On Friday, April 15th, the poetry reading series The Other Voice presents Briony Gylgayton and Traci Gourdine as the featured poets. The series is sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis, located at 27074 Patwin Road. We meet at 7:30 in the library of the church. Refreshments and open mic follow the reading.

Traci Gourdine and Briony Gylgayton

Briony Gylgayton has won multiple awards for her writing, including placing second for the University of California system-wide 2010 Ina Coolbrith Memorial Poetry Prize, and placing for both creative writing categories in the 2010 Pamela Maus Contest for Creative Writing, winning first in fiction and second in poetry. Her Creative Writing Honors Thesis, a manuscript of poetry about psychological disorders, was awarded the 2010 Elliot Gilbert Memorial Prize for Best Undergraduate Honors Creative Work. Her work has been published extensively in local journals, including The Tule Review, The Yolo Crow, the Blue Moon Literary and Art Review, the Suisun Valley Review, and Nameless Magazine. Briony currently works as the head of public relations for the Poetry Night Reading Series, and as a web designer for Eager Mondays, where she specializes in creating websites for poets and writers. She will begin her MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Iowa Writers Workshop this August.

Traci Gourdine’s poetry and stories have been published in numerous literary magazines, and she has been anthologized within Shepard and Thomas’ Sudden Fiction Continued (Norton Publishing). Traci and Quincy Troupe were paired in a year long exchange of letters for the anthology Letters to Poets: Conversations about Poetics, Politics, and Community (Saturnalia Books). She is co-editor of Night is Gone, Day is Still Coming (Candlewick Press), an anthology of writing by young Native writers, as well as We Beg to Differ, poems by Sacramento poets against the war. She has also co-edited the Tule Review with Luke Breit for the Sacramento Poetry Center. Traci Gourdine is a professor of English at American River College and chairs the Creative Writing department for the California State Summer School for the Arts. She was Chair of the Sacramento Poet Laureate Committee for four laureate terms. For ten years she facilitated writing workshops within several California state prisons.

Below is a poem by Traci Gourdine followed by one by Briony Gylgayton:

Garden Song
by Traci Gourdine

birth coming
a readiness stills time
tides of new waters
break

crimson yet clear
a seizure of oozing
life

loud cries in harmony
urgent whispers straddle the room
walls bump
floors grind and sweat

from start to finish shadows
drop in reverence
so dear

lay low hard winds
stay sweet old grass

a quaking has come
spinning colors in this arrangement
life

here returns the new
ancestor

In The Park, The Very Old
by Briony Gylgayton

Man, stiff round globe head
hairspill down from Arctic circle
that spins in wind, fears combs

Woman made of bear leather
fingers are guitar wires
snapping ferociously

until young Gabe maybe
little glasses and pinchy
face turned slantways
approached. What are you playing? Gabe asked
What song is that you’re playing?

those two upthrusts of basalt from old time
peered at fluffed up hoot owl Gabe maybe Gabe
maybe the earthquake that made them

Are you interested in having your poetry published in an anthology? Have you written poetry, or are you interested in writing poetry, that reflects the spirit of the city of Davis?

Submit your poetry to the Davis Poetry Book Project, a project sponsored by our very own Davis Poet Laureate, Allegra Silberstein!

The Davis Poetry Book Project

The Davis Poetry Book Project aims to create an anthology of poetry about the city of Davis, written by current and past members of the Davis community. These poems will celebrate, or perhaps quarrel with, this place where we live now. The poetic discussion of the history and people of Davis is intended to allow the citizens of Davis a more meaningful interaction with their city, and for students and others growing up in Davis, this book will allow them to gain a deeper understanding of Davis. The project is based entirely in Davis: the 60-page anthology will be printed at a local printer, sold at local businesses, and performed at local poetry venues.

Learn more about the Davis Poetry Book Project here!

Submission Guidelines

This contest is open to all who have a connection to Davis, whether or not you are currently living here. We are especially interested in poems that touch on the history or historical figures of Davis, but feel free to write about any aspect of life in Davis. Winners will have their work published and receive a complimentary copy of the anthology.

Each submitter may submit up to 3 poems. The deadline is August 15, 2011. There is no entry fee!

Learn more about the submission process here!

Support the Celebration of Davis

If you don’t have poetry to submit, you can help this project by donating or advertising!

Learn more about donating here!

You can download our flier below to post or hand out! (Click on the image for a full-size flier to print out.)

Come to the John Natsoulas Gallery tonight at 8PM to celebrate the release of Nameless Magazine‘s latest print issue!

