POETS PICNIC SATURDAY/ INDEX ART FESTIVAL & other news....

MID-JULY POETRY E-NEWSLETTER TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.Reminder: WA/OR Poets Picnic in Vancouver this Saturday from noon to four! 2. Christopher Luna, Lorraine Healy, Jeff Lair, and others read at the Index Arts Festival August 1 3. New links for Christopher Luna poetry, audio, reviews, and more on http://christopherluna-poetry.blogspot.com 4. August Postcard Poetry begins soon! Register now! 5. Portland Bridge Walks with Sharon Wood Wortman 6. REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS for EcoNvergence: Northwest Regional Gathering on the Economic and Ecological Crises October 2 - 4, 2009 in Portland, Oregon 1. This Saturday from noon to four is the annual gathering of Washington and Oregon poets. This year’s picnic will take place at my home in Vancouver. Please bring poems and food to share. RSVP (christopherjluna@gmail.com) for directions. 2. The following week I will be one of the featured readers at the Index Arts Festival. Many thanks to Roy Seitz for inviting me to be a part of this. Details below: Index Arts Festival Begins 10:00 AM August 1st. Over 30 booths Music in to the night.... Poetry Reading Begins 11:00 AM 18 of the North West's finest poets Index Wa.., Sportsman’s Hall, on Avenue ‘A’ at Sixth. Hwy 2 left turn at the Index Café (MM 36) 1 mile to fifth. Left over the river. (only an hour or so from the Montlake cut.) http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Index&state=WA&zipcode=98256 Jack McCarthy, Victory Lee Schouton, Lorraine Healy, Murray Gordon, Jeff Lair, Nancy Dahlberg, Priya Keefe, Christopher James Jarmick, Roy R. Seitz, John Akins, M Anne Sweet, Garrett Rutledge, Mary Crane, Peter Zlinsky, John Burgess, Paul E. Nelson, Christopher Luna, and a few locals...MC: R.R. Seitz. Further contact: hanpi777@hotmail.com Plus, over forty of the NW’s finest artists in printing painting, photographer and purveyors of trinkets. A music stage until 10 PM that will include many surprise musicians of national notoriety. 3. Thanks to Lynn Alexander for her review of Ghost Town on Full of Crow: http://fullofcrow.com/crowreviews/2009/06/ghost-town-usa-by-christopher-luna/#more-106 Check out MICrow, a flash fiction supplement from Full of Crow: http://www.fullofcrow.com/microws2009main.html I recently posted some new audio on the blog, including my reading at First Friday in Vancouver, which was broadcast by KOUG radio’s Cara Cottingham: http://randomrequestradio.blogspot.com/2009/07/koug-simulcast-from-first-friday-7309.html I also posted a link to the Center for Book Arts. In 2001 I was fortunate to be invited to read at the Center for Book Arts in New York. To commemorate the reading, CBA created a beautiful, limited edition broadside of my poem “message from the vessel in a dream.” You can purchase a copy of this broadside for $10: http://www.centerforbookarts.org/bookstore/broadside/detail.asp?pubID=103 4. From Lana Ayers: Please join us for the annual August Poetry Postcard Fest. Every day for the month of August you compose a short poem on the back of a poetcard and mail it to the person on the list below you, working your way down the list until you've sent 31 cards. To join register at http://concretewolf.com/august and create a login and password. Have fun! Regards, Lana http://LanaAyers.com 5. THE SECOND OF THREE 2009 PORTLAND PARKS & OUTDOOR RECREATION BRIDGE, POETRY, AND MUSIC WALKS TAKE PLACE SATURDAY, JULY 25 Contact: Nancy Harger, Portland Parks - 503 823-5127 or Sharon Wood Wortman 503 222-5535 Matthew Dickman, winner of the 2008 APR/Honickman First Book Prize for his book All American Poem, grew up in Lents, a Portland neighborhood located 92 blocks and several poems east of the Willamette River. Sharon Wood Wortman started first grade at Oliver P. Lent School in 1950. Her first book, The Portland Bridge Book (OHS Press, 1989), came about as a result of her question, "Are these bridges safe?" Her mother and grandmother suffered phobias, among them gephyrophobia--fear of bridges. (Wood Wortman's family crossed the Willamette River into downtown Portland about as often, she said, as they flew to New Jersey.) The two ex-Lentsers take on the Central City bridges on Saturday, July 25, 2009. Meets at 8:30 a.m., corner of NW Second & Everett (steps of the Northwest Natural Building). Ends with lunch (extra $) in Chinatown. $16 for adults, $10 for children. Due to the Morrison Bridge’s sidewalk reconstruction, the 2009 walks visit the operator’s house of the Burnside Bridge. Opened in 1926, Burnside is designed with a lift span that weighs 5,000 tons—exciting, especially since the pile “clusters” supporting the bridge’s river piers are made of 40-foot-tall Douglas fir tree trunks. A total of 380 tree trunks, much like an underwater pincushion, support each bascule. About a mile long and easy-paced, the walk includes a tour of the Oregon Dept. of Transportation’s Traffic Management Operation Center and the Historic American Engineering Record Willamette River Bridges Exhibit. See eight bridges in all, with several stops for the reading of poems. An excerpt (last 11 lines) from "Lents District," by Matthew Dickman Dear Lents, Dear 82nd avenue, dear 92nd and Foster, I am your strange son, you saved me when I needed saving and I remember your arms wrapped around my bassinet like patrol cars wrapped around the school yard the night Jason went crazy— waving his father’s gun above his head, bathed in red and blue flashing lights, all American, broken in half and beautiful. The 2009 series concludes with singer Mary Flower on Saturday, October 10. 