White Wings and Tulips

photo by Jane Blue, Sacramento



THE PRESENCE
—Denise Levertov

To the house on the grassy hill
where rams rub their horns against the porch

and your bare feet on the floors of silence
speak in rhymed stanzas to the furniture,

solemn chests of drawers and heavy chairs
blinking in the sun you have let in!

Before I enter the rooms of your solitude
in my living form, trailing my shadow,

I shall have come unseen. Upstairs and down with you
and out across road and rocks to the river

to drink the cold spray. You will believe
a bird flew by the window, a wandering bee

buzzed in the hallway, a wind
rippled the bronze grasses. Or will you

know who it is?

______________________

First of all, thanks to Jane Blue for her beautiful photo! Last week I said, Think Tulips, and she did.

Then there's The Presence that's been lurking in my psyche since we moved house. Those of you who've had the patience to listen to me gripe about moving will be glad to know that I'm done with my bitching, at least for now. The Red Fox Underground poets of El Dorado County took mercy on Sam and me this weekend and performed a house-blessing, complete with sage and much good fellowship and poetry. Mary Field even brought bright yellow tulips! Thanks to them from Sam, me, Medusa and, of course, that wily Snake (and Lola and littlesnake). Here's a poem about transformation of such things; may your Monday be full of such transformations and the release of pure energy:

THE WINGS
—Denise Levertov

Something hangs in back of me,
I can't see it, can't move it,

I know it's black,
a hump on my back.

It's heavy. You
can't see it.

What's in it? Don't tell me
you don't know. It's

what you told me about—
black

inimical power, cold
whirling out of it and

around me and
sweeping you flat.

But what if,
like a camel, it's

pure energy I store,
and carry humped and heavy?

Not black, not
that terror, stupidity

of cold rage; or black
only for being pent there?

What if released in air
it became a white

source of light, a fountain
of light? Could all that weight

be the power of flight?
Look inward: see me

with embryo wings, one
feathered in soot, the other

blazing ciliations of ember, pale
flare-pinions. Well—

could I go
on one wing

the white one?

_______________________

This week in poetry:

•••Tonight (Monday, 1/22), 7:30 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center features Meg Withers and Truong Tran at HQ for the Arts, 25th & R Sts., Sac. Meg, who is currently working on her MFA at San Francisco State, is a poet, teacher, and mixed media artist from the San Francisco Bay Area who is also the author of Must Be Present to Win (Ghost Road Press, 2000) and a recent winner of the Open Windows award. Her work has appeared in New Millennium Writings, American River Literary Review, Nimrod, Poetry Now and others. Next Monday (1/29), SPC will feature Kimberly White and Michael Pulley.

•••Wednesday (1/24), 6-7 PM: Hidden Passage Books, 352 Main St., Placerville. Open-mike read-around; bring your own poems or those of a favorite poet to share with other poets and the skeleton in the floor, or just come to listen. We hope to see you there!

•••Also Weds., 10 PM-Midnight: Mics and Moods, Capitol Garage, 1500 K St., Sacramento. Features and open mic. $5; ages 21 and over. Info: 916-492-9336 or malikspeaks.com

•••Thursday (1/25), 8-11 PM: Vibe Sessions Open Mic at Cobbler Inn, 3520 Stockton Blvd. (next to Colonial Theater). $5, all ages.

•••Also Thursday (1/25), 8 PM: Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sac. Features and open mic before/after. Free. Info: 916-441-3931 or www.lunascafe.com.

•••Friday (1/26), 7 PM: Stockton Youth Advistory Commissioners (YAC) are sponsoring “By Word of Mouth”, an open mic for teens; others are most welcome to come out and support. Podesto IMPACT Teen Center, 725 N. El Dorado St., Stockton. Cost is $3. Poets interested in performing should e-mail lorienelms89@yahoo.com

•••Saturday, 9 PM: "The Show" Poetry Series features Ike Torres (Sac slam team), Izreal, and Damnyo Lee (L.A. slam team). Wo'se Community Center, 2863 35th St. (off 35th & Broadway). $5. Info: T.Mo at 916-455-POET.

•••Also, Saturday (1/27) is the deadline for Harvest International, an annual arts and literature magazine produced by Cal Poly Pomona. They’re looking for poetry, Short Poetry Fiction, Drama, Song Lyrics, Personal Essays, Analytical/Critical Essays, and Artwork (pen or ink drawings; no color artwork, please).

