Portland (OR) – Page 3 – PRINTED MATTER VANCOUVER

Christopher Luna’s Spring 2018 Creative Writing Workshops [LINKS UPDATED MARCH 6]

March 2, 2018

Christopher Luna’s Creative Writing Classes Spring 2018

Christopher looking sideways at Julian Nelson December 2016 — Christopher Luna photographed by Julian Nelson

Follow your bliss this Spring. Take a writing workshop with Christopher Luna. Christopher has an MFA in Writing and Poetics from the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, where he received training in literary community outreach from Jack Collom, and two decades of teaching experience. He served as the Poet Laureate of Clark County, WA from 2013-2017. In 2004 he founded the popular Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic, which he co-hosts with his wife Toni Partington. Christopher and Toni co-founded Printed Matter Vancouver, which publishes local poetry and provides coaching and editing services to Northwest writers.

Below you will find several creative writing workshops throughout the region sponsored by Clark College, Multnomah Arts Center, Niche Wine Bar, Angst Gallery, and High End Market Place. Hope you can join us.

Contact printedmattervancouver@gmail.com or christopherjluna@gmail.com for more information.

Clark College

Downtown Campus

500 Broadway Street, Suite 200

Vancouver, WA 98660

Registration Opens on Monday, March 5

Memoir Writing

Everyone has a story to tell. Each person’s life is filled with adventure, mystery, trouble, and triumph. Memoir is a powerful way to demonstrate the interconnectedness of all human beings. This course will empower you to begin to see yourself as a part of history, and to discover the value in documenting the story of your life.

Tuesdays

ITEM #: 9456

TIME: 01:00pm – 03:20pm (T)

DATE: 4/10/2018- 6/12/2018

FEE: $215

LOCATION: CCE 208

Thursdays

ITEM #: 9457

TIME: 01:00pm – 03:20pm (Th)

DATE: 4/12/2018- 6/14/2018Th

FEE: $215

LOCATION: CCE 208

Poetry Matters: Writing Poetry

Beginners and experienced writers alike will generate new works and discuss the poet’s role in the community. Read, listen to, and write poetry together in a supportive class focused on providing gentle, constructive feedback. Discuss how to construct a manuscript and ready it for publication. Writers of all experience levels are welcome. Bring paper and pen or laptop. Ages 16 and over. No class on 04/28.

ITEM #: R074

TIME: 10:00AM – 1:00PM

DATES: 4/21/2018- 5/5/2018 (Saturday)

FEE: $59

LOCATION: CCE 208

Multnomah Arts Center

7688 SW Capitol Hwy

Portland, OR 97219

MAC_logo_withTransparency

Poetry Writing

Poetry as a means of expression, exploration, and experience is available to everyone. Write poetry in response to prompts and read a variety of published poems that you can use as inspiration. Read and respond to one another’s work in this supportive setting, paying close attention to revision. Ages 16 & Up.

Mondays 10 am – 12:30 pm

April 2 – June 4 [10 classes]

$249

Niche Wine Bar

1013 Main Street

Vancouver, WA 98660

Niche logo

The Work: Saturday Afternoon Edition

Join us on Saturday, March 10 for The Work, a monthly poetry writing workshop at Niche Wine Bar led by former Clark County Poet Laureate (2013-2017) Christopher Luna.

Christopher is completely convinced of poetry’s ability to encourage empathy and compassion, and to spark the shifts in consciousness which can lead to healing, personal growth, and an interest in fighting for progressive social change. He would love to share his passion for poetry with you.

We will read and discuss poetry, and write several new poems together from 11:30 until 2:30.

$20 suggested donation; no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Bring a poem to share as a way of saying hello.

Shareable snacks are also welcome and very much appreciated.

Niche is located at 1013 Main Street, right next door to The Kiggins Theatre, Vancouver’s landmark movie house in the Vancouver Arts District.

