Voracity Book Launch at Birdhouse Books January 6, 2023 Featuring Christopher Luna with special guests Angelo Luna and Toni Lumbrazo Luna

 

Join us for First Friday with The Lunas (Christopher Luna, Toni Lumbrazo Luna, and Angelo Luna) featuring the Vancouver book launch for Christopher Luna's Voracity (Lightship Press, 2022).

From Birdhouse Books: "It’s a family affair: Christopher Luna, Toni Lumbrazo Luna, and Angelo Luna will be joining us for the return of our First Friday Poetry Series! 

Christopher Luna, co-host of Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic and co-founder of Printed Matter Vancouver, has just released his new poetry collection, VORACITY, from Lightship Press, and will be joined by his wife Toni Lumbrazo Luna, co-founder of Printed Matter Vancouver and local poetry powerhouse, and his son Angelo Luna, who co-authored the father-son poetry collection EXCHANGING WISDOM."

Angelo Luna, Toni Lumbrazo Luna, and Christopher Luna in Rochester, NY November 2019

Photo by Maria Vara

 7pm

Friday, January 6

Birdhouse Books

1001 Main Street Basement

Vancouver, WA 98660

Voracity, featuring poetry and collages by Christopher Luna, is now available from Lightship Press or the author: christopherjluna@gmail.com.

"Brutally honest confessional poetry, Christopher Luna's Voracity conjures a beatific earnestness which transcends pain and suffering through acts of lyrical, life-affirming grace and redemption." David Madgalene, author of Call Down the Angel

In this revealing poetry collection, Luna invites readers on a candid and intimate journey behind the mask of a public figure as he grapples with identity, body image, and the enormity of his hungers."

Driven By Hope by Toni Lumbrazo Luna

Printed Matter Vancouver, 2019

Driven By Hope is Toni Lumbrazo Luna’s third book of poetry. It contains glimpses into the lives of people she has met throughout her career as a Social Worker and Life/Career Coach. These poems are based on real life and Toni takes them to new places inside her imagination. Perhaps you will see yourself through her eyes. Order Driven By Hope here:

https://www.amazon.com/Driven-Hope-Toni.../dp/1070872970/

 

Exchanging Wisdom: A Guide for Parents of the Autonomous

The Poetry Box, 2021

Exchanging Wisdom features poems for and about Christopher’s son Angelo Luna, as well as a few pieces Angelo wrote for Christopher. The earliest poem was written when Angelo was three, and the most recent at age 21. Christopher endeavored to encourage his son to be an autonomous, freethinking individual. Angelo grew to become that and so much more. Taken as a whole, the poems in this collection track the development of Angelo’s personality and the strong bond between father and son.

 Christopher Luna is a true heir to the Beat and New York School traditions of candor and grandeur. This collaboration and celebration of life runs on impeccable timing and deep love. As Luna and his son Angelo exchange wisdom they also re-invent the meaning of open verse: these poems crack open the heart and spill the joy of parenthood into the world.

—Lisa Jarnot, author 

Robert Duncan, the Ambassador from Venus

One day you’re gonna have to…remind me how to believe in the basic goodness of all beings, Christopher Luna tells his son, Angelo, in his latest book, Exchanging Wisdom. More than a collection of father-son poems, Exchanging Wisdom is a record of gratitude. Luna knows that to be a parent is to be both teacher and pupil, vulnerable and responsible. In every poem Luna’s love beams: Like Lone Wolf and Cub we traversed…and you reminded me that magic is real…. These poems contemplate our never-ending wars, sickness, apathy, and art-making through the lens of a deeply reverent father. For some, being a parent, being the adult, is synonymous with having the answers. Luna, a Buddhist poet, community-organizer, and activist, reminds us that questioning is the only way to truth. What are you afraid to find? he wonders. Are these the right questions to ask? In these mind- and heart-opening poems Luna invites us to experience pure joy and wonder again through memory and thankfulness. Once you’ve opened those doors/ you need never do so again, asserts Luna. Once father you cannot go back to your former life. Thankfully for us, Luna never did.

 —Claudia F. Savage, author of Bruising Continent

Naughty Greeting Card For Aimee

Here are a few images I included in a card to my old friend Aimee, who shares my fondness for goddesses. 

FREE THE NIPPLE!

If you'd like to see more of my collage art, visit 

https://www.instagram.com/christopherjluna/

Censored by Instagram: THE MOST GLORIOUS THING

A big fuck you to Instagram for censoring the following image because it violates community standards:

THE MOST GLORIOUS THING
By Christopher Luna

UPDATE: The image mysteriously appeared on my Instagram profile, and was also automatically shared to my Facebook profile, which did not censor it. Historically, censors are wildly incosnsistent, and unable to follow their own rules because they were arbitrary in the first place. 

FREE THE NIPPLE!