6. Dan Raphael sent the following info about an exciting and important event that he has had a hand in planning: REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS EcoNvergence: Northwest Regional Gathering on the Economic and Ecological Crises October 2 - 4, 2009 in Portland, Oregon Proposal Due Date: August 8, 2009 Our nation and the world are facing two great crises. The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression is accelerating. Foreclosures, bankruptcies, and layoffs continue to rise as older generations watch hard earned savings vanish, younger families live in fear of layoffs and bills they cannot pay, immigrants face increased detention and deportation, and students despair of finding jobs when they graduate. Meanwhile, the government persists in futile attempts to rescue the insolvent banks whose reckless behavior triggered the crisis through trillion dollar bailouts at taxpayers’ expense. The greatest ecological crisis humanity has ever faced continues unabated. Temperatures continue to rise, ice continues to melt and more rain forests are plowed down as the planet lurches forward into dangerous, unchartered waters. Meanwhile, well-heeled lobbyists for fossil fuel industries and global agribusiness gear up once again in Washington DC and State legislatures across the country to stymie attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Northwest region of the United States has pioneered effective responses to environmental and economic problems in the past. A decade ago the “Battle for Seattle” during the World Trade Organization Ministerial meetings sparked a critical reevaluation of neoliberal globalization. Now that this model has been thoroughly discredited, it is time for us to collectively determine what comes next. This October, internationally known speakers such as keynote speaker Noam Chomsky will join academics, activists, and others from the Northwest in Portland, Oregon to explore the way forward out of the twin crises challenging humanity. The gathering will be hosted by the First Unitarian Church of Portland whose ministries have a long history of aiding campaigns promoting social justice and environmental preservation. The Conference is being organized by participating organizations from a variety of sectors. For a full list of participating organizations, email econvergence.program@gmail.com. Environmental, labor, human rights, student, peace, and community organizations are all invited to contribute to the event. There will be dozens of panels and workshops each day exploring how we can make positive changes within our communities as part of a national process to respond to the current economic and ecological crises. If you would like to be a part of this exciting event by hosting a panel or workshop, we invite you to submit a proposal for consideration. If you would like to get involved in the conference planning process as an individual or a participating organization, please contact econvergence.program@gmail.com. Important Information about Conference Sessions Please review the information below and contact us if you have any questions. Session Topics Each session must focus on some aspect of either the financial and economic crisis or the climate and ecological crisis, or the overlap between the two. The conference intends to provide attendees with an analysis of both “what went wrong” and “what we can do now”. Sessions analyzing the origins of the crises, sessions presenting a vision of a just and sustainable world, and sessions examining responses and/or solutions to the crises will all be considered. Analyses from both academic and activist points of view will be welcomed. Sessions may focus on either a global/national scale or a Northwest regional/local scale. We encourage creative, innovative proposals that are in alignment with the conference theme. Session Format Sessions of many formats will be considered. Examples of session formats include lectures/panels, interactive workshops, art/music/cultural events, and public actions. Each session must provide a facilitator or team leader for the session. We encourage all types of learning and will include sessions from all formats in the conference. Session Dates & Times Sessions will be held on the following dates: · Friday, October 2 (at First Unitarian Church, depending upon demand) · Saturday, October 3 (all day at First Unitarian Church) · Sunday, October 4 (morning and early afternoon at Portland State University) Session Length The final schedule for the conference has not been determined. Please indicate your preference for the length of your session (60 minutes, 90 minutes, or 120 minutes). The Program Committee reserves the right to determine the final length of each session based on schedule demands. Session Coordinator All sessions must designate a Session Coordinator on your application. This person will serve as the primary liaison to the Program Committee in terms of conference planning and scheduling. Coordinators are responsible for organizing, introducing, and facilitating their sessions and providing the Program Committee with all necessary information prior to the conference. Presenter Travel & Housing Unfortunately, we are not able to provide travel reimbursement at this time. All presenters will need to make their own travel arrangements and cover their own travel expenses to and from the conference. The