Tag: Christopher Luna

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Celebrates National Poetry Month with Kelly Keigwin and Sam Mackenzie April 11 and 13

March 16, 2013

GHOST TOWN POETRY OPEN MIC
Hosted by Christopher Luna and Toni Partington
Thursday April 11
7pm
Cover to Cover Books
6300 NE St. James Rd.,
Suite 104B
(St. James & Minnehaha)
Vancouver, WA

Cover to Cover April 11 and 13 2013 flyerhttp://www.printedmattervancouver.com
christopherjluna@gmail.com
LGBTQ-friendly, all ages,
and uncensored since 2004

With our featured readers Kelly Keigwin and Sam Mackenzie:

kelly_bw_annimay2010

Kelly Keigwin is a professional artist and educator who lives in Vancouver, WA. She works in photography, mixed media collage, and ceramics. Her work draws inspiration from social observation and the human condition. Keigwin has been published in Juxtapoz magazine and is represented in private collections in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. She is exhibited nationally and holds a B.A. from Washington State University. Keigwin is a blogger for PQ Monthly, the co-chair of Equality SW Washington’s Queer Art Project, and co-founder of Love is a Radical Act, an interactive art project. She also created Fear is a 4-Letter Word, an on-going blog/zine project that offers support and positive reinforcement in what can be a negative and lonely world.

From “I’m Still Here” (Fear is a 4-Letter Word #1)
By Kelly Keigwin

“Being “normal” is a myth. It doesn’t exist. There are people out there who will try with every ounce of their being to convince you that normal is good and just and what you should strive to be. “Fit in, don’t stand out! Conform and we will accept you as one of us! Don’t be one of ‘them’, they’re disgusting. We are beautiful, popular, wanted, loved, acceptable.” That is a lie. Everyone has something that makes them different, unique and beautiful, whether it’s on the outside or inside. Even if people choose to ignore it, cover it up or bury it down deep inside because they want to fit in, it’s there. If you take the time to step back and observe people you will see everyone wants to be liked, everyone wants to feel loved. We all try to work around the things that we think others might not like about us, so we can be accepted. I have spent most of my life trying to be what I thought would make me socially acceptable. I see that now. And to be honest, the more I look, the more I do not want to have anything to do with that lie and the people who perpetuate it. It took me stepping back and realizing that I only have one life to live and that I actually like myself as I am to find people who genuinely like me for me.”

MacKenzie-Sam-untitled7

Sam MacKenzie is an artist, educator, farmer, zinester, and Vancouver native. She bought her first zine in high school but never even got to read it. She is now an avid proponent of zines and zine culture and has been part of the Portland Zine Symposium for the past seven years. Sam has written six issues of chickeney, a zine about the more rural and domestic aspects of her life (http://chickeney.etsy.com/), and chronic: a story about chronic illness, a perzine about her sleep disorder. She is also in the process of writing another perzine about depression and abuse and would also like to write a zine about her multiple stints on jury duty. Although she still finds it hard to identify as a writer, Sam is proud to have her zines represented by Sweet Candy Distro, Once Upon a Distro, and the Multnomah County Library System.

From “i’m tired of sharing” (chickeney #5)
by Sam Mackenzie

“yes, obviously what we do by farming can be considered unnatural and imposing on nature. no person can leave zero impact. but, as things go, we are pretty kind to the earth.

and i’m tired of it.

my breaking point was the figs. it’s been a few years…several years…since we planted two little fig trees. i know someone with such a gigantic fig tree that she sells extras by the box load. they are gloriously delicious. i want my fig trees to be that big and bountiful someday.”

Two Free Workshops
Saturday, April 13

“The Work” with Christopher Luna at noon
And a zine workshop with Kelly Keigwin and Sam Mackenzie at two

THE WORK Ginsberg and Stein

Christopher Luna’s monthly poetry workshop, which usually takes place at Niche Wine and Art Bar, will take place at Cover to Cover Books on Saturday, April 13 so that he can properly introduce Kelly and Sam, who will lead a workshop on writing and publishing zines. Luna likes to play spoken word recordings, read poetry, discuss the poet’s role in the community, and lead the group in four to five writing prompts.

