Women and words exhibit coming to art6

Women writers and artists wanted for an exhibit during April celebrating women and words.

If you are a poet or novelist, readings will be held. If you are a visual artist, you may collaborate with a woman writer or exhibit your work that has text as part of the art.

Work due by March 28th at art 6, 6 East Broad St, Richmond, VA 23219

For more information or specific entry requirements email shannp (at) gmail (dot) com

Books for Sale, mostly poetry (MORE!!)

Books for sale cheap- make me an offer ($3-$5 each) for one or more- all are paperback unless otherwise noted, most are poetry (a fewcommentary) If you are in or around Richmond, email me and we'll meet somewhere. Sometime you just have to make room for stuff.

(revised list 2-16-2010)

LIST ONE

Adair, Virginia Hamilton Ants on the melon (hardback)
Aiken, Conrad Selected poems
Alvarez, Julia Homecoming (poems)
Amichai, Yehuda The Selected Poems of...
Ammons, A,R, The Really Short Poems of....
Ashbery, John April Galleons
Belieu, Erin Infanta
Bendall, Mollie Dark Summer
Bernstein, Charles Dark City
Berrigan, Ted Selected Poems
Berrigan, Daniel And the Risen Bread
Carroll, Jim Fear of Dreaming
Clark, Jeff Music and Suicide
Clifton, Lucille The Book of Light
Cohen, Leonard The Spice Box of Earth
collection SLAM
collection Ain’t I a Woman (Hardback)
collection Victorian Woman Poets 1830-1900
Crawford, Robert Talkies
DiPrima, Diane Pieces of a Song
Disch, Thomas The Castle of indukgence
Doran, Geri Resin
Dunn, Stephen The Insistence of beauty
Glazner, Gary Poetry Slam
Gluck, Louise meadowlands
Gray, Janet A Hundred Flowers
Hegley, John Love Cuts
Holstad, Scott C. Artifacts (chapbook)
Jewel A Night Without Armor (hardback)
Levertov, Denise Poems 1968-1972
Logan, William Macbeth in Venice
Lourde, Audre The Marvelous Mathematics of Distance
Mueller, Lisel The Private Life
Nisbet, Jim Small Apt
Plath, Sylvia Ariel
Reed, Lou Between Thoughts and Expressions collected lyrics
Rich, Adrienne What is Found There (plus 2 other books in one)
Talcott, William Benita’s Book
Turow, David The Torchbearer

LIST TWO (even more)

List 2


Bain & Beatty Norton Intro to Lit 6th ed HC
Barratt, Michele ed Virginia Woolf on Woman and Writing
Bryan, edited Where We Stand Women Poets on Literary Tradition
Budbill, David Why I Came in Judeville
Clark, Tom Like Real People
Fenza, D.W. The Interlude
Gallassi, Jonathan North Street
Gluck, Louise Vita Nova
Graham, Jorie The Dream of the Unified Field
Graves, Robert Poems About War
Heany, Seamus Opened Ground Selected poems 66-96
Heyen, William Diana, Charles, and the Queen
Kennedy & Gioia An Intro to Fiction 2nd ed.
Kirchway, Karl The Engrafted Word
Lattimore, Richmond The Odyssey of Homer
Levin, Phillis The Penguin Book of the Sonnet (signed)
Lowell, Robert Selected Poems
Lux, Thomas new & Selected Poems
Matthews, William Selected poems & Translations 1969-91
McCartney, Paul Blackbird Singing
McGrath, Campbell Pax Atomica
Merwin, W.S. The Vixen
Moss, Thyllias Small Congregations
Nemcosky, K.B. Drift
Olds, Sharon The Wellspring
Percham, Robert Mythic Instinct Afternoon
Pinsky, Robert Jersey Rain HB
Pinsky, Robert The Figured Wheel
Rivard, David Wise Poem
Roethke, Theodore The Collected poems of...
Sappho A garland trans Jim Powell HB
Schmidt, Michael Lives of the Poet
Seaton, translation The Wine of Endless Song from the Yuan Dynasty
Shapiro, Alan Covenant
Simic, Charles The World doesn’t end
Smith, Patti Auguries of Innocense
St. John, David The Red leaves of Night
St. John, David The Face
Stevens, Wallace The Collected Poems of ... HB
Suziki, Shunyru Zen Mind, beginner’s Mind
Swenson, Cole Goest
Tost, Tony Invisible bride
Tweedy, Jeff Adult Head
Wakoski, Diane Jason the Sailor
Wakoski, Diane Medea
Walcott, Derek Collected poems 1948-84
Waldman, Anne Structure of the World Compared to a Bubble
Wat, Phyllis The Fish Soup Bowl Expedition
Watts, Alan The Spirit of Zen
Watts, Alan The Book
Whitman, Walt Everyman’s poetry edition
Wiese, Anne Pierson Floating City
Williams, W.C. Paterson
Wright, Charles Appalachia
Wright, Charles Black Zodiac HB
Wright, Charles Chickamauga
Yeats, W.B. Great Irish Poets HB
Yeats, W.B. The Collected Poems of .....

write shannp (at) gmail (dot) com

Tony Hoagland's new poetry book is here!!!

Waiting for my copies of Tony Hoagland's new book
Unincorporated Persons in the Late Honda Dynasty

It's on the way from Fountain Books (my favorite local independent bookseller). I finally had to call and say "mail it". I don't know when we will have spring/no snow-

Here's a tiny bit for you to savor:

_______________________________________________
 Dialectical Materialism




My god there is so much sorrow in the grocery store!

You would have to be high

on the fumes of the piped-in pan flutes

of commodified Peruvian folk music



not to be driven practically crazy

with awe and shame,

not to weep at the scale of subjected matter:



the ripped-up etymologies of kiwi fruit and bratwurst,

the roads paved with dead languages,

the jungles digested by foreign money.

Poetry This Week- Perloff at UR and Art After Hours at VMFA

WEDNESDAY -

UR Writers Series: Marjorie Perloff — The American po­etry critic and author in pro­gram at 7 p.m. in the Brown-Alley Room, Weinstein Hall, University of Richmond. Free.

THURSDAY -
Art After Hours at the Virginia Museum- Tarfia Faizullah

Maybe the snow will be gone enough to get a place to park!