The Work ART 4 ART 2016

https://www.facebook.com/events/546530135717292/

Note: The Work Saturday Edition will take place on the second Saturday of each month, unless otherwise noted. Upcoming workshops will take place on the following dates: April 14, May 12, and June 9.

Angst Gallery

1015 Main Street

Vancouver, WA 98660

The Work: Monday Evening Edition

Join us on Monday, March 26 for The Work, a monthly poetry writing workshop at Angst Gallery led by former Clark County Poet Laureate (2013-2017) Christopher Luna.

We will read and discuss poetry, and write several new poems together from 6:00 until 8:30.

$20 suggested donation; no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Bring a poem to share as a way of saying hello.

Shareable snacks are also welcome and very much appreciated. (Niche Wine Bar is currently closed on Mondays.)

The Work 2017 Stein

Angst Gallery is located at 1015 Main Street, two doors to the North of The Kiggins Theatre, Vancouver’s landmark movie house in the Vancouver Arts District.

Note: The Work will take place at Angst Gallery on the last Monday evening of each month, unless otherwise noted. Upcoming Monday workshops will take place on April 30, May 28, and June 25.

The Green House

1920 Broadway

Vancouver, WA 98663

Lifted Lit

Brought to you by Lifted Events

1-3pm

Saturday, March 24

The Green House

Lifted Lit with Christopher Luna

LIFTED Lit Writing class

Join us for a cannabis friendly and cannabis inspired poetry workshop with former Clark County Poet Laureate (2013-2017) Christopher Luna! Light snacks and coffee will be provided, but please BYOC. Must be 21+ to attend.

A bit about Christopher Luna: Christopher spent his late teens and early twenties working in a head shop on Long Island. He believes that mindful use of marijuana can be a powerful tool for consciousness expansion. Christopher is completely turned on by poetry’s ability to encourage empathy and compassion, and to spark the shifts in consciousness which can lead a person to fight for progressive social change. He would love to share his passion for poetry with you.

Space is limited, so be sure to sign up today to #getLIFTED! Tickets are a $20 suggested donation. Online reservation is required to attend the class. No one will be turned away for lack of funds, but please pre-register as this is a private event.

21+, non-refundable/non-transferable. If attendance requirements are not met the class will be canceled 24 hours before the class begins. Tickets will be refunded at that time.

BYOC

Valid Photo ID is required for entrance to the event.

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Featuring Neil Aitken January 11, 2018

December 28, 2017

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic January 11 2018

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic
Featuring Neil Aitken
Hosted by Christopher Luna and Toni Partington
of Printed Matter Vancouver
7 pm
Thursday, January 11
Open mic sign up begins at 6:30 and closes at 7
Angst Gallery
1015 Main Street
Vancouver, WA 98660

P1020032_sqr — Neil Aitken, author of *Babbage’s Dream*

Neil Aitken is the author of Babbage’s Dream (Sundress 2017) and The Lost Country of Sight (Anhinga 2008), which received the Philip Levine Prize, as well as the poetry chapbook, Leviathan. His work has been published in American Literary Review, Crab Orchard Review, The Dialogist, Ninth Letter, The Normal School, The Southern Poetry Review, and many other journals. A former computer programmer and a past Kundiman Poetry Fellow, he is the founding editor of Boxcar Poetry Review, curator of Have Book Will Travel, and co-director of De-Canon: A Visibility Project. He also hosts The Lit Fantastic, a podcast about writers and their obsessions, and works as a creative writing coach and mentor. Visit him online at www.neil-aitken.com

Babbages_Dream_v23
Float
—a fundamental type used to define numbers with fractional parts

Like a bell, or rather the sound of it opening,
a silence that having tolled speaks again

suspended between states of incompleteness—
a point traversing a numbered landscape.

This country of small infinities is what we do
with what remains: bits of window panes,

refracted light, what gathers in the torn leaves
from the dimming edge of the red fields

grown dark. Say what you will, the body is no more
than the moon, a white trouser button in a pool
of gasoline, a halo of ash and flame
ascending the ladder of night.

