Big Poetry Event at the Sacramento Poetry Center
On Monday, July 13, I will be hosting two poets, Neal Whitman and Danny Romero.
Venue: Sacramento Poetry Center
Time: 7:30 pm
Neal Whitman lives in Pacific Grove, California, where he is a
member of its Public Library Board and its Cultural Arts
Commission, and, in nearby Carmel, is a volunteer docent and life
member of the Robinson Jeffers Tor House Foundation. His poems
have been published in Monterey Poetry Review, Vermont Literary
Review, The MacGuffin, International Journal for Healthcare and
Humanities, Getting Something Read, The Pedestal Magazine, and
New Verse News. He also is an editor for the medical humanities
online journal, Pulse. Neal likes to write haiku and teach others
how; he is a member of the Yuki Teikei Haiku Society, the Haiku
Poets of Northern California, and the Haiku Society of America.
Neal says, "Long ago I took to heart a piece of advice from former
Poet Laureate Donald Hall that the poetry recital is public
confirmation of a private labor. When I read to others, I do so as a
poetry professor –– not as an English professor, but as one who
professes his belief that poetry should and can be part of a healthy
diet. I also believe strongly that a poetry permits –– no, demands ––
that the writer go beyond the biographical self to tell what may or
might happen in a life and not be limited to his or her own personal
life." On the 1st of each month, he posts a "Poetry Professor" essay
on www.shortpoem.org.
I got to know about Neal when I published the following poems in Munyori Literary Journal:
Blowing down the Walls of Jericho
(upon listening to Marsalis Standard Time I compact disc)
a coffeehouse poetry recital
like a jazz club trumpeteer’s riff
is public confirmation of a private labor
elemental power harnessed
and directed from deep inside
sound crackles out into the air
charges and excites and then leaves
an afterglow
mindful of the arial moment
unless I listen to the audience
I cannot say
what is heard
not to say that
listening is not a restful activity
like musicians, if poets do not listen, they cannot speak
What a Disaster
Dinner for one in front of the TV
when my blind date does not show.
What a disaster.
Dinner for two when my blind date
shows up… with food allergies.
What a disaster.
Dinner for three for two old friends
who really are old. Me too.
What a disaster.
Dinner for four with my mate
and a couple ready to break.
What a disaster.
Dinner for five at a table
set for four. Oops.
What a disaster.
Dinner for six with guests
who don’t know I’m over my head.
What a disaster.
What I Learned about Pilgrims in 1954: Roxbury, Mass.
Miss Gallagher told us
Thoreau’s grandfather left France
without worry without a penny
my too-many-greats-to-count grandfather
came to America on a slave ship
a boy in my class says his grandpapa
ran away from the Czar
Henry made pencils
and would not pay his poll tax
and liked anyone who sauntered
to new or holy lands
his cabin an escape house
my teacher told us
her grand da left Ireland
to escape British rule
Miss Gallagher taught us to sing for the land
where our fathers died
and of the pilgrims’ pride.
Why did she love the English so?
Danny Romero is a regular in the Sacramento Poetry scene. He was born and raised in Los Angeles . His poems and short stories have been published in literary journals and anthologies throughout the country, most recently,Latinos in Lotusland: An Anthology of Contemporary Southern California Literature and Pow Wow: Charting the Faultlines in the American Experience - Short Fiction from Then to Now. He is the author of the novel Calle 10, and he teaches English at Sacramento City College.
Venue: Sacramento Poetry Center
Time: 7:30 pm
Neal Whitman lives in Pacific Grove, California, where he is a
member of its Public Library Board and its Cultural Arts
Commission, and, in nearby Carmel, is a volunteer docent and life
member of the Robinson Jeffers Tor House Foundation. His poems
have been published in Monterey Poetry Review, Vermont Literary
Review, The MacGuffin, International Journal for Healthcare and
Humanities, Getting Something Read, The Pedestal Magazine, and
New Verse News. He also is an editor for the medical humanities
online journal, Pulse. Neal likes to write haiku and teach others
how; he is a member of the Yuki Teikei Haiku Society, the Haiku
Poets of Northern California, and the Haiku Society of America.
Neal says, "Long ago I took to heart a piece of advice from former
Poet Laureate Donald Hall that the poetry recital is public
confirmation of a private labor. When I read to others, I do so as a
poetry professor –– not as an English professor, but as one who
professes his belief that poetry should and can be part of a healthy
diet. I also believe strongly that a poetry permits –– no, demands ––
that the writer go beyond the biographical self to tell what may or
might happen in a life and not be limited to his or her own personal
life." On the 1st of each month, he posts a "Poetry Professor" essay
on www.shortpoem.org.
I got to know about Neal when I published the following poems in Munyori Literary Journal:
Blowing down the Walls of Jericho
(upon listening to Marsalis Standard Time I compact disc)
a coffeehouse poetry recital
like a jazz club trumpeteer’s riff
is public confirmation of a private labor
elemental power harnessed
and directed from deep inside
sound crackles out into the air
charges and excites and then leaves
an afterglow
mindful of the arial moment
unless I listen to the audience
I cannot say
what is heard
not to say that
listening is not a restful activity
like musicians, if poets do not listen, they cannot speak
What a Disaster
Dinner for one in front of the TV
when my blind date does not show.
What a disaster.
Dinner for two when my blind date
shows up… with food allergies.
What a disaster.
Dinner for three for two old friends
who really are old. Me too.
What a disaster.
Dinner for four with my mate
and a couple ready to break.
What a disaster.
Dinner for five at a table
set for four. Oops.
What a disaster.
Dinner for six with guests
who don’t know I’m over my head.
What a disaster.
What I Learned about Pilgrims in 1954: Roxbury, Mass.
Miss Gallagher told us
Thoreau’s grandfather left France
without worry without a penny
my too-many-greats-to-count grandfather
came to America on a slave ship
a boy in my class says his grandpapa
ran away from the Czar
Henry made pencils
and would not pay his poll tax
and liked anyone who sauntered
to new or holy lands
his cabin an escape house
my teacher told us
her grand da left Ireland
to escape British rule
Miss Gallagher taught us to sing for the land
where our fathers died
and of the pilgrims’ pride.
Why did she love the English so?
Danny Romero is a regular in the Sacramento Poetry scene. He was born and raised in Los Angeles . His poems and short stories have been published in literary journals and anthologies throughout the country, most recently,Latinos in Lotusland: An Anthology of Contemporary Southern California Literature and Pow Wow: Charting the Faultlines in the American Experience - Short Fiction from Then to Now. He is the author of the novel Calle 10, and he teaches English at Sacramento City College.
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