Conference Committee will be organizing a limited number of housing accommodations for those traveling from out of town. If you would like to request a homestay during your time in Portland, please indicate this on your application. Session Materials Presenters will be responsible for providing their own handouts and other session materials for conference participants. Audio-Visual and Other Equipment A limited amount of audio-visual and other equipment (e.g. screen, projector, DVD player, flipchart & markers, etc.) will be available for presenter use, however, we cannot promise equipment for all sessions. If you have access to your own audio-visual and other equipment that you could bring, that would be most appreciated. If you need audio-visual or other equipment provided, please indicate this on your application and we will do our best to accommodate your request. Presenter Discount Session presenters will be able to attend other conference sessions at no charge. Submission Process and Deadline Submission Process Proposals are due by August 8, 2009. Please submit your proposal electronically to econvergence.program@gmail.com. The subject line needs to read: “EcoNvergence Session Proposal”. Only proposals which follow the format below will be considered. Proposal Format Your proposal must include all of the following information: 1. Presenter Information · Session Coordinator: Provide full name, organizational affiliation, title, address, email address, and telephone number. · All Other Presenters: Provide full name, organizational affiliation, title, and email address and/or telephone number. · Background: Provide a brief description of the presenters’ experience providing workshops and/or presenting the material covered in their session. · Participating Organization: Please indicate if any of your presenters are representing a participating organization involved in the planning of the conference and, if so, which organization they represent. 2. Session Scheduling · Date & Time: Please rank your preferences (1, 2, 3, etc.) for the date and time of your session. If you absolutely cannot present during a particular timeslot, please leave it blank. Please note, workshops may or may not be held on Friday, October 2 depending upon demand. ___ Friday, October 2 – Morning ___ Friday, October 2 – Afternoon ___ Saturday, October 3 – Morning ___ Saturday, October 3 – Afternoon ___ Sunday, October 4 – Morning · Length: Please rank your preferences (1, 2, 3) for the length of your session. The Program Committee will determine the final length for all sessions based on schedule availability. ___ 60 minutes ___ 90 minutes ___ 120 minutes 3. Area of Focus · Crisis: Each session must focus on at least one of the following crises. Please indicate which crisis your session will address (check all that apply): ___ Economic / Financial Crisis ___ Ecological / Environmental Crisis · Please explain briefly how your session relates to the economic and/or ecological crisis and the conference theme. · Scale: Please indicate the level/scale on which your workshop will focus (check all that apply): ___ Global ___ National ___ Northwest Region ___ Local (City/Neighborhood) 4. Descriptive Title and Short Session Description · Provide a title that captures the subject of your session. The Program Committee retains the right to work with session coordinators to develop alternative titles at their discretion. · Provide a short description of your session (2-6 sentences) that may be used in the conference brochure and/or other conference materials. This description may be edited at the discretion of the Program Committee. 5. Presentation Style · Please select which of the following best describes your session: ___ Lecture/Panel ___ Interactive Workshop ___ Art/Music/Cultural Event ___ Public Action ___ Other: ________________________________________ · Provide a brief description of your presentation style and the approximate amount of time dedicated to each style (e.g. 75% panel presentation and 25% question and answer or 25% presentation, 25% discussion, and 50% interactive activity, etc.). 6. Session Materials · Please describe any materials that you will be distributing to participants. 7. Audio-Visual and Other Equipment · Please list any audio-visual or other equipment you will bring with you (please indicate if electricity will be required). · Please list any audio-visual or other equipment you are requesting the Conference Committee provide for you (e.g. screen, projector, DVD player, flipchart & markers, etc.). No guarantees regarding equipment can be made at this time. 8. Housing for Presenters If any of your presenters are traveling from out of town and would like a homestay arranged, please provide the following information: · Number of presenters requiring housing · Names of those requiring housing · Dates housing will be required (Thursday, October 1 to Sunday, October 4) · Whether you need a private room or are comfortable on a couch or floor · Whether you have any special needs (e.g. allergies, no pets, smoking/non-smoking, etc.) Notification You will be notified whether or not your proposal is accepted. Notifications will be sent primarily via email and should be sent around the end of August. Contact If you have any questions about the conference or the proposal application process, please contact us at econvergence.program@gmail.com. We look forward to seeing you at EcoNvergence: Northwest Regional Gathering on the Economic and Ecological Crises in Portland, Oregon!