Kelly and Sam will share their experience regarding the production and distribution of zines at 2pm.

Christopher Luna named Clark County’s first Poet Laureate

February 17, 2013

I am pleased to announce that the Clark County Arts Commission has named me Clark County’s first Poet Laureate. I am very grateful to the commission for this honor, and look forward to this opportunity to share my passion for poetry with even more members of our community. I have a lot of ideas about how to do this, which I will share at the public meeting mentioned in the press release below, as well as a public address which I have been asked to give at the Vancouver Community Library on Tuesday, March 12 at 7pm. I encourage everyone who values poetry and its ability to transform our lives to join us in celebrating this great step forward for the county. I am very grateful for Vancouver’s poetry community, and for the love and support of three amazing women: Toni Partington, Mel Sanders, and Leah Jackson. Without their belief in me, and their own work for the arts community, none of this would have been possible.

Christopher Luna

Clark County Arts Commission news release logo

February 15, 2013

Contact: Elizabeth Madrigal, Clark County Arts Commission, (360) 281-1615,

emadrigal@clarkcountyartscommission.org, Elizabeth.madrigal@gmail.com

Patricia LaCroix, Clark County Arts Commission, (360) 606-7104,

placroix@clarkcountyartscommission.org

Vancouver resident selected first Clark County Poet Laureate

Vancouver, WA – Christopher Luna, a Vancouver poet, visual artist and editor, has been named Clark County’s first Poet Laureate by the Clark County Arts Commission.

As Poet Laureate, Luna may act as a cultural ambassador, composing poems for special events and occasions. His main duty is to promote poetry and literature, nurturing public knowledge and appreciation of the power of words. His work will reflect diverse experiences in Clark County and the Vancouver-Portland metropolitan area.

The public can meet Luna when he is officially installed as Poet Laureate during the commission’s 6:30 p.m. meeting Tuesday, Feb. 26, in the sixth-floor hearing room of the Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin St.

Luna earned a Master of Fine Arts in Writing and Poetics at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University, Boulder, Colo. He serves as a writing consultant and poetry event coordinator for WSU Vancouver’s Writing Center, where he teaches a weekly workshop.

His work has appeared in New York Journal of Books, Poetry Project Newsletter, The Columbian, The Oregonian and Willamette Week. He co-edited Ghost Town Poetry, a collection of poems from a popular open microphone poetry reading series he established in 2004. Luna frequently is a featured reader at bookstores, night clubs, libraries and coffee shops.

For information about the Poet Laureate position, contact Pat LaCroix, chair of the arts commission, at (360) 606-7104. For more information on the arts commission visit www.clarkcountyartscommission.org.

Announcing a Call for Submissions: GHOST TOWN POETRY VOLUME TWO

February 3, 2013

PRINTED MATTER VANCOUVER

Chris and Toni at SAm and Kelly's wedding by Julian Nelson cropped for PM

Toni Partington & Christopher Luna, Editors

Photo by Julian Nelson

 Call For Submissions

Printed Matter Vancouver is proud to announce the submission period for Ghost Town Poetry, Volume 2, a poetry anthology to be released in January 2014. 2014 marks the ten-year anniversary of the popular open mic reading series, hosted by Christopher Luna and Toni Partington and founded by Luna. Ghost Town Poetry takes place on the second Thursday of the month at Cover to Cover Books (6300 NE St. James, Suite 104B) in Vancouver, WA. For more information on the bookstore, go to: http://covertocoverbooks.net

We look forward to reading your work.

 Submission Guidelines:

The Stuff You Need To Know:

Poems will be accepted beginning April 1, 2013 through May 12, 2013 at 11:59pm, Pacific Standard Time.

To be considered for the anthology you will have read your work at the poetry series held the second Thursday of each month at Cover To Cover Books in Vancouver, WA prior to the submission deadline of May 12, 2013.

Submissions will be accepted via email only.

Submit a maximum of two (2) poems. Previously published poems may be accepted subject to the discretion of the editors. Indicate the publication name, date, poem title, and publication rights in the body of the submission email.