Art After Hours at the Virginia Museum- poetry and more

January 28

MUSIC: Crown Vic - Alt-Country Rock

6:30 & 7 pm ART OF POETRY: Caroline Cahill

7 & 7:30 pm TOPIC TOUR: Art a la carte

for more info go HERE

What He Said...

read about the supposed demise of poetry readers here

Dream On:

                                    James Tate

Some people go their whole lives
without ever writing a single poem.
Extraordinary people who don't hesitate
to cut somebody's heart or skull open.
They go to baseball games with the greatest of ease.
and play a few rounds of golf as if it were nothing.
These same people stroll into a church
as if that were a natural part of life.
Investing money is second nature to them.
They contribute to political campaigns
that have absolutely no poetry in them
and promise none for the future.
They sit around the dinner table at night
and pretend as though nothing is missing.
Their children get caught shoplifting at the mall
and no one admits that it is poetry they are missing.
The family dog howls all night,
lonely and starving for more poetry in his life.
Why is it so difficult for them to see
that, without poetry, their lives are effluvial.
Sure, they have their banquets, their celebrations,
croquet, fox hunts, their sea shores and sunsets,
their cocktails on the balcony, dog races,
and all that kissing and hugging, and don't
forget the good deeds, the charity work,
nursing the baby squirrels all through the night,
filling the birdfeeders all winter,
helping the stranger change her tire.
Still, there's that disagreeable exhalation
from decaying matter, subtle but everpresent.
They walk around erect like champions.
They are smooth-spoken and witty.
When alone, rare occasion, they stare
into the mirror for hours, bewildered.
There was something they meant to say, but didn't:
"And if we put the statue of the rhinoceros
next to the tweezers, and walk around the room three times,
learn to yodel, shave our heads, call
our ancestors back from the dead--"
poetrywise it's still a bust, bankrupt.
You haven't scribbled a syllable of it.
You're a nowhere man misfiring
the very essence of your life, flustering
nothing from nothing and back again.
The hereafter may not last all that long.
Radiant childhood sweetheart,
secret code of everlasting joy and sorrow,
fanciful pen strokes beneath the eyelids:
all day, all night meditation, knot of hope,
kernel of desire, pure ordinariness of life
seeking, through poetry, a benediction
or a bed to lie down on, to connect, reveal,
explore, to imbue meaning on the day's extravagant labor.
And yet it's cruel to expect too much.
It's a rare species of bird
that refuses to be categorized.
Its song is barely audible.
It is like a dragonfly in a dream--
here, then there, then here again,
low-flying amber-wing darting upward
then out of sight.
And the dream has a pain in its heart
the wonders of which are manifold,
or so the story is told.

(article pointed out by poet Sam Rasnake)

Art After Hours- Tonight!! Poet Sandra Beasley! MoDebree!!

serious fun will be had by all at the Virginia Museum!

6-9pm
poetry 6:30 & 7:30

come out of the cold rain!!

$10, cash bar, cash for food or just dance and party down!

Contemporary poetry tricks (and tips)

This is a great post over at HTML blog-

moves in contemporary poetry

I do many of these- hmmm- good to know.

Shann Palmer reading poetry for First Friday

Come to the Richmond Public Library and hear Shann Palmer read her poetry along with Tom Prunier in their acclaimed show "Big Man, Little Woman."

"We begin at 7pm and go until they throw us out. We will have chapbooks and other items for sale." Shann Palmer (in an interview for her blog page.)

"The lightning round had me rolling in laughter- these two really know how to sling words!" William Talcott, The Dead Poets Literary Journal, San Francisco.

"Why isn't Shann Palmer famous?" Stephanie Scott, La Porte Herald (Texas)

Part of the First Friday venue, Shann Palmer is coordinator at art6 gallery, one of the Style Magazine Richmonders of the Year. Tom Prunier is a nationally known Slam Poet.

Happy new year- here's a poem for today!

Psalm 103

Bless the Lord, O My Soul

103:1 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!

2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,

3 who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,

4 who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

5 who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

6 The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.

7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.

8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

9 He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.

10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

13 As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

14 For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.

15 As for man, his days are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field;

16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.

17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children's children,

18 to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his commandments.

19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,
and his kingdom rules over all.

20 Bless the Lord, O you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his word,
obeying the voice of his word!

21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts,
his ministers, who do his will!

22 Bless the Lord, all his works,
in all places of his dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Come to the Richmond Public Library, downtown branch, for First Friday on January 8th!!

At 7pm, Tom Prunier and Shann Palmer will be reprising (and revising) their show:

BIG MAN/Little Woman

We read our original poetry, have a little poem lightning round, and tell you what's what in our inimitable ways.


and yes, I know January 1st is First Friday, but the downtown arts community decided that was just not a good idea- so we moved it!

Poetry reading video

here's me reading using my new FLIP camera-

poetry- Big Man and Little Woman tonight!

Come tonight!!

8pm

art6, 6 east broad st

$5

An interview with Tony Hoagland, my favorite poet!

Check out this page- bookmark if you love poetry!

Tony Hoagland will be reading at the Library of Congress this Thursday at 6:45pm.

Would anyone like to go? I can pay for gas.

FIRST FRIDAY Fundraiser PREVIEW TONIGHT at art6 and Artspace

FIRST FRIDAY PREVIEW TONIGHT at art6 and Artspace

6-10 pm, tickets reserved by phone (343-1406) are $25 (pay at will-call) $30 at the door.

There will be donated platters from local restaurants, a free drink at each gallery, cash bar, and a chance to see the THINKsmall5 show before anyone else in Richmond.

It's also a fundraiser and we need the funds. Grants have been cut, fewer people can afford art, rent is up and revenue is down.

We need you. Please come and see the art, It will be a smaller crowd than First Friday and a lot of great art sells tonight, you'll miss your chance if you wait.

Every two years, THINKsmall happens! This year we have over 300 artists involved from Short Pump to Budapest.

Come support local art, we won't be here long if you don't!

James River Writers Tonight at 6pm

Check the site HERE for more info

It's all about the mystery!!

See ya there!

An interview with Shann Palmer

Check this out over at Poetic Asides.

Are you ready to commit to writing a Poem a Day in November???

work in progress

I'm busy working on the new tiny book material for the Richmond Zine Fest at Gallery 5, THINKsmall at art6 and ARTSPACE, and whatever else comes along.

I love the rainy days, but I could use a little more heat!

When I moved to Richmond in 1971 from Tucson, Arizona I didn't own a winter coat. I don't remember if it was this dreary and cold or not (probably not since we set a record low high yesterday) but I was so cold I went to Thalhimer's and bought a winter coat at full price! It was a brown houndstooth wool maxi-coat with a hood. I loved that coat- it was warm and very fashionable at the time.

Sassoon haircut and new coat, black short boots- I was adorable!!

yeah.

Submissions close next Sunday October 18th!!

Submit to Tiny Books new zine

Tiny Books is a new publishing venture from FlashPaperPublications in Richmond, Virginia.
We are starting a new quarterly zine for small poems.

Submit 1-6 poems (no bizarro formatting)
- 16 lines or less plus title
- 50 characters or less per line counting spaces

Issue #1 will appear around October 30, 2009.

Submission Guidelines
Say what you need in 16 lines or less. Submit one to six poems with a brief cover letter in the body of an email- NO ATTACHMENTS. No previously published work or simultaneous submissions. All rights revert to the author upon publication. Pays three copies.
Electronic submissions only to: flashpaperpoetry@gmail.com

Small books, not much room- don't take it personal!

