CORRECTION: Due to circumstances beyond his control, Ric Vrana will be unable to attend May’s Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic. His friend David Matthews will take his place, and Ric’s reading will be postponed until November. More information to follow. Christopher Luna, co-host and founder.  

GHOST TOWN POETRY Open Mic

hosted by Christopher Luna and

Toni Partington

7pm Thursday, May 10, 2012

and every second Thursday

Cover to Cover Books

6300 NE St. James Rd., Suite 104B

(St. James & Minnehaha)

Vancouver, WA

360-993-7777

all ages and uncensored since 2004

http://christopherluna-poetry.blogspot.com

 With our featured reader, Ric Vrana:

Ric Vrana appears regularly in numerous venues and open mics in the Portland and Vancouver poetry scene. His early days of stand-up poetry happened in Seattle where he found himself at the beginning of the long running Red Sky Poetry Theater in the early 1980s. But he fell in with a bad crowd, and after a long slog through graduate school worked as a professor in Portland.

After some disagreeable business with the dean, he found himself a job as a planner, and, upon being called back up to be an adjunct in another part of the university, continues to teach part time in the urban planning program. His writing is infused with the perspective of the geographer, the cartographer, and the planner. He believes place is the connection between where he is and who he is. He writes about this, thinks about this, dreams about this.

Poems by Ric Vrana have appeared in Duwamish Review, Kent Popular Press, Broken Word: The Alberta Street Anthology, Volume 2, Blown Out: Portland’s Indie Poets, and Venetian Blind Drunk. He is a regular contributor to the Three Friends Caffeinated Art Poetry readings in Portland. He has twice been published by the weekly on-line zone, “Work,” and has a poem and recorded reading forthcoming in OccuPoetry.org. Ric’s three chapbooks will be available at the reading for five dollars each or three for twelve: Brain Screams (2010); Postales desde Costa Rica (2011); and Semi-Ambivalent Middle Aged Male Lament #25 (2011).

From “Brain Screams”

Brain screams, primordial

dreams dancing

that white line between

northbound and south city

bus sounds and some

Greyhounds running

through clouds of particulates.

Walking now moving

behind ironrailed fences

in citypark gardens

couples everywhere, people in pairs

people who stare

at me, alone looking skyward

at rubber sheathed wires

carrying unheard messages

sagging in the middle of their span.

How Alone I’ve Grown

not even owned

by a telephone!

Face feeling taught

as the strain of grief being deep

from another night’s empty empty sleep

is this morning disgusted and eagerly seeks

the soft touch and voice of

some woman.

Printed Matter Vancouver co-founders Christopher Luna and Toni Partington would like to thank everyone who attended our five year anniversary open mic and potluck. You truly make putting on these events a pleasure. It is a great privilege to provide a safe space in which everyone can express themselves. We would also like to thank Cover to Cover owner Mel Sanders for staying open extra late, and for her continuing support of local writers, editors, publishers, and booklovers. We’d also like to thank our musical guests, Jennifer-Pratt Walter, Bret Jorgensen, and Lincoln’s Beard for their beautiful contributions. Finally, thank you to each and every person who attended for your energy, your participation, and your words.

Lincoln’s Beard will be playing a show at the Secret Society Ballroom, 116 NE Russell, Portland tomorrow night at 6pm. The show is free and all ages. For more info: http://www.concertcoop.com/portland/secretsociety/s/88154/Lincoln%27s+Beard#http://secretsociety.net/live-music/

On Saturday at 4pm, April Bullard and Dennis McBride will be the featured readers for a William Stafford birthday celebration at Cover to Cover Books. Bring a Stafford poem to share if you’d like to participate.

Thanks to Rob Gourley and April and Dan Bullard for the following photos of the Ghost Town Poetry Five Year Anniversary party. If you would rather not have your picture included here, please contact me at christopherjluna@gmail.com and i will happily remove it.

Thank you for five years of poetry, community, love, and laughter.

Christopher Luna

for Printed Matter Vancouver

Join us on February 9 when our featured reader will be John Sibley Williams.

CELEBRATE FIVE YEARS OF GHOST TOWN POETRY

OPEN MIC AT COVER TO COVER BOOKS

with Christopher Luna, Toni Partington, and musical guests

Jennifer Pratt-Walter, Bret Jorgensen, and Lincoln’s Beard!

