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 the pleasure of hearing Paul Fericano read poems new and old at the Artists’ Union Gallery last night. Paul’s is a distinct turn of mind–able to sweep up humor, irony, and deep feeling in a winning trifecta. Paul takes the materials of popular culture–from Elizabeth Taylor to The Three Stooges–and makes of them
Sugar Mule #32 just went live online, bearing three of my poems. As fate would have it, I plan to read two of these three poems tonight at The Artists’ Union Gallery in Ventura. The reading begins at 7:30PM. Bring a poem or two for the open mic. And for those of you who can’t
I came down from the hills tonight to hear Timothy Green read from his debut book American Fractal. Tim’s work is sonorous, fragmentary, and he reads it well. During his reading a disheveled man kept shuffling papers in his backpack. Afterward, he introduced himself to me as “John,” a “published poet.” He said he, too,
“The sea is dangerous, they say, but not if you’re the sea.” -Sarah Maclay, “Ocean in White Chair,” from The White Bride Sarah Maclay drew me down to the seaside tonight, to hear her read poems from her first book, Whore, her second book, The White Bride, and selections from a new, unpublished manuscript. It
Sarah Maclay at the Artists’ Union Gallery, Ventura Read More »
I read a range of poems, many new pieces fueled by the MFA–and even some poems about the passing of our son. It was the first time reading them in public, save for a few I read in workshop at the last residency. It felt necessary–like it was time; another stage of honoring and letting
Featured Poet at Artists’ Union Gallery, Ventura Read More »