Wright and Taylor win the Weinstein Poetry Prize for 2009

Charles Wright and Eleanor Ross Taylor have won the Carole Weinstein Poetry Prize ($10,000 each) for 2009.

School of Quietude, another victory! Poetry will stroll its way into the woods, check for owls and deer, dead mules, and back porch meditations. To be somewhat fair (ha!) I like her stuff far better than his, but not being from Virginia originally or caring much for 'nature', I can't say this makes much difference to me.

Poets at the Library of Virginia Tuesday at 6pm

Virginia in Verse: The Poetry of Michelle Boisseau and John Casteen.
Michelle Boisseau, author of A Sunday in God-Years, and John Casteen, author of Free Union: Poems, will discuss and sign their books of poetry. A Sunday in God-Years is centered on the long poem "A Reckoning," made up of 15 shorter poems/sections (some sections are documents like wills and runaway slave notices). The poems in Free Union revolve around physical work, the Appalachian landscape, and family relationships. Casteen, for ten years a designer and builder of custom furniture, covers subjects ranging from the farm to the shop floor, from the rivers of the Piedmont to the wooded shoulders of the Blue Ridge, and from the hyper-attentiveness of childhood through the anxieties and joys of fatherhood.

James River Writers Conference sold out!!

JRWC

is completely full!! If you didn't reserve a spot, you can't come! There is a waiting list sign-up though- every year I've noticed badges that weren't picked up so if you really want to go there might be a chance (things happern).

Thomas Lux will be there representing the poets.

I'll be there, volunteering (representing the poets).

Five Pet Peeves about Poetry

Check this blog out for fun.

from Gary Sullivan

In the meantime, Poetry at VCU in the form of the Levis Prize Winner Katie Ford was quite enjoyable.

Poet Betty Adcock at the Virginia Museum at 6pm

Pauley Center Parlor, 6 pm
Tickets: $8 (VMFA members $5) Ticket Desk: 804.340.1405 or online.

BETTY ADCOCK
Wed, Sept 16
Betty Adcock, the author of six collections of poetry, has been called “the steward of supreme innocence.” She has said that in writing poetry she hopes “to tell the truth and find that it is music.” Adcock has been recognized with two Pushcart Prizes, as well as the Poets’ Prize, the North Carolina Medal for Literature, the Texas Institute of Letters Prize for Poetry, the Hanes Award, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. She teaches in the Warren Wilson College MFA Program for Writers. Her most recent book is Slantwise.

"Submit, Harlequin" to paraphrase the Ticktockman

Submit to Tiny Books new zine

Tiny Books is a new publishing venture from FlashPaperPublications in Richmond, Virginia.
We are starting a new quarterly zine for small poems.

Submit 1-6 poems,
- 16 lines or less plus title
- 50 characters or less per line counting spaces

Issue #1 will appear in October 2009.

Submission Guidelines
Say what you need in 16 lines or less. Submit one to six poems with a brief cover letter in the body of an email- NO ATTACHMENTS. No previously published work or simultaneous submissions. All rights revert to the author upon publication. Pays three copies.
Electronic submissions only to: flashpaperpoetry@gmail.com

Small books, not much room- don't take it personal!

First Friday Artwalk may be doomed

I am so discouraged by the city trying to kill First Friday and the downtown art galleries- could it be the Center(who can afford to go?)stage effect??

If not, why aren't they hitting the Main Street galleries and Manchester with the same rules and regs??? You tell me.

Where's a good rag like Style (when it started) or Holmberg(Richmond times disgust) when you need them??

I hope someone gives a rats ass besides the small non-profits- maybe the downtown restaurants could be enticed to care- don't even talk to me about opportunistic landlords-

oh no, I've said too much (I haven't said enough)

Updating with not much to say

I am impatiently waiting for submission results, though I know it will take forever, at least for some of them.

That's why I like to publish my chapbooks myself. Sure, chapbooks carry no weight in any important venues but I am not trying to get (or keep) a job based on my writing, nor am I seeking the fame (and fortune) that could be expected from being a famous writer.

I just want to have something when people ask for copies of poems. They can spend $5 or $10, and get words to carry home. I just redid "Dashboard Fire" and am now starting to work on "Gallery" and maybe some others.

Buy them at art6- in the shop. Take a little bit of Shann home with you.

The Dodge Festival WILL go on in 2010!

I am so excited about this- I've been twice and it was a lot of fun.

Story HERE.

In the meantime, I am submitting like a crazy person- 30 poems out right now- maybe I'll get enough out there to be asked to come read as an 'emerging poet.'

Whatever! Anything to get carted around and stay in the host hotel!

Reading tomorrow in Poquoson!!

3-5pm, new stuff, old stuff, borrowed stuff. blue stuff!

It's not that far a drive!

Iris's Art Studio
454-D Wythe Creek lRd
Poquloson
757- 868-4205

Winner of the Levis prize reading September 24th

12th Annual Levis Reading Prize
Katie Ford for Colosseum

Listen to her HERE

Excerpts HERE

This is a good choice, maybe the best since, well... let's not go there tonight.

When happy movies make you sad....

you must be a poet.

Just saw Julie & Julia, which was fabulous (maybe a tad longish)and all I am is hungry, discouraged that I have done nothing with my life, full of regret that I sold my "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" at a yard sale 25 years ago, and even more depressed that I really don't cook much of anything fancy anymore (my husband really doesn't care about food),

In the late 60's and 70's, say from 1969-1977, I would have wonderful dinners- I hosted 30 people for Mexican once, before you could get a lot of southwestern ingredients, cooked Julia recipes for friends (with meat I had specially cut at the old Lafayette Market). I remember driving somewhere south to get 'the best local' homemade sausage and going to D.C. for Les Ami du Vin meetings. My, how things have changed!!!

I just had a microwave Kashi curry with turkey from a Ukrops rotisserie breast. Good, but not home-made and not all that amazing.

I need to get my poetry together and submit to more magazines, chapbook contests, whatever- need to work on and finish my memoir, if only for the kids, need to buckle down and get this house renovation finished, need to get to the gym, need to make some sort of contribution to the world before I die.

It's ridiculous what I haven't accomplished.

Thanks, Julie. Thanks, Julia. Thanks, Nora Ephron, for making me feel like a failure.

Poetry by Shann in Poquoson, Chapbook reviewed

I will be reading my poetry in Poquoson August 29th from 3-5pm. Please cone!

Iris's Art Studio
454-D Wythe Creek lRd
Poquloson
757- 868-4205

My chapbook "Always" has been reviewed.

Support Your Local Poets! Buy Books!

weather, poets, and sloughing off years of extra skin

No, I'm not talking about weight loss, though of course that's always a goal- I'm referring to the bags and boxes of accumulation I have collected.

I am getting rid of more 'stuff'.

Tin boxes, gee-gaws, kitsch, the trivia that buries me, even though I have taking car loads to the salvation army and thrown out bag after bag, I am still barely holding my head up above the surface.

