Stories & a Poem or two from Nikki Giovanni: It’s Black History Month

For nearly 30 years, UC Santa Cruz has recognized Martin Luther King Jr with an annual convocation.

Last month, UCSC invited Nikki Giovanni to speak.

According to Wikipedia, “Yolande Cornelia “Nikki” Giovanni (born June 7, 1943) is an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. Her primary focus is on the individual and the power one has to make a difference in oneself and in the lives of others. Giovanni’s poetry expresses strong racial pride, respect for family, and her own experiences as a daughter, a civil rights activist, and a mother. She is currently a distinguished professor of English at Virginia Tech.^[1]“

And wow, did she have a LOT to say! I wish I could have been there. She presents so much history with so much heart and humor that I am scrambling to figure out how to fit this into my already full syllabus. I can certainly make it an extra credit or make-up assignment, so if you are one of my students, you can watch and listen to this and write about it.

Happy Black History month!

Alley Reads 3:15s on 3/15, Leads Workshop 3/24

Please join me Tuesday March 15, 2011 at 7:30pm in the Artists Union Gallery for the first reading from my new poetry collection Middle of the Night Poems From Daughter to Mother :: Mother to Son (en theos press 2011).

Danika Dinsmore, who began the 3:15 Experiment in 1993, will be reading and I am excited to hear work from other 3:15 poets in the open mic after my feature.

I have readings, workshops, a party and a book fair scheduled in the next two weeks. Read on for more details. Or download this pdf: ALLEYlaunchdetails1upleft

… Read More

via art predator

3:15 Experiment Reading 3/15 of “Middle of the Night”

My new poetry collection Middle of the Night Poems From Daughter to Mother :: Mother to Son (en theos press 2011) will be here tomorrow! See the cover, discover the contents and learn more about the broadside pictured.

Please join me Tuesday March 15, 2011 at 7:30pm in the Artists Union Gallery for the first reading from my new poetry collection Middle of the Night Poems From Daughter to Mother :: Mother to Son (en theos press 2011). This is the paperback book edition of the chapbook I produced for the 2010 Women’s Conference. … Read More

via art predator

Dottie, Vlat, Me, You & More at Artists Union Gallery 12/7

Poet Dottie Grossman will read her work in a call and response performance with Michael Vlatkovich (and possibly other musicians) 730pm Tuesday, December 7 at the Artists Union Gallery, 330 S. California Street, at the Ventura Beach Promenade near the big hotel, the parking garage and Aloha Steakhouse. You can learn more about what Dottie does in the video above and get a sample of the process.

The poetry reading is free but a hat is usually passed and donations are accepted for refreshments of coffee and cookies. CDs will also be available for purchase.

An open mic will follow. If you want to read your own poetry at the open mic, arrive 10-15 minutes early to sign up. Since there will likely be a big crowd, poets should keep their readings short: one poem of less than 3 minutes. If there’s time, poets will read in a second round.

I’ll be bringing my students; we will be reading from our end of the semester class publications. I’ll be reading a poem or two as well from my new collection Middle of the Night Poems from Daughter to Mother :: Mother to Son (en theos press 2010).

Below is one more video of poetry by Dottie Grossman–this one’s short and gives you a good idea of what’s in store tomorrow night!

For more poetry, take a ride on the Monday Poetry Train!

Poetry For Veteran’s Day & How A Poem Came To Be (via The Write Alley)

Today is Veteran’s Day so I’d like to dedicate this poem to my many wonderful students who are veterans.

These Brothers They
by Gwendolyn Alley

Let me tell you
what I know about the Vietnam War.
I know nothing except … Read More

via The Write Alley

A Halloween “I Am” Poem! (via art predator)

“I am” poems can be lots of fun to play with as a structure for a poem or just to explore ideas. You can write about yourself or take on a persona. This one was written with a group of kindergarten and first graders.

I am a scary smelly skeleton pirate! I wonder where the treasure is I hear black rusty shooting fire cannonballs and swords slapping I see other English ships to get their treasure I want treasure, a golden compass, and a gold ring I am a scary smelly skeleton pirate! I pretend to play swords with you I  feel my bones cracking I touch the shark’s teeth I worry about my pirate ship and how it will disappear one day I cry when my boat tips upside d … Read More

via art predator

Train Night At The Artists Union Gallery Tues. 9/14

TRAIN READING

POETS ELLEN and ENID OSBORN

read on the theme of TRAINS!

Tuesday, Sept. 14 at 7:30 p.m.

Artists Union Gallery

330 South California Street, Ventura

Hosted by Roe Estep

Open mic follows…

The Painting Locomotive, by Van Gogh

By ellen

Near the end of his life
Vincent said to Theo
I am the painting locomotive

as he splashed his canvass with unbearable blue
slashed the spectrum of hues
from yellow to ochre’s billowing wheat

daubed those black marauding crows
in a feverish race—his eyes
piercing twin tracks of light

suddenly bullet-stopped
like a coal fired steam-engine’s
great screeching brakes.

—————————-

Excerpt from NIGHT TRAIN

By Enid Osborn

He wanders long and long

the whole long train,

chaste and astonished by their faces, their losses,

and lost in the rhythmic, now arhythmic beat and clack

of the rails, rough and missing

like a faulty heart

The locomotive’s sad herald cry barely reaches him

from another realm, another train

Not this one he prays over,

not this long night,

not this long train he wanders aching through

He is far away from the world,

from the miles of ramshackle track

where fallen spikes lie rusting in the rocks,

reaching for their lost beds,

and the oily, split tyes

yawn in tortured speech

to bear the terrible heat and fire spark

of countless train tons laboring through the night…

Every Tuesday you can find an open mic and every other Tuesday a featured reader or two at the Artists Union Gallery. It’s free–but they often take donations to give to the poet.

To find more poetry, take a ride on the Monday Poetry Train!

Sonnet for September 11, 2001 (via art predator)

There’s been a lot of animosity today it seems–lots of arguing about burning the Koran and whether it is ok or not to build a mosque 2.5 city blocks away from where the World Trade Centers stood. In Michael Moore’s article “If the ‘Mosque’ Isn’t Built, This Is No Longer America,” he argues:

Why? Because I believe in an America that protects those who are the victims of hate and prejudice. I believe in an America that says you have the right to worship whatever God you have, wherever you want to worship. And I believe in an America that says to the world that we are a loving and a generous people.

I wrote the following sonnet for September 11 on Sept 13, 2001; a broadside of it (as illustrated) was published in ArtLife Limited Editions October 1, 2001.

Sonnet for September 11

thursday i listen to radiohead
in a new purple polka dot sundress
& i am trying to feel so modern
i search for more warmth for this sunny day  … Read More

via art predator

Poetry for Memorial Day: These Brothers They (via art predator)

In the US, on the last Monday in May, we honor those who gave their lives in defense of this country. There are a lot of ways to die. When I was young, my mother worked with Viet Nam war veterans and I came to know a number of them. These experiences inspired this poem which I first posted Memorial Day Monday, May 26, 2008. It was published as a broadside in ArtLife Limited Editions July 1999 as it appears here. These Brothers They Let me tell yo … Read More

via art predator

VC Students to Read in Artists Union Gallery Tonight 7:30pm

Students from Gwendolyn Alley’s English composition classes will read prose and poetry from their recently published class anthologies tonight, Tuesday Dec. 8 7:30 in  the Artists Union Gallery, 330 S. California St. Ventura California. The reading is free and all are welcome.

Pictured are students from Alley’s English 2 class at the conclusion of Eco-Fest which they organized. Christina Henderson drew the poster; an image with students and the poster graces the cover of their student publication.