In the Know

I am the 2007 NEW MEXICO SENIOR POET LAUREATE at " Amy Kitchener's Angels Without Wings Foundation" contest. I won that title from this same contest in 2004 and 2005, and was the 2006 runner up. I placed two poems in the 73rd Writer's Digest top 100. I hold memberships in BARDS OF A FEATHER, HIGH PRAIRIE POETS of Roswell NM, NMSPS, and NFSPS. In 2004, I won six poetry contests. In 2005 I won five, and increased my wins in 2006. I have a Special Honorable Mention at Bylines for poetry and two for short stories. I've seen poetry published in Potpourri, Poe Magazine, Heart Songs, Inspirational Verses, Poet Speak, Creative Juices, Herlands Flaming Tongues, 2006 Forrest Fest Anthology, R. B.'S Viewpoint, Hodgepodge, Opened Eyes, The Rag, Our Piped Dreams, The Diplomat, Under the Yucca, New Mexico State Poetry Society Newsletter, Poets' Forum Magazine, Wt-In Spirit, The Southwest Region of Haiku Society of America, The Poet Sanctuary, Bells Letters, Golden Words, Poet's Lane, and Litchfield Review. I chair the committee for the bi-monthly contests held by the High Prairie Poets New Mexico chapter of New Mexico State Poetry Society. This has helped my poetry path grow and I've met some incredible people doing this. Thanks again. Carol Dee Meeks 2007 Senior Poet Laureate of New Mexico

Leah Brown has been on stage from the age of 15 to the present. Having started out as a background singer, she has progressed to doing stand-up comedy for many years, and now has turned her creativity to writing and performing her poetry. She has been published in the San Gabriel Valley Poetry Quarterly, and on BET’S Def Poetry Jam website.
Leah is an Urban Poet, drawing inspiration from the world around her, and the way she views this life. She writes from the depth of her spirit. She brings a fresh new outlook and strength to the spoken word arena.
Her first volume of work, entitled "LeahsLand" will be out June 12, 2006.
www.LeahzLand.com tiggyclay@yahoo.com

Kathleen Lynch’s collection Hinge (2006) won the Black Zinnias Press National Poetry Book Competition (California Institute of Arts and Letters). Her chapbooks include How to Build an Owl (Select Poet Series Award, Small Poetry Press, 1995), No Spring Chicken (White Eagle Coffee Store Press Award, 2001), Alterations of Rising (Small Poetry Press Select Poet Series, 2001) and Kathleen Lynch - Greatest Hits (Pudding House Publications Gold Invitational Series, 2002).

Her work (fiction and poetry) appears in several anthologies, including The Next River Over–A Collection of Irish American Writing (New Rivers Press), Times Ten: An Anthology of Northern California Poets (Small Poetry Press), Who are the Rich and Where Do They Live? (DePaul University Press), In a Fine Frenzy – Poets Respond to Shakespeare (University of Iowa Press), Birds in the Hand – Fiction and Poetry about Birds (Farrar Straus & Giroux) and The Book of Irish American Poetry from the Eighteenth Century to the Present (University Press of Notre Dame). Her poems appear in many literary journals, including Poetry, Nimrod, Spoon River Poetry Review, Chariton Review, Runes, The Laurel Review, Poetry Northwest, The Midwest Quarterly, Two Rivers Review, Slipstream, Quarterly West, and The Midwest Review. She received the Spoon River Poetry Review Editor’s Choice Award, the Salt Hill Poetry Award, Two Rivers Review Prize, Peregrine and Sow’s Ear prizes, and ten Pushcart nominations.

She worked as Coordinator of Writers In Performance, and Writers' Workshops for San Jose Center for Poetry and Fiction, served as board member for San Jose Center for Literature and Arts, taught through Poets in the Schools (all grade levels), mentors individual poets, and conducts Teachers’ In-Service training programs. Lynch also publishes fiction, essays and reviews, and does free-lance editing. She lives in Carmichael CA.

