No Time For Sonnets

PARING FOR WINTER
—Taylor Graham, Placerville

Late September: against all forecasts, chill
as autumn. Time to cut things short. The lush
green stalk that’s growing in the compost pile—
an avocado from a pit?—bring it
indoors in a pot. What’s left of garden
after ground squirrels? Now’s the time to season
the Vermont Castings stove; inventory
pantry shelves, galoshes, boots; remember
how woolens gather us in sleep. No time
now for a sonnet’s 14 woven lines.
Fall cuts it short.

__________________

SHUTTING UP THE CABIN
—Taylor Graham

The aspen's gone past golden, you've crossed
so many weeks off the calendar that stains
the south wall. A sun-struck summer's gone
tarnished. The country’s closing up like shop,
green shutters nailed. This morning feels
the closest thing to snow. You've checked-off
water, power, late October boarded up safe
till June. Mountains keep their plans without
you. Coffee? one last cup to steam your breath
against the inside pane. A blottered window
can't look out now on a faded meadow falling
to creekside willow, won't hear beaver
gnawing their under-ways through winter.
Listen, they're counting the aspen calendar,
and your last interrupt of tires on gravel.
You're guests with time to leave.


(First appeared in The Brownstone Review)

__________________

Thanks, TG and JO (and two more about crows by A.R. Ammons). We're talking about Fall; send your fall poems to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726.


FOUR TREES IN AUTUMN SUNLIGHT
—Joyce Odam, Sacramento

This is the story of four trees,
aligned on a rolling ground.

Above, the layered sky,
the fierce red sun—

the four trees
turned to fire in the churning light

—ablaze in fiery vertigo
as the panoramic sky pulls by

and the red sun sinks into
the old blue hills that wait to bury light

and the four trees change back
into familiar silhouettes.


(First appeared in Song of the San Joaquin)

__________________

THE HARVEST WE ARE TIRED OF
—Joyce Odam

Mygod, you talk of Christmas
and the sun upon the land
shrivels the harvest we are tired of.

Buckets of pithy squash and soft tomatoes
stand useless for our energy.
The beans swell in themselves
and dry upon the pole.

This day we must consider what we lose
for we are sick with lethargy
and turn instead to talk of winter.

But rain-threat from the mountains
will not come
though thunder almost sounds
where we are looking.

The air is dusty.
Birds are shrill and restless as
the rumors that we feel.

We should be gleaning,
saving more of our investment
than we do.


(First published in One Dog)

__________________

CLARIFICATIONS
—A.R. Ammons

The crows, mingled
powder white,

arrive floundering
through the

heavy snowfall:
they land ruffling

stark black
on the spruce boughs and

chisel the neighborhood
sharp with their cries.

__________________

CROW RIDE
—A.R. Ammons

When the crow
lands, the
tip of the sprung spruce

bough weighs
so low, the
system so friction-free,

the bobbing lasts
way past any
interest in the subject.

__________________

Today's LittleNip:

Poets aren't very useful.
Because they aren't consumeful or very produceful.

—Ogden Nash

__________________

—Medusa

SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:

NEW FOR SEPTEMBER:

Rattlesnake Press is proud to announce the release of a new chapbook by
Susan Finkleman (Mirror, Mirror: Poems Of The Mother-Daughter Relationship, illustrated by Joseph Finkleman),
plus a new HandyStuff blank journal from Katy Brown (A Capital Idea),
and a littlesnake broadside from Marie Reynolds (Late Harvest). All are now available at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento.


RATTLESNAKE REVIEW:

RR23 is now available at The Book Collector, and contributor and subscription copies will go into the mail in the next two weeks.
You may also order a copy through rattlesnakepress.com/.
Deadline is November 15 for RR24: 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 add all contact info, including snail address. Meanwhile, the snakes of the on-going Medusa are always hungry; keep that poetry comin', rain or shine!
Just let us know if your submission is for the Review or for Medusa, or for either one, and please—only one submission packet per issue of the quarterly Review.
(More info at rattlesnakepress.com/.)

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!


COMING IN OCTOBER:

On Wednesday, Oct. 14, Rattlesnake Press will release
a new chapbook from Brad Buchanan (The War Groom)
and a new Rattlesnake LittleBook from
William S. Gainer: Joining the Demented.
That's 7:30 PM at The Book Collector.

WTF!!: The third 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.
Deadline for Issue #4 will be Oct. 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/.)

Then gear up the flivver for a ROAD TRIP on Monday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 PM
as we all travel over to HQ for the Arts, 25th & R Sts., Sacramento
for Rattlesnake Press's release of the new SPC 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 history, and the resulting anthology (and SPC's 30th anniversary!)
will be celebrated that night. 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.

Crowing About Crows

Crows—and Ravens

CROW AS OBJECT OF AFFECTION
—Joyce Odam, Sacramento

Crow, you are so eloquent. I love your sweet voice.
I admire the sheen of your feathers—the way
your deliberate gold eye fixes me with
cold appraisal.