If one of your poems is accepted for publication, the editors may have suggestions for edits or format changes to prepare the work for publication. Whenever possible the editors will work with the author to review suggested changes. Authors will have the final decision on the edits. The editors are unable to guarantee publication of your work if they feel the edits are necessary and the author disapproves of the changes.

Authors whose work appears in the anthology will receive one copy of the book. Additional copies will be available for purchase. Printed Matter Vancouver retains first rights to pieces published in the collection. From there, rights revert back to the authors.

Authors agree to have their work appear online at printedmattervancouver.com

Poem Format:

  • Poem(s) must be in Times New Roman, 12-point font with one-inch margins.
  • Include your name, address, phone, and email at the top left of each page.
  • Include the poem’s title below your contact information.
  • Poems should be single-spaced with one space between stanzas.
  • Poems should not exceed 2 pages.
  • Poems should be saved as a Microsoft Word Document.
  • Save each poem as a separate document (last name+poem title).

What To Email:

  • Type “Printed Matter Submission” in the subject line of the Email.
  • Include in the body of the Email:
    • The title(s) of your poem(s).
    • Contact information: name, address, email, and phone (home and cell).
    • For previously published poems, indicate the publication name, date, poem title, and whether you own the publication rights.
    • Include each poem(s) as a separate attachment.
    • Include all attachments in one email.

EMAIL SUBMISSIONS BEGINNING APRIL 1, 2013 TO: printedmattervancouver@gmail.com

Printed Matter Vancouver Nominates Jenney Pauer for the 2012 Pushcart Prize

November 27, 2012

Pushcart Nominee Jenney Pauer

Photo by Anni Becker

Printed Matter Vancouver is proud to nominate the following poems from Jenney Pauer’s debut collection, Serenity in the Brutal Garden (ISBN-10: 1470132591; ISBN-13: 978-1470132590), for the 2012 Pushcart Prize:  “Ruben” (p. 5); “A White Bed Sheet” (p. 8); “Dreamer” (p. 34); “What You Meant By It” (p. 37); “Chairs” (p. 43); and “Mrs. Donahue” (p. 46)

When we founded the press, Jenney Pauer was at the top of the list of authors who we considered publishing. Since arriving in Vancouver, Jenney has touched the hearts of many in the community with her powerful command of the craft, and astounded us with her breathtaking spoken word performances. Jenney Pauer is a Vancouver treasure, a gracious and humble master of the art of poetry. We are honored to have been able to present the public with her debut.

If you do not yet have a copy of Serenity in the Brutal Garden, please contact Printed Matter Vancouver or visit Cover to Cover Books (http://covertocoverbooks.net) or Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Serenity-Brutal-Garden-Poetry-Jenney/dp/1470132591/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354085384&sr=8-1&keywords=Jenney+Pauer

For more information on the Pushcart Prize, go to: http://www.pushcartprize.com/

Christopher Luna

Toni Partington

Co-Editors

Printed Matter Vancouver

GHOST TOWN POETRY OPEN MIC Featuring Mary Slocum Thursday, December 13, 2012

November 12, 2012

GHOST TOWN POETRY Open Mic
hosted by Christopher Luna and Toni Partington
7pm Thursday, December 13, 2012

Cover to Cover Books
6300 NE St. James Rd., Suite 104B
(St. James & Minnehaha)
Vancouver, WA
360-993-7777

LGBTQ-friendly, all ages, and uncensored since 2004

http://christopherluna-poetry.blogspot.com

 With our featured reader, Mary Slocum: Mary was a shipyard electrician with a MSW for 17 years. Now retired, she has time to pursue her theory that she is a reincarnated dog. Mary has been published in Stanza, NW Literary Review, Upper Left Edge, Tradeswomen’s Network Newsletter, Black Cat, Portland Alliance, Unhook, Work and Carcinogenic. She enjoys reading publicly more than publishing and has also appeared with a comedy collective. Her new collection, Greatest Hits: 60 Years of Lookin ($14.95), published by Dancing Moon Press, is also available in e-reader (all four formats). Regular posts and poems can be found at: www.maryslocum.com