The Smart Box we have in the driveway (for the kitchen repairs) has to go by the weekend so we don't have to pay for another month (It doesn't have much in it, but what is there must be found a place for or gotten rid of). The daughter has moved all her stuff in (and has a 10x10 storage unit for household things and extras) and she has stuff to put into place.

It's hot. So outside work is slow going, but at least I have time and an air-conditioned house.

One of the local poets is homeless. He has a car and a job, but medical issues have put him in personal jeopardy and he is sleeping at the Salvation Army (for another month). he came to Shockoe poets on Sunday and read three of his new works and they are profound and touching, some of the best work he's ever done.

When poetry rises from truth it carries itself differently, walks with a firm step and speaks with quiet insistence- I hope he can continue to write in the midst of adversity and is able to prevail.

the last poem

July 31

Nexus

In some old calculus notebook,
the theory of everything may be

a doodle on the blue-lined paper
of swirls and fat connecting hearts,

the most important thing in the world,
still on your mind after all these years.

Take it personal!!

My favorite poet, Tony Hoagland, once more captures everything in a poem that says so much.

HERE

wow

Good show, Carol Ann Duffy

In her poem for Harry Patch, Britain's poet laureate shows how it should be done-

article and poem

Happy Birthday, Mr. A!!!

Take a look at the picture on the link- he sure doesn't look like THAT anymore- but he's still one of my favorite poets...

Happy Birthday, John Ashbery!!

link

A fine poet passes- So long, Joe!

Joe Awad was a wonderful man and poet. He served as the Poet Laureate of Virginia.

He died last weekend. Here are links to some of his poems:

America

Stopping at the Mayflower

The Neon Distances

Of an Evening

and a Villanelle


From his listing in Poets & Writers:

Books:The Big Bang (The Poet's Press, 1999), Leaning to Hear the Music (Road Publishing, 1997), Shenandoah Long Ago (The Poet's Press, 1990), The Neon Distances (Golden Quill Press, 1980)

Anthologies:Howard Bloom's Anthology of American Religious Poems (Library of America, 2006), Sonnets (University of Evansville Press, 2005), The Next Parish Over: A Collection of Irish-American Writing (New Rivers Press, 1993), Grape Leaves: A Century of Arab-American Poetry (University of Utah Press, 1988)

a poem for july 10th

Horizon

beyond the blue
where we can talk
like we did before

life turned
then fell off the edge.

Look there! It’s another one.

Writing, poetry, and life

I feel like I am crawling out from under a large mass of debris. Since around the 20th of May life has taken many unexpected twists and turns that have left me unable to focus on anything more than making it from day to day.

My writing has suffered, I had too much to say and too little time to give.

However, thanks to Ross White, I started writing a poem a day for the month of July. I'm keeping them short, simple, but trying to express some of the turmoil of the past two months.

I have read two books- the new Sookie Stackhouse (True Blood) book by Charlaine Harris and The Virgin of Bennington by Kathleen Norris, both interesting and enjoyable for different reasons.

The gallery exhibition Poetry Room is a wonderful success, thanks to all the poets who sent work (over 40). Since it will be up through August 16th and we'll have another First Friday opening in August, anyone is welcome to send poems (in the body of an email, please, to shannp (at) gmail (dot)com).

After the car wreck (I was forced off the road by some hoodlums) I have since gotten a new(ish) car and am very happy with it. And I feel safe.

So c'mon poetry, stories, whatever...I'm ready to write and open-minded.

shann

preview tonight for First Friday!

Come see the poems! Thirty poets from all over the country sent poems for the wall at art6.

Rhonda Baker Goochland, Patsy Ann Bickerstaff Richmond, Wes Childress Richmond, Cynthia Jean Chisholm Richmond, Rachel Dacus California, Denise DeVries Kilmarnock, Roselyn Elliot Charlottesville, Kori E. Frazier West Virginia, Bernadette Geyer Vienna, Marian Hollowell, Richmond, John Hoppenthaler North Carolina, Ibrahim S. Kurtulus Richmond, Rachel Mallino Charlottesville, Julie Adler Noyes Richmond, Patty Paine Qatar, Shann Palmer Richmond, Frank Parker, Arizona, Tom Sanchez Prunier Richmond, Michael Rew Richmond, Michael Rothenberg California, Elise Skidmore Florida, Robert Smith Texas, Cheryl Snell Washington D.C, Diana Strelow , Amy Tudor, Doug Tanoury, Colva Weissenstein Arlington, Vernon Wildy Jr. Richmond, Toni Wynn, and Robert E. Young.

In addition- there's ART!! It's a members show! Upstairs there are exhibits by Justin Godhe (Algebra of the Form), Wynne Creasey (The poetic Virginia Landscape) and Amanda Cleland (Prints).

Tonight 7-9, preview exhibit
First Friday 6-10pm

poems wanted

Donate $5 and send a poem for the wall in the small gallery at art6. The poems will be on the walls from July 2nd thru August 16th.

We're a small gallery in Richmond, VA and the ONLY gallery with poet/writer members! In these hard times, we need help keeping the doors open.

You can send a donation thru Paypal (see sidebar) and email a poem to shannp (at) gmail (dot) come to get your poem posted on the wall and be an art supporter!!!

art6

deadline June 28th, though if you get it to me by July 1st I could still put your poem up, but it may be near the ceiling!!

Shockoe Poets at art6 2-4pm

Every 2nd and 4th Sunday from 2-4pm, Shockoe Poets occupy the space and fill the air with word art.

art6 Gallery, 6 East Broad St between 1st and Foushee.

Come join us!!

Check this out-

i suggest you check out this blog: hate it, love it, read it.

Musings of a Reality Deviant

Good clips and great links.

No poetry but well=written

Ocho # 24 Twitter Poets

Order your copy HERE

or

read or download online HERE

I'm semi-famous in a weird way!! Go figure.

My poem is "When you lived in Hong Kong" on pg 42

nevermind

I'm already a winner!!!

I just got this from the American Academy of Poets!! "Congrats! You're one of two winners of our 2009 pledge drive"- I'm not sure what I get but tomorrow I'll be mentioned in the newsletter www.poets.org Thanks to all who pledged for me to write a poem a day- I'll thank you personally later! I will be doing a chapbook of some of the best poems.

(right now I am woozy from adhesive for vinyl flooring- the bathroom floor is almost down!)

Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More

A resource from the Academy of American Poets with thousands of poems, essays, biographies, weekly features, and poems for love and every occasion

Dance program at art6 Tonight!!

Come to art6 for a wonderful dance program- this group really uses the space! A unique group of dancers who will mesmerize you in the one hour program.

admission $5

Don't miss this! 8pm Thursday and Friday night, May 7th and 8th

Hey! Publication!

Check out this issue of NightTrain-

and if you could give a hoot about the rest, here's the direct link to my poem.

Ignore the FlashPaperpoetry thing- it's not working right now

still going with the poem a day- it's not too late to pledge!!!

