Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "poetry"

Sac State's 10th Annual Production of The Vagina Monologues to be held Feb 9

2012-02-02T00:52:39Z

Sacramento State’s University Union UNIQUE Programs, Student Health & Counseling Services, and Active Minds are pleased to announce The Vagina Monologues at the Sacramento State University Union Ballroom at 7:30 pm on Thursday, February 9, 2012.

Eve Ensler, a playwright and feminist, wrote The Vagina Monologues. The monologues are a compilation of Ensler’s interviews with hundreds of women on their views and experiences of sex, relationships, and violence and cover issues of intimacy, vulnerability, and sexual self-discovery. Sac State’s production will include only student actresses reciting the dialogues. The Vagina Monologues are part of V-Day, a global activist movement to end violence against women and girls.

The monologues are performed nationwide only during the months of February and March and the proceeds typically go to programs that work to end violence against women and girls. The proceeds from this 10th annual Sac State stage production will go to two organizations- My Sister’s House and the SHARE Institute. My Sister’s House is an organization that addresses the needs of Asian and Pacific Islander women and children impacted by domestic violence. The SHARE Institute’s mission is to establish collaborative relationships that foster the well-being and empowerment of individuals, organizations, and communities.

The Vagina Monologues will be performed at Sacramento State’s University Union Ballroom on Thursday, February 9 at 7:30 pm. Admission is $5 for Sac State students and $10 for the general public, available at Tickets.com or the Sac State Box Office.

For more information, please visit www.SacStateUNIQUE.com or call (916) 278-6997.

Disclosure: Zenia LaPorte is the Programs Advisor for UNIQUE Programs

"Diamonds" ladies night out at the guild theater

2012-01-31T09:05:08Z

The 2012 premier of the Ladies Night Out series of events returned to the historic Guild Theater in Oak Park Saturday evening. The headlining act was veteran singer, songwriter, producer and actor Danny Boy.

Best known for his work as a backup singer during the heyday of Death Row Records, Danny Boy’s solo music is grounded in his musical roots of R&B and gospel as he ably demonstrated to an appreciative audience.

“In 2012 we are taking the Ladies Night Out concept to a new level,” said poet Terry Moore, the T-Mo Entertainment founder who was responsible for bringing Danny Boy from Atlanta to Sacramento. “It is the vision of T-Mo Entertainment to bring outstanding artists to Sacramento while still showcasing our local talent.”

“The Diamonds” Ladies Night Out event also featured nationally recognized poet Ner City (pronounced “inner city”) from Oakland, along with Annie Jay, Sacramento’s reigning “Queen of the Mic.”

Also included on the program was Sacramento-based artist Carla Fleming, who joined forces with homegrown saxophonist Garrett Perkins for a brief set.

Before the curtains opened for the show to begin, poet Steve Morgan graced the audience with two heart felt poems, “Gift from God” and “B-girl Rap.

The always hilarious comic Dru Bruks was introduced as the emcee for the evening and immediately had the crowd in stitches.

Providing the live music for the night was LSB (Love Somebody), which features Leon “Scrap” Gray on the keyboards and Brian Randle on the drums. Joining LSB for the evening was Charles Andrews on lead guitar and Robert Williams on percussion.

Annie Jay was the first featured performer. Her music displayed influences ranging from neo-soul, jazz, gospel and R&B, with a little funk thrown in. She brought composer and guitarist Russell Brown with her, along with percussionist Dominic E. Garcia, who displayed his talents throughout the set playing a wooden drum box known as the cajón.

She opened her set with strong sultry vocals, covering “The Way” by Jill Scott. The “Queen of the Mic” showed her musical sensitivity, covering “Afro Blue” by John Coltrane, “Chain of Fools” by Aretha Franklin and “Brown Skin” by India Arie.

The remainder of Jay’s set consisted of her original music. She frequently acknowledged Brown for his contributions in composing. Her down-to-earth lyrics reach out and speak to all who have experienced life and love.

Those who were introduced to the “Annie Jay Live” experience for the first time were in for a surprise with her stunning vocal range and ability on the songs “Shine,” “Lotus,” and “Caramel.” Her down to earth lyrics reach out and speak to all who have experienced life and love.

Annie Jay closed her 45 minute set with a funk based song entitled “Beast,” which had the audience moving and grooving while Annie Jay cut loose on stage showing her dance moves.

Annie Jay conveyed her love for performing in Sacramento after the show and wanted to be sure to let her growing legion of fans know she is hard at work in the studio on her upcoming debut album.

Dru Bruks introduced local singer Lenoris (P-Dub) Louis, whose vocal skills were frequently met with spontaneous applause and catcalls from the female-dominated audience.

Louis made a difficult task look easy while covering “Lady in My Life” by Michael Jackson. While singing Babyface’s hit song, “Whip Appeal,” Louis interacted with the ladies in the audience, bantering back and forth with them and having them laughing and applauding in response.

LSB did an admirable job with the live music during Louis’ set, and they really shined during his final number, “Do Me Baby” by Prince. Louis flawlessly hit all of the difficult falsetto notes.

After his set, Louis expressed his appreciation for the support and indicated that he will soon be featured in local venues around town with his own live band.

Intelligent, poignant, hard-hitting, heartfelt and often gut-wrenching: Those are the terms that describe the poetry of Ner City, who closed out the first half of the event.

As the recipient of numerous spoken word awards and multiple poetry slam competition victories, Ner City smoothly and flawlessly flowed between poems. He introduced himself to the audience by reciting the poem “My Bio,” explaining his qualifications as a wordsmith and detailing his experiences growing up nurtured by the dichotomy of formal education and education learned only through experience in the streets of Oakland.

In the poem “For Tre,” Ner City describes the challenges and pride he feels by living up to the role of father to his stepson. He was eloquently profound when stating the “job of being a father” is the one that is always available but far too few are willing to accept. The theme of fatherhood extended to his own father, whose virtues he extolled in the poem “My Father.”

To close out his set, Ner City recited his piece called “Letter to the Ex,” wherein he exposed his vulnerability to love and the manipulations and machinations that occur between the sexes.

“I thought the spoken word tonight was excellent,” attendee Candice Johnson said. “Ner City was truthful and touching in his poems and his remarks.”

During the brief intermission, Moore and Burks took charge of handing out gratuities from event sponsors including ladies clothing from Konceited Boutique.

Vocalist Carla Fleming and Garrett Perkins took the stage together after intermission. Fleming performance featured some beautiful vocals and inspirational lyrics from her soon to be released track and video entitled “Rise Again.” On this first track of their set, Perkins, put on exhibition the musical talent on the saxophone he developed while attending the Berklee School of Music.

Followed by another original tune called “Ooh Wee,” Fleming showed her sensual side with the help of Perkins who displayed the skills he has honed through his years of experience touring around the world playing music.

Fleming and Perkins then covered the Ashford and Simpson composition, “You’re All I Need to Get By,” made famous by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. They combined Fleming’s strong and versatile vocals with the influences of neo-soul and jazz to arrange the well-known R&B song in their own unique way.

Dru Burks then brought local R&B singer Kaleo to the stage for a brief appearance to sing Maxwell’s hit song “Ascension.” Backed up by LSB, Kaleo put his heart into the well-loved track, much to the appreciation of the audience that seemed visibly disappointed that he only performed one song.

It was evident that the evening belonged to Danny Boy once he took the stage and took command of the audience.

From the moment of his introduction by Burks, it was clear that Danny Boy is a man whose love of music is the passion of his life.

After thanking T-Mo Entertainment for putting on the show and inviting him to perform, he began singing Bobby Caldwell’s, “What You Won’t Do Love.” Backed by LSB, Danny Boy exhibited the vocal skills that made him famous while demonstrating that his days as a youth at Death Row Records are securely in his past.

While talking to the audience after the opening song, Danny Boy thanked God first and explained how it was his belief that music “touches us, helps us and heals us.”

He then took the crowd on a musical voyage by singing “Rocket Love” by Stevie Wonder.

Danny Boy’s professionalism and status as a veteran singer was apparent to all in attendance when he ventured into some of the original material from his upcoming album “Love Offering,” a two-CD release that will include one disc devoted to R&B (“Love”) and the second devoted to gospel music (“Offering”).

In between his original songs entitled “A Song for Love,” Thunderstorm,” “Some for Love,” and “I Can’t Wait,” Danny Boy showed his versatility switching between love songs, gospel music to the crowd mostly had never known this aspect of his musical journey.

The depths of Danny Boy’s personal struggles in the music business also became evident as he candidly discussed his free-wheeling days and the fact that he left Death Row in debt and was forced to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

In true artistic fashion, he turned his misfortunes into music and displayed how from his faith came the songs “Nothing” and “Emotional Bankrupt.”

As his set was winding down, Danny Boy had everybody in the audience on their feet dancing with his rendition of “My Girl.” Much to the crowd’s delight, he came down from the stage and brought a grandmotherly member of the audience from the front row onstage to boogie with him.

He ended his set by covering the gospel songs “Grateful” by Marvin Sapp and “God Is Good” by Regina Belle. He completed the evening with a heartfelt blessing to the audience that included a prayer for healing and help for everyone to become better in their roles in life as husbands, wives and members of the community.

While Burks attempted to close out the show, a request for Danny Boy to return to sing a few hooks from some of his Tupac Shakur songs quickly turned into a spontaneous rendition of Luther Vandross’ “Superstar,” as LSB picked up the cue and joined in after the first few lines.

After a final prayer offered by Moore, who thanked all in attendance and who performed, the easygoing Danny Boy came out from his dressing room and signed autographs and CDs and posed for photos.

“It was an awesome show,” exclaimed local poet and educator Claudia Epperson who attended the event and was waiting in line to meet Danny Boy.

“The show was wonderful,” Ingrid Pinkett said. “I appreciate the fact that Danny Boy reminded us that we always have to remember where everything we have comes from and to give thanks and praise.”

The Ladies Night Out series will resume on March 31. Contact Moore well in advance at (916) 208-POET or fromtheheart1@hotmail.com to purchase tickets. The event is guaranteed to be another inspirational and fun evening of entertainment.

Disclosure: Othello Curry was an active participant in this week's Ladies Night Out Event. Othello worked as a member of the event staff.

Sacramento Area Youth Speaks (And The World Listens)

2012-01-30T21:10:46Z

A young black male raised without a father, expelled for assaulting his teacher in fourth grade finds poetry mentors who help cultivate his gift for words and turn him into a beacon of hope in his community. It's the kind of adversity-overcoming story that fuels the inspirations of Hollywood filmmakers. It is also the real-life story of Sacramento Area Youth Speaks poet/mentor Andre Tillman, otherwise known as Dre-T.

"I would say ages six through eight were my troubled years," Tillman says, recounting the incident that got him expelled from grade school, "I remember knowing it wasn’t my teachers fault." It was right around this time that a young, frustrated Andre Tillman would discover what would become his life's work.

At the age of nine Tillman began putting his thoughts down on paper. "I started off writing about my pain or writing little funny poems," Tillman describes, "With the absence of my father and my mom working I didn't have a lot of people to talk to and I'd take that time to document my thoughts and experience."

From the beginning, music and poetry went hand in hand. His grandfather was a percussionist and a teacher, not to mention the primary male influence in his grandson's young life. While grandpa played the rhythms, Andre's older cousin taught him to write his rhymes in a traditional 16-bar hip hop format.

One day in high school, while on a field trip to Sac State for an African-American student leadership conference he stumbled upon a Sacramento Area Youth Speaks workshop. He was immediately hooked.

As the group of teens shouted their poems from every corner of the room in a guerilla poetry spectacle called Griots (which are an ancient West African tradition that S.A.Y.S has adopted) Tillman was captivated. "I'd always been hungry for knowledge," he explained, "S.A.Y.S had the food for the thought I was starving for and they knew I was hungry."

Tillman signed up for S.A.Y.S. in the spring of 2010. That year his S.A.Y.S. poetry slam team would go on to compete at the international level taking part in the Brave New Voices competition in the Bay Area sponsored by HBO and Russell Simmons and place in the top ten. Tillman also competed at Brave New Voices as a solo poet, under the moniker of Dre-T, and placed in the top ten in a class of over 60 lyricists from all over the world.

Upon graduating high school, Dre-T was offered a chance to continue his work with SAYS, only this time in front of the classroom as a poet/mentor. “To sit in and observe one of his classes is beautiful; the way he interacts with the youth,” described seasoned S.A.Y.S mentor Denisha Bland, “To be a black man in America, stay positive, do right, and focus on your dreams, while raising a newborn and giving what he does to the youth; I mean, It’s breathtaking. To see Dre-T, only 19 and doing what he is doing, coming from a single-mother home, gives me hope for my son.”

The day before his eighteenth birthday, which coincided with the release party for his mixtape, Done Right Every-Time, Tillman found out his life would again change forever. The birth of his daughter Audrey Auro Tillman, on May 6, 2011 would shape the way his words would come out from that moment on. “It’s made me think more critically about how I talk about women,” said Tillman, “Every time I write she is always on my mind.”

Two months after the arrival of his daughter, Tillman coached the 2011 S.A.Y.S. poetry slam team all the way to the back to HBO’s Brave New Voices. While busy coaching and mentoring the next generation of young poets, Dre-T also managed to make his way back as a solo act, repeating his performance and again placing in BNV’s top ten on the international stage.

As an educator and performer who is also a parent he takes the responsibility of inspiring the next generation very seriously. Soft spoken and attentive, the reason he fell in love with poetry makes him the perfect person to aid at-risk youth in finding their voices. “There’s so much trauma that the youth go through,” he describes, “My most important message is to love yourself. Then love the people so they can love themselves. We are in a time where selfishness is increasing and we’re traumatized by things we're not supposed to be afraid of. There are too many of us that are divided by our skin color, our status, or our age. I really love revolutionaries but where did all the hippies go? I wonder that all the time.”

While today’s radio and television push the image of rappers as drug dealing misogynists hustling to get by, emcees like Andre Tillman are quietly hard at work behind the scenes preserving the positivity and community empowerment the Hip Hop culture was built on. And they're doing it in our backyard.

To hear the latest music from Dre-T go to www.dre-t.com and to find out more about Sacramento Area Youth Speaks go to www.says.ucdavis.edu or come to Sol Collective on the second Monday of every month when S.A.Y.S hosts Microphone Mondays.

Disclosure: I met Dre-T through an open Mic that I host at Sol Collective every Monday night 8-10 p.m. Sacramento Area Youth Speaks hosts every second Monday of the month.

Art Songs of Unity

2012-01-30T01:54:22Z

The music recital hall at California State University, Sacramento was filled with the sounds of guests happily chatting and laughing in anticipation of the evening’s presentation, The Art of American Song. Even among the noise of the families and groups of students finding their seats, the empty stage maintained an ethereal glow, with a soft light illuminating a cardboard backdrop surrounding a grand piano.

Once the lights dimmed and the crowd fell silent, the hall was entered by two well-dressed faculty members who would be the entertainment for the evening. Hatem Nadim, an accomplished pianist, and Robin Fisher, a well known soprano, took their places on the stage.

The smiling Ms. Fisher began with a short introduction, describing the music they were going to share as “art songs you probably haven’t heard before.” An art song is a poem set to music, usually for the airing of a vocalist and pianist.

She then penetrated the room with her powerful rendition of the poem entitled, “Fantasy,” by Richard Nickson. Her sweet and clear soprano notes were constantly changing with the mood of each piece. With some songs she conveyed a haunting sense of sad thoughtfulness, while others were infused with a thunderous passion. At some points she would make comical faces and gestures to coincide with the more humorous pieces, such as “Shelling Peas” by Jessica Jackson. Fisher definitely succeeded with her comedic timing, receiving several chuckles from the audience.

Nadim held his own on the stage quite well with intricate solo parts and swift changing of mood for the accompaniment of each piece. His fingers fluttered effortlessly along the high keys for the energetic rendition of “Robin Song” by Emily Dickinson.

This awe-inspiring pair poured much spirit and emotion into every work of art by American greats such as Langston Hughes, Dorothy Parker, John Duke, Mary Howe and many others. They managed to breathe life into old poems that may possibly have been forgotten by younger generations.

Though stunning and elegant as a performer, Fisher did not forget her role as a teacher. Toward the end of the show, she encouraged the diverse audience, made up of elderly couples, families and groups of college students, to read the poems on their own in order to grasp the full meaning of them.

In just an hour-long performance, Fisher and Nadim helped convey so much more than just an appreciation of classic American music and poetry. With this melting pot of poets and composers, parents and children, performers and audience, exchange students and immigrants, they promoted the spirit of unity; the heart of American culture. They showed the common ground among the differences. Though they are both world travelers (and Nadim an immigrant from Egypt), they demonstrated a love for this country’s immense selection of art. Though they are both older than the students they teach, they exuded a shining spirit of youth.

The final selection of songs was written by Emily Dickinson, whom Fisher believes to be one of the finest American poets ever to have existed.

“She says so much with so little,” said Fisher.

At the last note of “I’m Nobody!” the audience members were on their feet in applause, showing they did not agree with the title of that song one bit.

MidLife GridLife - On Broadway

2011-12-02T06:38:12Z

Occasionally it has been whispered that I complain (whine) about things in my adopted hometown, so I decided to share some of my impressions of the place I've called home for almost forty years. The writing spans a bit of time and perspective, as well.

Before I was a columnist, I was a poet...

Saturday Night SacTown (Circa 1978)

Pregnant girls with basketball bellies
and bigger bad bangs
tarantula lashes
purple lips colored inside the lines
Not dressed for the weather
Hanging out by the Discount Store
Worrying their gum
Waiting

At the bar on K Street, gay men
Sucked in by the stereotype
Puppy dog eyes
Leather baseball caps and cowboy boots
Leather vests, Pearly buff chests
Eyes lined
Outside, after hours
(they call it the ‘patio sale’)
A sauna of soured cologne, musky desperation
Leftovers leave together

Wannabe grown-ups, adolescents
Tank tops hair gel
Cherry toenails on the dash
Cruising in cars
Windows down
Way down on Broadway
Speakers and adrenaline blaring
Bottle in the backseat
No U-turn

3/23/91

Tower, Café Patio
Sunday morning late
Saccharin on the breeze, sunshine
Legs folded, entwined, swan neck
Scuffed cotton slippers, hooded
Faded black scarf
Crocheted around her neck, faceless
Sad beautiful music
Sung far away in Spanish
Sifting water
Olive and grey sweaters
Books doodled and doted on, softened
Scarred
Glass of water with no lip imprint
Light through the shrubbery behind her, a paper sack
Stage right. I read her
With my brunch, she reads
And replaces things from the paper bag

When she takes her leave
her hip sway
hints at chapters I might have missed

2008

Abstract Art Exhibition at Urban Hive

2011-11-29T21:46:19Z

Now until the 5th of December you'll want to view the "Color and Words" exhibitiion at the Urban Hive. James Humphrey's abstracts invite you, "...the poet in, take his clothes off..." (from one of the late poet's work, Argument for Love. The chosen paintings number 15 of the 74 that were originally on display for his "Last Night Out" in Yonkers, New York in 2006. For more information you can call the Hive, (1931 H Street) 916-585-4483 or visit Mr. Humphrey's website, www.jameshumphrey.net. As fellow poet, Charles Bukowski (1920-1994) said, "Humphrey's poems--believe them. He's lived them. He knows that pain and usffering bloom like eternal flowers. He knows that trying is the one thing we have left." His art blooms in that same way.

Celebrating the Wonder of This Moment

2011-11-16T18:18:34Z

Bob Stanley, Poet Laureate, and the Brubeck Jazz Institute have been refining Saturday, November 19 evening's, performance at California Stage (25th and R streets). The Wonder Of This Moment, Jazz and Poetry Live featuring James Humphrey's poetry with Bob Stanley, Norma Humphrey and son, Saroyan, Eve West Bessier, Lawrence Dinkins, and Mary Zeppa. Beginning at 7 p.m., there will be wine and food tastings, a raffle with 17 prizes, the sale of the poet's books. It will be an intense show with music composed for nearly all the poetry. Quoting a prominent poet, Bob Stanley, "This is going to be quite an event!" A donation of $25 for Stanford Home for Children is requested. Call (916) 240-1897 or see website: www.jameshumphrey.net. Norma Humphrey is creating this event in honor of her late husband's wishes to raise awareness for at-risk youth.

Selections of Mr. Humphrey's abstract art, "Color and Words", is currently on exhibit now through December 5th at the Urban Hive,1931 H Street.

Ladies Night Out VI at the Guild Theater

2011-11-15T07:09:41Z

The Historical Guild Theater in Oak Park featured this year’s final Ladies Night Out event this past Saturday evening. Host Terry Moore put together a program that featured music, poetry, comedy, dancing, a fashion show and motivational speaking.

“I listen carefully to the feedback I receive from each event and respond accordingly,” stated Moore when commenting on how he determines the lineup of entertainment for each show.

“Our patrons request many of our performers who have been featured at previous events, but I always make it a point to bring in new artists who are working hard and deserve the opportunity to be showcased in front of their hometown,” said Moore.

The special guest host for the evening was Lee Perkins, best known as the DJ host of the morning show at V101.1 radio. Perkins’ debonair personality and easygoing style was accentuated by his well tailored appearance. He joked easily with the performers while complimenting each act for their contributions to the evening’s success.

During the preshow, two local poets came out and warmed up the crowd with their heartfelt original compositions.

First came Poet Dan Blake who recited a poem entitled, “It.” This was followed by a piece entitled, “I love you,” wherein he expressed his deepest sentiments about the woman in his life.

Poet La Roc then took the stage and debuted her newest poem, “Black Queen.” In it she expressed why it is so important for Black women to maintain the dignity, poise and self-respect of a queen, even in the face of what may sometimes seem to be the overwhelming circumstances of life.

Before the show officially got underway, models from Javonne Soder’s Live to Model modeling school put on a dazzling display of fashion. Their outfits ranged from street wear casual to formal wear, and were designed to catch the eye of and compliment women regardless of their age or figure.

The Sacramento Soul Line dancers were the first performers to come on stage. The audience responded with appreciation as they demonstrated the well-choreographed moves of the “El Paso” line dance to the remix of Mary J. Blige’s hit song “Just Fine.”

The dancers’ outfits were all black with pink trim and each of them wore a matching t-shirt that displayed a nickname. Ladies Night Out host Moore was a surprise guest dancer who had the name “Poet” emblazoned across his back.

House band Ear Candy displayed their customary level of talent and professionalism while playing behind the curtains before the show began and providing live music for artists whenever asked.

Ear Candy features Brother Gary on the bass, Lemont Kelsey on percussion, Ray Shamsid-Deen on drums and Jordon Tholmer on the keyboards. Singer J’Neen accompanied the group and provided lead and background vocals during the evening.

Ear Candy band leader and lead guitarist Norman McDaniel showed his skill and experience on the Roland synthesized guitar during their rendition of the Quincy Jones’ track, “Secret Garden.”

Singers Tony R., Remy, Lanoris Louis and Tone Malone each took a turn on lead vocals while setting a sensual atmosphere as they crooned to the ladies in the audience.

During their extended interpretation of the classic hit song, the ladies of Live to Model surprised the audience when they emerged dressed seductively in lingerie. The models used the aisles as their catwalk and were well-received and appreciated by both the men and the women in the audience.

Guest Host Perkins then brought the vendors that were present at the event onstage and asked each to describe their wares or the nature of their services.

Comedian Steph Sanders took the stage next and had the audience laughing immediately after he acknowledged the recent loss of boxer Joe Frazier and rapper Heavy D.

Sanders displayed a wide range of comic ability with his jokes. He went from poking fun at the Soul Line Dancers to describing the difficulties of bouncing back from a night on the town partying after the age of 30.

Sanders demonstrated comedic spontaneity when he broke out dancing and perfectly mimicked the video routine of New Edition’s “Cool It Now” in the moments after he experienced a brief microphone malfunction.

Motivational Speaker Theodry Carruth was then introduced to the audience. Carruth was immaculately dressed in a business suit that symbolized the serious nature of the subject matter of her talk entitled, “How to Keep Your Man at Home.”

Carruth had both male and female members of the audience mesmerized as she described to the ladies how she surveyed and obtained her information from a wide variety of men from all around the county.

Her advice to the ladies ranged from simple things to demonstrate appreciation, love and affection, to suggestions of a more serious nature. Her ideas included such things as leaving love notes in his homemade lunch and preparing homemade meals as often as possible, to practical advice on how to stop nit-picking and make him feel miserable and “less than.”

Throughout Carruth’s presentation, the audience frequently responded audibly to the many points she made. This was especially true when she advised the ladies to stop telling their friends what he’s not doing and instead, let him know. Carruth counseled that a woman should compliment her man often, treat him to a night out once in awhile and to stop using him like a personal ATM machine.

Popular singer and musician Tone Malone, aka Soulfish McGee, took the stage and treated the crowd to a demonstration of his unique talents by playing the piano and singing an original composition entitled, “Funk Song.” During the tune, the audience reacted with spontaneous applause to the stellar solo performance of Ear Candy’s McDaniel on lead guitar.

Tone Malone completed his set with a soulful performance of D’Angelo’s track entitled, “Chicken Grease.”

Just before the intermission, Tina B’s Men of Soul had the ladies in the crowd cheering in approval as they took the stage and performed the line dance, “Act Like You Know,” to Jaheim’s hit track, “Ain’t Leaving Without You.” The Men of Soul followed this up with some smooth coordinated steps to the song “Can you Feel It,” by Kem.

“It’s my first time here and I had no idea all this was going on,” said Marty Long while catching a breath of fresh air in front of the Guild just before the intermission.

“The show is very entertaining and I’m enjoying myself. I’ll be back at the next event,” stated Long.

During the intermission, host Lee Perkins took the stage with the ladies and gentlemen of the Tina B’s Soul line and had a fun time stepping to the song “Wobble Baby Wobble” by V.I.C.

While the dancers were clowning around on stage during the break in the show, a long line formed in front of the Guild Theater as the patrons patiently waited for the opportunity to obtain some delicious barbecue. Simply Southern Café owners Michael Mullins and Lynnis Woods-Mullins parked their catering truck just outside and made sure no one who needed food or refreshment when away without it.

“This is a very classy event,” said Pamela Talacon who was attending Ladies Night Out for the first time with her husband Joe.

“I came with no ideas or expectations,” stated Talacon during the intermission. “It has been an uplifting evening and I particularly enjoyed the comedy and the Sacramento Soul Line Dancers.”

Immediately after the break, guest host Perkins introduced comedian Dru Burks as the featured performer for the second part of the show.

Burks, a seasoned veteran of the local comedy scene, demonstrated his comedic chops by immediately teasing those audience members who might confuse Oak Park with the midtown area of Sacramento.

Burks then requested a showing of those who loved their women. He received a huge laugh after he challenged all the men who responded to turn over their cell phones to their lady. He went on to describe with great humor how women are far smarter than men when it comes to cheating on their mates.

House band Ear Candy immediately responded to Burks’ request for some gospel music, whereupon he started making jokes about his troubles with ushers whenever he shows up late for church in order to avoid the multiple times the plate is passed.

The surprise of the evening came from Robert Lee, J-Styles and Trei-Knoxx, three young male singers who call themselves True Stylez.

True Stylez took the stage and captivated the audience with a brief a cappella rendition of the Boyz II Men standard, “The End of the Road.”

Throughout their set, the three young men were rewarded with intermittent spontaneous applause for their coordinated dance steps, harmonies and vocal skills. All three songs, “Kick Rocks,” “Drowning” and “Can’t Let You Go,” were original tunes.

The final vocalist of the evening was singer Lady G, who exhibited strong passion and exquisite voice control while singing the track ‘Someone Like You,” by Adele.

Host Perkins thanked the crowd for attending the event before the Men of Soul took the stage for the final time.

“It was a really good show,” stated Katherine Gales as she left the Guild Theater.

“I’d like to see Ladies Night Out more often,” said Gales.

The Ladies Night Out series will resume in the new year on January 28, 2012 with a brand new show featuring more of Sacramento’s local talent.

Be sure to contact Terry Moore well in advance at (916) 208-POET or fromtheheart1@hotmail.com to purchase your tickets. The event is guaranteed to be another inspirational and fun evening of entertainment.

Disclosure: Othello Curry was an active participant in this week's Ladies Night Out Event. Othello worked as a member of the event staff.

Odes and corridos honoring Facundo Cabral

2011-11-08T06:46:37Z

The Center for Contemporary Art, Sacramento presented “Honoring Facundo Cabral: a Día de Los Muertos Poetry Reading” Friday evening. More than two dozen people attended the event, which included music, poetry, art and history.

Friday’s event was one of several associated with the “Voice for the Voiceless” exhibit featuring the artwork of Malaquías Montoya, who had created a piece in memory of Cabral, an Argentinean writer, singer and peace messenger who was murdered in Guatemala City on July 9, 2011. “Facundo Cabral Presente” was the backdrop for the evening’s reading and music, which featured poets Betty Sánchez, Nancy Aidé González and Francisco X. Alarcón, and musician Manuel Lopez.

Before the event began, the three featured poets shared their thoughts about Cabral.

“It is a privilege to take part in honoring his legacy of strength, of lucha por la paz, of love for the whole human race,” said Sánchez.

Aidé González added to this.

“He is an inspiring philosopher-poet and singer. I admire Facundo Cabral because he was a voice that protested the violence and dictatorship throughout Latin America,” said Aidé González.

“He was both a visionary and a superb musician with a continental trajectory,” said Alarcón. “We mourn his tragic passing in Guatemala and want to celebrate his life and work by having a reading on Friday in a gallery with another master of the visual arts committed to the best social causes of Latinos in the U.S., Malaquías Montoya.”

The event was one of community. Alarcón opened with a translation of Montoya’s words on the “Facundo Cabral Presente” piece, “He illuminated the path of our days.”

“We want to celebrate him on the Day of the Dead, a Mesoamerican syncretism that has been celebrated for thousands of years,” said Alarcón.

Alarcón introduced Sánchez, who introduced her poems with a story about her parents.

“My father used to live by Facundo's standards. He quoted Facundo sayings every time my mother complained about his careless attitudes. My mother told me one day, ‘Mija find out who is this Facundo Cabral that gives your father excuses for everything.’ She came across his music and fell in love with his philosophies. After that she replied to my father citing Facundo's words.”

Sánchez read three poems in Spanish. The first, “Ode to Facundo Cabral,” spoke of “his childhood, his spiritual guides and the impact his music had on the multitudes and how his words can still be applied to these turbulent days.”

Her other poems, “Ode to Present” and “Song to Life/Death” were, said Sánchez, “in response to an interview with Cabral where he had said that ‘the present is here and now, yesterday is gone and tomorrow will never come,’ and the concept that when we go to sleep we practice death, that we live 365 lives a year.”

Audience members who understood Spanish were provided with the full meaning – language and sound – while those who did not understand Spanish were provided with an alternate meaning of the language’s sound.

The evening was hosted by the exhibit’s curator, Xico González, who is also a poet, artist and activist. He said that he dedicated the reading to Cabral because he was introduced to Cabral’s music through Montoya, who played it in the silkscreen lab where they worked.

“The song gets me so emotional,” said González, adding that he was glad because, “I feel alive,” referring to Cabral’s most famous song, “No Soy de Aqui, Ni Soy de Alla” (“I’m Not from Here, I’m Not from There Either”).

“We connect to that song,” said González. “We’re in the middle.”

About Día de Los Muertos, he added, “A lot of us have lost people along the way. They are still with us. It is not about being sad.”

Although emotions were shared Friday night, it truly was a celebration of Cabral and of those who came before - the ancestors.

“Our tradition is circular. Someone else takes our place,” said González, who read Muerto Poem about the many ways to say that someone’s passed on. For this poem, he collected terms from different people (friends, professors, etc. at Sacramento State).

He introduced Nancy Aidé González, who stepped into Friday’s circle to replace him. She read three poems, all in English, and began with “Facundo Vive!”

She opened the poem with a quote by Cabral.

“’Do not lose anyone who died just ahead of us because we all go there.’”

Her first poem focused on how Cabral will continue to live in our hearts.

“You will live on in the smiles / of children / in the dreams of those oppressed by dictatorships / in the spirits of those that face obstacles with fortitude / in the shouts of revolutionaries / advocating freedom / and human rights / and in the flutter / of doves wings.”

Her second poem, “Offrenda,” was written for her grandfather, to honor him on Día de Los Muertos. She honored her female ancestors with her third poem, “The Ones that Live On,” and spoke about how they “inspire and empower” her.

“They are the force / that reach out and touch my soul / they are the hands / that lift me up when I have failed / they bathe me when I am covered in mud.”

“I especially honor my ancestors on Día de Los Muertos,” said Aidé González. “It is believed that that the spirit of the dead visit their families on that day.” She added, “It might sound somewhat morbid, but the Mexican people react to death with mourning along with happiness and joy. We accept that death is part of life.”

Morbid was definitely not the word of the evening. Each of the poets, the musicians and those in the audience respected one another as much as they did the reading and the man that brought them all together.

Between readers, González stepped in to speak of Cabral and often of Montoya’s artwork, in which “we see the faces of people struggling to make it. If you look around, you see pain, but also see celebration.”

He pointed to several pieces, including “Facundo Cabral Presente,” that included images of guitars, an instrument of music.