Food and libation provided by Niche Wine Bar, 1013 Main Street
Sound provided by Briz Loan & Guitar
LGBTQIA+ FRIENDLY, ALL AGES, AND UNCENSORED SINCE 2004

Listen to a feature on Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic on OPB Radio’s State of Wonder

Printed Matter Vancouver Books Available at Another Read Through in Portland, OR

August 31, 2017

Tiffany Burba reads from Meet Me Where I Left You at Another Read Through Books in Portland, OR on February 23, 2017

It is more important than ever to support local, independently-owned bookstores. One of our personal favorites is Another Read Through at 3932 N. Mississippi Ave. in Portland. Owner Elisa Saphier is delightful, personable, and knowledgeable. She allows authors and publishers to hold readings and book launch events in her beautiful second-floor loft, and hosts regular events such as Lesbian Lit Book Group. A generous amount of shelf space is devoted to Northwest authors in all genres.

GT 2 FRONT COVER

You can find Ghost Town Poetry volumes one and two, Tiffany Burba’s Meet Me Where I Left You, and Christopher Luna’s Pulitzer Remix chapbook Brutal Glints of Moonlight at Another Read Through.

Printed Matter Vancouver is grateful to Elisa for her service to the literary community, and for carrying our books at her bookstore. We are very proud to be associated with Another Read Through. Show your support by dropping by the store today!

The latest publication from Printed Matter Vancouver.

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Recap (June 8, 2017): Jan Stewart & Lori Loranger

June 11, 2017

Our thanks to Multnomah Arts Center writer Jan Stewart, who shared her impressions of her first time at Ghost Town and her time in Christopher Luna’s Multnomah Arts Center poetry writing class:

“My hat is off to you. A bright and multicolored hat of deep significance is lifted to you for your work in building a vibrant, inspiring, and supportive community of poets. At one point last night you said something like, ‘you guys are cracking my head wide open.’ Mine too. Along with the assembly of poets, a group diverse in race, experience, sexual orientation, gender, and perspective, I was impressed by the core values palpably present. Everyone felt safe to let their voice be heard. The power of that mix cracked my head wide open and knocked my socks off. I have been impressed by what you do for us at MAC and last night saw it is a drop in the bucket in what you do for poets, and even more importantly for the community, for the world, for life on this plane. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Dan Raphael June 8 2017 — Featured Reader Dan Raphael performs at Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic on June 8, 2017

Recently, Portland poet Micah David-Cole Fletcher was the only survivor among three heroes who were stabbed while defending a Muslim woman and her friend from a racist terrorist on the MAX in Portland. In gratitude for their bravery and their willingness to stand up to hate, we dedicated this month’s Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic to Micah, Ricky Best, and Taliesin Namkai-Meche.

I was moved to tears by Ghost Town regular Lori Loranger, who has been attending the series since it was founded in November 2004, when she shared the following poem:

“Tell everyone on this train that I love them”

remembering Rick Best and Taliesin Namkai-Meche

So many ways to propagate hate

speak it and spout it and live it

until you believe it’s true

you can teach it to your children,

feed it with your angry thoughts

and stories

keep it on the fire

where it simmers and steams

until it explodes in violence.

So many ways to propagate hate,

while those of us who don’t believe,

who won’t give energy to hating,

pour reason and truth and love on the heat of it

with just the one way to not hate:

to NOT HATE

To not hate people who aren’t like us

or don’t think the same

To not hate even the haters

to just not hate.

It’s the duty of those of us who can

to speak up, when hate is spoken

taught, displayed

acted on

It’s our privilege to do the right thing,

a privilege not everyone can afford.

We’re all on this train

traveling together, to wherever we’re going,

going our own ways, we’re on this train together

packed in tight

with no room for hate

Tell everyone on this train that I love them.