If you'd like to see more of my collage art, visit 

https://www.instagram.com/christopherjluna/

 

Photos and Video from Flowetry in Motion, April 23, 2022

Thanks to Morgan Paige, Zachary Wolk, The Carlson Quartet, Lifted Events, Jaja PDX, and The Haven PDX for Flowetry in Motion. What an honor it was to have been invited by my dear friend Morgan Paige to perform in this inaugural event for the collective of artists stirring things up at this magical space on SE Taylor Street in Portland. Dan Raphael and I performed near the beginning of the show, and then there were several more hours of poetry, juggling, hip hop, jazz, bellydancing, and more. What a memorable night.

I would also like to thank Morgan and Zachary for the wonderful photos and videos.

I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to engage in my favorite activity--reading my poetry accompanied by a hot jazz band. The poems I shared during this part of the set were a suite of short pieces written for National Poetry Month in April 2020, most of which are slated to appear in Voracity, forthcoming from Igor Brezhnev's Lightship Press.

I also read a short excerpt from Beneath the Underdog by Charles Mingus to commemorate the centennial of this legendary American musician and composer. Thanks to The Carlson Quartet for their beauitful music and support.

Dan Raphael reads "Children of the Blue 
Supermarket" with The Carlson Quartet. 

Morgan Paige and Christopher Luna

Christopher Luna and Dan Raphael

Christopher Luna reads with The Carlson Quartet

Christopher Luna reads with The Carlson Quartet

Morgan Paige and Christopher Luna

Dan Raphael reads his poetry with The Carlson Quartet

Dan Raphael reads his poetry with The Carlson Quartet

Dan Raphael reads his poetry with The Carlson Quartet

Roman Norfleet and Jacque Hammond blowing our minds

Water closet selfie--much love!

Igor Brezhnev readfs his poetry with Backbeat Jazz Band

Morgan Paige and Christopher Luna

Morgan Paige and Christopher Luna

So much love for my poetry community!

Christopher Luna, Dan Raphael, and Morgan Paige

After Visions of Cody: A Poem and Collage for Jack Kerouac

I have been telling people for years that Visions of Cody is my favorite novel by Jack Kerouac, a brilliant, panoramic portrait of the American landscape that also contains pages and pages of transcribed conversations between Kerouac and his good friend Neal Cassady, both of whom were famous talkers.

In my opinion, the best poetry Kerouac produced can be found in Mexico City Blues. 

The following poem was inspired by Kerouac's life and work as well as my impressions of these two literary masterpieces.   

After Visions of Cody
Collage by Christopher Luna

After Visions of Cody

by Christopher Luna 

pages and pages of

oomp-pa-pi-dah

hip jive

& muzzy gobbledygook

 

            mid-Century mascu-line

Buddhist glossolalia

 

exophonic explorer’s

linguistic innovations

the gift of idetic recall

in panoramic

sweep across the soil

of the American landscape

 

a tale told by conquerors

conquerors’ sons

perpetrators of

genocide and

their filial beneficiaries

 

wild, joyful

not yet pickled

nor doomed

to descend

into boredom

 

not yet become

just another

reactionary

who moved back

in with Mom

 

to hide from the world

beat by capitalism

 

beatific

 

in spite of himself

 

visionary           free

Symbolically Potent / Existential Transcencence: A Poem and Collage for Angelo's Birthday, March 30, 2022

 

Angelo has loved skulls for as long as I can remember. This led to a tradition of creating skull-themed collages for him for his birthday and other special occasions. This year I also wrote a poem. Not sure why, but I had never spoken to him about my own obsession with skulls as a child and young adult. I drew them, and enjoyed images of skulls, because I thought they were cool. 

The poem I wrote for Angelo this year attempts to unpack our love of skulls and how this common interest connects to the different ways that we think about and perceive the universe.

  

Writing and Photographs from New York December 1-8, 2021

 

NEW YORK TRIP DECEMBER 1-8, 2021 

Southwest Flight 3414 to Denver, CO

December 1, 2021 

First flight since the pandemic. A week with my family in New York. And like many NY visits, we will be in constant motion, driving and training our way between Rockville Centre, Pine Bush, Rochester, NYC, and Smithtown.

  

Concourse Symphony: Denver International Airport

 

I can’t do this right now. I had to end my relationship with these people. Sandy is in a very uncomfortable situation right now. Cats. Big cats. An actual map. It’s not a globe. In his presence. That was the catalyst to go ahead and say, “You know what, he’s technically cheating.” Yeah. I know. I swear he said “intimidation and jealousy.” So these emotions that I have. I’ve never seen that. I’m sure it happens. Very large, very fat. Very large, very fat. I don’t like that.

Flight 6505 DEN to LGA (LaGuardia Airport) 

The second flight was delayed due to the Santa Ana winds. Surprised to learn that this flight is only three hours. I spent more time in the airport in Denver than I will spend in the air. Chose a seat in the second row so that I can be one of the first off when we land. Motherfuckers are slow. 

Coming into New York

At the Whitney with Vicki

December 2

 

so glad to find myself

on the LIRR with my

youngest sister again

 

New York’s magic is instantaneous

we are standing by the father of

my niece’s best friend

who also happens to be

Anne Waldman’s eye doctor

headed to his office in the Village

 

he notices my purple Ginsberg hoodie

and oh-so-casually mentions

the Kerouac School

have I ever heard of it?

