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Christopher Luna by Alisha Jucevic for the Columbian

Christopher Luna by Alisha Jucevic for the Columbian
Christopher Luna by Alisha Jucevic for the Columbian
Showing posts with label Niche. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Niche. Show all posts

Sunday, March 3, 2019

Collages by Christopher Luna for Women Warriors at Angst Gallery March 1-23, 2019

"Don't wait." Artist Trading Card by Christopher Luna

Women Warriors Artist Trading Card: Emily Dickinson

Women Warriors ATC: For Aretha (poem by Christopher Luna)

Emergent Goddesses of the Frozen Wood by Christopher Luna

Women Warriors ATC: Jane Bowles by Christopher Luna

Women Warriors ATC: Sylvia Plath by Christopher Luna

Women Warriors ATC: "to speak. YES YES" by Christopher Luna

Women Warriors ATC: Venus by Christopher Luna

Women Warriors at Angst Gallery March 1-23, 2019

Angst Gallery recognizes that women have shaped society in ways for which they are not often enough acknowledged. For the month of March, Angst Gallery will celebrate Women Warriors in all their various incarnations.

Women Warriors at Angst Gallery March 1-23, 2019

Angst Gallery
1015 Main Street
Vancouver, WA 98660

Hours: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday 12-4.
Accessible via Niche Wine Bar (1013 Main Street) after 4pm Tuesday through Saturday.

Women warriors come in all shapes, sizes, and ages: Malala, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Florence Nightingale, Great Aunt Beatrice. So many women inspire us behind the scenes or in the public eye. What makes a woman warrior? Not all heroism involves violence. What drives such acts of heroism? What qualities or circumstances drive women to push back, protect, or change the world? Who are the women in your life who inspire you?

In 2018 the New York Times recognized that they had overlooked many important women in their obituary section and have been working to go back into the archives and feature those who were overlooked.

In Sweden, ancient Viking remains were discovered to actually belong to a female and not a male 100 years after they were found. Sometimes it is our tendency to incorrectly assume that remains from archaeological conform to stereotypical gender roles. What other assumptions have we made in history? What assumptions will be made when looking back 100 years from now?

“Wonder Woman lived: Viking warrior skeleton identified as female, 128 years after its discovery” By Amy Ellis Nutt September 14, 2017

For more information about National Women’s History Month, visit the National Women’s History Alliance website

International Women’s Day is March 8, 2019.

Since its opening in 2008, Angst Gallery has hosted solo and group shows featuring more than 300 local and national artists and cultural events including art shows, musical performances, book launch parties, art talks, classes, workshops, and the monthly Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic. More than just a place to show art, Angst Gallery is also a safe space for community discussion, where all people are respected for who they are. We donate the use of the space to organizations that work for human rights and progressive social change.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Bid on a poetry trading card by Niche Poet Laureate Christopher Luna to benefit VSAA's jazz program

Update, February 22: Congratulations to Jennifer Pratt-Walter ($20) and Peggy Bird ($25) for their winning bids on the poetry trading cards I created to benefit VSAA's jazz program. I would also like to thank Jamie Lutz and Amy Horstman for participating in the  auction. Keep supporting the arts.   



Christopher Luna working on poetry trading cards at Niche 
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 Photograph by Daniel Wickwire

I had a great time at Niche Wine and Art bar Wednesday night, listening to some very talented young jazz musicians from the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics. Every Wednesday this month, Niche will present jazz performances to benefit the school's musicians. Here is the announcement from Niche's Facebook page: "During the entire month of February a selection of wines and sodas will be supporting the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics jazz program. Profits from these items will be donated to the VSAA jazz students for travel. Enjoy a great restaurant while supporting great jazz! Every Wednesday for the rest of the month the actual jazz performers from VSAA will be here (with special guests)!!"

I occasionally create poetry trading cards and postcards while hanging out at the bar. I created three new cards that night, and while one is spoken for, I am offering up two of the cards to the highest bidder. I will donate all of the money raised to the VSAA Jazz program. Please contact me on Facebook or via email (christopherjluna@gmail.com) no later than 5pm Wednesday, February 22 if you would like to bid.

  RE-EMERGENCE
poetry trading card by Christopher Luna
February 15, 2012

 EQUINOX
poetry trading card by Christopher Luna
February 15, 2012

Opening bid: $5 Jamie Lutz

Finally, here is the third card I created that evening, which is not available for auction because I gave it to young bandleader and bassist Stu Jackson: 

a dirty word, but it comes out clean (Jack Kerouac)
for Stu Jackson
poetry trading card by Christopher Luna
February 15, 2012

I will be posting more examples of these trading cards soon.

Thank you for supporting art, poetry, and jazz in the 'Couve.

Christopher Luna
Niche/Angst Poet Laureate

Saturday, January 14, 2012

The Work poetry workshop returns today

Today at noon we will gather at Niche Wine and Art Bar (1013 Main Street) for The Work a monthly poetry workshop designed to help you generate some new work. After a brief hiatus for the holidays, we're ready to get back to it. We'll take our inspiration from poems by Gwendolyn Brooks, Ishmael Reed, Jack Kerouac, Langston Hughes, Suheir Hammad, Marge Piercy, Victor Hernandez-Cruz, Richard Krech, and Dan Raphael.





Well, while I'm here I'll
do the work –
and what's the work?
to ease the pain of living.
Everything else, drunken
dumbshow

Allen Ginsberg, “Memory Gardens”

Why do we write? What is the poet’s place in the world? What can we do to increase our ability to inspire and provoke with our words? How do we integrate our compulsion to create into our everyday lives? These and other questions and will be addressed in The Work, facilitated by Christopher Luna. At noon every second Saturday we will gather at Niche Wine and Art to listen to, discuss, and write poetry. The cost is $20 per session or $45 for three months. For more information contact Christopher Luna at christopherjluna@gmail.com or 360-910-1066.