Topics:
• Psychological/ Physical/ Learning disabilities
• Gender Issues
• Culture
• War
• Poetry written in any language
• Personal Experiences/ Triumphs, etc.

Cash Awards:
Steve Whaley Poetry Prize
Other Voices Poetry Prize

Submit to: Professor Gill-Mayberry: bigillmayber@csupomona.edu
Jennifer Maldonado: jnmaldonado.harvest@gmail.com
Megan Carey: mecarey@csupomona.edu or:

Harvest International, c/o Harvest Editorial Board
Cal Poly University, English and Foreign Languages Department
3801 West Temple Ave., Pomona, CA 91768

_______________________

Last week, David Humphreys told us about a contest at The Stockton Record, which was looking for 55-Word "Tidbits". David won the contest, and here is his winning entry:

WHAT'S NOT THERE
—David Humphreys, Stockton

Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there
is how Miles Davis said it cool as cashmere in
a leather lined limo on the way to the jet flying
to palm trees and a white sand beach blowing in
time to waves wondering where is the loveliness
who started this jam session to begin with?

________________________

Thanks, David, and thanks for the heads-up about the contest, even if you did run away with the $60 prize.....! Congratulations! (Sorry Medusa can't indent the last line.)

—Medusa

Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their poetry, photos and art, and announcements of Northern California poetry events to kathykieth@hotmail.com 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.)

So Deep the Woods

The old dog
is leading the way—
visiting family graves

—Issa

***

Wolves
are keening in harmony—
this snowy evening

—Joso

***

Hiding its tail
among the ears of barley—
an old fox

—Tesshi

***

Even small birds
fly past and do not enter—
so deep the woods

—Chine

***

If it had no voice
the heron might disappear—
this morning's snow

—Chiyo

***

A thin layer of snow
coats the wings of mandarin ducks—
such stillness!

—Shiki

_______________________

—Medusa

Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their poetry, photos and art, and announcements of Northern California poetry events to kathykieth@hotmail.com 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.)

Bears, Books, Tulips & Dungrollers (Working Survivors)

CONTINUUM
—Denise Levertov

Some beetle trilling
its midnight utterance.

Voice of the scarabee,
dungroller,
working survivor...

I recall how each year
returning from voyages, flights
over sundown snowpeaks,
cities crouched over darkening lakes,
hamlets of wood and smoke,
I find
the same blind face upturned to the light
and singing
the one song,

the same weed managing
its brood of minute stars
in the cracked flagstone.

_______________________

"Continuum" was sent to me by Stephani Schaefer of Los Molinos, who writes: Thanks for the poem by Wm. Stafford [see Wednesday's post—and it's Peggy Hill who deserves the thanks], one of my very favorites, especially his essays about writing. For that, and since it's been his birthday [see Thursday's post], I'm sending you the poem I wrote in honor of him:

SONGBIRD AT STAFFORD SPRINGS
—Stephani Schaefer

There are days when the
sky, not overcast,
allows the eye infinity.

Beyond the polished
blue you sense the black void
but the songbird knows

the secret hidden in
the folded wing
and is not daunted.

Life, he sings, lies
in the warmth of the fold,
the tucked in

intricacies, each
barbed feather in place,
each note fitting what is.

______________________

Thanks, Stephani!

This just in:

In browsing through The Mountain Democrat, a wee local newspaper that serves mostly El Dorado County, I came across the announcement that Books 'N Bears in the town of El Dorado will host Poetic License today at 3 PM, featuring a group of "poetry enthusiasts". This month's subject is "Political" (apparently they meet monthly). Everyone is invited to attend and listen to and share poems. Books 'N Bears is located at 6211-A Main St. in El Dorado (I've been in there; it's 'way cute.) Info: Marti Dunn, 530-621-1766 or bnb@direct-con.net. Medusa's mission in life is to root out and advertise poetry readings wherever they pop up in the NorCal area, and she is always gleeful at finding one she didn't know about. El Dorado is easy to get to; just take Hwy 50 east and take the El Dorado exit.

