POETS PICNIC SATURDAY/ INDEX ART FESTIVAL & other news....

MID-JULY POETRY E-NEWSLETTER TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.Reminder: WA/OR Poets Picnic in Vancouver this Saturday from noon to four! 2. Christopher Luna, Lorraine Healy, Jeff Lair, and others read at the Index Arts Festival August 1 3. New links for Christopher Luna poetry, audio, reviews, and more on http://christopherluna-poetry.blogspot.com 4. August Postcard Poetry begins soon! Register now! 5. Portland Bridge Walks with Sharon Wood Wortman 6. REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS for EcoNvergence: Northwest Regional Gathering on the Economic and Ecological Crises October 2 - 4, 2009 in Portland, Oregon 1. This Saturday from noon to four is the annual gathering of Washington and Oregon poets. This year’s picnic will take place at my home in Vancouver. Please bring poems and food to share. RSVP (christopherjluna@gmail.com) for directions. 2. The following week I will be one of the featured readers at the Index Arts Festival. Many thanks to Roy Seitz for inviting me to be a part of this. Details below: Index Arts Festival Begins 10:00 AM August 1st. Over 30 booths Music in to the night.... Poetry Reading Begins 11:00 AM 18 of the North West's finest poets Index Wa.., Sportsman’s Hall, on Avenue ‘A’ at Sixth. Hwy 2 left turn at the Index Café (MM 36) 1 mile to fifth. Left over the river. (only an hour or so from the Montlake cut.) http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Index&state=WA&zipcode=98256 Jack McCarthy, Victory Lee Schouton, Lorraine Healy, Murray Gordon, Jeff Lair, Nancy Dahlberg, Priya Keefe, Christopher James Jarmick, Roy R. Seitz, John Akins, M Anne Sweet, Garrett Rutledge, Mary Crane, Peter Zlinsky, John Burgess, Paul E. Nelson, Christopher Luna, and a few locals...MC: R.R. Seitz. Further contact: hanpi777@hotmail.com Plus, over forty of the NW’s finest artists in printing painting, photographer and purveyors of trinkets. A music stage until 10 PM that will include many surprise musicians of national notoriety. 3. Thanks to Lynn Alexander for her review of Ghost Town on Full of Crow: http://fullofcrow.com/crowreviews/2009/06/ghost-town-usa-by-christopher-luna/#more-106 Check out MICrow, a flash fiction supplement from Full of Crow: http://www.fullofcrow.com/microws2009main.html I recently posted some new audio on the blog, including my reading at First Friday in Vancouver, which was broadcast by KOUG radio’s Cara Cottingham: http://randomrequestradio.blogspot.com/2009/07/koug-simulcast-from-first-friday-7309.html I also posted a link to the Center for Book Arts. In 2001 I was fortunate to be invited to read at the Center for Book Arts in New York. To commemorate the reading, CBA created a beautiful, limited edition broadside of my poem “message from the vessel in a dream.” You can purchase a copy of this broadside for $10: http://www.centerforbookarts.org/bookstore/broadside/detail.asp?pubID=103 4. From Lana Ayers: Please join us for the annual August Poetry Postcard Fest. Every day for the month of August you compose a short poem on the back of a poetcard and mail it to the person on the list below you, working your way down the list until you've sent 31 cards. To join register at http://concretewolf.com/august and create a login and password. Have fun! Regards, Lana http://LanaAyers.com 5. THE SECOND OF THREE 2009 PORTLAND PARKS & OUTDOOR RECREATION BRIDGE, POETRY, AND MUSIC WALKS TAKE PLACE SATURDAY, JULY 25 Contact: Nancy Harger, Portland Parks - 503 823-5127 or Sharon Wood Wortman 503 222-5535 Matthew Dickman, winner of the 2008 APR/Honickman First Book Prize for his book All American Poem, grew up in Lents, a Portland neighborhood located 92 blocks and several poems east of the Willamette River. Sharon Wood Wortman started first grade at Oliver P. Lent School in 1950. Her first book, The Portland Bridge Book (OHS Press, 1989), came about as a result of her question, "Are these bridges safe?" Her mother and grandmother suffered phobias, among them gephyrophobia--fear of bridges. (Wood Wortman's family crossed the Willamette River into downtown Portland about as often, she said, as they flew to New Jersey.) The two ex-Lentsers take on the Central City bridges on Saturday, July 25, 2009. Meets at 8:30 a.m., corner of NW Second & Everett (steps of the Northwest Natural Building). Ends with lunch (extra $) in Chinatown. $16 for adults, $10 for children. Due to the Morrison Bridge’s sidewalk reconstruction, the 2009 walks visit the operator’s house of the Burnside Bridge. Opened in 1926, Burnside is designed with a lift span that weighs 5,000 tons—exciting, especially since the pile “clusters” supporting the bridge’s river piers are made of 40-foot-tall Douglas fir tree trunks. A total of 380 tree trunks, much like an underwater pincushion, support each bascule. About a mile long and easy-paced, the walk includes a tour of the Oregon Dept. of Transportation’s Traffic Management Operation Center and the Historic American Engineering Record Willamette River Bridges Exhibit. See eight bridges in all, with several stops for the reading of poems. An excerpt (last 11 lines) from "Lents District," by Matthew Dickman Dear Lents, Dear 82nd avenue, dear 92nd and Foster, I am your strange son, you saved me when I needed saving and I remember your arms wrapped around my bassinet like patrol cars wrapped around the school yard the night Jason went crazy— waving his father’s gun above his head, bathed in red and blue flashing lights, all American, broken in half and beautiful. The 2009 series concludes with singer Mary Flower on Saturday, October 10. 