Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Featuring Washington State Poet Laureate Rena Priest at Art at the Cave on April 13, 2023

March 20, 2023

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic

Featuring Washington State Poet Laureate Rena Priest

Hosted by Christopher Luna and Morgan Paige

7 pm

Thursday, April 13

Art at the Cave

108 E Evergreen Blvd

Vancouver, WA 98660

https://artatthecave.com

LGBTQ+ FRIENDLY, PRO-SCIENCE, ANTI-FASCIST, PRO-CHOICE,

ALL AGES, AND UNCENSORED SINCE 2004

$5 Suggested donation

Donations can be made in person or through Christopher Luna’s PayPal account (christopherjluna@gmail.com). Include a memo stating that the money is for Ghost Town Poetry. The suggested donation is five dollars.

Rena Priest is a member of the Lhaq’temish (Lummi) Nation. She is wrapping up her term as our 6th Washington State Poet Laureate. She is also a Maxine Cushing Gray Distinguished Writing Fellow an Academy of American Poets Fellow, and the recipient of an Allied Arts Foundation Professional Poets Award. Her debut collection, Patriarchy Blues, received a 2018 American Book Award. Most recently she has edited an anthology titled, I Sing the Salmon Home: poems from Washington state. Other books include Northwest Know-how: Beaches and Sublime Subliminal. She holds an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College.

The Ghost Town Poetry community respectfully encourages you to support Niche Wine Bar, whose owner, Leah Jackson, provided a home for the reading series from 2015-2020. Stop by their new location at 900 Washington, Suite 130 Vancouver, WA 98660: https://nichewinebar.com.

UPDATED Statement on Healthy Spaces from Art at the Cave: We want to provide a healthy space to enjoy art. We have been practicing safety precautions such as regular cleaning, social distancing and mask wearing.

As a result of the removal of the mask mandate effective March 12, 2022, we will no longer require the wearing of masks. We encourage you to continue to wear a mask if it makes you feel more comfortable, and we will supply masks and hand sanitizer at the door. As social distancing has become a norm, please be mindful some will still need a bit of personal space while inside the gallery.

Reach Out, Reach In, the debut chapbook from Leah Klass

October 25, 2021

Printed Matter Vancouver is proud to present the debut chapbook from Leah Klass. Recently relocated from Portland to Ann Arbor, Michigan, Leah is a poet, community activist, global connector, and World Peace Fellow. Hers is the first book of poetry Printed Matter Vancouver has published featuring a writer who lives outside of Southwest Washington.

Order now: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09K1HRGF6/

The debut collection of poetry by Leah Klass tells stories of discovering empathy through human connection. Her work is a rallying call to value our everyday interactions with other people. Reach Out, Reach In offers concrete ideas for transforming the world into a warmer, more welcoming place.

Reach Out, Reach In

By Leah Klass

Published by Printed Vancouver

October 25, 2021

Cover Art & Design by Mercer Hanau

Edited by Toni Lumbrazo Luna and Christopher Luna

ASIN: ‎ B09K1HRGF6
ISBN-13‏: ‎ 979-8985129106

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR REACH OUT, REACH IN

How we are made is how we see, and from the rich mosaic of her background Leah Klass delivers kaleidoscopic poems that will persuade your vision to see this world made strange and precious. This book offers local beginnings, global consciousness, and the courage to use language for what it needs to do: sustain the sovereign self engaged in connecting the private life to the public world. Enter this book troubled, then emerge knowing “there is another way.” — Kim Stafford, author of Singer Come from Afar

