up on the rest of the world...)
This weekend in NorCal poetry:
•••Thurs. & Fri. (12/3-4): Matrix Arts bookmaking workshops (and all this month), plus gift of art and $1 art supplies and kits at R25, the arts and cultural center in Midtown Sacramento at 1719 25th St. Workshops cost $15/session, $10 for MatrixArts and SPC members and students. To assure a spot, email matrixarts@comcast.net or call 916-454-4988. Drop-ins are welcome. [See last Friday’s post for class schedules.] Info: matrixarts.blogspot.com or hourstoriesr25@blogspot.com or thursdaynextr25.blogspot.com/.
•••Sat. (12/5 and every 1st Sat.): Rhythm and Rhyme readings at Butch N’ Nellie's near 19th & I Sts., Sacramento. Televised music, open mic. Info: myspace.com/RNRshow/.
•••Monday (12/7), 7:30 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center and Roan Press present Zeo Keithley’s new book, Crow Song, at HQ for the Arts, 1719 25th St., Sacramento. Zoe Keithley's stories have appeared in the North American Review, American Fiction, F3, Emergence, Pigeon, Dogwood and other journals. Her fiction has won a fellowship in Prose from the Illinois Arts Council and finalist awards from Zoetrope, American Fiction, Dogwood, Emergence and Hyphen. A novel and short story collection are circulating. She lives in Sacramento and is at work on a second novel, teaches private writing students locally and at a distance, and is learning to play and compose music on the banjo.
__________________
I AM THE ONLY ONE LEFT
all the others have left.
they accuse you of barrenness
they want fruits of your womb.
I love the comfort you offer
I am free
I am not scared of anything
I love you
no matter what they say
I am the only one left
all the others have left.
—Tinashe Muchuri
__________________
ONE WAY
—Tinashe Muchuri
people
trees
grass
animals
birds
fish
creatures
rocks
water
in the soil all sink.
__________________
A WIFE'S PRAYER
—Tinashi Muchuri
God,
when you commanded my men
to work hard on the soil
and to eat the fruits of his lies
did you mean
he will forget
his children and wife
and eats fruits of his sweat
away from us?
__________________
YOU, ME, US
—Tinashe Muchuri
i am talking about me
to myself
you!
i am speaking about you
to me
myself.
i am screaming about myself
to me
about you.
i am not alone.
you are not alone.
we are together.
i am you.
you are me.
we are one.
Photo by Katy Brown
__________________
Today's LittleNip:
It should not be hard for you to stop sometimes and look into the stains of walls, or ashes of a fire, or clouds, or mud of like place in which...you may find really marvelous ideas.
—Leonardo da Vinci
__________________
—Medusa
SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:
RATTLESNAKE REVIEW:
Deadline was November 15 for RR24; join us
for its unveiling and get your free copy at
The Book Collector on
Wednesday, December 9.
After this issue, Rattlesnake Review will be taking
a few months off for remodeling—
watch this spot for further developments!
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 (include snail address) and I'll send you one. Free!
NEW FROM RATTLESNAKE PRESS:
A new chapbook from Dawn DiBartolo
(Secrets of a Violet Sky);
Rattlesnake Reprint #2 from frank andrick
(PariScope: A Triptyche);
plus our 2010 calendar from Katy Brown
(Wind in the Yarrow)!
Now available from SPC, rattlesnakepress.com
or at The Book Collector:
Our newest anthology,
Keepers of the Flame:
The First 30 Years of the Sacramento Poetry Center.
Editor-in-Chief Mary Zeppa and her helpers have put together
many, many documents and photos
from SPC's 30-year history.
WTF!!: The fourth issue of WTF, the free quarterly journal from
Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe that is edited by frank andrick,
is now available at The Book Collector,
or send me two bux and I'll mail you one.
Next deadline (for Issue #5) is Jan. 15.
Submission guidelines are the same as for the Snake, but send your poems, 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 (clearly marked for WTF).
And be forewarned: this publication is for adults only, so you must be
over 18 years of age to submit. (More info at rattlesnakepress.com/.)
COMING IN DECEMBER:
The Thread of Dreams,
a new chapbook from
Carol Frith,
will be premiered at
The Book Collector on
December 9, 7:30 PM,
along with the new issue of
Rattlesnake Review.
Be there!
_________________
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.
RATTLESNAKE REVIEW:
Deadline was November 15 for RR24; join us
for its unveiling and get your free copy at
The Book Collector on
Wednesday, December 9.
After this issue, Rattlesnake Review will be taking
a few months off for remodeling—
watch this spot for further developments!
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 (include snail address) and I'll send you one. Free!
NEW FROM RATTLESNAKE PRESS:
A new chapbook from Dawn DiBartolo
(Secrets of a Violet Sky);
Rattlesnake Reprint #2 from frank andrick
(PariScope: A Triptyche);
plus our 2010 calendar from Katy Brown
(Wind in the Yarrow)!
Now available from SPC, rattlesnakepress.com
or at The Book Collector:
Our newest anthology,
Keepers of the Flame:
The First 30 Years of the Sacramento Poetry Center.
Editor-in-Chief Mary Zeppa and her helpers have put together
many, many documents and photos
from SPC's 30-year history.
WTF!!: The fourth issue of WTF, the free quarterly journal from
Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe that is edited by frank andrick,
is now available at The Book Collector,
or send me two bux and I'll mail you one.
Next deadline (for Issue #5) is Jan. 15.
Submission guidelines are the same as for the Snake, but send your poems, 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 (clearly marked for WTF).
And be forewarned: this publication is for adults only, so you must be
over 18 years of age to submit. (More info at rattlesnakepress.com/.)
COMING IN DECEMBER:
The Thread of Dreams,
a new chapbook from
Carol Frith,
will be premiered at
The Book Collector on
December 9, 7:30 PM,
along with the new issue of
Rattlesnake Review.
Be there!
_________________
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.
