Hello Everyone!

This is the San Jose State Poets and Writers Coalition starting the new semester! We are currently taking over an established writing workshop on Wednesdays from 6 to 9 PM at Cafe Trieste in Downtown SJ on 1st and San Carlos next to Original Joe’s. A map can be found at this link: http://maps.google.com/ We will be there starting tomorrow, Wednesday September 29, 2010, so please, show up with anything you’ve written or just yourselves if you’re curious and want to hang out. We are open to everyone, so don’t be shy if you don’t go to SJSU, and hope to see you all there!

We understand that everyone’s schedule is different, and if you’re interested in having a group workshop meeting but can’t make Wednesday nights, please let us know! We are working on finding another day as an alternative for those who would like to come. Also, if you can’t make any day, but would still like to have your work workshops, feel free to send it via email to us here at pwcsjsu@gmail.com or submit to our anonymous workshop at the link above!

Looking forward to seeing you!
Your PWC officers,

Katie and Rachel

Poetry Flash: Stefanie Marlis and Carol Moldaw

Poetry Flash presents a reading by Stefanie Marlis, who will read from her new book of poetry, cloudlife; and Carol Moldaw, who will read from her new book of poetry, So Late, So Soon: New and Selected Poems. The reading will take place on Thursday July 29, 2010 at 7:30 pm at Moe’s Books in Berkeley (2476 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley, CA). More information can be found at http://www.moesbooks.com or http://www.poetryflash.org .

Stefanie Marlis is an innovative and green-thinking writer who creates works of poetry as well as advert-writing. Her website is http://www.stefaniemarlis.com. A selection from her book, cloudlife:

cycle

jingle of dog tags
a stolen sack of flour ripped open in the flowers
fairies’ faces in the light bulb drawer
the shape of mind:
what doesn’t rhyme? what in time doesn’t come full
circle?

Calvin, two, roars “shoes on!”
a jolt of joy that boy at hearing the truck’s hydraulics:
“garbage man! garbage man!”
a sunflower bobbing top shelf

Carol Moldaw is both a poet and a novelist whose passion as a writer is apparent in her new book of poetry, So Late, So Soon:

Out of the West
Out of the west, unexpected, lyric,
a stand of yellow irises
rises from the pond muck.

Two horses graze the field,
one limping from the fire they fled.

Matter and spirit meet, love,
argue, wherever you rest your eyes,
on microscopic midges, horseflies.

Check out what promises to be an outstanding reading!!

Our First Writing Workshop Social!!

is coming up this week!!

12:00 PM, Thursday, July 1, 2010, at the Clark Hall Lawn on San Jose State Campus (the lawn with the olympic alums statue and the vegetable garden)

Bring your lunch and eat with us on the lawn, dessert’s on us! Please come prepared with your favorite poem, either your own or someone else’s for an ice-breaker, and any other poetry or prose that you’d like to share, and get ready to have a great time with awesome people!!

Can’t wait to see you there!

Also, if you can’t make it but would like to be a part of our Writer’s Workshop, please email us at pwcsjsu@gmail.com

And don’t forget to check out our Anonymous Writer’s Workshop page, the link is to the right, where you can post anonymously and get responses to your writing in a stress-free way!

Want to know more about Us?

Check out our pages to the right! We have a short description of our student organization and what we’re all about, the first of many Photologs of our events, and a link to our Facebook page! Feel free to comment!

Michael Chabon on the Bay Area Literary Scene

Bobby White did an interview with Michael Chabon for the Wall Street Journal online discussing the literary scene in our area. Mr. Chabon had plenty to say about the literary scene, like the influence that the colleges have on the community and how, despite the bustling “Silicon Valley”, the writing life here is slower, and less connected, than in New York or London. He notes that it is mainly because of the size of the bay area relative to the size of other cities, and I believe that this is an interesting point. Our interconnectedness is lacking here, it seems. How many of you out there find it difficult to connect with writers in your area? Where are you based? I find that this article focuses mainly on the scene in San Francisco, and, as I am not from San Francisco but am still part of the Bay Area, I was wondering what input anyone had on the scene in their particular area?

Also, there is an awesome slide of famous authors that are based in the Bay Area at the bottom of the article, which you can check out here, that lists authors such as Maya Angelou, Dave Eggers, Anne Rice, Daniel Handler(Lemony Snicket), and many more. Please feel free to post your favorite author from the area, and your thoughts on how the bay area had contributed to the literary scene.

All Day Event Fundraisers: June 19, 2010; Iranian Writers Tribute; Local Writers and Musicians!