I read Reach Out, Reach In straight through and want more. Leah Klass tells to the bone truth in bold narratives and chewable language. She is a thoroughly American woman who gathered new languages and a layered identity living in many countries. “Understand I am global,” she writes, and we do, seeing through her “inherited pattern recognition” a unifying grasp of culture and language that threads through her own evolution from childhood to maturity. These brave poems move with a strong beat, riding on a wide and inclusive heart. They illuminate so much of a woman’s experience through the stages of her life. For Klass, a fierce advocacy for all people developed, rooted in connection and kindness, and in her passion for acts big and small in families and communities that count toward healing the world. — Rae Latham 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in Washington, D.C., Leah’s education has included attending diverse public schools and studying abroad. She learned Spanish in the homes of her friends in Falls Church, Virginia. In high school she turned 16 on a secular kibbutz, where she worked on the assembly line in an olive factory and was chased by ostriches. She later waitressed and cleaned houses to help pay for her studies in Anthropology at the University of Virginia which included a year of study abroad in Brazil. She completed a master’s degree in International Peace and Conflict Resolution at the University of Queensland thanks to a Rotary Fellowship in Argentina and Australia. 

She spent the first years of her career bringing businesses from different countries together and encouraging friendships between strangers. Market research and report writing were a ticket to long weekends in Chile and high speed taxi rides in Mexico. She has also helped get social services to migrant communities, taught students how to better network and facilitated group discussions for international business people.

Leah’s greatest pleasures are making connections and reaching out to build community. Speaking many languages allows her to communicate with more people. She speaks Spanish, Portuguese and some Hebrew and German. She is committed to valuing intergenerational relationships and amplifying kindness. 

After becoming a mother, Leah experienced a great shift in her understanding of the world and felt an overwhelming desire to express her need to build community and to help others find and use their voices. In tandem, she joined a kind and passionate poetry community in Portland, Oregon. With the support of the group, poetry has become a way for her to tell stories and to activate others to go out and do something good.

Learn more at www.leahklass.com.

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Featuring Lightship Press Poet Red O’Hare at Art At The Cave on March 9, 2023

February 22, 2023

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic

Featuring Red O’Hare

Hosted by Christopher Luna and Morgan Paige

LGBTQ+ FRIENDLY, PRO-SCIENCE, ANTI-FASCIST, PRO-CHOICE,

ALL AGES, AND UNCENSORED SINCE 2004

7 pm

Thursday, March 9

Art at the Cave

108 E Evergreen Blvd

Vancouver, WA 98660

https://artatthecave.com

$5 Suggested donation

Donations can be made in person or through Christopher Luna’s PayPal account (christopherjluna@gmail.com). Include a memo stating that the money is for Ghost Town Poetry. The suggested donation is five dollars.

Red O’Hare is a West Coast-based Jewish-American Poet. Her debut book of poetry, Seaglass Strange, was published late last year by Lightship Press. She was born during the Reagan administration to the child of Jewish immigrant Carnies and that of stalwart Presbyterian missionaries. She believes in boots and ghosts. Her dog is named after a Doctor Who character, but you have to guess which one. Red has been writing and performing poetry since she was 15 years old in California’s San Fernando Valley.  She’s competed in poetry slams but has never won, and has been featured at Wordlights, The Last Stand at Wildwood Saloon, The Nest, Portland Poetry Slam, and The Crow’s Nest, to name a few. She has also performed at Studio Morey, Fused Creative’s show Leave Me On Read, Telltale PDX’s show This Is What We Need, The Brewery Artist’s Lofts, The Anna Broome Room, and KBOO Radio’s Talking Earth poetry series, hosted by Dan Raphael. Red’s spoken word album is available at redohare.bandcamp.com.

Connect with Red on her website: www.redohare.com or follow her on Instagram at @mizredohare or on Facebook at facebook.com/mizredohare.

Learn more about Lightship Press here: https://www.lightshippress.com/

The Ghost Town Poetry community respectfully encourages you to support Niche Wine Bar, whose owner, Leah Jackson, provided a home for the reading series from 2015-2020. Stop by their new location at 900 Washington, Suite 130 Vancouver, WA 98660: https://nichewinebar.com.

UPDATED Statement on Healthy Spaces from Art at the Cave: We want to provide a healthy space to enjoy art. We have been practicing safety precautions such as regular cleaning, social distancing and mask wearing.