I fling bits of food to you from my generous hand,
note how delicately you peck at the sidewalk.
I admire your courage among sparrows.

I love the way you steal light from the harsh wings
of the sun, how fences hold you in wide arms of
patience and how you tolerate my lingering
admiration from a distance.


(first appeared in Nanny Fanny,
Final Memorial Issue #21, Spring 2005)

__________________

Thanks, Joyce! Joyce Odam and I are going to hog this post with our crow poems. As I've said before, Joyce has had a tremendous amount of input into my poetic life. One of my poems below, "Kneedeep in Rainwater", was written very early in my "career", and she is the "Joyce" referred to in there.

And it's the first day of autumn, so for our Seed of the Week, let's go with the obvious: Autumn. That doesn't mean you have to go for the obvious, though; think of all the associations autumn has: school starting, apples, gathering darkness, things that happened to you in autumns past. Send your autumn poems to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. No deadlines on SOWs.


Upcoming Manzanita:

Monika Rose, Editor of Manzanita, writes: Volume 6 of Manzanita is inviting your original, unpublished work for inclusion in the new publication slated for Spring 2010 release. Deadline is Dec. 15, 2009 by electronic submission only—see the web site for submission guidelines at www.manzanitacalifornia.org/. We would love to see your work.


Oops:

Last Saturday, Medusa posted an invitation to the Inauguration of our new Poet Laureate, Bob Stanley, not realizing that it's not an open invitation. Apparently you have to receive an email yourself directly in order to be invited. I'm assuming this is due to space/money considerations, but what a shame. Anyway, my apologies to Bob and to the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Council.

__________________

THE CROW THAT DIED IN A CAGE
—Joyce Odam

She found it long after he had died,
didn’t know it was there,
how it got there—

or if he put it there,
what perversity of intent
trapped it in the rusty rabbit cage

in the overgrown jumble
under the huge tree
that shaded that part of the yard.

She never ventured out there,
had no reason to explore.
She lived in the house. Closed in.

Didn’t want the outdoors then—
all that space that seemed to be his alone.
And when she finally found the crow,

dried out, lying on its back,
she grieved for it to a degree
she never grieved for him.

__________________

KNEE-DEEP IN RAINWATER
—Kathy Kieth, Pollock Pines

Fighting over the rainhat, Sam and I dissolve
out of the warm house into one dark grey day, resolved
to trudge our way to health, one trek at a time (hang
the weather): so into the drizzle we march, resoluting

ourselves past the puddles and drippy birch: past
conservative oaks now dandified in flashy
rhinestones: past vernal pools bubbling up from
under, reaching out to sisters just now splashing
down: past the park popping out
in infinite greens of kelly, lime, viridian: past
the seductive roof of the dug-out where
a plastic bag plasters itself on the wire fence, wanting
a warm place to wait for sunlight: past ten crows
in black satin browsing the soggy soccer field, knee-deep
in worms and rainwater. And all the while, us counting
every drop that hits us, sissies that we are. . . Floods

are easy: you just hike up your skirt and dive in.
It’s the daily dance with the creep of the rising tide
that wears you down: sloshing out hairy tubs, shutting
off runny toilets, wading out into the frosty January
pond to empty the skimmer basket. Sometimes it’s

accidental, like the time my friend Joyce stepped off
the curb, smack into slush (her feet were cold all day
after that one), or when the pipes break, or the roof
leaks, or even when the garden hose just needs a new
washer. Seems like we’re always having to push back,
shore up, get out the mop. . . The intrepid crows

stay in the park, but Sam and I high-tail it home,
shaking our wet fur like puppies at the door. And frankly,
my rainhat’s off to those birds, staying out all day
like that, knee-deep in rainwater. . .

__________________

CROWS RUSTLE IN THE CHINESE SILK

trees overhead: soft shushing
of dry seed pods in a March

breeze: murmur of old news
—but still a susurrant stage

for new crow conversations
that ripple along bare branches

like spun silk: purly whispers
sharing smooth secrets in their

shiny black gowns: diamond eyes
sparkling with their latest

seductions: crow-secrets muttered
between bobbing heads as

these divas preen and rustle
those seed pods of Chinese silk.


—Kathy Kieth

__________________

I KNOW FOR SURE

where the crows roost in
the twilight: where boughs
hang heavy with ebony

silhouettes that mumble
and mutter their way into sleep as
a salmon sun drifts down into

the sea… I know for sure that
swallows will arc and soar and
arc again, feeding before bed-

time, crossing figure 8’s with
scissor-tailed mates. And
hummingbirds will click and

flutter up to red plastic
flowers; seagulls will squawk
and strut; blue jays will splutter

at cats; and neighborhood hounds
will drown out the wind chimes as
a salmon sun drifts into the sea…


—Kathy Kieth

__________________

Today's LittleNip:

Even a stone believes it can dance.