Bring a dish to share and arrive early at 6pm (open mic begins at 7):

Thursday, January 12, 2012

COVER TO COVER BOOKS

6300 NE St. James Rd., Suite 104B

(St. James & Minnehaha)

Vancouver, WA

360-993-7777

mail@covertocoverbooks.net

http://christopherluna-poetry.blogspot.com

christopherjluna@gmail.com

all ages & uncensored since 2004

 

Printed Matter Vancouver would like to thank the following businesses and individuals for making 2011 another great year for poetry in the ‘Couve: John Barber, The Catalyst, Clark County Historical Museum, Everybody’s Music, Gallery 360, Leah Jackson (Angst Gallery and Niche Wine and Art Bar), Marci McReynolds, Mint Tea, Moe’s, One World Merchants, Paper Tiger Coffee, Pop Culture, Susan Tissot, and Urban Eccentric. We would also like to thank the featured readers who shared their work with our community in 2011: John Amen, Judith Arcana, Turiya Autry, John Barber, April Bullard, Michael Daley, Tommy Gaffney, Brad Garber, Alice Hardesty, M, Eliel Lucero, Peter Ludwin, Dennis McBride, Dan Nelson, Jane Ormerod (Uphook Press), Deb Scott, Mary Slocum, Leah Stenson, Meredith Stewart, Dawn Thompson, and Carolyne Wright. In addition, we owe a debt of gratitude to the many poets who have moved and entertained us at the open mic—without your continued participation and support, we would have nothing to celebrate. Finally, our thanks to Mel Sanders for staying open late once a month and demonstrating her undying commitment to local writers.

Performer Bios:

Jennifer Pratt-Walter is a former RN and freelance musician. She lives in Vancouver, WA with husband Craig, children, and farm animals. She sings in a women’s trio, “Circle Round.”  Jennifer also teaches harp, with emphasis on the beginning adult.

Jennifer communicates her reverence for her instrument and music with her hands, searching to define and transcend human experience. Her musical background includes band, choir, and madrigal performance, and she has studied piano and fretted dulcimer. Her true love for the past 27 years has been the Celtic harp.

“Celtic Muse” came into being in 1995, when Jennifer and Valerie Blessley started performing together for weddings. There has been no stopping them since, and they have been privileged to play in a variety of settings throughout the Northwest.

Jennifer’s recordings include “Ancient Realms” (1998), “Wind and Wood: A Sylvan Dance” (1998 with Celtic Muse), “Merry & Bright” (2000, with Celtic Muse), “Ancient Muse: Celtic Harp and Friends,” and “Crossroads,” 2009, with Celtic Muse). Jennifer is a Certified Healing Musician, playing at the bedside of the dying.  Her most recent recording, “Ancient Slumbers,” is representative of mastery of creating a feeling of reverence and peace with pure solo harp played in a rich improvisatory style.

Bret Jorgensen is a kid who likes to write and sing songs. He likes to sing songs about love. He also likes to sing about the sad parts of life using simple chords and simple words. Bret Jorgensen sings songs to sing songs. He can be seen about riding his bike and singing at the top of his lungs while doing so.

Kris Chrisopulos, Tyler Morgan and Dwayne Spence formed Lincoln’s Beard during the summer of 2006. Playing as a trio (and without a drummer) Lincoln’s Beard charged ahead, writing, recording, and gigging as a three piece. After the release of Our American Cousin, well-known local percussionist Eddie Esparza joined the band. Lincoln’s Beard began playing longer, heavier sets, developing a unique sound which ultimately led to the follow up album Brothers Grace. Lincoln’s Beard’s sound continues to evolve with the attributed guitar work of Ross Morgan and Conner Ghormely on the group’s latest album, entitled Lincoln’s Beard, and the recent addition of Aram Arslanian on lead guitar and lapsteel.

Ghost Town Poetry, the recent anthology of poetry from the series edited by Toni Partington and Christopher Luna, is available for purchase at Cover to Cover Books.

On December 8, we hosted the VoiceCatcher 6 launch at the Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic, which takes place every second Thursday at Cover to Cover Books in Vancouver, WA. One of the participants was Vancouver’s own April Bullard, who has recently enjoyed success as a visual artist and a poet. April’s photographs are included in the latest edition of the anthology, co-edited by Printed Matter Vancouver co-founder Toni Partington.

April Bullard at Cover to Cover Books

I was very moved and inspired by what April had to say that evening. She had some very kind things to say about the Ghost Town poetry Open Mic and the work that Toni and I have been doing in the community. So I asked April if I could post her speech here. She informed me that VoiceCatcher already had plans to feature it on their website, but that Printed Matter Vancouver could repost it.