“Sixty Years of Lookin offers a panoramic view of life from birth through death, with all its attendant triumph and tragedy. These carefully crafted songs of longing and regret are filled with the gallows humor of those who have been hit hardest by the empty promise of American capitalism. Mary Slocum’s devastating reportage of the minute particulars of relationships, childhood memory, and gender discrimination in the workplace suggests how we might survive loneliness, marriage, and the aging process. The melancholy subject matter is offset by her sharp wit and the pleasure to be found in the plainspoken vernacular of everyday working people. Containing everything from astute comparisons of rural vs. urban lifestyle to maddening depictions of the uphill battles fought by social workers, this astounding collection speaks to us all.” –Christopher Luna, Printed Matter Vancouver publisher and author of Ghost Town, USA 

Ric Vrana reads at Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic November 8

October 19, 2012

Image

GHOST TOWN POETRY Open Mic

hosted by Christopher Luna and

Toni Partington

7pm Thursday, November 8, 2012

and every second Thursday

LGBTQ-friendly, all ages, and uncensored since 2004

Cover to Cover Books
6300 NE St. James Rd., Suite 104B
(St. James & Minnehaha)
Vancouver, WA

360-993-7777

http://www.printedmattervancouver.com

http://christopherluna-poetry.blogspot.com

With our featured reader, Ric Vrana:

Image

With our featured reader, Ric Vrana: Ric Vrana shares his interpretations of a long and varied working life, inner strivings and doubts, and his reactions to the random slop that gets slung at him with his only dependable defense, poetry. Whether he uses humor, anger, longing or gratitude, he writes of personal challenges amid evocations of geographic places. Place and its meaning are subjects in their own rights, as often as metaphors for the events they host.

Ric’s poems have appeared sporadically over a thirty year period and he has written from Seattle, Tacoma, Portland and now Astoria, where he makes his home. In the last decade he has appeared in Broken Word, the Alberta Street Anthology, Blown Out: Portland’s Indy Poets, Venetian Blind Drunk, and other anthologies, zines, and blogs. He’s published three small chapbooks available in selected local bookstores and has appeared on KBOO’s Talking Earth on several occasions.  Audio and video clips of his readings can be found on the internet with a Google search but why bother, when you can come to hear him live, this month, at Cover to Cover in Vancouver.  C’mon, he’s coming all the way from the coast!

Kevin Killian’s five-star review of Ghost Town Poetry

September 23, 2012

Printed Matter Vancouver is very grateful to Kevin Killian for this five-star review of our Ghost Town Poetry anthology:  http://www.amazon.com/review/R1SI9F66MMJXH2/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1461075114&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=283155&store=books

Poetic Cries from the Other Vancouver

August 30, 2012

By Kevin Killian

Ghost Town Poetry: Cover To Cover Books 2004-2010: An Anthology of Poems from the Ghost Town Open Mic Series (Paperback)

Everything’s up to date in Vancouver (Washington) and this anthology of poetry is made up of poetry read in the town’s hippest reading series from 2004 through 2010. I’m happy to say the series is still going, attracting poets from every part of the Northwest and beyond.

The reading series curators, Christopher Luna and Toni Partington, have made a bargain with the public, and one of their tenets is to let nothing second rate appear in their book. Thus we get the best work from each poet, even the ones famous on a national level, like Michael Rothenberg or David Meltzer (Meltzer, after all, was one of the original New American Poets anointed by Donald M Allen in an influential 1960 anthology, so he knows first hand how a good anthology can change a person’s life). I was awed to think that a single book could give me an in-the-round picture of a single American city, like the old modernist classics such as Spoon River Anthology, but here it goes again. Rob Gourley’s “US 250” describes, in broken, dynamic rhythms, a favorite “cruise,” in which, through the magic of memory, once again “we jump across the creek/ to reach the pumphouse and roam the slanting cowpaths.”