As a result of the removal of the mask mandate effective March 12, 2022, we will no longer require the wearing of masks. We encourage you to continue to wear a mask if it makes you feel more comfortable, and we will supply masks and hand sanitizer at the door. As social distancing has become a norm, please be mindful some will still need a bit of personal space while inside the gallery.

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Featuring Katherine Factor at Art At The Cave on February 9, 2023

January 15, 2023

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic
Featuring Katherine Factor
Hosted by Christopher Luna and Morgan Paige

LGBTQ+ FRIENDLY, PRO-SCIENCE, ANTI-FASCIST, PRO-CHOICE,
ALL AGES, AND UNCENSORED SINCE 2004

7 pm
Thursday, February 9

Art at the Cave
108 E Evergreen Blvd
Vancouver, WA 98660
https://artatthecave.com

$5 Suggested donation

Donations can be made in person or through Christopher Luna’s PayPal account (christopherjluna@gmail.com). Include a memo stating that the money is for Ghost Town Poetry. The suggested donation is five dollars.

Katherine Factor by Erin Monahan

Katherine Factor is an author, poet, and editor. She is the author of a book of poems, A Sybil Society, and four Choose Your Own Adventure interactive novels, including Spies: Mata Hari, Spies: Harry Houdini, and Spies: Spy for Cleopatra. Katherine earned her MFA in Poetry from the University of Iowa and has been a writer-in-residence at schools for the arts. Her music essays can be seen on PopMatters. Her children’s book about Bigfoot is forthcoming in March 2023 from ChooseCo.

The Ghost Town Poetry community respectfully encourages you to support Niche Wine Bar, whose owner, Leah Jackson, provided a home for the reading series from 2015-2020. Stop by their new location at 900 Washington, Suite 130 Vancouver, WA 98660: https://nichewinebar.com.

UPDATED Statement on Healthy Spaces from Art at the Cave: We want to provide a healthy space to enjoy art. We have been practicing safety precautions such as regular cleaning, social distancing and mask wearing.

As a result of the removal of the mask mandate effective March 12, 2022, we will no longer require the wearing of masks. We encourage you to continue to wear a mask if it makes you feel more comfortable, and we will supply masks and hand sanitizer at the door. As social distancing has become a norm, please be mindful some will still need a bit of personal space while inside the gallery.

Remembering Russ Nelson by Toni Lumbrazo Luna and Christopher Luna

December 21, 2022

This Summer we received the sad news that Russ Nelson died on June 30. Russ and his wife, Julie O’Mara, have been regular participants in the reading series for several years. Members of the community who knew Russ shared memories and poems for and by our friend at Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic on August 11.

Julie’s portrait of Russ

In October a celebration of life was held at Frenchman’s Bar in Vancouver, WA.

For Julie (Russ’s spouse)

By Toni Lumbrazo Luna

Hold close loved ones

feel the nearness—not

broken by space and

time—but living on,

inside us—by memory,

in dreams—

    it is what we have

    always—nesting

    within our hearts.

Christopher Luna and Julie O’Mara
Some of Russ’s personal items

Unending Conversation with Russ

By Christopher Luna

lean in

close enough

to enjoy the shape

of my straw hat

hear the

conspiratorial

rumbling

of tales of

man’s folly

magical forests

and great literature

later we’ll

stand on the sidewalk

truly enjoy each other

as we contemplate

the new world

our kindnesses

might create

Friends and family members take Russ’s ashes to the river.

Book Launch for Christopher Luna’s Voracity with special guests Angelo Luna and Toni Lumbrazo Luna at Birdhouse Books January 6, 2023

December 18, 2022

Join us for First Friday with The Lunas (Christopher Luna, Toni Lumbrazo Luna, and Angelo Luna) featuring the Vancouver book launch for Christopher Luna’s Voracity (Lightship Press, 2022)

From Birdhouse Books: “It’s a family affair: Christopher Luna, Toni Lumbrazo Luna, and Angelo Luna will be joining us for the return of our First Friday Poetry Series!