-Lori Loranger

Micah Fletcher: “It’s the duty of those who can – Being able to do the right thing is a privilege some people can’t afford”

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Featuring Rob Katsuno & Dan Raphael Thursday, June 8, 2017

May 14, 2017

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic flyer June 8 2017 edit

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic

Featuring Rob Katsuno and Dan Raphael

Hosted by Christopher Luna and Toni Partington of Printed Matter Vancouver

7 pm

Thursday, June 8

Open mic sign up begins at 6:30 and closes at 7

Angst Gallery

1015 Main Street

Vancouver, WA 98660

angstgallery.com

Food and libation provided by Niche Wine Bar, 1013 Main Street

Sound provided by Briz Loan & Guitar: http://briz.us/

LGBTQIA+ FRIENDLY, ALL AGES, AND UNCENSORED SINCE 2004

katsuno-professional-photo-image

Rob Katsuno has been employed as a Boeing jet design engineer, a Mitsubishi Joint Venture Broker, a Morgan Stanley Investment Banker in NY and Tokyo. He holds an MBA from UCLA and currently works as a Ameriprise Financial Advisor. In 2011 he received third place in the Willamette Writers Kay Snow Writing Contest. He is also a talented performer who has appeared at BackfencePDX and United Solo, America’s largest solo performance festival in Theatre Row, NY. For more information about rob, visit robkatsuno.com

Dan Raphael by Robert — Dan Raphael performs at the Ford Building in Portland Photo by Robert Sanders

Everyone in This Movie Gets Paid, dan raphael’s 19th book, came out last June. Some of his newer poems appear in Caliban, Curly Mind, The Poeming Pigeon, In Between Hangovers and Otoliths. Every Wednesday he writes and records a news poem, as well as writing stories for the news anchors on KBOO Radio. He hosts Fo Po Poetry, a monthly reading series in Portland, and is the prose editor for Unlikely Stories, an e-zine based in New Orleans.

Tiffany Burba Reads from Meet Me Where I Left You at Backstory Books in Portland on May 18, 2017

May 14, 2017

Fo Po Poetry

Featuring Brittney Corrigan and Tiffany Burba

Hosted by Dan Raphael
Thursday, May 18 at 7 PM – 8:30 PM

Backstory Books
6010 SE Foster Rd.

Portland, Oregon 97206

Meet Me Where I Left You by Tiffany Burba-Book Cover — The latest publication from Printed Matter Vancouver.

Fo Po Poetry for May will feature Brittney Corrigan and Tiffany Burba. We also have spots for 6 open podium readers.

Brittney Corrigan is the author of the poetry collection Navigation (The Habit of Rainy Nights Press, 2012) and the chapbook 40 Weeks (Finishing Line Press, 2012). Her poems have appeared widely in journals and anthologies, and she is the poetry editor for the online journal Hyperlexia: poetry and prose about the autism spectrum. Brittney lives in Portland, Oregon, where she is both an alumna and employee of Reed College.

Tiffany Burba is a poet and photographer living in Vancouver, Washington. Her first full length book of poetry Meet Me Where I Left You was published by Printed Matter Vancouver last Fall. Tiffany has been published in Ghost Town Poetry Anthology Volume 2 and the Poeming Pigeon anthologies Doobie or Not Doobie? and Poems About Music.

Christopher Luna’s Summer 2017 Creative Writing Classes

May 12, 2017

Christopher Luna’s Summer Writing Classes

Looking for inspiration this summer? Why not spend some time with Clark County Poet Laureate Christopher Luna, a graduate of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics and a creative writing workshop leader with nearly two decades in the classroom. He would love to share his passion for poetry and storytelling with you.

If you are interested in taking one of these workshops, do not wait. Such classes will be canceled within 3-5 days of their beginning if the minimum enrollment numbers are not met.

Luna also facilitates a writing workshop from 11:30-2:30 on the second Saturday of every month at Niche Wine Bar (1013 Main Street, next door to Angst Gallery and the Kiggins Theatre).