Another Vancouverite, Bernadette Barrio opens up the world of children inching closer to adulthood and the pains of the mother as she prides themselves on their growth, while at risk of losing “that child-like charm they possess.” Reading lines like this make me wonder if sometimes I overthink things and in doing so, I miss out on some of the more poignant experiences of life. “I am a rich man, and I am surrounded by beauty,” writes co-editor Luna in a stirring preface. Other Vancouverites include Rainy Knight, who speaks of the long ago decade in which Elvis Presley visited Washington State, and she met and dated him, and another fine writer, Christi Krug, who recalls dealing with an infirm mother and coping with dementia. “Now I make beds for Mother’s words/ Pulling sterile folds tight/ Smoothing edges around her complexes/ Snug and out of harm’s way.”

The mind of the poet is frequently topsy-turvy, perhaps that is why we turn to poetry in times of economic and cultural challenge, such as today. Luna and Partington have done a sterling job gathering together the best work of many poets I’ve never heard of and sending their wisdom all across the world like a “coastal spirit courier, a rain-free olive branch.”

Kevin Killian lives in San Francisco where he is celebrating Kylie Minogue’s 25th anniversary in show business in his own way.  He has a new novel Spreadeagle (Publication Studio, http://www.publicationstudio.biz/books/182) and a new artist book with NYC-based sculptor Ugo Rondinone.  Next up, Tagged, a collection of Killian’s intimate photographs of poets, artists, musicians and filmmakers naked, or near enough. Previous publications include Impossible Princess, Little Men, and The Argento Series. He is also the co-author (with Lewis Ellingham) of Poet Be Like God: Jack Spicer and the San Francisco Renaissance and the co-editor (with Peter Gizzi) of My Vocabulary Did This to Me: The Collected Poetry of Jack Spicer.

GHOST TOWN POETRY OPEN MIC Featuring Kristin Roedell and Traci Schatz Thursday, October 11, 2012

September 19, 2012

GHOST TOWN POETRY OPEN MIC

hosted by Christopher Luna & Toni Partington

LGBTQ-friendly, all ages, and uncensored since 2004

7pm Thursday, October 11, 2012
and every second Thursday

Cover to Cover Books
6300 NE St. James Rd., Suite 104B
(St. James & Minnehaha)
Vancouver, WA
360-993-7777

http://www.printedmattervancouver.com

http://www.covertocoverbooks.net

 Featuring Kristin Roedell and Traci Schatz:

 

Kristin Roedell is a retired attorney living in Lakewood, Washington. Her work has appeared in Switched on Gutenburg, Chest, and Tacoma City Arts. She is the author of Seeing in the Dark (Tomato Can Press) and Girls with Gardenias (Flutter Press, for sale at the reading for $6). Her third book is soon-to-be released by Legal Studies Forum, a press dedicated to poetry written by attorneys. She has been nominated for Best of the Web and the Pushcart Prize.

Few things are quiet

By Kristin Roedell

as night snow:

there is the uninvited

past, sharp and

certain as geometry

when geese fly;

there is age coming in slow

on a stinging tide;

there is sleep spinning

thin as blown glass.

 

All things snow remain

silent here;  cars slip

inaudibly to the shoulder,

children doze, bedded

in the back seat

like sled dogs.

 

Down at the lake,

power went out

days ago; behind curtains

candles are lit, flashlights

doubling in the downstairs

mirror. Belly to back,

 

your damp breath

lies on my feathered

nape; like night snow,

you fall everywhere,

mute, ubiquitous.

Few things are quiet

as your still regard.

 

I will give voice to something

when the ice cracks.

It will wake the deepest

crocus, and ride

the Chinook

spawning.

Traci Schatz lives and writes in Portland, OR with her partner and their small petting zoo of animals. She has been published in VoiceCatcher (and went on to become an Associate Editor) and Wordstock 10, among others. She is currently enrolled in The Institute of Poetic Medicine’s facilitator training program, where she is exploring poetry as therapy and as a tool for empowerment and growth. With years of teaching and training experience—and as a facilitator for Portland Women Writers—Traci is always looking for new opportunities to discover the many ways in which writing brings healing and beauty to the world.

