Some of us will be eating ham on Easter, and I thought I’d offer you a poem about a champion pig, by Jill Breckenridge, a Minnesotan who has written a series of poems based on that state’s fair.

Her most recent book of poems is Sometimes, Nodin Press, 2015.

Pretty Ricky

He’s 1200 pounds of pink pork covered by black
bristles stiff enough to needle and sew with,
Pretty Ricky, all six feet of him spread
out, asleep, no fancy dancer, neither twirler
nor prancer, just eats and sleeps, the biggest
boar at the Fair, oblivious to gawkers, smirkers,
cholesterol, or weight watchers, fat off the hoof,
fat lying flat, good only for breeding and eating,
he won’t even stand to show off all the pork cuts
displayed on the poster behind him: ham, it says,
from the butt, oldest meat of civilized man;
kabobs from the shoulder, roasted on swords
by early Asian nomads; spareribs, sausage,
and bacon from the belly. Pretty Ricky urges
me to swear off pork, but it’s lunchtime and my
stomach wanders off to a foot-long or a brat with
‘kraut. I think twice, three times, waffle back
and forth between meat and a veggie wrap, as,
in front of me, many meals stretch out, dozing.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation ( www.poetryfoundation.org ), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright 2009 by Jill Breckenridge, “Pretty Ricky,” from Low Down and Coming On: A Feast of Delicious and Dangerous Poems About Pigs, James P. Lenfestey, Ed., (Red Dragonfly Press, 2010). Poem reprinted by permission of Jill Breckenridge and the publisher. Introduction copyright 2015 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

Poetry is a good way to capture epiphanies, and this poem by Penny Harter does just that. Harter lives and teaches in New Jersey.

In the Dark

At bedtime, my grandson’s breath
rasps in and out of fragile lungs.
Holding the nebulizer mask
over his nose and mouth,
I rock him on my lap and hum
a lullaby to comfort him.

The nebulizer hisses as steroids
stream into his struggling chest,
and suddenly he also starts to hum,
his infant voice rising and falling
on the same few notes—some hymn
he must have learned while in the womb
or carried here from where he was before—
a kind of plainsong, holy and hypnotic
in the dark.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation ( www.poetryfoundation.org ), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright 2013 by Penny Harter, “In the Dark,” from The Resonance Around Us (Mountains and Rivers Press, 2013). Poem reprinted by permission of Penny Harter and Mountains and Rivers Press. Introduction copyright 2015 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Dubbed one of the country’s best female saxophonists, Nancy Wright performs at the Soper Reese Theatre on Friday, April 17, at 7 p.m.

Tickets are $15.

Wright has played her wailin’, soulful blues alongside John Lee Hooker, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Albert King and Lonnie Mack.

She first appeared on the Bay Area music scene in 1984 with the critically acclaimed New Orleans rhythm and blues band, Hot Links.

Following a successful North American tour, Wright and Hot Links were tapped to perform with Swamp Boogie Queen Katie Webster, appearing on her Arhoolie Records release, “You Know That’s Right.” Wright and Webster also performed together at the Chicago Blues Festival and appear together on B.B. King’s album, “Blues Summit,” winner of the 1994 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.

While the blues thread remains the strongest in the tapestry of Wright’s music, in the late 90’s a new thread appeared – the opportunity to work with local Hammond B3 organ artist Jackie Ivory (who also worked with sax luminaries Junior Walker and Willis Jackson).

This rekindled her love of organ combo music, which led to a performance with monster Hammond star Tony Monaco and to the release of her critically acclaimed debut CD “Moanin’” (produced by Monaco and backed by his trio), featuring a mix of soul jazz, blues, ballads and boogaloo.

Playing with Wright on April 17 is the Rhythm & Roots Band which features Paul Revilli on drums, Anthony Paule on guitar, Lorenzo Farrell on keyboards and Paul Olguin on bass.

Revelli has performed with many great acts including Angela Strehli, Lou Ann Barton, Tracy Nelson, Marcia Ball, and Charlie Musselwhite. Paule has worked with Johnny Adams, Bo Diddley, Louisiana Red and Boz Scaggs. Farrell plays regularly with Rick Estrin and the Nitecats. Olguin has performed with Mary Wells, The Drifters, Roy Rogers and Augie Meyers.

Tickets are available online at www.SoperReeseTheatre.com ; at the theater box office, 275 S. Main St., Lakeport on Fridays, 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; or at The Travel Center, 1265 S. Main, Lakeport, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information call 707-263-0577.

“You can’t have it all unless you’ve been cloned.” That’s not the motto of the TCM Classic Film Festival, but it would be the only practical way to enjoy too many great movies during the short span of the long weekend that just occurred in the film capital of Hollywood.

Now in its sixth year, and thriving as the mecca for cinema devotees, the TCM Festival typically offers five or six films at a time and the occasional panel discussion that overlap during the course of a day that approximately runs from 9 a.m. to midnight.

The definition of a classic film ranges the gamut of popular culture. From the opening night ceremony associated with the screening of the 50th anniversary edition of “The Sound of Music” to a mix of classics like “Roman Holiday” and “Inherit the Wind,” TCM offers something for everyone.

Being selective and willing to endure the daily slog is the only hope for enjoying old favorites and discovering the wonders of films rarely seen. One such find on opening night, in a brilliant stroke of counter-programming to “The Sound of Music,” was the film noir classic “Too Late for Tears.”

Not familiar with the film lovingly restored only last year by Eddie Muller’s Film Noir Foundation? Well, neither was I, though star Lizabeth Scott, the ultimate femme fatale, should be widely known as a leading lady of the genre in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Arguably, Scott, the sultry blonde with a husky voice, was at the top of her game as a duplicitous schemer in “Too Late for Tears,” feverishly manipulating her husband (Arthur Kennedy) when they discover a suitcase full of stolen loot. Then, homicidal complications set in a when a grifter (Dan Duryea) comes looking for the cash.

