CIEL

Women's National Book Association Supports Indie Bookstore

WNBA-SF had our bi-annual group reading at Bookshop West Portal last night. Neal Sofman, owner of BWP, and his staff were gracious and welcoming hosts. The readers were fantastic. Lucille Lang Day, Alice Friedland, Cynthia Borris, Kit Kennedy and Pam Reitman were all inspiring and fresh voices. Alice's book, "Outside Child" is the first in a trilogy about New Orleans. A must read. In the spirit of serving the comunity, the WNBA welcomed new members and old creating a supportive and exciting atmosphere.

Authors, Fiction, WNBA, Writers

SLAMMING!

Saturday night Youth Speaks filled the San Francisco Opera House (that's 3,200 seats!) with poets, poetry lovers and poetry supporters. The event was the 'final slam' in a series of slams held around Northern California. Invited by Adam's colleague from Kapor Enterprises, Inc., Stephen DeBerry, I ran into Beth Lisick at the VIP reception. Beth will be the 'talent' for WNBA- SF's 40th Anniversary Gala at the St. Francis on June 7th. From the box, the kids looked fantastic. Ranging from age 14-19 they reflected the bay's multi-culti landscape beautifully. The poetry ranged from the sublime to the rhetorical but as the MC stated: This is not about victory, about winning. Writing the poem is the victory." Talk about teaching kids about the value of process. Also, over the weekend, Writers Corps. were at Intersection getting the same royal treatment. Their evening included readings by well known poets Linda-Watanabe McFerrin and Jack Hirshman, San Francisco Poet Laureate. Thank goodness for National Poetry Month!

Authors, creative process, poetry, Writers

Winning At the Ina Coolbrith Circle

Yesterday at the 82nd Annual Poet's Dinner my poem "Torqued - For Richard Serra" was honored with an award, a cash prize and an invitation to read at the Ina Coolbrith Circle. The organizers are kindred spirits - devoted to poetry and to the memory of Ina Coolbrith, California's little known but tireless promoter of writers and artists. Among her minions were Joaquin Miller, Jack London and Bret Harte. Coolbrith, as Head Librarian of the Oakland Public Library also mentored Gertrude Stein and Isadora Duncan. She ran a literary Salon on Nob Hill, and was a talented poet who become California's first Poet Laureate. I learned about the event from Deborah Grossman, a wine and food writer I met at a local WNBA event. Thanks, Deborah! And, WNBA writers will be featured at Bookshop West Portal on March 25th at 7pm. I'll be reading from my new manuscript, "Jubilee." Neal's got a wonderful, inspiring, warm bookshop easily accessible by BART and Muni so come on down and support your local independent bookseller. There will be a wine and cheese reception after the reading.

Technorati Tags: Authors, poetry, ina coolbrith , WNBA, Writers

Putting Her Best Foot Foward

For five years I was a member of Makor Or, a Jewish Meditation group here in San Francisco. One of our members, Sarah Horowitz, passed away unexpectedly this week. Coincidentally, Nextbook had just conducted an in-depth interview with Sarah which explored her dual commitments to social justice and religious practice. When Sarah wasn't writing poetry, she taught autistic children, cooked for the homeless at Hamilton House, participated in vigils against the death penalty at San Quentin and traveled to El Salvador, India and Uganda with the American Jewish World Service. Her recent feat was flying to Iowa to knock on doors for Barack Obama. Sarah was born with Turner's syndrome - she was less than 4 1/2 feet tall, and struggled with a myriad of medical problems. According to her father's eulogy, 'she never complained.' Sarah advocated for my work, inviting me to read and generally being a fan and a booster. I'd like to honor her here as a true warrior, and a wonderful member of our community. She will be missed.

Technorati Tags: Authors, creative process, jewish issues, poetry, Writers