—Stephen Dobyns

__________________

—Medusa

SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:

NEW FOR SEPTEMBER:

Rattlesnake Press is proud to announce the release of a new chapbook by
Susan Finkleman (Mirror, Mirror: Poems Of The Mother-Daughter Relationship, illustrated by Joseph Finkleman),
plus a new HandyStuff blank journal from Katy Brown (A Capital Idea),
and a littlesnake broadside from Marie Reynolds (Late Harvest). All are now available at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento.


RATTLESNAKE REVIEW:

RR23 is now available at The Book Collector, and contributor and subscription copies will go into the mail in the next two weeks.
You may also order a copy through rattlesnakepress.com/.
Deadline is November 15 for RR24: 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 add all contact info, including snail address. Meanwhile, the snakes of the on-going Medusa are always hungry; keep that poetry comin', rain or shine!
Just let us know if your submission is for the Review or for Medusa, or for either one, and please—only one submission packet per issue of the quarterly Review.
(More info at rattlesnakepress.com/.)

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!


COMING IN OCTOBER:

On Wednesday, Oct. 7, Rattlesnake Press will release
a new chapbook from Brad Buchanan (The War Groom)
and a new Rattlesnake LittleBook from
William S. Gainer: Joining the Demented.
That's 7:30 PM at The Book Collector.

WTF!!: The third 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.
Deadline for Issue #4 will be Oct. 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/.)

Then gear up the flivver for a ROAD TRIP on Monday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 PM
as we all travel over to HQ for the Arts, 25th & R Sts., Sacramento
for Rattlesnake Press's release of the new SPC 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 history, and the resulting anthology (and SPC's 30th anniversary!)
will be celebrated that night. 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.

The Deep Muscle Of The World

Striding along
as though he were tilling the fields—
the crow.

—Issa

____________

Opening his mouth to say
"This day is much too long"—
a crow.

—Issa

___________

Usually detestable,
the crow, this morning,
in the snow—

—Issa

____________

CROW
—Shinkichi Takahashi

The crow, spreading wide wings,
Flapped lazily off.
Soon her young will be doing the same,
Firm wings rustling.

It's hard to tell the male
Crow from the female,
But their love, their mating
Must be fresh as their flight.

Asleep in a night train,
I felt my hat fly off.
The crow was lost in mist,
The engine ploughed into the sea.

__________________

This week in NorCal poetry:

•••Monday (9/21), 6 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center presents Hot Poetry in the Park with Poetry and Music by Ruebi Freyja and Phillip T. Nails. Fremont Park, Downtown Sac between 15th and 16th and between P and Q Sts. Ruebi Freyja has been writing and reading poetry for twelve years. She is a full-time student of anthropology and a folksinger who once lived in Sacramento but now lives in San Francisco. Phillip T. Nails was born out of passion here in California. P.T. discovered poetry in Sacramento where he grew up studying theatre. Since '98 he has been living in San Francisco where his love of poetry, theatre and dance has continued to grow. Now, with his lover and partner Elisabeth, he will be touring America with a poetry and theatre trunk show. Look for them in a town near you!

•••Tuesdays, 7:30 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center Workshop at the Hart Center, 27th & J Sts., Sacramento. Free; bring 13 copies of your one-page poem to be read/critiqued. Info: Danyen Powell at 530-756-6228.

•••Weds. (9/23), 6-7 PM: Upstairs Poetry reading at The Upstairs Art Gallery, 420 Main St. (2nd floor), Placerville. It's a poetry open-mike read-around, so bring your own poems or those of a favorite poet to share, or just come to listen. No charge.

•••Wednesdays, 9 PM: Mahogany Urban Poetry Series at Queen Sheba's Restaurant, 1704 Broadway (17th and Broadway), Sacramento. $5 cover, all ages.

•••Wednesdays, 5 PM: Dr. Andy’s Technology and Poetry Hour, KDVS radio station (90.3 FM) or http://www/kdvs.org/.

•••Thursdays, 8 PM: Poetry Unplugged at Luna’s Café, 1414 16th St., Sacramento. Featured readers, with open mic before and after.

•••Thursdays, 7 PM: “Life Sentence” reading at The Coffee Garden, 2904 Franklin Blvd., Sacramento. Open mic.

•••Thursdays, 10-11 AM (replayed Sundays 10-11 AM): Mountain Mama’s Earth Music with Nancy Bodily on 95.7 FM. Music/poetry woven around a central theme deeply tied to mountains/earth.

•••Friday (9/25), 7:30 PM: Escritores del Nuevo Sol / Writers of the New Sun presents The Annual All-Spanish Program in the setting of an amazing exhibit of Mexican masks, starring bilingual poet Jim Michael. La Raza/Galería Posada, 1022 – 22nd St., Mid-Town Sacramento. Jim is a great model for those learning Spanish as a second language. His mastery of the language, his tremendous cultural understanding of the Spanish-speaking world, and his gift for using humor, has made Jim a perfect bilingual poet. A recent serious illness almost took Jim from us, and we were so worried. But now here he is, our beloved member of the Writers of the New Sun, as lively and mischievous as ever. Come enjoy our annual poetry recital. If you like, you may take part in the open mic, as you also admire the incredible exhibit of distinctive Mexican masks. Info: Graciela Ramirez, 916-456-5323.