Night Gifts

By Traci Schatz

Maybe these dreams are a gift?

Night visions

of the past, rearranged.

New configurations of people & places.

 

Dreams about the love who left

my soul bruised.

The one who gave me a child.

This child who taught me

of love and desperate hope.

Who revealed my true self

to me.

 

Each night I plunge

to meet those met before and again

again until our union

becomes holy.

Photographs from Poetry on the Piazza, Director Park (Portland) July 9, 2012

July 15, 2012

David Abel and Christopher Luna chat before the show by Richard Schemmerer

Thanks to everyone who came out to support Vancouver poetry and art at the first Poetry on the Piazza of the year. We were so happy to see: Josh Raveling, Kyle David Congdon, Alex Birkett, Anni Becker, Jada, Erin Kluka, Darlene Costello, Amy Harper, David Matthews, and Rick J., among others. We had beautiful weather, and a large group of folks who were really into the proceedings, as well as all the kids and others who were just enjoying the park. We are grateful to David Abel for inviting us to curate a Vancouver showcase for this year’s series, and to Peter and Jenny, park employees who attended to all of our needs. Finally, Printed Matter Vancouver co-founders Christopher Luna and Toni Partington would like to thank our fellow poets Kori Sayer and Jenney Pauer for their outstanding performances, Tyler Morgan for his music, and DaBat for his poetry and art.

Poetry on the Piazza at Director Park, Portland, OR July 9, 2012 by Anni Becker

This was a well-documented event. Richard Schemmerer posted photos and video. We are especially grateful for the YouTube clip, which features a slide show of images as well as some video clips.

Books for sale

Photo by Richard Schemmerer

http://pdxart.blogspot.com/2012/07/pdx-art-david-abel-presents-christopher.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ4Xa_6B9to&feature=youtu.be

Also check out rick j’s observations: http://spokensongpdx.blogspot.com/2012/07/poetry-found-living-room.html?spref=fb and Kori Sayer’s poem “Carousel,” which he posted on his blog: http://spokensongpdx.blogspot.com/2012/07/carousel-by-kori-sayer-from-chapbook-dr.html

Rick J’s notebook by Richard Schemmerer

Here are some photos by Toni Partington:

Tyler Morgan and Christopher Luna by Toni Partington

DaBat by Toni Partington

Christopher Luna by Toni Partington

Kori Sayer and DaBat by Toni Partington

Kori Sayer by Toni Partington

Toni Partington and DaBat by Christopher Luna

Toni Partington reads from Wind Wing by Christopher Luna

DaBat by Toni Partington

DaBat’s paintings by Toni Partington

Tyler Morgan by Toni Partington

Jenney Pauer by Toni Partington

Here are some photos by Anni Becker, whose work can also be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/kermitlover/

http://www.annibecker.com/ or http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anni-Becker-Photography/274729801765?re:

Poetry on the Piazza organizer David Abel welcomes the crowd to Director Park

by Anni Becker

Tyler Morgan by Anni Becker

Tyler Morgan by Anni Becker

Christopher Luna by Anni Becker

Christopher Luna by Anni Becker

DaBat by Anni Becker

DaBat by Anni Becker

DaBat by Anni Becker

DaBat by Anni Becker

DaBat’s paint by Anni Becker

Four by DaBat by Anni Becker

Eight by DaBat by Anni Becker

Kids by Anni Becker

Kids run and play in Director Park by Anni Becker

Kori Sayer by Anni Becker

The view from behind the mic by Anni Becker   

Toni Partington by Anni Becker

Toni Partington and DaBat by Anni Becker

Lovebirds in the park by Anni Becker

A lovely evening in Director Park by Anni Becker

The crowd at Director Park Listens to Tyler Morgan’s music by Anni Becker

Jenney Pauer by Anni Becker

Jenney Pauer by Anni Becker

GHOST TOWN POETRY OPEN MIC August 9, 2012 Featuring A. Molotkov, accompanied by musician Ragon Linde, plus Chris Martin’s documentary about Ghost Town Poetry founder Christopher Luna