González also spoke of the timelessness of Montoya’s art, pointing out “Undocumented” from 1981 as the oldest piece in the exhibit. He spoke of the struggles that still occur thirty years after “Undocumented,” a topic that Montoya had spoke of in an earlier interview.

He introduced Alarcón, saying that he is glad someone is writing the stories for the younger generation. Alarcón, founder of Poets Responding to SB 1070, writes for both adult and children, and he read Spanish and English versions of each poem, beginning with “A la memoria de Facundo Cabral / In Memory of Facundo Cabral,” written this past week.

“la guitarra / calló muda / ensangrentada / una paloma / cayó del cielo / con las alas rotas”

“the guitar / fell silent muted / bloodied / a dove fell / from the sky / with broken wings”

Watching Alarcón read is a pleasure. His voice is strong, powerful and filled with the emotion of the words, whether he reads in Spanish or in English. The passion he has for the language, for the poetry and for his heritage was felt by the audience.

Alarcón moved next to “Trees are Poets,” which elicited considerable emotion from the crowd as he spoke about how the “trees go naked” in winter and how poets have the ability to heal the self through the empowerment of the word.

“up here / trees are / poets,” he began, before leading the audience through the seasons and the changes of both trees and poets, ending “with green / verses / once again.”

This poem was dedicated to the Writers of the New Sun, Sacramento, Calif.

Alarcón called Cabral a philosopher, saying, “We’ve all been influenced by his philosophy.” He said he tries to emulate Cabral.

He read several short poems from his book, “Poems to Dream Together/Poemas Para So,” a collection of bilingual poems for children. He opened with “Waking Dream/Sueño Para Despertar,” and he read several others first in Spanish and then in English, including a longer piece, “Day of the Dead/El Día de los Muertos,” which begins, “Day of the Dead / brings lots of joy / to the dead,” and ends with, “It’s my grandma / who comes to visit me!”

In 1993, César Chávez passed. Alarcón said that people had gathered to celebrate Jose Montoya’s new book. Joe Serna suggested cancelling the event, but Montoya disagreed, saying that Chávez would have wanted them to continue.

“I saw the power of poetry,” said Alarcón of that day and then read a poem written to honor Montoya, “A Poet is a River.” Within the poem are images of guitars, movements and indications that the poet, “Speaks / in tongues / brings back / the dead / makes / possible / dreaming / in the fields.”

This poem resonated with many attendees, as did his other poems.

When González stepped back into the circle, he spoke about one of the exhibit’s pieces, and he discussed why M. Montoya brought color into the piece.

He reflected, and indeed paid homage, to the words of the poets who had read, by pointing out some of the art pieces, discussing them, and referring back to lines from the poems.

He spoke of Richard Favela, who was his mentor and close friend.

“He was and is an inspiration of what I am and aspire to be, a committed and caring educator. He had this philosophy of a lifer and a long distance runner when it came to be committed to the struggle for equality and social justice for Chicanos and other underrepresented groups. He used to say, ‘I am a long distance runner and I will be a Chicano until I the end.’”

He also spoke about Phil Goldvarg, a Jewish American who had been very involved in the Chicano community.

He read poems honoring both men, beginning with “Versos pa' Favela” for his friend and mentor and “Ixtakuautli” for Goldvarg before introducing Manuel Lopez.

Lopez, a musician, spoke of the thirty-six year civil war in Guatemala and then said that he is twenty-eight years old.

“We left our countries, left with vision,” said Lopez, who called Cabral a martyr.

Lopez sang, “Memorias/Memories,” and explained that it was written when he was ready. The song honors his father, and is of the corrido tradition like those of Américo Paredes, a scholar interested in, among other things, the corrido, which Lopez said is “a way to tell a story and is used to education people.”

“Reading and writing is still a privilege,” said Lopez. He continued, “Even if you can’t understand the words, you can feel the emotion of the corrido.”

Lopez sang, played his guitar and when he finished, said, “It feels so good when the pain leaves your body.”

“Otro,” was heard in the audience.

Lopez graciously agreed to play another song. He performed Ramón Ayala’s “Puño de tierra,” which does not easily translate into English. As he sang, voices could be heard throughout the gallery. Women, men and children joined Lopez, and a community that had come together earlier in the evening sang as a single unit.

“The song speaks to a lot of people who know the tradition of that music,” said Lopez.

A short open mic segment followed where Roberto Lopez presented three pieces in Spanish, the last a tribute to his grandmother.

Sean Penna shared two pieces with the audience, including a piece that asked when America forgot that it was founded by immigrants.

González ended the evening with “Flor y canto.”

The evening was an opportunity to hear poets and musicians pay homage to Cabral, to their ancestors and to language.

Visitors to the gallery can view silkscreen prints, mixed media and charcoal drawings created by Montoya, including his latest piece honoring Cabral, a silkscreen entitled, “Facundo Cabral Presente,” which features Smartphone technology and the opportunity to hear the artist speak about the piece in either Spanish or English.

The Center for Contemporary Art, Sacramento is located at 1519 19th St.

Poets honor Facundo Cabral: A Día de los Muertos Poetry Reading

2011-11-03T04:17:45Z

On Friday, the Center for Contemporary Art, Sacramento will present “Honoring Facundo Cabral: a Día de Los Muertos Poetry Reading,” one of the events associated with the “Voice for the Voiceless” exhibit, featuring the artwork of Malaquías Montoya.

Curator Xico González will host Friday’s reading. A poet, artist and activist, he recruited four area poets to pay homage to Argentinian Facundo Cabral, a writer and performer of protest songs who gained fame in the 1970s when dictatorships, coups and other crises plagued Latin America. Cabral’s most famous song was “No Soy de Aqui, Ni Soy de Alla” (“I’m Not from Here, I’m Not from There Either”). Cabral went into exile in Mexico from 1976 to 1983 and was named “international messenger of peace” by UNESCO in 1996. He was killed in Guatemala City on July 9, 2011.

“Facundo Cabral has been part my life since the ’70s,” said Betty Sánchez, one of the featured readers and a longtime member of Los Escritores de Nuevo Sol. “I admire this wonderful man that, despite his hardships, [rose] above them and shared with the world his passion for life. It is a privilege to take part in honoring his legacy of strength, of lucha por la paz, of love for the whole human race. He will be with us as long as we remember him and follow his steps of fighting for human rights and embracing life no matter our circumstances. Facundo Cabral, PRESENTE, hoy y siempre! Looking forward to an exciting night of poetry in honor of a great man.”

Her thoughts on Cabral are echoed by Chicana poet, writer, educator and contributor to the “Poets Responding to SB 1070” Facebook page, Nancy Aidé González, another featured reader.

“I believe Facundo Cabral was a messenger of peace,” she said. “He is an inspiring philosopher-poet and singer. His songs spread the spirit of peace throughout the world. His songs, poems and writing touched my heart and the lives of millions. I admire Facundo Cabral because he was a voice that protested the violence and dictatorship throughout Latin America. He was a fervent believer in liberty and the equality of all men. I think it is important to remember the troubadour of a generation whose messages and songs will transcend all generations.”

One of the most well-known names reading on Friday is Francisco X. Alarcón, creator of “Poets Responding to SB 1070,” poet, activist and educator.

“Facundo Cabral was a cantautor (singer/composer) committed to the best social causes of the Latin American people,” he said. “He was both a visionary and a superb musician with a continental trajectory. We mourn his tragic passing in Guatemala and want to celebrate his life and work by having a reading on Friday in a gallery with another master of the visual arts committed to the best social causes of Latinos in the U.S., Malaquías Montoya.”

Visitors to the gallery can view silkscreen prints, mixed media and charcoal drawings created by Montoya, including his latest piece honoring Cabral, a silkscreen entitled “Facundo Cabral Presente.”

This is an opportunity to hear four poets pay homage to Cabral, and it is an opportunity to hear four poets pay tribute to language.

An open mic segment will follow the featured readers.

The Center for Contemporary Art, Sacramento is located at 1519 19th St. The free event runs from 7 to 9 p.m.

Celebrating a Literary Hero's Legacy

2011-11-02T20:50:01Z

Throughout his 50 years as a poet, James Humphrey (1939-2006), twice nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature, commited himself to the one thing he could do, write about his challenging babyhood, youth and teen years to teach elementary through college-aged individuals how to overcome their abuse. It was a rich legacy of works, both words and abstract art, "too rich to leave behind", his widow of 43 years, said.

Fellow poet, Charles Bukowski (1920-1994) wrote: "Humphrey's poems--believe them. He's lived them. He knows that pain and suffering bloom like eternal flowers. He knows that trying is the one thing we have left."

A retired librarian from NY, Mrs. Humphrey moved to Sacramento to be closer to her son, Saroyan (a professional photographer and graphic artist), only 16 months ago and worked hard to create a memorable living event, honoring her husband's wishes to raise awareness for at-risk youth by generously donating the event's proceeds to Stanford Home to empower youth and families to overcome the challenges that threaten to keep them apart.

The evening of November 19, 2011 called "The Wonder of This Moment" will benefit The Stanford Home for Children in a live performance of Mr. Humphrey's works read by four featured poets, Eve West Bessier, Poet Laureate, Bob Stanley, Mary Zeppa and Lawrence Dinkins and accompanied by the award-winning Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet at California Stage (25th and R Streets) beginning at 7 p.m.

There will be wine and food tastings, a raffle and a book sale of Mr. Humphrey's books included his latest book, Naked: Poems Selected and New, 1969-2006.

For tickets ($25) and more information, www.brownpapertickets.com. Also: www.jameshumphrey.net, www.sacramentopoetrycenter.org, bobstanley@sbcglobal.net, 916-240-1897.

Disclosure: I am Norma the widow of poet, James Humphrey who originated this benefit in honor of my late husband.

Last Red Night?

2011-10-16T03:14:07Z

The Red Night poetry series will close at Beatnik Studios after a year that has featured Mary Mackey, Kathryn Hohlwein, Josh Fernandez, Sandy Thomas, Bill Gainer, Lara Kaapuni, Phillip T. Nails, Crawdad Nelson, James Lee Jobe, Mario Ellis Hill and numerous others, including B.L. Kennedy, who was featured in the first show with Charlene Ungstad.

Kennedy will join Ann Menebroker and Paul Fericano to close the popular reading series that has run the third Wednesday of each month since July 14, 2010, and has been well-attended by poetry and prose enthusiasts.

Organizer Genelle Chaconas, a Sacramento State alum, artist and poet, envisioned the series as a place “where our shared instinct to create would be celebrated.”

“She’s serious about wanting to present very different types of poets and their poetry,” Menebroker said. “I think she’s done a very enthusiastic job of emceeing the poets she’s invited to read. I can only hope she finds another place for her poetry venue.

“(She is) a growing and illuminating poet in her own right, who has an impressive interest in past events, which is refreshing,” Menebroker continued.

Although Red Night has focused primarily on poets from the greater Sacramento area, this final event will include the voice of Paul Fericano, who splits his time between the San Francisco Bay Area and Santa Barbara. He is the co-founder of YU News, a parody news service, and the publisher of The Broadsider. He is widely published and recently performed with Menebroker in a tag-team reading, a concept he is promoting.

“Fericano writes of the human condition, but he also has a talented streak of humor in his work. His work has grown over the years and become even richer, better,” Menebroker said, adding, “Paul is a fantastically great reader!”

Poet B.L. Kennedy is a well-known name in Sacramento as one of the past hosts of the long-running “Poetry Unplugged” series at Luna’s Café and for projects throughout the Sacramento area. Kennedy was also presented both a Lifetime Achievement Award and a Community Service Award from the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission. He was the recipient of five new works in performance grants from SMAC and a new projects grant to help produce the film “I Began to Speak,” which he also directed.

About new projects, Kennedy said, “I am planning a special group reading of d.a.levy for next October, and I am also at work on an as yet untitled new collection of poems and a second edition of sonnets.”

“I asked Genelle Chaconas to be included in the last (event) so that I could give thanks to two poets that were major in helping shape my path in poetry,” Kennedy said. “I am both humbled and honored to read with (Fericano and Menebroker).”

“B.L. Kennedy and I have been friends for many years, and we've been on the same stage together many times, but it's been awhile, and I'm looking forward to reading with him,” Menebroker said. “B.L. has always been a dynamic reader and writes from the heart of his hopes and fears and longings with huge feelings and Kennedy Style.”

Menebroker is also a well-known Sacramento poet who doesn’t read publicly as often as some might like. Featured as the Nine of Hearts in the SMAC “Poets on Deck” (playing cards), she has authored over 20 collections, and her work can be found in “The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry.”

About the term "meat poet" often applied to her work, she said, “I'm not a great fan of hooking names on movements in poetry. Poets are poets and we do tend to go through periods of writing a certain way at a certain time, but it's an accident of birth and current cultures and histories. My writing has changed a lot over the years; it is no longer so personal, so confessional. There isn't as much “me” in it, although no one can write and keep themselves out of the poem, the idea of it.”

Menebroker's newest book of poems entitled “The Measure of Small Gratitudes” published by Kamini Press in Sweden will be released soon.

These three poets rarely give public readings, so this is an opportunity not only to be at the closing of Red Night at Beatnik but to see and hear three poets, all with different styles, whose works complement one another.

Wednesday’s event begins at 8 p.m. and costs $5 at the door. Beatnik Studios is located at 2421A 17th St.

“Voice for the Voiceless” opens at CCAS

2011-10-05T06:46:02Z

A solo exhibit featuring the work of Malaquías Montoya, “Voice for the Voiceless,” opened September 20 at the Center for Contemporary Art, Sacramento and will continue through November 18.

A cultural reception will be held this Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m., opening with “a Mexica blessing to be performed by Kalpulli Maquili Tonatiuh (a local Aztec dance circle),” said Xico González, curator of the exhibit.

“In the Chicana/o tradition, we pay homage to those that came before us, to the people that Malaquías pays homage to in his artwork,” said González.

Montoya, one of the founders of the social serigraphy movement, will speak about himself and his art, which includes “Undocumented,” from 1981 and “Facundo Cabral,” created a few months ago after the death of the Argentine singer and songwriter.

Montoya says that topics of war and immigration are still relevant, adding that, “The Vietnam War may be over, but we are still involved in war.”

About the exhibit Montoya said, “This exhibit has been intact for many years. I try to keep the work together and use it as a voice for those who don’t speak for themselves.”

Montoya does not sell his work commercially, but he created one piece for this exhibit to raise funds for the Center for Contemporary Art, Sacramento, a non-profit arts organization. “El Sueño” is a limited edition silkscreen print, and Montoya said that he first drew the image in charcoal, a favorite medium that permits “an explosion of emotions,” and turned the drawing into a silkscreen.

“I bought fabric to silkscreen over the face. Netting adds to the dreamlike quality, the power of the print and a certain dignity and sadness,” said Montoya.

Montoya often adds quotes or poetry to his works, and a quote from a Chilean singer may be read on “El Sueño.” He doesn’t believe that artwork always needs to speak on its own.

“I often want people to walk away with what I intended,” said Montoya.

Montoya works with what he has at hand. Charcoal is fast and allows him to better express emotions as they arise from the artwork.

“Sometimes the hand or shoulder is not quite right, but to rework the drawings becomes academic,” Montoya said. “Prints require more discipline,” he explained, “but they permit the message to be repeated many times.”

His work has been referred to as propaganda art, not usually accepted in galleries, but he doesn’t mind that label.

“Art speaks on behalf of others, and it depends on who you want to propagandize for,” said Montoya. “I wanted to speak of how my mother contributed to the wealth of the country, but my early pieces were narrative and not in fashion with the pop and funk art.”

Montoya’s works speak about and for many issues and people, but the themes of “injustice, empowerment and international struggle” are prominent in his work.

“In my images of struggle for justice I try to illuminate with clarity the defects of social and political existence. My images of empowerment are intended to confront the multitude of images of disempowerment given to us by our daily media… Images of international struggle are important to our community,” writes Montoya.

Diana Bowers, gallery assistant, demonstrated how attendees may use their smartphones to scan the barcodes on nine of the exhibited pieces. With the proper app, viewers can listen to Montoya speak about particular pieces.

“If you miss the lecture, you can still hear the artist talking in his own words,” said Bowers.

“Montoya provides the background and issues that he was addressing with those pieces in English and in Spanish,” added González.

González also said that Montoya is “very committed to educating young generations about Chicana/o art and the responsibility of the artist to the community.”

He also spoke about a new project for area students that will utilize Skype technology.

“Students from the Met Sacramento High School will be given a virtual private tour and will have an opportunity to talk to Montoya,” explained González.

Montoya’s dedication to students will culminate in a reception and critique.

The Center for Contemporary Art, Sacramento gallery is open Tuesday through Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m.

In addition to Saturday’s reception, several other programs have been planned around this exhibit, including a lecture by Montoya on October 12 at CCAS, an author’s presentation by Terezita Romo on November 3 at CSUS, and a poetry reading entitled, “Remembering Facundo Cabral,” on November 4 at CCAS.

Sac World Fest a success

2011-10-04T07:06:26Z

The 4th annual World Music & Dance Festival in Old Sacramento this past weekend featured a wide variety of live music, dance events and ethnic foods, as well as arts and crafts from all parts of the globe.

The main celebration was scheduled Sunday between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., although the Spotlight On: India! extravaganza kicked off the weekend’s events on Saturday evening at 6 p.m.

In keeping with Sacramento’s reputation as the most multi-ethically integrated big city in America, performances were turned in by all levels of local talent, from student groups to nationally recognized performers who live in and near the Sacramento area.

Attendees of the event had unrestricted access to visit Passenger Station Stage and the Waterfront Stage all day Sunday. Music and dance performances representing nearly every major cultural group in Sacramento continued nonstop from 10 a.m. until well past their scheduled closing time of 5 p.m.

In addition, performances were featured most of the day at the Old Eagle Theater and outside along Front Street at the Fats City Performance Area. The Global Village held demonstrations of a wide variety of ethnic cooking styles and also had displays of arts and crafts from various corners of the globe.

Anyone looking for a bargain was not disappointed. There was a wide ranging selection of ethnic arts and crafts, jewelry, fine arts and literature available from several dozen vendors who attended the event. The event also featured items and attractions aimed especially for kids including children’s theater, hands-on art projects, face painting, storytellers and traditional toys from various cultures for sale.

“It was an awesome event with a lot of cultural diversity,” stated Gabrielle Overton, who attended the event with her three young children.

“It was a great experience for my kids to get exposed to a variety of music and dance styles from around the world,” stated Overton.

Nationally recognized poet and spoken word artist Terry Moore hosted the Fat City Performance Area during the afternoon from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m.

“I was thrilled to accept the invitation to bring out some of our regularly featured artists who perform at The Show,” stated Moore in reference to his monthly Afrocentric variety show which features poetry, live music and dance on the last Saturday of each month at the Florin Business Arts Complex in Sacramento.

“Events like the Sac World Fest are part of the reason why Sacramento is a great place to live and raise children,” said Moore.

The Sac World Fest mission statement is, “To showcase the cultural diversity of the Sacramento region through the presentation of an ethnic dance and music festival for all ages, providing an educational and entertaining experience.”

Josie Corrales agreed that the event lived up to its mission.

“I had a great time,” said Corrales. “They had some really great performances that got the audiences involved. I’ll be sure to come back next year.”

Rafael Jesús González - activism and poetry amid costumes at La Raza Galería Posada

2011-09-30T06:24:10Z

Wednesday evening was filled with poetry, music and activism when Rafael Jesús González (poet, professor, artist and bilingual studies innovator) read to a full house at La Raza Galería Posada. He was accompanied by flautist and Rooted in Community co-director Gerardo O. Marín and artist and activist Colin Miller.

The event was hosted by Los Escritores del Nuevo Sol / Writers of the New Sun and opened with local writer JoAnn Anglin. She spoke of the group’s founding in 1993, its monthly writing group, monthly readings and of the group’s anthology, “Voices of the New Sun: Songs and Stories / Voces del Nuevo Sol: Cantos y Cuentos.”

González was introduced by Dr. Fausto Avendaño, a retired Sacramento State foreign language professor, who explained that the evening’s reading would be bilingual. Poems, stories and introductions would be read in Spanish, and English versions, not translations, would follow.

The two men met many years ago, and Avendaño said González’s poetry resembled Federico Garcia Lorca’s, and that “the images struck (him) because it is hard to equal Garcia Lorca.” The idea González put forth that “poetry is just a game with words, images and metaphors” also reminded Avendaño of Garcia Lorca.

González read in front of a backdrop of swirling color, thanks to the current exhibit, “Ballet Folklorico-Lace and Ribbons: The Making of Cultural Affirmation-Costumes from the Instituto Mazatlan Bellas Artes.” He opened by burning a small leaf, a custom he performs before each reading, one that comes from his ancestors.

“We burn a little bit of fragrant smoke to invoke the gods so that what we say does not offend them or the audience,” he said, and suggested that politicians try this custom.

Judging from the full house that remained through nearly three hours, in a room that was often too warm, the sage-burning worked.

He began with a poem honoring Rosh Hashanah, the first day of the Jewish New Year. As with most poems, González provided some background. His third poem was one of his first published poems, and he says the topic is “as pertinent today as it was then.” The poem’s last line is “How much, Mister.”

To which he responded, “Too much. Far, far too much. Many of us were asked to give up our culture and our language to assimilate. We lost our names and took on English names to protect us from prejudices.”

Being an activist and a poet, many of the evening’s poems were politically charged. He read several poems about heroes like César Chávez, whose “voice will bear fruit and there will be rejoicing in the furrows, in the ditches.” He reminded the audience that “the battles of the fieldworker are not done,” and he urged people to remember the blood of those who died “when you say grace above your meal.”

Several nerves were touched when he read “To My Student,” with its memorable line of “You who can read, do not take it for granted.” Following the poem, he said that 1968 California “had the best education system in the country,” but that Proposition 13 (1977/78) “undermined the whole infrastructure of the state of California, and (he) quickly saw the literacy rate plummet.”

At the time, he was teaching at Laney Community College in Oakland, where the oldest student was 79 and the youngest was 18, and where “real education was taking place.” Today, he says that it is “to our shame that the wealthiest state cannot afford to teach its children” and called No Child Left Behind the most anti-education act.

Poems about the Golden Gate Bridge, houses, and jade hearts preceded more hero poems. One was about Victor Jara, one of the imprisoned intellectuals in post-Allende Chile. “The Hands” relates the near-myth story of Jara’s hands being severed by guards, and the refrain of “each drop, a note against silence” served as a reminder for each of us not to remain silent.

Perhaps the most touching of González’s poems was “Blankets,” written for “my mother (who) still covers me with rainbows.” This piece, as with a few others, was accompanied by Marín, who played two different native Mexican flutes.

The music served to make González’s voice stronger, and it seemed to work better with the Spanish readings. But Marín, who always watched his maestro, never overpowered the words.

Following a poem written as part of his dissertation about the influence of the gypsy idiom on Garcia Lorca’s work, he spoke about living and writing.

“Everything we do is a game,” he said. “Living is a celestial game that is sometimes peaceful, sometimes difficult. Sometimes words are very volatile. To name a thing can take away its power, (and that) gives us power over nature.” He called naming a “sacred act.”

About writing, González said, “Everybody can write.” He urged the audience to “write for fun. Write for the music of the words. Write to overcome your pain. Write to celebrate your joys.”

He closed with “If We Do Not Speak,” influenced by his invitation to the 20th World Congress of Poets in 2005. While driving home from Santa Fe, N.M., he considered what he wanted to tell his fellow colleagues who spoke in many languages. The opening line is “If we do not speak to praise the Earth / It is best we keep silent.”

He closed with a reminder that “we have never been expelled from paradise. We live in paradise,” and that we “need to care for and love the earth more.”

Ladies Night Out V at the Guild Theater

2011-09-06T06:15:37Z

Terry Moore Presents brought Ladies Night Out V to the Historic Guild Theater in Oak Park this past Friday night. This final show of the summer series at the Guild lived up to its billing as a red carpet event complete with celebrity VIP guests and a fantastic show.

“We really wanted to show our appreciation to Sacramento for all of the support we’ve received this year by ending the summer with a special event,” stated Moore.

“The most satisfying part of the evening was looking out over the audience and seeing everyone enjoying themselves and having a good time,” said Moore.

The special guest host for the red carpet extravaganza was Courtney Dempsey of Channel 31’s “Good Day Sacramento” morning show. Moore’s choice of Dempsey to host the show proved to be the right one. Smartly outfitted in an all white dress, Dempsey brought to the stage her unique combination of elegance, charm, polish, and wit.

The Sacramento Soul Line Dancers charged the atmosphere in the theater with electricity before with curtains opened to start the event by showing off their synchronized line dance moves to Mary J. Blige’s “Just Fine” and V.I.C.’s “Wobble Baby Wobble.”

The evening’s house band Ear Candy started playing Bobby Calwell’s hit “What You Won’t Do For Love” before the curtains opened with local R&B singer Tony R. peeking out first on the vocals before the curtains opened to start the show.

Tony R. then had the pleasure of introducing Dempsey to the audience who immediately encouraged the crowd to relax and get comfortable while commenting on the soul line dancers and describing the lineup of entertainment scheduled for the evening. Dempsey acknowledged and thanked Moore for all of his efforts to put together the series of events showcasing all of the local talent in Sacramento and providing an opportunity for artists to build a following locally as the foundation before moving forward in their careers.

The Lady Jaz Project opened the show with its’ unique style of gospel, funk, urban contemporary music. The band features Lady Jaz on the lead vocals with backup singers Sharhonda Ruffin and Arameya Scott, Rick Smith on guitar, Willie G. Martin Jr. on the bass, and Robert Scott on the drums.

The band played four original songs in its set. “What’s His Name,” “Better Than That,” “One on One,” and “Solider Song.” Lady Jaz demonstrated her strong vocals and a powerful stage presence throughout the set, but the crowd really got moving and motivated with swaying and hands clapping on the final number as their dance step routines mimicked soldiers on the march.

In a surprise addition to the program, Dempsey brought out the men of Sacramento Soul Line Dancers to show off their moves to Usher’s track, “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home).” Each member displayed their own individual style while staying in step with the others which lent an air of spontaneity to the well rehearsed dance routine.

The ladies in the predominately female crowd moved to the aisles and started to groove along with the men on stage who were all sharp dressed in an array of fashionable suits, ties and dress hats. After the number, everyone in the audience rose and gave the dances a standing ovation in appreciation of their entertaining performance.

J.D. Sanders described the purpose of the Sacramento Soul Line Dancers as, “A way to have fun, maintain good health, and make new friends,” when speaking of the weekly practice sessions every Thursday night at the Touch of Class from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and the many events where they perform throughout the Sacramento region.

Accomplished local comedian Andre Bailey showed off his comedic chops and demonstrated why he has been featured everywhere from the Apollo Theater to Laughs Unlimited when he took the stage to tickle the funny bones of the Ladies Night Out audience.

Poking fun at everything from Oak Park to airport security x-ray machines to members of small churches to Wocka Flocka Flame, Bailey visibly enjoyed himself by laughing along with the crowd at his own jokes.

Event founder Terry Moore stepped up to the stage to acknowledge some of the celebrity V.I.P’s in attendance and to pass out some door prizes to the guests who were seated in the V.I.P. seating with the help of host Dempsey.

Dempsey introduced R& B singer Kaleo Ross who began his set with “Blackstreet’s Before I Let You Go,” before launching directly into his recently released single ‘Supaman.” Kaleo responded to cheers and loud applause from the audience as he appeared to feeding off of their encouragement as he sang the difficult notes in both of the tracks.

Much to the surprise of the audience, House Band Ear Candy reappeared on stage behind Kaleo as he announced a special collaboration. As the music played and Kaleo used his voice as an instrument, the voice of Terry Moore came over the loudspeakers as he read one of his newest love poems, “Married Kind of Love,” from offstage, much to the delight of the audience.

In response to the crowd’s demand for more, Moore then came on stage and joined Kaleo and recited his well loved poem, “12 Things I’ll Do to Keep You,” with Kaleo singing ad lib’s of the lines between each of the verses.

Throughout the performance of the combination of poetry and singing, Ear Candy band leader and lead guitarist Norman McDaniel showed his skill and experience on the Roland synthesized guitar.

With band members Brother Gary on the bass, Lemont Kelsey on percussion, Ray Shamsid-Deen on drums, with both Karen Westbrook and Jordon Tholmer on the keyboards, the group played jam session style and never missed a beat. Moore, Kaleo, and Ear Candy all entertained the audience as a unit making it appear as if they had been doing it together for years.

Ear Candy brought the volume down while playing Bobby Caldwell’s hit song “What You Won’t Do for Love” in the background as Dempsey briefly appeared on stage to introduce singer Yardley Griffin, Jr.

Griffin and Ear Candy picked up the volume as the jam session continued with guitarist McDaniel leading the band with various arrangements of the Caldwell track including one with a reggae beat.

Griffin then introduced himself and showed a great deal of personality and stage presence as he joked with the crowd before he amped up the energy in the theater by singing “The Truth” by India.Arie. The ladies in the crowd responding by waving the carnations in the air concert style that Dempsey passed out earlier in the evening from the stage with the help of the ushers courtesy of event sponsor G.Rossi & Co., Florists.

After Griffin had the crowd clapping along with a bluesy song entitled “Get On Away From Me,” he took a moment to explain his roots in gospel music and to compliment the crowd for being one of the best live audiences he had ever performed in front of in his career.

Everyone in the theater responded enthusiastically by standing on their feet and singing along the chorus to Griffin’s earnest rendition of Fred Hammond’s song, “We’re Blessed,” to finish out his set

During the intermission a few audience members, including some small children, joined in on stage with the Sacramento Soul Line Dancers who were demonstrating their line dance routine to “Cupid’s Shuffle” by Cupid.

In the lobby Simply Southern Café owners Lynnis Woods Mullins and Michael Mullins, offered plates of fish, chicken, or ribs with side orders of green beans and salad along with a drink.

While waiting in line to be served, patrons were browsing through the selections offered by vendors including Traci Lynn fashion Jewelry offered by Zina Beard, Mary Kay Cosmetics offered by Mary Kay Beauty Consultants Lolita Johnson Hopkins and Nadia Olivian, and fashions offered by African American Expressions.

During the intermission, celebrity V.I.P. guest Amar Khalil, lead singer of Tony! Toni! Toné! stated,

“This is a great event, how they got it together and got everybody to come. The food is fabulous and the talent is really good. I’m enjoying myself.”

Samoria Lamuse stated, “I like this atmosphere and I feel really comfortable being able to move around without being restricted to enjoy the food.”

“This event is nicely put together,”Lamuse said.

When the show resumed, high energy dancer Ozala showed the ladies how to stay fit with a lively demonstration of Zumba.

Dempsey then introduced by designer and image consultant LaTanya DeNine, who in turn presented a brief fashion show featuring original creations from her de Neuf clothing line.

Comedian Dru Burks came to the stage and immediately began teasing everybody in the theater from the “skinny women” in the audience to the Sacramento Soul Line men whom he referred to as “The Five Heartbeats.”

Burks told event founder Terry Moore that the lobby reminded him of a church picnic during the intermission before he went on reprove the ladies for “facebook trickery” by only putting head shots on their facebook pages.

Dempsey then warmly introduced her long-time friend, poet Sean King, after she described the reputation for being an intellectual he earned at Sacramento State during their time on campus together.

King departed from the thought provoking poetry that is his stock in trade and recited two of his love poems, “Bit the Apple” and “You Inspire Me,” in keeping with the theme of love that is a part of Ladies Night Out.

Poet, singer, and actor Noah Hayes, aka, Supernova, then took the stage and honored his wife with his love poem, “You…” before reciting another love piece entitled “I’ve Seen My Future.”

Supernova then demonstrated his versatility as an entertainer by singing “My Cherrie Amor” by Stevie Wonder and “Ordinary People” by John Legend. He finished his set by singing the gospel standard ‘How Great Is Our God” to the highly appreciative audience.

After host Dempsey closed out the show by thanking the audience, the Sacramento Soul Line Dancers capped off the evening a final line dance to “Work It Like a Pro” by Roi Anthony featuring Cupid.

Former V101.1 radio D.J. Lee Perkins commented regarding the evening of entertainment,

“This was an excellent show and it’s great for families. Its’ better that the club scene and it had some real quality entertainment.”
“I had an absolutely wonderful time.” said Denise Henderson.

This event reminds me of the good times I had on the east coast- I’m impressed,” Henderson stated.
The Ladies Night Out series will resume after a two month hiatus on November 12, 2011, with a brand new show featuring more of Sacramento’s local talent

Disclosure: Othello Curry was an active participant in this week's Ladies Night Out Event. Othello worked as a member of the event staff.

Rock Away Labor Day Autism Awareness Event at State Capitol

2011-09-02T05:24:20Z

The Rock Away Labor Day Autism Awareness Event will be held on Sept 5, 2011 at the West and North steps of the Capitol Building in downtown Sacramento. The event kicks off at 11 a.m. and is scheduled to end at 7 p.m.

The Rock Away Labor Day show will feature a diverse lineup of live music, fashion shows, comedians, dance groups, a face painting area for children, raffles and more. The event is free of charge and is open to the public.