April also asked me to include the following as an introduction to the repost:

“My most sincere thanks to Christopher Luna and Toni Partington for hosting the Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic, and to Mel Sanders of Cover to Cover Books & Espresso for housing this collection of written word dreamers, observers, movers and shakers. I also want to thank the Ghost Town Poetry community and the Vancouver Arts community for their encouragement and support, for what I hope will be a successful, multi-faceted career in the arts. ”

Here is what April had to say. Please also visit the VoiceCatcher website, which features other material not included in the text below: http://voicecatcher.org/2011/12/25/meet-april-bullard-the-magician-of-the-columbia-river/

April Bullard’s remarks at Cover to Cover Books, December 8, 2011

Thanks to Voicecatcher.org for this opportunity to submit work for publication, Toni Partington for organizing this Voicecatcher 6 reading and presentation, Christopher Luna for hosting the Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic, and Mel Sanders for housing this collection of written word – dreamers, observers, movers and shakers.

Talk about your artwork in VC6. Hmm… where to begin? How about keeping it simple, what do I do, and why do I do it?

My photography tends to be abstract. A visual display of colors that create shapes that trigger an emotional response. That sounds pretty high falootin’ , but it all comes down to taking a photograph that makes you see what I see, feel what I feel, and makes unusual ideas cross your mind the way they crossed mine. I am one of those people that never grew out of finding pictures in the clouds, monsters in shadows, and the mythical in the mundane. I turned my eyes and camera to the river that I live on, and found a whole new magical world. Water is  always moving, and always changing, by definition – fluid. It is a fun challenge to find sharp, distinct pictures in the water that strike a primal, instinctive chord, that hopefully, forces you to stop and take another look.

Random Thoughts by April Bullard

“Random Thoughts” is a photo of a micro moment of water reflections.  The human-like profile spewing random bits and pieces from its mouth, tickled me. How much talk, talk, talk is constantly ‘streaming’ around us (all puns intended!), and  yet, you still don’t get a clear picture of the speaker. There is an ‘undercurrent’ that suggests the speaker has opposite, more, and stronger thoughts and intentions. How much of what we say is a true ‘reflection’ of what we mean? If a few of those and other ideas, swirl around and gather ‘eddies’ of thought in your mind, or pluck a heart string that sends a tiny ‘ripple’ through your soul, I feel the work has been successful.

Water Angel 5 by April Bullard

“Water Angel 5” is a split second that captured an angel in the trailing wake from my boat. Can you see the angel silhouetted in the emerging sun, rising from the whirling darkness? Can you see the angel’s shadow or counterpart? Are the bubble rings prayers sent into the ether? Why are they dark? Is the angel helping or escaping the chaos? Is the chaos the angel’s own duality of thought and desires or the earthly chaos of humanity?  Once you get started, there are many possible interpretations. if I made you find something near any of these ideas, the art worked.

These pieces are for sale, and I have a portfolio of work available for browsing. I have photography in rotation with Drew-Jones Studio Art, 4 pieces in the current show at Starting Grounds Church Gallery in Battleground. I’m one of the 100 artists in Gallery 360’s January show “The Collective.” I’ll be part of more Voicecatcher 6 presentations in January and into 2012.

My paintings have a wonderful home, here, at Cover to Cover Books & Espresso. My thanks to Mel! Three of the pieces are now book covers, check out the original paintings, and the paperbacks. “The Witch of Gator-Tail Slough” is the cover of “Aoife’s Kiss Dec 2011” a sci-fi/fantasy magazine from Sam’s Dot Publishing. Mel will have a few copies available, and she can order them online for you as well, or you can order them directly from the publisher through my website as paperbacks or e-books.

My third published poem, “River Fog”, is in “Shelter of Daylight Autumn 2011” a softer sided fantasy/horror anthology from Sam’s Dot Publishing. Again, Cover to Cover will have a few copies available, or it can be ordered online.

I have more cover art coming out in January, gallery showings, and poetry contracted for publication in 2012.

I want to thank the Ghost Town Poetry community, the Vancouver Art community, and Voicatcher.org for the start of what I hope will be a successful, multi-faceted career in the arts.

April Bullard will be a featured reader at the Coaster Poetry Contest Winners reading at Niche Wine and Art Bar (1013 Main Street, Vancouver) on January 18 at 7pm and at the William Stafford Reading at Cover to Cover Books (6300 NE St. James Rd., Suite 104B) on January 21 at 4pm.

