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Arts & Life
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- Written by: Ted Kooser
One of my friends told me he’d seen a refrigerator magnet that read, PARENTING; THE FIRST 40 YEARS ARE THE HARDEST. Here’s a fine poem about parenthood, and about letting go of children, by Chana Bloch, who lives in Berkeley, California.
Through a Glass
On the crown of his head
where the fontanelle pulsed
between spongy bones,
a bald spot is forming, globed and sleek
as a monk’s tonsure.
I was the earliest pinch of civilization,
the one who laced him
into shoe leather
when he stumbled into walking upright.
“Shoes are unfair to children,” he’d grouse.
Through a pane of glass
that shivers when the wind kicks up
I watch my son walk away.
He’s out the door, up the street, around
a couple of corners by now.
I’m in for life.
He trips; my hand flies out;
I yank it back.
Ted Kooser was US Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006. He is a professor in the English Department of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He lives on an acreage near the village of Garland, Nebraska, with his wife Kathleen Rutledge, the editor of the Lincoln Journal Star.
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 Donal Heffernan, whose most recent book of poetry is
“Duets of Motion,” Lone Oak Press, 2001. Poem reprinted by permission of Donal Heffernan.
Introduction copyright ©2010 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.
American Life in Poetry ©2006 The Poetry Foundation
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This column does not accept unsolicited poetry.
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
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- Written by: Editor
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Arts Council has announced that, for the fourth year, it will participate in “Poetry Out Loud,” a national recitation contest which is sponsored by the California Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation.
This is an exciting program for students in grades nine through 12 who have an opportunity to memorize selected poetry and recite it in a pyramid-designed competition, which begins in the classroom, moves to the school and county level.
Next is the state completion at the Capitol in Sacramento. The state winner proceeds, with all expenses paid, to a national competition in Washington, D.C. Scholarship dollars and school awards are made at the state and national levels.
Poetry is meant to be recited for the cadence and the interpretation of the poem in voice and posture. This program gives back to young people, and to the listener, the value of language that is well written and well spoken.
There is also an impact on the student in memorizing great pieces of poetry and then presenting them to first a few peers and, with greater confidence and panache, to an ever-increasing audience.
You can view some of these fine students by visiting the California Arts Council’s Web site at www.cac.ca.gov.
The program gives confidence to shy and quiet students to step upon a stage and recite a piece of poetry with conviction in their interpretation of the content of the poem.
Michele Krueger once again will take the lead on bringing this program to the schools of Lake County.
Anyone who wishes to participate in the program – student, teacher or support person – should contact Krueger at
The Lake County Arts Council extended its thanks to all the students who participated in last year’s Poetry Out Loud, and congratulated Mellany Watson for doing Lake County proud finals at the Capitol in Sacramento.
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- Written by: Editor
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – On Saturday, Sept. 18, there will be two screenings of “Paperback Dreams” with filmmaker Alex Beckstead on hand for audience question and answer after each screening.
The afternoon matinée is at 1:30 p.m. and evening screening at 7:30 p.m. at Cartwright (Calpine) Geothermal Visitors Center, 15500 Central Park Road, Middletown.
Admission is $10 at the door and $5 kids 16 and under.
“Paperback Dreams” is the story of two landmark independent bookstores and their struggle to survive.
The film follows Andy Ross, owner of Cody’s Books, and Clark Kepler, owner of Kepler’s Books, over the course of two tumultuous years in the book business.
If you're worried that a movie about bookstores could be boring, “Paperback Dreams” features multiple bombings, political intrigue, major political figures and at least one bona fide rock star.
Independent bookstores function as literary laboratories, and publishers rely on them to champion new and controversial work.
To passionate booksellers, selling books remains revolutionary. “Paperback Dreams” celebrates what these stores offer our local communities, and mourns the cultural loss that comes when a good bookstore closes its doors.
Producer and director Alex Beckstead is a San Francisco-based documentary filmmaker. “Paperback
Dreams” is his second ITVS-funded project as a director.
The first was “Trailer Park Blues,” an observational portrait of his grandparents, Bill and Peggy Heiner, is an honest but sensitive portrait of Bill’s lifelong struggle with alcoholism in a trailer park north of Phoenix, Ariz. It aired on public television stations in more than 30 markets.
He produced segments in Kenya and Uganda for the 2005 PBS special “Ending AIDS: The Search for a Vaccine.”
Other credits include associate producer of “Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet,” a two-hour prime time PBS special that was both a biography of Islam’s founding prophet, and a profile of contemporary American Muslims.
He also served as associate producer and sound recordist for several companion documentaries for the DVD release of the HBO dramatic series “Deadwood.”
Beckstead’s first film, the short documentary “SXE,” screened at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival.
There is plenty of parking, large restrooms, refreshments for sale and a great time.
Coyote Film Festival is the fundraising arm of EcoArts of Lake County, a 501(c)(3) non profit arts
organization dedicated to providing visual art opportunities to the residents and visitors of Lake County.
Contact Karen Turcotte at