_______________________

Think tulips! One of the good things about all this cold weather is that tulips need a certain number of freezing temperatures to keep on truckin'. More Levertov:

THE TULIPS
—Denise Levertov

Red tulips
living into their death
flushed with a wild blue

tulips
becoming wings
ears of the wind
jackrabbits rolling their eyes

west wind
shaking the loose pane

some petals fall
with that sound one
listens for

_______________________

—Medusa

Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their poetry, photos and art, and announcements of Northern California poetry events to kathykieth@hotmail.com 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.)

Dreaming of Spring

photo by Katy Brown, Davis


each one i tucked carefully beneath the required soil
added a bit of bone meal, compost
knowing i would forget where... after a day or two...
then a magic surprise at blooming time.
smiling, grasping their tiny colorful faces
in the cusp of my hands
as if a child finding easter eggs
everyone painted, planted especially for me
on this cool winter's day in the sun
dreaming of spring.

—Song Kowbell, Penn Valley

_____________________

Thanks, Song! I thought we could use a little color today, a few glimpses of Spring. And look for Song Kowbell's rattlechap, Lick Your Wounds and Want Again, in The Book Collector.

Speaking of Song and her home of Penn Valley (which is just outside of Grass Valley), Kim Addonizio will be the featured reader tonight at 7:30 PM at the Nevada County Poetry Series Annual Fundraiser. Kim Addonizio is a passionate poet, fiction writer, and teacher, finalist for the 2000 National Book Award, and recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship, two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Pushcart Prize, and a Commonwealth Club Poetry Medal. Kim has authored four collections of poetry, most recently What Is This Thing Called Love (2004, W.W. Norton). Her previous three books of poetry are from BOA Editions: The Philosopher's Club, Jimmy & Rita, and Tell Me, which was a finalist for the 2000 National Book Award. A book of stories, In the Box Called Pleasure, was published by Fiction Collective 2. She is also co-author, with Dorianne Laux, of The Poet's Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry (W.W. Norton). With Cheryl Dumesnil she co-edited Dorothy Parker's Elbow: Tattoos on Writers, Writers on Tattoos (Warner Books). Her first novel, Little Beauties, was published by Simon & Schuster in September 2005. Check her out at blueflowerarts.com or kimaddonizio.com. Tickets can be purchased at The Book Seller in Grass Valley, Cherry Records in Auburn and at the door for $10 general, seniors and students, and $2 for those under 18, refreshments included. The show will be in the Main Theater at the Center for the Arts, 314 W. Main St., Grass Valley, CA. Info: 530-432-8196 or 530-274-8384.

•••Also tonight (Friday, 1/19), 7 PM: Our House Poetry Series features Elsie Whitlow Feliz and Don Feliz. Our House Gallery is in the El Dorado Hills shopping center; take the Latrobe exit south. Open mic after. See yesterday's post for samples from these two fine poets, both of whom are Snake pals. Don's littlesnake broadside is available free at The Book Collector (or send me an SASE); Elsie also has a littlesnake broadside, as well as her rattlechap, Tea With Bunya.


Later this weekend:

•••Saturday (1/20), 7:30 PM: "Raíces Latinas" (Latin Roots): Los Escritores del Nuevo Sol presents Adrián Arias, a Spanish-language poet from San Francisco’s Mission Cultural Center, who is also a graphic artist. More on him at: http://adrian-arias.blogspot.com. Joining Adrián as MC and co-reader will be our member Jim Michael. Cost is $5 or as can be afforded; no one turned away for lack of $. Info: Graciela at 916-456-5323; more info at the website: www.escritoresdelnuevosol.com. [NOTE: Sacramento Poetry Center's Poetry Now listed this reading for Friday, Jan. 19; then the reader called to say he would have to shift it to Saturday. Hence some confusion. The reading is Saturday.]

•••Also Saturday, 11:30 AM to 3:30 PM: Artists Embassy International presents Confluence of the Arts: Poetry Reading, Art Show, Dance Performance with Notable Poets, Laureates, Dancing Poetry Festival Grand Prize Winners, Poetic Dance, Poetic/Visual Art, refreshments. The Alameda Historical & Art Museum, 2324 Alameda Ave., Alameda, CA. Info: 510-235-0361 or naticaaei@aol.com. (This event is not to be confused with their annual Dancing Poetry Contest, which is held each Fall.)

•••Also Saturday, 2-4 PM: The Central California Art Association & Mistlin Art Gallery announces a poetry reading at the gallery, 1015 J St., downtown Modesto. This reading will feature Mark Nicole Johnson, author of 3x3, Salvatore Salerno, author of Sunleaf, and Gordon Preston, author of Violins. Reception following. The public is welcome.