POETS AT CORNUCOPIA DAYS (Kent, WA) Saturday, July 11

The Northwest Renaissance presents: POETS @ CORNUCOPIA DAYS 2 p.m. Saturday, July 11 Kent Centennial Center 400 West Gowe Featuring Jeff Lair • Susan Landgraf Casey Fuller • Carolyn Maddux ~ & a poetry game with prizes! ~ Celebrating 25 years of poetry in Kent Produced with generous support from the Kent Arts Commission -------------- The Northwest RenaissancePoets, Performers & Publisher CONTACT: Marjorie.Rommel@gmail.com, 253/939-0571 Celebrating 25 years of City-supported poetry in Kent, The Northwest Renaissance presents POETS @ CORNUCOPIA DAYS 2-4 p.m. Saturday, July 11, in the Kent Centennial Center, 400 West Gowe. The program will include readings by four well-published Northwest poets, audience participation games and prizes, and free broadsides featuring poems by each of this year’s readers: Jeff Lair, Susan Landgraf, Casey Fuller, and Carolyn Maddux. Jeff Lair lives and raises chickens in Everett. His poetry is unambiguous, frank, and often surprising in its serious consideration of disillusionment, epiphanies of bewilderment, and death –– always with enough irony to make you laugh. His illustrated books of poems are Bucking and Braying at the Dark Edge, and Tall Grass. Writer/photographer Susan Landgraf’s chapbook Other Voices was published this summer by Finishing Line Press. Her poems have appeared in Poet Lore, Nimrod, Rattle, The Laurel Review, Third Coast Review, Pikeville Review, Interim, Ploughshares, Cincinnati Poetry Review, and The Aurorean, among others. Honors include a Fulbright-Hays grant to travel and study in South Africa and Namibia; awards from the Pablo Neruda Society, Society of Humanistic Anthropology, and Academy of American Poets; residencies at Hedgebrook, Ragdale, Soapstone, and the Willard R. Espy Foundation compound in Oysterville, Washington; and a Theodore Morrison scholarship to attend the Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference. She was awarded an NEH grant to spend five weeks in Peru and Bolivia studying the “Andean Worlds” in 2005, and in 2007 she received a Jack Straw Productions production grant. A former journalist, she taught at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China in 2002 and 2008 through an exchange program with Highline Community College where she teaches writing, literature, and media classes. Casey Fuller lives in a small studio apartment in downtown Olympia, Washington. He works in warehouse and has lots of tattooes. He has been a board member for the Olympia Poetry Network for more than five years and has helped organize roughly 60 poetry readings and 30 poetry workshops. His work has appeared in Switched-on Gutenberg, In Tahoma's Shadow, and Palabra. He received The City of Olympia's Here Today public arts grant in 2009 to create book of photos and poems entitled, What's Being Sent. In August, he will earn his MFA in creative writing from Pacific Lutheran University's Rainier Writing Workshop. Then, he says, he’s going to rest. Carolyn Maddux is a more-or-less retired journalist who teaches creative writing at Olympic College Shelton and sells antiques in downtown Shelton. Her two books are Remembering Water from Bellowing Ark Press and a letterpress chapbook, Voluntary on a Flight of Angels, printed as a benefit for Hypatia-in-the-Woods, a retreat and resource center for women in the arts. Her poetry has appeared in Alaska Quarterly Review, Salal, Crab Creek Review and elsewhere. This program is made possible by generous assistance from the Kent Arts Commission, which has supported poetry in Kent for more than 25 years. The Northwest Renaissance is a nonprofit coalition of Puget Sound-area poets and writers that has produced poetry readings and workshops in many venues since the mid-60s. The organization published an annual chapbook anthology of poems by featured readers as part of its programs at the Kent Canterbury Faire, and now offers a series of free poetry broadsides at Cornucopia Days. The group also has published other anthologies, including Tablets the Rain Inscribes, On the Eighth Day, Pisces, and this year, Jump Start, a collection of poems by established Northwest poets who led workshops for NWR at Highline Community College over a period of 10 years. For more information, contact Marjorie.Rommel@gmail.com.