On her retirement from counseling, Dr. Joan Garcia – usually known as Granny, or The Frog Lady – embarked on a new endeavor: producing songs and stories from the heart, music for children 2 to 102. She draws upon the richness of her experience to create a bubbling fountain of little “silly songs,” stories that wrap valued life lessons in humor and rhyme. They allow the child in all of us to take joy in the simple things in life, to laugh at the unexpected twists and turns life brings. She tells her tales from memory, pulling the audience into her private world of frogs, aardvarks, lizards, and other assorted creatures of the earth as she weaves journeys of the imagination.

Her stories are designed for use in the classroom, library, or the senior community. Dr. Garcia has shared many of her tales – in schools, at Barnes and Noble and Bounty Books, at day-care centers, in Senior communities, in a variety of poetry venues, and with the disabled -- with consistently positive response. She has been featured at poetry venues in San Francisco and Walnut Creek, done performances in Davis, Concord, Rio Vista, and other local communities. She anticipates continuing her “granny apple-seed” journey, spreading her tales beyond the local community, through her performances, through CDs (now numbering eighteen!) available on her website, and through videos for public access television (Vacaville and Sacramento). For information on performances or to purchase CDs, contact:

A native Calgarian, Zaid Shlah now resides in Walnut Creek, CA with his wife Randa. He obtained his MA in English from San Francisco State University. His poetry has appeared in literary magazines and journals in both Canada and the U.S. In May of 2005, he was awarded the American Academy of Poets Award. His first book of poetry, Taqsim, has been published in the U.S. and most recently in Canada (Frontenac House, 2006). Currently, he teaches English at Solano Community College and creative writing at New College of California, San Francisco.

www.frontenachouse.com/books/32/Taqsim/

Commander Charles O. McCauley III, USN (RET), was born in North East, Maryland, a small, shanty Irish fishing village along the Northeast River, at the head of the Chesapeake Bay.

He graduated from the University of Maryland, where he edited the underground newspaper, “TTTT,” without getting caught by distraught deans. After graduation, he worked as an associate editor for the Cecil Whig, a weekly newspaper in Elkton, Maryland, the county seat.

As the Vietnam War escalated, McCauley joined the Navy and flew various types of aircraft for twenty years, until his retirement. He had two tours of duty in ‘Nam, where he flew, under the umbrella of the CIA, clandestine missions in support of that “other war,” in Laos and Cambodia.

Starting his second career, McCauley became a First Vice President for a national commercial bank, and an officer in a successful “startup” community bank, until retiring from the banking industry after almost twenty years.

Having won several awards for poetry, McCauley has published six books: Sirens in the Sun, Northeast of Yesterday, Word Warrior, War Lords on the Wind, West of Eden, and Apache Tango. His work also found a way into in such publications as “Explorations (University of Alaska Southeast),” “Poetry Letter and Literary Review,” “Barbaric Yawp,” “Carquinez Poetry Review,” “Bay Area Poet’s Coalition,” “Poetalk,” “The Gathering,” “Voices in Wartime,” and “Blue Unicorn (pending)."

Jan Steckel is an Oakland, California writer, a bisexual activist, and a former pediatrician. Seventy of her short stories, poems and nonfiction pieces have appeared in print and online publications such as Margin, Lodestar Quarterly, Yale Medicine, and Scholastic Magazine. Her poetry chapbook, The Underwater Hospital, comes out from Zeitgeist Press in 2006. She has performed her work as a featured reader at over twenty West Coast venues. You can find more of her work at www.jansteckel.com.

Jim Lyle was a professional designer in Industrial, Interior, Graphic, and Building Design for over thirty years. He was a founding partner in Pacific Design Group, an Architectural, Industrial, Product, and Interior Design firm located in Campbell, CA.. He also taught Project Management in the Design department of San Jose State University for 5 years. Jim closed his business in 1991 to allow time for writing and painting.

He is nationally published and his first book "Things Seen in the Desert” was released in 2001. In 1997, he moved to Lake County, CA and a year later was the selected the first Poet Laureate of that County. He was a member of the Editorial Board of Review for the Montserrat Review for five years. He is a frequent featured speaker in Northern California, and has been a guest lecturer at Mission College, Menlo College, Phoenix University, Cogswell College and Lake Community College; all in the greater bay area.

In 2003, Jim moved into the Veteran’s Home of California at Yountville. He continues to be active in writing and speaking.