Pledge here- put this sentence in the comment box: Pledge support for Shann Palmer poem-a-day for April 2009

Dare me!! Pledge in support of my daily poems

Go ahead! Dare me!

I'm going to be writing a poem-a-day for the month of April 2009. All I'm asking is for you to support poetry (and me) by giving a donation as a pledge to the American Academy of Poets in my name during this month to support their many programs. I've been a member for years and I joined the Adopt-A-Poet program to support the webpage for my favorite poet, Tony Hoagland.

here's the site to go to and pledge- in the comment section on the second page of the donation form you can enter

Pledge support for Shann Palmer poem-a-day for April 2009

You can read my daily poems on their discussion board or I will send you the poems in your email.

Thank you, Poetry thanks you!!

Shann

Sal Salasin has died

Sure, most of you have no idea who that was, but I had many email exchanges with him more than ten years ago when he published some of my poems in RealPoetik.

here's a link to some of his poetry

and also here

here's the news You can find the poems he accepted from me in the 1998 and 2002 archives. They are very early efforts, including the first version of "Mrs. Grape" (later published in Eclectica). RealPoetic was sent out periodically featuring one poet.

I may have copies of our email exchanges with my old compuserve files. He was very kind and generous to a very green writer.

Nothing is different, but everything's changed.

So says Paul Simon...

and last night in North Carolina I played piano for the last of the Richmond IProv performances. We were an all musical improvisational group that started at ComedySportz 2 years or so ago- went through changes, growing pains, little tussles of talent over time but in the middle of all that did some pretty decent work on making people laugh.


Did it change my life? Yes. No. Nothing is different, but everything's changed.

I'm pretty confident about sitting down and riffing, but I did take a step up with them. I made some friends I'll probably keep, but that's always a crapshoot anyway. We did some great holiday specials, I had a great time.

Will I miss it? Yes. No.

Nothing is different, but everything's changed.

Was it fun? Yes, every single performance.

Buy my CHANGE Chapbook!!

My eleven poem chapbook CHANGE won the 2009 Writer's Digest Poetic Asides Chapbook Challenge, The poems were generated from a challenge in November to write a poem-a-day, something I've been doing for seven years during April, National Poetry Month, but have not attempted other months of the year until now.

Each poem reflects “the arc of a love affair” as Paul Simon says, from bright beginnings to the inevitable break and the hope for change. While the poems contain autobiographical elements, they are amalgams of a larger story

The beautiful cover photo was taken by my dear friend Dave Anchel and the book was created by FlashPaperPublications, my DIY imprint.

For $9.00 (P&H included) you will receive a well-crafted elegant book filled with my poems. Click on the Paypal link on the right side of the page!

A little extra surprise will be included with each order.

Thanks-

Iprov's last hurrah at Comedysportz tonight!

If you don't come tonight to Comedysportz at 10pm for the Iprov Love Cruise Special Show you will miss the last opportunity to see the only all-musical improv troupe on thr east coast perform- (and one of maybe three in the entire country!)

seriously- call 266-YESS for reservations-

We are performing one last show in North Carolina next Friday night, but those shows may already be sold out. Plus the drive there.

Don't miss it-

I won a chapbook contest!!

My manuscript "Change" won the Poetic Asides Chapbook Challenge from Writer's Digest!

Very excited!

I read from it at the Art After Hours reading I did January 15th! If you missed it you can buy it at shop6 at art6 this First Friday!!

See ya there!

New site for FlashPaperPoetry

MSN is shutting down the 'groups' where I've kept a poetry calendar for Central Virginia for about ten years-

HERE is a try, at least- it's a little unwieldy but will suffice to keep the info up until I get something better.

The extra events for the rest of January are the poets reading every Thursday at ART AFTER HOURS at the VMFA, Beth Fennelly at Poetic Principles on the 28th, and Katy Lederer at UR on the 29th. more info and links on the new page

FlashPaperPoetry lives on!!

get your poetry fix on your phone!

Just what you need in that special moment-

there's even a cool icon for each category...

HERE

check out LUST...

more poetry news

Talking about poetry and politics-

In today's America, poetry is either high art or lowbrow commerce. It comes either from avant-garde poets, writing only for a snobbish elite and ignored by the broad public; or from commercial sources, assembly-line verses crammed into a Hallmark card, written for the masses and spurned by the tastemakers. In today's culture, the most popular poems are usually song lyrics, from rock anthems to rat-a-tat rap songs about the thug life. They're not the kind of poetry you read on marble platforms for presidents and Supreme Court justices.


Mystery & Birds: 5 Ways to Practice Poetry

A little obligatory Poe

Kay Ryan (current poet Laureate) loses her partner to cancer

Dodge Festival in 2010 isn't

Read here

I am very glad I went this past year. This is a major blow for poetry.

Art After Hours- Shann Palmer's poetry

Tonight's the night!!

Thursday January 15th

I read at 6:30 and at 7:00- different poems each time!

MUSIC: Bluz Catz - American Blues, Jump & More
6:30 & 7 pm Art OF POETRY: Shann Palmer
7 & 7:30 pmTOPIC TOUR: Art a la carte
8 pm ART MOMENT: Jeffrey Allison- Paul Mellon Collection Educator
FRIENDS OF ART SILENT AUCTION: View and bid on works of art by local and regional artists

Tickets $10 (members $8).

A disappointing First *Second* Friday

The crowds were small and the money was tight- I was concerned when I saw very little about First Friday being moved to Second Friday because of the proximity of New Year's (plus most galleries didn't want to be struggling to get a new show up)

Our gallery (and others, and Curated Culture) sent info to the papers, to radio stations, the usual publicity outlets- but the info was not given any weight (I know- choosing what gets major ink is hard and bla bla bla- but it seems to me an event such as First Friday which is BTW, one of Richmond's most successful events in spite of the city and such, should be better supported by the local media).

Of course, maybe the galleries should have thought in advance how this would all work- it seems these things often catch us short- short of time, short of money, short of everything.

Part of it, no doubt, is the lack of balance between the for profit and the non-profit galleries. Art is art- isn't it? I suppose I should also take a little dig at the artist who (and this is definitely not aimed at ALL artists, but you know who I mean) who think they are so talented they like to stroll in and take their kudos and stroll out as if they are so special that's all people came to see-

It makes it tough for the wonderful but working artists who are willing to mix with the hoi-polloi, bring a tray for the table and work the room (and try to help with their own publicity).

Just a little unfocused rant here- there are all sorts of meetings coming up this week and next for 'planning' and 'strategic goals' and other baloney that will only make money for consultants and survey makers.

I'll work on getting to meetings, work with groups, whatever it takes, and I hope other members of art6 and other galleries do, too. I wish I felt more people had ART in mind and not how they can make money. I wish more people would put a little time in, somewhere, and make this all happen.

And I wish those who could would buy art and support our local artists.

not to mention poets and poetry....

and a little friendly ink from RTD and STYLE and URGE and V etc wouldn't hurt.