The Work is sponsored by Leah Jackson, Angst Gallery, and Printed Matter Vancouver.

Monday, October 24, 2011

The Beauty: A poem to congratulate Leah Jackson on the one-year anniversary of Niche Wine and Art Bar

Christopher Luna and Leah Jackson  in front of Angst Gallery
Congratulations to Leah Jackson for creating the coolest spot in the 'Couve. Late last year, Leah honored me by naming me her poet laureate. I didn't know an individual could do that, but Leah is not the kind of person to ask permission. She is the kind of person who makes things happen. Niche is a classy, fun, beautiful place to be, the food is amazing, and the wine is exquisite. I am proud to play a small role in the beauty Leah is nurturing there. Leah has supported me in many different ways since we first met. She has done more than anyone I know to make Vancouver, WA a place where poetry, art, and music thrive.

Here is the poem I wrote in her honor and presented at Niche's one-year anniversary on Saturday:


The Beauty

some hide it
while others wave it
in your face
unsolicited

some plant a seed
others born to tend
still more simply benefit
from the fruit
of their generosity

our hostess
extends her arms
to surround our light
in a canopy
of evergreen
digs in
don’t let go
builds the stage
hangs the art
lays the foundation
while we sleep

if you want to thank her
get in line
may have to make an appointment
she’s too busy making things better
for all of us

a bard needs a bicycle
a poet needs a mic
a painter needs a wall
a songwriter needs a muse

everyone needs a song
sounds like it was written
especially for you

a citizen needs a drink, companionship,
and a splash of beauty now and then

you’re not alone
you’re not invisible
not insignificant

when it begins to feel as if
no one notices
no one knows you’re there
when you begin to feel you’re on your own
remember there’s a perfect niche
down the street
waiting just for you

With love and respect for Leah Jackson
On the first anniversary of Niche Wine and Art Bar
In gratitude for her service to the community
Christopher Luna
Poet Laureate, 2011
 

Sunday, May 22, 2011

French Poetry with Naomi Fast at Niche Wine and Art Bar Saturday, May 28 at 6pm

Poet Naomi Fast

6pm
Saturday, May 28
Niche Wine and Art Bar
1013 Main Street, Vancouver
Niche poet laureate Christopher Luna invites you to join us for an evening of poetry by Congolese poet Olivier Sangi Lutondo, as translated (from French into English) by Naomi Fast.
Naomi Fast holds Master of Arts degrees in Creative Writing (2005) & Theater Arts (2006) from Portland State University. She has won several awards for her writing, including The Academy of American Poets Prize and The Shelley Reece Award. Her poem "Kajiji Fires" was nominated for a 2009 Pushcart Prize. Naomi works as an adjunct professor at Portland State University and is on the editorial collective for VoiceCatcher, a Portland literary anthology. Most recently, she has published poetry in Ghost Town Poetry, edited by Christopher Luna and Toni Partington. Her website is http://www.wordstothewind.com.
One of Naomi's longer term projects is the translation of a book of poems and prose by Congolese poet, Olivier Sangi Lutondo. Naomi lived in Kajiji, Zaire in the 1980's, and her Congolese tata (aka dad), Pakisa Tshimika, founder of Mama Makeka House of Hope (http://www.mmhhope.org) and Lutondo's cousin, gave her a book of Lutondo's poems to translate from French to English.  The poems you'll be hearing are from this book, La Deliverance Au Paradis-Bar. 
Lutondo, "poète cokwe," (or Tshokwe, an ethnicity inhabiting parts of Angola, Namibia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia) is the "poet of peace" in the land of his birth, where peace is an ever elusive presence. This book introduces us to a truly special and unique people through the voice of their honored poet; we learn of some of their circumstances, hopes and fears, but most of all, we discover the music, poetry and beauty of their spirit.
In the preface of La Deliverance Au Paradis-Bar (New Legend press, 2002), Metena M.Simon-Pierre writes, "It’s this concern for the human condition and the unfulfilled desire for humanity to return to its beauty and original integrity that convinced me to preface this book. Indeed, this desire and quest to be a "better-humanity" come through, like a watermark, the poems and other essays collected in this volume. They echo - at times in rebellion, other times imploringly - the cries of distress, uncertainty, and stubborn hope that constantly disappoints his people... but also of the nobility of a people who know they are called to testify of their courage in this world of infernal machines."

In a letter to Fast, Olivier wrote that what made him a poet is the way poetry allows him to to eternally document, through art, the lives of his people. Her hope, as a poet and a child of Olivier's country, is to help his words be heard by many more people, in another land not really so far away.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

COASTER CONTEST: Niche and Christopher Luna are seeking poetry submissions of five lines or less

COASTER CONTEST: Seeking poetry submissions of five lines or less

by Carol (for Lekker Entertainment http://lekkerentertainment.blogspot.com/)

Niche Wine & Art is embarking on a 'coaster printing spree.' To make the coasters memorable they will be printed with short poems.

Submit your poem of five lines or less prior to February 1. Winners will see their contribution to the written word bandied about the restaurant and beyond.

These special coasters will be produced in a limited edition set exclusively for Niche.

Here are the submission guidelines which are very simple:

Submit no more than 5 lines of poetry (excerpts are okay) via email to Niche poet laureate Christopher Luna.

Include contact information and a one-line bio.

Deadline: Tuesday, February 1, 2011.