Ronda Lawson was writing poetry long before she learned to hold a crayon. While still in high school she created, implemented and taught a poetry class at the local community center. She has won gold, silver, and bronze awards at county fairs, and received an honorable mention at last year’s Pleasanton Poetry and Arts Festival in Pleasanton, California. Her work has been published in a wide variety of magazines including The Saturday Evening Post, Mobius, Byline, Hidden Oak, The Advocate, Tucumcari Literary Review, and Pleiades. In addition, she has published short fiction and numerous non-fiction articles, and has just completed her first novel. “Kitchen Odysseys” is her first chapbook.

Ronda is the San Francisco office administrator for an international public accounting firm. She currently lives on a cattle ranch in the California hills with her long-time companion Doug, an elderly golden retriever, an even more elderly cat, and a constantly changing array of wild creatures. When not writing, which is seldom, Ronda enjoys reading just about anything, creating art, designing a fine meal for family and friends, discovering a new wine, and watching the hills with a pencil in her hand.

Connie Post

Connie Post was the First Poet Laureate of Livermore, California. (2005-2009). During her term, she created two popular reading series: “Wine and Words” and “Ravenswood”. She also started a youth poetry critique group and wrote over 25 poems for various city and civic events which resulted in her most recent book “In a City of Words” .

Connie’s poetry is widely published. Her work has appeared in the following:

Calyx, Kalliope, Cold Mountain Review, Chiron Review, Comstock Review, DMQ Review, Dogwood, Iodine Poetry Journal, Main Street Rag, White Pelican Review, Monterey Poetry Review, Carquinez Poetry Review, California Quarterly, Tipton Poetry Journal, RiverSedge, Up The Staircase, Oberon, Wild Goose Poetry Review, Apparatus Magazine, Mobius, Song of the San Joaquin, and The Toronto Quarterly. She is the author of six books of poetry and has presented at many Bay Area readings. She has earned over ninety awards for her poetry. She is a two time winner of the Grand Prize Lydia Wood Award at the Las Positas Spring Arts contest. In 2008, she was one of four runner’s up in the Calyx Lois Cranston Memorial Awards. She was a finalist in the 2007, 2008 & 2009 Muriel Craft Bailey Awards (Comstock Review). She was the winner of the 2009 Dirty Napkin Cover Prize and the 2009 Winner of the Caesura Poetry Awards (Poetry Center San Jose).

Her next book “Trip Wires” will be released in 2010 from Finishing Line Press.

Connie has been a key note speaker at many events, and in 2005 presented her poetry on the nationally syndicated radio program “West Coast Live”. She presents poetry and discussion on the subject of parenting, poetry and autism to local colleges and affiliated groups. www.poetrypost.com

Peter Bray

I grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, graduating from U.C. Berkeley and have worked as a rocket design engineer, illustrator, graphics designer, corporate manager, caregiver, toilet and sewer repairing plumber and handyman. Why? They were things I found of interest along with writing poetry for the past 30 years, publishing chapbooks, and writing songs for the past 20. I semi-regularly attend Open Mikes in the Bay Area, am a member of The Ina Coolbrith Circle, Bay Area Poets Coalition, Chaparral Poets, and West Coast Songwriters Association. I continue to write and publish Taproot & Aniseweed, an eclectic, rambling newsletter, formerly monthly but now becoming a once in a while publication via my Macintosh G3 with Quark software. I have a weekly poetry column with Listen & Be Heard News in Vallejo, can be followed on three websites; Joel Fallon's www.poetrymatters.150.com (See Benicia Poets), www.peterbray.org and www.sonador.com/pedro . Benicia, California is home with my wife Janice and our two cats, White Henry and that former feral street cat, Dirty Harry Potter. My 4th chapbook, 'First Annual Report of Sorts' is in the works and is scheduled to be out in Spring 2006.

Jim Ott’s poetry and short stories have appeared in several small press literary journals, and he is both a columnist for the Tri-Valley Herald and the co-host of a television show in the Tri-Valley about books and reading—which he created in the late-1990s—called "In A Word."