•••Also Sat., 7-9 PM: Underground Poetry Series at Underground Books, 2814 35th St. (35th & Broadway), Sac. Open mic; $3.

•••Sunday (1/21), 12-2 PM: Sacramentans Chip Spann and Elizabeth Robinson will be reading at Vesuvio in San Francisco, 255 Columbus Ave. at Jack Kerouac Alley (between Broadway and Pacific), San Francisco, CA 94133. Vesuvio, world-renowned saloon (across from City Lights Bookstore) in San Francisco’s North Beach, remains a historical monument to jazz, poetry, art and the good life of the Beat Generation. Chip and Elizabeth say: Each year we gather at Vesuvio to rattle our raucous souls, scream against the injustices and celebrate the joy of being alive. Join in the fun with business people, foreign visitors, healers, philosophers, mythologists, cab drivers, wise elders, off duty exotic dancers and bon vivants. Info: www.vesuvio.com, (916) 446-6160, chipspann@sbcglobal.net or elizabethmyth@sbcglobal.net.

•••Also Sunday: Molly Fisk's January's Boot Camp begins on Sunday (1/21) and runs through Friday, 1/26. You can join the regular camp and write new poems, or you can work on revisions by yourself (same format, same price). This is a great time of year to look at older poems and see what they might need to be presentable. If you don't know about Poetry Boot Camp, here's where you can find out: http://www.poetrybootcamp.com. It's a six-day workshop conducted via e-mail. Molly says it's enormously productive, and tons of fun.

•••Monday (1/22), 7:30 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center features Meg Withers and Truong Tran at HQ for the Arts, 25th & R Sts., Sac. Meg, who is currently working on her MFA at San Francisco State, is a poet, teacher, and mixed media artist from the San Francisco Bay Area who is also the author of Must Be Present to Win (Ghost Road Press, 2000) and a recent winner of the Open Windows award. Her work has appeared in New Millennium Writings, American River Literary Review, Nimrod, Poetry Now and others.

_______________________

CHRISTMAS POEM
—Song Kowbell

It was overwhelming
the flood of consuming
flowing through the streets of local cities
filling the highways and side roads.
it flowed out before them as if it was invisible
and they willingly went with it
completely unaware they were going to drown
in the waste of dogma
wrapped in paper and sealed with tape.
parents giving the gift of future land fills,
oceans floating color coated waxed paper
with smiling santa's and frosty snowmen.
In so deep, they don't even know
they are wet.

________________________

A POEM...
—Song Kowbell

I wanted to write you a poem
of flowers
with no thorns
or broken twigs
but perfect
to heal
pretend it never hurt
in the first place
I wanted to write a poem
that would erase the pain
between us
a poem to unite the broken mangled
pieces of our souls
a poem to squelch the fires
burning in the memory
of our bodies
where anger found a
stopping place
when hurled from mean mouths
of those we've loved.
I wanted to write a poem for you
opening myself
for viewing

_______________________

—Medusa (who dreams of Spring...)

Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their poetry, photos and art, and announcements of Northern California poetry events to kathykieth@hotmail.com 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.)

Feeding the Snakes

WATCHING SABINE IN SUNLIGHT
Sophie-Charlottenstr. 21 Berlin, 1962
—Elsie Whitlow Feliz, Sacramento

From the window of our kitchen—
actually this is our bathroom—I am

cooking breakfast on the hot plate.
Dishes drain over the bathtub. I can see

Frau Kamps-Smith's garden: the green
lawn, the yellow tulips, and gray stones.

Her granddaughter, Sabine, golden hair,
six, and barefoot, waiting for someone

to open the faucet, so she can race her
paper boat in the rushing rapids of a silver

river flowing under warm sun, over
the rocks, into the dark green pool

where reeds and lilies grow, and the
large frog watches us from his corner.