1. LIFTED Lit Writing Workshop with Clark County Poet Laureate Christopher Luna

$20 suggested donation / 21+

Saturday, May 20 at 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM

The Green House

1920 Broadway St.

Vancouver, WA 98663-3325

Tickets Available: www.eventbrite.com

Get LIFTED and join us for a very unique writing workshop with Clark County Poet Laureate Christopher Luna! Christopher spent his late teens and early twenties working in a head shop on Long Island. He believes that mindful use of marijuana can be a powerful tool for consciousness expansion. Christopher is completely turned on by poetry’s ability to encourage empathy and compassion, and to spark the shifts in consciousness which can lead a person to fight for progressive social change. He would love to share his passion for poetry with you.

Christopher Luna is also the Clark County Poet Laureate, and he and his wife, Toni Partington, founded Printed Matter Vancouver, and co-host Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic, the popular reading series Luna established in 2004. Luna’s books include Brutal Glints of Moonlight, GHOST TOWN, USA and The Flame Is Ours: The Letters of Stan Brakhage and Michael McClure 1961-1978. Recent publications include WA 129, The Poeming Pigeon: Doobie or Not Doobie, Bombay Gin, Unshod Quills, and It’s Animal But Merciful.

Pens and Pencils will be provided. Please bring something to write on or a laptop.

Space is limited, so be sure to sign up today to #getLIFTED! Tickets are a $20 suggested donation. Online reservation is required to attend the class.

21+, non-refundable/ non-transferable. If attendance requirements are not met the class will be canceled 24 hours before the class begins. Tickets will be refunded at that time.

Bring Your Own Cannabis

Valid Photo ID is required for entrance to the event.

2. Poetry Mini Class with Christopher Luna

Saturday, June 3 from 9:00am – 01:00pm

FEE: $39.00

LOCATION: CCE 214 (Clark College’s downtown campus, 500 Broadway
Vancouver, WA 98660 on the second floor of the Columbia Bank building)

http://ecd.clark.edu/classes/class.php?SKU=R209

Want to do some writing but don’t have a lot of spare time? Come to a one-session mini course at Clark College’s downtown campus for beginners and experienced writers alike who want to generate new work and engage in dialogue. Read, listen to, and briefly write poetry together. Whet your appetite for poetry with a workshop that touches on how to discover, write, and rewrite a poem. Bring paper and pen or laptop. Ages 16 and over.

3. Poetry Writing at Multnomah Arts Center

http://www.multnomahartscenter.org/about-mac/classes/

MAC_logo_withTransparency

Poetry Writing Ages 16 & Up

1072273 Mon. 10 am – 12:30 pm Jun. 19 – Aug. 14 $190 [8 classes] No class July 3

4. Summer Classes at Clark College (Registration Begins May 22)

https://ecd.clark.edu/

Christopher Luna

Memoir Writing

Everyone has a story to tell. Each person’s life is filled with adventure, mystery, trouble, and triumph. Memoirs are a powerful way to demonstrate the interconnectedness of all human beings. Clark County’s Poet Laureate will encourage you to begin to see yourself as a part of history. Documenting your life is a wonderful gift for your family as well as a profoundly fulfilling experience for the writer.

Item number: 9100
7/12/2017- 8/16/2017 Wednesdays
1:00PM – 3:20PM
$159
CCE 208 (Clark College’s downtown campus, 500 Broadway
Vancouver, WA 98660 on the second floor of the Columbia Bank building)

Poetry Matters: Writing Poetry

Item: K154
7/10/2017- 8/14/2017 Mondays
6:00PM – 8:30PM
$129
CCE 208 (Clark College’s downtown campus, 500 Broadway
Vancouver, WA 98660 on the second floor of the Columbia Bank building)

Toni Partington & Christopher Luna on KBOO Radio’s Poetry and Everything, hosted by Judith Arcana April 24, 2017

April 30, 2017

Chris and Toni at KBOO with Judith — Christopher Luna and Toni Partington in the KBOO studios in Portland, OR

Poet and activist Judith Arcana recently interviewed Printed Matter Vancouver founders Christopher Luna and Toni Partington for her radio program, Poetry and Everything

http://kboo.org/media/57359-poetry-and-everything

We’d like to thank Judith for her hospitality and her thoughtful questions. We are also grateful to our friend and fellow poet, Patrick Bocarde, for engineering the program.