Happy Birthday to me from Consider the Lily!

I got a call this afternoon I won the Vera Bradley set the store was giving away!!Very Exciting- I admit to being a VB fan ever since I started having back and shoulder problems from carrying heavy bags.

Consider the Lily is a pretty little giftshop on Lakeside Ave right by the corner of Lakeside Ave and Hilliard Rd- the parking and the hours are a little weird, but if you are looking for something interesting it's a great place to stop. The people there were very nice, even when I lost my glasses in my purse but thought I'd left them on the counter.

How can I not recommend it??

Happy Birthday to me!!

yep- 59 years
went by waaaay too fast!!

Happy New Year Y'all!!

We're having a great time here at art6 with Rattlemouth!!

Unless you live real close, you missed it!!

Art After Hours starts soon at the VMFA

And look who's reading her poetry on January 15th!!

Go HERE

Tickets to all seven events are $60 (members $48). Single tickets are $10 (members $8).
Single tickets, but not series tickets, may be ordered online. Series and single tickets are sold at the museum Wednesday through Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm or may be charged by telephoning 804.340.1405 Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. (VMFA members may purchase tickets in advance at the museum (limit two per event per member, members must show VMFA membership card at time of purchase).

Read a review of one of my poems HERE

You can purchase the entire anthology here Richmond poet Cheryl Pallant also has a poem in the book.

Send art6 six dollars for a holiday mitzvah!

Mitzvah: Hebrew for "commandment." "A combination of a religious law, personal obligation, and a privilege.". Plural is Mitzvah. Often used to refer to a good deed

Non-profits such as art6 are suffering from the economic problems we are all experiencing.

It's the holidays, it's a good thing to do!

Send a check for $6 or $60 or whatever you can to:

art6 Gallery
6 East Broad St
Richmond, VA 23219

Your gift if tax-deductible!

It will keep the doors open and the heat on, not to mention putting art on the wall.

art6

10 reasons to go to poetry readings

Reason number 8: To Support the Poet. A certain portion of the audience will be family and friends of the poets who know how broke and desperate for support they are.

For the rest of the list, click HERE

Hey local poets, I have been invited to a new venue on Broad Street near Gaskins Rd- anybody have thoghts? How about Tuesdays??

Art in a Box- Grand Illumination- Tonight!!

Come downtown and see the Grand Illumination and all those dear deer- then come on over to Broad Street for the First Friday Artwalk!

art 6 is open from 6-10pm and we have a variety of artists with "Art in a Box"- including my poems (Yay!!!) and lots of other cool stuff.

In addition to our usual wine and beer cash bar, we'll have HOT COFFEE!!

yes yes yes!

You can leave your hat on.

an advent poem

In the Episcopal Church, we celebrate the season of Advent during the month before Christmas. No carols in services until the 24th (some parishes won't even have a pageant until then) and our focus is encouraged to be on the waiting- I always get a little annoyed at the bombarding I must endure from the world- and how we sing carols through January when everyone else is sick of them- until I thought of the births of my own children- how I prepared joyfully, hopefully, with fear. So to close my poem-a-day challenge from Writers Digest, I offer this as my last poem in November.


Change

I used to hate December- the noise,
the expense, the false good cheer-
until I thought about having a baby-
decorating the nursery, humming
soft lullabies to my swelling belly,
going to showers, buying special toys;
how in the month before I counted
days, awake with anticipation, my
own advent vigil for a miracle child
who would save me from sadness,.
give me the opportunity to do what
my parent’s couldn’t- raise a child
in love with life, self assured, strong
enough to take on the world, for me.

help me! Vote!

Throwdown 1

Select the best caption. The one with the lowest score is OUT.

Which caption is the best?

Adam Deutsch
Stacey Lyn n Brown
R.J. Gibson
Christopher Hennessy
Shann Palmer
Leslie Harrison
Nate McClain

View Results

Create your own myspace poll


The contest is o9ver at Avoid the Muse

Poetry and Poetry Contests

Above all, keep in mind that poetry collections must be novelistically structured. Before Emily Dickinson’s heap of 1,775 untitled poems could be competitive she would have to discard 1,700 of them, give each of the remaining 75 a title, sort them into three thematic batches, each with a section title and epigraph, and come up with a catchy “umbrella” title (Wild Nights might be a hit with student-screeners). This procedure is so de rigueur these days it’s as if there were a bumper sticker slapped on every collection, boasting: “My other book is a novella.”

Some interesting advice from contest winner and publisher David Alpaugh.

To read the entire article click HERE

Trinity Rep Radio Theater: feature a program of stories and poems that explore the relationship between mothers and daughters. [MP3] —

Give Richmond a present! Buy LOCAL!

Instead of going to a big chain to buy gifts, go to FOUNTAIN BOOKSTORE in Shockoe Slip and buy those gift books!

You can probably even order a gift certificate online and have it sent to someone you care about- and before you say, but it's small! They don't have what I want- Kelly and her people KNOW books, they actually read them, all the time- and they can order almost anything you want. If you don't know what you want, ask- they WILL have a suggestion.

You can even join this cool thing called IndieBound and make up your own wish list so folks know what to get and order it directly from Fountain Bookstore! I set mine up (hint, hint)!

I was by there tonight for a poetry reading and they also have cards and doodads and a really nice children's section.

seriously- support your local indie bookstore, or watch them disappear!

Tony Hoagland, marry me!

This is another reason why he is one of my favorite poets-

Requests for Toy Piano

I would leave my husband and children for you, Tony!!

will art survive the economy?

For the first time, I am having serious doubts about the survival of art in Richmond, non-profit art, and in particular, art6, my home base.

In the face of economic downturn, and it's not over yet, the money people have to spend is shrinking, the time, the energy that we can devote to such small endeavors is beginning to chafe at all of us. We struggle to pay our personal bills, forget the rent and utilities at public spaces.

Where do we go to spend our entertainment dollars? First Fridays are not as popular as they were when we were having 4,000-5,000 visitors- we now have more like 2500 on a given night, most of those beer swilling students, not folks who will purchase a piece of art. The meetings for the governing groups occur on weekday mornings most of the time, fine for restaurant owners and for-profit galleries with paid staff. Where does that leave the all-volunteer, artist-run gallery?

Out in the cold, that's where. Everything we do is done by folks who have other job to support their art habits. We have families, we have obligations, we're tired at the end of the day, we're broke.

(There are those predators who will eke out a living, unwilling to think of anything but promoting themselves, they seem to crawl around the edges sucking money out of the system- they work for awhile, then move on, done with the big picture. It happens in poetry, too.)

In the meantime, the 'important' artist exhibits ridiculous work that is academic and (often) ugly and the rest of us walk by and shake our heads trying to figure out why in the world it matters- where is the heart of the work, or as we sometimes hear in a sermon- where am *I* in this?? Like some current poetry, it doesn't speak to anyone, it only rambles a self-centered inner monologue. Go to the galleries on First Friday- you'll know what I mean. The expensive art far outweighs the affordable- the ridiculous is heads up over what might fit in your house.