POETRY E-NEWSLETTER FOR JUNE 2009

Poets and poetry lovers, Summer is here, and poetry is in the air! As always, the PNW is positively brimming with events guaranteed to make you sweat and cry and beg for air conditioning. Allow me to begin by telling you about a few items near and dear to my heart. I’d like to announce an exciting event: “Words,” a show at Angst Gallery that will feature collaborations between poets, songwriters, and other artists. I am seeking poets and musicians who would like to perform during the opening reception on September 4. See item number 1 below for details on how to submit art for the show, or how to be matched up with a partner-in-crime. I can also send you a PDF file of the entry form if you’d like. On June 10, I will be among those who will help Sage Cohen celebrate her fantastic new book, Writing the Life Poetic, at the Vancouver Barnes & Noble, a great resource for new and experienced writers alike. I am proud to be among those who Sage consulted while preparing the book, and she has very graciously asked some of us to share the mic with her that night. See item number 2 below for more details. I am also writing a monthly blog on poetics and community for Sage’s companion e-zine, also available at http://www.writingthelifepoetic.typepad.com/. Let me know if you want to read a copy of the e-zine, or just send Sage an email and get on the list. Sage Cohen is a shining example of the generosity I called for at last month’s open mic: a warm, open, talented person who is always thinking of creative ways to spread the word and get as many people as possible involved in our poetry community. And of course, as always, I am really looking forward to: Open Mic Poetry hosted by Christopher Luna 7:00pm Thursday, June 11, 2009 (& every second Thursday) Cover to Cover Books 1817 Main Street, Vancouver McLoughlin Blvd. & Main Street “always all ages and uncensored” For more info call 514-0358 or 694-9653 christopherjluna@gmail.com http://christopherluna-poetry.blogspot.com With our featured reader, Jeff Lair: Seattle area poet Jeff Lair will read from his two lavishly illustrated books, TALL GRASS and BUCKING AND BRAYING AT THE DARK EDGE, both of which will be available at the reading for $15 each. His often humorous writings turn out poetry's pockets for the spare change of consciousness clinking against the keys of life's dissonant chords where he discovers the sweeter harmonies hidden. Laugh and cry, give death the finger. Don’t miss him! *if* I roll up the living room rug, remove it, will the cat still puke? Jeff Lair POETRY E-NEWSLETTER FOR JUNE 2009 (compiled by Christopher Luna) TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. First Friday Artwalk in Vancouver June 5 Submission Call: WORDS 2. Writing the Life Poetic Reading at Barnes & Noble Vancouver with Sage Cohen and Friends June 10 3. Upcoming readings featuring Judith Arcana 4. Show and Tell Gallery Events June 1-15 5. Mountain Writers Series Columbia Gorge Writers Conference June 19-21 6. Green Poems Contest Guidelines 1. From Leah Jackson, Director of Angst Gallery: You are invited to attend the First Friday Artwalk Reception Hosted By 1220 Main Street Restaurant and Bar 1220 Main Street Corner of 12th and MainStreet First Independent Bank Building Vancouver, WA 98660 360.448.2020 www.1220main.com Friday, June 5th 5:00 - 7:00pm (please feel free to share this invitation with others - everyone is welcome) A free, fun evening of wine, hors d'oeuvres and guided tours of Vancouver's Fine Art Galleries! Come discover the art enthusiast in you! Please RSVP to Kristy Weaver at 360-735-3707 or firstfriday.artwalk@yahoo.com by June 4, 2009 Doing what you love is also good for you. Community Choices and Steps to a Healthier Clark County reminds us that: "Walking is for All Reasons and for All Seasons" Participating in First Friday Artwalk adds healthy steps to your life. ************************************************************ WORDS A juried show of art inspired by words (or words inspired by art) Have you been inspired by a word, a phrase, a speech, or a song? Have you written a poem, story, or song inspired by a work of art? All media are welcome, including the written word. Angst Gallery is currently accepting submissions for a juried show exploring the power of words. Accepted work will be on display in Angst Gallery for the month of September 2009. Work submitted and accepted must be available from August 24 – September 27, 2009. Entry Deadline is July 31. Show runs September 4-27. Opening night, September 4, will feature a live collaborative project. Are you interested in collaborating to create such a piece? Contact Angst Gallery by Saturday May 30 to be connected with another artist. How to enter: Fill out attached entry form and include a $20 jury fee made payable to Angst Gallery. Include up to 3 images that best represent each piece. A maximum of 3 pieces may be submitted. Images may be photos, slides, or digital