The purpose of the event is to have a day of enjoyment in a family friendly environment, to create more awareness about autism, and to provide educational and community resources on the subject. In addition, a part of the proceeds from the vendors who will be present at the event will be donated to help to purchase toys that help to teach children with autism and training tools to help families in need of learning how to cope with the disorder.

The moving force behind this Labor Day event is musician and photographer Richard Evans. As is typical for many parents who have a child with autism, Evans knew nothing about the disease when his son Ricardo was diagnosed with the condition at the age of 4. His desire to increase the public awareness of what autism is inspired him to create the organization, Muzic 4 Autism Awareness which is hosting the event.

“In the beginning it was tough because I had no idea what autism was at all,” stated Evans.

“For me the biggest triumph was finding the right doctor. We were able to find treatment therapies and medications that increased Ricardo’s focus and help him to sleep at night,” Evans said.

Although autism or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are familiar terms to many people, it remains one of the most baffling and mysterious of developmental disorders in the public conscious and in the medical profession.

Autism affects social and communication skills, and to a greater or lesser degree, motor and language skills. At present there is no definitively known cause or cure. Nor is there any one specific treatment for the disorder.

The Autism Society, the nation’s leading grassroots autism organization states on its website;

“While there is no known cure for autism, there are treatment and education approaches that may reduce some of the challenges associated with the condition. Intervention may help to lessen disruptive behaviors, and education can teach self-help skills that allow for greater independence.”

As Evans has learned over the years raising his son, often times there are no easy solutions. Because of the deficits in his speech and his lack of social skills, Ricardo cannot be left unattended, even though he is nearly 13 years old.

Fortunately for Evans, Ricardo’s older sister Rita, age 14, loves her younger brother and has always been supportive and understanding of the challenges of having a member of the family with autism.

“Many people do not realize my son has a disability because he looks "normal," said Evans.

Ricardo’s unusual or disruptive behavior can draw attention while the three members of the Evans’ family are out in the public. People often glance with a look of annoyance and sometimes stare at them with a look of wonder.

“When I inform them that my son has autism, they say “oh ok,” but the look on their faces most often tells me that they don’t really know what that is,” Evans stated.

The Autism Society confirms that the experiences of Evans' are typical of most other families with a member diagnosed with the condition. The struggle, however difficult it may be at times, is not without hope.

” But just as there is no one symptom or behavior that identifies individuals with ASD, there is no single treatment that will be effective for all people on the spectrum. Individuals can learn to function within the confines of ASD and use the positive aspects of their condition to their benefit, but treatment must begin as early as possible and be tailored to the child's unique strengths, weaknesses and needs.”

All members of the public are invited out to spend all or a part of their Labor Day enjoying the music, poetry, comedy, and other special features that will be on the stage at the Rock Away Labor Day Autism Awareness Event on this upcoming Labor Day. For more information about the event visit the organization’s website at www.m4aa.org.

“March to the Beat of One Heart”: Somalian Aid Concert in Sacramento Set for Sat., Sept. 3

2011-08-30T19:54:28Z

On Saturday September 3, a broad, multi-genre group of area musicians will join together to present a benefit concert for Somalian refugees. “March to the Beat of One Heart” will be held at Antiquite Maison Privee, 2114 P Street in midtown Sacramento. The event runs from 5 pm-11pm and there is $10 minimum donation.

The concert, in association with the Midtown Business Association and Swell Productions, will feature ten Sacramento musical acts playing for a common goal of assisting victims of the war and drought-ravaged region. 100% of the proceeds will go to Doctors Without Borders, a worldwide humanitarian aid organization, and their efforts in Somalia.

Guitarist and concert promoter Ross Hammond came up with the idea for the concert a little more than two weeks before the show date. "I was sitting at home reading the news about the millions of starving families displaced because of war, drought and famine. Watching this unfold is heartbreaking, and I felt that even though we're so far away we can still help. I'm no doctor or aid worker, but I do know how to put music together for a cause. After the initial idea, the concert came together in two days. The venue, sponsors, artists and press were very eager to get involved, so here we are."

The Somalian Aid Concert will feature music by Lee Bob Watson, The Ricky and Del Connection, Electropoetic Coffee, Greenhouse, Kathy Barwick and Pete Siegfried, Sherman Baker, Jahari Sai and Dave Lynch, Crossing the River, Walking Spanish and the Harley White Jr. Trio. These artists span many genres including folk, bluegrass, blues, jazz, soul and world music.

"This concert bridges the gap of seemingly disconnected Americans with the plight of desperate, starving people a world away," says Electropoetic Coffee poet Lawrence Dinkins. "Sacramento artists are rising to the call. I'm proud today to call myself a Sacramentan."

The motivation for Sacramento guitarist and songwriter Gene Smith (The Ricky and Del Connection, Kai Kln) is a humanitarian one. "After seeing the pictures on the news, it breaks my heart to see humans treat each other this way. I feel if I have a talent that can better things in any capacity then I will use it. Everyone should do that, whether they are a doctor or a lawyer or a musician."

Not only are Sacramento musicians donating their talents, but local businesses are also assisting. Midtown's Phono Select Records will be on hand spinning records before, during and after the event.

Profound Sound, a midtown musical instrument and repair store is donating a full PA system to use for the event. "I like to support the local scene and I especially like seeing others getting involved" says Profound Sound owner Joey Cline. "The situation in Somalia has been ongoing for 20 years now, and the average Somali lives on less than $1/day. If you want to help, this is a good cause."

"The idea is to present a variety of artists to show that this is a global issue," says Hammond. "The music showcased at this concert really covers the sound spectrum. We can all come together in Sacramento to raise awareness and money for this cause. If we can do it here, it can be done anywhere. Remember 'We Are the World?' I do."

Disclosure: Submitted by Mindy Giles, Swell Productions.

Soul Night at the Guild Theater

2011-08-30T05:12:58Z

Terry Moore Presents brought his latest show concept, Soul Night, to the historical Guild Theater in Oak Park Saturday night. The “Soul Night" show was ably hosted by popular certified life coach and Christian counselor Kerri Herndon.

“We are evolving and growing as an organization while responding to the feedback we receive from our supporters,” said Moore when describing how the concept of Soul Night originated. “Soul Night is a show for everybody to come out and enjoy music, poetry, and dancing that will inspire the soul.”

Poet Aaron G. read his poem. “I Had a Dream” and Othello H. Curry, 3rd read his poem, “Single and Free to Mingle” at the open mic before the curtains opened to begin the show.

Host Kerri Herndon, who was introduced by singer Tony R., thanked Terry Moore and welcomed the audience to the event. Herndon then brought out popular dancer Sonic Boom to open the show. Sonic Boom amazed the crowd with an energetic and enthusiastic display of his prowess on the stage.

Leah Byrd was the first featured poet onstage during the evening. Her three poems “Broken Glass,” “Jungle Fever” and Farewell Religion” spoke of various aspects of her personal journey. The themes of her poems Included heartache caused by a failed relationship, the complex issues of self identity caused by a mixed race background, and own personal quest to move her spirituality beyond the confines of religious practices.

Local R&B singer Kaleo then crooned to the ladies in the audience with the song, “Love,” by Musiq Soulchild. His performance also included his two original songs, “Don’t Let Your Love Go,” and his recently released single, “Supaman.” The audience responded as he hit difficult high notes with frequent and spontaneous applause.

Host Kerri Herndon then took time to pump up the crowd by looking for the most enthusiastic members. Herndon then passed out pairs of tickets to the upcoming performance of “What My Husband Doesn’t Know,” featuring Morris Chestnut. Several audience members were observably thrilled with their good fortune.

Herndon then brought statuesque vocalist Yvette Gauff to the stage. After acknowledging all of the hard work put in by Terry Moore and the event staff, Gauff took time to model the necklace she wore during the evening. Her accessory was provided by Traci Lynn Fashion Jewelry and offered by independent fashion consultant Zina Beard.

Gauff also encouraged audience members to familiarize themselves with the selections offered in the lobby by Deborah and Mz. J, the proprietors of Sista Girl Clothing.

With Gauff on the vocals and the evening’s house band Ear Candy, event founder Terry Moore inspired the audience to dance in the aisles to the heartfelt rendition of Tom Brown’s hit song, “Funkin’ for Jamaica.”
Norman McDaniel playing the Roland synthesized guitar, Brother Gary on the electric bass guitar, Jordon Tholmer on the keyboards and Ray Shamsid-Deen on the drums, Ear Candy demonstrated its versatility, experience and talent with some creative solos while playing Bobby Caldwell’s “What You Won’t Do Love.” Gauff sang the first verse onstage before coming down into the audience and asking for individual audience members to sing the chorus in exchange for pairs of tickets to the upcoming stage play featuring Morris Chestnut.

While the band continued to play in the background, Herndon brought out R&B singer Tone Malone, aka Soulfish McGee, who picked up where Gauff left off and continued on with his own rendition of Caldwell’s hit. Ear Candy altered the arrangement to match Malone’s voice and style.

Following the soulful tune, Malone spoke for a few minutes about the meaning of soul music and the recent loss of songwriter and singer Nick Ashford. As a tribute to the duo Ashford and Simpson, Malone then brought out singers Denice Jones, Kaleo and Yvette Gauff to sing a verse of their hit song, “Solid as a Rock.”

Malone ended his set by demonstrating the amazing vocal range and talent that has made him so popular in Sacramento by singing “Beautiful” by Musiq Soulchild.

Gospel singer KoRae’Jus (pronounced courageous) then brought some heartfelt inspiration to the stage with her original song, “Breathe.”

With her backup singers, known collectively as Gideon 300, KoRae’Jus inspired the audience with her uplifting message of taking the time to simply breathe when facing difficult times - regardless of your life’s circumstances.

KoRae’Jus ended her set with another original song entitled, “Get Your Life Back.” She demonstrated powerful vocals reminiscent of Shirley Caesar and Patti LaBelle while relating to the audience the importance of being spiritually grounded.

After a short break, versatile songstress Tessa Evans opened the second half of the show and astonished unacquainted fans with her original song, “Infliction,” due to be released on her upcoming E.P. Evans’ soft voice and sultry jazz-influenced sound shone through as she graced the audience with her fluent vocals. To complete her set, Evans brought singer Tone Malone on stage. They showcased their unique vocal talents as a duet while singing, “Ordinary People,” by John Legend. They made the song their own, much to the appreciation of the audience.

The crowd was then treated to a brief fashion show featuring the de Neuf clothing line created by designer and image consultant LaTanya Denine.

Poetry once again took center stage when Anna Marie took the mic for two selections, “Freedom of Speech” and “Love Poem.” She was followed by poet and spoken word artist NSAA, whose high energy and rapid fire reading of his two pieces, “This Poem Is Stronger Than Me” and “The Trap,” held the crowd between rapt attention and laughter.

Dance group Naé² (pronounced nay to the second power) finished the show with an energetic synchronized dance routine choreographed by troop members Shayné Stanley, Zhane Stanley and NuNue LaShae.

Their dance number featured skit-like expressions and costume changes that were coordinated to their own mix of popular dance tracks and hip-hop raps appropriately sanitized for the family friendly audience.

As always, audience members were both pleased and impressed with the evening’s performers.

“I was skeptical when I first heard about Soul Night, but it was refreshing to see and hear so much talent from Sacramento,” said Marcia McClain, “I really had a good time.”

Dana P. stated that she was impressed by the diversity of the performers and their performances.

“It’s very nice to see that Sacramento is making the effort to showcase all of the local talent that is here.”

Herndon reminded the audience that the final Ladies Night Out event for the summer will be held on Friday, September 2. She told everyone present to come out looking their best as it will be a red carpet extravaganza complete with celebrity V.I.P. guests. The event will be hosted by Courtney Dempsey of Channel 31’s “Good Day Sacramento” show.

Be sure to contact Terry Moore well in advance at (916) 208-POET or fromtheheart1@hotmail. com to purchase your tickets. The event is guaranteed to be another inspirational and fun evening of entertainment.

Disclosure: Disclosure: Othello Curry was an active participant in this week's Soul Night event. Othello recited poetry and served on the event staff.

Ladies Night Out IV at the Guild Theater

2011-08-09T05:31:03Z

Ladies Night Out IV was celebrated at the historic Guild Theater in Oak Park Saturday evening. Nationally renowned local poet and community leader Terry Moore brought a fresh lineup of local talent to the stage as a part of his summer series of events at the Guild Theater.

“I respond by inviting the artists that are most requested,” said Moore when describing how he determines which artists he asks to feature.

“It is also my goal to give local artists who are just starting out an opportunity to become better known and develop a following,” stated Moore as he reflected upon the eclectic mix of artists that have appeared over the course of the summer series.

Comedy was the theme for the evening’s events, starting with emcee Steph Sanders, local comic and actor. Judging by the response from the audience when he hit the stage and began to warm up the crowd, Sanders appears ready for his big break.

“I’ve got two pilots under consideration and I’m hoping that one of them gets picked up,” said Sanders after the show.

Before the curtains were opened and the show officially began, up and coming poet Aaron G. had his debut appearance at Ladies Night Out. He was followed by local poet and author Larue. Each graced the audience with two selections.

18 year old Aaron G. reminded the audience about those awkward times of being young and in love. He recited two of his poems, “As Beautiful As It Seems” and “My Beautiful Woman.”

Larue, who is the author of the book, “In Search of a Father’s Love,” focused on the triumphs, trials and tribulations of relationships with her poems, “I Know” and “You’re Like.”

When the curtains opened at the start of the show, Tony R. belted out a few verses of “Ladies Night” by Kool & the Gang with the help of Leon “Scrap” Gray of the band LSB (Love Somebody) on the keyboards. Tony R. and Terry Moore then introduced Sanders as the emcee.

Sanders appeared at ease on the stage as he spontaneously made humorous observations regarding varying topics including his slight stature, Viagra pills and a family in the audience whose baby began to cry rather loudly.

Sanders introduced gifted vocalist Yvette Gauff who hit all the right notes singing, “For The Love of You,” by the Isley Brothers as her selection.

Gauff was rewarded with spontaneous applause at several points in her rendition of the song “Open My Heart” by Yolanda Adams. Her touching performance followed some heartfelt comments she related to the audience about facing a life-threatening illness just as she began to achieve professional success in business.

The ladies in the audience responded to Gauff’s request for help with the chorus of Jill Scott’s “The Way” by singing and dancing in their seats. She finished her set with Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together,” which inspired an impromptu singing contest between several audience members who were later rewarded with tickets to an upcoming stage play featuring Morris Chestnut.

Standout vocalist and musician, Tone Malone, came to the stage and began his set by serenading the ladies in the crowd with an a cappella version of Stevie Wonder’s “Lately,” much to the delight of the ladies in the audience – until he stopped short and left them swooning for more.

Malone continued his teasing after he spoke about a failed relationship that was the inspiration for his original song, “I Won’t Hurt You,” which he also sung a cappella.

The stage hands then rolled out a piano whereupon Malone demonstrated why he is such a sought after performer.

Malone showed his chops on the piano while singing and playing, “Before I Let You Go” by Blackstreet and “Knockin’ Da Boots” by H-Town, He also created a song spontaneously while singing and playing jam session style, with the assistance of Leon Gray on the electric keyboards.

Several times during his set, Malone was met with spontaneous outbursts of applause and standing ovations when hitting high notes. He finished strong to an universal standing ovation after his interpretations of John Legend’s “Ordinary People and gospel standard “His Eye is on the Sparrow,” both sung a cappella.

Just before the intermission, Terry Moore left his seat in the V.I.P section in the front row and announced from the stage that Lynnis Woods-Mullins and Michael Mullins, owners of Simply Southern Catering, had generously donated their time and enough food to treat everybody who was interested to a healthy meal of turkey or vegetarian spaghetti with salad, garlic bread and iced tea.

During the intermission, Tony R. grabbed the microphone and went into the audience to sing “Happy Birthday” to one surprised young woman who was celebrating her birthday at Ladies Night Out.

“This is what Sacramento needs,” stated Shavonne Green during the intermission. “It is not just a positive environment; there is an opportunity here for networking and making business contacts.”

Sanders brought comic Daunte Burks to the stage to start the second half of the show. Burks got quite a few laughs out of the crowd when bringing up the difficulties of dating and relating. He also pointed out why a woman should always let a man know her parole status.

It became apparent that a funny bone runs in the Burks family tree when emcee Sanders introduced Daunte’s cousin. Dru Burks, his good friend and fellow comedian, as the featured performer for the second half of the show.

Burks’ spontaneous comedic style was accentuated by the fact that he spent time growing up in Oak Park and other neighborhoods around south Sacramento.

In the midst of proclaiming himself a success story after being one of the first graduates of Kevin Johnson’s St. Hope Academy, Burks poked fun at everyone and everything - from the vintage piano played to Leon Gray’s one-man band to Terry Moore’s shirt and vest outfit, which he swore was all one piece.

What really kept the crowd laughing was Burks’ obvious struggle to keep his comedy family-friendly by refraining from the use of curse words.

Burks told the crowd he was going through withdrawal symptoms in his effort to not let any prohibited language slip out.

As is the case with most any event presented by Moore, the evening would not have been complete without featuring poetry and inspirational words to feed the spirit.

Spoken word artist and vocalist Sarah Myles Spencer made a brief appearance and sang, “Fly Me to the Moon,” before she recited her signature piece, “Jew Rican (Love Child).”

Myles Spencer was followed by Claudia Epperson, who spoke from the heart to the female dominated crowd with two poems created from her life’s experiences.

Epperson’s first piece provided a bird’s eye view of a woman verbally abusing her man in public. The second piece, “How I Long,” touched on the theme of a woman’s unfulfilled desires.

Shar Caldwell Robinson, author of the book, “I Am Precious,” took the stage and threw down the gauntlet to an ex-boyfriend who is begging his way back into her life after draining her resources and her love but fails to offer marriage.

Aaron G. then came back to the stage and made a play for all of the young women within earshot with his fantasy love poem, “A Tall Bottle of Nesquik.”

In response to popular demand, event founder and host Terry Moore took the stage and recited a new poem entitled, “When You Look in the Mirror." Moore tells the ladies that he hopes they see what he sees, the real woman underneath the makeup, a perfect 10.

When Moore called for requests from the audience but couldn’t build a consensus, he elected to have some fun with his poem, “Way to Prove My Love.”

As the show neared its end, a gentleman known simply as “Marcus” took the stage to provide a few words of encouragement and inspiration to everyone in the crowd.

Marcus reminded the audience that domestic violence causes collateral damage to other members of the family besides the female victims.

Citing as proof his understandable but misguided retaliation against a perpetrator of domestic violence, Marcus told the crowd that the criminal justice system can be unforgiving to those who do not make a good decision when it comes to taking the law into their own hands as a means to stop the violence.

The final performer, poet Zenobia Prothro, recited a poignant message about broken families in her piece, “Fatherless Boy.

Prothro then finished off the show by morphing into her alter ego, Marilyn Black, as she performed her debut single, “Player Hater.” The track features a funky dance groove and original lyrics inspired by her experiences.

“It was an inspiring amalgamation of talent,” said Rhonda Kelly, who attended one of the previous shows at the Guild Theater. “Ladies Night Out provides a unique combination of spiritual uplifting and promoting unity in the community.”

Moore has two events planned to close out the summer series. Soul Night will be held at the Guild Theater on Aug. 27, and on Sept. 2, the final Ladies Night Out event for the summer is billed as a “red carpet extravaganza,” complete with celebrity VIP guests. The event will be hosted by Courtney Dempsey of Channel 31’s “Good Morning Sacramento” show.

Contact Terry Moore well in advance at (916) 208-POET or fromtheheart1@hotmail.com to purchase tickets. Both events are sure to provide enjoyment and inspiration in a positive atmosphere.

Jazzy R & B Concert at the Guild Theater

2011-08-08T05:43:48Z

Terry Moore Presents brought a matinee show to the historic Guild Theater in Oak Park Saturday afternoon. The “Jazzy R&B Concert” was co-hosted by poet and event founder Terry Moore and popular certified life coach and Christian counselor Kerri Herndon.

Herndon’s grace and stage presence brought an added touch of sensitivity and empowerment to the audience members, many of whom had come to the show through their affiliation with the WEAVE crisis center.

“We are always willing to try new things that will encourage members of the community to come out and have a good time while supporting our local talent that is too often better known outside of Sacramento than in their home town,” Moore said.

The concert opened with singer Marilyn Black, who showcased her first single, “Playa Hater.” The track features a funky dance groove and original lyrics inspired by her life experiences.

Comedian Daunte Burks took the stage and got the crowd laughing with hilarious material ranging from dating a woman with bad breath to poking fun at the troubles of Atlanta pastor Eddie Long. Burks had the crowd in stitches when explaining the difference between women who are classified as “cougars” and those he described as “alley cats” and “saber-toothed tigers.”

The voice of poet and author Shar Caldwell Robinson filled the Guild Theater , even without a microphone, as she recited three poems that evoked heartrending and emotional responses from the listeners. “One Poem” challenged the audience to discover from within what they need to motivate themselves. Robinson chronicles how one poem became the starting point for her to escape an abusive relationship at a young age and tough times thereafter to become the published writer she is today.

Praise dancer Michaela Stewart demonstrated an array of elegant and polished moves during an expressive performance as the song “Still Say, Thank You” by Smokie Norful played in the background.

Just before a brief intermission, hostess Kerri Herndon took the time to express some words of encouragement to the audience while she passed out door prizes.

Moore took the microphone as the house lights came up and expressed his thanks to all the sponsors and supporters who helped make the matinee event a reality.

Moore announced that Lynnis Woods Mullins and Michael Mullins, owners of Simply Southern Catering, generously donated their time and enough food to treat all members of the audience to a healthy lunch of turkey or vegetarian spaghetti with salad, garlic bread and iced tea.

After the intermission, the Rich Brown Project featuring vocalist Yardley Griffin lived up to the title of “jazzy R&B.“

An instrumental version of the Beatles’ “Come Together” showcased Rich Brown on bass guitar, Damani Rhodes on keyboards and Lem McEwen on the drums, with Norman McDaniel of the band Ear Candy sitting in with the group playing lead guitar.

Yardley Griffin then took the stage, and the band did a rousing rendition of Cee Lo’s hit song “Forget You.” The band kept the crowd singing along with its version of Al Green’s “Still in Love” and brought the crowd to its feet clapping and praising with the song “We’re Blessed” by Fred Hammond as the final number.

Spoken word artist and vocalist Sarah Myles Spencer demonstrated why she has quickly become one of Sacramento’s most sought-after talents after relocating from Chico earlier this year. Spencer demonstrated perfect pitch when opening her set with the jazz standard “Fly Me to the Moon” before she recited her signature piece, “Jew Rican (Love Child).”

Spencer ended her time on stage by first singing the gospel standard “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” prior to reciting a very moving poem she wrote, “Haiti, My Love, My Darling.”

The final band to perform during the Jazzy R & B Concert was Ear Candy, featuring Norman McDaniel playing the Roland synthesized guitar. The musicians in the group included Lemont Kelsey on percussion, Ray Shamsid-Deen on drums and Karen Westbrook who performed double-duty on keyboard and vocals.

Ear Candy’s two featured vocalists, Sheryl Counter and Chandrea Thomas, each demonstrated unique singing talents that added strength and versatility to the band. Together they transitioned seamlessly between jazz standards such as “Autumn Leaves,” R&B hits such as “Golden” by Jill Scott and gospel favorites, including “Falling in Love with Jesus” by Jonathan Butler.

The band interspersed Herbie Hancock’s famous jazz hit “Chameleon” as a bridge between songs as they performed a medley of hit songs including “Mexicoco” by Wayman Tisdale and “Fragile” by Sting.

Oak Park resident Trina Whitney said she came out to the show for a couple of reasons.

“I love the venue, I love the idea that Terry Moore came up with for a matinee concert and I want to support local talent and the arts in Sacramento,” she said.

“I had an awesome time, and I’m glad I came,” said Jessie Love, who attended one of the previous Ladies Night Out events. “Oak Park needs this. Sacramento needs this. Please tell Terry to keep doing what he’s doing.”

Moore has two events planned to close out the summer series. “Soul Night” will be held at the Guild Theater on Aug. 27, and on Sept. 2, the final Ladies Night Out event for the summer is billed as a “red carpet extravaganza,” complete with celebrity VIP guests. It will be hosted by Courtney Dempsey of Channel 31’s “Good Morning Sacramento” show.

Contact Terry Moore at (916) 208-POET or fromtheheart1@hotmail.com well in advance to purchase tickets, as both events are sure to provide enjoyment and inspiration in a positive atmosphere.

Ladies Night Out III at the Guild Theater

2011-07-12T05:19:27Z

Ladies Night Out returned to the Historical Guild Theater in Oak Park Saturday Night with the third installment of the summer series. The show featured a mixture of styles of poetry and music. The show put together by Moore once again demonstrated his ability to mix well known performers with emerging local talent.

“With the support we have gotten from the community, it looks like the Ladies Night Out events are here to stay” said Poet Terry Moore, the founder, host, and driving force behind the concept.

The event was emceed by Petri Hawkins-Byrd, who is best known as the bailiff on the television show Judge Judy.

Hawkins-Byrd frequently showcased his humorous side between the various performers with spontaneous jokes and comments. On more than one occasion between performers, he broke out with a verse or two of various hits made famous by Stevie Wonder with Leon Gray of the band LSB (Love Somebody) matching him stride for stride on the keyboards.

Dancer Sonic Boom brought an array of crowd pleasing moves to the stage at Ladies Night Out to start the show off. His limber dance moves were choreographed to the songs “Day ‘n’ Night” and “Man on the Moon” by Kid Cudi. Sonic Boom delighted and pleased the ladies who were already seated when the show started promptly at 7 p.m.

Singer/writer/producer Aaron Young took the stage next and treated the audience to six selections of original music including the track “Lips” from his 2007 C.D. entitled “They Call Me A.Y.” Young’s smooth style exuded so much sex appeal that a number of ladies in the crowd were screaming for more. He ended his set with a gospel tune that revealed a spiritual side featuring the lyrics “Thank you Lord for giving me this day.”

Leah Albright-Byrd was the first poet onstage during the evening. She occasionally mixed singing a few verses with her thought provoking poetry. Albright-Byrd took on sensitive issues that women regularly face including religious fervor, interracial relationships, and the battle to extend forgiveness to oneself and others.

Poet BenOfficial the Great then filled up the Guild Theater with his presence without using a microphone. He challenged the audience’s level of awareness with his lyrical style of social conscious poetry. Audience members shouted encouragements and affirmations several times as the self-titled “Metaphorical Morpheus” traversed through universal themes such as media manipulation by television programming to rap music to the difference between a man being a father and a dad.

Moore took the stage to pass out door prizes to those audience members who bought V.I.P. tickets which included a plate that featured of barbecued chicken, a hot link, macaroni and cheese, and seasoned string beans catered by Derris Mosley, Owner of D’s Word of Mouth Catering.

V.I.P. audience member Jasmin Smith was taken by surprise when Moore brought vocalist Aaron Young back to the stage to sing “Happy Birthday” while her girlfriends and audience members shouted encouragement.

Smith stated that, “the evening was very motivating and very uplifting. Every woman in Sacramento deserves to come out with her friends or loved ones to experience the positive atmosphere of Ladies Night Out. Plus, the food was delicious!”

Just before the intermission, Poet Heather Christian floored the crowd with a combination of stunning beauty and challenging commentary. She let the audience members know they must take responsibility for their actions and not allow themselves to become victims of domestic violence or overindulgence in any form. Dressed in sleek form-fitting black, Christian pointed out several times that neither God nor the devil did it,

“No Boo Boo, you did that!” repeated Christian several times to howls of laughter by the audience.

Christian was animated, engaging, funny, and poignant with her distinctive style of poetry. She often incorporated verses from well known nursery rhymes to emphasize her points.

Headliner Garrett Perkins put on a virtuoso performance at Ladies Night Out after the intermission. The Berklee College of Music graduate showed the crowd why his sterling reputation in the Sacramento area on the alto saxophone is well deserved.

Perkins blew the audience away during his 30 minute set with original music including the song “Round and Round” and the title track from his latest album, “Sax and the City.”

Perkins came down from the stage and serenaded several ladies in the crowd during his rendition of “I Want to Know” By Joe. He also covered several well known popular tunes such as “Love TKO” by Teddy Pendergrass and "Ascention" by Maxwell. Perkins had the ladies on their feet and dancing as he ended his set with “Blame It” by Jamie Foxx.

Author, poet, and former Sacramento native Shar Robinson took time away from visiting with her new grandchild to grace the stage of the Guild Theater before heading back to Maryland for the upcoming release of her book “I am Precious, Diary of my Life from Sin to Salvation.”

Robinson shook up the men in the crowd by challenging them check their intentions with the women who love them enough to let them return when they come crawling back in her original poem entitled “What!”

Singer T.D. Trice came to the stage and amped up the audience with a rousing rendition of “Ladies Night” by Kool and the Gang. Trice showed his vocal versatility by adding short rap to the song “Same Old G” by Ginuwine. Trice really had the ladies laughing with the help of emcee Hawkins-Byrd with his cover of Tracy Morgan’s “Call Simone,” a parody response to “Call Tyrone” by Erykah Badu.

Poet Othello Curry took the stage as the final performer of the evening. He shared his views about pick up lines that don’t work. With his poem, “Make Love to Your Mind," Curry described what he would say to to a woman to declare his intentions during that first introduction. Curry evoked a heartfelt response from the ladies in the crowd with his follow up poem when he described how the title phrase, “I Gotcha,” means “I love you.”

When asked about her experience at Ladies Night Out, first time audience member Chanel Johnson said,

“I liked it so much I’m going to come back in August for my birthday and bringing my friends. The show was fun, enlightening, and full of laughter.”

Save the date of August 6, 2011, for the next Ladies Night Out extravaganza. Be sure to contact Terry Moore at (916) 208-POET or fromtheheart1@hotmail.com well in advance to purchase your tickets as it is sure to be another enjoyable and inspiring event.

Disclosure: Othello Curry was an active participant in this week's Ladies Night Out III event. Othello recited poetry during the show.

Ladies Night Out II At The Guild Theater

2011-06-27T05:29:20Z

Ladies Night Out II was celebrated at the Historical Guild Theater in Oak Park Friday night. Award-winning poet and local community leader Terry Moore presented the second show of his summer series that featured a wide variety of local artists displaying their talent and abilities in poetry, fashion, music and dancing for an enthusiastic and appreciative audience.

The event was co-hosted by singer Tony R. and local poet and singer La Rah, both of whom served double duty as featured artists and making sure the three-hour-plus show ran smoothly and without interruption.

The evening began with popular local dancer Sonic Boom, who thrilled the crowd with his unique combination of hip-hop and modern dance moves performed to a remix of the song “Moments of Love” by Art of Noise.

The Poet i took the stage next with three selections that featured her original piece “Woman,” a soul-searching poem about a woman in a failing relationship. She was followed by some insightful poetry recited by La Rah, who sent a strong message to young men to “Stay Out of the Pen.”

Local fashion designer Eshonna Trice ~~Faatui Toele~~ attended Ladies Night Out II with all new creations from her collection, Electrik. The dazzling outfits suitable for various occasions were gracefully presented by a dozen or so beautiful local fashion models.

Tony R. serenaded the crowd by coming off the stage and into the audience with thrilling renditions of Brian McKnight’s “Anytime” and Stevie Wonder’s “Ribbons in the Sky.”

During the first brief intermission, Moore took the stage to raffle off a round of door prizes to approximately 10 thrilled audience members, each whom enthusiastically claimed their prize.

After only just a few moments’ pause, Ladies Night Out II resumed with local Universal recording artist G.R., aka Ghetto Romeo, who took the stage and thrilled the crowd with two of his original songs, “Can I Be” and “Why Oh Why,” both from his album “G.R. – The Second Coming.”

One of the most unique performances of the night that was from American Sign Language interpreter Demesha Kennedy, founder of the Signs of Praise Ministry. Kennedy combined her incredible sign language skills and dancing to the song “Encourage Yourself,” recorded by Donald Lawrence and the Tri-City Singers.

From that point forward, Ladies Night Out II took entertainment to another level when exquisite singer Bajan took the stage and performed several selections. During one song, she was accompanied by Charles Andrews on acoustic guitar. Andrews also spent much of the evening providing live music for several other performers as a member of the house band, LSB (Love Somebody) with Leon Gray and Brian Randle.

Two of Sacramento’s young up and coming poets, Coon and TroubleSin, known collectively as the E Legal Tag Team, challenged the audience with their high-energy performance that filled up the theater without the use of microphones. Their thought-provoking back-and-forth style of poetry touched on themes of family, relationships and the difficulties Black men face trying to negotiate their way through our increasingly complex society.

The audience was in for a treat with the sultry vocal sounds and commanding stage presence of vocalist Yvette Gauff. With LSB providing the live music, she wowed the crowd with her versions of “All I Do” by Stevie Wonder and “Everlasting Love” by Rufus and Chaka Khan. For the finale, Gauff introduced singer Kaleo, who graced the stage and amazed the audience by his performance of his song “Superman.”

During the second brief intermission, many members of the crowd returned to their seats with plates full of barbecued tri-tip, cabbage and macaroni and cheese, provided by Derris Mosely, owner of D’s Word of Mouth Catering.