July 14, 2012

GHOST TOWN POETRY OPEN MIC
Featuring A. Molotkov, accompanied by musician Ragon Linde

Plus the premiere screening of Chris Martin’s documentary about Ghost Town Poetry founder Christopher Luna, the latest in Martin’s ongoing series of short films on Innovators of Vancouver  

 

hosted by Christopher Luna and Toni Partington
LGBTQ-friendly, all ages, and uncensored since 2004

7pm Thursday, August 9, 2012
and every second Thursday

Cover to Cover Books
6300 NE St. James Rd., Suite 104B
(St. James & Minnehaha)
Vancouver, WA
360-993-7777
christopherjluna@gmail.com

http://www.covertocoverbooks.net

Featuring A. Molotkov, accompanied by musician Ragon Linde:

Born in St. Petersburg, A. Molotkov arrived in the U.S. in 1990 and switched to writing in English in 1993.  He is the winner of various fiction and poetry awards, including Boone’s Dock Press poetry chapbook contest for his True Stories from the Future.  Molotkov’s work was selected for a floor theme in the upcoming Kaiser Permanente building in Hillsboro and for Portland’s Orange Lining public poetry project. The End of Mythology, a collaborative chapbook co-written with John Sibley Williams, is due later this year from Virgogray Press.  Visit him at AMolotkov.com.

The following items will be available for purchase at the reading: True Stories From the Future (poetry chapbook, $12), everything (novel, $8), Can You Stay Forever? (CD, $8), and Look at My Screen (DVD, $8)

Ragon Linde is a multi-instrumentalist, recording artist, and audio visionary based in Portland, OR. Ragon has played in a wide range of musical groups over the last 35 years whose styles included big band, psychedelic jazz, heavy metal, acoustic folk, classical, western swing, marching band, and percussion ensemble. Since 2008, Ragon has been a performing member and musical director of the Moonlit Guttery Poetry Team which has staged performances of “Love Outlives Us,” “Chasing the Sun Over the Horizon,” “Raining Back Up,” and “Time and Absence.”  In 2012 Ragon co-produced and performed in a Percussion/Narrative performance called “Only Ghosts” (https://sites.google.com/site/seeonlyghosts/). Ragon is the founder and leader of the Portland Eclectic Music Society. His 2011 debut album, which will be available for purchase at the open mic, is a double CD entitled Both Sides of the Story ($12) The recording is also available for digital download on iTunes, Amazon.com, and CD Baby and in hard copy at Portland’s Millennium Music.

Unfalling the Stars

by A. Molotkov

sorry door

if I must bother you
why don’t you open wider and admit friends

sorry song

my mouth is not fit to sing you

sorry distance

my steps are not wide enough to cover you

so many stars fall

your last words hang over the threshold
in an endless conversation with my past

as I hang myself on a hat hook

in someone else’s childhood

while you laugh like you always do

so many stars shine

sorry life

my words are not wide enough to honor you

 

Chris Martin runs Chris Martin Studios, a creative studio focused on provoking thought, initiating change, and unveiling the unique story of businesses and non-profit organizations throughout the world. Learn more at http://www.chrismartinstudios.com.

 Innovators of Vancouver is an online documentary video series telling the story of Vancouver’s leaders of vision, passion and action. The first seven episodes focused on seven unique characters of Vancouver: Dale Chumbley, a realtor using social media to bring awareness to the community; Dave Scott, a professional photographer giving back to a local high school’s sports program; Noland Hoshino, a passionate social media expert utilizing social networks for good; Bruce and Gayle Elgort, enterprise software business owners and global community builders; Carol Doane, a writer and content strategist; Zachary Gray, former owner of Paper Tiger Coffee Roasters; and Anni Becker, community art-ivist (http://www.innovatorsofvancouver.com/episodes/anni-becker/).

Beginning with poet Christopher Luna, the next seven episodes of Innovators of Vancouver will focus on art, literacy, film and comics, as well as the history of Vancouver through the stories of amazing people. Innovators of Vancouver is available online at http://www.innovatorsofvancouver.com or http://www.youtube.com/innovatethecouv/.