 

so now he must know

Allen changed my life

and Anne my stalwart supporter

            and spirit guide

 

everything I am

everything I do

thanks to her

outrider wisdom

and unyielding passion

 

he tells us his family moved

from Brooklyn to Rockville Centre

he misses the free concerts in Prospect Park

doesn’t say why they moved

 

there is a brief discussion

of cataract surgery

lasik and PRK

 

and then 20 people with luggage board the train

I try to move aside

but end up directly in the way

of a guy in lab coat and mask

who yells at me to move

and complains bitterly

about my stupidity

 

I am thrilled by his rage

the efficiency of his honesty

having suffered two decades

of passive-aggressive pussies

who would rather suffer in silence

than reveal their true feelings

about anything

 

we find a seat

and I explain to Vicki

how my first failure

led me to Ginsberg’s collected

Whitman’s Leaves of Grass

Anne, Boulder

 

this poet’s life

which grabbed hold of my t-shirt

to pull me into the future (the now)

the path selected me

 

we emerge from the underground

and she leads me to The Curious Garden

a decommissioned elevated train

otherworldy oasis of innovation and imagination

with an unparalleled view of The Village

 

the experience set off by

Kate Hudson’s feet

100 feet tall:

 

Blade Runner foot fetishist’s wet dream

 

this transcendent path

the setting for our

confessions, worries, tears

 

a pact is formed:

I’ve got your back

and you mine

from this point forward

 

loved ones stay a

certain age

in the mind’s eye

how/when did she turn 40?

how is it possible?

not my little sister

 

powerful

protective

mother bear

type-A

party girl

 

downtown Mount Rushmore

Andy, Keith, Frida, Jean-Michel

 

heart, lung, and fallopian tubes

dangle from tree branches

ancient railroad ties

and the most spectacular

view of The City

 

plus The LittleIsland

gobsmackingly mindblowing

Roger Dean fantasy

dropped onto the east side

of the Hudson River

at Pier 55

 

proof of vaccination required

to enter the Whitney

Lee Krasner, Edward Hopper,

Kiki Smith, Joseph Cornell, and all

Who knew there was any such thing as feather butterflies?

 

time for dancing

and Jay De Feo’s Rose

Vicki is amazed by

Liza Lou’s kitchen:

feminist take on housewife servitude

in the form of thousands of beads

adorned by the poetry of Emily Dickinson

 

I am blown away by

Pepón Osorio’s “Angel: The Shoe Shiner”

 

too sacred to photograph

and amused by Oldenburg’s plushie cigarette butts

 

how to describe the universes contained in

decades of Jasper Johns

a retrospective worthy of a 91-year-old master

overwhelming enough to cause my sister

to wonder at his process

 

                        I am pleased to find

                        Richard Avedon

                       

& Frank O’Hara

                        whose footprint

becomes a tribute

to his singular genius

and too-brief walk

around NYC

 

purchase a pretzel for Vicki

and a bacon egg and cheese

prepared by Alec, smile beaming

from the window of his food cart

at the corner of Gansevoort & Washington

 I tell Vicki the sandwich is unbelievably good

like tasting almost anything while stoned

except I’m not high                 no that’s not right

 

                        I’m wasted on my city

 

I have a moment

as we pass the Flatiron building

weeping with joy to be on these streets

falling for every big booty, goth scowl

and insane utterance

 

the faces of the crowds

in my dreams

and me always

walking against traffic

 

I trail behind Vicki

as she talks on the phone

soaking it all in:

 

Andre the Giant Has a Posse

Diane von Furstenberg

mobile COVID tests

sometimes two tents

on the same block

 

love every puddle

every odor

every everything

I’m home

 

Road trip with Greg

Rochester to Smithtown, Strong Island

December 6

.

Pre Emption St. 

Cayuga Lake

            wine slushies

TAUGHANNOCK FALLS

 Pennsylvania

Pursue Your Happiness

 

Jay-Z/ Grateful Dead mashup:

“99 Problems” / “Scarlet Begonias”

 

Clifton, PA

 

back window

 

Save a deer

 

HUNT A PEDOPHILE

side window

I HEART MY CAT

 

December 7

Long Island Railroad

to Penn Station

 

overhear two conductors

talk about how as the train

came in to Rockville Centre

a passenger was attacked, choked

and they tried to grab his phone

 

6^th Avenue Symphony

 

Oh hell no. Oh hell no. Here’s the deal. This woman is 80-year-old batshit razy. She gonna drop that shit in your lap. Wanna know why? Wanna know why? You know why they scared? ‘Cause she prob’ly done heard that shit. Just a way to cop out. So thank you, truly. I know I know. I don’t wanna see you. I genuinely don’t wanna see you. Slap ‘em down. It’s an awkward position for you.     

With Barbara Lynn Cantone and Colin Poellot

With Barbara Lynn, my best friend since 10th grade