•••Sat. (9/26), 12-4 PM: Watershed Environmental Poetry Festival at Civic Center Park (MLK JR. Way at Center St.) in Berkeley. A day of poetry, music and environmental activism with Robert Hass, Arthus Sze, Marilyn Chin, David Mas Masumoto, Kim Addonizio, Carol Moldaw, Joseph Stroud, Chris Olander, plus Student and Youth Poets from River of Words, Cal. Poets in the Schools and Poetry Inside Out; plus open mic. Start early (10AM) with the Strawberry Creek Walk; meet at Oxford & Center Sts.). Info: www.poetryflash.org/.

•••Sat. (9/26 and every last Sat. of the month), 7-9 PM: TheShowPoetrySeries features Poet Taifa Jamari, Spoken wordgroup FoShang, and vocalists Derick and Andrea Moore and vocal group CARRiON. Wo'se Community Center, 2863 35th St. (Off 35th & Broadway), $5.00. Info: 916 208-POET or E-mail: fromtheheart1@hotmail.com/. By the way, 2 people for the price of 1 deal to the first 25 people to call and RSVP for the next event.

__________________

CROWS
—Mary Oliver

From a single grain they have multiplied.
When you look in the eyes of one
you have seen them all.

At the edges of highways
they pick at limp things.
They are anything but refined.

Or they fly out over the corn
like pellets of black fire,
like overlords.

Crow is crow, you say.
What else is there to say?
Drive down any road,

take a train or an airplane
across the world, leave
your old life behind,

die and be born again—
wherever you arrive
they'll be there first,

glossy and rowdy
and indistinguishable.
The deep muscle of the world.

__________________

ENTERING THE KINGDOM
—Mary Oliver

The crows see me.
They stretch their glossy necks
In the tallest branches
Of green trees. I am
Possibly dangerous, I am
Entering the kingdom.

The dream of my life
Is to lie down by a slow river
And stare at the light in the trees—
To learn something by being nothing
A little while but the rich
Lens of attention.

But the crows puff their feathers and cry
Between me and the sun,
And I should go now.
They know me for what I am.
No dreamer,
No eater of leaves.

__________________

Today's LittleNip:

Two crows on the branch of a dead oak: so his resentment waits.

—Stephen Dobyns

__________________

—Medusa (Got any crow poems?)

SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:

NEW FOR SEPTEMBER:

Rattlesnake Press is proud to announce the release of a new chapbook by
Susan Finkleman (Mirror, Mirror: Poems Of The Mother-Daughter Relationship, illustrated by Joseph Finkleman),
plus a new HandyStuff blank journal from Katy Brown (A Capital Idea),
and a littlesnake broadside from Marie Reynolds (Late Harvest). All are now available at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento.


RATTLESNAKE REVIEW:

RR23 is now available at The Book Collector, and contributor and subscription copies will go into the mail in the next two weeks.
You may also order a copy through rattlesnakepress.com/.
Deadline is November 15 for RR24: 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 add all contact info, including snail address. Meanwhile, the snakes of the on-going Medusa are always hungry; keep that poetry comin', rain or shine!
Just let us know if your submission is for the Review or for Medusa, or for either one, and please—only one submission packet per issue of the quarterly Review.
(More info at rattlesnakepress.com/.)

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!


COMING IN OCTOBER:

On Wednesday, Oct. 7, Rattlesnake Press will release
a new chapbook from Brad Buchanan (The War Groom)
and a new Rattlesnake LittleBook from
William S. Gainer: Joining the Demented.
That's 7:30 PM at The Book Collector.

WTF!!: The third 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.
Deadline for Issue #4 will be Oct. 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/.)

Then gear up the flivver for a ROAD TRIP on Monday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 PM
as we all travel over to HQ for the Arts, 25th & R Sts., Sacramento
for Rattlesnake Press's release of the new SPC 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 history, and the resulting anthology (and SPC's 30th anniversary!)
will be celebrated that night. 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.

The Poem Stays

Photo by D.R. Wagner, Sacramento

AN INSTANCE
—Alastair Reid

Perhaps the accident of a bird
crossing the green window, a simultaneous phrase
of far singing, and a steeplejack
poised on the church spire, changing the gold clock,
set the moment alight. At any rate, a word
in that instant of realizing catches fire,
ignites another, and soon, the page is ablaze
with a wildfire of writing. The clock chimes in the square.

All afternoon, in a scrawl of time,
the mood still smoulders. Rhyme remembers rhyme
and words summon the moment when amazement
ran through the senses like a flame.
Later, the song forgotten, the sudden bird
flown who-knows-where, the incendiary word
long since crossed out, the steeplejack gone home,
their moment burns again, restored
to its spontaneity. The poem stays.

