SANTA ROSA COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE

Hi, my name is Max and I am Ellen’s son. For the past two years I have been learning to be a farmer—living and working on a beautiful organic farm in the Los Altos area. I recently moved to Santa Rosa and am continuing to farm with a good friend, Joey Smith. Joey started Let’s Go Farm last year on an acre of his parents’ land, selling at the Windsor farmers market and loving the experience of providing food for his community. This year Joey and I have started a small CSA program. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture.

The Community Supported Agriculture program provides subscribing members with a weekly share of fresh, organic vegetables and fruits grown on our farm.  Members purchase a share of the harvest before the season and we pack baskets for them once a week from June to Thanksgiving. A basket consists of about 7 kinds of vegetables and fruits and is enough food for two to three people. I love this model of farming because it allows a family or individual to support local business and decrease the distance their food travels to them. It also helps educate people as to what fruits and vegetables are in season. In June you might expect to receive green garlic, carrots, spinach and lettuce. In August you’d receive heirloom tomatoes, basil, cucumbers and melon. You’ll also enjoy a harvest of fruits in season, including apples, pears, plums, peaches, quince and pomegranates.

Joey and I love what we do. Farming is our passion and we want everything we grow to be the best quality possible. Our CSA program will be small, as we want each member to have a special experience. If you live in the Santa Rosa area and are interested or have any questions about Let’s Go Farm, please send us an email or call. You can reach us atFarmLetsGo@gmail.com, or call us at (707) 543-6577.

Thanks so much,

Max Bryer-Bass

*******************

The snow is knee-deep in the courtyard
and still coming down hard:
it hasn’t let up all morning.
We’re in the kitchen.
On the table, on the oilcloth, spring —
on the table there’s a very tender young cucumber,
   pebbly and fresh as a daisy.
We’re sitting around the table staring at it.
It softly lights up our faces,
and the very air smells fresh.
We’re sitting around the table staring at it,
amazed
thoughtful
optimistic.
We’re as if in a dream.
On the table, on the oilcloth, hope —
on the table, beautiful days,
a cloud seeded with a green sun,
an emerald crowd impatient and on its way,
loves blooming openly —
on the table, there on the oilcloth, a very tender young cucumber,                     
          pebbly and fresh as a daisy.
The snow is knee-deep in the courtyard
and coming down hard.
It hasn’t let up all morning.

by Nazim Hikmet

(trans Randy Blasing and Mutlu Konu)

EVE ENSLER’S BEAUTIFUL ARTICLE ON ADRIENNE RICH

To read the article in The Guardian, go to: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/apr/06/my-hero-adrienne-rich-eve-ensler?newsfeed=true

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: ADRIENNE RICH: A TRIBUTE
Deadline: July 1, 2012

For an anthology edited by Katharyn Howd Machan. They seek poems inspired by Adrienne Rich or written about her. To be published by Split Oak Press, P.O. Box 700, Vestal, NY,13851. http://www.splitoakpress.com/#!adrienne-rich-submissions

A CHANGE OF WORLD: IN CELEBRATION OF ADRIENNE RICH
APRIL 25, 6pm

The San Francisco Public Library invites you to our celebration of the life and poetry of Adrienne Rich.
The Main Library Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center
100 Larkin Street San Francisco, California 94102

For more info: Karen Sundheim, ksundheim@sfpl.org

LGBTQ POETS: SEVEN KITCHENS PRESS’ FIFTH ANNUAL ROBIN BECKER CHAPBOOK PRIZE
Deadline: April 16, 2012
Complete details and guidelines about the Robin Becker Chapbook Series, and all our titles, can be found at the Seven Kitchens Press’ site: http://sevenkitchenspress.com/series-guidelines/guidelines-the-robin-becker-chapbook-prize/

THE 34TH NIMROD JOURNAL LITERARY AWARDS
Deadline: April 30, 2012
Two prizes of $2,000 each and publication in Nimrod International Journal are given annually for works of poetry and short fiction. The winners also receive transportation and lodging to attend the awards ceremony and writing conference in Tulsa. A runner-up in each category receives $1,000 and publication.

