A Community Poem, Poetry for Community, and More
The Week’s Highlight
If you attended the Writers of Color Santa Cruz County event this past Thursday evening at the MAH, you’ll know it exceeded expectations. Sixteen readers + musicians kept the entertainment going at a lovely pace for 2 hours, with each poet sharing their unique voice and point of view. There were readings in multiple languages and modes. I fully believe there was something for everyone. I felt fortunate to be part of the lineup. I have been thinking of this county’s literary ecosystem lately and all the organisms that are part of it. We are so lucky! You can find out more about Writers of Color Santa Cruz County and get involved here.
Poetry will change our world!
Call to work with Santa Cruz Poetry Project/Poetry in the Jails
Santa Cruz Poetry Project/Poetry in the Jails is looking for volunteers to teach poetry to men and women in the Santa Cruz County jail facilities. “Teaching experience is not required, just the desire to help incarcerated men and women find their voices and express themselves through poetry. We teach them how to read poetry and look for deeper meanings in words and images, and we emphasize self-expression with positive feedback. These students are eager to learn, and love to write! We publish twice-a-year poetry anthologies, and do Poetry Jams in some of the facilities as well.” More information and links can be found at https://www.poetryinthejails.org/
Calling all Californians
The California Poet Laureate, Lee Herrick, and the California Arts Council have just announced a project which invites everyone to get involved.
“Our California” is “an inclusive and participatory arts project that invites all Californians to write a poem about their city, town, or state and explore what they love about it, what they find in it, what they would change about it, or what hopes they hold for it.” This sounds like such a great way for anyone to write a poem, and I hope our county submits hundreds of poems. The first submissions will take place this fall but the project continues for at least a year. Prompts, information and a letter from Herrick can be found here.
Community Poem
You might remember me inviting you to participate in the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music Community Poem through my work as poet-in-residence this summer. The festival has concluded for the year, the community submitted couplets, lines, and phrases throughout August, and I recently completed an arrangement of language from these submissions into a complete poem. Read a little more about this and the poem itself, here. I found the process thoroughly stimulating—and one of the best experiences of arts cross-pollination and collaboration I’ve ever had.
Tidbits…
Kelly’s Bookstore in Watsonville is shuttering. It’s so sad to lose a beloved community bookstore. It’s still possible to support Kelly’s during an inventory sale until November 4. More info here.
The third annual issue of Journal X, the social justice-themed literary journal beautifully edited and produced at Cabrillo College, is now available for free around the county. It’s inspiring, gorgeous, and already a local treasure. You can pick up your free copy at the Santa Cruz Public Library (downtown), Capitola branch, or the Watsonville Public Library (main). See more online here.
…and Your Upcoming Calendar
Tuesday 10/10, 7pm: Arthur Solway, a Santa Cruz poet, will read from his new book at Well-RED in San Jose (available via Zoom). Reading includes the poet Keiko O’Leary. Register for Zoom @ bit.ly/3EK649J Find out more here.
Free Workshops from Magdalena Montagne. Mind Your Metaphors. “Participants will examine how to use metaphor and simile effectively in a poem, and have time for writing and radically constructive feedback.”
Tues, 10/10 4-6pm at the Garfield Branch Library, 705 Woodrow Ave, Santa Cruz.
Thurs, 10/19 4-6pm at the Boulder Creek Library, 13390 West Park Avenue, Boulder Creek.
Reminder: Ellen Bass & Edgar Kunz read together at Satori Arts. Tuesday 10/24, save a seat and find out more here.
Save the date: Thurs, Oct 26, 5:20. Deborah Landau reads from her large body of work at Humanities Lecture Hall, UCSC. Learn more here.
Poem Excerpt
Part 1 of “What Will We Find,” the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music Community Poem:
i. What will I find?
Percussion of shoes on the Civic floor
A breath, a heart compressed, an island of innocence
The baton breaks the air
Caught up together in a rapture of rhythms
Largo Ostinato
Our train leaves the station
The thoughts & actions of the day settle in my mind’s eye
I hear the shadow of a tune from summers gone by
My fears go up, up and away
Red shooting stars fall, fireworks of sound, string tides hiss and subside
Surprise, maestro says, never had to ask for more horns!
Forward into light: I’m with you
What’s a half step between friends?