June 19th is a jam packed day for the local literary community!

At 2:00PM – 4:30PM, Kavosh Women’s Organization, Martin Luther King Jr. Library, United4Iran, and Veesta Arts & Lectures are cosponsoring a day of tribute to the imprisoned Iranian writers, journalists, and bloggers by the Association of Iranian American Writers. It will mark the 1 year anniversary of the disputed Iranian Elections – with a special report on the status of those writers, journalists and bloggers who have fled Iran in fear of torture and execution. There will be readings by Massud Alemi :: Farnaz Fatemi :: Tissa Hami :: Esther Kamkar :: Persis Karim :: Beatrice Motamedi :: Shirindokht Nourmanesh :: Ari Siletz, and musical performances by Hossein Massoudi and Ramin Zoufonoun. A donation for the imprisoned writers will be $10 ($5 for students) with the proceeds to benefit the Iranian Refugees Alliance, Inc. Check it out in the Martin Luther King Library, RM 225-229, 150 East San Fernando Street, San Jose 95112. Here is a Map, and there is a parking garage across 4th st. from the library. For more information, please contact Persis Karim at (408) 924-4476, and Shirindokht Nourmanesh shirindokht@sbcglobal.net. A link to the original advertisement is at http://www.iranianamericanwriters.org/.

Check out what expects to be an informational and fun event!

After the Iranian American Writers event, there will be a day of Poetry and Song put on by the Poetry Center San Jose! At 6:30PM – 9:30PM, Rick Glaze, singer-songwriter; Mari Aranoff, flautist; and Sally Ashton, local poet will be performing at the Arnold Residence, at 150 Golden Oak Drive, Portola Valley CA 94028 (Map). Heavy hors d’oeuvres, wine, and non-alcoholic drinks will be provided. As this is a fundraiser for the Poetry Center, a portion of the donation will be tax-deductible; the non-member donation is $50, with $40 dollars as tax-deductible, and the member donation is $40 dollars, with $30 dollars as tax-deductible. Please, RSVP: Carol Arnold @ 650-851-2551. A link to the original advertisement is at http://www.pcsj.org/.

Bios for the performers at the Poetry Center’s Fundraiser are following:

Rick Glaze has been a singer/songwriter for more than three decades and has continued to write alongside career and family. Sensitive lyrics and memorable melodies are the benchmark of his songs about cars, traffic, jobs and lovers. “…Another standout track is ‘Beach Down in the Islands,’ with lyrics influenced by ‘The Pelican Brief’ and featuring a rumbling rhythm with some tasteful steel guitar playing.” –Los Altos Town Crier (Los Altos, California). “Beach” was featured on CMT’s (Country Music Television) popular reality show, Cowboy U, in Molokai in 2004/05.

Mari Aranoff is a flutist, singer, songwriter, and keyboard player. She is an eclectic musician (rock, jazz, chamber music, country, symphonic, children’s music, new age…) who has played pop tunes on classical stages and Mozart in bars.

Nils Peterson has published poetry, science fiction, and articles on subjects as varying as golf and Shakespeare. A chapbook of poems entitled Here Is No Ordinary Rejoicing was published by No Deadlines Press, a collection of poems entitled The Comedy of Desire with an introduction by Robert Bly was published by the Blue Sofa Press, and a collection of poems entitled Driving a Herd of Moose to Durango appeared in 2005. He was nominated for a 2005 Pushcart Prize.

Sally Ashton is a Bay Area poet, teacher, and editor of the DMQ Review, an online journal featuring poetry and art. Her chapbook, These Metallic Days, was released in 2005. She earned her MFA from Bennington Writing Seminars. She earned her undergraduate degree from SJSU (2001) in English with a creative writing minor. She won several Phelan awards and the Anne Lillis award while as SJSU. She has been nominated for two Pushcart Prizes. Recent work has appeared or is forthcoming in Writers Chronicle, Mississippi Review, Dos Passos Review, failbetter.com, Another Chicago Magazine, River City, Poet Lore and Sentence, among other publications.

Please come out and support your local writer’s community and enjoy a fun day of poetry and song!

Any Community College Students/Grads out there?

There’s a huge market for the alternative education literary scene, did you know about it?

Jessica Powers writes on the Community College Literary Magazines in America: their benefits and obstacles. We think it is a great way to cultivate interest in the literary arts in the community colleges, stimulating growth of literary interest in all facets of the community. It’s good for those who are just beginning in college, who chose a cheaper course of education, or who are just continuing their education casually to get involved in the literary scene.

View Ms. Powers’ article here.

Check in and tell us what you think.