Walkin' with Joaquin

Before we can even say hello, Saumitra (Sáw-mit-truh) Kelkar disappears behind a tree to examine a half-eaten mushroom I didn't even notice was there. This becomes the theme of our Sanborn Road walk, a deeply tracked conversation with constant interruptions when something would catch his eye and he'd climb up to take a closer look. Purple Needle Grass! Amanita Velosa! Mariposa Lily!  Saumitra's Instagram, oakland.bio is blowing up, and I'm a huge fan. This now-freelance biology teacher posts about native plants right that grow in sidewalk cracks and on empty lots—I couldn't wait to see what he knew about Joaquin Miller Park. Since he's someone who can find nature anywhere, Saumitra doesn't need to "go to the woods" like the rest of us—we're both amazed he's never really hiked here. Our 2 hour walk is a mutual info dump as we weave together what he knows —the secret life of all of the plants—and what I know—the people behind the scenes, the...

FOJMP welcomed 120 kids from Head Royce to the Park for Earth Day where they could learn about plants, pull some weeds, and hear my song! I performed it 5 times, turning skeptical faces into big smiles each time. I'd ask for a volunteer to play the guitar and select my tall brother Felix Baum from the audience. I'd confess that he was a plant (ha ha) and teach the German word for tree. Then I'd secretly teach a few Joaquin Miller facts as I dressed up "Mr. Tree." When he had the hat and bearskin vest on I'd ask if anyone had ever seen a picture of Miller and if he looked right. One person, each time, would know that he had a beard and voilá! I would produce the paper poetry beard!  After each performance to a group of 30, the kids would come and try on the beard and hat, or play the guitar, or sing their own songs to me! One kid even introduced himself as the real Joaquin. (Eyeballs are part of the disguise...) After each performance to a group of 30, the kids...

The CWC tabled at the Earth Day work day this year, with a simple writing prompt for all participants:  Write an Earthday Haiku! Because haiku as we know it has a direct lineage to Joaquin Miller Park! Learn why here . Crafting a haiku is something you can do while your hands are otherwise occupied. All you need your fingers for is to keep track of syllables. One hand plus two fingers.  In the back of my mind as I invited passersby to write a haiku, or to read poems written on this land by Joaquin Miller, I cranked them out. Once you start forming 5-syllable phrases, it's very hard to stop! (And yes, oops, I did bring a patch of it home!) Every so often, someone would come back to the table and write down a haiku they'd created. I'd tape them along the table's edge. This one was hilarious! It felt so special hearing each person read their poem out loud to me, heartfelt, among...

Our Friends of Joaquin Miller Park annual meeting and "In the Hights" Literary Arts Festival last October was an epic revival of great traditions. There's a video coming, but until then, taste these delicious highlights. We shared a pot of crowdsourced “bandit stew” (everyone brought an ingredient) prepared by chef John Farais of Indigenous Edibles . The audience--which included all of the readers--was treated to a cascade of historic literature read by local lights! The first reading was by a Rachel Royce,  president of the  Metropolitan Horseman's Association . From atop her horse, Harry Potter, she read a rollicking excerpt of the poem "Joaquin Murietta" -- the poem that shaped Joaquin Miller's destiny. Miller's horse, by the way, was named  Chief. The purpose of the program was to entertain and educate the public about the first and second wave of  California Writers who lived at or visited The Hights, Joaquin Miller's art colony that later ...

Join us for an afternoon of conversation about the Poet of the Sierras, Joaquin Miller. This event will be hosted by Dale Risden and Patrick LoChiatto at their home near Joaquin MIller Park. Bring something sweet or savory to nibble or sip! We'll have a special musical guest this year... Amazingly, Espen Langbråten from Norway will be in town! When: May 31, 2026, 2pm-6pm Where: Dale and Patrick's, 3424 Crane Way, Oakland Rsvp here!

Please join the Ina Coolbrith Circle on Saturday, March 21, at 2:00 p.m. for our monthly meeting.  This month's topic is  INA COOLBRITH AND JOAQUIN MILLER by Kristen Caven California Writers Club in Residence  at Joaquin Miller Park, Oakland, CA Meeting hosted by Denise Barney Kristen  is currently working on a new book about Joaquin Miller, who was one of Ina Coolbrith’s most successful mentees. So much has been written about his surface level eccentricities and foibles that his depth of thought, uplifting themes and passion for artists—shared with his lifelong friend and parenting partner Ina Coolbrith—have gotten lost in the reflection. She’ll be reading the first chapter, Building the City Beautiful,  about his love for Ina, at our March meeting. Caven is a multi-genre literary artist whose poems, cartoons, plays, lyrics, essays, short stories, articles and choreography have been published in  Oakland Unseen, The Oakland Tribune, The Monthly,   Rud...