Leah Jackson (proprietor of Niche), Toni Partington, and Christopher Luna (resident poet laureate) will choose ten winners from the bevy of submissions. Each winner will receive a set of the coasters and the glory of knowing that their work will be read as someone engages in some serious merriment. Later this year the winners will also be invited to read their winning entries to an adoring crowd at Niche.

If you have never been to Niche, and would like to get a sense of the atmosphere so that your poem can reflect its special ambiance, stop in Wednesday through Saturday for a meal and beverage. "I think you will find that there is no place like it in town.," says judge Christopher Luna.

Niche Wine & Art: 1013 Main Street, Vancouver, Washington 98660.

Right next door to Angst Gallery. Both are just north of the historic Kiggins Theatre, now known as The New Kiggins Theatre (http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-New-Kiggins-Theatre/107050772693120).

Saturday, December 11, 2010

"The Work" takes place at noon today/ Leah Jackson honors Christopher Luna's sefvice to the poetry community


Please join me at noon today for “The Work,” my monthly poetry workshop at Niche in Vancouver. If you haven’t stopped into Niche yet, you should know that it has quickly become the coolest place to hang out in the ‘Couve. Niche is located at 1013 Main Street, just north of the Kiggins Theater. Today we will use the work of Saul Williams, Grace Paley, William Stafford, Galway Kinnell, and Michael McClure as inspiration for our writing and discussion.


Thanks to everyone who attended Thursday night’s open mic poetry reading at Niche. We are fortunate to have the support of Leah Jackson as the Ghost Town Poetry tour continues. The lineup included a lively mix of old and new friends, including a few first-timers and Kiefer Peh, a rapper who I recently met at the open mic at Barnes and Noble Vancouver. One of the reasons that I am so glad that I met Kiefer is that there are still some out there who don’t believe that rap is poetry. I am grateful to Kiefer for helping us to set them straight.


I was surprised to see Mel Sanders, owner of Cover to Cover Books (http://covertocoverbooks.net/), who came out to support the women of the VoiceCatcher collective. Mel informed the crowd that while the bookstore is being rebuilt after a recent fire, she is taking orders through ABE Books (http://abebooks.com/). You can also send an email to mail@covertocoverbooks.net. So if you’d like to thank Mel for her years of service to the local poetry community, and help her get back on her feet, order your Christmas gifts through her.

Toni Partington did a great job of organizing and hosting the Voice Catcher 5 book launch. It was wonderful to hear from some of the writers and artists who are in the anthology, including a few women for whom Voice Catcher 5 is their first publishing credit. Thanks also to those VoiceCatcher editors and board members who were present.

After the reading, my friend and fellow community organizer Leah Jackson honored me by announcing her decision to name me the poet laureate of her businesses, Angst Gallery and Niche Wine and Art Bar. She made this decision to acknowledge my seven years of service to the local poetry community as a teacher, event organizer, mentor, and the host of the popular open mic reading series at Cover to Cover Books. Leah Jackson and I have organized several events together at both Sixth Street Gallery (where she was the director from October 2004 - October 2007) and Angst Gallery. These included a 50th Anniversary reading of Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl,” which I arranged for 14 voices, July’s exhibit and performances celebrating “To Be Named,” the collaborative travel poem and art book I created with Toni Partington and David Madgalene, and “Words,” an exhibit that showcased text-based art.

Christopher Luna and Leah Jackson
at July's First Friday celebration for
To Be Named and Other Works of Poetic License
an art book by Christopher Luna, David Madgalene, and Toni Partington
http://www.tobenamed-artandpoetry.blogspot.com/

Jackson has charged me with developing several projects, beginning with a contest seeking submissions for lines of poetry to be printed on a limited edition set of coasters for Niche. Please send no more than five lines of poetry to me via christopherjluna@gmail.com no later than February 1. The contest will be judged by Leah Jackson, Toni Partington, and myself. There will be ten winners, each of whom will have their lines printed on a coaster to be used in the bar.

It is my intention to use this opportunity to expand our service to the community, and to help those who are not writers understand why we love poetry so much, and why we find it essential.

Here is Leah Jackson’s statement about why she has decided to honor me in this way: “As the proprietor of Angst and Niche it is my honor to appoint Christopher Luna as poet laureate for my businesses for the year 2011. I have created this position to call attention to the art of poetry, a branch of the arts that can be easy to overlook. Christopher has the skill and the dedication to this art that will allow us to pursue poetry focused projects in Vancouver, the city that I choose to call home. In the following year, Christopher will work on three poetry-based projects. These projects will be funded by Niche. It is my hope that this is just the beginning of the exciting work that will be done. Thank you to Christopher Luna for accepting this position.”

Finally, here is the Vancouver Voice's announcement of my new position, poetically entitled "Laureate Luna:" http://www.vanvoice.com/article?articleTitle=laureate+luna--1291668880--562&ref=RlJPTXtBcnRpY2xlOkNhdGVnb3J5UG9zdEJyb3dzZXJ9VE97QXJ0aWNsZTpDYXRlZ29yeVZpZXdlcn1NRVNTQUdFe2FydGljbGVDYXRlZ29yeT13b3Jkc30=

Friday, October 8, 2010

Monthly poetry workshop with Christopher Luna Saturday, October 9, 2010

Please join me tomorrow for my monthly workshop. This will be the first workshop held at Niche, Leah Lackson's new wine and art bar. Tomorrow we will celebrate John Lennon's birthday and listen to and read work from Allen Ginsberg, G.L.Morrison, and Akilah Oliver.


"The Work"
Poetry Workshop with Christopher Luna

Why do we write? What is the poet’s place in the world? What can we do to increase our ability to inspire and provoke with our words? How do we integrate our compulsion to create into our everyday lives? These and other questions and will be addressed in The Work, a workshop facilitated by Christopher Luna. From noon til 2:30 every second Saturday we will gather at Niche to listen to, discuss, and write poetry. The cost is $20 per session or $45 for three months in advance. Register now by contacting Christopher Luna at christopherjluna@gmail.com or 360-910-1066. See you Saturday, October 9.