Khiry Malik Moore, emcee for the Mahogany Urban Poetry Series hosted by Queen Sheba Restaurant, recited two entertaining and amusing poems just before it was time for the headline act of the evening to take the stage.

Neo-soul artist Kevin Sandbloom came all the way from Los Angeles and surprised many members of the audience who had never seen or heard him perform. His unique combination of acoustic guitar work with smooth bluesy vocals had the audience enthralled. Showcasing his exceptional versatility with original music, Sandbloom also covered tunes by artists as varied as Michael Jackson, Sade and the Carpenters, all in a distinctive style that made each song his own. The 40-minute set included his rendition of Sam Cooke’s “Bring It on Home to Me.”

The evening ended when Moore took the stage, thanked the crowd with one of his original love poems, and called out the numbers from raffle tickets for a final round of prizes.

“The entire evening turned out just as I intended,” Moore said. “The Guild Theater is the venue where our local talent can let the community come out to see how much we have to offer from both developing and established artists as they work toward fulfilling their dreams.”

“Tonight’s show was uplifting, inspiring and full of love,” Sherri Bouris sai. “It rocked my soul.”

“You don’t have to go to the Bay Area,” Jean Hooks said. “You can stay in Sacramento and come out for a night of fun and friendship anytime there is a Ladies Night Out Show at the Guild Theater.”

The Ladies Night Out Summer Series will return to the Guild Theater on July 9. It promises to be another entertaining event of family-friendly fun. Contact Terry Moore at (916) 208-POET or fromtheheart1@hotmail.com well in advance to purchase tickets.

In the Flow Festival

2011-05-09T06:43:05Z

A five-day festival filled with music by 40 groups in five Midtown venues is about to engulf the Sacramento scene.

The In the Flow Festival, an annual event going from Thursday to May 16, will be bringing out improvisational players of jazz, rock, blues, electronic, poetry/spoken word and visual art.

Co-organizer and guitarist Ross Hammond, 33, addressed why it was created.

Hammond said it is important to create a music event in Sacramento and bring out the unknown and/or unrecognized talents.

“I knew enough people and acts, so we decided to put something cool together,” Hammond said. “It is a celebration of creative music and art. It is the music, art and poetry community just coming together and presenting their craft.”

The other innovators behind the celebration are Rob Woodworth and the late Byron Blackburn.

Among the many local performers this year, there will be jazz and improvisational musicians from Los Angeles.

Composer Vinny Golia, 65, will be performing with various people in the festival, but he is also bringing his group Vinny Golia Sextet.

Golia has performed at the festival for the past three years.

“My music is a mixture of jazz, rock and folk tied together,” he said. “It is a blend that is challenging for listeners and the players, compared to other music. It has a groove, it can swing, and at times it is serene, other times noisy.”

A night of poetry and music mixtures at Luna’s Cafe titled “Poetry VS. Band” will consist of regional poets trading verses with area jazz musicians.

Bassist Shawn Hale, 39, will be performing with multiple groups, and he will take part in the “Poetry VS. Band.”

“I am looking forward to the many fantastic musicians,” he said. “The event as a whole is a great thing to be a part of. Looking forward to it starting.”

Among the many events, on Saturday there will be free performances at Phono Select Records.

“There are not many events like this in other cities, where you can see a very wide selection of music, be exposed to live music instead of iPods or CD players,” Golia said. “It is live. People making music in the spare of the moment, you cannot beat that.”

The festival started in 2008 as a Midtown event. It relocated to Broadway and now is back to Midtown.

“Our original venue closed and we needed a bigger space,” Hammond said. “For two years we were at Beatnik Studios on Broadway. We moved back to Midtown this year after being persuaded by Dal Basi, owner of Phono Select Records.”

They are now working with Explore Midtown to make the In the Flow Festival a celebration of Midtown culture, Hammond said.

A f ull-festival pass costs $30, which includes a festival T-shirt. Tickets for individual days cost $10. Tickets can be purchased online or at Phono Select.

Antiquite Maison Privee, one of the venues, plans to cater, but for the most part Hammond said the surrounding Midtown business restaurants will be the best places for food.

The five venues are Antiquite (2114 P St.), La Raza Galeria Posada (1022 22nd St.), Luna’s (1414 16th St.), Phono Select (2312 K St.) and the Press Club (2030 P St.).

All the locations are walkable and bike-able, Hammond noted.

“The event is so dynamic,” Hale said. “There are different performers, and it’s got a little bit of everything as far as what people may enjoy for music. It is such an artistic and community-inspired event. To miss out you will be missing out on a great essence of Sacramento.”

Ladies Night Out at the Guild Theater

2011-04-05T05:40:24Z

The Historical Guild Theater in Oak Park was alive with poetry,
fashions and music for Ladies Night Out this past Saturday night,
April 2, 2011. Award winning local poet and community leader Terry
Moore hosted the sold out event as a benefit for the Center for
Families and Fathers Sacramento.

The Emcee for the evening was Petri Hawkins-Byrd, is best known as the
bailiff on the television show Judge Judy. Hawkins-Byrd did a
wonderful job keeping the audience laughing and the show moving with
jokes, heart-felt commentary on the poetry and light-hearted
introductions for the wide variety of local talent recruited by Moore
for the occasion.

The ladies night theme of the evening started off with a short film
entitled Ms. Understood by Director/Writer/Producer Nicole Mattox.
Singer Lenny Williams, Jr. then set the tone for the event with a
gospel tune that was well received by the female dominated audience.
Thereafter, a fashion show organized by local designer Faatui Toele,
featured approximately a dozen confident models using the stage and
aisles as their runway.

Following the fashion show, poets Nikki Brock, Kelly Richardson, Ms.
Kottyn and Larah each took the microphone and graced the audience by
reading or reciting two works of original poetry. The featured poems
provided insight into the lives, loves and struggles faced by women
dealing with men, raising children and maintaining a sense of self in
an increasingly complex world.

Singers Qui510 and Tessa Evans were met with enthusiastic audience
approval as they amped up the crowd by belting out several tunes each.

After an intermission, door prizes were given away, donated by the
numerous event vendors and local businesses that supported the event.
The evening then proceeded with its program packed with high quality
entertainment. Another round of models in high fashion strutted across
the stage.

The standout poets of the evening were none other than Sacramento’s
Poet Laureate, Bob Stanley, and the event’s organizer, host Terry
Moore. Both gentlemen were backed up by some very outstanding live
music provided by local band LSB (Love Somebody). Stanley brought
along jazz guitarist Robert Nakashima, whose riffs and solos in
between verses of poetry demonstrated to the crowd his smooth style
developed through years of experience. Moore brought along singer
Kaleo, who really put his heart into one of Moore’s signature pieces,
"12 Things I’ll Do To Keep You.”

Thereafter, poets Taifa Jamari P.S. (Poetically Speaking) and the
E-Legal Tag Team each moved the crowd with their unique individual
styles of poetry. As the evening drew to a close, singers T.D. Trice
and Tony R. let the ladies know how much they were appreciated. After
a brief dance number by Sonic Boom, singer Bajan closed the evening
with a very moving original song accompanied by guitarist Charles
Andrews.

Those audience members who stayed through the nearly three and a half
hour event certainly got their money’s worth at $10.00 per ticket.

Audience member Mechelle V. stated, “Although I was thoroughly
entertained all evening, the poetry was the best.”

“The evening was good, very good!” said Bernadette Andrews from her
seat in the balcony.

Moore, the event’s founder and coordinator stated, “I was so pleased
to see a full house. The event turned out to be all I dreamed of and
more. I'm planning even greater things for the future for Ladies Night
at the Guild Theater. This is going to be a wonderful event for our
community.”

Because this event was so well received, as evidenced by the advance
ticket sales, Moore already reserved June 24, 2011 for the next Ladies
Night Out extravaganza.

Be sure to contact Terry Moore well in advance at (916) 208-POET or
fromtheheart1@hotmail.com to purchase your tickets. It is sure to be
another sold out event.

SAAAC continues to succeed with First Saturday Art Tour

2011-03-27T22:48:40Z

Sacramento, CA-- Every first Saturday, the Sacramento African-American Art Collective (SAAAC) hosts a self-guided art tour exhibiting the works of established and emerging African-American artists. In addition, a wealth of talent by poets, musicians and other artists in various disciplines will be showcased. Participating artists are predominately from the greater Sacramento region and surrounding communities.

Art lovers will be able to view creative works in all media at over 10 venues throughout the city. People of all ages are encouraged to come out and enjoy this family-friendly event. The First Saturday Art Tour is free and open to the public from 12noon-9pm. Reception times for “Meet the Artist” opportunities are listed on the SAAAC Facebook page (www.facebook.com/SAAAC).

Art patrons may choose to go to some or all of the venues. The self-guided tour guides viewers from location to location ending at a Point of Destination closing reception. The Point of Destination spotlights, and is hosted by, a venue included in the tour. Artists and business owners from all the venues will be present. For the month of April 40 Acres Art Gallery 3428 3rd Avenue (Historic Oak Park) Sacramento, is the Point of Destination. This free event starts at 6:30pm.Seating is limited and guests are encouraged to arrive early.

Fine artist and cultural activist, Milton “510” Bowens presents “Food Stamps, Free Lunch and Fine Art” A Self Portrait. Join us as we artistically flash back to the sixties, seventies and eighties in a celebration of music, poetry and memory. A live DJ will spin old school hits and a select ensemble of the Sacramento area’s finest spoken word artist will perform. The evening will include a silent auction with proceeds benefiting Mr. Bowens’ Civil Arts Project.

Image: First and Fifteenth courtesy of Mrs. Jan Web. / Catering by Sweet Things
For more information please contact Gail Williams 510-417-1500 or Michael Craft 916-670-2932

Participating Locations:

-Sojourner Truth Multi-Cultural Museum / tel: 916.320.9573
2251 Florin Road, Ste. 126, Sacramento, CA 95822
Reception: Noon-1pm

-Master Barber & Beauty Shop / tel: 916.457.8708
4340 Stockton Blvd., Suite 2, Sacramento, CA 95820
Reception: Noon-1pm

-Carol's Books / tel: 916.335.9094
1913 Del Paso Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95815
Reception: 1:30pm-2:15pm

-KUUMBA Collective Art Gallery / tel: 916.613.2940
-Framed by Frankie / tel: 916.613.2940
-Studio 14: Ed Nightingle / tel: 916.919.1301
1001 Del Paso Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95815
Reception: 2:45pm-4pm

-Evolve the Gallery / tel: 916.572.5123
2907 35th Street, Sacramento, CA 95817
-Brickhouse Art Gallery / tel: 916.317.3302
2837 36th Street, Sacramento, CA 95817
-Underground Books / tel: 916.737.3333
2814 35th Street, Sacramento, CA 95817
40 Acres Art Gallery / tel: 916.457.5080
Reception: 4:30pm-6pm

-Celebration Arts Theatre / tel: 916.456.5080
4469 D Street, Sacramento, CA 819
Showtime 8pm / Call for more info

40 Acres Art Gallery - Point of Destination
Milton “510” Bowens presents
“Food Stamps, Free Lunch and Fine Art” A Self Portrait.
3428 3rd Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95817
Event begins at 6:30pm / Free to the public

High school students face off in a poetry contest

2011-02-05T01:04:17Z

With an all expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., and $50,000 in scholarships at stake, nerves were high for student finalists competing in the fifth annual Poetry Out Loud Contest.

The competition was held in Rosemont High School’s auditorium, and the winner will move on to the state finals.

The regional contest was limited to 18 students from various Sacramento County high schools, who were chosen by their high schools to compete on Feb. 3. One student did not show up to the competition.

This year’s winner, Brittany Wiltz, a 16-year-old from Natomas Charter School, and runner-up, Ashay Kobelt, from Elk Grove High School, will be competing in the state finals on March 20 and 21 in Sacramento.

The state finalists will win $200 and an all expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for a chance to compete at the national level. There will be a total of $50,000 available in scholarships and school stipends for students to compete for at the national competition in April.

“I love being on stage,” Wiltz said. “It gives me an outlet to do something I really love to do.”

Students were required to choose two poems from the list posted on the Poetry Out Loud website, PoetryOutLoud.org, to perform in front of an audience of about 60 people. Judges chose the winner based on appropriate dramatization of the recitation, evidence of understanding the poem, the student’s presence on stage, voice and articulation and overall presence, said poet Xico Gonzalez, a first-time judge in the contest.

Wiltz attended the competition last year as a runner-up, and she said she was better prepared to compete as a finalist after having observed last year’s contest.

“I wanted to do something with a lot of power and meaningful with a message,” said Wiltz, who recited "Who Understands Me But Me" by Jimmy Santiago Baca and "Early Affection" by George Moses Horton.

Wiltz chose her poems in November and spent most of her time trying to understand the poets’ sentiments, she added.

According to Gonzalez, who is also an artist, learning to recite poems teaches students literacy.
Students are also exposed to public speaking, and by performing on stage, students become more comfortable in their own skin, added Dalvin Clifford, a competitor at the regional competition.

“I love poetry,” said Clifford, a senior at Monterey Trail High School in Elk Grove. “The biggest benefit is public speaking. A lot of people have those fears, but you get better.”

Both Wiltz and Clifford said they also write their own poetry. Wiltz said her poetry focuses on the future, youth and women in history.

“I have been writing in a journal for a long time,” Clifford said. “I like to perform in front of others. I practice in my room a lot.”

According to Maureen Gemma, from the Sacramento County Office of Education, there will be 33 counties competing in the California state competition and an estimated 40,000 students participating in the contest in March.

“It’s good to get to know other poets,” Gonzalez said. “Students learn about literature that makes an impact. It’s a step in the right direction.”

Rosemont High School to host Poetry out Loud contest

2011-01-31T04:26:04Z

18 students from Sacramento County will begin competing this Thursday for a college scholarship in the Sixth annual Poetry Out Loud contest at Rosemont High School.

Poetry Out Loud is a national recitation contest founded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. These groups generally collaborate with state arts agencies to promote Poetry Out Loud. For Sacramento County, the California Arts Council has collaborated with the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission and Sacramento County Office of Education.

Poetry Out Loud began as two pilot programs in Washington, D.C. and Chicago in 2005. After a successful turnout, community support and large student participation, it was then promoted to high schools on a national level in 2006.

The contest begins at each individual school. An identified Poetry Out Loud coordinator creates a sign-up list for the interested students.

At every stage in the contest, contestants choose two pieces of poetry from a strict list of 650 poems already designated by Poetry Out Loud. One piece must be 25 lines or fewer and the other must be pre-20th century.

After the school-wide contest, the winner progress along a pyramid structure from the county, to the state, and then to nationals, with the finals in Washington, D.C. The national winner is awarded a $20,000 college scholarship.

Starting at the County level, A panel of five judges evaluate contestants by physical presence ], voice and articulation, dramatic appropriateness, level of difficulty, evidence of understanding, overall performance and accuracy.

“At its peak last year, we had 25 schools participate,” said Maureen Gemma from the Sacramento County Office of Education.

Because of state standards and the economic times, some schools have had to take a different approach when beginning Poetry Out Loud at the school-wide level.

“The process should begin at the classroom level, but with state standards and other things, we work it the best we can,” said Russ Young, English teacher and Poetry Out Loud coordinator for Pleasant Grove High School” .

This year, Young said, they had over 40 students sign up at Pleasant Grove High School.

“I've always been into poetry,” Young said. He has been the coordinator for five years and was “totally interested” after the initial e-mail five years ago. Before Pleasant Grove, he taught English at Elk Grove High School and organized poetry readings there.

“The school does come together to help each other out,” Young said. Last year’s school champion, Marsallis Cannady, was runner-up at the county contest.

“I really enjoy doing it,” said Allyessa Shaffer, a senior at Pleasant Grove and a third-year participant.
“Everyone thinks it’s boring, but it’s more interesting when you perform the poems. It becomes more real to them.”

Like Shaffer, Young feels Poetry Out Loud offers a lot to the students.

It gives them an appreciation of poetry and what it does for people, he said. He wants them not
just saying the words “but feeling the words.”

That's why, Gemma said, there is no reading allowed. All participants must memorize their poems.

“We want them to gain a wide variety of experience, especially in poetry,” Gemma said.

Poetry Out loud will be held at the Rosemont High School Theater, 9594 Kiefer Blvd., from noon to 4 p.m. on Thursday. It is a free event and open to the public.

What are you waiting for? Go, See, Do!

2011-01-28T22:46:33Z

It is an understatement to say that there is an overwhelming amount of concerts, art showings, theatre performances and other exciting events taking place in Sacramento every day.

In fact, it’s pretty mind-boggling that anyone can keep track of all of them when planning how and where to spend that rare commodity known as “free time.” That’s where we come in to make your life a little easier.

We are very proud to introduce to our users “Go.See.Do.”, your personal guide to upcoming local events.

Every week, we handpick a few events that we believe are worthy of your valuable time and deliver them straight to your inbox.

Film festivals, fashion shows, poetry readings, food and cocktail weeks, you name it! You will find all of this (and much more) in “Go.See.Do.”

The newsletter is sent out every Thursday morning and features events taking place through the following week. Each event title and photo is clickable and will take you to websites, articles and social media sites where you can check out complete information.

Sneak a peak at last week’s “Go.See.Do” here.

To sign up to receive “Go.See.Do.”, all you have to do is register as a user on our site. Click “sign up” at the top of the home page, fill out some basic information and you’re done! If you have any questions about the sign-up process, feel free to e-mail us at support@sacramentopress.com.

Also, if you have an event that you would like considered for inclusion, please submit the following to goseedo@sacramentopress.com:

- Name of the event
- Date of the event
- Where the event is held (name and address)
- A photo to accompany the listing (that you have permission to use)
- Event website
- When available, links to a Facebook or Twitter account, either for the event or for the venue
- Any additional information you feel is important

When choosing events, we will showcase both big acts that readers might be surprised to see coming through Sacramento and small, but great, events that haven’t received a lot of exposure.

In addition to the e-mail you’re sending from, please be sure to include any additional contact information. Every event will be considered equally.

What are you waiting for? Go.See.Do.

Trio unveils California Northern

2010-12-09T01:10:02Z

A bold new magazine has launched in Sacramento.

California Northern has been kickstarted here by two brothers and a friend. Former reporter Casey Mills, English professor Richard Mills and graphic designer Paul Barrett plan to fill the twice-yearly, glossy-print magazine with in-depth literary journalism, literature, poetry, essays and photography focused on the culture, history and environments that create the region's unique identity.

The trio hopes to produce a magazine that hasn't been done here before.

"We're trying to be sort of a New Yorker or a Harper's for the West Coast," said Casey Mills, publisher and editor in chief. "I think a lot of the high-level, long-form journalism and cultural criticism comes out of New York and Washington, D.C.

"It's such a shame because California has such a rich culture and complex environment that isn't explored very often in a deep and thoughtful way," he said.

They're hosting a public release party for the magazine's second issue Thursday night at the Avid Reader, 1600 Broadway. Issue 2 went on newsstands in early December.

The magazine is based in Sacramento, where Mills works part-time for an environmental consulting firm. Once a reporter for the Contra Costa Times and BeyondChron.org, a political news website, he spent a few years away from journalism but missed the field too much. That's when he, his brother and Barrett saw something missing among California's current crop of magazines.

The magazine's executive editors are his brother, who teaches at two South Bay community colleges, and Barrett, a former book designer getting his master's in Creative Writing at St. Mary's College of California in Moraga ~~San Francisco State University~~. With two of the founders based in the Bay Area, the magazine launched its first issue last June with a San Francisco release party.

All three write for the magazine and share editing duties. Barrett, who's also the art director, handles design. Working in his Land Park home office, Casey Mills oversees everything else not related to editorial, including ad sales, business licensing, subscriptions and mail.

He met Barrett, an Orange County native ~~a Seattle native~~, in Seattle while working for a planning commission. The Mills brothers grew up outside Redding.

They've brought aboard Jesse Nathan as poetry editor and Karlene Barrett (no relation to Paul Barrett) as "Notes from the Field" editor, plus two copy editors.

Everyone volunteers their time. While there's not yet much money to pay contributors, Mills said he expects to soon start applying for grant funding after recently becoming fiscally sponsored by Heyday Books. Their goal is to find grants for specific projects while using ad and subscription revenue to operate, like San Francisco-based investigative magazine Mother Jones.

The founders hope to make the magazine a quarterly eventually. The debut issue's first 500 magazines quickly sold out, and another 1,300 printed soon after is nearly gone. About 2,000 copies have been printed for Issue 2. The magazine is available at Barnes & Noble, Borders, independent bookstores like the Avid Reader, and through subscriptions.

Each issue will carry copy and photos from several regions of Northern California. The magazine's coverage area spans from the coast to Nevada, as far south as Fresno and Monterey and ranging to the Oregon border.

"We hesitate to draw distinct lines because it's such an amorphous region," Mills said.

The magazine has a website to give readers a sample of what they can find in the magazine. However, the real product is print.

Mills and his partners believe the online market is good for quick information delivered directly to readers. But computers and electronic reading devices aren't good mediums for in-depth stories and packages that marry words with art in a "cohesive format," he said.

"Computers -- they're not lovers. They're fighters," Mills said.

People who spend a lot of time with an article want to have something that's visually beautiful and physically enjoyable to hold, he added.

"The print edition just offers you something online can't," he said. "I really feel there's room for both in this world."

Photo 2, left to right: Founders Paul Barrett, Richard Mills and Casey Mills. Photos by Kate Sawyer.

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

SAYS provides speaking platform for area youth

2010-11-30T02:37:10Z

Young poets from all over the world gathered in Los Angeles this year to compete at the Brave New Voices event. Among them were members of the arts-based literacy program SAYS (Sacramento Area Youth Speaks), who placed fifth in the youth poetry event – an international spoken-word contest televised on HBO.

After observing both the peril and potential of the educational system, former Bay Area high school teacher Vajra Watson founded SAYS in partnership with the UC Davis School of Education, and the Twin Rivers, Sacramento City and Elk Grove UnifiedSchool districts, the Sacramento Office of Youth Development and the Sierra Health Foundation in January 2009.

SAYS and Watson now advocate for young people to seek insight into their lives through engaging literacy programs.

“We tell those who go perform at the international poetry slam that they are now ambassadors of Sacramento,” Watson said.

With only five people attending its first meeting, SAYS has seen tremendous growth since its founding, evidenced by the 900 students and poet-mentors who attended SAYS’ second annual all-day Summit and Spoken Word Poetry SLAM this year.

SAYS hosts SLAM poetry nights on school campuses and in community centers to spread the message of its program, which involves using voices for social change, Watson said.

“We believe that if (students) have the investment, and it’s relevant, then they’ll stay,” she said.

Winners of these regional open-mic poetry nights are then asked to perform and compete at SAYS’ annual Summit and Poetry SLAM, which is held at the UC Davis Mondavi Center.

Six Sacramento area finalists were selected from the summit’s SLAM finale to represent SAYS at the international Brave New Voices competition in Los Angeles this year, which was hosted by rapper/actor Common and actress/model Rosario Dawson.

Some 500 young people from more than 50 cities in the United States and abroad competed at what Brave New Voices organizers claim is the largest ongoing spoken-word event in the world.

Poet-mentors work with these young people in classroom and after-school program settings. SAYS has 15 part-time staffers between the ages of 18 and 50. They are primarily people of color who approach the educational system from a nontraditional background, Watson said.

SAYS poet-mentor Stephen Dimal has worked in Martin Luther King Jr., Grant and Woodland high school classrooms and after-school programs since August. After graduating from UC Davis with a major in psychology, Dimal said he wanted to do something purposeful that would help improve the educational system.

“SAYS itself is very life-changing and revolutionary in the sense that it’s trying to bring something completely different to the school system that hasn’t been there,” Dimal said.

Watson said poet-mentors are primarily poets from the community and, as is the case with Dimal, from UC Davis undergraduate programs. However, some poet-mentor educators are graduates from other colleges and universities.

After receiving the CPEC Award, a nearly $1 million grant intended to bolster a teacher’s ability to provide relevant and engaging literary curriculum in the Twin Rivers Unified School District (North Sacramento), SAYS now has the funding to reach a wider range of students, Watson said.

“Primarily, we’ve been in urban areas, but now it’s exciting to work in different demographics,” Watson said.

Watson encourages students to approach school and education with the same survivalist fervor that they carry with them on the streets.

“We use the phrase, ‘School’s my hustle,’” she said.

SAYS subcontracts with school districts and uses fundraisers to keep the program’s offerings free to students.

By creating an in-class residency program in 15 schools in the Sacramento region, SAYS’ poet-mentors partner with teachers to enhance existing lesson plans so that they will better engage and connect with students, Dimal said.

“We really want to work with the student who the teacher sees as not engaging,” Dimal said. “We cater the lesson plan to that student.”

Dimal said SAYS doesn’t go into a classroom asking, “Who are your troubled students?” Instead, SAYS staffers observe which students may be struggling or getting kicked out of class and attempt to find ways to get that student more involved.

“We want that kid that you don’t think can learn,” Watson said. “We want your rough and tough.”

According to Watson, SAYS’ programs reached out to about 10,000 students last year.

“We are cognizant to make a program that involves disenfranchised youth,” Watson said. “However, every young person needs platforms for their voice to be heard. Whether that student is rich, poor or middle class; whether that student is from an urban, suburban or rural neighborhood, youth need outlets to authentically express their insights and ideals.”

SAYS holds an under-21 open-mic night on the first Friday of every month from 7 - 9 p.m. at Sol Collective.

UC Davis will host SAYS Summit and SLAM 2011 on May 13, 2011. This year’s theme is “Know Your Writes.”

SAYS Summit and Poetry Slam 2010 (School Is My Hustle) from MVMT on Vimeo.

Shine to open in Mansion Flat

2010-07-27T02:26:05Z

Mansion Flat will get a new neighborhood hangout when Shine opens next month.

Part coffeehouse, part bistro, part entertainment venue — the idea is to create a community gathering place that nurtures local artists and performers of all kinds, said co-owner Rena Davonne.

The small wooden stage being built for the place is symbolic of the grass-roots entertainment Davonne and her partner, building owner John Stricklin, are planning: everything from acoustic open-mic nights and poetry readings to games and karaoke for the theater crowd.

"The vibe will be your living room," Davonne said. "But not your mother's living room."

The establishment is named for the newly renovated Shine Building, where the coffeehouse will take center stage at 1400 E St. Shine is expected to open in mid-August.

Stricklin, a San Francisco home builder and restaurant owner, rehabbed the 8,000-square-foot building. He is also a partner in San Francisco restaurants including Sushi Groove and Oola Restaurant and Bar.

Contractors are expected to finish their work this week. Workers are refinishing a concrete floor, installing shelves and bringing in equipment. The room, which measures about 1,200 square feet, will hold a big couch, cushy chairs, local art, a kids’ corner with computer games, and a stage no more than 8 feet square.

Shine will serve gourmet coffee, smoothies, breakfast, and a small selection of sandwiches, soup and small plates including lasagna, pasta salad, guacamole and fruit.

The owners will schedule nights for musicians and poets to do their thing. They haven't yet booked any musicians. But Davonne's 16-year-old daughter, Brieta Carpenter, is a guitarist who will likely make the stage her second home. She grew up playing the guitar with her father, Steel Breeze lead guitarist Waylin Carpenter.

Shine's owners will make sure their karaoke machine contains plenty of songs from musicals — similar to a Los Angeles coffeehouse Davonne frequented that used to draw stage actors and opera singers. Davonne was an actor at that time. She played the character Natasha in the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show at Universal Studios, just down the street from the karaoke coffeehouse.

"It was a good gig," she said.

The coffeehouse will open just a few blocks from the Wells Fargo Pavilion, headquarters for Music Circus and the Sacramento Theatre Company. Davonne said she hopes karaoke nights will help draw actors and singers to the new place.

"I definitely want it to be a home for the grass-roots talent in Sacramento," she said.

Shine will be open six or seven days a week. Hours will be 8 a.m.-8 p.m., except on music nights Thursdays through Saturdays, when closing time will likely be 10 p.m.

Photo by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Let the games begin!

2010-07-19T03:36:32Z

Community was the name of the game at the South Sacramento games on Saturday. Residents played a variety of games, all focused on building cooperation without competition.

We made the games so that nobody’s a winner and nobody’s a loser,” volunteer Charles Chenauot said.

The games included capture the flag, don’t spill the beans and Simon Says, but with a twist. Simon and Simone used the same concept as Simon Says, but without winners or losers. Instead, when Simon told a player she was out, she could join Simone’s game and keep playing.

“We have a lot of community games where people can come together and play without having to be competitive,” volunteer Staphonya Cabrellin said.

The games kicked off a 10-year initiative called Sacramento Building Healthy Communities. Its aim is healthier lives for South Sacramento residents through preventive care, opportunities for children, and addressing the physical, social and economic challenges of the community. South Sacramento ranks as one of the lowest in per capita income of residents in 51 Sacramento County ZIP codes. The area faces issues ranging from unavailability of healthy food to lack of health care to violence.

The games were held at George Sim Park and the community center there, which won’t be open to residents the rest of the year. Budget cuts left Saturday as the only day that the entire park, including the community center and the pool, will be open. Noting the waste of a valuable resource, volunteer Liz Sterba said it’s time to stop relying on the government to fix neighborhood problems and start relying on each other.

“I think that the budget is making it very obvious that we cannot rely on our government to do everything for us, and we shouldn’t,” she said. “We should help each other and we should build each other up and build a strong network of neighbors.”

The games were organized toward that end. After two hours of games in the shade, people were treated to food and entertainment that showcased the area’s diverse cultures. The cuisine ranged from Chinese to Mexican, with a focus on delicious, healthy options.

As the performances went on the crowd thinned, trading the warmth of the community center for the cool of the pool. But the show still went on. Women from the Asian Community Center performed traditional Polynesian dances. The spoken word that concluded the entertainment showcased young poets speaking about their rough upbringing in South Sacramento, including a group of slam poets from Sacramento Area Youth Speaks (SAYS), dedicated to helping young writers find their voice and share it with the community.

The youth were involved in planning the day and helped get the word out to neighbors. Many volunteers were teenagers trying to make the best of their summer vacations.

“I didn’t have anything to do this summer,” Chenauot said. “I wanted to do something that was fun and would actually have a positive outcome instead of doing something like staying at home playing video games.”

Cabrellin agreed. “I think it’s very important to get the youth out, recruit more youth to these events and get them active in their community.”

Patrick Kennedy, a member of the Sacramento City School board and chairman of the task force for healthy foods in schools, handed out free green bean seeds for people to grow at home.

“I think if we can get it bigger every year we can start taking this whole healthy atmosphere to our homes, to our neighborhoods, especially South Sacramento, I think the city would be a better place,” he said.

Sterba said she expects more community get-togethers to result from the initiative.

“The plan is to really do a lot of maybe not large-scale events, but smaller-scale events throughout the different neighborhoods represented,” she said. “We really want to bring this larger set of neighborhoods together and create some unity and synergy.”

Red Night Poetry premiere Wednesday

2010-07-12T02:12:44Z

Genelle Chaconas remembers the first time she read poetry in public quite vividly. It was a few years ago at Luna’s Poetry Unplugged open mic.

“I was shaking head to foot,” she said. “A fire truck blared past, three lines into my poem, and someone from the crowd shouted, ‘Start over!’ I thought I was going to just disappear.”

After a timid finish, the audience erupted in rowdy applause. Chaconas decided to speak with the host, longtime Sacramento poet B.L. Kennedy.

“That’s how I got to know B.L. Nobody else knows more about what’s going on artistically in Sacramento,” she said.

Three years later, Chaconas is organizing her own reading at Beatnik Studios. Along with Charlene Ungstad, Kennedy will be the featured poet at the inaugural event.

The reading, called Red Night Poetry, was inspired by William S. Burroughs’ book “Cities of the Red Night.” The title suits the gallery space since Burroughs was a famed “Beat” poet.

Chaconas brings a more serious approach to her poetry readings.

“We need to foster an environment of acceptance and fun loving freedom,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean no standards of rigor will exist. What I hope to bring forwards is a reiteration that poetry needs to be respected as the powerful tool it is.”

Asked if poetry is making a comeback, Chaconas replied emphatically.

“Poetry doesn’t need a comeback as it is something inside and outside of ourselves that must always exist,” she said. “What does need to happen is a new realization that poetry deserves respect, that to respect art is to truly respect the self.”

In addition to featured poets, there will be an open mic with a five-minute limit per reader. The event will be held Wednesday at 7 p.m. with a $3 cover. Beatnik Studios is at 2421 17th St.

Photo:

Genelle Chaconas at a poetry reading. Courtesy of Chaconas.

"Hot Poetry" features Keely Sadira Dorran

2010-06-23T04:26:00Z

For the second month in a row, Sacramento Poetry Center's summertime reading "Hot Poetry in the Park" had to relocate from Freemont Park back to their headquarters on the corner of 25th and R streets. For May's reading, the move indoors was due to poor weather, but technical difficulties and transportation were at fault this time. Even with the last-minute change of plans, the event still showcased incredible talent to an eager audience.

The night was hosted by Trina Drotar, the new managing editor of SPC's literary magazine, "Poetry Now."