I can hear you saying- Go get Grants!! As if that's easy- it's very complicated, even torturous to assemble all the paperwork needed and it all has to be done just right- by volunteers- who are stretched this and aching with the effort of living and being artists themselves.

I'm tired of trying, of pushing, of begging people to come see, come buy, bring your children. It's easier to stay home and burrow, I guess.

I can't do that- I won't. I'm the fool who continues to drop the brick on my foot, hit my head with the hammer- I don't expect other people to clear the way- I'm a fucking saint-

no I'm not. But I won't let this go that easily- that's all I'm saying.

Join art6- help out, come join the fight with us. You get to work with crazy people like me.

To the 15 people who usually read my blog- thanks

poem for kristallnacht

Change (for Kristallnacht)

When glass is shattered
its jagged music spreads
concentric from the site.

No sound is more compelling
or absolute, and we become
compromised, made vulnerable:
eyes, bare feet, our belongings
open to injury, violation.

Once begun the act is done,
to be never forgotten. New panes
may look the same but are not.

In dreams she hears the sound
of breaking glass and stirs awake-
How easily things get broken.

(The line “How easily things get broken.” is from the Mass by Leonard
Bernstein)

This is part of my poem-a-day group for November

Seriously funny tonight! GO SEE THIS!

ComedySportz- Saturday and Sunday! That's it, then you'ver missed it!

Tonight- people from Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and Washington DC!!!!

Go HERE to check out details and make reservations or call 266-YESS

Seriously funny!!

The RICHMOND IMPROV FESTIVAL

ComedySportz- Tonight, Saturday and Sunday!

Go HERE to check out details and make reservations or call 266-YESS

Seriously funny!!

The Richmond Improv Festival Tonight!

The

Richmond Improv Festival

starts TONIGHT!

Twenty groups from all over the country performing the best improv you can see this side of the BIG cities!!

Thursday, Friday, Saturday AND Sunday!!

Why aren't you calling right now to make your reservation?

(I'll be playing piano tonight and Saturday night, but don't just come for me!)

I found myself!!

On page 2571 of Issue 1- I have a poem!!

I'm semi-famous on a limited basis!!

I did find my name and fake poem in Issue 1

Yay!

Claudia Emerson at VMFA Wednesday

back to poetry...

I've voted, made supper for tonight, posted my poem-a-day at Poetic Asides, an working on my NaNoWriMo entry.

Tomorrow IS another day!!

and Claudia Emerson will be at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts on Wednesday at 6pm

Tickets available at the door

Joey's Hotdogs! musical comedyimprov tonight

Come on over to Ridgefield Parkway at the Exxon to Joey's Hotdogs! The ComedySportz I Prov musical comedy improvisers will be making it up for you from 5-8pm!

And the HotDogs are DELISH!!!

I'm the piano player-

Here's your Joe-the-plumber

I have to laugh at those commercials, all full of nice looking white folks that are certainly higher on the economic ladder than I am (can you afford a plumber? I can't).

This guy is so busy protesting, he hasn't had time to register for community college.

how the hate increases, how the fringe grows...

READ THIS

So whomever wins, does it make it better for the rest of us? The fear and anger generated by the media and the republicans only encourages this kind of nonsense.

I don't have any poems about intolerance. I may have to figure out how to put these feelings in a one.

MobyLives (the whale is out there, man!) is back

My favorite publishing news-commentary site is back!!


MobyLives

Wry, fun, and accurate- how else can I describe it? Go read!

There's poetry tonight:

Poetry Reading
Rich Murphy
Thursday, October 30th
7 – 9 pm
Barnes & Noble @ VCU

Rich Murphy has taught creative writing in Boston area colleges for many years. He now teaches at VCU. His credits include three chapbooks and a book of poems The Apple in the Monkey Tree by Codhill Press. His poems have appeared in Rolling Stone, Poetry, Grand Street, and The London Magazine.

Derek Walcott has remarked “Mr. Murphy is a very careful craftsman in his work, a patient and testing intelligence, one of those writers who knows precisely what he wants his style to achieve. His poetry is quiet but packed, carefully wrought, not surrealistically wild, and its range not limited but deliberately narrow. It takes aim.” Poet Rane Arroyo has written of Family Secret, “Sometimes I feel sorry for hetero writers! So much of their relationships are prescribed and the challenge is up to the artist to present relationships in a new way without destroying expectations. I’m happy to say Rich Murphy ignores all these directives as nonsense. His poems are maps of complicated straight lovers; the keys to this book are the strict use of language and love of discovery.”

To publish or self-publish??

It's a big question with more than one good answer.

Without an 'in' as an MFA or money to enter contests, even good poets can languish forever without much hope. Even if you are a chosen one and get a contract, it's years off and has limited saleability anyway.

Here's a good page on thoughts of others (some well known)

I have almost a dozen 24-30 pages chapbook I've kinko'd (actually most recently Staples- MUCH cheaper) and I've decided I want something a little more substantial.

I'm going to publish a P.O.D. book at Lulu.com. It will contain my poems about women, women's stories, daughters, mothers, you know. Why those poems?

1) They've always been popular
2) many of them have been published
3) I have a LOT of them
4) when I took a workshop with Denise Duhamel this summer, she said the ones I had there were some of my best work.

I'm still in the set-up phase, it will take at least a month. I haven't got the money for an ISBN right now but maybe I'll get some extra jobs between now and whenever and be able to include that. I know a number of poets who don't bother, the poet has to do all the leg work, publicity, marketing anyway.

Sure there are some small houses out there, but no one really local who can get me what I want (and lord knows no one wants poets anyway).

What's the worst that can happen? If I'm not happy, I drop the whole thing. If I like it I will sell a few and some people might enjoy my poems.

I can hear some academic types clicking their tongues because it won't be a REAL book, it might keep me from entering some contests and all that- but the truth is I may as well buy lottery tickets with the money I'd spend on contests- I'm more likely to succeed!

So keep an eye on this page and see what happens.

oh my yes!

Tony Hoagland reading

Wojahn wins the Weinstein!

David Wojahn was awarded the $10,000 Carole Weinstein Prize for Poetry.
Congratulations, David!

Announced Saturday night at the Library of Virginia book awards. (posted by the RTD at 10:37)

That oughta 'bout cover his lack of a raise from the state!

Somebody go update his wikipedia page!

While we're on that- why can't newspapers include links in their stories, or is that something just the Richmond Times Dispatch doesn't do?? I mean, it's so easy- this whole post took me less than five minutes, research and all-

poem accepted!

poem accepted at Night Train-

Just started submitting again after an almost year long spell of 'busy-with-other-things.'

Good to get a quick acceptance to spur me on.

a cholent and a rewrite

poem removed for submission and more rewrites
.