Authors, publishers and readers gather at Cover to Cover Dec. 10, 2011

Printed Matter Vancouver would like to thank Cover to Cover Books owner Mel Sanders and all the participants in the first annual Author Fair for a fun afternoon of literature, snacks, and community. We really enjoyed meeting the other authors and publishers as well as all of the wonderful folks who stopped by our table. We were surprised to learn that some of the attendees had even come from out of state to see us.

Here are some pictures from the fair, courtesy of Lilith Saintcrow. To read Lilith’s account of the event, and see more photos, go to: http://www.lilithsaintcrow.com/journal/2011/12/they-are-odd-and-winsome-beasts-those-writers/#more-3738

Toni Partington reads her poem, “It Matters To Notice These Things,”

from the Ghost Town Poetry anthology,

published this year by Printed Matter Vancouver

Christopher Luna reads his poem, “magic taken seriously,”

from the Ghost Town Poetry anthology

Here’s hoping that this will become an annual event. There is no one I know who does more than Mel Sanders to foster literary community in Vancouver. Please support her by doing your holiday book shopping with her.

If you don’t yet have a copy of the Ghost Town Poetry anthology, it is available at Cover to Cover Books (http://covertocoverbooks.net) for ten dollars. Give the gift of poetry this holiday season.

On January 12 at 6pm Printed Matter Vancouver will celebrate five years of open mic poetry at Cover to Cover Books  with a potluck, open mic poetry, and musical performances from Jennifer Pratt -Walter, Bret Jorgensen, and Lincoln’s Beard.  We hope you will join us for what is certain to be a fun evening.

Holiday Book Fair at Cover to Cover Books December 10th

Discount prices. Holiday treats. 10 local authors on hand.

                                      Contact: Mel Sanders
                                                     mail@covertocoverbooks.net
                                                    (360) 993-7777

Surround yourself with fascinating fictional characters, local writers, and readers of all ages at the first annual holiday book fair at Cover to Cover Books on Saturday, December 10, 11 AM to 3 PM. Ten area writers and poets, including bestselling young adult and urban fantasy author Lili Saintcrow, will be on hand to autograph books and discuss their genres, plots, characters, inspirations, upcoming projects, and aspects of the writing life.

Cover to Cover Books, formerly in downtown Vancouver, was damaged by smoke and fire a year ago. While many bookstores, victims of the economy, closed their doors this year, Cover to Cover reopened in the spring at 6300 St. James Road, Suite 104B. The December book fair will celebrate a commitment to serving Vancouver readers and providing a venue for poets and writers to gather and exchange ideas. Cover to Cover is home to two monthly events, Ghost Town Poetry, an open-mic poetry night, and the Vancouver Writers’ Mixer featuring presentations on writing craft.

Authors taking part in the December book fair include (in alphabetical order):

Bill Cameron is the author of dark, gritty mysteries featuring Skin Kadash: County Line, Day One, Chasing Smoke, and Lost Dog. Bill’s short stories have appeared in Spinetingler, Portland Noir, First Thrills, Deadly Treats, and West Coast Crime Wave. His work has been nominated for multiple awards, including the Spotted Owl Award for Best Northwest Mystery and the 2011 CWA Short Story Dagger Award. He lives in Portland, Oregon. Bill tweets at twitter.com/bcmystery Learn more at http://www.billcameronmysteries.com

Ron Gompertz is the author of No Roads Lead to Rome, a historical satire which is often in the Top 10 Kindle lists for humor and politics.  His journey as a writer started traditionally, and now he’s proud to be a successful indie author. In addition to working on a sequel and not quitting his day job, he speaks about Social Media Marketing for Authors at conferences and writer gatherings. Gompertz has lived and worked in the U.S., France, and Spain and now makes his home in Camas. http://noroadsleadtorome.com/

Cheri Lasota just launched her first novel, Artemis Rising, through SpireHouse Books. The book is a YA historical fantasy based on mythology and set in the exotic Azores Islands. Cheri has edited fiction, nonfiction, screen­plays, and short sto­ries for publication and also writes poetry. She is at work on her sec­ond novel, a YA set on the Oregon Coast. http://www.cherilasota.com or http://bit.ly/ArtemisRisingNovel

Ann Littlewood is a former zoo keeper and the author of zoo mysteries Night Kill and Did Not Survive, which feature animal keeper Iris Oakley and her friends—primates (some of them human), elephants, felines, penguins, and others. Finley Memorial Zoo, north of Vancouver, Washington, is where Iris works and sleuths hard and delivers the inside scoop on a variety of animals. Learn more at zoomysteries.com or investigate Ann at annlittlewood.blogspot.com