For more information about Christopher Luna, and to learn about poetry events in Vancouver and Portland, go to http://christopherluna-poetry.blogspot.com.

Sponsored by Leah Jackson, Angst Gallery,
and Printed Matter Vancouver

Niche is located at
1013 Main Street
Vancouver, USA 98660

Well, while I'm here I'll
do the work –
and what's the work?
to ease the pain of living.
Everything else, drunken
dumbshow

Allen Ginsberg, “Memory Gardens”

Friday, September 3, 2010

THE WORK: SEPTEMBER 2010

Friends and poetry lovers,

A new season is nearly upon us. Some will return to the classroom. Some will reassess. I am about to begin my 40th year on the planet. What a marvelous adventure it has been. I want to thank everyone in the arts community who has made my time here in the Vancouver metropolitan area so filled with laughter, learning, words, music, and art. I look forward to the discoveries this next year will bring.

The fall marks the return of my workshop, known, like this newsletter, as “The Work,” after a line in “Memory Gardens,” a poem by Allen Ginsberg: “Well, while I'm here I'll/do the work –/and what's the work?/to ease the pain of living./Everything else, drunken/dumbshow.”

We will listen to spoken word recordings, discuss poetry and the poet’s role in the community, and do some writing together. Let me know if you’d like to speak to a former participant of the workshop to determine whether it would be right for you. I am also excited to announce that the workshop will take place in the newly opened Niche, a wine bar owned and operated by Angst Gallery Director Leah Jackson. Niche is located at 1013 Main, right next door to the gallery. The workshop costs $20 and will take place from noon to 2:30 on Saturday, September 11. Hope to see you there.

Congratulations to Dan Raphael on the publication of his selected poems. Dan is someone for whom I have a deep admiration and respect. I want to thank Dan for his freindship, encouragement, and support, and for all that he does to keep poetry alive in the Pacific Northwest.

Here is Dan's announcment about the new book: "I'm very excited about my new book, Impulse and Warp: The Selected 20th Century Poems; it contains poems from my first 13 books, representing over 26 years of work. More information at the publisher http://www.wordcraftoforegon.com/. First reading for Impulse and Warp will be 9/19, 4, at Hawthorne Powell's. Penelope Scambly Schott will also be reading, from her new book, Crow Mercies."
Would you like to see photos and hear audio from Our July 30 viewing party for "When You're Strange," the new Doors documentary? Thanks to Rich Lindsay for recording, editing, and posting the podcast of our Jim Morrison open mic, and Anni Becker for photographing the proceedings. Also, thanks to Jenney Pauer, Bernadette Barrio, Mokii, Rich and Debra Marshall, Kyle David Congdon, Lori and Jake Loranger, Angelo Luna, and Toni Partington for partying with us. Special thanks to my partner Toni for the delicious snacks and beverages:

http://christopherluna-poetry.blogspot.com/2010/08/photos-and-audio-from-special-viewing.html

Thanks to my old friend Jason Mashak for his kind mention of me in this interview for Black Heart Magazine (http://blackheartmagazine.com/2010/08/18/an-interview-with-jason-mashak/). There is a ridiculously long list of Portland poets whom I might never have met were it not for Jason. Please take a look at this interview and consider buying his book, "Salty As a Lip."

M’s poem “Salt” was recently featured on Rattle’s blog. If you go to the page, you can also hear her reading it: http://rattle.com/blog/page/2/

My friend Matt Meighan’s popular songwriting workshop is starting up again:


I've got a couple of spaces left in my eight-week "Songwriting as Truth-Telling" class that starts Tuesday, Sept 28. (It's limited to 8 or 9 people, and there are two classes: 3:30-5:30 pm and 7 - 9 pm). A description of the class can be found here: http://www.songwritingastruthtelling.com/classes.php.

The classes usually get full well before starting, so if you're interested or would like more information, please let me know. - Matt matt@mattmeighan.com

Ed Sanders performing with the Fugs in New York City, 1967
Ed Sanders recently made his seminal book, “Investigative Poetry,” available for free online: http://woodstockjournal.com/pdf/InvestigativePoetry.pdf. This book, which I first read in the Allen Ginsberg Library at Naropa University, cracked my head open and changed the way I thought about poetry forever. Check it out.

Neeli Cherkovski
Photograph by Jannie Dresser
Jannie Dresser has written a good article about Neeli Cherkovski for the SF Poetry Examiner:

http://www.examiner.com/poetry-in-san-francisco/nexus-poet-neeli-cherkovski-walks-the-past-into-the-future

Please join us at Cover to Cover Books on Thursday, September 9,
when our featured reader will be Ed Coletti:

Open Mic Poetry
hosted by Christopher Luna
7:00pm Thursday, September 9, 2010
& every second Thursday
Cover to Cover Books
1817 Main Street, Vancouver
McLoughlin Blvd. & Main Street
“always all ages and uncensored”
For more info call
360-514-0358 or 360-910-1066

Poet, essayist and painter Ed Coletti graduated from Georgetown University and the Creative Writing Masters Program at San Francisco State University (under Robert Creeley). Coletti has published several books of poetry including thawts ($12), Jazz Gods ($9), and Bringing Home the Bones ($9), which will be available at the reading. Recent work has appeared in Big Bridge, divide, Lilliput Review, Italian Americana, Unlikely Stories, Blueline, The New Verse News, Jerry Jazz Musician, poem, and home An Anthology of Ars Poetica (Hill & Waber, 2009 Paper Kite Press). His work also appeared alongside that of Lawrence Ferlighetti and Diane DiPrima in Avanti Popolo, an anthology of Italian-American poets (edited by James Tracy for Manic D Press). Coletti is the publisher of Round Barn Press. He lives with his wife Joyce in Santa Rosa, California where he operates the respected Bay Area-wide Poetry Azul Reading Series. His internet presence includes ″Ed Coletti’s P3” (http://edcolettip3.blogspot.com/) and ″No Money In Poetry” (http://edwardcolettispoetryblog.blogspot.com/).