(first appeared in Poets' Forum Magazine, 2006)

_______________________

Thanks, Elsie! Tomorrow (Friday, 1/19) at 7 PM, Our House Poetry Series will feature Elsie Whitlow Feliz and Don Feliz. Our House Gallery is in the El Dorado Hills shopping center; take the Latrobe exit south and turn left into the Center, then turn left again at the stop sign. Open mic after the features. Here's a poem from Don:

FOREST VISION
West Berlin, 1961
—Don Feliz, Sacramento

At sunrise in Berliner Forest among legions
of fallen leaves and a company of fellow
soldiers some of us saw a vision in bands
of sunlight between distant trees and shadows

floating two meters high a white billowy shape
coming nearer it showed long blond hair tied
with a bright ribbon then a horse the color of
trees and of its rider’s breeches and boots

riding elegantly on her beautiful steed the vision
became something new an aristocrat among her
subjects subdued sons of a conquering nation
watched her dissolve back into a white vision

______________________

Tonight:

•••Thursday (1/18), 8 PM: Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sac. features Beth Lisick, Michelle Tea, and Tara Jepsen traveling to Luna's from San Francisco, to be joined by local lit-wonders Becca Costello, Rachel Leibrock, and Rachel Gregg. Open mic before/after. Free. Info: 916-441-3931 or www.lunascafe.com.

•••Also Thurs., 8-11 PM: Vibe Sessions at Cobbler Inn, 3520 Stockton Blvd. (next to Colonial Theatre). Open mic, all ages, $5.


Homer and The Bee:

Check out today's "Metro" section of The Sacramento Bee for an article about Sacramento's Kathryn Holhwein and her on-going mission to bring Homer's poetry around the world.

_______________________

Corvallis Pal (and ex-Sacramentan) Be Davison Herrera sends two poems, the first about moving:

endless sympathy over moving
as extraction makes so many
decisions hopelessly entangled
with the spirit of the old place
lost, caving like soil removed for
new plantings, whole fresh
responses demanded and lord!
the decisions required all over
again and then again

You got that right, Be! I'm still paralyzed by all those decisions. Where to put the cookie sheets, when there are no cupboards big enough? Take this bowl to the thrift or keep it? And what about all those books......!

Coincidentally, Medusa posted a William Stafford poem yesterday. Be writes: Here's a quatrain (Herrera style) which is part of a "Spirit of Place" poetry exhibition at our local library honoring William Stafford's birthday:

snowflakes
clarify sound
but only for
ears tuned to butterfly
wings

Thanks for these, Be! We've managed to post almost all local and semi-local poetry this week, which is Medusa's ultimate goal. So keep 'em coming! The Snakes of Medusa are always hungry......

_______________________

—Medusa

Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their poetry, photos and art, and announcements of Northern California poetry events to kathykieth@hotmail.com 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.)

But Of Course I Sealed the Tin...

Tom Goff writes: Couldn't resist the invite to send a found poem. This is a bizarre item. Now, I love Thomas Hardy's poetry, and admire the man, but the piece that follows, ripped out of context from what is essentially a knowing appraisal of Hardy biographies, needed only the line breaks to, well, er, write itself.

THE HEART OF THOMAS HARDY
(poem "found" by Tom Goff, Carmichael)

Dr Edward Mann, Hardy's doctor,
was still vigorous when I met him
in 1967. Thomas Hardy's old grandfather
clock, which the doctor had received
as a legacy, ticked away in his
sitting room. He showed me
a note slipped through his door in 1928
by waiting reporters: ‘Can you inform
the Press if Mr Hardy's heart
has been removed?’ It was signed
by the Chronicle, Express, and Press
Association. He said he wrapped the heart
in a towel and put it in a biscuit tin. Years later
he heard a Bishop of Sherborne,
telling an after dinner story, say
the cat got at it. But it
couldn't have done, said Dr Mann.
He sealed the biscuit tin.

________________________

Thanks, Tom, and thanks to the rest of you who played along with our found-poem-a-thon, which is now officially over.


This was posted late yesterday on Medusa; you may've missed it:

David Humphreys writes: Michael Fitzgerald, columnist at the Stockton Record, is taking entries in his tidbit contest, which is what he's calling a prose poem. Count 55 words in the body of the text; don't count your title. Deadline is Weds (1/17), 5:30 PM (that's today!). Send submissions to michaelf@recordnet.com; best way is to paste into body of message or attach a Word document. Be sure to give your day phone # so he can give the winner an interview and the brass ring; there's a $60 prize!


Also today and tonight:

•••Weds. (1/17), 10 PM-midnight: Mics and Moods at Capitol Garage, 1500 K St. Features and open mic.