For complete guidelines: http://www.utulsa.edu/nimrod/awards.html

E-mail address: nimrod@utulsa.edu

POETRY FOR WOMEN’S REVIEW OF BOOKS, WELLESLEY CENTERS FOR WOMEN
Deadline: April 30, 2012
For guidelines, http://www.wcwonline.org/Women-s-Review-of-Books-Poetry/

PALE HOUSE FOR THEIR NEW BOOKS, FUTURE EYES AND LETTERS TO LOS ANGELES
Future Eyes will be a collection of writing and imagery about the future. Other important subjects for this book may be optics, time, projections, future vision, depth perception … love.

For submission guidelines: http://www.palehouse.com/FutureEyes.html

Letter’s to Los Angeles is a collection of letters to the city of Los Angeles.
For submission guidelines and a list of work already accepted: http://www.palehouse.com/letterstola.html

SIXTEEN RIVERS’ SECOND POETS UNDER FORTY CHAPBOOK CONTEST
Deadline: May 1
If you are a poet in that age group, please consider sending us a manuscript; if not, we’ll hope you’ll get the word out to your age-appropriate poet friends. The book will be published in spring 2013, and all poetic styles and forms are welcome. The winner will receive $500 and 25 copies of the chapbook. The winner will not be required to become a member of the press, though he or she must commit to giving three or four readings in the Greater Bay Area to support the chapbook. The final judge for the manuscripts will be Camille Dungy. For more information, see our guidelines page (scroll down to the contest guidelines): http://sixteenrivers.org/wordpress/index.php/submissions/. Questions? Write to us at: info@sixteenrivers.org.

GENERATIONS LITERARY JOURNAL
Deadline: May 15, 2012
Theme: Rites of Passage
They seek original works and ideas of both emerging and established artists. They print page and stage poetry, short fiction, personal narratives, interviews, and visual art from every generation.  Please note, they are a thematic journal.

For guidelines: http://generationslitmag.org/Submissions.html

LGBTQ POETS ON THE ART OF TEACHING
Deadline June 1, 2012
Megan Volpert, editor of the forthcoming book, LGBTQ Poets on the Art of Teaching, is seeking submissions from poets who contributed to the previous anthology published by the Sibling Rivalry Press (SRP). She knows Bryan Borland would like to grow and strengthen the SRP family by promoting conversation between the two books and eagerly awaits your poems about teaching!

You can find details and the call for submissions here: www.thisassignmentissogay.com.

PALETTES & QUILLS 3RD BIENNIAL POETRY CHAPBOOK COMPETITION
Deadline: September 1, 2012
Award: $200 and 50 copies of the published book
For submission guidelines: http://thelinebreak.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/palettes-quills-3rd-biennial-poetry-chapbook-competition/

ROGER HOUSDON’S TEN POEMS TO SAY GOODBYE
Roger Housden. Harmony, February 2012, ISBN: 9780307885999.
In Ten Poems to Say Goodbye, Roger Housden continues to highlight the magic of poetry, this time as it relates to personal loss. But while the selected poems in this volume may focus upon loss and grief, they also reflect solace, respite, and joy. Poets included in this selection are Ellen Bass, Jane Hirschfield, Pablo Neruda, Dorianne Laux, Jack Gilbert, Gerald Stern, Robert Hayden, e.e. cummings, Leonard Cohen, and Rainer Maria Rilke.To learn more: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780307885999

THREE POETRY/WRITING BOOKS FROM CAROL SMALLWOOD
Women on Poetry: Writing, Revising, Publishing and Teaching
Carol Smallwood, Colleen S. Harris and Cynthia Brackett-Vincent, editors. McFarland & Company, January 2012, ISBN: 9780786463923.
This anthology of 43 contributors, including Ellen Bass, captures the wit and wisdom of published contemporary female poets, who reveal their victories and struggles with writing. Topics include the collective writing life, tips on teaching in numerous contexts, the publishing process, and general advice to aid the poet in her chosen vocation. To learn more:http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780786463923