Featured reader was local poet Keely Sadira Dorran. Dorran has played an integral role in the poetry community in Sacramento for more than 15 years but has recently taken a hiatus in reading her written work to expand other artistic ventures. Now studying online at the Academy of Art University in San Fransisco, she is shifting her focus from literary to visual art.

"The muse decided it wanted to come out differently," Dorran said. "I don't like to be pigeon-holed."

Although she hadn't performed in some time, Dorran had a wealth of poems to share with the crowd. The theme for the evening was love, and Dorran examined the topic from many angles: lovers, spirituality, nature and family. She combines all of these in her poem "In the Garden":

Without you, I cannot feed my people
from the secret light. You give me reason
because you love the moon and venus
and the night sky. You walk with my Lord
and he loves you. You have pleaded for me

so I can live my true life; will you lift
this cursed veil of silence and trust that I am not a thief
but a poet? I wander among starseed
like a love-starved maiden, but I have
promises to keep and my Lord has called me to be at your side.

"I'm just trying to make sense of life," Dorran said, followed by her bubbly laugh. "I want to express something higher. I want to connect us with our heritage as humans."

An open mic followed Dorran's 30-minute set with eight poets reading work on a range of topics, from Earth Day to Father's Day. Reading her work for the first time was Dorran's 14-year-old goddaughter, Valora Brunner. Dorran commented on the evolution of writers and how the young and old depend on each other.

"Integration of established artists with newcomers is so important," she said. "We forget that we need fresh blood. We need the challenge of the youthful mindset. And less experienced writers need the wisdom of the established."

As the night came to a close, the audience chatted about their satisfaction with the performance. SPC has many ongoing events. Currently they are accepting submissions for the 2010 Sacramento Poetry Contest. Writers may submit as many poems as they like with an entry fee of $3 per poem. The deadline is July 15. For more information visit sacramentopoetrycenter.org.

To see and read more of Dorran's visual and literary work, visit keelysadiradorran.com.

Photos

1. Dorran (right) with goddaughter Valora

2. During the reading

3. Original artwork by Dorran

First R25 Festival

2010-06-07T03:36:27Z

The local R25 art center at 25th and R streets celebrated its first “R25 Festival” over the weekend, hosting puppet shows in Spanish, an enormous necktie collection, and silent and open art auctions.

The complex, opened in 1994 by local artist Dennis Wilkerson, is home to three theaters, a poetry and art center and 14 artists' lofts.

The festival had multiple acts on on a small stage made just for the weekend. Performances included stunning monologues, a folk trio and a local theatre company performing songs from its recent shows.

“I love it that this is a complex filled with art and theatre,“ said Christine Nicholson, a local director. “It has three theaters! In one space! And almost all the time there’s something in every space.”

Ray Tatar, complex facilitator and artistic director of California Stage, said he was excited to show off the art in the complex.

“You have a thriving arts community here,” he said. “The art here really has an interesting range.”

All pictures courtesy of Maxwell McKee

Dance Company brings Broadway to Oak Park

2010-06-03T09:27:43Z

The 34th Street Dance company put on another high energy performance last Saturday at the Guild Theater. The theme was Fiat Lux, which is Latin for "let there be light. The show wrapped up with a tribute of dance routines to the late Michael Jackson, along with a heart felt and tearful ceremony to the seniors graduating from the company.

“Our mission is to use dance as a tool to build community and develop each dancer as a creative thinker, dance technician, and a leader” said Sheila Coleman, the founder and director of the company. The company trains in modern, hip-hop, and contemporary movement forms and for seven years, has shared its passion for dance with audiences all over California. The Sacramento-high based company is proudly led by Coleman , assistant director, Janay Hood, and dance coach and 34th SDC alumna, Rachel Hylton.

To view the photo gallery of the performance Click Here (photos by Ray Johnson/Npaphoto.com)

For more information on the 34th Street Dance Company, please visit Sheila Coleman's Facebook page

By Ray Johnson/Npaphoto.com

Despite poor weather, "Hot Poetry" sizzles for small crowd

2010-05-19T07:19:48Z

Due to Monday's gray skies and chilly breezes, Sacramento Poetry Center's series "Hot Poetry in the Park" had to move indoors. Originally scheduled for Fremont Park, the reading was transferred to the organization's hub on the corner of 25th and R streets.

With some of the audience lost in transition, the show went on for a crowd of a dozen. The featured acts included Boston-based touring duo Carrie Rudzinski and April Ranger. Currently halfway through their American Northwest tour entitled "A History of Silence," the poets both said they've had an amazing time so far.

"The train ride from Portland to (Sacramento) was unbelievable," Rudzinski said. "The scenery here is awesome."

Both poets are graduates from Emerson College and met through performance poetry at the Cantab Lounge in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A few months back, a mutual friend jokingly suggested the pair go on tour together. The idea resonated and the duo decided to make it a reality.

"We wanted to tour either the Southeast or the Northwest of America because of the range of poetry venues," Ranger said. Last year, Ranger represented Boston in the Individual World Poetry Slam in Berkeley and wanted to return for another visit.

"I fell in love with Berkeley," she said. "So we decided to do a Northwest tour."

Ranger went to school for acting and said her love for poetry was sparked by other performers.

"I heard poets doing things that I wanted to do," she said. She also said the themes within her work are inspired by human desire and the healing of tragedy. During her reading, her work was told with a narrative voice as autobiographical textures were weaved throughout her pieces.

Rudzinski's performance complemented Ranger's storytelling style with vivid imagery. In her poem "Birth, Life, Death, Love," she writes:

I was a thousand snapped rubber bands
simultaneously clapping-
the end of someone else's beginning
a wake of arms for someone else's silence

As a former film major, Rudzinski said she writes to the movie that happens inside her head.

"I often write about both the loss and (maintaining) of innocence, especially in society," she said. "I try to be surreal in my work."

When the reading was over, both performers were bombarded by the small audience with questions and praises for their work. For poetry fans who missed the show, the duo will be performing at 8 p.m. Thursday in Davis at the John Natsoulas Gallery at 521 First St. For more information about April Ranger or Carrie Rudzinski, visit their respective websites myspace.com/aprildawnranger and myspace.com/carrierudzinski.

The next "Hot Poetry" event is scheduled for June 21 at Fremont Park with poet Keely Sadira Dorran.

"This project is in conjunction with Fremont Park to help make the park more family friendly," said Rebecca Morrison, the program's host and coordinator. "Audience members are encouraged to bring a picnic dinner to enjoy during the performance."

For more information, visit sacramentopoetrycenter.org.

Photos:

1. April Ranger

2. Carrie Rudzinski

In The Flow is coming this weekend!

2010-05-12T19:53:18Z

*Note, there is a bias here because I'm directly involved with the Festival's organizaiton, etc.
-RH

In The Flow 3!

The 3rd annual In The Flow Jazz/Improvisational Festival will be at Luna's Cafe, R5 Records and Beatnik Studios this weekend (Friday, 5/14 through Monday, 5/17). The lauded young improvisational music festival will feature musicians from all over the West Coast, including Vinny Golia, Nels Cline, (guitarist from super group Wilco and the Nels Cline Singers), Lovely Builders, Gerry Pineda, Tony Passarell, Henry Robinett and many more.

In The Flow 3 Festival, produced by area guitarist Ross Hammond along with a group of volunteers, will post up over thirty music groups at two major locations--Beatnik Studios at 17th & Broadway and new this year, the venerable Luna’s Café at 16th & N Sts. Tickets are $10 per day or $30 for a 4-day pass. Tickets are available at www.intheflowsacramento.com. “All of the artists presented are representatives of Sacramento, Los Angeles, SF/Bay Area and Portland. In The Flow 3 is a great chance to experience what artists from out West have to offer,” says Hammond.

The returning title sponsor of the weekend events at Beatnik is the Greater Broadway Partnership Neighborhood Association, in conjunction with the Jazzhouse and SMF Music.

Pre-fest events at Russ Solomon's R5 Records (corner of 16th & Broadway) and also Records at 1618 Broadway will be announced shortly.

Friday night, May 14 will feature a special night of poetry and music collaborations at Luna's Cafe. The event, hosted by local poet phenom NSAA (a.k.a. Lawrence Dinkins) will be a night of surprises as regional poets trade verses with area jazz and creative musicians.

On Saturday, May 15 and Sunday, May 16 In The Flow 3 returns to Broadway for two full days of music and art at Beatnik Studios. This year there will be terrific jazz and improvisational musicians from Los Angeles (Nels Cline, Vinny Golia, GE Stinson, Steuart Liebig, Tom McNalley), Portland, Oregon (Rich Haley), The Bay Area (Phillip Greenlief, Scott Amendola, Darren Johnston, Lisa Mezzacappa), Grass Valley (Randy McKean, Murray Campbell), plus Sacramento and Davis (Ross Hammond, Tony Passarell, Electropoetic Coffee, Alex Jenkins, Gerry Pineda). Over twenty different groups will be playing throughout the weekend.

In addition, there will be a special showing of regional visual artists Mark Fox, Nicole Fox, Milton Bowens, Greg LaTraille and Kathy Blackburn at Beatnik Studios all weekend during the Festival.

Monday, May 17 will be dedicated to late Sacramento bassist and In The Flow co-founder Byron Blackburn, as his final recording session will be released at Luna's Cafe. The Labor Day Session CD features Blackburn along with Ross Hammond, Tom Monson, Phillip Greenlief, Jaroba and Tony Passarell. The remaining band members will be playing music from the new CD. Since November 2009, a weekly jazz/improvisational series at Luna’s, “Nebraska Mondays” named in honor of the Nebraska-born Blackburn, has grown in popularity.

A detailed 8 page program guide (available in late April at many Broadway and Midtown restaurant/cafe/shop locations, as well as greater Sacramento locations) will give fest-goers both artist bio info and a handy walking map to the neighborhood cafes restaurants and businesses.

More information, and tickets can be found at www.intheflowsacramento.com.

'The Readers of Homer' on an international odyssey

2010-05-04T04:22:35Z

Does an all-nighter eating lamb, reading Homer and dancing to Greek music sound like your idea of fun? East Sacramento resident Kathryn Hohlwein thinks it does. That's why she formed The Readers of Homer in 1998: to stage all-night readings of Homer's epics "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey."

For someone with such a deep devotion to reading and appreciating Homer, it's a bit surprising that Hohlwein (pronounced "whole vine") didn't read the epics growing up. Though she's a master of Homer now at nearly 80, Hohlwein hadn't even read much Homer until she was a teacher at California State University, Sacramento, about 40 years ago.

After teaching it for years, she retired, and fans of her class on Homer wondered how they would be able to study the epics elsewhere. Greek American attorney George Spanos pitched her the idea.

"He asked me out for coffee and said, 'I've always had this dream of doing all-night readings of Homer, people there having lamb on a spit,' " she said. "I've always given him credit over the years (because) it was his idea and I ran with it. He opened it in ancient Greek the first couple of readings."

Since Spanos opened the first two dusk-to-dawn readings in 1998 and 1999 at Gibson Ranch, The Readers of Homer have held readings in New York City; Chois, Greece; and Alexandria, Egypt. The city of Chois, Homer's purported birthplace, enjoyed the readings so much that they began sponsoring the group as part of an annual Festival of Homer since 2007.

But it wasn't until the 2008 reading in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (the Alexandrian Library) in Egypt that the nonprofit organization got a ton of publicity.

"That was just a great change in our fortunes and recognition," she said. "Not that we're that famous, but it sort of took off after Alexandria."

It might have been a stretch to compare Hohlwein to Odysseus, the protagonist of the Odyssey, but Hohlwein drew the comparison herself.

"I've learned so much about protocol, how to honor mayors and dignitaries, what you do and don't do and how to deal with all these customs - like Odysseus," she said. "So I'm learning like crazy, and I love that (because) I've always been a student."

Hohlwein was born in Salt Lake City, where she appreciated poetry and art. She studied English, philosophy and French at the University of Utah before earning a graduate degree in English from the Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College in Vermont.

It was in graduate school that she met poet Robert Frost, who she described as "a complex and irritable human being, but a great conversationalist." She also enjoyed playing baseball with him.

She spent time studying in Europe and teaching in the central United States before marrying German artist Hans-Jurgen Hohlwein and having three children with him. Then she taught at Sac State, where she was first introduced to Homer and taught a seminar called Homeric Imagination for 30 years.

For the 10-to-12-hour readings, there are only two rules: no apologizing for mispronunciations and no interrupting or analyzing the text. Among other languages, readers have sung, chanted and read the works in Arabic, Greek, Mandarin, French, Spanish, Hebrew, Flemish, German and Japanese.

Participants and audience members can be any age, wear whatever they want - one person wore a gladiator outfit once, while another wore cartoonish Homer Simpson footwear - and are encouraged to take naps during the long night of reading. About 350 is an optimal amount of people per reading, Hohlwein said. This allows each person to read for a few minutes and listen the rest of the time.

The next reading, billed as "The Biggest Celebration of Homer in the history of Latin America," will take place in Montevideo, Urugay, May 17-22, and will feature the Mayor of Montevideo and a former president of Uruguay, as well as respected Urugayan author Eduardo Galeano. Another trip to Greece - this time the island of Kos - and New York City are planned for this year.

Though none are scheduled, Hohlwein wants to stage more local readings as well as one strictly for veterans and their families.

"It's really very universal, not stuffy and old," she said. "It's about life and death, war and peace, homesickness, veterans and the difficulty of returning to civilian life. I teach it as an anti-war poem."

For more information, visit thereadersofhomer.org.

Local organization aims to empower youth through poetry

2010-04-19T17:40:41Z

A youth mentor for a local educational program said he used poetry to see himself through a difficult past.

Coon, a 15-year-old high school sophomore, was walking home when he was shot three times. One bullet hit his spine and ricocheted into his lung.

"I was hanging out with somebody who really wasn't my friend, and I pretty much took on their beef, their issues, and I was guilty by association," he said. "I've never been in a gang or anything like that. You don't have to be (involved) in a gang for something bad to happen to you."

Asking to be referred to only by his last name (and stage name), Coon channeled the pain from his wounds and started taking his writing and poetry seriously as soon as he left the hospital. He joined a musical group and, with his friend TroubleSin, became part of a spoken word team called E-legal Tag Team.

The two are now poet mentors for Sacramento Area Youth Speaks, which uses innovative methods to help Sacramento-area kids learn. Since last year, SAYS, part of the University at California at Davis School of Education, has empowered youth by giving them a voice through poetry.

SAYS will inaugurate its poetry slam season Wednesday night at the Roberts Family Center, and the season will culminate May 7 at the 2010 SAYS Youth Summit at the Mondavi Center. Youth ages 13 to 19 are invited to participate, and the preliminary rounds, held at a different venue each night, will be open to the public.

"We can all talk about pipelining youth into college, but that's empty unless their hearts are here," said Dr. Vajra Watson, founder of SAYS and a former Bay Area high school teacher. "I saw firsthand the perils of education as well as the opportunities, and I became an advocate for young people to seek insight into their own lives."

So in January 2009, Watson founded SAYS, which partners with the Twin Rivers and Sacramento City school districts as well as the city's Office of Youth Development and the Sierra Health Foundation.

The program holds an assembly at a participating school, a writing workshop and eventually, after-school programs. During the school year, a poet mentor, who has gone through a six-week training course, pairs with a class, making lesson plans, mentoring students and helping the teacher engage with students in "living literacy" programs.

"The underlying philosophy is reaching and teaching the youth," said Watson. "We underestimate young people. They're ready to grab the mic. Are we ready to listen?"

Demand from students led to the poetry slam season. The program, which began in January 2009, grew to 350 people by May. Its popularity brought the first annual SAYS Summit, drawing youth from five school districts.

After attending a day of workshops with alternative educators and local poets, the youngsters participated in a poetry slam, competing and showcasing their stories. SAYS had to turn away poets. Teachers also received training at the summit.

Charday Adams, Grant High School senior, won the slam.

"Youth Speaks gave me an opportunity to write, discover who I was and define some emotions I had," she said. "I found myself wanting to read more books and explore more sensations; it gave me a better view of myself."

Watson said the program also employs youth as poet mentors because they can connect more deeply with students, making their work more relevant.

Coon agreed. The 20-year-old explained how he thinks of the students at Elinor Lincoln Hickey Junior-Senior High School, which he described as a charter school with mostly juvenile delinquents.

"I'm not an authority or an adult, I'm just like (them)," he said of students, adding, "I'm just trying to give (them) a way out. Sometimes it's the hardest to get them motivated because they've been institutionalized, but I let them know that I graduated from a continuational school."

Coon, who is also taking classes to become a juvenile probation officer, said he wants to get more school districts involved with SAYS because there are a lot of "silent poets" out there.

Adams wants to write for film and television and will attend the University of Southern California next year on a full-ride scholarship. "I definitely want to incorporate everything I learned," she said, adding, "a lot of people in spoken word are in screenwriting as well."

Poetry slam season will run from Wednesday to Saturday at a different venue each night. Semifinals will be held April 30 and May 1 at La Raza Galeria Posada, 1022 22nd St.

Finals will be May 7 at the Mondavi Center in Davis as part of the SAYS 2010 Youth Summit. It also will feature Def Poetry Jam poets Dennis Kim, Ise Life and Queen GodIs. UC Davis will host the professional development segment of the summit on May 15 for teachers.

More information on SAYS, the poetry slam season and the 2010 SAYS Summit is available at www.says.ucdavis.edu.

Photographs courtesy SAYS.

Students compete for National Poetry Recitation Contest

2010-03-12T03:37:22Z

Thousands of students across the country are bringing poetry to life by competing in this year's Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest.

This is the contest's fifth year, and it is growing rapidly, influencing thousands of high school students to learn and perform poetry.

Kristin Margolis, the California state contact from the California Arts Council, said that "there is an incredible demand for the program, with 300,000 participants nationwide this year."

"California has the most competing in the nation," Margolis said. "We will have 40,000 students from 27 counties, which is a big jump from the 24 counties that competed last year and 20 counties the year before that."

The program itself was founded to inspire high school students to read poetry and learn, not just from today's poets, but from many poets before the 20th century.

"It is really important to encourage students to pick the poem and find something that has meaning for them," Margolis said.

The National Recitation Contest begins in the classroom, where students memorize poems and compete within their schools through their ability to remember, connect and perform their chosen poems.

Winners from each school continue on to compete in county contests and then state and national finals, where a single winner is chosen.

Margolis explained that it is such a great program because it can start by a parent, student or teacher hearing about it and deciding to get an entire school involved. There are no boundaries to who can participate because, as Margolis said, it is open to all students, whether home-schooled or in overcrowded classrooms.

"What is unique is that the program can run completely paperless," Margolis said.

Though she did say that supplies and poems are given to many of the schools, the Poetry Out Loud website has all 600 poems from which students can choose, making the contest accessible to every student.

This allows for a wide variety of students, some with very little resources and others who are in every available advanced class to compete on the same footing, Margolis said.

The competition is composed of a very diverse group of people, Margolis said, many of whom relate to poetry through hip hop and slam poetry.

The students gain more than just the knowledge of poetry - they gain confidence, public speaking practice and, as Margolis pointed out, "the feeling they have done something that they never thought they could do."

"All of the students really get the poems in their hearts, and we hear that they remember them years later," Margolis said.

The California finals will be held fro 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday in the Senate Chambers of the Capitol. This will be the second year of the finals being held at the Capitol.

Competitors will arrive at the Capitol the night before, allowing students to meet one another and bond through their poetry. Margolis said this "really allows them to root for each other."

The 27 winners from this year's competing counties will be reciting three poems for the California state finals. One has to be pre-20th century, one 25 lines or less, and the last is the student's choice. Students will be judged on their physical presence, voice and articulation, appropriateness of dramatization, level of difficulty, evidence of understanding, overall performance and accuracy. The overall score will determine a winner, and in the case of a tie like last year, Margolis said that the students must recite one of their poems again.

One state winner will move on to the national finals, which will be held at the George Washington University Lisner Auditorium in Washington, D.C. Semifinal rounds will begin April 26, and the finals will be held the following evening. The event is free and open to the public.

This year's competition is being sponsored by Target, which is donating gift cards and books to state finals participants to accompany their Poetry Out Loud certificates of participation.

Each state winner will receive $200 and a paid trip to compete in Washington, D.C., as well as a $500 stipend for the winner's school to purchase poetry books. The runners-up will receive $100 and a $200 stipend for their schools' library.

The winner of the national finals will take home $50,000 in awards and school stipends.

Monday's competition is open to the public, though space is limited. Since it will take place in the Senate Chamber, there are seats, but Margolis said she expects the chamber to fill up to standing room only.

The good news is that the competition will also be aired live on the Cal Channel, and a link can be found at calchannel.com.

Photo:
2009 California State Champion Spencer Klavan

Master Barber & Beauty Shop celebrates 35 years in new location

2010-03-04T08:57:25Z

Master Barber Shop was established in 1958 and was acquired by Earlie D. and Mary Brown in December of 1974. During that time, the shop was located on Stockton Blvd. and 7th Ave. Since those early days, Master Barber & Beauty Shop, has had several locations. Each location being better than the last. In 1989, sons Rodney and Marichal, joined the family business.

The late owner and master barber, Earlie D. Brown, established business in the hair industry in the mid 1940's with Brown's Barber Shop (two locations, San Francisco and Marin City). What started out as nothing more than a dream and a dime and a nail in his pocket has turned into a family business. He died in February 1998. Mary Brown and sons, Rodney and Marichal, now handles daily operations.

In 2007, The Brown Family, added community activities at the salon. Art on Stockton Blvd. became one of Sacramento's largest celebration of African American Art, Poetry, Literature and History. The shop has featured such fine artists as Milton Bowens, Malik Seneferu and Shonna McDaniels, poets; Terry Moore, NSAA, Steven 'HurriKane' Clark and Heather Christian and authors; Grace Carter (Rivercity Griot), Joslyn Gains Vanderpool and Anita Royston (Our Black Fathers).

Celebrating 35 years in business, The Brown Family has decided to re-locate to a more comfortable and fitting site, continue striving for excellence in the Hair and Beauty industry and to accompany such events as Art on Stockton Blvd., Jazz @ the Shop, Master Renaissance Poetry, Comedy, Plays and more.

Starting Tuesday, March 9, 2010, Master Barber & Beauty Shop doors will open at 4340 Stockton Blvd., Suite 2 (the former Brown's Paradise building), on the corner of Stockton Blvd. and Parker. The phone number will remain the same, 916.457.8708. Until then, you can find us at 3504 Stockton Blvd. (between 10th and 11th Ave, next to the Colonial Theater). We will keep you updated on upcoming events.

There will not be an event on this date, but everyone is welcomed to stop by and say, Hi, view the new facility and/or have your hair styled or cut.

The Brown Family would like to thank all who have patronized and supported Master Barber & Beauty Shop throughout the years.

Disclosure Note: Marichal Brown is part-owner of Master Barber Beauty Shop.

Poet Terry Moore appears Feb 19 at Upper Level Lounge

2010-02-12T07:51:36Z

Terry Moore (T Mo)

In Sacramento, we are very fortunate to have award-winning spoken word poet Terry Moore as part of our poetry scene. While he has performed his poetry all around the country, he organizes and hosts plenty of local events to showcase other artists from the Capital region and beyond. Terry hosts The Show, the popular Saturday night series in Oak Park. You’ll see him there on the last Saturday of every month, taking videos, making sure everyone is comfortable, getting young people to participate, and introducing acts with warmth and style. But when T-Mo takes the stage to speak his own pieces, the intensity goes up. Working smoothly, often with a two- or three- piece band behind him, he’s so comfortable with his long, narrative works that he often rewrites them during a piece – adding details that fit that night’s appreciative crowd!

By day, Terry provides important services for the community at the non-profit Center for Fathers and Families. In the evenings, he’s putting on events for poets, vocalists, dancers, and more. He founded the Black Men Expressing Tour, as well as the Friday night Blackout Poetry Series, The Underground Poetry Series, and The Show. He also produces a TV Show – Moore Time for Poetry. Check his website to get updates on the appearances he’ll be making, as well as the events he’s coordinating. On Friday, February 19th, Terry will be celebrating the release of his new book Born To Love You, and performing at the Upper Level Lounge, 26 Massie Court, Sacramento. This event begins at 7 pm, and costs $5 at the door.

Terry’s poetry often talks about relationships – the kind of work that we have to do to make relationships work, but he works in plenty of tenderness, humor, devotion, and of course rhythm and rhyme along the way. Enjoy the words of Terry Moore, and check out a few links I’ve listed below that give you an idea of what’s coming up next from this remarkable writer and performer. You can contact Terry at fromtheheart1@hotmail.com, or 916-208-POET, But best of all, go hear him perform his poetry in person!

www.mybmsf.com/terrymoore
www.terrymoore.info

The poetry of Terry Moore

Patiently Waiting

I ran my fingers through her hair, grabbed the back of her neck and began pulling her close to me, but she vanished before our bodies touched. Five minutes later she text messaged me from heaven saying it wasn't time to fall in love yet, so here I am waiting patiently on fate. I 'm hoping that what they say is true, I'm hoping that good things do indeed come to those who wait!

Easily Broken

Here we go again
Another day has gone by
We’re still asking ourselves
Why?

I walk and every step is away from you
Inside it’s not what I want to do
But you said you’d be best without me
So, I have no choice but you let you go free

But deep inside, I know we never took the time to pray
You were so focused on taking your love away
There’s no doubt, we could have made it through
If, I would have gone to the altar and kneeled with you

Now we’re in a recession
And you don’t have any protection
I’m over here and you’re over there
Thinking about each other but acting like we don’t care

Just think of the wonderful times we laughed together
The times we fought hand in hand through stormy weather
We defeated the enemy time and time again
But somehow now we’ve given up and given in

You keep subscribing to those crazy thoughts
When you know you still love me a lot
You know it won’t be the same
Waking up, and not hearing me, whispering your name

Meanwhile, I’m looking right through your fake smile
The one you’ve been displaying for a long while
How could you be happy alone?
Knowing the love we had for each other can never be cloned

You say you want me to forever walk away
Even though the best is for me to stay
Too bad the angels in heaven can’t brag on us anymore
I keep hearing God telling us not to close the door

Another good Christian love that drowned in tears
Another perfect match that’s conceding to fears
I’ll be praying for us
And open to your touch, because I love you that much

There’s no doubt if we put God back in the middle we won’t be apart
There’s no doubt if we don’t, we’ll live forever with damaged wings and hearts
Ugly is forgetting what we had, beauty is reinstating our swag
This love was meant to be so I'm still hopin'
That we don't let ourselves become... SO EASILY BROKEN!

My Little Angel

I knew you were an angel from the moment I laid eyes on you
I was right there where a real father is supposed to be
Watching you enter into this world
Waiting for the nurse to hand you over to me

That was my proudest moment
A moment that will always be in the center of my heart
It was then that I decided
That I would never allow anyone but God to tear us apart

Now you’ve gotten older
I’ve watched you grow tall
I’ve watched you blossom into a beautiful rose of a little girl
A rose that I will never allow not even one of your petals to fall

I was the very first to hold you
I was the one who gave you your name
I will always love you my little angel
I hope you feel the same

You will never understand what it took to be with you
It was important to me to be in your life along the way
Now that I’m here let me make it clear
Only my life’s expiration can take me away

I’m so proud of you my angel
You are such a beautiful and wonderful little girl
Thank you for being the greatest gift I could ever ask for
Thank you for being the center of my world.

Kathy Kieth and Medusa's Kitchen - providing a recipe for Sacramento's poets

2010-02-01T08:00:36Z

Born and raised in Sacramento, Kathy Kieth now lives in Pollock Pines. A musician, music teacher, music therapist, psychologist and poet, her work has been published in many journals, including Atlanta Review, California Quarterly, Main Street Rag, Möbius, Potpourri, Ekphrasis, PDQ, Poetry Now, Slant, and Tiger’s Eye. Kathy has also published four chapbooks: Night Full of Owls from White Heron Press, Keeping Time in the Clock Shop from PWJ Publishing, Why We Have Sternums from Rattlesnake Press, and Sex—For Animals from Rattlesnake Press. She was also nominated for the prestigious Pushcart Prize.

In the last six years, Ms. Kieth has published hundreds of Sacramento-area poets in her quarterly literary journal, Rattlesnake Review. She’s also selected and published about 50 chapbooks, organized readings, and supported venues by publishing special editions such as La Luna: Poetry Unplugged at Luna’s Cafe (edited by Frank Andrick), and Keepers of the Flame – The First Thirty Years of the Sacramento Poetry Center (edited by Mary Zeppa, Kate Asche and Emmanuel Sigauke). Kathy has built a remarkable legacy of publications assisting poets and writers from all around the capital region. The scope of her work as an “enabler” for other poets is perhaps best displayed on her popular poetry website Medusa’s Kitchen.

http://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com

With an endless supply of poems, photos, upcoming events, forty links to other poetry blogs and sites, and drawings by Sam the snake man, Medusa’s Kitchen is a site to explore, and most importantly, a great place for poets to submit poems. She encourages first-time writers: “Get your poetry, art, photos and announcements out to all the corners of the earth on a very frequent basis; the snakes of Medusa are always hungry, especially for NorCal poetry.” So don’t be shy; since poetry is for sharing, send yours to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726.

These poems are from her upcoming chapbook from Tiger's Eye Press, Emily and the High Cost of Living, which will be released on February 10th, 7:30pm, at The Book Collector on 24th Street. Tiger’s Eye editors Collette Jonopulos and JoAn Osborne will also read at that event. A week later, Kathy will be releasing another of her free publications – the fifth issue of WTF – at Luna’s Poetry Unplugged, 8pm on February 18 at Luna’s Café, 1414 16th Street. Please enjoy the work of Kathy Kieth – poet, publisher, tireless and talented friend of Sacramento’s literary scene!

When Things Get Too Tough,

Emily checks out of the café: dreams
of that pool in the forest where
weeping willows graze the water, where

the night birds sings at dusk and
crickets open their voices at
just about the same time: dreams

with dark eyes of cool shadows and
the scent of the blue hibiscus, of
long shafts of light like waterfalls that

reach down through the trees to
stroke her back: of moonlight and
nightingales and the bright eyes

of owls: cottony clouds: quilts made
of fallen leaves—all soft, sweet dreams
for poor, distressed Emily when

things get too tough at the café…

Like a Bubble

she perches
on the tip of
your finger: silver-
coated meniscus
embracing air like
fairy wings as she

perches
purses her lips
then tries to lift off
sighing and pouting
staring away at

some secret
space, some
deep, deep darkness
where you’re
simply not allowed…

She Leans on Her Coffin

—checks it for comfort: sizes up
its length (too short) and width (too

narrow): squints at the cheap wood
and faux lining, the tarnished brass

fittings: handle with a loose screw,
filigree chipped and crooked, scroll-

work amateurish and dull… She leans
on her coffin to assess its durability:

notes the stray creak and groan of
its ill-fitting joints: cites for future

reference the phone number of
the manufacturer. Finally, she

sums up her opinion of her future
in one single word: shoddy…

John Allen Cann

2009-12-10T07:49:25Z

John Allen Cann plays with images and language to create new worlds where we can see ourselves in a new light. In “Spectral Thoughts,” the poet recasts an 18th century Japanese haiku master as an American trucker, so that

we might create something new,
surprise the sun?
Basho steadies the steering wheel of his semi
rolling across the blank wilds
of middle America.

Perhaps Cann sees himself as this traveler/poet, or perhaps like Wallace Stevens, he’s insisting that creativity is indispensible. Later in the same poem, talking about Humpty Dumpty, the poet reminds us, “only imagination/can make our eggman/whole again.”

These poetic flights are intellectual pursuit in Cann’s world; watching the sea is an “evening’s scholarship,” and he often uses landscape to reveal his thoughts, or at least the narrator’s thoughts. And while there are often references to scholars, philosophers, or poets of the past, the references are generally clear to the reader, and at times laced with humor, as in “If you’re a fraud/it’s hard not to be/afraid of Freud.” You’ll also notice that he likes to break lines and drop down or across the page, like William Carlos Williams.

One of Sacramento’s finest poetry scholars (he studied at Cornell with A.R. Ammons), John wrote and published a number of books in the 1970s, and he has recently become more involved in the Sacramento poetry scene. He currently teaches English Composition at Cosumnes River College, and is also offering a class on American poets born in the 1930s, at the Room to Write School of Poetry on 25th Street. If you want to contact him about his work or want to know more about his poetry classes, you can find Professor Cann at johnallencann@comcast.net.

John's poetry:

IF THE MYTH FITS, WEAR IT

If the myth fits, wear it.
Why not clothe yourself in the fictive
to make yourself real?
The story will welcome you
as if it couldn't happen without you.

The path unfolds
just like someone telling you
their most crucial adventure.
You will dance to the music
of your own wandering,
you won't be thoughtless to the dwarf
who knows exactly what you need.
Courage will befriend you
in the thorny woods of uncertainty.

Now you'll anticipate the dragon
with great reverence,
only then can you do with it
what you must.
And if you should taste
a morsel of the dragon's heart
afterwards you'll understand
whatever the birds & beasts speak.
Without thinking of yourself
the kingdom shall be yours.