For more info on Ed, read this recent profile from the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.examiner.com/poetry-in-san-francisco/ed-coletti-s-swan-song-at-poetry-azul-sunday-september-5

blitz chess with eric bourdon & the animals
by Ed Coletti

may need to leave this game before it ends,
nation building is very much like that,
get to know your new-afflicted neighbor
divorce her as you would a coughing pup;

time for sending Christmas cards again arrives
no ritual will ever put the face of god on mystery
political genial jaguars primp and eat the camera
the pump don’t work cause the vandals took the handle

round table pizza prices soar like a rocket through the roof
all the clocks are running backwards once again
martial law about to be declared for the infinite time,
won’t anybody look at me including me?

speed kills, go slowly
Sergeant Pepper’s salt of earth
time hath no fury like a moment cornered
this letter of the law which killeth

let the white space do the talking
martha, mary, joseph,
we gotta get outta this place
before before

or stay awhile longer on the real scene
hoping that your progeny might glean
a bit from such crumbs your nonsense sews
less than a tapestry, more than just clothes.


Onward, instanter,
for there are
no weekends for poets,
Christopher Luna

THE WORK
SEPTEMBER 2010

NEWSLETTER TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. LiTFUSE Launch Party with Susan Rich, Mimi Allin, Elizabeth Austen, and Dan Peters at Hugo House (Seattle, WA) September 7.

2. The Writings on the Wall: Text-Based Interactive Art, Music, Poetry September 10th Launch Pad Gallery (Portland, OR)

3. Karen Tolley, margareta waterman, and David Lloyd Whited at St. Johns Booksellers (Portland) Sept. 11

4. The Studio Series with Barbara Drake and Scot Siegel + open mic at Stonehenge Studios/Ross Island Café Sept. 12 (Portland)

5. Judith Montgomery + open mic at Barnes and Noble Vancouver September 14

6. Figures of Speech: Crystal Williams and BT Shaw + open mic at 100th Monkey Studios September 15

7. Dennis McBride at Paper Tiger open mic September 16 (Vancouver, WA)

8. Spare Room: Jen Currin and Don Mee Choi at Concordia Coffee House (Portland) September 18

9. Paulann Petersen and Paul Merchant at Moonstruck Chocolate Café (Lake Oswego, OR) September 19

10. Two new articles and a publishing opportunity/contest from Sage Cohen

1.
LiTFUSE Launch Party, Sept. 7 @ 7pm @ Hugo House.
Words, music & wonder, featuring Susan Rich, Mimi Allin, Elizabeth Austen, Dan Peters & surprises. $5 donation.

LiTFUSE Poets’ Workshop 10.8.10-10.10.10. LiTFUSE is an annual weekend-long poets’ workshop held in Tieton, WA (near Yakima), for poets of all ages, abilities & styles. LiTFUSE combines writing, performance, meditation, music, camaraderie and natural beauty to IGNiTE your muse. This year’s featured artist, teacher & poet Ingrid Wendt, leads a faculty with deep experience and varied styles. For more information and to register, please visit www.litfuse.us, or email michael@litfuse.us - Northwest Writers, UNiTE!

Michael Schein
LiTFUSE Director
206.714.3178

http://www.litfuse.us/
http://www.michaelschein.com/

2.
The Writings on the Wall
ONE NIGHT ONLY: Text-Based Interactive Art, Music, Poetry
September 10th - 25th, 2010

SECOND FRIDAY
September 10th, 2010
7pm-1am
FREE! ALL AGES!

Northern Soul 45’s lovingly laid down by DJ Asher Loverdi

WHAT IS IT??
Home-made Magnetic Poetry vs. Freestyling vs. Improvisation vs. Live Painting vs. Open Mic

We’re having a happening Happening of sorts, because we believe that YOU, our art-loving public, have something to say, so we’re taking a chance to experiment and providing the tools to make something unique and wonderful! We require YOUR HELP to make the art this month! Bring your FAVORITE WORDS to include in a gigantic text-based experiment in collaborative writing, music and art making.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Come prepared with your thesaurus in tow, ready with ideas and images to share and work into a grand text masterpiece of our collective creation….

We will provide hundreds of blank 3×5 index cards, push pins and markers, along with 40 feet of empty wall and pre-made pronouns, prepositions and nouns- just basics, basically.

YOU and your friends bring ideas along with your favorite adjectives, nouns, verbs. Feel free to bring poems of your own to translate onto the wall, but know that your words will hopefully be cannibalized into other peoples sentences, just like on the fridge.

(you can pre-make 3×5 cards with word on them if you’d like to get extra fancy!)

Over the course of the night, the wall will change and evolve as musicians, artists, DJ’s, MC’s and poets integrate your words and ideas into their flow alongside, as well as performing their own original material.

In between music acts, we will have OPEN MIC opportunities for YOU to share poems, stories and snippets that you have created during the night using the words on the wall.