__________________

—Medusa

A Bounty of Second Chances

HARVEST
—Richard Kenney

Bounty, bounty,
silver corn husks cracked down by fat raccoons,
pumpkins squat amidst the sift and fall of seeds,
racks of acorn squash collapsed,
tomatoes split and leaking in the boggy tangle of their vines,
apples bruising in their bins,
the half-Harvest Moon itself
a tipped snifter—
I incline my chin.

__________________

Opportunities for the future:

•••Thurs. (11/12)-Sun. (11/15): 15th Annual Cowpoke Fall Gathering at the Blue Goose Fruit Shed, 3550 Taylor Rd., Loomis, featuring Cowboy Poets Baxter Black, Pat Richardson, Rod Erickson, Jeff Severson, Kimberly Hess, Chanda Eubanks. Also opening reception ($30), free Open Mic on Sat. AM and free Cowboy Church Sunday AM. Tickets now on sale for reception, Sat. matinee and other events at Blue Goose Produce, at Foothill Feed and Gift, or at Main Drug in Loomis. Info/schedule: www.compokefallgathering.com or www.soplacerheritage.org or call 916-652-4480. Sponsored by Loomis Basin Vet Clinic and High-Hand Nursery to benefit the So. Placer Heritage Foundation and the Blue Goose Fruit Shed Renovation Project.

•••CALLING ALL ARTISTS!

The Davis Cemetery is hosting a free art event open to the public on October 18th from 11 AM to 3 PM. Both visual and performance art will be featured. If you are an artist who has done or would like to do a work of art inspired by the cemetery, please check out our entry requirements below. Note that applications must be received by October 1.

Entry specifications: All art must be inspired by the Davis Cemetery. However, this does not necessitate representational pieces. For two/three dimensional art specifications, go to www.daviscemetgery.org and click on “Calling All Artists” in the right-hand “News” column. All pieces (or facsimiles of) must be submitted electronically with application form no later than October 1, 2009 to cemetery@dcn.org or hard copy to 820 Pole Line Road, Davis, 95618 between 10 AM and 2 PM weekdays. Art will be on display only. Feel free to bring business cards in case a potential buyer wants to contact you individually later, but please understand that no sales of art will take place at the event. Performance Art (including music, poetry, dance, drama): One performance piece per artist. Maximum time frame 7 minutes (if this is a problem, contact us and we will see what we can do to accommodate you).

Please call 530-756-7807 or go to www.daviscemetery.org if you have questions or would like an application.

__________________

PORTRAITS
—Mitz Sackman, Murphys

She sits there
Pencil in hand
Struggling with
The cross-word puzzle
Knowing the pencil
Allows her a chance
To revise her thinking
As new clues arrive

She sits there
Pen in hand
Brashly filling
The cross-word puzzle
Knowing she is
Right or wrong
Not caring
Confident in
Her guessing

__________________

APRON STRINGS
—Joyce Odam, Sacramento

My dead mother looks at me wise,
the sunlight on her mouth,
her eyes in shadow.

How long ago was that . . .
why do I speak to her now
in morning’s bright beginning?

She holds her look for me,
her old advice still holding
beyond the shadows in her eyes.

Might I pretend a disobedience
at this late year?
We are the same age now.

It’s all too late
for cutting strings.
She was always right.

__________________

ARS POETICA
—Joyce Odam

Allow yourself one poem a day.
Speak sadly of this.
Taste its meaning.

One day a poem will taste sadly to you,
test your crying, taste your tears.
Sweet tears for sadness,

one tear a day for sad remembering.
Tell someone,
or keep it to yourself for savor.

Savor one poem a day.
Write it yourself.
Do not give it meaning.

Let it grate—or soften
your hurt meaning.
Let it linger where it hurries—

to—or away. Let it go, then.
There is nothing to say in a poem.
Allow this.

Wing it
with falling if you
fall inward. How will this matter?

Do not ask a question.
Questions have no answers.
In a word is a poem. Begin it.

__________________

Today's LittleNip:

Poetry is the cipher key to the five mystic wishes packed in a hollow silver bullet fed to a flying fish.

—Carl Sandburg

__________________

—Medusa

SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:

NEW FOR SEPTEMBER:

Rattlesnake Press is proud to announce the release of a new chapbook by
Susan Finkleman (Mirror, Mirror: Poems Of The Mother-Daughter Relationship, illustrated by Joseph Finkleman),
plus a new HandyStuff blank journal from Katy Brown (A Capital Idea),
and a littlesnake broadside from Marie Reynolds (Late Harvest). All are now available at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento.


RATTLESNAKE REVIEW:

RR23 is now available at The Book Collector, and contributor and subscription copies will go into the mail in the next two weeks.
You may also order a copy through rattlesnakepress.com/.
Deadline is November 15 for RR24: 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 add all contact info, including snail address. Meanwhile, the snakes of the on-going Medusa are always hungry; keep that poetry comin', rain or shine!
Just let us know if your submission is for the Review or for Medusa, or for either one, and please—only one submission packet per issue of the quarterly Review.
(More info at rattlesnakepress.com/.)

