Reading 2010: Bob Stanley (USA - Sacramento Poet Laureate)
Today we feature Bob Stanley, Sacramento's Poet Laureate. Often described as "a passionate member of the poetry community", Bob Stanley is also the president of the Sacramento Poetry Center Board. He teaches Creative Writing and English at CSU Sacramento and at Sacramento City College. His poems have won a number of awards, including the California Focus on Writers prize in 2006 and have been published in numerous journals and anthologies. He recently published his first chapbook, Walt Whitman Orders a Cheeseburger, and he has edited several books, including a collection of poems by poet laureates from different cities in California. 
I know Bob Stanley as a very busy person, always involved with one event or another, but he set aside a little bit of time to share his reading list and to answer a few of my interview questions.
I know Bob Stanley as a very busy person, always involved with one event or another, but he set aside a little bit of time to share his reading list and to answer a few of my interview questions.
Bobby's Reading List
Summerland, by Michael Chabon – A fantasy with a baseball theme.
Two Jane Austen novels for the wonderful Sacramento Library program –
Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park
The Devils Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea (we read this for English 1a – Sac State’s “One Book”)
Crazy for the Storm, a memoir by Norman Ollestad
The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester - The story of the first Oxford Dictionary
Willie Mays: the Man and the Legend - A biography by James Hirsch
The Last Chinese Chef: A Novel by Nicole Mones
Mostly, I read poetry, and sporadically. Here’s a list of some I delved into this year:
Harryette Mullen: Sleeping with the Dictionary – brilliant work, dances on the edges of language
Robert Hass: Time and Materials
Qunton Duval: Joe’s Rain. When Quinton died, I read it again. And again. Q finds wisdom in the plain; somehow his straight talk is both down-to-earth and of-the-spirit.
Robert Hass: Now and Then. An accessible and insightful collection of about 75 poets, with Hass’s commentary. The inspiration for my “County Lines” online poetry series. Highly recommended for someone who wants to know what poetry is and can be.
The Sacramento Anthology: 100 Poems. Edited by Dennis Schmitz and Viola Weinberg. The 2001 collection has aged well – we read it in class, and found plenty of gems in the Sacramento rough.
An Interview with Boby Stanley
1.When do you get time to read, given how full your schedule always looks, or is reading strictly part of the busy schedule.
Reading comes when I can – usually late at night – too late, really – 11 or 12 until 1 or 2am.
2. You described the Chabon book you read as a fantasy on baseball, perhaps a children's book. How was your experience reading a Chabon book?
I loved “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay” – and Summerland had a lot of that playfulness. Chabon reminds me, for some reason, of Tom Robbins, but a generation later – a great story spinner, a little bit wacky, great imagination, but I’m not sure if his work fully coalesces in the end – maybe that’s his point.
3. As poet laureate of Sacramento, you work a lot with the city and county libraries. Are a lot of people in the region reading, or are they responsive to and utilizing the services the libraries offer, which include reading with the poet laureate?
Our regional libraries are great – they are busy with people, but it’s not always reading. I think it’s good that they are becoming community centers – they bring folks in, young and old, and so the chances are greater that people will read!
4. Since becoming Poet Laureate, how has your writing been affected?
Since I’ve written a number of poems for occasions – Art museum opening, University fundraisers, etc, I feel I’ve gotten more topical. I think in some ways that’s actually a good thing – it’s kept me writing. But I could always use more time to write. I like to explore without structure – and that’s hard to do when I’m so busy.
5. What events/activities do you have lined up for poetss and readers of Sacramento?
Jazz and poetry night Feb 7 at the California Stage will begin a new series. 7:30 pm.
6. Out of your reading list, which titles did you enjoy the most, and which ones would you recommend?
Poetry: Now and Then, Joe’s Rain; Fiction: The Last Chinese Chef, Summerland, Mansfield Park
I don’t know about other cities, but I think we have a fantastic community of writers here, and in the foothills and the valley as well. I’m lucky to be among them at this time. “Prominence” I can’t really speak of – I think our literary boom is more close to home, and that’s not a bad thing. Hearing Crawdad Nelson and Gene Bloom read Monday night reminded me that there’s important voices right here under our noses.
8. And in your capacity as poet laureate what words of encouragement would you like to share?
Everybody can write – find a group, write and share. It might not get you published, but it will get you thinking, learning, sharing, appreciating.
9. What are your reading plans for 2011?
I like to find books that take me away – I’m really a sucker for a good, fun read. But there’s a stack by the bed – we estimated that it would take a year to read it. No specific plans, I guess. I’ll dip into a lot of books – novels, memoir, poetry – and see which ones carry me away.
Comments