Christopher Luna and Toni Partington are co-founders and editors of Printed Matter Vancouver, an editing and small press service. Christopher is the author of Ghost Town, USA (2008) and the editor of The Flame Is Ours, the correspondence of filmmaker Stan Brakhage and poet Michael McClure (Big Bridge, 2011). Partington and Luna co-host Ghost Town Poetry, the popular second Thursday night open mic that has called Cover to Cover home since 2007. Toni is the author of two books of poetry, Jesus Is A Gas (2009), and Wind Wing (2010), and just completed co-editing VoiceCatcher 6. Printed Matter Vancouver recently published Ghost Town Poetry, an anthology of poets from the series. http://www.printedmattervancouver.com

Toni: http://www.poettone.blogspot.com/

Christopher: http://christopherluna-poetry.blogspot.com/

The Flame Is Ours: http://www.bigbridge.org/BB15/2011_BB_15_FEATURES/Luna_McClure_Brakhage_Feature/THE_FLAME_IS_OURS.pdf.

“To Be Named and Other Works of Poetic License,” a limited edition art book and 200+ page poem by Christopher Luna, David Madgalene and Toni Partington: http://tobenamed-artandpoetry.blogspot.com/

Mike Nettleton is celebrating the release of his first solo work, Shotgun Start, a hard-boiled mystery featuring a golf-hustling detective. Nettleton previously co-authored four mysteries (The Big Grabowski, Sometimes a Great Commotion, The Hard Karma Shuffle, The Crushed Velvet Miasma) and a fantasy (The Hermit of Humbug Mountain) with his wife, Carolyn J. Rose. http://www.deadlyduomysteries.com

Lisa Nowak is a retired amateur stock car racer, an accomplished cat whisperer, and a professional smartass. She’s also the author of the young adult novel, Running Wide Open. Check her out at http://lisanowak.wordpress.com

Carolyn J. Rose released two new books this year, A Place of Forgetting, a love story set in 1966, and the suspense novel, An Uncertain Refuge. She had written four solo mysteries (Hemlock Lake, Consulted to Death, Driven to Death, Dated to Death) and co-authored four mysteries and a fantasy with her husband, Mike Nettleton. http://www.deadlyduomysteries.com

Lilith Saintcrow is the author of the Jill Kismet, Dante Valentine, and several other urban fantasy series, as well as the New York Times bestselling Strange Angels series for young adults (as Lili St. Crow).  Find her at http://www.lilithsaintcrow.com

GHOST TOWN POETRY OPEN MIC

HOSTED BY CHRISTOPHER LUNA

AND TONI PARTINGTON

Presented by Printed Matter Vancouver

at COVER TO COVER BOOKS

7pm Thursday, November 10, 2011

and every second Thursday

COVER TO COVER BOOKS

6300 NE St. James Rd., Suite 104B

(St. James & Minnehaha)

Vancouver, WA

360-993-7777

mail@covertocoverbooks.net

christopherjluna@gmail.com

With our featured reader, Peter Ludwin:

 Peter Ludwin is the recipient of a Literary Fellowship from Artist Trust.  He was the Second Prize Winner of the 2007-2008 Anna Davidson Rosenberg Awards, and a Finalist for the Muriel Craft Bailey Memorial Award.  For the past ten years he has been a participant in the San Miguel Poetry Week in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where he has workshopped under such noted poets as Mark Doty, Tony Hoagland and David St. John.  His work has appeared in many journals, including The Bitter Oleander, The Com-stock Review, North American Review and Prairie Schooner, to name a few.  His first full length collection, A Guest in All Your Houses, was published in 2009 by Word Walker Press. A chapbook, The Door Unhinged, was a semi-finalist for both the 2010 Concrete Wolf Chapbook Award and the Floating Bridge Press Chapbook Award. His second full-length manuscript, Rumors of Fallible Gods, was a Finalist for the 2010 Gival Press Poetry Award.  His poem “Terezin Concentration Camp, Bohemia,” was nominated for a 2010 Pushcart Prize.  An avid traveler who has journeyed on the rivers of the Amazon Basin in Ecuador by canoe to visit remote Indian families, hiked in the Peruvian Andes, thumbed for rides in Greece and bargained for goods in the markets of Marrakech and Istanbul, he recently returned from a month in Western China and Tibet.