WEALTH OF IDEAS

On April 12, I am hosting a Sacramento Poetry Center reading featuring Nicole Griffin (Oakland), Catherine Daly (Los Angeles, and Margaret Hoehn (Sacramento). All are invited to this night of great poetry. Here are the details: Nicole Griffin Nicole Griffin is a writer and social activist living and loving in Oakland by way of Sacramento. She earned an MFA in Creative Writing/Poetry at Mills College in Oakland last spring and completed June Jordan’s Student-Teacher-Poet program, Poetry for the People at UC Berkeley. Her poems have appeared in the anthology, What I Want from You, The Walrus and The Womanist. She is currently working on her first book of poems, entitled, The Body Remembers. Catherine Daly Catherine Daly is author of eight books of poetry. She has worked as a technical architect for twenty years; much of her work engages technology. Three of her books are available online, and she has also developed online courseware in creative writing. She has an MFA from Columbia...

February is Black History Month (BHM). There are celebrations in many spheres of (black) life in America, but nowhere are the celebrations highly evident than in colleges and arts organizations. In line with this spirit, I will be involved in two black poetry events next week. On Monday, I join Sacramento poet Lawrence Dinkins, popularly known as NSAA (pronounced "ensa"), at the Sacramento Poetry Center, where we will co-host the BHM reading/performance. One mic, four dynamic poets, and as my friend Terry Moore would say, "some of Sacramento's hottest poets". Names like Anna Marie, Laura Cooks, Sean King and Dawn DiBartolo. If you haven't seen Anna Marrie in action, you better show up on Monday. She performs/recites most of her poetry, and as you are tranformed by the words (transformed on the spot) you see the poet transforming too (seizing not only the stage, but also the entire space inhabited by poet and audience). Dawn DiBartolo has a new publication. ...