Walkin' with Joaquin

I'm excited to be speaking at the Oakland Library's Fall Speaker Series about you-know-who! Join me at the Melrose Branch, 4805 Foothill Boulevard, Oakland CA 94601 from 6-7pm. Aftergrub and selected readings & chat at Taqueria El Paisa, 4610 International Blvd, Oakland, CA 94601 (a 6 minute walk). Bring your questions and a friend and be ready to sing! Although he is greatly respected in other parts of the world, Oaklanders have mixed feelings about Joaquin Miller, the colorful literary figure whose name is on a park. Is this about Oakland or Miller? Both share a remarkable essence, a complex character—and a cloudy reputation. Kristen Caven, the California Writers Club Writer in Residence at Joaquin Miller Park, shares her insights on Miller and why she thinks we should reconsider the opinions of his detractors. I can't wait to share my latest findings!

I have been kept from the actual Park too much this year, spending time instead online, elsewhere, doing research on it where there's better bandwidth!  This is a photo from April, our Poets on Earth event. But in planning this year's "Blanket and a Basket of Chow" (I was too busy tearing up Oaktoberfest to even post the event here), I found my sentiments perfectly expressed by the very busy Ina Coolbrith. Imagine her stuck at her day job, setting up our first library, pinching pennies and time to care for her mother and the three girls kids in her charge – not her own. Imagine her looking out the window onto crowded streets, and LONGING.     O aimless fret of household tasks! O chains that bind the hand and mind—     A fuller life my spirit asks! For there the grand hills, summer-crowned,     Slope greenly downward to the seas; One hour of rest upon their breast     Were worth a year of days like these. Their cool, soft green to ease the pain     Of eyes that ache

As we prepared to send in our proposal  to give the Fire Circle a makeover  last week, something wasn't sitting right with me. Was it seeing those little Wednesday outdoor school kids climbing around on the cracking, crumbling cement structure? Was it having somewhere to hang our CWC banner at our Earth Day poetry event? Was it the gentle backdrop to all those amazing poets (Nanette Deetz, Richard Loranger, Lucille Lang Day et al)? Was it the way Bob Stephens curled up like some drunken beat poet in the sliver of shade that slab provided? Yes. YES. So much yes! The way we all  interacted with the space—food on one side, poetry on the other—made me realize this spot was thoughtfully designed for parties. I listened to President Keith deliver his puzzled, hilarious description of meat shopping for meat , and while staring at the shapes behind him, realized... Those are ziggurats! Yes, this classical, geometric stairstep pattern is an iconic Art Deco detail. How had I missed that all

  For Earth Day this year, the whole CWC is coming up to the Park for a Write-in and an open mic . Here are all the important links! Location: Sign in at the Abbey and walk up lower Sanborn Road to the California Writers Circle. Audio Tour:   Download this track before you get there since signal may be limited. Start listening at the yellow gate, walk slowly, and pause at the statue. Start walking again when you hear "the castle-like structure." Music: We Awoke to the Sun by Merrill Collins. (Can't hear it? read it here .) Write-in 1:30pm There will be writing prompts available; bring a laptop or notebook and be prepared to get creative, focused, angry, inspirational! Planet Vs Plastics (check for links!) Poets vs Plastics Writing Prompts & Actions Reading 2:30pm There will be a sign-up sheet at the event, and some poetry by earlier voices to share. Our featured readers are: author, publisher and ecopoet Lucille Lang Day;  poet, teacher and literary community builde