American Values 

            (No Money In The Arts)

If every reader of this blog were simply to call your Congress Person and Senators and express your strong advocacy for funding the arts, I bet we would begin seeing results. One by one, district by district. No risk for your representative. Something like "mom's apple pie." What do you say? Make that call or calls. Do it now, and you will feel better for it!

House Telephone Directory

Senate Telephone Directory

June 23, 2024 Huge Reading at Frida

Former Poet Laureate and founder of the Word Temple Poetry Series, Katherine Hastings, has not left us forever after all. Katherine returned from the Buffalo area for a late May visit to Sonoma County and read beautifully at the second of three quarterly readings during our third year of such events. Also reading or performing for our largest audience were Gregory Randall, Stacey Tuel, Luis Vasquez, Claire Drucker, Abby Bogomolny and David Beckman, who, with Hilary Moore and Ed Coletti read one of Beckman's short plays. Not only did bassist Steve Shain provide accompaniment, but he also soloed brilliantly and incorporated spoken word.

The photos were taken by Shawna Swatech and Jodi Hottel. Thank you so much!

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Congratulations, Poet Laureate Select 

Dave Seter

Our good friend Dave Seter has been selected as Sonoma County’s next Poet Laureate.

David Seter is a poet, nature writer and essayist, and author of the poetry collections Don’t Sing to Me of Electric Fences (Cherry Grove Collections, 2021) and Night Duty (Main Street Rag, 2010). Educated as a civil engineer, he writes about social and environmental issues, including the intersection of the built world and natural world. He is also studying Lithuanian and has translated a few poems by contemporary Lithuanian poets into English.  His poems have won the KNOCK Ecolit Prize and received third place in the William Matthews competition. He is the recipient of two Pushcart nominations. His poetry book reviews have appeared in various publications including Cider Press Review. He has been an Affiliate Artist at the Headlands Center for the Arts, and has served on the Board of Directors of Marin Poetry Center. He earned his undergraduate degree in civil engineering from Princeton University and his graduate degree in humanities from Dominican University of California. 

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Gregory Corso

A Case for Political Poems

It seems to me that political poems have been shunned of late. Am I wrong? What do you think? Comment at edjcoletti (AT)gmail.com.

But first, I encourage you to read this one from my favorite among the Beat Poets, Gregory Corso.

BY GREGORY CORSO

America Politica Historia in Spontaneity

O this political air so heavy with the bells

and motors of a slow night, and no place to rest

but rain to walk—How it rings the Washington streets!   

The umbrella’d congressmen; the rapping tires   

of big black cars, the shoulders of lobbyists   

caught under canopies and in doorways,

and it rains, it will not let up,

and meanwhile lame futurists weep into Spengler’s   

prophecy, will the world be over before the races blend color?

All color must be one or let the world be done—

There’ll be a chance, we’ll all be orange!

I don’t want to be orange!

Nothing about God’s color to complain;

and there is a beauty in yellow, the old Lama   

in his robe the color of Cathay;

in black a strong & vital beauty,

Thelonious Monk in his robe of Norman charcoal—

And if Western Civilization comes to an end   

(though I doubt it, for the prophet has not   

executed his prophecy) surely the Eastern child   

will sit by a window, and wonder

the old statues, the ornamented doors;

the decorated banquet of the West—

Inflamed by futurists I too weep in rain at night   

at the midnight of Western Civilization;

Please read the entire poem, press here