A student-run publication aimed at developing a literary and artistic community amongst the UCD undergraduate population, Nameless Magazine is the official UC Davis Undergraduate Literary and Arts magazine. Their motto, “Anything That Tells a Story,” exemplifies their goal to provide an outlet for all students to share their work, whether they express themselves through poetry, prose, or visual arts. They publish three issues online and one “best of” print issue each year. The Print Issue Release Party is a showcase of their most recent print issue, Volume III, Best of 2009-2010. This issue includes work from talented undergraduates of the UC Davis community. At the release party, you can enjoy music, readings, and refreshments, mingle with the editors of the magazine, meet the talented creators behind the published work, purchase your own copy for $10, and perform at the open microphone portion. Come out and support your local art and literary community!

Attendees are encouraged to arrive early at the John Natsoulas Gallery to secure a seat, and to sign up for a spot on the Open Mic list.

We hope to see you there!

The new Fall-Winter 2010 edition of the Davis-based Blue Moon Literary & Art Review is available for purchase! Issue 6 features winners of the Will Albrecht Contest, stories by Brendan Moore, Robert Earle, Yance Wyatt, photos by Ron Lane, and more!

Copies are $10, and can be purchased through mail by sending check or money order made payable to Blue Moon Literary & Art Review to the following address:

Scott Evans, Editor
327 Twelfth Street
Davis, CA 95616

Buy your copy today, and support your local literary community!

The Blue Moon Literary & Art Review publishes fiction and poetry of all genres, from serious fiction to murder mystery. We hope the Review will be entertaining and thought provoking; however, we have no political agenda, only a strong desire to promote and publish fine writing. In addition to works of fiction, we also invite for consideration reviews of art, books, and plays, as well as literary essays of any kind. We continue to grow over the years as we promote and encourage new writers from all over the world. Our goal is to lead the literary life and to allow others to lead it with us. Good writing, like fine wine, should be shared and appreciated as a communal experience.

The Poetry Night Reading Series is proud to host UC Davis’s official undergraduate literary  and arts magazine, Nameless Magazine, and the release party for their 2009-2010 print issue, on Thursday, November 18th at 8 P.M. The event will occur at the John Natsoulas Gallery at 521 1st Street and feature readings from the magazine’s contributors.

A student-run publication aimed at developing a literary and artistic community amongst the UCD undergraduate population, Nameless Magazine is the official UC Davis Undergraduate Literary and Arts magazine. Their motto, “Anything That Tells a Story,” exemplifies their goal to provide an outlet for all students to share their work, whether they express themselves through poetry, prose, or visual arts. They publish three issues online and one “best of” print issue each year. The Print Issue Release Party is a showcase of their most recent print issue, Volume III, Best of 2009-2010. This issue includes work from talented undergraduates of the UC Davis community. At the release party, you can enjoy music, readings, and refreshments, mingle with the editors of the magazine, meet the talented creators behind the published work, purchase your own copy for $10, and perform at the open microphone portion. Come out and support your local art and literary community!

Attendees are encouraged to arrive early at the John Natsoulas Gallery to secure a seat, and to sign up for a spot on the Open Mic list.

What: The Nameless Magazine Release Party, sponsored by the Poetry Night Reading Series

When: Thursday, November 18th, 8pm
Where: John Natsoulas Gallery, 521 1st Street, 756-3938

Media Contact: Anne-Marie Litak

www.namelessmagazine.com

www.poetryindavis.com
The Facebook event for this event is at:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=107194789350027

You are invited to join the Poetry in Davis mailing list on Facebook at:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2290130152&ref=ts

The Fourth Annual Davis Jazz Artists Festival: Beyond the Beat Generation, occurring on October 8th and 9th, marks a significant collaboration between local and national jazz musicians, visual artists, poets, students and the business community while serving as an educational event for younger artists and musicians. The event has proved to be a successful and major fundraiser for The Davis High School Jazz Band, consistently drawing over 3,500 people to Downtown Davis on perfect fall afternoons. This event is free to the public and is a fun and educational experience to all ages of the community.

Whether you’re looking for the haunting tones of a jazz chanteuse, the sounds of cutting edge, or hard-driving big bands, or classical jazz combos—or just a great cultural experience, surrounded by music and art, The Davis Jazz Artists Festival: Beyond the Beat Generation will deliver it all. Created to promote collaboration between music and the visual arts, this festival will serve as an educational event for younger artists and musicians and will benefit the Davis High School Band Program. Fun for the whole family, the Davis Jazz Festival will offer interactive activities including a kids n’ clay workshop and a hands-on painting wall.

On October 9^th, Andy Jones of the Poetry Night Reading Series and “Dr. Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour” on KDVS will be the host of the Poetry Stage at the Boy Scout Cabin.

Visit davisjazz.com for a complete festival schedule.
What: Davis Jazz Artists Festival: Beyond the Beat Generation
When: October 8^th and 9^th
Where: Downtown Davis

For more information: www.davisjazz.com

The Facebook event for the festival is here!