images on CDR. These will be returned if you include a self-addressed stamped envelope. For further questions please email leah.angstgallery@gmail.com Official rules and regulations Entry form must be completed and returned with the $20 fee. Work submitted must be ready to hang if selected. Entries must be received by July 31. Artists will be notified by August 14 if accepted. Work must be at Angst Gallery by August 24. All art must be delivered to Angst Gallery and picked up when the show ends. If art is being shipped, return shipping must be included. Art that is not picked up 30 days after the show ends becomes property of Angst Gallery and may be sold (unless prior arrangements are made). Artists will receive 60% of the sale price of their work that is sold during the show. Angst Gallery will collect a 40% commission. An artist reception will be held on September 4 from 5-9pm. Angst Gallery 1015 Main St Vancouver WA 98660 360.253.1742 www.angstgallery.com Name______________________________________________ Address____________________________________________ City__________________State_________Zipcode__________ Email Address________________________________________ Phone number_______________________________________ Title #1_____________________________________________ Title #2_____________________________________________ Title #3_____________________________________________ Angst Gallery 1015 Main St Vancouver WA 98660 360.253.1742 Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat 12-5pm (or by appointment) 2. From Sage Cohen: I'll be taking the show on the road in June to discuss Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry in Newport, OR and Vancouver, WA! Come on out and join me, won't you? This Tuesday, June 2, I'll be leading a Writers-on-Writing Workshop at the monthly Willamette Writers meeting in Newport. We'll explore what it means to live and write a poetic life--and will do a few exercises to prime your poetry pump. Tuesday, June 2, 7:00 p.m. Oregon Chapter of Willamette Writers Writers-on-Writing Workshop: Writing the Life Poetic Newport Public Library McEntee Room 35 NW Nye St. Newport, OR For more information, contact Sue Lick at suelick@casco.net or Dorothy Blackcrow Mack at dmack@netportnet.com. * * * * * Next Wednesday, June 10, I'll be joined by seven Writing the Life Poetic contributors as we celebrate the publication of Writing the Life Poetic at Barnes & Noble, Vancouver, WA. You'll hear excerpts from the book as well as wisdom and poetry from: Lane Browning, Dale Favier, Sara Guest, Christopher Luna, Toni Partington, Shawn Sorensen and Steve Williams. The event will be hosted by the one and only Shawn Sorensen, master of ceremonies. Wednesday, June 10, 7:00 p.m. Book launch reading and celebration featuring Sage Cohen and special guest contributors to Writing the Life Poetic Barnes & Noble Vancouver 7700 NE 4th Plain Blvd. Vancouver, WA (easily accessible from both major freeways) For more information please email Shawn Sorensen at crm2679@bn.com. 3. From Judith Arcana: Come to these independent bookstores for evening readings by Judith Arcana from her new chapbook 4th Period English poems written in the voices of high school students talking about immigration arguing and thinking together about those always-attached themes: race, nation, class, border & language June 4, 7pm at Looking Glass Books in SE Portland and/or July 9, 7pm at Cover to Cover Books in Vancouver, WA (with its regionally renowned Second Thursday open mic series) Both readings include work-in-progress; pick one date or come to both - mark your calendar now! Reading and writing are sustainable and organic. Support your local independent booksellers to maintain the community you need. for more info: http://juditharcana.com/index.php/arc/events/ and http://juditharcana.com/index.php/writing/book/4th_period_english 4. From Melissa Sillitoe: Hi Friends! The Show and Tell Gallery is located at Everett Station Lofts: 625 NW Everett Street #231—a working/ living art space community in Portland. Featuring visual, literary, and musical programming, Show and Tell Gallery Productions hosts free artistic events in public places and promotes collaborations between indie artists. Find out more about Show and Tell Gallery: www.showandtellgallery.org or Keep up with event listings through Myspace: www.myspace.com/showandtellgalleryproductions or Check out reviews of our events at: http:/www.brokenhours.net/blog Show and Tell Gallery Productions 6/1/2009-6/15/2009 Mark your JUNE Calendar: 6/1/2009, 7:00pm, 3 Friends Mondays Caffeinated Art Series: Jason McBeth Friends Coffee House, 201 SE 12th Avenue Portland, US Cost:free The Lightning Bug Romantics are 2008 Individual World Poetry Slam runner-up Jason McBeth and Michael Roberts, author of the Puschcart Prize nominated collection "No More Poems About The Moon" (2008 Write Bloody Press). Teaming together to eradicate the lines between page and stage poetry, these two