LIVE PAINTERS
(Artists will sell the work they create through out the night via silent auction)
CHRIS HABERMAN
JENNIFER MERCEDE

LIVE MUSIC, IMPROVISATION & FREE-STYLING

CHILDISH: Poet & songwriter Rob Childish will be bringing original songs as well as lyrics and poems created on the fly

REED WALLSMITH & TIM DuROCHE
Improvisational Jazz

THE WORD ASSOCIATION
Featuring Variant & Pecos B.
Beats, rhymes and stories

NORTH VOID COLLECTIVE & START FIRES:
Featuring: Joe Cyrus, Wellis Fool, Daltonic, DMLH, DJ Shermstixx
Freestyling! Pass the mic….

Launch Pad Gallery - 534 SE Oak Street, Portland, OR 97214 - 971.227.0072

NEW HOURS: Wednesday-Saturday 12 - 4pm, & by appt.

3.
Market Day Poetry Series
Curated by Dan Raphael

*Karen Tolley*
*margareta waterman*
*David Lloyd Whited*

saturday, september 11
12:00 noon
Free admission

St. Johns Booksellers
8622 N. Lombard
503-283-0032
http://www.stjohnsbooks.com/

The Market Day Poetry Series is a collaboration between St. Johns Booksellers and the St. Johns Farmers' Market (located in the nearby plaza), taking place each Saturday at noon during the market season.

About the readers:

*Karen Tolley* announced her love of the written word when she was two years old. she reads and reads and occasionally writes -- as the spirit moves her. her creativity, not limited to words themselves, enhances her environment in many projects of literary focus: a bookstore which is the cultural center of the county; an artisan bookbindery; guiding boards of library and bookfair. local writers value her support and inspiration. she seldom publishes or presents her own writings. this opportunity to hear her read is rare and precious.

*margareta waterman* (author of many books of poetry and fiction, founder of *nine muses books*) is known to most of you. now semi-retired, she reads publically less and less and enjoys it more and more, is very happy to put her voice out into portland air.

*David Lloyd Whited*, currently a planner for the Puyallup Indian Tribe in Tacoma, Washington, lives on Vashon Island with his wife, four cats, a ragged family of raccoons, and various other critters. his reputation as a distinguished poet rests on the integrity of his poetic voice. his recent books include */Shadow Dance/*; */Wet Way Home/*; */The Elevens/*; */3 & 1/*. Now in manuscript, */Olde Man Coyote Goes to Towne/* will be published by nine muses books.

4.
The Studio Series: Poetry Reading and Open Mic will feature Barbara Drake and Scot Siegel on Sunday, Sept. 12, 2010 at Stonehenge Studios/Ross Island Café, 3508 SW Corbett Avenue, Portland 97239 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Free and open to the public, the Studio Series is held monthly on second Sundays. For additional information please contact organizer and host leahstenson@comcast.net.

5.
BARNES & NOBLE VANCOUVER WELCOMES ANOTHER OREGON BOOK AWARD WINNER. Judith Montgomery will read from "Red Jess" and introduce other poems after she drives over from Bend. We are very fortunate to host Judy, our 2nd OR Book Award-winning author in a row and someone who comes highly and widely recommended. The reading, along with an open mic afterwards: Tuesday, Sept. 14th at 7 pm, Barnes & Noble Vancouver, 7700 NE Fourth Plain Blvd., 98662. Order "Red Jess" now and have it come to your home before the event so Judy can sign it! Just click here or paste into address bar: http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?WRD=red+jess&box=red%20je&pos=-1 This is a pre-paid title, and one in plentiful supply. Order on or before Sept. 6th! See you soon, Shawn Sorensen, crm2679@bn.com

6.
Figures of Speech: Join hosts Steve Williams and Constance Hall for our next event on September 15th at the 100th Monkey Studios (110 S.E. 16th Ave, Portland) for a reunion of sorts. B.T. Shaw and Crystal Williams will renew their friendship in person. Earlier, B.T. published an interview with Crystal in the Oregonian. Crystal has been out of the state until recently so this is one of your first chances to hear her since her recognition as a finalist for the Oregon Book Award. And as always, open mic, a writing prompt, cookies, and other fun.

Crystal Williams, a native of Detroit, Michigan, is the author of three books of poetry, most recent of which is Troubled Tongues, winner of the Long Madgett Poetry Prize and finalist for the Oregon Book Award. Her work appears or is forth oming in journals and anthologies including, The American Poetry Review, 5AM, Callaloo, Ploughshares, and The Norton Anthology of African American Poetry, among others. She is a MacDowell Fellow and a recipient of a 2009 Oregon Arts Commission fellowship. She is an associate professor at Reed College.

B.T. Shaw lives in Portland, where she edits the Poetry column for The Oregonian and teaches at Portland State University and in the certificate program at the Independent Publishing Resource Center. Her debut collection, This Dirty Little Heart, won the 2007 Blue Lynx Prize for Poetry. She is afraid of staplers.

Figures of Speech is sponsored by the Oregon State Poets Association.
Third Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m.
Starting January 2011, we’re moving to the third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m.
http://figuresofspeechpdx.wordpress.com/

7.
From Dan Nelson:

Hey there wordsmiths,
Thanks to everyone who attended, read, or publicized August's poetry event at Paper Tiger. It just keeps getting better and better. The variety of subjects and styles and the high quality of the verse make little feet of joy (even the misplaced pride of vicarious identification) go pitter pat through the tunnels of what passes for my mind. We were particularly blessed by the profound words of our featured reader, Kori Sayer, whose honesty is eclipsed only by her talent for creative elucidation of the pains and joys and gray areas of existence. Thank you Kori!