Poetry And Everything
Air date: Mon, 04/24/2017 -10:00pm to 11:00pm

Interview with Toni Partington and Christopher Luna

Chris and Toni co-host Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic, the series he established in 2004. Together they founded Printed Matter Vancouver, a small press and editing service. Not only are there two of them, working together on those projects, but each of them does (notably) more than two things.

Upcoming Readings Featuring Printed Matter Vancouver Author Tiffany Burba

February 4, 2017

Tiffany Burba will be reading from Meet Me Where I Left You, her debut volume from Printed Matter Vancouver, at two readings in Portland in the coming months. Tiffany’s reading in March will also feature Printed Matter Vancouver Publisher/Editor Toni Partington. Please come out to support Tiffany and pick up a copy of her book.

another-read-through-flyer

Tiffany Burba, Leah Noble Davidson, and Lynn Knapp

Read from their new books of poetry

7pm Thursday, February 23

Another Read Through Books

3932 N Mississippi Ave.

Portland, Oregon 97227

http://www.anotherreadthrough.com/event/poetry-reading-with-local-poets-lynn-knapp-leah-noble-davidson-and-tiffany-burba/

Meet Me Where I Left You by Tiffany Burba-Book Cover

MEET ME WHERE I LEFT YOU, the debut collection of poetry and short prose by Tiffany Burba, captures her real and imagined New York City adventures of love, lust, museums, jazz, food, and running in Central Park. She has an amazing love affair with the City and its inhabitants stretching from Brooklyn to Queens, the Bronx to Manhattan, and all points between. Living on whiskey kisses, a subway pass, and everything from pizza to soup dumplings, Burba fills and breaks her heart and ours along the way. Meet Me Where I Left You explores her arrivals and departures, her dreams of leaving Pacific Northwest forests for the taxi rides and street grime of New York City, her love of family and friends, and her unashamed quest for passion. (Published by Printed Matter Vancouver)

Leah Noble Davidson head shot

DOOR explores one of the oldest words in the human language in a way that only Leah Noble Davidson can do. Braking the word into four co-existing story lines, Davidson canvases the meaning of the word “door” through hard science, relationships, psychology, and dissected language itself. The book is not merely a collection of poems, but an experience in and of itself, wherein the reader falls through doors within doors at every turn. Built to be read over and over again, DOOR is riddled with quotes and inserts, footnotes, and hidden patterns that hold-up an oddly relatable and honest perspective of the world as we know it. (Published by University of Hell Press)

GIVING GROUND pulses with traffic and teems with life, leading us through tangled streets, intertwined lives. We find a place of overgrown gardens, alleys in bloom, pheasants in flight, rabbits, stray cats, and Spanish love songs, a place where the ordinary appears in an extraordinary light. With deft narrative strokes, Giving Ground reveals a place and its people, lives balanced on the shifting ground of language and culture. Like the place, Lynn Knapp’s poems are wry, real, and poignant. (Published by The Poetry Box®)

Grief Rites Readers Series

Hosted by Melissa Dodson

7 – 10pm

Monday, March 6

Post 134

2104 NE Alberta St.

Portland, Oregon 97211

https://www.facebook.com/events/1719329008379340/

A monthly storytelling showcase about grief, loss and love. Gather in community with others who share grief in all forms and manifestations. Come ready to cry, laugh, listen and hold space for yourself and others. Trigger warning, because Grief. Content not edited for language or topic.

Doors open at 7pm, Readings begin at 7:30pm

Free admission! Full Bar!

Please consider bringing canned goods or cold weather clothing/blankets to donate to the Post 134 food & clothing pantry, which serves local veterans, homeless and anyone in need.