Christopher Luna, co-host of Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic and co-founder of Printed Matter Vancouver, has just released his new poetry collection, VORACITY, from Lightship Press, and will be joined by his wife Toni Lumbrazo Luna, co-founder of Printed Matter Vancouver and local poetry powerhouse, and his son Angelo Luna, who co-authored the father-son poetry collection EXCHANGING WISDOM.”

7pm
Friday, January 6
Birdhouse Books
1001 Main Street Basement
Vancouver, WA 98660

Voracity, featuring poetry and collages by Christopher Luna, is now available from Lightship Press or the author.

Voracity by Christopher Luna
$18.00

“Brutally honest confessional poetry, Christopher Luna’s Voracity conjures a beatific earnestness which transcends pain and suffering through acts of lyrical, life-affirming grace and redemption.” David Madgalene, author of Call Down the Angel

In this revealing poetry collection, Luna invites readers on a candid and intimate journey behind the mask of a public figure as he grapples with identity, body image, and the enormity of his hungers.”

Driven By Hope by Toni Lumbrazo Luna
Printed Matter Vancouver, 2019

Driven By Hope is Toni Lumbrazo Luna’s third book of poetry. It contains glimpses into the lives of people she has met throughout her career as a Social Worker and Life/Career Coach. These poems are based on real life and Toni takes them to new places inside her imagination. Perhaps you will see yourself through her eyes. Order Driven By Hope here:

Exchanging Wisdom: A Guide for Parents of the Autonomous
The Poetry Box, 2021

Exchanging Wisdom features poems for and about Christopher’s son Angelo Luna, as well as a few pieces Angelo wrote for Christopher. The earliest poem was written when Angelo was three, and the most recent at age 21. Christopher endeavored to encourage his son to be an autonomous, freethinking individual. Angelo grew to become that and so much more. Taken as a whole, the poems in this collection track the development of Angelo’s personality and the strong bond between father and son.

Christopher Luna is a true heir to the Beat and New York School traditions of candor and grandeur. This collaboration and celebration of life runs on impeccable timing and deep love. As Luna and his son Angelo exchange wisdom they also re-invent the meaning of open verse: these poems crack open the heart and spill the joy of parenthood into the world.

—Lisa Jarnot, author
Robert Duncan, the Ambassador from Venus

One day you’re gonna have to…remind me how to believe in the basic goodness of all beings, Christopher Luna tells his son, Angelo, in his latest book, Exchanging Wisdom. More than a collection of father-son poems, Exchanging Wisdom is a record of gratitude. Luna knows that to be a parent is to be both teacher and pupil, vulnerable and responsible. In every poem Luna’s love beams: Like Lone Wolf and Cub we traversed…and you reminded me that magic is real…. These poems contemplate our never-ending wars, sickness, apathy, and art-making through the lens of a deeply reverent father. For some, being a parent, being the adult, is synonymous with having the answers. Luna, a Buddhist poet, community-organizer, and activist, reminds us that questioning is the only way to truth. What are you afraid to find? he wonders. Are these the right questions to ask? In these mind- and heart-opening poems Luna invites us to experience pure joy and wonder again through memory and thankfulness. Once you’ve opened those doors/ you need never do so again, asserts Luna. Once father you cannot go back to your former life. Thankfully for us, Luna never did.

—Claudia F. Savage, author of Bruising Continents

What happens during The Work poetry writing workshop? Information for newcomers

December 6, 2022

Excited to try your hand at a generative writing workshop but feeling a bit nervous about what to expect? The following is excerpted from a recent email response I sent to a writer who enquired about what they might expect from The Work poetry writing workshop:

My workshops tend to attract 4-6 poets per session. We sometimes begin by hearing one poem from those who care to share one. I do this because poetry is an oral tradition, and because hearing a few poems before we begin can help put us in the right frame of mind to begin creating something from nothing.

