WEALTH OF IDEAS

Joanna Biggar at North Natomas Library SACRAMENTO, CALIF.: The North Natomas Library & Sacramento Poetry Center's International Poetry Tour featured novelist Joanna Biggar reading excerpts from her debut novel, "That Paris Year". This installation of the reading series was in celebration of Bastille Day, which is done worldwide in honor of French culture. Biggar's appearance, therefore, was perfect for the occasion. Jennifer Pickering, reading her poem "Juggler of Fire". She wrote this poem in France last year, when she travelled there with her husband. The reading started with an open mic, which featured Jennifer Pickering and Andrea Roberge. I also got to read Comrade Fatso's "Dambudzo", since I happened to be carrying 'Moving Spirit: The Legacy of Dambudzo Marechera in the 21st Century'. Jennifer and Andrea read a bilingual poem (English & French) entitled 'Juggler of Fire/Jongleur de Feu'. Andrea Robe...

A line of trees outside of the Kohls department store in Natomas, Sacramento. I started off shopping with the family, then after a while, when there was nothinig else interesting for me to see in the store, I excused myself and went outside to put my camera to use. Somehow the linearity of these trees, truly an obession in tree-planting here (as in a lot of other urban locales), always amazes me. You have to appreciate linear beauty whenever you get a chance, and these trees, aren't they just beautiful. They briefly follow a creek, then they stop, to mark the end of the shopping's parking lot. But still, they are trees. Since the beginning of the summer, and in anticipation of my upcoming trip to Zimbabwe, I have been exploring coastal Northern California with my family. While on the road, I have also rediscovered my interest in photography. Rediscovered in the right word, because I used to take a lot of photos in Zimbabwe (over sixteen years ago), especially in the rural...