For September I am excited as a vulture over carrion (death smells sweeter to them than lilacs to us) to announce the appearance of Dennis McBride. Dennis is a Portland based free lance loiterer, writer, and part time barfly who barely graduated from Lincoln High School after completing his GED with marginal honors. He received an honorable discharge from the US Air Force after 4 years of service, despite being involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital in Texas for 1 month due to a misunderstanding. He later attended Wichita State for 2 consecutive months. He later spent most of his working life as an un-indicted co-conspirator in the medical/industrial complex. His work has appeared in 'The Oregonian', 'The LA Times', 'The Washington Post', 'NBC Radio-Los Angeles', and numerous poetry anthologies and periodicals including the Canadian magazine 'Open Minds' and the California magazine 'Journal'. He has recieved positive notice of his work from Edward Albee and the late, Pulitzer Prize winning author William Styron. He is the author of two works of poetry and satire, "Looking for Peoria" and "Killing the Mockingbird" He was the recipient of the 1996 Andreas Berger Award for Poetry. He is still alive and lusts, lies, cheats and steals--but only when it's the right thing to do.

So do yourself a favor and be at Paper Tiger, 703 Grand Blvd. (between Mill Plain and Evergreen in Vancouver) on September 16th at 7pm . Please bring a poem or 2 to read at our open mic (5 minute max due to the number of readers), and join with some of the best poets in the Northwest declaiming their heartfelt musings. Plus the coffee can't be beat, as well as a host of other hot and cold beverages. Here's a sampler of Dennis's work to spark a flame of desire.

Dan Nelson 360-334-1129 or nelsondaniel59@yahoo.com

Grace by Dennis McBride

What strangeness comes over us.
The things I've done that don't
belong in a poem and the other
things I've wanted to do that
could not be put in one and the
mind that wonders what that
means about the poem and about
me and why it is the poem saves
us from these things and from
the ones yet to come like an
exit door in a bad movie.
We hope there is a God,
silly, and sinful, and wise
who grades on a curve
from an endless blue sky
almost as large as the heart
which keeps hurting and healing us
and ends when it must like the poem.

Mustard by Dennis McBride

The wrists and mind are weak tonight
and there's so much to do.
I think of all the dirty windows of the world,
the lost keys to locked doors,
and I drift toward the longing of
a slightly burnt hot dog with mustard
like a single engine plane on empty
looking for a sure place to land.
My dog Alfie and I are still alive
and I know this is a miracle.
He's 21 years old.
That's a hundred and forty seven
in human years, but sometimes,
when he's chasing a grasshopper,
he forgets that and his arthritis vanishes.
It's good to desire what you don't have,
even lilacs come back again and again.
Suddenly he's four and a half,
following something inside
the dark cave of his mind,
glittering and sparkling.

The Future of Rome by Dennis McBride

Let's say having increases hunger,
that light makes it harder really to see.
Then suppose, like me, you don't have eyes,
suppose you don't have ears to hear
and there is no nose.
Imagine, like me,
you don't even have a mouth
to put the sweet, soft black berry in.
But suppose there are Red and Green and Yellow,
that you feel them.
Then suppose you had a lamp
bigger than you to lean against,
a dark maroon red carpet to sit on
and a blue teacup large as your chest.
Then imagine, like me,
you were made of gold,
that you were willing to be idle
and were the one to come after Man.
Think of having only to sit,
of the heart's thoughts,
of fear leading finally to safety,
speech to silence.
Think of enough.

8.
From David Abel (Spare Room Collective):

[please note that this reading takes place on a Saturday, not our usual Sunday slot]

Spare Room Presents
Jen Currin
Don Mee Choi

Saturday, September 18
7:30 pm

Concordia Coffee House
2909 NE Alberta
$5.00 suggested donation

www.flim.com/spareroom
spareroom@flim.com

Upcoming Readings

October 3 Robert Mittenthal & Standard Schaefer
November 7 Lewis Warsh & Alicia Cohen
November 14 Les Figues press authors
December 12 Kristen Gallagher & Chris Alexander

==================================================

Jen Currin was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, and lived in Boston, upstate New York, Denver, and Tempe, Arizona, before settling in Vancouver, B.C. in 2002. Jen teaches writing and literature at Vancouver Community College and Langara College. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and an MA in English, and has published three books of poetry: The Sleep of Four Cities (2005), Hagiography (2008), and The Inquisition Yours (2010).

Don Mee Choi was born in South Korea and came to the United States via Hong Kong. Her first book of poems, The Morning News Is Exciting, has just been published by Action Books. She lives and works in Seattle and also translates contemporary Korean women's poetry. Her translations include When the Plug Gets Unplugged (Tinfish), Anxiety of Words: Contemporary Poetry by Korean Women (Zephyr), and Mommy Must Be a Fountain of Feathers (Action Books).

Grafitti or You are on Yew Street
by Jen Currin

We have been busy hating
& making home-spun slogans.

Very busy. A canister of you
is a canister of me.

Walls: We can climb them,
knock them down, or dissolve…

Someone wants to respond,
to enter an egoless room.

You are on Yew Street
facing audio charges,
half-stepping, afraid of drama & editing.

But the undo mob isn’t angry.
They’re busy loving everything.

Taking fire-walking classes,
wondering if the compost worms will eat glass.

It’s not just manipulations on a page.

She let the children throw rocks at her.

It’s not just paragraphs someone wants to call emotional.

Every dog must learn repetition:

Hey, let’s go downtown and pick up some costumes.

& unlearn:

My mask—doesn’t quite fit.


To All Boys and Men!
by Don Mee Choi

Dandelions may not be weeds. They are related to chrysanthemums. Girls should.

May all weeds dislocate themselves. Girls should. I clench my fist and watch the morning news. Dandelion leaves are bitter yet tender. Girls should.

Chrysanthemums are admired. Beware. The early morning news is exciting.