We then spend the next hour or so engaged in three separate timed writing exercises. I send out handouts with example poems that will be used during the writing period. Beside or beneath each poem is a series of writing prompts inspired by the poem. Each prompt has some relationship to either the content, style, or technique found in the example. I provide more than one prompt because I realize that not everyone will relate to or be interested in each one. 

I like to give people options, and to send them away with writing prompts for a rainy day. Many writers tell me that they sometimes have trouble maintaining their writing practice when they are not in the workshop. If you hold on to the handouts, you will begin to acquire a collection of prompts for those times when you may want to write yet feel uninspired. 

You also always have the option of freewriting something based on whatever struck you in the poem. 

The last hour of the workshop is spent hearing at least one poem from each writer, then sharing constructive feedback on their drafts. Because all of the poems we are discussing are first drafts, this is not a hard critique. You do not need to have any particular skills or educational background to participate. I simply ask each poet to respond as a reader and a human being, in order to let each writer know what she has accomplished so far, how/what the poem is communicating, and a few ideas for what might be done in the future should the writer choose to revise the piece.

Looking to follow your bliss in 2023? Take a poetry or memoir writing workshop with Christopher Luna.

Have a friend who might benefit from a creative writing workshop? Purchase one for them for the holidays.

I lead creative writing workshops and classes year-round. I am also accepting new coaching clients and manuscripts for editing. If you are looking for writing coaching, editing/manuscript review, or information about poetry and memoir classes, send me an email via printedmattervancouver@gmail.com.

You can read all about it on the Printed Matter Vancouver website:

Creative Writing Workshops

Christopher Luna’s 2023 Creative Writing Workshops

November 19, 2022

Looking to follow your bliss in 2023? Take a poetry or memoir writing workshop with Christopher Luna.

Have a friend who might benefit from a creative writing workshop? Purchase one for them for the holidays.

Christopher Luna leads creative writing workshops and classes year-round. He is also accepting new coaching clients and manuscripts for editing. If you are looking for writing coaching, editing/manuscript review, or information about poetry and memoir classes, send Christopher an email via printedmattervancouver@gmail.com.

Collage by Christopher Luna

You can read all about it on the Creative Writing workshops page of this website:

https://printedmattervancouver.com/creative-writing-workshops/

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Featuring Sam Preminger at Art At The Cave on Thursday, December 8, 2022

November 16, 2022

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic

Featuring Sam Preminger

Hosted by Christopher Luna and Morgan Paige

LGBTQ+ FRIENDLY, PRO-SCIENCE, ANTI-FASCIST, PRO-CHOICE,

ALL AGES, AND UNCENSORED SINCE 2004

7 pm

Thursday, December 8

Art At The Cave

108 E Evergreen Blvd

Vancouver, WA 98660

https://artatthecave.com

$5 Suggested donation

Donations can be made in person or through Christopher Luna’s PayPal account (christopherjluna@gmail.com). Include a memo stating that the money is for Ghost Town Poetry. The suggested donation is five dollars.

Sam Preminger (they/them) is a trans-nonbinary, Jewish writer and publisher. They hold an MFA from Pacific University, serve as the Editor-in-Chief of NAILED Magazine, and are a co-founder of Lightship Press. They’re the author of Cosmological Horizons (Kelsay Books, 2022) and their poetry has appeared in Prairie Schooner, North Dakota Quarterly, Michigan Quarterly Review, and Narrative Magazine, among other publications. They live in Portland, OR, where they’ve acquired too many house plants.

The Ghost Town Poetry community respectfully encourages you to support Niche Wine Bar, whose owner, Leah Jackson, provided a home for the reading series from 2015-2020. Stop by their new location at 900 Washington, Suite 130 Vancouver, WA 98660: https://nichewinebar.com.

UPDATED Statement on Healthy Spaces from Art at the Cave: We want to provide a healthy space to enjoy art. We have been practicing safety precautions such as regular cleaning, social distancing and mask wearing.

