Dear Friends of Poetry,
After taking a break from events on August 4th, the Poetry Night Reading Series will return to the roof of the John Natsoulas Gallery, 521 1st Street in Davis, for a special evening of poetry featuring Charles Halsted and Angela James. This event will take place at 7 PM on Thursday, August 18th, 2022.
Charles Halsted was raised in New England, then in Los Angeles, California. After attending Stanford University, Charles embarked on a career in academic medicine, obtaining his medical degree at the University of Rochester and subsequent training in Cleveland, OH and Baltimore, MD, fulfilling his military obligation at the US Naval Medical Research Unit in Cairo, Egypt. Subsequently, he committed himself to academic medicine at the University of California Davis, where he practiced and taught medical students until his retirement in 2015. Since then, he has initiated a new career in poetry by enrolling in online courses provided by ten well-known American poets and one Irish poet. To date, the published poetry of Charles Halsted includes one chapbook, Breaking Eighty, and the books Extenuating Circumstances and On Razor-Thin Tires.
Angela James is a performance poet and storyteller steeped in the oral tradition as practiced by her family in the Caribbean. In an effort to dispel old stereotypes, she elevates poetry and storytelling into performance art and weaves words, music, and movement in an eclectic fusion that appeals to all audiences. She is a certified multi-disciplined teaching artist with Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission and sits on the boards of the Sacramento Poetry Center and the Sacramento Storytellers Guild.
Angela James has received numerous grants to promote poetry and storytelling in schools and she organizes poetry and storytelling events in the Sacramento area. Her work has been published in Sacramento City College’s literary magazine, Susurrus, and in the chapbook collections Personally, Random Pieces, and Words. Her work can also be heard on the 2001 CD Echo in the Bone.
This event will take place on the roof of the Natsoulas Gallery (521 1st Street) at 7 PM on Thursday, August 18th, 2022. There will be an open mic after the featured performers. Open mic performances will be limited to four minutes or two items, whichever is shorter. No matter what the CDC or Yolo County has announced, we ask that you wear your mask inside the Natsoulas Gallery. Please dress in layers to accommodate the drop in temperature between 7 and 9 PM.
The Poetry Night Reading Series, taking place on the first and third Thursdays of the month at 7 PM, is generously supported by the people and poets of the Sacramento Valley, and by John Natsoulas and the staff at the John Natsoulas Gallery. Your host will be Dr. Andy Jones, poet laureate emeritus of the City of Davis.
Find out more about the Poetry Night Reading Series by visiting https://www.poetryindavis.com. Invite your friends to sign up for the mailing list. To find out more about Dr. Andy’s latest thoughts, check out his weekly newsletter at https://andyjones.substack.com.
Dr. Andy
Upcoming Poetry Night Events:
September 1st: Bill Gainer with Laura Martin
September 15th: Mischa Kuczynski with Jordan Karnes
Upcoming readers at the Poetry Night Reading Series will include, among others, Brad Buchanan, Margaret Ronda, Andy Jones, Joshua McKinney, Mary Mackey, and Rooja Mohassessy.