SOLITARY ON THE SHORE

Wisps still pale cherry
in the darkening azure,
the keen moon
just a bit above the trees
that edge the bluffs,

round as a perfect O---
opal whose beam
touches slick sand
ebb-moistened:
now its lavish dance begins

on the shift and slosh
of the tide’s
coming and going,
the air at the horizon
turns ash-pink.

Venus flicks on.
As the lunar disc arcs
across the dusk
its wavelight widens
torching the wavebreaks.

Ancient calligraphy
on the sea’s
ceaseless pages---
to divine the musings,
my evening’s scholarship.

SPECTRAL THOUGHTS

Is there a chance
we might create something new,
surprise the sun?
Basho steadies the steering wheel of his semi
rolling across the blank wilds
of middle America.

Humpty-Dumpty fell from the wall of logic
and only imagination
can make our eggman
whole again;
in dreams all the yardsticks
coil and jump.

It’s hard to circumnavigate
the sphere of things
if you’re too circumspect.
If you’re a fraud
it’s hard not to be
afraid of Freud.

How pliable do you like your truth?
Or, is it like white light
broken into different colors,
the prism of consciousness
disclosing various hues
all from the same beam?

2:15 am
17 May 09

I DREAM OF COLD MOUNTAIN IN DESOLATION

He stood on the other shore
across the jeweled waters
His long beard
white as the full moon
just above Ralston Peak

Finger to his lips
eyes crazy joyful
We listened a long while to the wind
tell its old story
over & over again in the ancient pines

Until a solitary cloud
drifted into the sky
& melted away in the dawn

James M. Moose

2009-11-30T06:49:20Z

You could chat with Jim Moose for a while and not find out that he’s a World War II veteran or a retired attorney, but you might be able to figure it out through his poetry. Jim uses regular rhythms and rhyme in his poetry – you can hear that classic lilt of iambic pentameter in much of his work. It’s bouncy and generally easy to follow. But Jim’s wide range of topics – old friends, war scenes, historical poems, mountain hikes and courtroom scenes – set him apart from most poets I know. Check out this selection of pieces from his new book Hotchpot – you’ll find humor and wisdom, sorrow and joy, and a unique look at the world in the poetry of James M. Moose.

Jim Moose, pere (James M. Moose) is a retired civil servant and Navy veteran of WWII, a graduate of UC Berkeley and its law school. He produced nothing in the way of literature, other than legal opinions and decisions, until he wrote his first poem after retiring in 1995. His poetry has been published in Susurrus, the Sacramento City College literary magazine, and he has recently self-published a collection of his poems he has entitled Hotchpot.

Reminiscence

I met a charming girl, and shortly moved away.
It was as though she’d evanesced; I neither saw
nor heard of her again. A thought of her, astray,
alit a time or two, then moved into the maw
of time’s recycle bin. All memory of her
was gone – for sixty years, at least – and then, by hap,
an anamnestic trick: a mental chorister
pronounced, “And now, your ken of Emalyn unwrap!”
She was a preacher’s kid, precocious, prim and plain
but not a Grundyist – a hayride proved her so.
She’d written in my yearbook in a friendly vein,
and it occurred to me that I could be her beau.
This shard reminds me, in my latter, happy lot,
that if I’d stayed, not moved, I’d be someone I’m not.

Oral Argument

A lengthy wait, in a snaking queue
of youngish lawyer-spectators,
with their several needs to watch,
to pass an elaborate security bar
(God Save This Honorable Court)
before entering the courtroom
to hear a functionary, finely-tuned
lay down for counsel, with apt
and market-tested humor and advice,
the rules for argument, before
the Court arrives (All Rise)
to hear their morning calendar;

a handsome courtroom,
wood-paneled and –pilastered,
a bench, raised and rampart-like,
fit for seven demigods,
and a ceiling almost out of sight,
designed to evoke awe and wonder
from all who enter here
to argue, or just to watch
the unrehearsed but stylized
ballet of question and response;

questions from the Court,
always interrupting counsel’s
argument and train of thought –
sometimes betraying a majestic
misunderstanding of the facts.

The Alpinist

I rose that day and climbed the lofty peak
with cloudy robes that filed the western sky,
and was exalted as I mounted there.

What was the potion there supplied to me?
What vasty notion filled my mind?
What strange vision was vouchsafed to me?

The granite rock beneath my feet rose up
and lifted me as if an ocean wave and I a
sleeping petrel resting on its bosom there.

The vastness of the sky enfolded me and
I was one with nature and eternity, and
knew I was a creature of the universe.

Cynthia Linville

2009-11-18T20:53:36Z

Cynthia Linville’s poems blend images and personal story to create pieces that stay in the reader’s mind.
When the narrator of one of the poems encounters a lover from long ago, the conversation’s real, the setting is real:

"Yeah, I heard." And now
over greasy bacon and sticky
orange juice, no more
guilt.

The poet weaves detail and commentary together deftly in Nevermore, again as the narrator reflects on an acquaintance from the past:

Pasts like ours (filled with wooden crosses
and beatings in schoolhouses)
require a greater escape velocity
than other pasts do.

Cynthia Linville teaches English at California State University, Sacramento and serves as poetry editor of Poetry Now and managing editor of Convergence: an online journal and poetry and art (www.convergence-journal.com). She hosts the Second Friday Poetry Reading and her poetry has recently appeared in The Sacramento News and Review, The Sacramento Bee, Medusa’s Kitchen, and The Rattlesnake Review, Song of the San Joaquin, and WTF.

Check out the Convergence online journal: www.convergence-journal.com

Here are three poems by Cynthia Linville

Omens

walking under a ladder
stepping on a crack
an owl looking in your window
your lover's ex coming back

stabbing yarn with two needles
spilling pepper or salt
letting milk boil over
not admitting fault

cutting your nails on a Friday
opening an umbrella in the house
seeing a crow in a dream
telling a friend your doubts

getting out of bed with your left foot
a rooster crowing at noon
13 sitting down at table
a total eclipse of the moon

leaving a rocking chair rocking
giving a lover a knife
saying goodbye on a bridge
dreaming of those gone from life

a mirror or condom breaking
a dog howling after dark
a broken clock that starts chiming
nursing a broken heart

Nevermore
(after Nevermore, O Tahiti by Paul Gauguin)

Staring off into the joy-suffused light
wearing your hair in long dark braids
you could have stepped out of a Gauguin painting
instead of my past –
26 years since the end of high school.

I disagree when you say,
“We are all refugees from the past.”
Pasts like ours (filled with wooden crosses
and beatings in schoolhouses)
require a greater escape velocity
than other pasts do. You nod

the sorrow in your eyes so deep
I lean in for a closer look
and see myself mirrored there
in this crazy light.
Your pupils open wider and wider
spilling into the deep brown of your irises
pulling me in.

Here you are on a Sunday morning

(after all these years)
eating pancakes at Carrows;
you whom I almost married
(the evidence must still exist somewhere:
bridesmaids dresses hanging in closets, cake
order, ring style, sanctuary reservations)

forcing remembrance
of the way-back-then-high-school me
when I wore my hair straight and brown, and
wore nylons, heels and lots of mascara;
when you and I held hands in church every Sunday and
rode around in your '68 (or was it a '67) blue
Mustang (1BADMTG), my name painted on the door.

forcing remembrance
of two Senior Ball portraits
each identical except for the embracing couples:
one of you and me,
one of him and her. He and I were in white
and would have looked so nice together,
whereas you and I almost clashed.
I remember wanting way-back-then to paste
he and I together into one photo
and throw you away. Funny how, even before the Ball,

he always wore white
in my mind, and eventually did rescue me
in his dirty yellow Pinto with the dented door
(I had to climb in through the window).
And here I am now, almost seven years later, eating my eggs.
You and I sidelong glance each other,
just sit, letting the tension build.

My hair is short and red now,
and I'm wearing comfortable black
(on my way to a backstage theatre job).
And he (whom I left you for all those years ago)
is here with me. You
(furniture store manager) still look the same,
and you sit with your blond Barbi doll wife and in-laws--
all wearing pastels, fresh from church.

After I've finished mopping up my egg yolks with english muffin,
I walk towards you; he leaves to pay the bill.
Forced smiles and hello-how-are-you-how've-you-been's:
then, "I married him last December."
And you, "Yeah, I heard." And now
over greasy bacon and sticky
orange juice, no more
guilt. And I leave you,
again.

Frank Andrick - poet of the week

2009-10-26T04:43:43Z

frank andrick

frank andrick has lived in San Francisco, Paris, Lockeford and Sacramento, where he has been an integral part of the poetry scene for many years. Deeply influenced by French poets such as Verlaine and Baudelaire, andrick’s poetry flirts with surrealism at times, but I think of him as a romantic as well – one who believes that art, and the sharing of it, can redeem humanity to some extent. As a regular host at Luna’s Café on Thursday nights, frank often mixes poetry with music, and he recently produced a mixed-media event which included films from the 1930s as background for his poetic work. Frank also edits WTF, Rattlesnake Press’s quarterly journal of the literary and visual arts, which is now going into its fourth edition.
(Note: You can order WTF, or find submission guidelines, by visiting Rattlesnake Press at http://rattlesnakepress.com/wtf.html )

Here are a number of frank’s pieces, plus a piece that he has selected that was written about six thousand years ago. “Oh lady of the largest heart,” is, to his knowledge, “the first poem we have a record of.” It was originally “printed” on cuniform tablets! Enjoy the work of frank andrick.

Sativa

Sativa - A Rose By No Other Name
Mystikal, Mysterious, and Mortal.
Miss Rose I presume??
A Rose by no other name.

aaah Sativa,
A thousand stories, bedside tales, she-her-azade
One and a million secret places
Zero the void, come into being
The void I sink into - When I sync into U
U the unknown - night bloom
What will and can be - up to you and me
The shapeless breathes form
The wet whorl of an ear echoes and inspires
the fire down below.
We are none - we are one

aaah Sativa,
All the animals are here
All the angels too - Tutti
Possibilities are endless
In the infinite universe of verses
Sum surrounded in flaming blue
49 petals has the ancient mystic rose
Mouth flowers- - La Rose du Monde
Seeking the Rose of the world - Whose touch stirs the snake
Awakens the Rose of imagination.
Searing sex into vision - Seering visions into sex
The High Priestess lowers the veil
RoseCross and flame - Sight and smell intoxicate
Phases of the flowering, phases of the moon
Beauty has a new name
You
The Rose By No Other Name.

THE POET IS A THIEF OF FIRE

To be a poet
entails more than
the writing of poems.
It demands a commitment
to live and die with great style
and an even greater sadness.
to wake up each morning
with the fever raging,
and to know that it can never
be extinguished except by
death,
and yet to be convinced that this suffering,
this sensitivity carries it’s own unique
reward...
I want to be
the Hierophant
of an unapprehended
inspiration.

EVENING PRAYER

Discontented with everything and discontented with myself
I should be glad enough to redeem myself and restore my pride
a little in the silence and the solitude of the night.
souls of those i have loved ,
souls of those i have sung,
fortify me, sustain me, drive me far
from the corrupting vapors of the world.
And you, my God, grant me
the grace to produce a few beautiful lines
which will prove to me that I am not lower
than those whom i despise.

oh lady of the largest heart

by enheduanna (A Sumerian moon priestess/poet circa 4000 bc )

oh lady of the largest heart
keen for battle queen
eldest daughter of the moon
she is changeable, and hidden
SHE completes the great of me
makes flawless the ordained powers
she shrieks and the gods start shaking she raves
she speaks she shakes with rage
demons throw ropes snares bodies burn in blistering flare
she is the one who disobeys

lioness Inanna, leaps to slash the fearless
mountain wildcat, prowling the roads
shows her wet fangs, gnashes her teeth
where she spits venom fighting erupts
tumult spreads the poison
she is Inanna bearer of happiness
she holds the life of heaven with her single hand
she the lady lioness
out of nothing shapes what has never been
her sharp wit splits the door where cleverness resides
and there reveals what lies inside
these two she changed and renamed
reed marsh woman into reed marsh man
& back again ecstasy and trance are yours
to gather the scattered, and restore the living place
are yours
she is the one who disobeys,
oh lady of the largest heart.

SPC celebrates 30 years of poetry in Sacramento

2009-10-26T04:37:00Z

Monday night, October 26 - Sacramento Poetry Day - help the Sacramento Poetry Center celebrate its 30th anniversary. 1719 25th Street - (25th and R) 7:30 PM - Free Admission.

Jennifer Pickering: poet and artist

2009-10-19T03:40:05Z

Jennifer O’Neill-Pickering

As both a visual artist and poet, Jennifer O’Neill-Pickering brings a painterly eye to her words on the page. She shows us “the dark blur of crows,” and comments on “silver threads of light/illuminating something you can’t hold/and therefore can never lose.” From "turquoise unions" to "apricot light," a strong visual sensibility is at work in her poetry.

When she was growing up, Jennifer he wanted to be an artist and a poet. Her early years were spent in the rural community of Tierra Buena, fifty miles north of Sacramento, with a view of the Sutter Buttes. Today, Jennifer wears many hats, as artists often do: mother, wife, writer, artist, teacher, graphic artist and former Technology Specialist for the Legislative Data Center.

Jennifer’s poetry has appeared in anthologies including: Munyori Journal, The Sacramento Anthology:100 Poems, Earth Daughters, People Matters, Poet News and Consumnes River Journal. She has taught art at Consumnes River College, as well as art and poetry at St. John’s Woman’s Shelter and the Sacramento City Schools thanks to grants from the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission. Jennifer has won numerous awards for her artwork including an Award of Excellence at California Works. She has published one book of poetry entitled Poems with the Element of Water. You may view Jennifer’s art and words by clicking on these links: cafepress.com/3952, Fe Gallery or contact her at:jenniferartist@att.net.

Three Memories of Tierra Buena

I.

Barefoot
night gown a jellyfish of north wind
drifting over frozen alfalfa fields
alone with the dark blur of crows
and a cock pheasant stirred to flight
colliding with a bruised dawn.

II.

4 a.m. chasing down the road
the moon flinging silver threads of light
illuminating something you can’t hold
and therefore can never lose like promises
between best friends.
sworn to secrecy on the Methodist bible’s
worn out cover
binding pages of proverbs tired and overused.
Out of breath at the aperture in the privet hedge
where in the spring
white crowned sparrows
nest
as this night we did.

III.
The barn smelled of hay
stood standing when everything else
fell down from neglect
including
childhood one afternoon
drenched in Carmel light
zippers catching
weight that can’t be lifted
the horse shoe hung
over the crooked door jam
promise of good luck.

Paper Prisoner

Yesterday they delivered the new chairs,
blue to match my mood.
I would rather have a window, or clean building air,
but they tell me, “Be satisfied with your
executive blue chair.” “With a six inch padded seat
how deep you will sink and never want
to leave this trendy room .”
Mauve decor can’t hide the fact it’s still a cell
and I’m a paper prisoner with paper clip chains
terminally down, tame as the African Violet on my desk
blooming under unnatural light,
where managers pace the halls
sporting polyester smiles.
Noontime, I flee to the K Street Mall,
prisoner to the yard.
I do not plan escape-hop lite-rail,
tunnel the paperwork;
I only want to exercise.
I am not hungry like this man on the steps
of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament,
wearing three dirty shirts, a twisted bad tooth grin,
smelling of last nights Thunderbird.
I wear silk, expensive perfume, and weak regret.
I am overweight, live for the next state holiday,
and have never seriously considered parole.
I turn my head down wind
drop a dollar in his palm
as he God blesses me.

I Am the Creek

Slow and easy
In this fall of Han Lu
Mother of minnow
Swimming in nursery schools
Sleeping in cradles
of algae and sedge

dance floor
to Damselflies
gyrating turquoise unions
to tambourines of leaves

tomb to families of oak
anointed in my waters
last rites repeated
in the currents passage

riparian spring
to hare and fox
drunk in the tent of dusk
and apricot light
of a Samhain moon

place of wading
into muddy beginnings
pools of clarity
changing my course often
lithe as the water snake’s glide.

Frank Andrick presents ELEMENTS on Monday Oct 12th

2009-10-11T07:02:56Z

SPC Presents
Frank Andrick's ELEMENTS

An evening of poetry, prose, storytelling, film, cine-poems, sound and music on October 12th

1719 25th Street (25th and R)

featuring Christopher Fairman, Josh Fernandez, Wendy Rivara,
and David Houston and Strings

plus screenings of films by Man Ray and Stan Brakhage

Mon. Oct. 12, 2009 At 7:30 PM
Host: Bob Stanley
refreshments and a poetic meet and greet at 7:30
Free. Donations Accepted.
1) The show starts at 8:00PM sharp with a short film plus poem and songs by Chris Fairman.

2) Segue into a set by Frank Andrick reading/performing poems interpolated with films by Man Ray, Stan Brakhage, etc. with an additional few poems with Wendy Rivera on theremin and Frank Andrick on vox.

3) Then the stage is set for David Houston and Strings. The wonderful wordwork and imagery and voice of David Houston set to "Strings" (his working string section.)

Josh has written a new story for the evening, and frank has a few new things too. Join us for all the FUN this evening.

p.s. . WHO KNOWS what might happen and what you might hear, and see! Only one way to find out!

Ann Wehrman

2009-10-11T06:48:00Z

County Lines – October 10, 2009

Ann Wehrman

In Ann Wehrman’s poetry, she savors the richness of nature in simple activities – the sun glimmers through redwood trees, feet splash into puddles and break up the reflection of the moon. She paints a city life, paying bills, getting mail, walking the concrete path, but finds details in the treasures the city holds:

The trees rise, olives and hundreds more
release their bounty of oxygen, shade, texture.
Some are fuchsia or white with summer…

In more than one way, Ms. Wehrman’s work reminds me of that of Mary Oliver, whose early poems startle the reader with their attentiveness to nature, and their message – that we must be attentive to nature!

Ann Wehrman is an Adjunct English Professor at American River College, and a graduate student completing her Second BA in Music at CSU, Sacramento. She has published poetry and short fiction locally in rattlesnake review, Medusa's Kitchen, Poetry Now, and various college literary journals. A free small poetry broadside of her work can be had from Rattlesnake Press, or at the Book Collector in downtown Sacramento.

Neptune’s Lake of Love

all afternoon, I dream as I paddle
float on my back
marvel at a sky’s sweet, soft blue

hawk soars far
beyond the redwood sentinel
outside my window
sun peeks and
glimmers through flat, green needles
russet branches rough
scratchy as a lover’s chin

I swim, meander,
dive, stretch
where gravity can’t find me
plie underwater painlessly
accomplish what’s
impossible on land
with stiffening joints

middle age is sweet, though lonely—
brush of your cheek
soft lips across mine
only in mind, spirit, imagination

Sacred Spaces—Reclamation Project #4

coming home
late after work
I trudge along
the concrete path
pass my door
must still check the mail

step through white ripples
the moon’s reflection
puddles still seeping
into grass from afternoon’s rain

neighbors’ windows yellow warm
through their keyholes
the familial continuum
agony to joy

outside, I
walk past them
separate, solitary
retrieve my bills,
turn back
towards my single room

down the concrete walk
sparkling in the moonlight
embraced by city-dimmed night
still magnificent in black satin—
comets jet,
planets secure, each in its own space,
constellations sway and reel,
directed by the hand of God

Sacramento, City of Trees

Sun glistens on olive leaves,
ripe, baked;
trees stand on both sides of the street
as I ride the bus through town.

The trees rise, olives and hundreds more
release their bounty of oxygen, shade, texture.
Some are fuchsia or white with summer,
others, fall’s orange and tomato red,
though cool nights have not yet arrived.

Rich leaves crowd and clap,
stand free, press;
bushes like African royalty in an arboreal kingdom
share city dust, days thick with summer heat.

Tall trees lean together
over the Sacramento valley summer,
as afternoon waxes, flocked, glossy,
as Delta breezes blow along the American River
from the west, from the sea.

You can find more of Ann Wehrman’s work at the local poetry website
Medusa’s Kitchen:

http://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/06/wee-bit-of-flesh.html

A portrait of Autumn Sky

2009-09-26T03:46:25Z

Most 20-year-olds don't play over 15 instruments or write three songs per week. Nor have they traveled and lived all over the United States. But Sacramento musician Autumn Sky didn't grow up in a so-called "normal" household.

Having played hundreds of shows, the ambitious Sky is on the rise.

Sky (she uses her middle name instead of her last name, Hall) was born in Paradise, Calif. She and her family lived out of a Volkswagen Beetle near Puget Sound in Washington and spent time in Oregon and Wisconson before settling in Sacramento.

She also recalled living in a log cabin in Mendocino as part of a nudist colony.

"There is a whole [photo] album that my parents have and it's all these babies and families just hanging around, only wearing tool belts," Sky said, with a hint of dry humor. "The sad thing is that people who live in nudist colonies are not the people you want to see nude."

Another thing that sets Sky's family apart is that they are high on the autism spectrum. Her father has Asperger's. She is the oldest of seven, with brothers and sisters who also have autism, Asperger's and dyslexia, she said.

"All of those disorders are blessings. There's so much of a stigma [but] I think it makes us all really cool," Sky said. "My autistic brothers are the sweetest people in the world."

It's hard to imagine Sky's colorful background when face-to-face with her. She wears girly dresses, reads poetry (e.e. cummings is her favorite poet) and once worked at Starbucks, she said.

Sky is currently on hiatus from jazz classes at American River College, works at Raley's during the day and admits a guilty pleasure: listening to pop musician/actress Mandy Moore.

Her hobbies include painting and writing and illustrating her own children's books. When she was younger, she had stage fright, and aspired to to be a journalist and author as a creative outlet.

Sky was introduced to music growing up around a grandmother who played piano and a mother who played both piano and violin and sang. She started taking piano lessons from her mother at age 6, then moved to violin at 11.

As a young teenager, Sky started doing open mic nights at her church, but she soon found her niche after moving on to the True Love Coffeehouse, as well as the Fox and Goose pub. "I used to do five open mics a week," Sky said, adding that she gained a sense of friendship among open mic performers.

"What else was I supposed to do?" she added. "Performing is so much fun for me, and it brings me so much joy to bring other people so much joy; it's extremely therapeutic."

"[Sacramento's music scene] is vastly underrated; there's so much potential," she said. "In L.A. I would be a folk singer among 500 others. It's very good for me to be in a place like this. I feel like [people] really cherish the music that comes out of here."

She released an EP, Diminutive Petite in 2008, and a friend from church helped Sky finance and produce her first album All Which Isn't Singing earlier this year. She made the album with most of the Sacramento band All on Seven backing her, creating an upbeat blend of pop, folk, and rock.

Sky is currently working on a follow-up album and is in talks with a label to have it released by next spring. "It has a '60s sound mixed with Tim Burton and Sunshine Pop," she said. If all goes according to plan, she will also be touring the Northwest in the upcoming months, she said.

Sky will be playing at Club Retro, 6521 Hazel Ave., Orangevale, on Saturday at 8 p.m. One can also see her play during her 11 Sacramento-area shows scheduled in October.

She will soon make her journalist aspiration a reality by previewing some of her own shows, here, at The Sacramento Press.

Photographs credit Caitlin Bellah/Autumn Sky

Joe Atkins

2009-09-23T22:59:28Z
In his poetry, Joe Atkins works to represent the syntax of spoken American conversations. Some of his poems also give a nod to the “flarf” school of poetry (which employs google searches, and found internet poems). As a contemporary poet, Joe gets bored with many of poetry’s traditional themes: the self, individuality, that eternal striving for uniqueness. “Poetically,” Joe says, “I'm just attempting to actively engage with our moment and so that we might know what it was.” Check out how he creates a kind of surrealistic world out of word-pixels in his work.

Yr name dotted together with clouds,

Scripted into the blu iris of an atmosphere,
Consumed in blinking night.

A taste of the future of poetry? Check out the surprising work of Joe Atkins.

Joe Atkins received a BA from CSU Sacramento and an MA from UC Davis. He lives in Sacramento and helps edit convergence-journal.com.

Follow this link to Convergence Journal - a Sacramento-based online journal of poetry and art:
www.convergence-journal.com

And for more information on flarf poetry or Conceptual writing – two new trends in modern verse, see Kenneth Goldsmith’s revealing article in the July/August issue of Poetry.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2009/07/flarf-and-conceptual-writing-in-poetry-magazine

GOOD MORNING AMERICA.

The history of death & pools go together
With H1N1 & depressions; everything so similar
In the way of metaphoric potential.
I build tangerines that scrape the sky
& people pay a mortgage for fractions
Of a tangerine floor. The top is lighted
With flat screen televisions emitting only light.
They’re visible from miles away like
Satellite television or airplane correspondence.
The low & high harmonies are done subtly
& right here there’s a picture of a man swimming
Through Chinese waters which look like bruisings.
The Peoples Republic of China is all about the people,
It’s in the name, but when you go there it’s kinda dirty.
It’s like I believe in the power of the people
But the people never accomplish anything on their own
& they continually let me down with their music.
Every other day I feel empty headed; my mind riots & disperses.
& constantly I wonder what that means or reveals
About me, myself, or about my intentions.
I mapped my intentions once—created a city
Style cartography—they amounted to sex,
Food, & company, with various intersections.
One just kept crashing into the next, it was magic!
& after that everything was carcinogens.

THE RAPTURE.

She ruined his life. On red carpet he tore
A gun above the Catskills. Payed the toll
In Boston jaded orng with burnt brick walls.

Despite the blu skies, heaven could be hoarded.
Or so she thought. Location means everything.
The nation of Milwaukee a shut out

With a concussion. Bring the meaning out.
Look at the characters! They’re expecting
Florida hurricanes to pause. In the air

Above Aksarben lighting flashes, sun
Like. The cloud bank below Nicole Kidman,

Is sarcasm she typed into the apple.
Read the paper: Leaves Changing in Saigon,
Vietnam. Please pay the toll booth once again.

SUMMER SOLSTICE.

If we fear the gap of time btwn
One moment—taut thread—moment,
Then we lament the physical separation

Of iron railings, inverted hotels eschewing the horizon.
The technological sidewalk city enabled.
Yr name dotted together with clouds,

Scripted into the blu iris of an atmosphere,
Consumed in blinking night.
Then a line compromised of multiple points—

inevitable ink blots—must needle responsibility.
Look! More sky below yr feet,
Ingesting the mooring light with yarn.

We swallow, this thimble full of apostasy.

-Joe Atkins.

Dennis Hock

2009-09-13T22:56:01Z

Dennis Hock teaches creative writing at Cosumnes River College. Instrumental in developing the Sutterwriters program in 2003, he continues to work in hospitals and retreat centers with groups that use expressive writing as a healing process. An accomplished poet, Dennis is the author of The Secret Cup: Poems of Grief and Healing.
Dennis’s work often offers the reader a choice – find meaning in the image – or not. He shows us that not every moment is transcendent. At times, nature or a human connection can bring a kind of salvation, but in Mockingbird, he questions the easy path to such revelation of meaning:
See how complex
and varied
and multitudinous
I am, I warble.

Yet I don't feel audacious at all.

Mr. Hock will be reading as part of the Confluence of Poets – a four-day poetry event that begins September 14 at Folsom Lake College, and continues through September 17 at Solano College in Fairfield. For details visit sacramentopoetrycenter.org. I hope you enjoy the poems of Dennis Hock.

Perspective

At dusk
a snowy egret
in a bruised field
of water and stubble

is what it is

not some white question
about to wrinkle into flight.

Mere bird
and grows less sentimental
the nearer you approach.

On the other hand

if you keep the distance
the emblem glows
in the dying light.

And your body might tremble
as you make the bird
more than feathers

something closer to belief

that ephemeral becomes eternal
in a world beyond stubble and water

a world inferred by
the egret's incandescence,
an incandescence created by
the dimness of distance

a distance by which
the bird shimmers into
an avatar of the latent soul

about to lift
from the muck.

Mockingbird

Each morning I waken to
a mockingbird's plagiarized notes
breaking over my window sill.

Why do I like his audacity?

All day I move through a range
of my own imitations
pretending each is an actual me.

See how complex
and varied
and multitudinous
I am, I warble.

Yet I don't feel audacious at all.

Where's he get his self-assurance
that little thief?
By what dispensation his right
to be a singular and bold fraud?

Another question nags me:
at what point do we become what we steal?

To stopper his shameless impersonating
I try closing my window at night
but then he awakens in my head,
at precisely 5 a.m., to remind me
another day awaits more petty forgery.

How easily
I submit.

I open my mouth,
then my throat.

Abrazos

I lie here shrinking
yet growing
huge in the bickering
of my sons’ deathwatch.

As they sulk in arguments
over my dignity, I resist
a tired urge to disown all three.

Instead, I kiss their hands
and use the old familiar---mijo,
each from a different father.
(Oh, what the world does not understand!)

For the doves came again last night,
two the color of moon,
the third of a darker star.
They perched on my headboard,
mute emissaries from the future.
So now I am finished speaking, for good.

My boys do not notice;
they have not been listening.
But in a moment death’s prank will jolt them---
how it suddenly flips the telescope around---
and they’ll be looking through the wide end,
down the long cylinder,
at their mother’s tiny image, snared
in the perfect entrapment of the smaller lens,
the size of a dime and so distant.

It might take months, perhaps years,
for them to know I’m not really there.
I have gone across, my bags packed
with love and compassion,
and have entered their corazones.

Here, I will unpack my bags,
rearrange the furniture,
then settle in to wait a mother’s
final delivery---
eventually, with death their common father,
my sons will be born anew…
brothers at last.

Labor Day reading at SPC - Tim Kahl

2009-09-05T21:39:52Z

Don't miss Tim Kahl's reading on Sept 7 at 7:30 pm

SPC is at 1719 25th Street (25th and R)

Join us for refreshments and poetry on Labor Day at SPC, asTim Kahl reads from his new book.

Translator, teacher, poet, and editor, Tim also appears as Victor Schnickelfritz at the poetry and poetics blog The Great American Pinup.

"Possessing Yourself," his new book from CustomWords, reveals the wide swath of Tim's imagination!

Check it out Monday night Sept 7.

JoAnn Anglin - (this time with poems)

2009-09-05T21:32:07Z

JoAnn Anglin

JoAnn Anglin grew up in South Sacramento, attended local schools, then worked for the State of California, writing copy for exhibits, newsletters and brochures. JoAnn has written poetry her whole life, and she has also written numerous articles on the arts and poetry. JoAnn coaches students in the national Poetry Out Loud program, and when she works with students, she encourages poetry writing as an accessible art and a tool for personal expression.

Active with Los Escritores del Nuevo Sol (Writers of the New Sun) Ms. Anglin has been published on-line and in a number of anthologies including The Sacramento Anthology, The Pagan Muse, and in Voces del Nuevo Sol. Rattlesnake Press published her chapbook, Words Like Knives, Like Feathers. She has been a featured poet in many venues. For 6 years, along with Tom Goff and Nora Staklis, she co-hosted the PoemSpirits series at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Sacramento.

JoAnn Anglin’s poetry deals in what might be – she seems to find a wealth of possibilities as she writes. It’s as if she finds stories in everything, as her imagination takes charge, transforming simple objects and experiences. In her poem “The Problem with Waiting,” we sense an intellect that refuses to be still: “The mind leaps out, crazed as / a jackal-chased springbok.” Jose Montoya, writing about Anglin’s book Words Like Knives, Like Feathers, said “It is a blessing to have in our midst a poet who can discern and imbue grandeur to the mundane. JoAnn does this with grace and finesse.” JoAnn writes of her own work “In my poetry, I hope to find the telling detail that will make images and experiences vibrant, to evoke feelings in the reader that they recognize and have yearned to express.”

I hope you enjoy these poems from the work of JoAnn Anglin

I-5, Blue Elephant

Later, at the flaked motel, the child’s hand
will open and close futilely for the soft
comfort, sobs will dampen the mother’s shoulder.

Near the guardrail, the toy still looks clean,
head and trunk leaning at traffic’s edge. Its
stitched eyes peer at the flowing river.

As the mother puts the child to bed, she says,
Don’t be a baby. Says he must learn to live
with loss. Wave after wave rolls on.

Dreaming Water

The dream would be about going into the river
whether to be drowned or swept away was unclear.
Everything in the dream was vibrant – terra cotta
banks on either side, river of ceramic blue, trees
like Christmas green velvet, overhanging.
The dream was the red car leaving the dun levee road.
The dream was the leaping, then gliding off the road.
The welcoming water.
In soft lapping waves, it washed over the bank, the
tree roots, washed over itself like a beauty bathing,
ready to welcome a lover.

Unnoticed

They move through us, daily,
the swarms of saints, and we are
ignorant of their sizes and shapes.

They may be clad as birds, as
dump trucks, or beggars, may not be
kind; it’s part of the disguise.

They are not noted for long suffering,
mildness, miracles, patience, or
even for being generous.

Define them more by tiny traces
they leave: the growing, the change
required to take place in us.

The Problem With Waiting

Hope for something clean and imperative to knife
through the mottled grayness. Meanwhile, check

the watch, the rear view mirror, the breath – is it
stopped or ragged? For the mind, of course, doesn’t wait.

