ALBANY POETRY EXAMINER
Poetry workshops available
Many budding poets, artists, musicians, singers, dancers, and composers, have been nipped in the bud by parental, teacher, or peer disapproval. Yet what in this world can provide moments of peace and enjoyment in our lives, better than the arts?
Artists *
What fun she must have had
skipping stars across the sky
watching water
surrender to the land
choosing orange for carrots
friendly faces for brown cows
scattering seed-filled semen
deep inside the sea
waiting for the womb of soil
to coax a dusty yard man
from its amniotic shell.
What fun we women have
chopping onions and green peppers
washing eyes with tears
adding red tomatoes
for a touch of color
turmeric and cumin
cardamom for spice
enjoying scent of cloves and bay
simmering on our stoves
stirring words together
in a filling stew.
* Appeared in The Pegasus Review 2008
If you are interested in learning more about poetry and ‘stewing words together’ with fellow poets, the following workshops are available or upcoming:
Poetry Salons & Classes from Jannie Dresser
In December, Jannie Dresser and the Bay Area Poets Review feature the topic “Ecstatic Poetry” in six salons held in private homes in the Bay Area. We read poems from the world’s various literary traditions works that explore or express exuberance, joy, passion, and other states of ecstasy.
Dates and Locations of Salons
Sunday, Dec. 4: North Berkeley, 3-5:30
Saturday, Dec. 10: Livermore, 2-4:30
Sunday, Dec. 11: Crockett, 1-3:30
Sunday, Dec. 18: Walnut Creek, 11:30-2
Sunday, Dec. 18: North Oakland, 3-5:30
Monday, Dec. 19: Rossmoor, Walnut Creek, 1-3
All are welcome as space is available. There is a small donation requested ($5-10) but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Reservations are required. For inquiries or to be added to the mailing list: janniedres@att.net.
Upcoming salons themes in 2012 include:
A Special Presentation on Latin and Central American Poetry by John Oliver Simon.
Poetry of the American Wars: Vietnam to Iraq
10 Recent American Poet Laureates
Edgar Allan Poe
The French Symbolists: Baudelaire, Mallarme, Verlaine, Rimbaud et al
American Women Poets Born in the 1920s and 1930s
The Southern Agrarian Tradition
Upcoming Class
“Free Verse’s Secret Net: Tips & Tricks for Making Free Verse More Musical”
Saturday Dec. 10, 10am-Noon, Free
The Firehouse Arts Center, Pleasanton
http://www.firehousearts.org or contact janniedres@att.net
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