touring performance poets are polar opposites. Peanut butter and Jelly and siamese twins. Michael Roberts is trustworthy, heroically humble, and a recognized saint in seven different religions in 32 languages. Jason McBeth, on the other hand, is criminally insane. Formerly an award winning classical theater actor, McBeth grew up as a ’ward of the state’ of California, an upbringing which fostered in him a keen empathy for the plights of the downtrodden and dispossessed. He tackles these issues and more with a ferocious energy and passion that explode upon the page and stage. For more information, audio and writing samples, tour dates, and booking contact info, please visit www.myspace.com/lightningbugromanticstour or call 310-728-9904 Carrie Seitzinger has been featured in poetry venues throughout Orange County, Los Angeles, and San Diego. She self-published her first book of poetry, The Dots Don’t Connect, and one of her poems will be included in this year’s addition of the literary publication Mosaic. She recently has fallen in love with and moved to Portland, Or. 6/1/2009, 8:15pm, Show and Tell Open Mic Three Friends Coffee House 201 SE 12th Avenue, Portland, Oregon, US Cost: FREE You know, you know--this is the Portland community's open mic. With the casual comfort of the coffee shop as your backdrop, and a welcoming audience of artists and appreciators, standing on that stage is everything thrilling. You will be pod-cast so later you can show and tell with all your friends who couldn't make it. In the meantime, you'll enjoy the pleasure of performing with other passionate people and maybe make new friends in the process. Amateurs and verbal veterans alike are in high demand every Monday, so just jump and come do it. You know you're a star, so show us! 6/5/2009, 6:00pm, First Friday and Three Friends Coffee House 201 SE 12th Avenue Portland, US Cost:free Sarah Cruse is this month’s exhibiting artist! Check out her art and enjoy live music by Exosphere at 8 p.m. 6/8/2009, 7:00pm, Caffeinated Art Series: Casey Bush 3 Friends Coffee House, 201 SE 12th Avenue Portland, US Cost:free Casey Bush is a senior editor, book reviews and poetry, for The Bear Deluxe Magazine, the Pacific Northwest’s finest environmental arts magazine, and is Non-fiction editor for the on-line magazine www.WritersDojo.org. Casey will be accompanied by multi-percussionist and didgeridoo master Charles Sorgie. Bill Shively is bringing a host of new material and no musicians (save you in the audience) from Astoria. On the menu are a couple of participation pieces, a broadside about Central Oregon and some frogs. Leuth Novotny nee Bartels (recently married & 8-mo pregnant) has been on extended performance hiatus. The current massage school student & kitchen-witch-crafty domestic goddess-in-training has a variety of art projects in development. Her writing projects involve longer works & burlesque theater concepts, so the artist will be reading excerpts from a multiversal poem-in-perpetual-progress (detailing her love affair with the hyphen!). 6/8/2009, 8:15pm, Show and Tell Open Mic Three Friends Coffee House 201 SE 12th Avenue, Portland, Oregon, US Cost: FREE You know, you know--this is the Portland community's open mic. With the casual comfort of the coffee shop as your backdrop, and a welcoming audience of artists and appreciators, standing on that stage is everything thrilling. You will be pod-cast so later you can show and tell with all your friends who couldn't make it. In the meantime, you'll enjoy the pleasure of performing with other passionate people and maybe make new friends in the process. Amateurs and verbal veterans alike are in high demand every Monday, so just jump and come do it. You know you're a star, so show us! 6/15/2009, 7:00pm, Caffeinated Art Series: Blind Dates 201 SE 12th Avenue Portland, US Cost:free This week we match up James Williams; Kevin Nelson and local poet and open mic hostess, Jamondria Harris. Guest 1 "Jamondria Harris is a poet writing in Portland, Or. She is fighting an often difficult battle to write poems with real objects in them while not taking the "I" for granted.She is fascinated by the surreal aspects of things both outrageous and mundane, and is also the current host of the Alberta St. Broken Word poetry open mic on Tuesdays at the Alberta St. Pub." James Williams makes music that is a mixture of awkward genius and twisted humor that transcends genres and comes solely from the mind of one man, his guitar, his voice, and his computer. He writes: "I am one man in my apartment recording my songs on Garage Band. Kevin Nelson writes poems but prefers to call himself a poet since that’s what his poems do. He has avoided publication to date. As a poet, he crafts clean and tight imagery and delivers it with a powerful punch. On stage he has natural presence and is recognized around Portland and at other random open mic nights in other random states as a rare type of poet performer. He not only writes, he