Rubbin' elbow grease with writers

at the James River Writers festival-

Last today and best- Diane Mott Davidson- the culinary mystery writer - and a really nice person! She did at least 2 sessions today not feeling well, but didn't say a word about it until the end (and only to the last three people in the room). Had great advice, solid 'do your homework' stuff, sure, nothing new, but she's so personable and smart- I can't wait to hear her again tomorrow! (Jann Malone is a great interviewer, too).

Frankly, the attendees seem to be a step up this year- I never heard the idiot questions (maybe I was facilitating good sessions) but this group seems sharp, smart, and deadly serious about craft. No 'where do you get your ideas?' or 'how do I make money?'.

The poetry session was pretty good- though the title was a little off-putting "Happy poems-Are they ever possible?" The usual suspects were there: Claudia Emerson, Buffy Morgan, David Wojahn, Ron Smith (I do love them all, particularly Claudia, but geez- are there no other affordable poets in driving distance? - see below -My complaints are moot- I think there was only one hardcore poet in the crowd anyway- me- the rest were fans or dabblers).

Like most panels with indeterminate subjects (example:the memoir session hit the ground running)- it started off like an awkward first date- a little tentative until everyone got into a groove deciding what the title of the session really meant- I'm not really sure it got there, but the charm of the panel won at last, mostly due to dog doo and pigeon poo poems (sigh).
note to shann- the conference needs a way to make additional handouts when needed or tell panelists to not bring them

Maybe I'm a little spoiled by the Dodge Poetry Festival, where only Sharon Olds and Brenda Hillman comported themselves like goofball types who wandered all over the page and insisted on body parts as poetic device- everything else there was amazing!

but I digress- no one here was a goofball- though a personal note to David Wojahn- don't quote David Byrne to an over-sixty audience and think they'll get it- they won't. And maybe edit for time-

just saying (I liked the poem BTW)

tomorrow is another day....

and a little more about THIS and THAT
I think I offended a friend earlier this year by speaking my mind, but there must be a way to make poetry more important (and not so local) at one of these gigs- how about Charles Jensen from the Poetry Center? James Harms from West Virginia? BJ Ward (in New Jersey), I could go on- Ted Genoways was here Wednesday night- I dunno- I could suggest a dozen poets.

The other thing- David Robbins listed a zillion Richmond writers and not ONE poet- I know he could care about poetry, but we are actual writers- Diane Mott Davidson, upon being asked who she is reading right now listed poets- even the fact she'd just gotten Billy Collin's new book in the mail before she left-

Full disclosure- I'm a volunteer, I didn't pay to attend. I did, however, work all day today. With only one poetry session paneled by folks I already know well, I can't recommend this conference to a writer who only writes poetry.

another rewrite (here today, gone tomorrow)

'poem removed, you missed it!

Excellent reading by Kevin McFadden and Ted Genoway last night at the Library of Virginia- terribly underattended, though- a lot of people missed some excellent poetry!

* poem removed*

Two Local Poets make good!!

Check out these two over in the 40 under 40 list at STYLE!

Allison Titus and Joshua Poteet

Support Your Local Poets!!

(IOW BUY THEIR BOOKS- order from Fountain Bookstore, local independent!)

Tonight- Poetry at the Library of Virginia

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

The Poetry of Ted Genoways and Kevin McFadden

Time: 6:00 PM–7:30 PMPlace: Lecture Hall, Library of Virginia FREE EVENT

Join us for poetry readings by Ted Genoways (Anna, Washing: Poems) and Kevin McFadden (Hardscrabble). Genoways, the editor of the Virginia Quarterly Review, won the Samuel French Morse Poetry Prize for Bullroarer, his first book of poems. Anna, Washing features poetry set in the 1897 Klondike gold rush. McFadden, associate program director for the Virginia Festival for the Book, has published in a wide array of journals, including Denver Quarterly, Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, Prairie Schooner, and Southern Review. McFadden’s Hardscrabble examines American identity through the latent possibilities of language. Co-sponsored by the Visual Arts Center of Richmond.

chicks read

Womenspeak, all-female, all writers read tomorrow at art6 gallery from 3-5pm.

come listen, come Support

your local poets!

Billy Collins new book- buy it in hardback

You will want to, after reading this review

I saw Collins read at least three times at the Dodge festival last week. He is charming, funny, wry, and an excellent poet. I've heard people dismiss his work- well, whatever- there are plenty of poets to read out there, he's just one-one of MY favorites.

I read about half of the new book and found so many of the poems to be spot-on as a voice of my world. He's a bit older than I am- nine years- but still close to all the things I know and have seen. Together, we've seen the Twilight Zone, the Cleavers, the Kennedy's, watched cigarettes go from a relaxing weight-control aid to a horror movie monster. He knows my language (as does Tony Hoagland- my FAVORITE poet).

He read the poem "January in Paris"- it is a wonderfully crafted piece. Or is he just blowing smoke?

and another one bites the dust

Hayden Carruth died last night.

Here's from the Poetry Foundation

If you don't know his work, I suggest looking him up.

here

and here, here, here.

palin as post turtle

Too fricking funny...

"You know she didn't get up there by herself, she doesn't belong up there, she doesn't know what to do while she is up there, she'll stay up there until someone takes her down, and you just wonder what kind of dumb ass put her up there to begin with."

Poetry Bailout!! News

from Charles Bernstein

and poets talking trash about the GOP (Imagine!!)

(thank you, Ron Silliman, for keeping the links going concerning the word)

and from Clive James, part of a poem I must find the rest of... link to review

The book of my enemy has been remaindered
And I am pleased.
In vast quantities it has been remaindered.
Like a van-load of counterfeit that has been seized
And sits in piles in a police warehouse,
My enemy’s much-praised effort sits in piles
In the kind of bookshop where remaindering occurs.
Great, square stacks of rejected books and, between them, aisles
One passes down reflecting on life’s vanities,
Pausing to remember all those thoughtful reviews
Lavished to no avail upon one’s enemy’s book —
For behold, here is that book
Among these ranks and banks of duds,
These ponderous and seemingly irreducible cairns
Of complete stiffs.

(thanks, Jilly Dybka and her Poetry Hut)

Back from the land of poets! (New Jersey?? R U kidding?)

The 2008 Dodge Poetry Festival was amazing, frustrating, inspiring, and WET.

They must view it like the state fair here- a bringer of rain!

But, ah, the poetry!! A surprise visit last night by Gerald Stern, two hours with Billy Collins, a set as long with Ted Kooser, a joyful meeting with Naomi Shihab Nye, a reunion with Jane Hirshfield.

And more, so very much more!

I have a bag full of wet, stinky clothes, a few books, and the realization that poetry is not as dead as it sometimes seems here in Richmond, that poets are not all selfish and annoying, that some poets will walk miles to hear the right words in the right order...

and relearned that I am a poet because I write and read poetry, not because of an open mike and a captive audience.

Thank you Tom and David A. You are dear friends and I treasure your support.