6. Dan Raphael sent the following info about an exciting and important event that he has had a hand in planning: REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS EcoNvergence: Northwest Regional Gathering on the Economic and Ecological Crises October 2 - 4, 2009 in Portland, Oregon Proposal Due Date: August 8, 2009 Our nation and the world are facing two great crises. The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression is accelerating. Foreclosures, bankruptcies, and layoffs continue to rise as older generations watch hard earned savings vanish, younger families live in fear of layoffs and bills they cannot pay, immigrants face increased detention and deportation, and students despair of finding jobs when they graduate. Meanwhile, the government persists in futile attempts to rescue the insolvent banks whose reckless behavior triggered the crisis through trillion dollar bailouts at taxpayers’ expense. The greatest ecological crisis humanity has ever faced continues unabated. Temperatures continue to rise, ice continues to melt and more rain forests are plowed down as the planet lurches forward into dangerous, unchartered waters. Meanwhile, well-heeled lobbyists for fossil fuel industries and global agribusiness gear up once again in Washington DC and State legislatures across the country to stymie attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Northwest region of the United States has pioneered effective responses to environmental and economic problems in the past. A decade ago the “Battle for Seattle” during the World Trade Organization Ministerial meetings sparked a critical reevaluation of neoliberal globalization. Now that this model has been thoroughly discredited, it is time for us to collectively determine what comes next. This October, internationally known speakers such as keynote speaker Noam Chomsky will join academics, activists, and others from the Northwest in Portland, Oregon to explore the way forward out of the twin crises challenging humanity. The gathering will be hosted by the First Unitarian Church of Portland whose ministries have a long history of aiding campaigns promoting social justice and environmental preservation. The Conference is being organized by participating organizations from a variety of sectors. For a full list of participating organizations, email econvergence.program@gmail.com. Environmental, labor, human rights, student, peace, and community organizations are all invited to contribute to the event. There will be dozens of panels and workshops each day exploring how we can make positive changes within our communities as part of a national process to respond to the current economic and ecological crises. If you would like to be a part of this exciting event by hosting a panel or workshop, we invite you to submit a proposal for consideration. If you would like to get involved in the conference planning process as an individual or a participating organization, please contact econvergence.program@gmail.com. Important Information about Conference Sessions Please review the information below and contact us if you have any questions. Session Topics Each session must focus on some aspect of either the financial and economic crisis or the climate and ecological crisis, or the overlap between the two. The conference intends to provide attendees with an analysis of both “what went wrong” and “what we can do now”. Sessions analyzing the origins of the crises, sessions presenting a vision of a just and sustainable world, and sessions examining responses and/or solutions to the crises will all be considered. Analyses from both academic and activist points of view will be welcomed. Sessions may focus on either a global/national scale or a Northwest regional/local scale. We encourage creative, innovative proposals that are in alignment with the conference theme. Session Format Sessions of many formats will be considered. Examples of session formats include lectures/panels, interactive workshops, art/music/cultural events, and public actions. Each session must provide a facilitator or team leader for the session. We encourage all types of learning and will include sessions from all formats in the conference. Session Dates & Times Sessions will be held on the following dates: · Friday, October 2 (at First Unitarian Church, depending upon demand) · Saturday, October 3 (all day at First Unitarian Church) · Sunday, October 4 (morning and early afternoon at Portland State University) Session Length The final schedule for the conference has not been determined. Please indicate your preference for the length of your session (60 minutes, 90 minutes, or 120 minutes). The Program Committee reserves the right to determine the final length of each session based on schedule demands. Session Coordinator All sessions must designate a Session Coordinator on your application. This person will serve as the primary liaison to the Program Committee in terms of conference planning and scheduling. Coordinators are responsible for organizing, introducing, and facilitating their sessions and providing the Program Committee with all necessary information prior to the conference. Presenter Travel & Housing Unfortunately, we are not able to provide travel reimbursement at this time. All presenters will need to make their own travel arrangements and cover their own travel expenses to and from the conference. The