Friday Lubina is an American poet. Her enthusiastic support of the Ventura County poetry scene, and welcoming me as a newcomer from Los Angeles, made my time in Ojai so much the better.
As the year comes to a close, I find myself in a reflective mood. Having compiled a list of the more than 350 poets I have mentioned on my website since I began writing about poetry in 2003, I was curious to discover which poets I have mentioned most often in the last ten years. …
When I first moved to Ventura County from Los Angeles, I skeptically but diligently began investigating the local poetry scene. What I discovered was a diverse, thriving community that welcomed me quickly. I spent a formative six years here, including two years in a low-residency MFA in writing program, trying out new poems at the …
I had a great time at the “Friday On Saturday” reading at the Bell Arts Factory tonight. The open mic was one strong poem after another. I read about a dozen poems, mostly newer work including poems from my application to Pacific. I felt well received and appreciated the opportunity to read as a featured …
My first night at the Bell Arts Factory, I heard Cathryn Andresen read a pantoum and was mesmerized. That experience, in part, helped me realize some of the potential of formal poetry in my own work. Tonight she read a wide range of forms: rhyming, free verse, limericks, and kimo, showcasing poems largely forged in …
‘Factory’ Floored Ojai poet Peake discovers monthly readings at Bell Arts Factory in Ventura Click here for clipping When Robert Peake moved to Ojai from Los Angeles nearly two years ago, he thought he was leaving behind a thriving community of poetry readings. Then he discovered a monthly reading series at the Bell Arts Factory …
“I’m glad to be here. At my age, I’m glad to be anywhere.” So Doris, at 83, opened her featured reading at the Bell Arts Factory in Ventura with all the fire and energy of a sixteen year old. In addition to delightful, and often (refreshingly) funny poems she brought cookies that were out of …