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!


COMING IN OCTOBER:

On Wednesday, Oct. 7, Rattlesnake Press will release
a new chapbook from Brad Buchanan (The War Groom)
and a new Rattlesnake LittleBook from
William S. Gainer: Joining the Demented.
That's 7:30 PM at The Book Collector.

WTF!!: The third 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.
Deadline for Issue #4 will be Oct. 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/.)

Then gear up the flivver for a ROAD TRIP on Monday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 PM
as we all travel over to HQ for the Arts, 25th & R Sts., Sacramento
for Rattlesnake Press's release of the new SPC 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 history, and the resulting anthology (and SPC's 30th anniversary!)
will be celebrated that night. 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.

Telescope Of Time

Photo by Bob Dreizler, Sacramento

SECOND CHANCES
—Shawn Aveningo, Rescue

Turn the record over.
The flipside,
“B” song,
true music to her ears.
Main hit becoming too familiar,
too clichéd,
too overplayed,
as it echoed in her mind.

Trying to sleep.
Top 40 tune,
its mainstream effects
interfering with her escape,
dreams, her secret
nightly escapades
planning
her true debut,
the life she chose,
contrary to that
chosen for her.

Perhaps a song
less played
nevertheless,
her second chance.

_________________

TRUMPET
—Tom Goff, Carmichael

Rehearsals are candy; concerts are broccoli,
some, very tough pulp. Many a trumpeter
soars through the dress rehearsal of the Hummel
Concerto, with its tricky rapid-fire mordents,
or glides the bright waves of Tomasi—a Lippizaner
stallion leaping scythe-sharp Debussy rainbows—

then goes limp in the performance, where fully
engorged high notes turn flattened bleats of tincan
strained through cotton wool. Even the greats
fail, if trivially: Cleveland’s Bernard Adelstein
fluffing a grace note in Mexico City, Mahler’s
“Resurrection” Symphony: I spied him making
a wry slight moue at his impassive assistant.

Legends abound of trumpeters great and near-great
who touch disgrace: such little deaths hurt worse than
that of Misenus, whom with his arrogant brass coil
that jealous conch-honking Triton tossed
lungfirst to a liquid tomb. Worse than that
hoary myth, I’ve known an offstage trumpeter, in Respighi’s
“Pines of Rome,” to miscue—no small catastrophe—
an entire Roman legion as it huffs up the Capitoline,
royally displeasing none other than Leonard Bernstein.

Catastrophe? Was there no second chance, could he
never atone? Surely one, five, twenty more lifetime cracks
at “The Pines of Rome” beckon the determined player …

***

I have it straight from the trumpeter’s lips,
he drove straight home that night, and,
despite the darkness of that hour,
the shovel scraping and chuffing in black earth,
buried the horn—still gleaming with moon,
promising decades of splendid crescendo—
eight feet deep in the backyard garden:

he would never dig up that unlucky trumpet;

he would never again take up even a student horn,
never permit the silver-coated cup of a mouthpiece
so much as to graze the whiskery once-muscular lip.

__________________

BRUISES
—Tom Goff

Most of us live slow lives, just sliding through;
intuit small cause, and grasp far less effect.
Some suffer terrible bruises living true

to strange and offensive codes: no guilt or rue
can we spare the bumbling masses, the non-elect?
Don’t most live slow lives, most just slide on through?

What vista from which to judge those chosen few,
wielding bourgeois heads on skewers erect,
if even they suffer their bruises living their truth.

The grocery aisle we trudge down, age or youth,
bleached by the same bleach that sponges the affect
off faces of lives of those who, sliding through,

feel burdens and dreads are lovely to cling to;
dreams, ecstasies just come charged with a brighter threat.
Some terrible bruises suffered living true

we pounce for, hoping new chances may accrue:
leap wheels and chassis, headlong into wreck.
Most of us live slow lives, just sliding through;
those greenest blue-green bruises, we suffer just living true.

__________________

This weekend in NorCal poetry:

•••Friday (9/18), 7:30 PM: After a summer hiatus, The Other Voice, sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis (church library on Patwin Rd.) features two local poets: Rae Gouirand and Mandy Dawn Kuntz. Refreshments and open-mike follow the featured poets so bring along a poem or two to share. [See last Monday's post for bios.]

•••Fri. (9/18 and every 3rd Friday), 6-9 PM: The Vox Poetry Reading Series, 1931 H St., Sacramento. Featured poets. Info: http://www.voxsac.com/. [Cynthia Linville tells me she is not hosting this event this month. A reading is listed on the Vox website, though; I'd advise you to call for details.]