Conference Committee will be organizing a limited number of housing accommodations for those traveling from out of town. If you would like to request a homestay during your time in Portland, please indicate this on your application. Session Materials Presenters will be responsible for providing their own handouts and other session materials for conference participants. Audio-Visual and Other Equipment A limited amount of audio-visual and other equipment (e.g. screen, projector, DVD player, flipchart & markers, etc.) will be available for presenter use, however, we cannot promise equipment for all sessions. If you have access to your own audio-visual and other equipment that you could bring, that would be most appreciated. If you need audio-visual or other equipment provided, please indicate this on your application and we will do our best to accommodate your request. Presenter Discount Session presenters will be able to attend other conference sessions at no charge. Submission Process and Deadline Submission Process Proposals are due by August 8, 2009. Please submit your proposal electronically to econvergence.program@gmail.com. The subject line needs to read: “EcoNvergence Session Proposal”. Only proposals which follow the format below will be considered. Proposal Format Your proposal must include all of the following information: 1. Presenter Information · Session Coordinator: Provide full name, organizational affiliation, title, address, email address, and telephone number. · All Other Presenters: Provide full name, organizational affiliation, title, and email address and/or telephone number. · Background: Provide a brief description of the presenters’ experience providing workshops and/or presenting the material covered in their session. · Participating Organization: Please indicate if any of your presenters are representing a participating organization involved in the planning of the conference and, if so, which organization they represent. 2. Session Scheduling · Date & Time: Please rank your preferences (1, 2, 3, etc.) for the date and time of your session. If you absolutely cannot present during a particular timeslot, please leave it blank. Please note, workshops may or may not be held on Friday, October 2 depending upon demand. ___ Friday, October 2 – Morning ___ Friday, October 2 – Afternoon ___ Saturday, October 3 – Morning ___ Saturday, October 3 – Afternoon ___ Sunday, October 4 – Morning · Length: Please rank your preferences (1, 2, 3) for the length of your session. The Program Committee will determine the final length for all sessions based on schedule availability. ___ 60 minutes ___ 90 minutes ___ 120 minutes 3. Area of Focus · Crisis: Each session must focus on at least one of the following crises. Please indicate which crisis your session will address (check all that apply): ___ Economic / Financial Crisis ___ Ecological / Environmental Crisis · Please explain briefly how your session relates to the economic and/or ecological crisis and the conference theme. · Scale: Please indicate the level/scale on which your workshop will focus (check all that apply): ___ Global ___ National ___ Northwest Region ___ Local (City/Neighborhood) 4. Descriptive Title and Short Session Description · Provide a title that captures the subject of your session. The Program Committee retains the right to work with session coordinators to develop alternative titles at their discretion. · Provide a short description of your session (2-6 sentences) that may be used in the conference brochure and/or other conference materials. This description may be edited at the discretion of the Program Committee. 5. Presentation Style · Please select which of the following best describes your session: ___ Lecture/Panel ___ Interactive Workshop ___ Art/Music/Cultural Event ___ Public Action ___ Other: ________________________________________ · Provide a brief description of your presentation style and the approximate amount of time dedicated to each style (e.g. 75% panel presentation and 25% question and answer or 25% presentation, 25% discussion, and 50% interactive activity, etc.). 6. Session Materials · Please describe any materials that you will be distributing to participants. 7. Audio-Visual and Other Equipment · Please list any audio-visual or other equipment you will bring with you (please indicate if electricity will be required). · Please list any audio-visual or other equipment you are requesting the Conference Committee provide for you (e.g. screen, projector, DVD player, flipchart & markers, etc.). No guarantees regarding equipment can be made at this time. 8. Housing for Presenters If any of your presenters are traveling from out of town and would like a homestay arranged, please provide the following information: · Number of presenters requiring housing · Names of those requiring housing · Dates housing will be required (Thursday, October 1 to Sunday, October 4) · Whether you need a private room or are comfortable on a couch or floor · Whether you have any special needs (e.g. allergies, no pets, smoking/non-smoking, etc.) Notification You will be notified whether or not your proposal is accepted. Notifications will be sent primarily via email and should be sent around the end of August. Contact If you have any questions about the conference or the proposal application process, please contact us at econvergence.program@gmail.com. We look forward to seeing you at EcoNvergence: Northwest Regional Gathering on the Economic and Ecological Crises in Portland, Oregon!