breathes the words in from the page and releases them into life. Show and Tell Open Mic, 6/15/2009 Three Friends Coffee House 201 SE 12th Avenue, Portland, Oregon, US Cost: FREE You know, you know--this is the Portland community's open mic. With the casual comfort of the coffee shop as your backdrop, and a welcoming audience of artists and appreciators, standing on that stage is everything thrilling. You will be pod-cast so later you can show and tell with all your friends who couldn't make it. In the meantime, you'll enjoy the pleasure of performing with other passionate people and maybe make new friends in the process. Amateurs and verbal veterans alike are in high demand every Monday, so just jump and come do it. You know you're a star, so show us! Where else is Show and Tell? * become a "Friend" of Show and Tell on Myspace; stay informally informed about indie art in our community: www.myspace.com/showandtellgalleryproductions If you missed Mondays, you can simply click this link and check out the talent that happened on Show and Tell's Three Friends Stage during previous weeks: http://www.brokenhours.net/podcasts/3F/3F.html Hugs, Melissa Sillitoe, Host/Producer and Nikia Cummings, Marketing Coordinator Show and Tell Gallery: “Art. Caffeine. Collaboration. Good times.” www.showandtellgallery.org 5. June 19-June 21, Mountain Writers Series Columbia Gorge Writers Conference will be held at Columbia Gorge Community College’s Hood River-Indian Creek Campus and will feature award-winning authors William Kittredge, Annick Smith, Vern Rutsala, Tom Crawford, Monica Drake, Ceiridwen Terrill and Gerald Costanzo, the Director of Carnegie Mellon University Press. In addition to three days of workshops and classes, the public may attend readings both Friday and Saturday evenings at the Columbia Center for the Arts, located at 215 Cascade Street, in Hood River. For workshop descriptions and registration, go to www.mountainwriters.org Contact person: Tim Schell at tschell@cgcc.cc.or.us (541) 506-6171. Mountain Writers Series 2804 SE 27th Avenue, #2 Portland OR 97202 503.232.4517 pdxmws@mountainwriters.org 6. Green Poems Contest http://www.virginiabookarts.org/2009/04/green-poems-submit-your-green-poem/ posted by Kevin McFadden: Green. It’s the color of our money and the banner of our environment. It can be drab as olive or sharp as spring. Green Poems is a contest whose name says it all…but not so much that you can’t further the conversation. Envy? Pastures? Miles? Acres? We don’t mind where you take it–the ecological, the economical, the ecologonomical—just not too far afield of the low 500 nms of wavelength. Supported by Poetry Daily and the Virginia Arts of the Book Center, Green Poems is a contest whose prize is a limited edition letterpress broadside and an appearance on Poetry Daily’s internationally reviewed website. Grand Prize: 30 limited edition, letterpressed broadsides, created by artists at the VABC, and special publication of the winning poem on Poetry Daily (poems.com). Contest Guidelines Submission size: Two poems per submission. Each submission should have a separate entry form. Multiple submissions may be sent in the same entry packet, with appropriate forms and fees enclosed. Entry fee: $15 per submission made payable to the “Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.” (The VABC is a program of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.) Entry form: Get form by clicking HERE. For a printed form, send an SASE to: Green Poems-Form Request / Virginia Foundation for the Humanities /145 Ednam Drive / Charlottesville, VA 22903. Submissions received without a completed entry form will not be eligible. Eligibility: Contest open to any poet(s) living and writing in the United States who are not employees, affiliates, or students of Poetry Daily, or the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. Rights to works must reside with the submitting poets, though they may have been previously published. Poems must be original work by eligible submitters. Considerations: No poem should be no longer than one 8.5”x11” page in 12 pt font. Poems should be stapled together and submitted “blind,” with identifying information appearing only on the entry form. Winning poems and honorable mentions may be made available online for a limited time on the VABC website, pending permission of the author. Deadline: Submissions must be postmarked by July 1, 2009. Notification: Winners will be announced in September 2009. Judges: Poets and artists of the Virginia Arts of the Book Center. Selections will be made on literary merit, engagement of theme, and visual interest as a broadside. Judges are poets whose backgrounds are in publishing and book arts. Each has editorial experience with nationally recognized journals, anthologies, and/or prize committees, including the Virginia Quarterly Review, Best New Poets, Little Big Form, and recent VABC Companion Poems, Belle Letters, and Taste ‘Test contests.