Joe Wenderoth is producing a poetry and music event on the UC Davis campus this coming Thursday evening, the 23rd. At 8pm, two alumni from the UC Davis Creative Writing Program will be performing in 126 Voorhies Hall, near the corner of First and A Streets in Davis.

Chris “Whitey” Erickson mixes fiction, performance poetry, cerebral comedy, alien invasion and corn-pone generosity to provoke and delight audiences with his exuberant performances. Elsewhere Dr. Andy has said that “Whitey’s performance pieces create ecstatic hilarity from an irrepressible mix of small-town midwestern yarns and science-fiction hyperbole.” Whitey’s work has appeared in some of the select markets that you would expect. McSweeney’s is worth mentioning. As you will discover, Whitey is very discriminating.

Jason Morphew is a talented musician who also happens to be a first-rate poet. The author of nine albums, Jason has many fans. About him The Oxford American has said, “He takes from ABBA as fast as he steals from fellow Arkansan Sleepy LaBeef, and he combines the two in a jointed way.” Speaking of Jason’s current tour with collaborator Geoff Reacher, CMJ Monthly notes that “Their songs have appeared in various films, magazine compilations, and have gotten ‘lots’ of college radio airplay. They’ve shared stages with the likes of the Magnetic Fields, Cheap Trick, and Eek-A-Mouse.”

The Facebook page for this event is here.

James Kaelan will be reading from his book, We’re Getting On, at The Avid Reader at 617 2nd Street, Davis, as part of his Zero Emission Book Project bike tour (from Los Angeles to Vancouver).

A recent coverman for Poets & Writers magazine, James Kaelan is the former web editor/co-founder of Flatmancrooked, a full-service, independent online and print publishing house established in 2008. He graduated with a BA in English & Creative Writing from the University of California, Davis, after which he earned his Fiction MFA at Boston University. He writes for The Sweet Science and Bedlam Magazine in LA. His first novel, Brute, is forthcoming in 2010. He is also the author of We’re Getting On, which is part of the Zero Emission Book Project. The first edition of We’re Getting On has birch seeds embedded in the cover, which means that if the novel is planted in the ground, it grows into a tree – thus offsetting its production emissions. The book tour is carbon-neutral as well. James will not only forego using any fossil-fueled vehicles by riding his bike 1,900 miles, but he’ll also be eating only organic, local produce.

This special event is co-hosted by the Avid Reader and the Poetry Night Reading Series. The Poetry Night Reading Series, hosted by Andy Jones and produced by Brad Henderson, occurs on the first Wednesday of the month at Bistro 33, and third Thursday of the month at the John Natsoulas Gallery, both at 8 P.M., with an open microphone segment at 9 P.M.

Who: James Kaelan
What: Zero Emission Book Project Bike Tour
When: Monday July 19^th at 7:30 P.M.
Where: The Avid Reader, 617 Second Street
Media Contact:
Andy Jones
aojones @ ucdavis . edu

The Facebook page for this event can be found at:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=107634285951344&ref=ts

For more on the Zero Emission Book Tour, visit:
http://www.flatmancrooked.com/archives/7376

Poets and Writers Magazine: http://www.pw.org/magazine

Come to the International House on Saturday, July 17 at 6:00 PM for a fun and culturally diverse night of poetry! This event is open to the public and refreshments will be provided.

“Experience the sensation of a different spoken language, appreciate literature, break the language barrier, step up for a cross-cultural exchange, recognize the similarity and difference in all of us,” said I-House Volunteer Jennifer Hsieh. “We’re seeking poets and readers alike who’d like to share their own poem/s during an open microphone session in the Community Room. Or the poem reader may select a chosen poem and prepare a short biography of the poet. All poems in foreign language will be translated into English and be projected during the presentation,” she said.

Poets are welcome to sign up in advance by contacting Jennifer Hsieh at (831) 840-8089 or ms.hsieh@yahoo.com.

What: International Poetry night
When: Saturday, July 17th, 6:00 PM
Where: International House Davis, 10 College Park, Davis

Sign up early and reserve your spot! More information available at http://www.internationalhousedavis.org/prog/sp/0910/poetrynight.

Event Date: Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

Time: 7:00 PM -  8:00 PM
Location: Wyatt Deck, UC Davis Arboretum

Dorine Jennette’s poetry collection Urchin to Follow has just been released by The National Poetry Review Press. Thanks to editor and designer CJ Sage for making a beautiful book! Urchin to Follow is available on Amazon, and/or you can visit her website, www.dorinejennette.com, if you’d like to read sample poems and check out upcoming book events.

You’re invited to a launch party at the UC Davis Arboretum, where Jennette will speak for the Writers in the Garden series.

This event is sponsored by Writers in the Garden Series