Women Writing on Family: Tips on Writing, Teaching and Publishing
Carol Smallwood and Suzann Holland, editors. Key Publishing House Inc., September 2011, ISBN:9781926780139.
Award-winning women writers from all walks of life share their experiences in planning, composing, editing, publishing, teaching, and promoting work in a variety of writing genres. To learn more: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781926780139

Compartments: Poems on Nature, Femininity and Other Realms
Carol Smallwood. Anaphora Literary Press, July 2011, ISBN: 9781937536008.
“In Compartments, Carol Smallwood blends history and nature with the personal and domestic in powerful poems that are both current and timeless.”-Kate Hopper, Use Your Words: A writing Guide for Mothers; editor, Literary Mama. To learn more:http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781937536008

ANTHOLOGY OF WOMEN’S LIFE-ALTERING EXPERIENCES
Becoming: What Makes a Woman
An anthology of essays and poems
Jill McCabe Johnson, editor. University of Nebraska Gender Studies, February 2012, ISBN: 9780615587103.
“Gifted writers explore intimacy, doubt, love, joy, and sorrow to form this exhilarating anthology. A rich and wonderful read.”—Dinty W. Moore, author of The Mindful Writer: Noble Truths of the Writing Life To learn more: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780615587103

COMING SOON: THIS FRAGILE LIFE: A MOTHER’S STORY OF A BIPOLAR SON
Charlotte Pierce-Baker. Lawrence Hill Books, June 2012, ISBN: 9781613741085.
The moving story of an African American family facing the challenge of bipolar disorder, This Fragile Life weaves a fascinating story of mental illness, race, family, the drive of African Americans to succeed, and a mother’s love for her son. To learn more:http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781613741085.

WORKSHOPS, RETREATS, EVENTS, AND CONFERENCES

8TH ANNUAL WRITING & KNOWING POETRY WORKSHOP
July 22-27, 2012
Taught by Ellen Bass, Dorianne Laux, and Joseph Millar
Esalen, Big Sur, CA

We will write poems, share our writing, and hear what our work touches in others. We’ll also read model poems by contemporary poets and discuss aspects of the craft. But mainly this will be a writing retreat– time to explore and create in a supportive community. Though we’ll focus on poetry, prose writers who want to enrich their language will find it a fertile environment. For more information about the workshop, visit this page or email ellen@ellenbass.com.

For more information about Esalen and to register visit www.esalen.org or call 831-667-3005.

INTO THE HEART OF POETRY
October 14-19, 2012
with Ellen Bass & Kim Rosen
Mayacamas Ranch, Calistoga, CA

Join Ellen Bass and Kim Rosen for five-days of living poetry. In this unique retreat, we will explore a combination of three elements: the inspiration of hearing poetry, the power of speaking poetry, and the craft of writing poetry. View more information here or
email ellen@ellenbass.com

MULTI-TALENTED POET AND MUSICIAN KEVIN SIMMONDS PERFORMS “EMMETT TILL, A RIVER”
APRIL 16 AND 17, 7pm

Theatre of Yugen
2840 Mariposa Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
http://www.theatreofyugen.org/?spec=34
To learn more about Kevin: http://www.kevinsimmonds.com

“Emmett Till, A River” (A Noh Oratorio) emanates from an unlikely synthesis of African American and Japanese poetic and musical expressions that explore the story of the 14 year-old boy whose brutal murder in 1955 shocked the world. A collaboration between poet and composer Kevin Simmonds (Lead Writer) and Theatre of Yugen Artist-in-Residence Judy Halebsky.

NANCY MARGULIES’ ONE WOMAN SHOW, “DEAF POETS SOCIETY”
Friday, April 27, 7-8:30 PM
At the Methodist Church, 777 Miramontes, Half Moon Bay
$12 tickets:  http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/238792

“Deaf Poets” is based upon Nancy’s years as a signing psychologist attempting to be of help to her deaf clients mental hospitals and jails. Ann Swanberg opens the show with her faux personal growth seminar that will make you laugh out loud!

