April 1 kicked off National Poetry Month, an event “inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996 . . . when publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools and poets around the country band together to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. Thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations participate through readings, festivals, book displays, workshops, and other events.” Although National Poetry Month is held every April, and Sacramento and its neighbors are celebrating in various ways, Sacramento is certainly no stranger to poetry and the banding together of poets. About poetry, bookseller Richard Hansen, aka The Book Collector (24th a

Even the gray and overcast skies did not dampen the enthusiasm of those who attended the “Crossroads” poetry reading on Sat., March 17 at the Center for Contemporary Art in Sacramento. Free and open to the public, it was standing room only with nearly 60 people in attendance. The program showcased the work of featured poets, Julia Connor and Victoria Dalkey. The attentive audience showed their appreciation for the poems which were by turns reflective, imaginative, picturesque and profound. Eleven distinctive and evocative poems were selected by each of March’s featured readers. Julia Connor served as Poet Laureate of Sacramento from 2005-2009. She is the author of “Making the Good” as wel

On Sunday morning at the University of California, Davis Mondavi Center, Kevin O’Connor, Slater Penney, Christine Germain and Emily Leap led two free workshops on rope climbing, juggling, building human pyramids and using the trapeze. Each 90-minute workshop accommodated 60 very lucky participants ranging from age 4 to adult. More than 300 people could not be accommodated. Kevin O’Connor, an MFA choreography candidate and graduate of the National Circus School of Montreal, was the event’s organizer. O’Connor invited three other trained professionals to lead the four simultaneous workshops sponsored by the new UC Davis Institute for Exploration in Theatre, Dance and Performance. The morn

People came for the music and because Sunday’s musical feast at Folsom’s Powerhouse Pub was a charity event. At $15 per ticket, with six bands lined up to cover a spectrum of blues music, and all ticket proceeds benefiting the 147 year old Sacramento Children's Home, there was no better place to be. The Randy Carey Band opened the show at 1:50 p.m. and their rocking country blues sound had people dancing early on. They opened with “Born Under a Bad Sign,” sung by Carey, who also penned several of the songs, including “Blue Boy Blues,” their next to last song. The band’s rendition of “Good Time Charlie’s Got the Blues” had feet tapping and bodies swaying in seats and on the dance floor tha

If you equate blues music with Robert Johnson, you’re in for a surprise and a treat Sunday afternoon when Sacramento Blues Revue teams with Folsom’s Powerhouse Pub to host the second annual Blue Christmas for Kids, benefiting the Sacramento Children’s Home. The event kicks off at 1:50 p.m. with the Randy Carey Band, a country blues group, and will finish with Rick Estrin & the Nightcats, a blues/jump band, playing from 6 to 7 p.m. In between, attendees will hear blues/zydeco from GumboStew, blues from Pinkie Rideau & Blind Resistance, rockin’ blues from the Jimmy Pailer Band, and blues/R&B from Sacramento Blues Revue, led by Rick von Geldern. Von Geldern said he began working on this eve

The bumper sticker read, “I’d rather be at a Tommy Castro Show,” and the crowd that filled Folsom’s Powerhouse Pub Saturday night agreed. Ben and Robin Penn chose Castro over the lighted boat parade, and others chose the show over competing concerts and Sacramento’s Second Saturday events, braving the cold and the Santa Pub Crawlers to hear Castro and his band. The band that performed Saturday night is not the same lineup fans will see in 2012, when Randy McDonald will replace Scot Sutherland on bass, Keith Crossan will take his sax skills elsewhere, as will Tom Poole and his horn and Tony Stead and his keyboards. Byron Cage will remain at drums. Castro fans were clearly not disappointe

This Saturday, Tommy Castro – deemed one of the hardest working musicians in any genre – will bring his signature sound, a blend of blues, R&B and roots rock ’n’ roll, to Folsom’s Powerhouse Pub. “Castro navigates seriously funky Southern soul, gritty big city blues and scorching rock,” Carlos Santana has said. “His silvery guitar licks simultaneously sound familiar and fresh. He has the voice and the sound to touch everybody’s heart.” Castro began playing guitar at age 10, and he cites Eric Clapton, Elvin Bishop and Mike Bloomfield among his early influences and Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy and B.B. King among his later guitar influences. Soul singers like Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett and Jam

This Saturday is the release of the Davis poetry anthology, edited by the Davis poet laureate Allegra Silberstein. The public is welcome to attend the free event at the Davis Art Center, 1919 F St., where a reading by at least 15 anthology contributors will take place beginning at 7 p.m. The anthology, “Entering,” is the product of the Davis Poetry Book Project and is funded in large part by the City of Davis Arts Contract Program, Silberstein said. Copies will be available for purchase and signing. “This anthology of poems is by local residents and people who in the past have lived here,” said Silberstein, who included “the adobe train station on the cover symbolizing entrance to Davis,

The Sacramento Poetry Center will welcome Mary Mackey and Sharon Coleman on Monday as part of its ongoing weekly reading series. Tim Kahl, local poet and longtime poetry center board member, will host the free reading at the gallery space at 1719 25th Street at 7:30 p.m. Mary Mackey is a poet, novelist, screenwriter and professor emeritus who is always working on at least one new project. Her latest book of poetry, “Sugar Zone,” was released by Marsh Hawk Press on Oct. 1, and has received great praise. In addition to this sixth book of poetry, she’s authored 13 novels and five screenplays. Mackey helped found the Sacramento State women’s studies program, the Sacramento State graduate cre

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. B