Into it pour the sighs and anxious looks that rat-a-tat-tat
into the waiting space. The mind leaps out, crazed as

a jackal-chased springbok, and eyes dart toward fellow
waiters, listening for the called number, the door knob’s

turning, the reassurance of nothing serious. Asymmetry
unbalances the worried now with the later day, unknown but

feared, like the inoculation, or the bill, or even death’s certainty,
feared less than the tickings that make up the waiting.

JoAnn Anglin - Poet of the Week August 31, 2009

2009-08-31T00:46:04Z
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The Night Harlem Came To Stockton Blvd

2009-08-30T13:33:44Z

Milton Bowens would like to believe that when you look at his art work you're not merely viewing paintings, his personal opinion or guarded pieces of his soul. You the viewer are being asked to confront history, truth, cultural stereo types and engage the possibilities of the future. Because when he paints he is not just engaging the viewer or confronting the critic over artistic merit, style and validity, he is confronting the use of art as a tool to communicate. He is asking questions, He is seeking solutions.

Born and raised in Oakland, Calif., Milton Bowens is the fifth boy of ten children. Milton’s artistic promise began at the age of five with nothing more than a few pencils and cut up brown paper bags used as sketch paper, thanks to his mother’s ingenuity of making the best of lean times.

Bowens received education under the mentorship of Fine Artist David Bradford, head of the Art Department and instructor at Laney College (Oakland). Inspired by great artists such as Jean Michel Basquiat, Robert Rauschenberg, Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence and Andy Warhol, Milton changed his focus from illustration to fine art. That shift proved crucial for Milton now considered a great artist in his own right and inspirational public speaker/community activist in the struggle to keep art a vital part of public education and a tool to help build self-esteem in youth.

Milton works tirelessly to create thought-provoking exhibitions that will help restore a level of hope in communities desperately in need of inspiration. Bowens just wants to paint. Bowens paintings has been showcased at Avisca Fine Art Gallery in Atlanta, GA, 40 Acres Art Gallery in Sacramento, CA, on the walls of the Sacramento Mayors office, and the African American Art & Culture Complex in San Francisco, CA just to name a few.

The Night Harlem Came To Stockton Blvd exhibit is Bay Area acclaimed artist, Milton Bowens, first time ever showing of his 9 piece collection of Afro Classical: The Subway Series on the West Coast. Afro Classical is an anthology of paintings depicting the importance of Jazz, Art and Words during the Harlem Renaissance. Bowens will speak on the importance of documenting African American art.

Join Master Barber & Beauty Shop as we step back in time to salute the Harlem Renaissance and the importance of African American Art, Music and Spoken Word in American society. Come and enjoy the viewing of Milton Bowen’s Afro Classical: The Subway Series and welcoming local NeoSoul and Jazz recording artist Miss MouthPeace. Miss MouthPeace is a dynamic vocalist, whose music is compared to Billie Holiday and Eryka Badu. She will be performing an acoustic set live.

The Opening Reception will be held Second Saturday, September 12, 2009 from 7:00pm - 10:00pm. Refreshments and Wine will be served. Addmission $5 donation, all ages welcomed. A portion of the proceeds will benifit C.T.D. Dream Builders.

Milton Bowens and Miss MouthPeace are available for interviews. For more information, please call (916) 457-8708 or email: Masterreport@hotmail.com.

Got a Favorite Poem? Bring it on Wednesday to the Sacramento Room!

2009-08-27T23:11:27Z

The Sacramento Poetry Center and The Sacramento Room

present

A Favorite Poem Reading

Wednesday, September 2.       5:30pm to 7:30pm

at    The Sacramento Room       Central Library, Second Floor      828 I Street

Join your fellow Citizens in an evening of fine verse!
Hosted by Mary Zeppa and Bob Stanley

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Readers will include:

Carlos Alcala, Sacramento Bee                             Jeffrey Callison, KXJZ
Marcus Crowder, Sacramento Bee                        Clare Ellis, the Sacramento Room
Richard Hansen, the Book Collector                     Muriel Johnson, California Arts Council
Sheree Meyer, Chair, CSUS English Dep’t           Don NOTTOLI, County board of Supervisors
Suzette Riddle, California Lectures                        Ray Tatar, California Stage

“If a poem is written well,” Robert Pinsky said, “it was written with the poet’s voice and for a voice. Reading a poem silently instead of saying a poem is like the difference between staring at sheet music and actually humming or playing the music on an instrument.”

From 5:30 to 7:30, on a late summer evening, Sacramento’s readers and writers of poetry will have a chance to share their favorite poems at this festive event at the beautiful and historic Sacramento Room. The ten readers listed above will anchor the evening’s festivities; after that, it will be up to the rest of us. Bring a poem to read (not your own), and plan on a maximum of five minutes per reader. Please understand that our time is limited, and the open mic scheduling will be based on a first-come, first-served basis. So get there early, and be ready to hear a wide range of poetry in a wonderful setting.

To read a poem aloud is to give it new life. At the Sacramento Poetry Center, we couldn’t agree more. This July marked our 30th anniversary of our commitment to “the rich and vigorous presence of poetry in contemporary life.” This event will be the first in a new series of SPC readings in the Sacramento Room and at the Central Library. For details on all the poetry activities presented by SPC see www.sacramentopoetrycenter.org

Josh Fernandez - Poet of the Week August 23rd

2009-08-23T21:34:02Z

When Josh Fernandez reads his work, audiences are transfixed. His poetry lives on the edge, tells us that “a life full of discarded things is what we were given.” There’s a grim doubt that poetry or language will help, when we hear that “words will falsify/everything.” But Josh’s verse keeps a knowing sense of humor lurking in the background – a kind of self-deprecating grin that keeps the listener on the inside of the poet’s head. And his images render his poem/stories clearly; the reader is brought to the vivid place the poet has in mind.

Josh Fernandez has lived in Sacramento on-and-off for almost 20 years. He currently writes for Spin.com and has written arts and culture stories for the Sacramento News & Review and numerous other publications. Fernandez's first poetry broadside, In the End, it's a Worthless Machine, was published by Rattlesnake Press in early 2009, and his first full-length collection of poems from R.L. Crow (tentatively titled Kim Jong Il and Other Mythical Beasts) will hit bookstores near the end of 2009. His poems have also been published in Pax Americana, Poetry Now, the Rattlesnake Review and Hardpan. Once locked in a mental institution in Reno after a serious drug dependency, Fernandez is now a competitive marathoner, and he's working on his first novel, Stickup Kid, which he plans to finish in 2010.

The Last Thing He Said

“Be proud because we’re Mexicans.
And if they don’t like it, just turn
your head and walk away.
If you haven’t noticed, mijo,
this world goes on
in every goddamn direction,
whether you want it to
or not.”

And just like that, he was gone
—a trail of weed smoke
and wisdom, wagging
into the horizon.

And to this day, a scruffy cholo with muddy skin
and a bad leg limps past and my eyes sliver, like closed doors
and I have to sit down for a second—thoughts
rushing past, like speeding trains in the night.

It’s almost too much to think of the gristly days:
that bus ride from Sacramento to Boston
where I sat, tweaked out, for a week on a Greyhound, too wired
and poor to eat. He waited at the station for seven days
with two black eyes, a set of brass knuckles and a warrant for his arrest.

It’s too much to think about when grandma
asked him to recite a prayer and for the first time in 20 years
he put down his glass of tequila and cried
the way Mexicans do when they find out there is no God:

“Creo en el Espíritu Santo,
en la Santa Iglesia Católica,
la comumión de los Santos,
en el perdon de los pecados,
la resurrección de los muertos
y la vida eterna.”

And after that we wiped away our tears, forgot how to speak
Spanish and got drunker than we’d ever been,
spilling out of that East Los apartment
into the world like masses of hot lava
burning up our livers till the frustrated sun
tucked itself into the cool bed of morning.

A life full of discarded things is what we were given. Humans,
like old bibles, lie—tattered, dirty and useless.
I wonder what he is doing now. My father, the broken schitzo
who wore his sickness like a neon coat.

Walking through this shithole of a city,
Nina Simone, ripping my heart out through an old pair of headphones,
I watch a dirty black mutt sitting in a junk yard
so stupid in his world of chain link, bone scraps, rags and old iron.

If you were here I’d tell you I miss you
and that there’s not much news, save for a funny headline
telling us about some frumpy rube in Arkansas who found
the Mother Theresa’s tit poking out of her pancake.
And, in this way, unwise and reckless, without you unholy father,
if you haven’t noticed, this world goes on in every goddamn direction,
whether you want it to or not.

A Failure

How ironic
to be writing
with a construction company’s pen
while I sit here,
night after night,
deconstructing
every useless thing,

particles
into poems,
sturdy?
Yeah, right.

sturdy as a dandelion
bullied by the breeze.

I should quote a line
from Lamantia,
knowing
how you love him—
something clever like:

a poppy the size of the sun
is growing in my skull

But that’s not it.
It’s just a third-class writer
changing
the words of a real writer
so they sound better to the ear.

Little tulip I am,
soaking up
all the rain

My eyes:
nearly scabbed
tonight
from crying:

two open wounds
on my head

I would never speak
of such a thing,
other than in a poem
to you,
but sometimes
you live doubly
as to not look foolish.

It’s like this:
many times
I have dreamed
that we are falling
from a building,
me and you,
ready
to hit the pavement
without even
the slightest
hint of terror.

there’s no use
trying
to deconstruct you
in a poem.
Words will falsify
everything.

In this light
even language
is the language
of our enemy
and we don’t need
any more of those.

Tom Goff - Poet of the week

2009-08-17T07:09:21Z

County Lines Poet of the Week – Tom Goff

Tom Goff’s poetry plays with sound and form to create a mesmerizing fabric of music and reason. Two of the three poems that I’ve selected here employ rhyme, but Tom’s line breaks and rich images keep the language fresh and move the reader through the poem. Robert Hass has said that poetry is the art of balancing the sentence against the line. Sometimes poets emphasize the line at the expense of the sentence, which can create end-stops and a kind of sing-song rhythm, especially when they use rhyme. Other poets wield the sentence well, but their work leans toward prose, as they miss the opportunities that the line and the line-break can create. I think Tom’s work plays both parts of this fugue. Don’t miss the villanelle form he uses in “What Scent.”

Tom Goff is the author of a number of poetry chapbooks, including Field of the Cloth of Gold and truenature. He also has published reviews and articles for many years in Rattlesnake Review, Poetry Now, and Jacket Magazine. Mr. Goff is an instructional assistant in the Reading and Writing Center at Folsom Lake Collegeas well as a professional trumpet player who has performed with the Golden State Brass and the Auburn Symphony. He is married to poet and artist Nora Laila Staklis.

Lovetime
for N.

First you were brilliant as the silken dawn
shot with colors peculiar to the silk’s
infolds rinsed in iridescent milk.
Sheer first soft light—then bright as clear green lawn,

raincloud-freshened with curtain-softly-drawn-
back-from-the-proscenium clear flicks
and sweeps of noon-hand color, Northern Flickers
darting across with underwings of fawn.

And now you are the shifting clouds themselves,
laden with blue-gray rain yet capable
of radiance as their sails drink sun and fill.

Soon, sunset amplifications of you delve
the twilit violet-and-dove. Are you a day?
A lifespan? A season? Lovetime, who can say?

What Scent

The mind dies with the body down below
the god-cloud spindrift. What do we intend?
We practice all our lives to rise, to know,

then hunker in bogs and tundraholds of bone,
so fiercely do we feel we must not end.
The mind dies with the body down below,

just one more organ come apart. What sows
this ardent muck with urges to transcend?
We practiced all our lives to rise, to know,

to ride great updrafts to an afterglow,
our swirls our selves, but beaten into blend.
The mind dies with the body. Down below,

beneath the binding crust, both undergo
grueling dissolve. Who speaks of brain pretends
(we practiced all our lives to rise!) to know

what gods extract from nerveweave—call it soul.
Torn from the raw flower, what blossom scent it sends.
The mind dies with the body down below.
We practiced all our lives to rise, to know.

You’d Think Skunk

You’d think skunk, branded
mephitic, was a creature of sulfur,

drank pints of hot syrup or cream
at the volcano’s rim, innards mixing

the repellent cocktail, and for that vice
was repulsed, exiled by gods, altered in color,

fur once black
stained half white with the fumes, or the white
singed a rich black.

You’d think skunk, eater of bees,
upender of hives, might borrow or rent

a pinch of scent, like soft-fleshed fruit, from
the buzz-maker, sifter of sweet powders.

You’d think skunk, able to squirt
liquid a distance, might
have fended off in a skid,

blind wipers fumbling,
the car that tumbled it roadside.

Empty of anima. Claws
shoot useless from footpads, nipples no

good to its kits, bereft of life-milk:
limp sprawl, soft bag, asphalt-flat.

Last insignia of rank,
licorice, vanilla.

Fur swirl.

Want to hear and see Tom Goff read a poem? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr5HxYjVO4E

Or see more of his work at the online poetry website Medusa’s Kitchen (entry for August 5 ) http://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com

Susan Kelly-DeWitt

2009-08-04T14:06:32Z

Second in a series about the poets of Sacramento

Susan Kelly-DeWitt

One of Sacramento’s most acclaimed poets, Susan Kelly-DeWitt has an eye for detail that sometimes startles the reader. Her work has been published in Poetry, Prairie Schooner, North American Review, Cutbank, Iris, Comstock Review, Oxymoron, Poet Lore, Cimarron Review, Spoon River Quarterly, and many other journals and magazines. She has also published numerous chapbooks, including Cassiopeia Under the Banyan Tree (Rattlesnake Press, 2007). Susan’s most recent book, The Fortunate Islands (Marick Press) appeared in 2008.

Walter Pavlich wrote, “Kelly-DeWitt’s poems remind us, as we must be reminded, that no matter what, a beautiful and timeless world surrounds us; we must take the time to peer into it, but if we have Kelly-DeWitt’s wisdom and willingness, her hard-earned grace and vision, we may be privileged enough to participate in ancient and sacred ways.”

Salmon

They came up the river like a band of slick
thieves. The water was thick with their leaping.
They climbed together the ladder of rapids,
hurled themselves and scraped their bellies.
The dead ones floated like pickerel weed.
Many fell out of the river of time, littering
the rocky banks, drawing the rats, raccoons
and badgers. They filled like windsocks
with death. We came there. We carried
our eyes and our baggage of witnessing.
We carried our awe like a causal fin.
The willows crept down to the river’s edge
and hung their heads like sad old men,
trailing all their living silver green leaves,
their dusky olive leaves, the color of salmon
skin. The beached ones dried in the sun;
they poked like stiff flags from the weeds
and the light passing over them seemed dis-
embodied, disavowed. Somewhere
in the worlds between this one and the dead
river of salmon ghosts, we heard a howling:
O Coho, O Kokanee, O Chinook.

From To A Small Moth (Poets Corner Press)
I-80 Cathechism

The hills with their bright gold
scapulars. The sun’s dry chalice

over Vacaville. Cattle plush
as Bathsheba’s rugs.

Teach me that.
Flesh, stone

and star.
Fur, bone

and grass.
Let me memorize

that: Vetch, Brome
Poppy, Hawk.

From To A Small Moth, (Poets Corner Press)

Francis in Ecstasy

Francis lifts his arms and the swallows
return to Capistrano, their brown heads
nodding haloes of feathery song.
He is standing outside himself
in an Italian version of ekstasis,
the bloody eyes of the stigmata
winking from his feet and callused palms.
Seeing him there, like a canticle of the sun,
who can tell the Inquisition is preparing
its medieval fresco, smoothing its wet lime
plaster walls; grinding up its artists’
bones into the pigments from which Bosch’s
Garden of Earthly Delights will be born.

after Bellini

Flood Plain

A mile from here the levee holds back
the Sacramento’s rushing tons;
no oil slick of sun floats
where it coils in its depths.

(This valley was all water once,
a rich inland soup of sea,
a tidal broth. The river wants
to reclaim it—the shiny tract

houses, those debtors in arrears,
that line the lanes and cul-de-sacs
like coins lining an ancient purse.
It wants to snap the purse shut;

it wants to return to the old flesh-
eating rituals.) Don’t let the heart-
shaped leaves of the cottonwoods
planted so fluidly in rows fool

you as they sift the morning light;
as they blossom with swallows and lift
your weary spirit with their jitter
of birdsong and green shimmer—

they have nothing to do with that
other cold heart, the river. Time
to grow gills or gull wings, walker—
learn the jackknife, half-twist, pike.

from Mockingbird

You may find more of Susan’s work, and information on how to purchase her collections, at www.susankelly-dewitt.com

James DenBoer - Poet of the week for July 26, 2009

2009-07-27T01:02:21Z

James DenBoer is the first poet I’ve selected for County Lines. James’s work is rich in image, and leaves us, as good poetry does, with both joys and concerns, a kind of balance sheet of life. Sandra McPherson says that DenBoer’s poetry “has ties to the comic and the suffering.” I love hearing Jim read – there’s a warmth that always comes through, and his poems reflect who he is – caring and thoughtful, deep and discerning. The poem “The Concert” is included in The Sacramento Anthology (2001), which is available from the Arts Commission. Jim DenBoer’s recent book of selected poems, Stonework, is available from Swan Scythe Press.

The Concert

Twelve Harleys roar,
circle the Crocker Museum of Art
during the Sunday afternoon concert;
leading the pack, in sleeveless t-shirts, two
two-breasted Amazons with their ten men
in vests, bare-chested, pony tails
and beards, mirrored sunglasses, following.

The pianist playing Mozart tinkles
that silly music, while the motorcycles’ percussion
shakes the tall windows, setting
the Chinese urns and old ladies vibrating –

and there’s your answer from the new world,
from the millennium, from cubism and free verse
and atonality, from the pervasive blues,
from maps of the moon,
from amphetamines and crushed knuckles,
hard disks and modems, internal combustion;

unmufflered Harleys shattering melody,
making the music that is about itself, that is about
the tensed muscle, the leather vest patched with badges
of noise, praising the roaring air of April.

Were You There

Sometimes you have nothing left to try
to explain love to yourself:
love is lying flat on an ice floe, arms & legs spread against (a child,
tipping into cold Lake Michigan
sliding the little bay mare
on her haunches down a grassy stream bank or

driving full speed without lights through an alley off Broadway

Love is all that is left to risk; as, say,
were you there when it starts then stops
what’s left to go on?
There is more to love than adventures of feeling, than storms
of seeing (this paradise, all around,
there exists simply also just going on,

whipping green leaves along
the trail up Cold Stream Canyon
slide naked down the smooth water-polished sandstone into the first pool
with its mossy edges, its water-walkers & tadpoles
make love in the last pool in the rain

Sometimes there is only love to ask
for love’s answers
under the cold blue of the halogen streetlights
under the great sycamore
branches crashing on the walks

James DenBoer lives in Sacramento, eight floors above, with his dog Sunny, ten year-old beagle; both have graying muzzles. His first book was published in 1968, his latest in 2008, with two books of translations to be published in 2009. Mr. DenBoer has received grants and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Arts Council, the Authors League, PEN, and others; in 2007 he received the Walter Pavlich Memorial Poetry Award. He occasionally sells a few rare books, spends hours reading, other hours exploring the banks of the Sacramento River, walks around trying to get along like everybody else, and believes there is nothing that is unforgivable, though much to be deplored.

The poets of Sacramento - a weekly column

2009-07-16T00:18:03Z

County Lines:
The Poetry of Sacramento

You may not know this, but Sacramento is full of poets. From Elk Grove to South Natomas, from Folsom to downtown, there are hundreds of people who write, read, and share their poems. Teenagers in Oak Park, retirees in Citrus Heights, college students, state workers, people young and old share this ancient art form. If you know where to look, you can find them, working on their craft, because Sacramento is full of poets.

As the new Poet Laureate of the city and county of Sacramento, my goal is to help people find a little poetry in their lives. I'm already working on organizing readings and workshops around the region, and want to help writers learn more about the diverse community of poets and writers in Sacramento. This posting, "County Lines," will showcase some of the area’s most accomplished writers - giving readers a glimpse at the poetry of Sacramento. Each week will feature a new writer who makes his or her home here. I’ll do my best to represent a wide range of styles, but I’ll probably play favorites – most writers have styles they prefer. I’ll also write about poetry in general – what’s going on, upcoming readings to consider attending, comments on articles or new books by local writers. County Lines will also be a kind of laureate’s journal – what I see going on in our literary community.

My term began July 13. I’m confident that with volunteer help, we can create a legacy of poetic activity all around the region. Please let me know if you are interested in working with me to bring more poetry to more people. I welcome your suggestions. If you want your poetry to be considered for this weekly posting, please email me at bobstanley@sbcglobal.net, and indicate County Lines in the subject area.

Bob Stanley

Sacramento's Next Poet Laureate

2009-07-14T06:47:31Z

Introducing Sacramento's next Poet Laureate: Bob Stanley.

Last month The Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission (SMAC) voted to ratify Stanley as Sacramento’s fourth Poet Laureate. Yesterday, he was officially introduced to the SMAC as Poet Laureate.

In a charming introduction speech and reading, Stanley promised to see through his vision of increased awareness of poetry in our region. He also believes poetry can reach a broad audience. He said, “Poetry is something everybody can get into.”

Stanley added, “I like it when it’s just right there on the page. You read it and you know it’s poetry, but you don’t exactly know why. But you get something from it, and you feel like you’ve learned something about a person . . . A good poem tells a story, helps us connect to one another.”

Stanley has been writing poetry since age 14. He has been active in the Sacramento poetry scene since he moved to Sacramento in 1989. Stanley joined the Sacramento Poetry Center in 1998 and since has become more and more involved.

You can find Stanley at readings around town. He performs at Luna’s, Time Tested Books and Underground Books. Last month I attended a reading at Time Tested Books The Book Collector, and it was not only fun, but packed. There were more than 50 people crammed along aisles and out the door. Stanley’s work is engaging and accessible. I found myself lost in his world.

Since 2005, Stanley has been a teacher. He teaches English composition and creative writing at Sacramento, Sacramento City Community College and UC Davis Extension. Before that he worked in his family’s business - an auto parts distribution company.

In addition, Stanley loves music. He sings and plays guitar and banjo. Stanley has been a part of several vocal jazz ensembles at American River College and Sacramento State.

The Sacramento Poet Laureate program has been around since 2000. A history of the program, biographies and accomplishments of past Poet Laureates can be found on the SMAC website here.

This fall, Stanley will be introduced to the Sacramento City Council, and there will be an official introduction for the public.

Here are a couple of Bob Stanley's poems:

the poem is brought to you by

an image of a woman’s face

itself like cloud lit by sun

above a field: dry grass?
Before you know a breeze

transforms oak-stumbled landscape,

lifts long tresses.
The thousand dreams that change

weather, leaves shuddering,

cool rain begins to fall
the way the old man’s mirrored face

dissolved into

something he didn’t want to understand.

--------------------

Ode for the city and county

If you stroll this tree-filled town,

as you move through shade, you might dream of

a coolness that makes heat worthwhile,

you might dream children splashing their brief splash:

children of a great central valley,

old land of oak and open water,

then a land of planting: deep orchard and cotton,

(and still ribboned today with irrigated green)

but now planted full with humanity: we came, we saw,

we conquer and are conquered.
A hundred villages turned into towns, Perkins and Florin, Arden and Arcade, McKinley Park Oak Park Tahoe Park Curtis Park Land Park Fair Oaks River Park River Oaks Glen Oaks Arden Oaks Sierra Oaks. Oaks and Parks: there used to be more, so now we have words for placeholders. Mumbo Gumbo River Cats Rio Linda Rubicon Isleton Java City Tower Bridge Tower Records Loaves and Fishes K Street Elk Grove Folsom Prison Folsom Lake Downtown Midtown Uptown East Sac North Sac get back - all these names, people, places here today because Marshall saw gold flash in the millrace.

Fourteen hundred thousand people call this

levee-bound rice-paddy hundred-year flood plain home.

Once Maidu land, now freeway-crossed, recession-tossed, farmland lost,

across the causeway we roll down fifty, eighty, ninety-nine, five. We drive,

we roll into Capital City River City Camellia City City of Trees: it’s Sacramento,

call it what you will: Sactown, Sutterville, New Helvetia, Sacratomato, Sacto,

just plain Sac.

Land of heat and water, art and music,

county of developers and mortgages succeeding and failing,

city of legislators that come and go,

this country of Kings so close to capturing a crown

for this place that seeks itself the way places do

(people are inhabited by places)

we still grieve as if sport were life.
This place we live, this flat-bottom

skiff that sails through nights and days, clings to its winding

rivers like a levee road. Cottonwoods and oaks

wait for rain, jays cavort, turkeys strut, an occasional quail skitters into

roadside brush. Skunks slip into pipes,

and you and I take a night-walk because it’s cool,

you and I who loved and met and came to this place

just twenty years past. Those twenty years became a life, so that when one asks

on some day we hope remains far off, “Where did you live?”

We’ll say Sacramento – a city, a county, a country threaded

with rivers – American, Cosumnes, and wide Sacramento.

We lived in a land named for a river that was named for a land, a holy

connection of water and earth. And sky. And all things in between.

----------------------

Ernest Hemingway teaches Freshman English

The hour is early, and I see you have been up late. Fog covers the hills behind campus; you show signs of it in your eyes. You may be thinking “the beer was cold and wonderful to drink.” I think this as well. But then I am the teacher.

Writing is like learning to shoot. You raise the gun, but it is heavy, and you fire repeatedly without success. Keep firing. Walk to the target. Inspect the pattern of your shots. This is a serious pastime. Without noting your ability or inability to hit the mark, your marksmanship will not progress. I learned this in Spain, with regard to both writing and women.

What's happening at the Capitol: July 4 through July 8

2009-07-03T18:21:37Z

Saturday, July 4

11 a.m.- 3 p.m. Americans for Prosperity and Mark Meckler, organizer of the Sacramento Tea Party, will be holding an Independence Day Tea Party on the west steps of the Capitol. About 500 people are expected.

Noon- 1:30 p.m. Kevin S. Carter will be reading poetry on the north steps of the Capitol. Though he will be reading through a sound system, it is unknown how many people will attend.

Sunday, July 5 through Wednesday July 8

No events are scheduled.

Poetry, a film opening and a writing contest: literary Sacramento this week

2009-06-29T17:09:09Z

This is a great week for book-minded Sacramentans, with plenty of literary events taking place in libraries, movie theaters, community centers and museums. Read on.

Monday, June 29, 7:30 p.m. Poetry reading -- Dorine Jennette and Valerie Fioravanti. Sacramento Poetry Center. Hosted by Frank Graham Dixon. Davis resident Jennette has published poems, essays, and reviews in The Journal, Ninth Letter, Coconut, Court Green, Memorious, Puerto del Sol, and the Georgia Review. She has a poetry collection, Grace by Degrees, coming out in 2010. Valerie Fioravanti writes fiction, essays, and prose poems. Her story collection, The Brooklyn Shuffle, was a finalist for the Tartt First Book Award. Her stories have appeared in North American Review, Cimarron Review, Hunger Mountain, and Green Mountains Review, among others. Her stories and prose poems have earned four Pushcart Prize nominations, and special mention in Pushcart Prize XXVIII. She received a Fulbright Fellowship (Italy) to research her novel, Bel Casino, which is one of two novels currently in the works. She teaches short story and multi-genre classes online for the UCLA Writers' Extension and private workshops from her home in midtown Sacramento. She has also taught writing for New Mexico State University and National University's MFA Program. Free event. Sacramento Poetry Center, 1719 25th Street, Sacramento 95816, (916) 979-9706.

Tuesday, June 30 (and ongoing through 8/1), Focus on Writers contest. Sacramento Public Library. Spend your Tuesday looking into the rules for the contest and choosing what you’d like to submit. California writers are invited to enter entries for a chance to win $250 for first prize, $150 for second prize and $75 for third prize in six categories. For information about the categories, visit www.saclibraryfriends.org. Contest entries must be postmarked by 8/1.

Wednesday, July 1-August 19, once/week, 6:30-9:00 p.m., Research and Interviewing Techniques for Nonfiction Writers, U.C. Davis Extension. Elisabeth Sherwin will lead this eight week course for students who want to learn how to gather information and track down interview sources in preparation for publishing. Students will explore many forms of nonfiction writing and learn how to tailor their work to the market. $325.00 tuition. Sutter Square Galleria, 2901 K St, Sacramento.

Thursday, July 2, 8 p.m. Joe Montoya’s Poetry Unplugged. Luna’s Cafe. There will be an open mic, before and after guest hosts Frank Andrick, Mario Ellis Hill, Geoffery Neil & B.L. Kennedy. Two dollar cover fee or one drink minimum. Luna’s Café, 1414 16th Street, Sacramento 95814, (916) 441-3931.

Friday, July 3, 8:00 p.m. Special screening of Food Inc., followed by panel discussion. Crest Theater.Pesticide Watch Education Fund will host a special opening-night screening of Robert Kenner’s red-hot film Food, Inc. Following the film, chefs, academics and activists will participate in a lively discussion on how the region, state and country can tackle the challenges facing farms and the food system. Food Inc, said to be the next Inconvenient Truth, features interviews with authors Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) and Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food). Pollan spoke this summer at a sold-out California Lectures event and Eric Schlosser is scheduled to speak through California Lectures' 2009-2010 season. The Arden Dimick Library open book group will read In Defense of Food this fall. Tickets for this special screening are $12 and they are on sale now at tickets.com, Crest box office, or by calling 1-800-225-2277.

Saturday, July 4, 10:30 a.m., Teen Advisory Council meeting. Rancho Cordova Library. Join the teen library council, which meets the first Saturday of each month. Help plan and run programs for the library. Advise on books, music and DVD choices and programs. Receive community service credit. Rancho Cordova Library, 9845 Folsom Blvd, Sacramento 95827, (916) 264-2770.

Sunday, July 5, 12:00-5:00 p.m. With Malice Toward None: Abraham Lincoln exhibit. The California Museum. Celebrate Independence Day weekend by visiting this Library of Congress exhibit commemorating Lincoln’s two hundredth birthday. It charts Lincoln’s growth from politician to statesman, addressing his presidency’s controversies, including challenges to civil liberties and the Constitution, slavery and race, and the dissolution of the Union and the Civil War. Exhibit continues through August 22. $8.50 for adults, $7.00 for seniors (65+) and college students, $6.00 for youths aged 6-13 and free for children 5 and younger. California Museum, 1020 O Street, Sacramento 95814, (916) 653-7524.

Monday: workshop aims to "Let the Crazy Child Inside Write"

2009-06-14T01:10:00Z

Clive Matson is more than a legendary Beat poet. He's a little bit younger than the Beats, and a lot more honest and raw, which he'll tell you himself.

He's a nature lover, a teacher and a father. And on Monday, June 15, he will be teaching a free public workshop entitled "Let the Crazy Child Inside Write" at the Sacramento Poetry Center.

Poets Q.R. Hand and H.D. Moe will also be reading at the event, which begins at 6 p.m. Matson plans to read from his heralded 1966 poetry collection Mainline to the Heart, along with some more recent works.

When Mainline was published, it was described by one reviewer as "more edgy than the Beats," a critique Matson agrees with.

"I'm carried away either by angst, the pain of what I see, or just the urge to figure out what is going on in the world," Matson said. "Writing is a healing journey, an adventure that takes you places that you'd never expect to go."

It was this attitude that took Matson from an avocado farm in Southern California to the University of Chicago on a full scholarship. Dropping out only two years later, he hitchhiked around Europe for a year before settling in Lower East Side New York.

There he became associated with the Beat Generation writers, wrote poetry and dabbled in drugs. After kicking his drug habit, Matson kept writing essays, poetry and fiction, eventually becoming a teacher in 1978.

In 1998 he published Let The Crazy Child Inside Write, a book about teaching writing. Its thesis says that the source of our writing is an internal "creative psychic passion."

Since he began teaching, Matson has enjoyed watching many of his students become published writers. He's even held writing retreats in the jungles of Costa Rica and at a former student's house in Italy.

An upcoming retreat into the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains will position his workshop at 7,500-feet high during the same time as the Perseid Meteor Shower on Aug. 7.

"I invite anyone to come and join us on that journey, it's healing and growth producing," he said of his workshops.

"People can get in touch with strong passion, feelings, and write quite a bit of raw material, opening a door to the power in our bodies and psyches," Matson said of Monday's workshop. "It doesn't matter whether you think you're a poet, an essayist, or a journalist. Even just having an inkling to do some writing, it will work for you."

The Sacramento Poetry Center is located at 1719 25th St.

*Images courtesy Clive Matson

Sweet Symphony

2009-04-29T15:11:11Z

Tap! Tap! Tap!, Tapping of the muse
Who leads the anthem, in poem
Conductor, instructor of odes
they form such a sweet, symphony
Crescendos, of his verse cymbals
Are crashing and banging, beat bodes
Each line reveals, epiphany
As solos goes, in minor’s prose
sharp toots, of the poetry flute
cresting the grandest, finale
O! sweet, the poesy symphony
He bows gratitude, verbally

More Stuff to do in Sacramento

2009-04-13T20:50:23Z

I missed last week, but here's a big list of stuff coming up this week. Lots going on this coming week -and this only a sampling!