MUSIC AND POETRY WITH KIM ROSEN, AUTHOR OF SAVED BY A POEM
“Only Breath: A Concert of Mystical Poetry and Music”
April 27, 7:30pm
Fairfax Community Church, Fairfax, CA

Jami Sieber (electric cello) & Kim Rosen (Spoken Poetry)
$15 tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/238707 (or $20 at the door)
For more information: Rev. Katharine Harts at 415-755-3775

A revolutionary convergence of dynamic, world-beat music with poems from around the world and across time. This is an evening to melt your heart, open your mind, and set your body dancing!

“The Poetry Dive: A One-Day Immersion in the Transformative Power of Poems with Kim Rosen”
April 29 , 9:30 to 5:30
The Yoga Source, San Rafael, CA

$125 – INCLUDES TICKET TO POETRY CONCERT ON APRIL 27
For information: info@kimrosen.net

WRITING RETREAT OFFERED BY THE INSTITUTE OF POETIC MEDICINE
May 24-31, 2012
Canyon de Chelly, Arizona

John Fox, who co-hosts this retreat with Navajo friends, is the author of Finding What You Didn’t Lose: Expressing Your Truth and Creativity through Poem-Making and Poetic Medicine: The Healing Art of Poem-Making.

At this cooperative camping retreat you will learn about the historical and present culture and art of Canyon de Chelly, as well as write daily with John and others.  Fee: $1250. For More Information and to Register: Please contact Birch Dwyer at (503) 421-3100 or ebircht@hotmail.com. To learn more about this retreat: http://www.poeticmedicine.com

MENDOCINO WRITERS CONFERENCE REGISTRATION
July 26-28, 2012
College of the Redwoods in Fort Bragg

Intensive workshops led by award winning authors Robin Hemley (memoir), Kim Addonizio (poetry), Victoria Zackheim (nonfiction), David Corbett (novel), Steve Almond (short story), and Elizabeth Rosner (emerging writers).

Access to editors and agents, a Paths to Publishing panel, social events and literary readings by contest winners and faculty authors are included. For more information on all aspects of the conference please visit their website at: http://www.mcwc.org.

More more information contact: Fran Schwartz at franamie@cs.com or 707-937-1352.

HEART AND CRAFT: A MEMOIR WORKSHOP FOR WOMEN
Application deadline: July 1
Workshop held: November 10-16

Taught by author/journalist Anndee Hochman in La Barra de Potosi, Mexico. You will spend six days together (classes in the morning, writing/exploring in the afternoon) in the vibrant fishing village of La Barra on Mexico’s Pacific coast (near Zihuatanejo). For beginning and experienced writers. Craft stunning prose about the life you’ve lived, in an atmosphere of safety, inspiration and challenge. $1,300 (single room) or $1,200 (shared room) includes tuition, accommodations in the magical Casa del Encanto, six days’ breakfast and dinner and all taxes/tips.

E-mail aehoch@aol.com for details and application (due July 1).

They need a full-time Managing Editor at The Sun, a nonprofit, ad-free magazine in its thirty-ninth year of publication. This position is in their editorial office in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The job requires impeccable editorial skills, proven management ability, and a meticulous and exacting eye for detail. They offer competitive compensation, excellent benefits, and an appealing work environment. Click here for details. (No e-mails, phone calls, faxes, or surprise visits, please.)

Poets.org launched a month’s worth of events and activities to commemorate April as National Poetry Month. Keep a poem in your pocket, receive a poem a day, and find out other ways to praise the poem at: http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/41.

SYRACUSE CULTURAL WORKERS OFFERS THE 2012 WOMEN ARTISTS DATEBOOK FREE OF CHARGE

Cost is actual shipping charge
Contact tree@syracuseculturalworkers.com to request a quote to receive 10 Datebooks at no charge or call 800-949-5139 x103

Syracuse Cultural Workers
Box 6367 Syracuse, NY  13217
400 Lodi St  Syracuse, NY  13203
315-474-1132 x103

TRAUMA SPECIALIST KEN POPE’S ARTICLE ON TORTURE IS AVAILABLE FREE ONLINE

“Are the American Psychological Association’s Detainee Interrogation Policies Ethical and Effective?  Key Claims, Documents, and Results”

