gathering up

i'm in the process of gathering up some texts to read tomorrow night. yes, an old friend, miles miniaci, invited me to read along with him and another local poet, crawdad nelson, to read tomorrow night. it's my first reading of this kind in a few years. there's even a band on hand to play. nervous? hmm. . . tell you about it tomorrow night. instead, i feel like old obi-wan kenobi for in the announcement my long-time nickname is used. and that name is 'bo' and only my immediate family and my old friends call me that still. ah, i've not heard that name in a very long time. not that there's anything wrong with the name bo at all. just somehow the name that is on my birth certificate, richard, took over in my mid to late twenties.

ah, what the hell. the weekend has been 50-50. i did watch most of the superbowl. not that i care for american football, i don't, only i watched at my brother's house where the conversations turned from movies, politics, to what-have-you. and that was what i indeed found interesting. as for football, i'd rather watch flies fuck or paint dry than witness a full game.

well, then, the latest otoliths is live and it's a killer issue. i've not read it all the way thru but even a quick glance is rich. particularly tom beckett's interview with the always fascinating poet john bloomberg-rissman who is just a dazzling writer, or sampler, or even dj? whatever the word, bloomberg-rissman is foremost a poet of the first rank.

a blog i've been reading lately is u.k. poet alan baker's litterbug which is a mash of poems, criticism and excerpts on the art of living a human life. which are things that i want out of a blog. just wish for baker to post more often.

now then, i've got to get around to clean up my links. not tonight. but soon. in the meantime, here's the announcement for tomorrow night's reading.

Mon. (2/2), 7:30 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center presents Richard “Bo” Lopez, Crawdad Nelson, and Miles Miniaci, with Litany (Miles Miniaci, Chéne Watson, and Bob Wilson) at HQ for the Arts, 1719 25th St., Sacramento. Richard Lopez, in addition to reading at such local venues as SPC and the Book Collector, has been published in such journals as Shampoo and Galatea Resurrects, and is the author or co-author of several collections of poetry, including Parts of the Journal: Night, Hallucinating California, and his latest, Super 8.

Crawdad Nelson is a meat-eating, fish-catching, homerun-hitting, ham-and-egger from the north edge of the sticks. Not only that, he grows his own corn, eats his own spinach, writes his own dialogue and answers his own phone. He is a student of history and a tutor of English. He is a recent winner of the Reynolds Scholarship from Phi Theta Kappa, the International Honor Society of two-year colleges. His work has appeared in the Anderson Valley Advertiser, New Settler Interview, Sacramento News & Review and other places in print and online.

Miles Miniaci received his B.A. from San Francisco State and his M.F.A. from the University of Southern California. His poetry and fiction have appeared in The American River Literary Review, Poetry Now, Catchphrase Collection, and Harpoon, among others, and he has been a featured reader at such venues as Luna’s, H. Q. Center for the Arts, Café Montreal, Amnesia (S.F.), and M Bar (L.A.). His prose (mostly humor and music pieces) has been seen—or heard—in ‘zines, e-‘zines, and podcasts, including Morbid Curiosity, Short Bus, Retrocrush, and The Backseat Kiss. He also publishes the occasional scholarly article for journals such as American Quarterly (California American Studies Association) and ATHE News (The Association for Theatre in Higher Education). In addition to writing, Miles has made his living, at various times, as a professional actor, a high school and college instructor, and an arts administrator. He makes his home in Sacramento with his partner Beth and his children Gabriel and Maya, and considers himself incredibly fortunate.

Litany is a non-traditional power trio consisting of three multi-instrumentalists bent on defying genres and expectations. Bob Wilson, Miles Miniaci, and Chéne Watson are veterans of numerous Sacramento-area bands, playing a range of styles from folk to power pop to progressive rock. Between the three of them, they sing and play not only the standard guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards, but also less familiar instruments including dulcimer, mandolin, harp, marimba, and many others. The band has been performing regionally for the past five years, appearing at venues such as Cesar Chavez Park, Southside Park, Capital Garage, The Distillery, Luna’s, The Space, and various Second Saturday galleries. They have also produced a self-released demo and appeared on KVMR and nationwide on BlogTalkRadio.com.

and finally, since i've been feeling rather maudlin these past few nights i'd been heading over to youtube to watch live music. mi hermano in the art and soul brother, ernesto priego, regularly posts vids in his blog and recently he put up a throwing muses piece. which i watched a few nights ago and that got me started. i love throwing muses, period. there is something about live music when the band and the audience gain the same plateau. it is magic. so then anyway, we've been listening a lot to the shins and i'll end this ramble by posting a vid from the band performing their song 'phantom limb' which has become nicholas's favorite song. my own heart sings when i hear our little guy sing the chorus.

peace