Ongoing:
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
Live Theater
Fridays and Saturdays, 8:00 PM; Sundays, 2:30 PM through May 9, 2009
Admission: General: $15.00; Students/SARTA: $12.00 (April 17-19, all tickets are only $10.00!)
Big Idea Theatre
1616 Del Paso Blvd
Sacramento, CA
(916) 960-3036
http://www.bigideatheatre.com

A comedy that includes scenes from Hamlet involving the prince's two unwitting friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and combines them with a "Waiting for Godot" sensibility, resulting in a thought provoking show and a knee-slapping good time.

SPCA Spring Book Sale
Saturday, April 18 - Sunday, April 26, 2009
Mon-Sat: 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Sun: 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Admission: Free
Marketplace at Birdcage
6123 Sunrise Blvd
Citrus Heights, CA
(916) 383-7387, ext. 9103

Features thousands of new and used books at dog-gone great prices! The sale, one of the largest book sales of its kind in Northern California, will include 40 categories, including fine and rare books, fiction, children and teens, mystery, adventure, science fiction, biography, history, westerns, art, reference, business, cultural issues, foreign language, humor and home and garden

Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Mahogany Urban Poetry Series: Seth Walker
9:00 PM - 11:00 PM
Queen Sheba Restaurant
1704 Broadway
Sacramento, CA
http://mybmsf.com/mahogany/

The notorious Houston poet comes to Sacramento!

Thursday, April 16, 2009 and Friday April 17, 2009
The Davis Feminist Film Festival
7:00 PM reception/8:00 PM show
Admission: Students: $12.00 single night/$20.00 both nights; General: $18.00 single night/$30.00 both nights (slightly cheaper if purchased in advance at The Beat)
Veterans Memorial Theater
203 E 14th St
Davis, CA
http://femfilmfest.ucdavis.edu

The Davis Feminist Film Festival is a grassroots festival of short films featuring filmmakers from around the world. Mixing narrative, documentary, and experimental styles, the films focus on issues of gender and sexuality often missing from mainstream media and highlight the links between local, national, and international social struggle.

Friday, April 17, 2009 - Saturday, April 18, 2009
Indian Arts & Crafts Market
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Admission: General: $2.00; Youth (6-17): $1.00; 5 & Under: Free
California State Indian Museum
2618 K St
Sacramento, CA
Indian artists and crafters from all over California will participate. Items to fit every budget include: artwork, jewelry, hand-crafted dolls, baskets, soapstone and elkhorn carvings, drums, decorated gourds and more.

Friday, April 17, 2009, Saturday, April 18, 2009, Friday, April 24, 2009
Keith Lowell Jensen Live CD Taping
Doors at 7:00 PM, Taping Begins at 8:00 PM
Admission: $10.00
Luna's Café
1414 16th St
Sacramento, CA
http://rockass.net

Keith Lowell Jensen, co-headliner of The Coexist? Comedy Tour, featured guest on Brian Malow's Science Comedy Tour and one of Sacramento's best known comics will spend three nights taping original material at Luna's Cafe in downtown Sacramento for an upcoming CD.

The taping is divided into three categories over three nights, club comedy, atheist/religious themed comedy and the third night will be the wild card leaving room for KLJ to riff, ramble and if need be, totally make an ass out of himself because he already has two nights of tape so to heck with it right?

The venue is small. This will sell out, so advance tickets are the only way to guarantee a seat. They can be obtained at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/55720

Saturday, April 18, 2009
R5 Records Celebrates Record Store Day with a Rock n' Roll Garage Sale, Live Music and More!
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Admission: Free
R5 Records
2500 16th St
Sacramento, CA
http://www.r5records.com

R5 will be hosting live music, a Rock n' Roll Garage Sale and swap meet, and offering refreshments, giveaways and lots of other surprises from 9am to 5pm. R5's entire inventory will also be at sale price for the entire day. KSSU, the on-campus station at Sac State will also be on hand hosting the "Big Vinyl Spectacular" featuring live DJ sets throughout the day. Guest DJs include Shaun Slaughter, Trina Latrine, Danny Secretion, Nick Brunner and others.

The Rock n' Roll Garage Sale will take place in R5's parking lot facing the Tower Theatre. Vendors will be selling used vinyl, music memorabilia, posters, toys, buttons and more. The vendors are all private individuals or small businesses selling at garage sale prices.

During the day students from the Met School, a charter school within the Sacramento Metropolitan School District, will be staging raffles to raise funds to build the music program at their school. As a further aid to this venture R5 will be collecting new and used musical instruments for the Met School throughout Record Store day.

Record Store Day is a national celebration of local independent music retailers. Now in it's second year, RSD came about as a way to spotlight the wide range of music and services offered by independent music retailers.

Sunday, April 19, 2009
Screening: Trembling Before God
2:00 PM
Admission: $5.00 suggested donation
Congregation B'nai Israel
3600 Riverside Blvd
Sacramento, CA
(916) 446-4861
http://www.bnai.com

The acclaimed 2001 documentary chronicling the struggles of gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews who are trying to integrate their sexual orientation into their faith, even as some have been abandoned by their families. Also showing is the short sequel Trembling on the Road, a documentary about the controversy, protests and dialogue that has accompanied screenings of Trembling Before God in Jewish communities around the world.

Sunday, April 19, 2009
Poetry with Traci Gourdine & Quenton Duval
7:00 PM
Admission: $5.00 donation
Time Tested Books
1114 21st St
Sacramento, CA
(916) 447-5696
http://www.timetestedbooks.net

Quinton Duval is the author of three books of poems: Guerrilla Letters, Dinner Music, and Joe's Rain. He teaches English and Creative Writing at Solano Community College and is the editor and publisher of Red Wing Press.

Traci Gourdine is a poet whose work has appeared in Calliope, ZYZZYVA, and other small magazines. She is the co-editor of "Night is Gone, Day is Still Coming," a collection of work by young American Indian writers. Her letters to poet Quincy Troupe have been anthologized in the book "Letters to Poets." He currently teaches English at American River College.

Monday, April 20, 2009
Author: Andrew Sean Greer
Doors: 12:15 PM; Reading at 1:00 PM
Admission: Free
CSUS University Union
6000 J St
Sacramento, CA
http://www.csus.edu/union

The bestselling author will discuss his work and will read from The Story of a Marriage, followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience. His newest novel, The Story of a Marriage, is a lyrical story about love and longing, and the political, sexual and racial tensions set against the backdrop of the early 1950s. Greer also is the author of The Path of Minor Planets, How It Was for Me and The Confessions of Max Tivoli. A lecture preview will be at 12:20 with Sac State English professor Sheree Meyer.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Safe Ground Rally
2:00 PM
State Capital, South Steps
http://www.sacloaves.org/SafeGround/
Rally to help benefit and legalize a safe campground where homeless folks can live and have running water, bathrooms, and trash services until proper shelters can be provided.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Support Local Growers: Farming as if Nature Matters Inspiring Panel Discussion
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Admission: General: $15.00; Co-op Owners: $10.00; Children Under 12: $5.00
24th Street Theatre
2791 24th St
Sacramento, CA
(916) 455-2667
http://www.sacfoodcoop.com
Featuring Trini Campbell, Riverdog Farm; Gretchen Ceteras, Blue Heron Farm; Annie Main, Good Humus Produce; Gena Nonini, Marian Farms; Bu Nygrens, Veritable Vegetable, and Judith Redmond, Full Belly Farm.
A benefit for Soil Born Farms and the Good Humus Land Preservation Project.

Thursday, April 23, 2009
Sacramento Ballet Dancers' Event
7:00 PM
Admission: $10 advance; $15 at the door
Vizcaya Mansion
2019 21st St
Sacramento, CA
(916) 552-5800
http://www.saveoursacballet.com

The dancers have organized an evening of fun with performances by the ballet, live music by Camerata Capistrano, the CSUS Baroque Ensemble, wine, food, fundraising games, and a silent auction with inexpensive and luxury items such as a signed Greg Kondos print, a weekend at a Tahoe cabin, and a delta cruise. Come hang out with the company and support the ballet at the same time!

More Stuff to do in Sacramento

2009-03-31T20:43:18Z

Ongoing:

Zooman & The Sign
Live Theater
Fridays and Saturdays, 8:00 PM; Sundays, 3:00 PM through May 10, 2009
Admission: General: $20.00; Students, Seniors and SARTA: $18.00; Children (12 & under): $15.00
The Guild Theater
2828 35th St
Sacramento, CA
Ticket info: (916) 737-3333
http://www.imagestheater.org

Written by Charles Fuller.
Zooman and the Sign follows the Tate family after their 12 year-old daughter is killed by a stray bullet. After their neighbors refuse to come forward with information to bring the killer to justice, Mr. Tate in his frustration hangs up an accusatory sign calling them cowards. The neighbors react with aggression. The play raises questions of how non-violent people respond to infectious violence and restrain their fury at their community and society's complacency. It urges us to ask the question "how can we prevent young men from becoming alienated and violent like Zooman's? "(Language not suitable for small children).

See What I Wanna See
Live Theater
Fridays and Saturdays, 8:00 PM; Sundays, 7:00 PM, through May 3, 2009
Admission: General: $18.00; Students and Seniors: $15.00
California Stage
2509 R St
Sacramento, CA
(916) 708-3449
http://www.artisticdifferences.net

A deadly affair. A mysterious murder. A crisis of faith. New York stories of lust, greed, faith, loss and redemption are explored in this musical libretto. Based on short stories by the groundbreaking Japanese writer Ryunosuke Akutagawa, this unique theatre piece takes us from ancient Japan to modern day New York City with three tales that are sensual, suspenseful, and inspiring. "Kesa and Morito" tells the tale of two lovers who secretly plot to kill each other. "R shomon" takes the story that inspired the classic Japanese film "Rashomon" and transforms it to a gritty, jazzy tale of 1950's New York. "Glory Day" transports us to 21st Century New York, where a priest struggles with his loss of faith. Michael John LaChiusa transformed these stories into a compelling musical journey exploring the themes of power, perception and the truth. (NOTE: For Mature Audiences).

Thursday, April 2, 2009
Jessamyn Lovell Lecture
6:00 PM
Admission: Free
Verge Gallery
1900 V St
Sacramento, CA
(916) 448-2985
http://www.vergegallery.com

Jessamyn Lovell will be lecturing on her work Catastrophes, Crisis, and Other Family Traditions, a ten year documentary project involving the artist's own family. You can view examples of the work at the artist's website at http://www.jessamynlovell.com/ or for more insights into to the current show, Personal Lives, take a look at the recent review in the Sacramento Bee at http://www.sacbee.com/115/story/1711353.html

Thursday, April 2, 2009
Th' Losin Streaks plus Movie Star Junkies (from Italy, featuring members of The Introducers!) and Art Lessing and the Flower Vato
9:00 PM
Admission:??
Luigi's Fun Garden
1050 20th St
Sacramento, CA
(916) 552-0317
http://www.myspace.com/luigisslice

Thursday, April 2, 2009
Community Discussion on Local Media
6:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Admission: Free
Coloma Center Auditorium
4623 T St
Sacramento, CA
http://www.AccessSacramento.org

Sacramento area residents, media professionals and media consumers are invited to attend a community discussion on local media to consider these topic areas:
Public Affairs
Diversity
Political Coverage
Community Input
Broadband Internet Access

Sacramento Media Group and California Common Cause with Access Sacramento invite interested individuals, community organizations, local media outlets and elected officials to participate in a community discussion designed to hear opinions, stories and suggestions about our local media. The new presidential administration wants to create a20more democratic media system and promote universal access to communications technologies. The evening offers an opportunity to share ideas that can contribute to these goals. It will also help us better understand how well our local media: print, television, radio and Internet serve their audiences.

Friday, April 3, 2009
Neil Hamburger
7:00 PM
Admission: $10.00
Blue Lamp
1400 Alhambra Blvd
Sacramento, CA
(916) 455-3400

Despite his appalling comic timing, muddled delivery, and cliched material, stand-up Neil Hamburger nevertheless emerged as one of the most acclaimed and name-checked comedians of his generation; like Lenny Bruce before him, he was a hipster icon whose trailblazing riffs defied conventions.

Friday, April 3, 2009
Screening: The Lost World (1925)
7:00 PM and 9:30 PM
Admission: $5.00
Movies on a Big Screen
600 4th St
West Sacramento, CA

This innovative and ground-breaking 1925 silent film featured amazing stop-motion animation from Willis O'Brien, years prior to his work on King Kong. O'Brien's work in this film stunned audiences in 1925 and was to forever change special effects and science fiction in film. While dated in comparison to today's use of CGI, the dinosaurs are still an impressive sight to see.

The tale opens on reporter Edward Malone (Lloyd Hughes), who wants to marry Gladys Hungerford (Alma Bennett). Gladys, however, only wants to marry a man of great deeds. So Malone, having asked his editor for an adventuresome assignment, is given the task of interviewing Professor Challenger (Beery), who is planning an expedition to a "lost world." Malone accompanies Challenger and his men to South America where, on a great plateau, they find a prehistoric world occupied by dinosaurs and ape-like men. Much adventure ensues, leading to the capture of one pissed off Brontosaurus to return to London with - and well, you pretty much know that dino chaos is bound to happen if you do something like that!!

Saturday, April 4, 2009
Spring Ball at the Horse Cow
12:00 PM
Admission: $10.00
Horse Cow
111 North Harbor Blvd.
West Sacramento, CA 95605

Music, Performance Art, Food, Artists, Vendors, Silent Auction, Fashion, and Glass Blowing!

Saturday, April 4, 2009
Potluck Lunch and Piccolo Farm Tour
11:30 AM - 3:00 PM
Suggested Donation: What you'd spend on lunch
Piccolo Pastures
7227 Point Pleasant Rd
Elk Grove, CA
(916) 207-6520

Take an easy walk through a fabulous organic garden and see livestock with a rescued alpaca, horse, sheep and others farm animals. Educational games , crafts and DVDs about Heifer International's work, whose mission is to end hunger and poverty while caring for the earth.. Please bring a soup or salad dish to share. Be green and bring your own beverage, cup, napkin, plate, bowl and silverware.
Free parking; open to the public
To RSVP, email psayerhandley@yahoo.com or at (916) 216-3236

Saturday, April 4, 2009
Indie Sacramento
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Admission: Free (but $1.00 donation is appreciated)
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral
2620 Capitol Ave
Sacramento, CA
(916) 446-2513
http://www.indiesacramento.com

Shop for hip, handmade goods, clothing and accessories. Enjoy live music and complimentary coffee, hot cocoa and baked goods

Saturday, April 4, 2009
Bockbierfest 2009
6:00 PM - 11:00 PM
Admission: Adults: $10.00; Children 6-12: $5.00; Children Under 6: Free
Sacramento Turn Verein
3349 J St
Sacramento, CA
http://www.sacramentoturnverein.com

The traditional Bockbierfest will present authentic German Bockbier from Munich, great German music and a variety of German foods. Wonderful German dance music will be provided by the long time favorites The Al Gruber Band. Special performances of traditional German dances by the Camtia Schuhplattler Group.

Monday, April 6th
Sacramento Poetry Center Press - Book Release Party and Reading
6:30 PM, reception; 7:30 PM, reading
Admission: Free
California Stage
2509 R St
Sacramento, CA
http://www.sacramentopoetrycenter.org

The Sacramento Poetry Center and the California Arts Council celebrate the publication of Sometimes in the Open - an anthology collected from the poets laureate of California. This book is also the first publication of SPC Press. This Monday evening event, held at California Stage in Sacramento, will kick off a series of readings in communities around the state. For more information, call Bob Stanley at 916-240-1897, or email Bob at bobstanley@sbcglobal.net The book features work from sixty five poets, and many of them will be reading at this event, including:
Julia Connor (poet laureate of Sacramento), Dennis Schmitz (Sacramento), Terry Ehret (Sonoma County), Kevin Patrick Sullivan (San Luis Obispo), Sam Pierstorff (Modesto), Carolyn Wing Greenlee (Lake County).

Wednesday April 8, 2009
Author Reading and Book Signing: Russ Woody
6:00 PM
Admission: Free
Time Tested Books
1114 21st St
Sacramento, CA
(916) 447-5696
http://www.timetestedbooks.net

Russ Woody's first novel, "The Wheel of Nuldoid" - published by Ballentine - is a dark tongue-in-cheek look at the very center of our world, where a society of short, quarrelsome creatures live and operate the machinery that rotates the earth.

Russ is a Sacramento native who has written and produced Murphy Brown, Mad About You, Cybill, Becker, and The Drew Carey Show, among other comedies. He has also written for Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Art Demonstration by Skinner
7:00 PM
Admission: Free (?) I think.
Sacramento Fine Arts Center
5330B Gibbons Dr
Carmichael, CA
(916) 971-3713

Live Painting Demonstration by local artist, Skinner. If you've never seen Skinner paint - well, it's actually really fascinating.

More Stuff to do in Sacramento

2009-03-11T02:58:02Z

Ongoing:

Kenney Mencher and Joe Santos at Elliott Fouts Gallery
Art Exhibit
Tuesday - Friday 11 AM to 6 PM; Saturday 11 AM to 4 PM; Sunday 11 AM to 4 PM through April 3, 2009.
4749 J St
Sacramento, CA
(916) 736-1429
http://www.efgallery.com

Works by controversial and enigmatic artist Kenney Mencher, whose paintings were removed by San Francisco's Hang Gallery with the gallery director referring to them as "perverted" in 2003. He also had four of his paintings removed from the California State Teachers Retirement System building in 2004 after a handful of employees stated they made them uncomfortable. Along with Mencher, watercolorist Joe Santos has his newest pieces, "Signage" on display.

Last Resort Trailer Park
Live Theatre
Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays Through April 11, 2009
Thistle Dew Dessert Theatre
1901 P St.
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 444-8209
(call for reservations - it's a small theatre)
http://www.thistle-dew.net

The not so everyday life of Nadine, Buk, Charlene, Rhonda and Hank at the down and out last resort trailer park on the outskirts of a small town in Nevada.

Big Idea Theatre presents Hamlet
Live Theatre
Sundays, 8 PM through March 29, 2009
Admission: $15
1616 Del Paso Blvd
Sacramento, CA 95815
(916) 960-3636
http://www.bigideatheatre.com

This streamlined version of Shakespeare's classic hand-wringing tragedy is the perfect material for Big Idea Theatre's budding company of actors.

Friday, March 13, 2009
Capturing History: David Hume Kennerly
12:00 Noon
Admission: Free
CSUS
Library Gallery
6000 J St
Sacramento, CA

Featuring historical photography by David Hume Kennerly, from Vietnam to the Obama inauguration. Kennerly will speak at noon, followed by a reception at 5:30 PM.

Friday, March 13, 2009
Sac City Rollers Present "Friday Night Fights"
Doors at 7 PM/Bout at 7:30 PM
Tickets: $10 Advance/$15.00 at the door
Foothill Skate Inn
4700 Auburn Blvd
Sacramento, CA
http://www.saccityrollers.com

Join the Sac City Rollers women's roller derby league as we kick off our 2009 season on Friday, March 13th! Our two intra-league teams the Ruge Girls take on the Sweaty Betties as we present "Friday Night Fights!" Beer garden, raffle prizes and Revolution Twirl Club perform at half-time! Come check out the fastest growing sport around and see women's roller derby up close and personal!

Friday, March 13, 2009
An Evening of Poetry at Carol's Books
6 PM - 9 PM
Admission: Free
Carol's Books
1913 Del Paso Blvd
Sacramento, CA

An evening of poetry featuring poet Lawrence Dinkins accompanied by local musicians.

Saturday, March 14, 2009
Sell Out, Buy Out
Admission: Free (but bring money to buy cool stuff!)
3 PM - 10 PM
Bows and Arrows
1712 L St
Sacramento, CA
(916) 444-3606
A huge art and fashion bazaar featuring local designers which takes place four times a year.

Saturday, March 14, 2009
The Spillit Quikkers with The Stinky Devil String Band
9 PM
Admission: $5.00
Fox & Goose
1001 R St
Sacramento, CA
(916) 443-8825

Two sets from the rootin'-tootin', high-fallutin', non-pollutin', rip-roarin', shiv-shavin', new-fangled, old time, bona fide, good time, string band!

Sunday, March 15, 2009
Time Tested Books Poetry Series 2009: Doug Blazek
7 PM
$5 Requested Donation
Time Tested Books
1114 21st St
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 447-5696
http://www.timetestedbooks.net
books@timetestedbooks.net

Small press pioneer Douglas Blazek will give a rare reading of his work.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Sacramento Ballet: Inside the Director's Studio
6 PM
Admission: $15.00
Sacramento Ballet Studios
1631 K St
Sacramento, CA
(916) 552-5800
http://www.sacballet.org

See your Sacramento Ballet Dancers up-close and working hard on new works created for the Modern Master's Abbreviated program.

Thursday, March 19, 2009
Classic Spanish Language Love Films: Like Water For Chocolate
7 PM
Admission: Free
La Raza Galeria Posada
1022 22nd St.
Sacramento, CA
(916) 446-5133

"Like Water for Chocolate" by Alfonso Arau, shows the connection of Love, Lust and Food in Revolutionary Mexico. Nominated for a Golden Globe, this was the most popular Spanish-language film of its time. Seating is limited.

Please note:
This is not meant to copy the concept of Rachael’s post in any way. I had been talking with Sac Press folks last week about doing something along these lines, and I hope that at a minimum, our event picks will complement each other. What does matter is – get out and attend some of the cool stuff that happens in Sacramento!

Pretty Girls Three (villanelle)

2009-01-22T06:44:02Z

Mason jar in hand chasing, bug’s light wee
While giggle bubbles pop! around their heads
Pretty girls three, they run and play so free

Summer nights creatures of flight, try to flee
Caught in the web of memories, instead
Mason jar in hand chasing, bug’s light wee

Carpets of grass feel cool to their bare feet
Feeling dewy and slippy, as they tread
Pretty girls three, they run and play so free

Snatched weeds put in. Quick! They try as one flees
Within that moment, spans the eyes with dread
Mason jar in hand chasing, bug’s light wee

“Let’s take them in and take care.” All agree.
Try to hold the minute, that instant dead
Pretty girls three, they run and play so free

Sonnets in Soul Collection: Akili Amina

2009-01-09T17:14:19Z

I Watch a Leaf

I watch a leaf, bound in a tiny pool
Dismal flora, unmindful it is dead
Autumnal wind, used as pushing tool
This parking lot puddle, bumping its edge

I watch the leaf; dried, brown, crescent crumble
While its friends, they twist and roll they are free
Scent of shop donuts, build tummies grumble
Winds slash and lash my skin, howling a plea

I watch a leaf, the leaf of my shared grief
Who doesn’t want to die, meet brevity
From time no relief, life span, living brief
Out of grasp or my hands, longevity

Honor all seasons, vanity, false belief
Walk away from composting of, this leaf

Foggy is ths Bridge

Foggy is this bridge, its seamed with soft lights
Thick is the mist, dawn’s precursor is, last
Vision clouds my sight, heavy is the night
I stand at my window, as she walks, past

Watch her waver, as she reaches midway
Unsure of her path, as her head turns back
Over-looking waves of thoughts, they sea spray
What makes her think of not staying on track?

I fear her stall, lose view as the haze, befalls
In angst, I push aside my frail curtains
Did she trip, fall or worse, jump its stone wall?
Course of bridges taken, are uncertain

Mist lifted, her face same as mine, crowns ridge
Future is braced while, Foggy is This Bridge

The Diasporian Souls

The seeds of Sub-Saharan descendants
Globe heavy in weight, their percentage, great
Continent African, population ascendant
Sewn, seeds are strewn. God’s hand he blast. He spate.

Spreading their origins, across his globe
Sending those, the Diasporian souls
Spirits of migration, are children of, Job
Ship’s belly they rode. Cargo list: Black Gold

Middle passing, through our growth transition
Ancestors wailing, they pray, in all tongues
Those in search of their God’s, acquisition
Pass amazement on to those next. The young.

They hold their heads up, as they walk or stroll
Journey of, The Diasporian Souls

Is This Our Labored, Parting?

Is this our awkward, parting? Our tense End
Have we now met the time, of conclusion?
Abrupt, I am barren, I am suspend
Club deferred payments, list of exclusions

Ejected line, hindered by a consort
Associates , loot privacy’s invasion
Practice unfair advances, of sort
Guilty me, by shame’s association

Let me live my lie. Jolly you must find
In my plight. Joyous are credit goblins.
Preying on faithful limits, ruin cash binds
Embarrassed consumers lineup, I blend

Cut up card. My affection departing.
No more credit. Is This Our Labored, Parting?

This Air is Stiff

This air seems stiff to me with pain and hurt
Feels rigid, while temps are falling below, frigid
Those who bear the air, with death they flirt
Compassion is needed if only by, a smidgen

This air is so stiff with faces of children
Who need love and hugs by the dozen
And guidance, from those called brethren
That wont come from their blood, or their cousins

This air that is so stiff to me, it reeks in disease
Riddled bodies, lining up for their meds
Claiming numbers, leaving only puffs of their essence
Thread through masses, it snakes while it spreads

If you take a moment to notice, get a whiff
Feel the heaviness, of This Air that is Stiff

http://akiliamina.blogspot.com

Time Tested Books launches 2009 Poetry Series

2009-01-08T23:24:17Z

Time Tested Books is pleased to announce the opening of our 2009 Poetry series. It has been a decade since we have hosted a regular poetry series and figured the time is right to focus on the Sacramento area’s wealth of veteran voices, folks who have spent time on their craft, promoting poetry, and teaching others.

We start our series with two names familiar to literary Sacramento, Pat Grizzell and B.L. Kennedy.

Pat Grizzell is a poet, songwriter and visual artist. He is a founding member and former director of the Sacramento Poetry Center. His collections of poems include Dark Music, Menotaure Into Night (with painter Jimi Suzuki) and the forthcoming 13 Poems from Rattlesnake Press. His work has been anthologized in collections such as Landing Signals and was editor of Tule Review, On the Wing, and other publications. He performs original music solo and with his band, Junkyard Burlesque.

B.L. Kennedy is a poet, artist, and lifelong performer. He studied with Allen Ginsberg, Anne Waldman, & Ed Sanders at the Naropa Institute’s Poetics from the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, where he holds a MFA (and one from CSU Sacramento, too). Swimming in controversy, his is ever prolific, the author of fourteen books of poetry. He is the Reviewer and Interviewer in Residence for Rattlesnake Review. He’s produced three major Poetry Marathons and has spent his life in Sacramento tirelessly promoting the area‘s poets. He is currently a host for Luna's Café's Poetry Unplugged reading series.

Time Tested Books is located at 1114 21st Street in Midtown Sacramento.

The event is on Sunday, January 18, 2009. 7 pm.

A $5 donation will be requested at the door. All money going to the featured readers.

(Our February reader will be poet and translator William O’Daly, who will be celebrating the release of his newest volume of translation of Pablo Neruda. O’Daly will be accompanied by guitarist Louis V. Johnson. More info to come.)

Patrick Grizzell - poetic musician

2009-01-07T04:20:26Z

Patrick Grizzell is a local poet and musician. He plays the guitar and sings with three different groups: The Liz Ryder Band, Junkyard Burlesque and Mandolin Avenue. Grizzell is also the one of the founders of The Sacramento Poetry Center, which has been around since 1979. He has published books of poetry, 13 Poems, Chicken Months, Dark Music: Selected Poems and Stories and others. Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen have been major sources of musical inspiration for Grizzell but those who hear him play live can agree that he has a sound of his own.

Grizzell will be performing at Luna's cafe with Junkyard Burlesque on Jan. 9. He will be reading poetry at Time Tested Books on Jan. 18 to kick off the Time Tested Books Poetry Series.

What came first, music or poetry?

Music. I played the trumpet in my elementary school band. I had little formal musical training and it wasn't anything that really stuck.

How does poetry play into your music?

The way poetry has influenced me is important because I used to really differentiate between how I approached words in poems and how I approach words in songs. With songs there's certain things you are limited by, there's a lot of rhyming usually, a lot of meter. That's a little more important to the song than poetry, poetry's more flexible.

A lot of my songs don't even rhyme, which is kind of nice. I mean, the meter is there and they feel like they rhyme even though they don't. That change may seem like a minor thing, but to me that's a breakthrough because part of my struggle with writing songs was always comparing songs to poetry, and you just can't do it.

Who has influenced you along the way?

A lot of the songwriters I like are songwriters who have a big basis in poetry. When I get stuck I often go to them, if not for anything more than inspiration. I'll stick a record on and just listen to how they work things through and sometimes it's by not working them through.

They're all really good storytellers as well but sometimes they really don't make a lot of sense in that linear way that we think of songs. They're complicated. They're not those "I love you baby" "yeah, yeah, yeah," "my heart's broken and I miss you," "I wish you'd call" — all of those sort of typical themes. They're about playing rather than the lyrics.

What was the most difficult aspect of developing your music?

Finding a voice that felt original. Because so much music is derivative, it's almost impossible for it to not to be. But I think there's a point, if you do it long enough, where you pull all of these influences together so that all of the music that you've loved, and stuff that you've stolen (either on purpose or sort of unconsciously), so many directions come in sooner or later you really do sound like you. And people will say, "God, that sounds like you."

And when people say, "Where does that come from?" I say, "I don't know, I was sitting there one minute minding my own business and suddenly this song was there."

There's a song that Junkyard Burlesque does that's called "Down to the Scraps" and it's sort of a fun song. Sometimes I start writing a song, and things come and I write them down, so I might end up with two or three lines or two or three verses that I'm not going to use. It's just too much stuff, so I have a big file that I keep that stuff in. And every once in a while I'll go through and type it all out so I have it and I can find it.

So I was banging on my piano one day and came across this nice sort of groove. I couldn't come up with any idea to fit the music, and then as I'm playing around I came up with this little phrase, "Down to the scraps." I thought, "Oh, that's kind of cool."

Then I pulled out my notes and I started seeing these complete verses that kind of fit. They fit the meter, fit the sort of melody that I was hearing, so I took them and changed them a little bit. I took out a word here, added a word there and then I strung them together. So now I have these five verses that are unrelated but they work together not only as a song but just that idea, "Down to the scraps."

When you were younger you could probably see more of the influences in your music. Did you try to consciously distance yourself?

I tried to mask what I was stealing. (Laughs.) I think that's the way you learn how to write your own stuff.

Because you really do find your own way of approaching things and every once in a while, when those influences are really apparent, I feel almost a sense of gratitude about them.

None of us who write music, write songs, write poems, whatever, would be able to do it without the group of people who created the musical lexicon, the lyrical lexicon for how you write a song, or what a song is. We all, as artists, owe them a huge debt.

I remember when I was younger I'd write a song and figure out that I was just copying the beat of a song. Instead of scrapping it all, I would maybe change the pattern of the chords, or I'd substitute one chord for another. There's twelve notes, you've got to put them in some order or another. Everybody uses the same twelve notes.

And I go back to songs that I wrote years ago now and I really like them even though they're unoriginal. I like them because they still have that magic and excitement about them. I still get that feeling when I play them, even in this stage that I am now.

To learn more about Patrick Grizzell, please visit www.myspace.com/patrickgrizzell.

The photo above is a picture taken of Patrick Grizzell with Ricky Berger at an open mic night at Fox and Goose in Sacramento.

stranger

2008-11-18T01:04:49Z

Stranger

Now I'm strollin' myself around the midtown downtown region of our area

and noticed a striking women. Quiet, but undeniably noticeable, much like the old man you once knew but died some 15 years back. She had white laced fingertips, stargaze eyes with dark shaped glasses, cinnamon flavor hair, rain man teeth sharp as the serenity in the air, against the determination of others and along with her lazy eye, watched everything as it went hummin' bye.

Carefree and careless take what you must, I simply stared, without blinking.

You have to understand something, she was like nothing I've ever seen before. She had an overnight face, that looked like it went to bed around 5 the night before, pale , pinkish  nose, lipstick that faded out like night time sky, and yet and undeniable pep her step atmosphere about her.

I ordered myself up a burnin' cup of coffee and I saw her reluctantly order a bowl of oatmeal, and Tiger Tongue Tea.

Myself an eligible bachelor decided to count my cards and see what the dealer gave me tonight. The night screamed for audience members. Tonight wasn't dying for satisfaction so I went my way and she hers, but to me all she is WERE words. When you believe in dreams you believe in life. Dreams drive slow, money is blind to her destruction, but a stranger is just a blink away, open your mind and see what they have to say.

Writers: Want to see your work in print?

2008-10-14T02:52:15Z

Poets, Playwrights and Budding Novelists!

The fact is, it's often hard to find a space where you can share your work with others. As most writers know, publishing opportunities can be hard to come by and this is why the Sacramento Press is creating a literary space where you can share what you write with others, get feedback and fight writer’s block - all in one.

Think Small and Start Local

Your ideas can be as simple as: What is it like to live in the Sacramento area? We’re interested in your stories – local and semi-local – about anything your imagination can dream up. You don't have to be a pulitzer prize winner to write for us, but if you are, that's great too. “Write what you know” is the name of the game, so pick up that pen and get writing! In the future, this literary space could also host writer’s groups, contests and other opportunities for you to engage with other writers in the area.

Where Should We Start?

If you’re ready to go, help us out! What kind of opportunities for writers are you looking for in the Sacramento area - let us know! How can we interest community writers to become involved? What would you like to read about most? We can only grow and improve with your input and contributions.