Great Turn out at the Sacramento Poetry Center
Tonight's was a well-attended reading; we ran out of chairs! Thanks to all who came, especially to my CRC students who came in big numbers.
The reading featured Neal Whitman from Pacific Grove and Danny Romero of Sacramento.
My connection to Neal Whitman was established through Munyori Literary Journal, when I published three of his poems. He is a retired professor, but though he writes a monthly column for the online journal Getting Something to Read , under the byline "Poetry Prof", he was not an English professor. He began writing in 2005 when his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer; he says writing poetry was his spousal therapy. Neal drove to Sacramento with Elaine, his wife. Below are some photos:
Neal and Elaine Whitman, center,,enjoying some open mic performances.
Danny Romero read new poems first and finished with some of his favorites from his old publications. He is the author of the novel Calle 10, and he teaches English at Sacramento City College.Below are some photos of Danny reading:
The Center was hot (that's just how Sacramento gets this time of the year), but the audience seemed engaged:
A few more pics of Neal Whitman reading (I forgot to ask him if he is related to Walt Whitman!):
In this picture Neal is holding the biography of Anton Chekhov! The influence of Chekhov even applies to poets. Here Neal was reading a poem that was inspired by a Chekhov sentence:
Nine people signed up for the open mic, which I thought was fantastic. Armstrong, below, was the first to read:
Armstrong
Next, Darby read, then Tim Kahl (my camera's battery died. I just bought the batteries yesterday in San Francisco!) There was Jenilynn, who just won a national Slam Poetry contest and is leaving for some place back east in November. I will give more details later on this blog since I will follow up on this important Sacramento achievement.
Marques Davison, AKA Emcee slonuff" perfomed Slam stype:
Marques Davison
Despite the heat, I really had fun hosting this event. I will host another event on August 10,after which I will take a short break from hosting. A schedule conflict will not allow me to host on Mondays from September to December, but I will be back in January.
The reading featured Neal Whitman from Pacific Grove and Danny Romero of Sacramento.
My connection to Neal Whitman was established through Munyori Literary Journal, when I published three of his poems. He is a retired professor, but though he writes a monthly column for the online journal Getting Something to Read , under the byline "Poetry Prof", he was not an English professor. He began writing in 2005 when his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer; he says writing poetry was his spousal therapy. Neal drove to Sacramento with Elaine, his wife. Below are some photos:
Neal and Elaine Whitman, center,,enjoying some open mic performances.Danny Romero read new poems first and finished with some of his favorites from his old publications. He is the author of the novel Calle 10, and he teaches English at Sacramento City College.Below are some photos of Danny reading:
The Center was hot (that's just how Sacramento gets this time of the year), but the audience seemed engaged:
A few more pics of Neal Whitman reading (I forgot to ask him if he is related to Walt Whitman!):
In this picture Neal is holding the biography of Anton Chekhov! The influence of Chekhov even applies to poets. Here Neal was reading a poem that was inspired by a Chekhov sentence:
Nine people signed up for the open mic, which I thought was fantastic. Armstrong, below, was the first to read:
Armstrong
Next, Darby read, then Tim Kahl (my camera's battery died. I just bought the batteries yesterday in San Francisco!) There was Jenilynn, who just won a national Slam Poetry contest and is leaving for some place back east in November. I will give more details later on this blog since I will follow up on this important Sacramento achievement.
Marques Davison, AKA Emcee slonuff" perfomed Slam stype:
Marques DavisonDespite the heat, I really had fun hosting this event. I will host another event on August 10,after which I will take a short break from hosting. A schedule conflict will not allow me to host on Mondays from September to December, but I will be back in January.
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