Storytellers…

Daniel Elder

Sarah McKay

Ravyn Stanfield

Asha Dore

Nicole Ausmus

Amy Findling

Toni Partington

Tiffany Burba

[JANUARY 19: New Date for] Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Featuring Jen Coleman & Mike G

December 17, 2016

[IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to icy conditions, this month’s Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic has been postponed until January 19. Please help us share this news, and stay safe.]

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic

Hosted by Christopher Luna and Toni Partington

Featuring Jen Coleman and Mike G

7 pm

Thursday, January 19

Open mic sign up begins at 6:30 and closes at 7

Angst Gallery

1015 Main Street

Vancouver, WA 98660

angstgallery.com

Food and libation provided by

Niche Wine Bar, 1013 Main Street

Sound provided by Briz Loan & Guitar: http://briz.us/

LGBTQ-FRIENDLY, ALL AGES, AND UNCENSORED SINCE 2004

https://www.facebook.com/events/1353896004672477/

headshot_coleman

Jen Coleman is the author of Psalms for Dogs and Sorcerers from Trembling Pillow Press, winner of the 2013 Bob Kaufman Book Prize selected by poet Dara Wier, and We Denizens from Furniture Press in 2016. Originally from Minnesota, Jen received her BA from Beloit College and MFA from George Mason University in Virginia. She spent eight years in New York, where she co-edited the journal POM2. She now lives in Portland, OR. Coleman’s set will include one poem accompanied by drummer and songwriter Cat Minor.

wedenizens

Let’s Be Tarsiers by Jen Coleman

It’s too cruel to be a bloody human.

Let’s be a boom-slang, viper or hippo.

Let’s be tarsiers born with fur and eyeballs

big as our brains. Let’s have the long, long feet.

Let me call you tarsier like the long long

bones in your feet. Let me be a tarsier

and balance eye with eye and stay silent.

Take your third tarsier finger and touch my

third finger as long as your upper arm.

Touch your two tarsier toes to my two toes.

Eat bugs and lizards and know me, tarsier

As I know you, tarsier, feasting on bats.

Be awake in the night with me, tarsier,

and leap, and be quite quiet and quite shy.

mike-g-headshot

Mike G: I’ve been writing for my sanity for quite some time now. It’s the most fun, and the most serious thing I do. For me, performing is the public celebration of this sanity. Now and then I’ve read my poems on KBOO radio. Now and then my poems get published. To say it another way: I oozed from the womb in Michigan with hardly more life than a manikin, then the Muse infused me with madness, inspired my wordplay of rage and sadness, or sometimes funny, so it’s said; I’ll clown and rant until i’m dead.

mike-g-august-11-2016 — Mike G reads at Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic (photo by Tiffany Burba)

After the plague of boils Job scalded his secret patience formula upon my soul. That’s me lounging on the rotting log spitting a protest melody into the unwashed harmonica. The cold sun is a kind of food. I watch the leaves eat. Eyes fierce and blue in the whiteout blizzard. That’s me, the keeper of memory, not buried yet, heart still beating.

PRINTED MATTER VANCOUVER

we write because we must

Tag: Portland (OR)

Christopher Luna’s Spring 2018 Creative Writing Workshops [LINKS UPDATED MARCH 6]

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Featuring Neil Aitken January 11, 2018

Printed Matter Vancouver Books Available at Another Read Through in Portland, OR

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Recap (June 8, 2017): Jan Stewart & Lori Loranger

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Featuring Rob Katsuno & Dan Raphael Thursday, June 8, 2017

Tiffany Burba Reads from Meet Me Where I Left You at Backstory Books in Portland on May 18, 2017

Christopher Luna’s Summer 2017 Creative Writing Classes

Toni Partington & Christopher Luna on KBOO Radio’s Poetry and Everything, hosted by Judith Arcana April 24, 2017

Upcoming Readings Featuring Printed Matter Vancouver Author Tiffany Burba

[JANUARY 19: New Date for] Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Featuring Jen Coleman & Mike G