just got back

the drive to and from sf was uneventful.  i took the prius which has its own gps navigation system so getting into the city and over to the parking garage was smooth as can be.  i was marvelling at our technology earlier today when i went to the local apple store to buy anna a new cord for her i-phone.  the sales guy took my payment by swiping my card thru his phone and then said the receipt will be emailed to me.  no sweat, i said.  then when i got to my car and when i touched the driver's side door handle to unlock the prius it hit me, we live in a pretty awesome sci-fi age. 

i'm a little tired.  my father was quite impressed by the poets he met.  he loved meeting alex.  i did too.  we had a lovely dinner at francis ford coppola's zoetrope building -- a big green thing right in north beach.  our conversation steered toward aging, death, decrepitude, poetry, poets, movies and d.a. levy.  the death and aging thing sounded like morbid topics but let me tell you that there was a lot of laughter at our table. 

now for the reading.  canessa park gallery is an intimate venue in a really cool old building.  i met my fellow readers, jean day [stoked to finally meet her as i've known her work for some time] and steffi drewes [who is a fantastic younger poet.  i loved her poems and her wonderful reading voice].  the reading was well attended.  i was very very happy to see jonathan hayes and his wife yuki too.

i confess:  i'm a bit of a ham.  don't know how my reading style and work gets across.  i'm sure my style is not for everyone.  i do think reading is performance.  it shouldn't be sacrosanct.  imagine going to a concert and seeing your favorite band take themselves so seriously the occassion is joyless.  you want your favorite band to take pleasure in their music because that pleasure will be yours too.  worse sin i think in poetry is to forget that poems are killer fun.  they really are.  so don't be boring!

my many thanks to avery burns -- a killer poet himself -- for inviting me to read. 

yuki and jonathan walked with us to the parking garage in chinatown.  we lingered over our farewells.

we had a bit of an adventure driving alex back to his hotel.  we kinda lost our way.  sf is not a big city.  we found our destination, finally.  it's the journey that matters.  and alex is a grand soul. 

then i turned the prius right on market st found the onramp to the freeway heading toward oakland and were soon on our way home without the aid of the gps.