As a result of the removal of the mask mandate effective March 12, 2022, we will no longer require the wearing of masks. We encourage you to continue to wear a mask if it makes you feel more comfortable, and we will supply masks and hand sanitizer at the door. As social distancing has become a norm, please be mindful some will still need a bit of personal space while inside the gallery.

Photos from Ghost Town Poets reading in Milwaukie, OR on October 7, 2022

November 11, 2022

Our thanks to Tom Hogan for inviting us to bring some of the poets from the Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic community to Oregon for the Milwaukie Poetry Series at Milwaukie Floral & Garden on October 7. Angelo and Christopher Luna read from their first co-authored book, Exchanging Wisdom: A Guide for Parents of the Autnomous, published in 2021 by The Poetry Box. They were joined by Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic regular Erin Iwata and Toni Lumbrazo Luna, co-founder of Printed Matter Vancouver and former co-host of Ghost Town Poetry.

We are also grateful to the Clackamas Review for running a story about the event which included Maria Vara’s wonderful portrait of Angelo and Christopher. Visit Maria Vara Photography to see more of her work.

Angelo Luna and Christopher Luna by Maria Vara
Angelo and Christopher Luna by Tom Hogan

Angelo Luna reads from Exchanging Wisdom: A Guide for Parents of the Autonomous
Angelo Luna reads from Exchanging Wisdom: A Guide for Parents of the Autonomous
Erika Moorman reads in the open mic
Ghost Town Poet Erin Iwata reads to the crowd at the Milwukie Poetry Series
Erin Iwata reads her poetry
Milwaukie Poetry Series host Tom Hogan with featured readers Erin Iwata, Toni Lumbrazo Luna, Angelo Luna, and Christopher Luna
Nat Iwata reads his poetry in public for the first time
Tiel Ansari reads in the open mic
Milwaukie Poetry Series founder Tom Hogan with featured Ghost Town Poets Erin Iwata, Toni Lumbrazo Luna, Angelo Luna, and Christopher Luna
Milwaukie Poetry Series founder Tom Hogan with featured Ghost Town Poets Erin Iwata, Toni Lumbrazo Luna, Angelo Luna, and Christopher Luna

Here is tom Hogan’s announcment for the reading:

Milwaukie Poetry Series First Friday

Featuring Ghost Town Poets
and Open Mic

October 7, 2022 at 6:30 PM.

In-person at Milwaukie Floral & Garden or watch on Zoom.

Share poetry! It’s that time of year for First Fridays!

We’re having in-person poetry readings again! Our Friday, October 7 event will conclude the 2022 season First Fridays events. Our First Friday events are co-sponsored by the Milwaukie Poetry Series and St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church.

This event is in person at Milwaukie Floral & Garden, 3306 SE Lake Rd. This is a new location and is approximately a half mile east of downtown Milwaukie on Lake Rd. It will also be a virtual event on Zoom.

Our Featured Readers are members of the Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic community. Christopher and Angelo Luna will read from their new book Exchanging Wisdom: A Guide for Parents of the Autonomous and from other work. Christopher served as the first Poet Laureate of Clark County, Washington. The other two featured readers are Toni Lumbrazo Luna and Erin Iwata. The featured readers will read for about 40 minutes, followed by an Open Mic.

Readers for the Open Mic must be in-person and anyone who would like to participate is welcome. If you want to read in the Open Mic, email Tom Hogan at tomhogan2@comcast.net to register. Plan to read 1 or 2 poems. We will have another round of poems if time permits, depending on the number of participants and length of the poems.

Register to watch the event on Zoom at the Milwaukie Poetry Series website, www.milwaukiepoetryseries.com. You will receive a Zoom link prior to the event. The event will be recorded and available for viewing on demand on the Ledding Library YouTube Channel after the event.

Please call Tom Hogan at 503.819.8367 or e-mail him at tomhogan2@comcast.net with any questions about this event or the Series. We hope you can join us. Thank you for participating, please be safe and well.

Sixteen Years: Enriching Milwaukie one poem at a time.