Another great discovery was “Don’t Bet on Women,” a sophisticated comedy from 1931 in which Jeanette MacDonald had her only non-singing role, here the neglected wife of Roland Young’s judge. Disillusioned playboy Edmund Lowe bets the judge he can get the next woman to enter the room to kiss him within 48 hours.

You’ve probably guessed the identity of the unwitting subject of this bet. In short order, MacDonald figures out what is going on, and takes the whole affair into her own hands, displaying under-appreciated comedic talent to trip up the designs of her husband and the playboy.

What “Don’t Bet on Women” and “Too Late for Tears” both have in common is sharp dialogue and brilliant witticisms.

More comedy genius was on display with screenings of vintage films starring W.C. Fields and Buster Keaton.

At the screening of “The Bank Dick,” hailed as one of the funniest of his career, Fields’ grandsons Ron and Allen Fields engaged the audience in a discussion of their mission to keep his brand of humor alive.

Having been born in Philadelphia, Fields always disparaged his hometown. The grandsons revealed that the true line he claimed to wish for his tombstone was, in fact, “I’d rather be in Philadelphia.” Instead, his graveyard is marked with only the dates of birth and death.

Actress Illeana Douglas, also participating, observed that W.C. Fields had a disdain for moral authority. He also didn’t care much for children and dogs. His inspired brand of misanthropic comedy made him an unlikely star during Hollywood’s glamour days.

In “The Bank Dick” Fields’ inveterate tippler kept stumbling into jobs, first as a movie director and then as a bank’s security guard. The grandsons confirmed that Fields constantly improvised and did not follow the script, much to the consternation and dismay of studio executives.

Another great gem at the TCM Festival was the brilliant staging of Buster Keaton’s silent film comedy “Steamboat Bill, Jr.,” featuring a live orchestra conducted by legendary silent film composer Carl Davis in a world premiere performance of his new score.

A great score adds much to a film’s appeal, and yet Buster Keaton, starring as in the inept son of a paddle steamer in love with the daughter of his father’s wealthy business rival, delivered of one of his funniest and most elaborate slapstick comedies.

“Steamboat Bill, Jr.” allows Keaton to transition from subtle pantomime in early scenes to manic slapstick for the film’s climax, where a cyclone includes the iconic image of Keaton doggedly trying to walk against wind that won’t let him move at all.

The screening of old favorite “The French Connection” was worthwhile, not just to see it on the big screen, but for the discussion that followed with director William Friedkin, as he was interviewed by Alec Baldwin.

The director spoke at great length about the making of the film, including the famous white-knuckle chase scene.

Though it would be hard to imagine this film not starring Gene Hackman, Friedkin revealed that Jackie Gleason was the first choice, who was rejected by studio chief Dick Zanuck. Peter Boyle was then offered the part, but he wanted to do romantic comedies.

Friedkin admitted that Hackman was never one of his choices for the role of hard-nosed detective Popeye Doyle.

The spectacular chase scene, with Hackman chasing an above-ground runaway subway, was filmed mostly without permits, according to Friedkin, who said the production hired some off-duty cops and had the help of the original NYPD narcotics detectives Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso.

With a small budget, “The French Connection” had to be filmed entirely on location, and with no constructed sets.

The result is a documentary-style crime film, capturing the gritty streets of New York in 1971, that remains to this day one of the very best police dramas. In a manner of fashion, it’s almost like a film noir of the period.

The TCM Classic Film Festival is now firmly set as a first-rate film lover’s experience, and one should plan now for the seventh one next spring.
  
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

COBB, Calif. – Cobb Mountain Artists continues it' “Artist Presents” series Wednesday, April 8, 7 p.m., in the Community Meeting Room of the Middletown Senior Center.

Entrance is in the middle of the building on Highway 29.

Lower Lake textile artist Sheila O'Hara will be doing a show and tell presentation about her tapestries.

You may have seen her wonderful artwork in the harvest festivals at Steele Wine in Kelseyville every October or in the annual quilt and textile show at the Lower Lake Schoolhouse Museum every August.

She will bring several tapestries for display and explain the ideas and techniques used to create them.

Since graduating from California College of Arts in Oakland in 1976, O'Hara has captured imaginary and humorous landscapes in her unique handwoven dobby and handwoven Jacquard tapestries.

Her artworks are collected by museums and private clients and are exhibited nationally and internationally. Articles on her creative tapestries have been published in many books, magazines and newspapers.

O'Hara's entertaining lectures and workshops have been given in Canada, Australia, Europe, and the United States. She teaches weaving out of her home/studio on Spruce Grove Road in Lower Lake on Thursday afternoons.

For more information on her work visit her Web site at www.sheilaohara.com .
 
Cobb Mountain Artists events are free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Alana Clearlake at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 707-928-8565.

Amanda Strand is a poet living in Maryland. I like this poem for its simplicity, clarity and directness. No frills to decorate it, just the kind of straightforward accounting of an experience that Henry David Thoreau said he looked for in an author.

Father and Daughter

The wedding ring I took off myself,
his wife wasn’t up to it.
I brought the nurse into the room
in case he jumped or anything.
“Can we turn his head?
He looks so uncomfortable.”
She looked straight at me,
patiently waiting for it to sink in.

The snow fell.
His truck in the barn,
his boots by the door,
flagpoles empty.
It took a long time for the taxi to come.
“Where to?” he said.
“My father just died,” I said.
As if it were a destination.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation ( www.poetryfoundation.org ), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright 2014 by Amanda Strand and reprinted by permission of the poet. Introduction copyright 2015 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.