After 9–11, the United States began interrogating detainees at settings such as Abu Ghraib, Bagram, and Guantanamo, and the American Psychological Association (APA) supported psychologists’ involvement in those interrogations. The APA adopted formal policies and made an array of public assurances about those interrogations. Ken Pope, Ph.D., ABPP, has worked for years in the field of healing from trauma, and was a colleague of Ellen Bass’ when she was working with survivors of child sexual abuse. With this article, he highlights key APA decisions, policies, procedures, documents, and public statements in urgent need of rethinking and poses questions that may be useful in a serious assessment.

View the article here: http://kspope.com/apa/detainee.php

GOOD NEWS FROM ELLEN BASS’S CURRENT AND FORMER STUDENTS

If you’ve been a student of mine and have an announcement to share, please send to my assistant, Shalom, atvictors75@rattlebrain.com for inclusion in the next mailing.

Pat Zylius, a current student in Ellen’s Wednesday class, will have a poem published in the April 20 issue of Ellipsis.

SeSe Geddes, a current student in Wednesday’s poetry class, has two poems forthcoming in The Sun Magazine.

Connie Hanstedt recently had a poem published online by The Barefoot Review. Connie is a longtime member of Ellen’s Thursday class.

A poem by Suzanne Carey is scheduled for publication in the New Ohio Review in their Fall 2012 issue. Suzanne is a student in the Wednesday class. Two of her poems will be included in Cradle Songs: An Anthology of Poems on Motherhood, scheduled for release around Mother’s Day.

Peter Nash, a former workshop participant, has had his book of poems, Coyote Bush: Poems from the Lost Coast, published by Off the Grid Press.

Barbara Rockman, a participant in the 2011 Taos workshop, has received two Pushcart Prize nominations for poems in Adobe Walls and Bellingham Review. Her poetry collection, Sting and Nest, was published last March from Sunstone Press and has won the New Mexico Press Women’s 2011 Poetry Book Award. Two of her poems will appear in the fall issue of Women Arts Quarterly.

Rolland Vasin, a student in Ellen’s workshops, has been invited to be the featured reader at the Los Angeles’ World Stage, April 11, and has also been asked to read at the September 29th 100K Poets for Change rally in downtown LA. He has been selected as a 2012 Newer Poet to Read with other honorees at the Los Angeles Public Library Foundation Aloud Series on July 24.

Ingrid Moody LaRiviere won Texas Review Press’ Robert Phillips Chapbook Prize. Her new poetry chapbook, Learning about Fire, was published in January 2012. Ingrid is a former student in the Wednesday poetry class.

Elaine Brady, a former member of Ellen’s Thursday class, has received honorable mention for her flash fiction story in the annual Soul-Making Keats Literary Competition.

Jean Aloe has had three pieces of writing selected for prizes by the National League of American Pen Women for their bicentennial gathering in Washington, DC, April 19-22. She has been asked to read her work at the Library of Congress.

Lenore Weiss, a former student, has had her chapbook, Tap Dancing on the Silverado Trail, recently published by Finishing Line Press. West End Press is publishing her collection, Cutting Down the Last Tree on East Island, this spring.  Her poems were recently included in two anthologies, Bigger Than They Appear: Anthology of Very Short Poems and Liberty’s Vigil, The Occupy Anthology.

Ellaraine Lockie’s poem has just been released in the new journal Conversations Across Borders Literary Journal. Her seventh chapbook, Stroking David’s Leg, was awarded Best Individual Collection for 2010 from Purple Patch magazine in England, and her eighth chapbook, Red for the Funeral, won the 2010 San Gabriel Poetry Festival Chapbook Contest. Her chapbook, Wild as in Familiar, was a finalist in Finishing Line Press’s 2011 contest and has recently been released there.

Lindsey Royal Anderson, a former student, has launched her story in her blog, Glitter and Grit, a girly girl’s guide to the wilds of the world. glitterandgritgirl.com

Ellen Bass
www.EllenBass.com