9.
From Joan Maiers:

A HARVEST OF POETRY AND MUSIC FOR AUTUMN

Arrive early to order chocolate or beverages and enjoy hearing two local illustrious authors read their work. Featured are: Oregon Poet Laureate, Paulann Petersen and Oregon Book Award Nominee, Paul Merchant, as well as guitar music by Casey Killingsworth before and after the reading.

Hosted by Joan Maiers.

Free and open to the public.

$5 suggested donation to assist relief work in Haiti.

Sunday, September 19
6:30 PM

Moonstruck Chocolate Cafe
45 S. State Street in downtown Lake Oswego, OR 97034

Accessible with abundant parking.

503-697-7097

10.
Want to be more productive with your writing process and results than ever before? Two, new articles from Sage Cohen can help!

Check out "10 Ways to Be a Productivity Pro" in the "Big 10" (September) issue of Writer's Digest -- available now in your favorite bookstore. This issue can also be purchased here: http://www.writersdigestshop.com/product/print-issue-writers-digest-september-2010/?r=wdbktw072110WD0910-jenkinspromo

Cohen's companion piece, "Top 10 Productivity Pitfalls For Writers To Avoid" is available for FREE on the Writer's Digest website: http://writersdigest.com/article/productivity-pro

Both pieces offer some of the greatest tips from Sage Cohen's latest book: The Productive Writer: Tips and Tools for Writing More, Stressing Less and Creating Success -- to be released in December of this year.

MAKE YOUR POEM AN iPOEM! DEADLINE IS NOVEMBER 1

Want to see your poetry appear in a poem-a-day iPhone app? Submit up to three, 20-line poems that express the spirit of "the life poetic" to "The Life Poetic iPoem Contest" by November 1.

Sponsored by Sage Cohen, author of Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry and The Productive Writer: Tips and Tools for Writing More, Stressing Less and Creating Success, the contest offers a range of prizes with a total value of more than $400.

Get all the details here:

http://writingthelifepoetic.typepad.com/writing_the_life_poetic/2010/08/the-life-poetic-ipoem-contest.html

SUBMISSION CALLS AND OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST

1.
From: allenbraden@comcast.net

2010 WABASH PRIZE FOR POETRY
Final Judge: JANE HIRSHFIELD
http://www.sycamorereview.com/contest/

First Prize: $1000 and winning entry published in Winter/Spring 2011 issue

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSIONS
Deadline: October 1, 2010

1. For each submission, send up to three poems.
2. A $15 reading fee (check or money order) payable to Sycamore Review must accompany each submission. The reading fee includes a copy of the prize issue.
3. Additional poems (beyond the initial three) may be included. Increase the reading fee $5 for each additional poem.
4. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable only if Sycamore Review is notified immediately upon acceptance elsewhere.
5. All entries must be typed and must include a cover letter with the author's name and contact information (mailing address, telephone number, and email address) as well as the titles of all poems submitted. Information that identifies the author should NOT appear on the manuscript itself.
6. Manuscript pages should be numbered and should include the title of the piece.
7. Please include a self-addressed, stamped postcard if you wish to be notified upon receipt of your manuscript.
8. Manuscripts will not be returned. Winners will be announced by Dec. 30, 2010. For information on winners and runners-up, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope with entry.
9. All contest submissions will be considered for regular inclusion in Sycamore Review.
10. All poems must be previously unpublished.
11. Questions may be directed to (replace (at) with @)

Send 2010 Wabash Prize for Poetry submissions and reading fee to:

2010 Wabash Prize for Poetry
Sycamore Review
Department of English
500 Oval Drive
Purdue University
West Lafayette , IN 47907

2.
From: allenbraden@comcast.net

CONSEQUENCE Magazine: Call for Submissions

CONSEQUENCE Magazine is the literary, print magazine addressing the culture of war. We are interested in the personal and social consequences of armed conflict worldwide, and seek multi-national perspectives.

CONSEQUENCE is currently accepting submissions of exceptional short fiction, poetry, non-fiction, interviews, and visual art.

Submissions will be accepted until November 1, 2010.

For information about how to submit your work, please visit our website:

http://www.consequencemagazine.org/

3.
http://www.writeonwhidbey.com/Publications/

Soundings is currently reading for the fall issue, including our two contests, Founders' Circle Award and First Publication Contest. Deadline for these for the fall issue is September 15, but any submissions received at that time will be considered for the spring issue. All entries are considered for publication in the magazine.

Founders’ Circle: $300 award, open to all except staff of the magazine.

All genres, prose and poetry

Length: poetry up to two pages; prose (fiction or nonfiction) up to 3,000 words

Entry fee: $5 for WIWA (Whidbey Island Writers Association) members; $7 for nonmembers

Winner receives publication and $300 & publication

Follow standard submission guidelines for magazine: 12 pt. Times Roman font, double space prose, include small SASE for response or larger envelope for return of manuscript.

Write “Founders Circle Contest” on manuscript.

First Publication Contest: $100 award, open to those who have never before published in a book or magazine open to national submissions nor in a publication advertised or circulated nationally.

Entry fee: $5 for WIWA members; $7 for nonmembers

For this contest, if we receive no entries that do not meet the quality standards of Soundings Review; reading fees will not be returned.

Follow standard submission guidelines for magazine: 12 pt. Times Roman font, double space prose, include small SASE for response or larger envelope for return of manuscript.

Write "First Publication Contest " on the manuscript.

All entries will be considered for publication.

Currently, Soundings Review reads all year. Manuscripts received too late for one issue will be considered for the next. Published authors include Kelli Russel Agodon, Marvin Bell, Larry Cheek, Lorraine Healy, Bruce Holland Rogers, and David Wagoner. Full guidelines at our Website. www.writeonwhidbey.org/Publications