•••Sat. (9/19), 4-6 PM: Autumn celebration of the Women's Writing Salon, a reading of poetry and prose penned by six local women writers including Eunice Banks, Kirsten Casey, Joanne Clark, Kim Culbertson, Anne Da Vigo and Gail Entrekin, original co-founder of the Salon. (Men are enthusiastically welcome to attend!) It’s a great time to hear the literary voices from our own Foothills community of women. We're a semi-nomadic event and like to bring our word-loving patrons to local restaurants and coffee houses. Please note a new location for this autumn event: Valentina's Bistro and Bakery, 1041 Sutton Way, Grass Valley (530-272-4470). Free. Info: Patricia Miller, 530-265-5165, email dovepat@oro.net or Betsy Fasbinder, 530-613-9947, email bgf2u@sbcglobal.net/.

•••Sat. (9/19 and every 3rd Sat.), 10 AM: Writers of the New Sun/Los Escritores del Nuevo Sol potluck meetings at La Raza Galeria Posada, 1024 22nd St., Sacramento. Members of all levels support each other via readings, exercises, critiques and info, plus open mic; writing in Spanish, English or both. Call ahead to confirm: 916-456-5323.

•••Sat. (9/19 and every 3rd Sat.), 7 PM: Celebration of Word, Sound and Paint at Carol’s Books, 1913 Del Paso, Sacramento.

•••Sat. (9/19 and every third Sat.), 7-9 PM: Underground Books Poetry Series (814 35th St. off Broadway, Sacramento). Poets Anna Sandidge and Claudia Epperson, Singers Marquita and Cheryn Yancy, plus open mic. $3.00. Info: 916-208-POET.

•••Sun. (9/20 and every 3rd Sun.): 3rd Sunday Poetry Workshop. Info: Rebecca Morrison or Nancy W. at oolalaparee03@yahoo.com/.

•••Sun. (9/20 and every 3rd Sun.), 7 PM: Poetry Reading at Time Tested Books features Phil Weidman and D.R. Wagner. 1114 21st St., $5 donation requested. Info: timetestedbooks.net/.

•••Monday (9/21), 6 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center presents Hot Poetry in the Park with Poetry and Music by Ruebi Freyja and Phillip T. Nails. Fremont Park, Downtown Sac between 15th and 16th and between P and Q Sts.

__________________

HUMMING-BIRD
—D.H. Lawrence

I can imagine, in some other world
Primeval-dumb, far back
In that most awful stillness, that only gasped and hummed,
Humming-birds raced down the avenues.

Before anything had a soul,
While life was a heave of Matter, half inanimate,
This little bit chipped off in brilliance
And went whizzing through the slow, vast succulent stems.

I believe there were no flowers then,
In the world where the humming-bird flashed ahead of creation.
I believe he pierced the slow vegetable veins with his long beak.

Probably he was big
As mosses, and little lizards, they say, were once big.
Probably he was a jabbing, terrifying monster.

We look at hiim through the wrong end of the telescope of Time,
Luckily for us.

__________________

Today's LittleNip:

Stay alive; at least for the moment: it doesn't last long. Stay alive. Other worldly considerations though are out. The living has nothing to do with the life.

—William Bronk

__________________

—Medusa

SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:

NEW FOR SEPTEMBER:

Rattlesnake Press is proud to announce the release of a new chapbook by
Susan Finkleman (Mirror, Mirror: Poems Of The Mother-Daughter Relationship, illustrated by Joseph Finkleman),
plus a new HandyStuff blank journal from Katy Brown (A Capital Idea),
and a littlesnake broadside from Marie Reynolds (Late Harvest). All are now available at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento.


RATTLESNAKE REVIEW:

RR23 is now available at The Book Collector, and contributor and subscription copies will go into the mail in the next two weeks.
You may also order a copy through rattlesnakepress.com/.
Deadline is November 15 for RR24: 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 add all contact info, including snail address. Meanwhile, the snakes of the on-going Medusa are always hungry; keep that poetry comin', rain or shine!
Just let us know if your submission is for the Review or for Medusa, or for either one, and please—only one submission packet per issue of the quarterly Review.
(More info at rattlesnakepress.com/.)

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!


COMING IN OCTOBER:

On Wednesday, Oct. 7, Rattlesnake Press will release
a new chapbook from Brad Buchanan (The War Groom)
and a new Rattlesnake LittleBook from
William S. Gainer: Joining the Demented.
That's 7:30 PM at The Book Collector.

WTF!!: The third 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.
Deadline for Issue #4 will be Oct. 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/.)

Then gear up the flivver for a ROAD TRIP on Monday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 PM
as we all travel over to HQ for the Arts, 25th & R Sts., Sacramento
for Rattlesnake Press's release of the new SPC 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 history, and the resulting anthology (and SPC's 30th anniversary!)
will be celebrated that night. 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.

Thought-Foxes & Bikini Undies

Photo by Katy Brown, Davis

NEW SEASON
—Michael S. Harper

My woman has picked
all the leaves,
rolled her hands into locks,
gone into the woods
where I have taught her
the language of these wood leaves,
and the red sand plum trees.
It is a digest
of my taking these leaves with hunger;
it is love she understands.
From my own wooden smell
she has shed her raisin skin
and come back
sweetened into brilliant music:
Her song is our new season.