•••81st Poet's Dinner/Contest postmark deadline for entries is today (Weds., 1/17). Event date is 3/17/07; you must be present to win. For complete rules and info, visit www.bayareapoetscoalition.org and click on the Poet's Dinner/Contest link.


_______________________

Finally, Peggy Hill, who started the whole found-poem-a-thon thing, sends one last found poem, this one from William Stafford:

WHAT'S IN MY JOURNAL
—William Stafford

Odd things, like a button drawer. Mean
things, fishhooks, barbs in your hand.
But marbles too. A genius for being agreeable.
Junkyard crucifixes, voluptuous
discards. Space for knickknacks, and for
Alaska. Evidence to hang me, or to beatify.
Clues that lead nowhere, that never connected
anyway. Deliberate obfuscation, the kind
that takes genius. Chasms in character.
Loud omissions. Mornings that yawn above
a new grave. Pages you know exist
but you can't find them. Someone's terribly
inevitable life story, maybe mine.

_______________________

—Medusa

Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their poetry, photos and art, and announcements of Northern California poetry events to kathykieth@hotmail.com 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.)

Laying Hens Are Happy Hens

POULTRY PLAN
—Jeanine Stevens, Sacramento

Laying hens are happy
hens, scratch with grain

twice daily, heavy layers
are big eaters, don’t

waste feed on slackers
remove quitters quickly

watch for roundworms
drafts and droppings

laying hens are happy
hens—no roosters allowed.

(Food For Victory pamphlet, 1943)

_____________________________

Thanks, Jeanine! Look for Jeanine Steven's rattlechap, The Keeping Room, at The Book Collector.

A free copy of Pearl Stein Selinsky's new rattlechap, Vic & Me, will be coming to Jeanine and to all those other poets who are brave enough to send in "found" poems before Tuesday (1/16)—that's tonight!—at midnight. Found poems are usually a kind of list poem that's generated from unlikely sources such as newspaper articles, catalogs, junk mail—any collection of words that seems to have elements that strike you as somehow poetic, either re-arranged or just as they are. Or it might be something less commercial: a note you found on the ground, or the juxtaposition of two graphitti, or some inadvertant slip of the tongue. Send it/them to kathykieth@hotmail.com or POBx 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726, and see some of last week's posts for more examples.


Los Escritores correction:

•••Saturday, January 20, 7:30 PM: "Raíces Latinas" (Latin Roots): Los Escritores del Nuevo Sol presents Adrián Arias, a Spanish-language poet from San Francisco’s Mission Cultural Center, who is also a graphic artist. More on him at: http://adrian-arias.blogspot.com. Joining Adrián as MC and co-reader will be our member Jim Michael. Cost is $5 or as can be afforded; no one turned away for lack of $. Info: Graciela at 916-456-5323; more info at the website: www.escritoresdelnuevosol.com. [NOTE: Sacramento Poetry Center's Poetry Now listed this reading for Friday, Jan. 19; then the reader called to say he would have to shift it to Saturday. Hence the confusion.]


New Poet's Lane page:

Cynthia Bryant, doyenne of Poet's Lane, writes: I plan on adding a new page, called "That Would Be Telling", where I ask a question and post the answers I receive. First question, How has poetry changed your life? Check it out at www.poetslane.com; write to Cynthia at PoetsLane@comcast.net.


Tonight:

•••Tuesday (1/16), 8:30 PM: Bistro 33 series in Historic City Hall, 226 F St. (3rd & F), Davis. Open mic after.


This just in from Stockton:

David Humphreys writes: Michael Fitzgerald, columnist at the Stockton Record, is taking entries in his tidbit contest, which is what he's calling a prose poem. Count 55 words in the body of the text; don't count your title. Deadline is Weds (1/17), 5:30 PM. Send submissions to michaelf@recordnet.com; best way is to paste into body of message or attach a Word document. Be sure to give your day phone # so he can give the winner an interview and the brass ring; there's a $60 prize!

_______________________

WINTER WONDERLAND
—Jeanine Stevens, Sacramento

Sun seeping
piano keys glistening
red skaters spinning on an icy pond

fir trees dancing, their tips cutting
silhouettes in a steel blue sky

a crystal white meadow gleaming
and, snow falling—all, on its own.


(Sheet music, published 1934)

_____________________________

—Medusa

Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their poetry, photos and art, and announcements of Northern California poetry events to kathykieth@hotmail.com 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.)