poetrynight on the move

In case you were distracted by summer, you might have missed the news that poetrynight has relocated to new digs, at least for the moment. Tonight, Monday, September 30, 2013, would be an opportune time to check out the new venue and hear the “Sweetest Angry Black Man You Will Ever Know,” Robert Lashley. A semi-finalist for the PEN/Rosenthal fellowship, Lashley often performs at Northwest spoken word venues and has helped Bellingham develop one of the nation’s finest open mic scenes. His poetry is widely published and his full length book, Songs My City Taught Me, was published by Radical Lunchbox Press in 2009.

All the proceeds and profits of this evening of poetry will be donated to Planned Parenthood following Robert Lashley’s performance.

Find poetrynight and Robert Lashley and friends at Caffé Adagio coffeehouse, located at 1435 Railroad Avenue in downtown Bellingham. Doors and sign up for the reading are at 6:45pm, the show begins at 7:00pm.

poetrynight is a program of Whatcom Poetry Series, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
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photo by Cate Reed

books aglow

Sometimes it takes a while to catch up with these things…but this one’s a beaut. The folks at the Spanish art collective Luzinterruptus play with light, large scale installations and other surprising creations. In June 2012, they collected some 10,000 books from the Salvation Army, illuminated each one with a small LED, and arrayed them on the streets of Melbourne, Australia, as part of the annual Light in Winter festival. At the end of the installation, the public was invited to take home the books. See many more photos and additional information on the Luzinterruptus site.
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photo

100 Thousand Poets for Change

TODAY…28 September 2013…worldwide…and online…and on Facebook.

go outside and…type

In case you missed the photo and caption in Thursday’s Seattle Times (September 26, 2013, page B1), here’s a bit more on Lauren Ziemski’s “art installation/story exchange/experiment in pop-up community,” The Carriage Return.

Most visible in its two visits to Seattle’s Gasworks Park, The Carriage Return also has a postal component: “Submit your written pieces to the moderators in exchange for another participant’s work mailed anonymously via the postal service.” The artist’s intent is to move the installation to other parks, popping up once a week “as long as the weather holds.”

See more About The Carriage Return. See additional Carriage Return photos by by Stan Rawrysz on Flickr.

Weekly Drop-in Writing Circle

Looking for “a mindful and supportive space to dig deep and hone your craft”? Poet/musician/performer Matthew Brouwer invites you to join his brand-new Weekly Drop-in Writing Circle/Class at Allied Arts of Whatcom County in Bellingham. The group will meet every Tuesday from 6-8pm starting October 1, 2013.

The format will include sample readings, brief lessons, writing prompts/exercises and time to share work and receive supportive feedback. Participants may also bring previously written work and ignore the prompts to pursue their own ideas.

Matthew says, “We welcome writers of all backgrounds and life experiences and take care to ensure that this space is safe for sharing whatever might come through us during our time.”

Drop-in, no need to register. Pay what you can.

Visit the event page on Facebook.

Saturday reading in Bellingham

Mark your calendar and join the appreciative audience as selected contributors to Clover, A Literary Rag, volume 5, read their work at Village Books on Saturday, September 28, 2013, at 7:00pm. The featured readers are: Luther Allen, Nancy Canyon, Denise duMaurier, Paul Hunter, Jim Milstead, Marla Morrow, Jon Reitzel and Caitlin Thomson. Copies of Clover will be available for purchase.

The literary journal, edited by Mary Gillilan (Independent Writers’ Studio) and Norman Green (Threshold Documents), is accepting submissions for Volume 6 until September 30, so this reading will offer a great opportunity to decide if this is the right company for your writing.

Visit the Clover web page or Facebook page, and see the terrific article on Jim Milstead written by Alisa Gramann for The Bellingham Herald.

have a seat…

With the recent remodel of Jack Straw Productions, a multidisciplinary audio arts center in Seattle, Tina Hoggatt‘s Story Chairs have an attractive (if temporary) new home. Artist and writer Hoggatt created the chairs for an exhibit at the Missoula Art Museum in 2008.

The two chairs offer more than an hour of audio each and feature the work of 32 writers (including a number of poets), musicians and readers. The motion-sensing chairs trigger the audio to start and stop when someone sits in or rises from the chair.

Find out more about Story Chairs or stop by to sit and listen while they are installed at Jack Straw. Find out more about Jack Straw Productions, including information on 2014 residencies, or visit Jack Straw Productions on Facebook.

on poetry…

“Everyone’s waiting for that period in life when they have lots of free time, lots of energy, and no distractions. That’s called death. You’ve got to find a way of working in a crowded life with other priorities and constant distraction.”
Dana Gioia

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photo by Lynda Koolish

new Seattle open mic!

Seattle’s newest open mic venue, Easy Speak, will launch tomorrow, Monday, September 23, 2013, at 8:00pm at the Hummingbird Saloon in Columbia City. Not a slam, Easy Speak (not to be confused with SpeakEasy) welcomes poetry, songs, personal essays and short fiction — five minutes per participant. Join the lineup at Easy Speak on the fourth Monday of every month.

See you in Fairhaven!

This evening, Saturday, September 21, 2013, the first-ever Fairhaven Art Block Party brings the arts together in one FABulous evening. Lucia Douglas Gallery, Firehouse Performing Arts Center, Whatcom Poetry Series and Bellingham Repertory Dance present two art venues and an evening of performance infused with dance, poetry, music and art.

The celebration of the arts begins at 5:00pm at and in between the Firehouse Performing Arts Center (1314 Harris Ave) and Lucia Douglas Gallery (1415 13th St.).

At Lucia Douglas Gallery, Postcards from Fairhaven features work of more than 50 local artists. The Firehouse PAC presents four artists in the Café (Nancy Canyon, Joy Olney, Chris Shreve and Prentiss Cole), plus a live model sketching opportunity in the theatre. At 8:00pm, the FABulous evening performance at the Firehouse includes dance, poetry by Kevin Murphy and James Bertolino, and an infusion of art and music; $10 suggested donation.