___________________

THE THOUGHT-FOX
—Ted Hughes

I imagine this midnight moment's forest:
Something else is alive
Beside the clock's loneliness
And this blank page where my fingers move.

Through the window I see no star:
Something more near
Though deeper within darkness
Is entering the loneliness:

Cold, delicately as the dark snow,
A fox's nose touches twig, leaf;
Two eyes serve a movement, that now
And again now, and now, and now

Sets neat prints into the snow
Between trees, and warily a lame
Shadow lags by stump and in hollow
Of a body that is bold to come

Across clearings, an eye,
A widening deepening greenness,
Brilliantly, concentratedly,
Coming about its own business

Till, with a sudden sharp hot stink of fox
It enters the dark hole of the head.
The window is starless still; the clock ticks,
The page is printed.

__________________

The page is printed. Rattlesnake Review #23 is in The Book Collector. Thanks for your patience.

__________________

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

Lost Horses
by Lyn Lifshin
Presa Press
PO Box 792
Rockford, MI 49341
36 pp, $6

This is yet another case of an advance copy: Lost Horses by Lyn Lifshin, who is considered by many to be the queen of the small press, will not be released until October 2009. But think of it this way: it’s a goddamn book by Lyn Lifshin and therefore it is worth the wait. I love Lifshin’s work, and I have loved it for many years; I think that this is her 45th or 46th chapbook. She is just one of those poets who tends to draw you in to make you feel the moment. Some people have mistakenly referred to her as the female Bukowski—a false title, since there was only one Bukowski, and last I recall, he sure in hell wasn’t a smokin’ hot chick. Lifshin is one of those rare talents that you come by once in a lifetime, and she should be a starting poet for many young woman writers. She is the quintessential personal poet, a poet whose lifetime commitment to poetry as a way of life is unmatched by many. Her writing is studied around the world, and she is the subject of an award winning documentary film, Lyn Lifshin: Not Made of Glass. So come October 1st, do whatever you have to do—go to your local neighborhood bookstore, go to your local big box bookstore, or write Presa Press and secure a copy of lost horses.

—B.L. Kennedy, Reviewer-in-Residence

__________________

NURSING NOTES
—Kevin Jones, Fair Oaks

It wasn’t so much that
He’d plowed his
‘Vette into
A light pole out on
Icy I-55, or that
He broke pretty
Much everything
He had, both internally
And orthopedically
In doing it,
Or that he coded
In ER throughout
Our shift and
Most of the one
After; it was
The day-glow, tie-dye
Bikini undies
We had to cut off him
That told us
He wouldn’t be getting
A second chance.

__________________

FROM THE ROCKER
—Patricia Hickerson, Davis

What did Whistler’s Mother wish for
as she sat rocking
lonely and sad
frail and pale in a long cotton gown,
staring at the far wall?

A second chance, Lord, to:
glue on false eyelashes
heavy with gooey black mascara
dab on expensive perfume
pull on a short tight skirt &
satin shirt showing
lots of plump cleavage
wear stiletto heels
excellent for stalking men

go to a bar
swill down Stoly straight
pick up a bad boy
go home with him for the night and—

dawn is breaking
keep staring at the far wall, Mother
this is where we discreetly
draw the curtain…

__________________

Today's LittleNip:

HE IMPORTUNES THE GOD
—William Bronk

Why do I have to do this? I've got
a poem I'd rather write than this one.

__________________


—Medusa

SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:

NEW FOR SEPTEMBER:

Rattlesnake Press is proud to announce the release of a new chapbook by
Susan Finkleman (Mirror, Mirror: Poems Of The Mother-Daughter Relationship, illustrated by Joseph Finkleman),
plus a new HandyStuff blank journal from Katy Brown (A Capital Idea),
and a littlesnake broadside from Marie Reynolds (Late Harvest). All are now available at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento.


RATTLESNAKE REVIEW:

RR23 is now available at The Book Collector, and contributor and subscription copies will go into the mail in the next two weeks. You may also order a copy through rattlesnakepress.com/.
Deadline is November 15 for RR24: 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 add all contact info, including snail address. Meanwhile, the snakes of the on-going Medusa are always hungry; keep that poetry comin', rain or shine!
Just let us know if your submission is for the Review or for Medusa, or for either one, and please—only one submission packet per issue of the quarterly Review.
(More info at rattlesnakepress.com/.)

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!


COMING IN OCTOBER:

On Wednesday, Oct. 7, Rattlesnake Press will release
a new chapbook from Brad Buchanan (The War Groom)
and a new Rattlesnake LittleBook from
William S. Gainer: Joining the Demented.
That 7:30 PM at The Book Collector.

WTF!!: The third 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.
Deadline for Issue #4 will be Oct. 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/.)

Then gear up the flivver for a ROAD TRIP on Monday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 PM
as we all travel over to HQ for the Arts, 25th & R Sts., Sacramento
for Rattlesnake Press's release of the new SPC 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 history, and the resulting anthology (and SPC's 30th anniversary!)
will be celebrated that night. 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.