In 1999, Jim proposed the idea for the city-sponsored poet laureate position that was adopted by the Civic Arts Commission and City Council. He was invited to serve as Pleasanton's second poet laureate from 2001-2003. He is also a co-founder of Pleasanton’s Annual Poetry, Prose, and Arts Festival, and is an adjunct English professor at Las Positas College, and the President/CEO of UNCLE Credit Union.

Because of his work in the area of promoting poetry, Jim has been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle and in the Wall Street Journal, and he has appeared on KQED FM radio.

jott@unclecu.org

Ellen Bass's most recent book, Mules of Love, was published by BOA 
Editions in 2002 and won the Lambda Literary Award for poetry. Her work 
has been published in many journals and magazines including The 
Atlantic Monthly, Ms., Ploughshares, Field, and The Kenyon Review. 
Among her other awards for poetry are inclusion in The Pushcart Prize 
XXVIII, the Elliston Book Award from the University of Cincinnati, The 
Pablo Neruda Prize from Nimrod/Hardman, the Larry Levis Prize from 
Missouri Review, the New Letters Prize, the Greensboro Award, the 
Chautaqua Poetry Prize, and a Fellowship from the California Arts 
Council. She coedited, with Florence Howe, the groundbreaking 
anthology, No More Masks! An Anthology of Poems by Women (Doubleday, 
1973) and her nonfiction books include Free Your Mind: The Book for 
Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Youth—And Their Allies (HarperCollins, 1996), 
and The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual 
Abuse (HarperCollins, 1988) which has been translated into twelve 
languages. Her newest volume of poetry, The Human Line, is forthcoming 
from Copper Canyon Press in 2007.

Ellen lives and teaches poetry and creative writing in Santa Cruz, 
California, as well as at conferences and workshops at some of the most 
beautiful places on the planet, including Esalen Institute in Big Sur, 
California, La Serrania in Mallorca, Spain, Hollyhock on Cortes Island 
in British Columbia, and The Tuscany Institute in Italy. 

		www.ellenbass.com

Molly Fisk was born in San Francisco. She earned her B.A. from Radcliffe College/Harvard University, her M.B.A. from Simmons College Graduate School of Management, and began writing at the age of 35. She's the author of Listening to Winter, Terrain (with Dan Bellm and Forrest Hamer), and the letterpress chapbook Salt Water Poems. (See Books/CDs)

Molly has received fellowships in poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts, the California Arts Council, and the Marin Arts Council. She has won the Robinson Jeffers Tor House Prize in Poetry, the Billee Murray Denny Prize, and the National Writer's Union, Santa Cruz/Local 7 Prize.

Linda McCarriston says about Molly's book Listening to Winter:

"...[an] intellectually self-aware, bold and brilliant re/consideration of the culturally paradigmatic problem of incest. In lacunae and ellipses as artful as the poems themselves, she shows to the mind the heart's wounds and forces it to make of them an answer. Complex, memorable, Listening to Winter makes vivid the real and dangerous work of what is called, contemptuously, 'confessionalism,' meditating, from its most intimate perspective, on the nature and costs of 'The Old Order.'"

To contact Molly, e-mail her at molly@mollyfisk.com, or write to her at 10068 Newtown Rd. Nevada City, CA 95959.

www.mollyfisk.com

Aptly named; -GO got his start on the spoken word scene in 2000 writing and performing his children's poetry under the name Uncle -GO and hasn't stopped moving since.
Currently, -GO spends most his time producing commercial video projects for his co. 3rd Eye Collective, but his list of artistic ventures in the last 2 years include:
-Producing 5 live poetry/conscience hip-hop
events (2 including live painting and comedy)
-Producing/directing the TV show- 3rd Eye
Collective presents: Artistic Insomnia
(channel27- Vacaville, CA)
-Producing an album of spoken word poetry set
to music- 3rd Eye Collective presents-
Weapons of Mass Instruction: the Evolution
Will Be Televised
-SLAM/Spoken Word performance at several
small venues from San Jose to Sacramento
under the names -GO and Uncle -GO
-Camera/Asst. Producer- Love Jones
(Upperroom Productions: Poetry/Neo-soul)
-Consultant for "The Voice of Our Opinion"
(Solano County Adult Literacy Newspaper)
-Perform/Speak on KPFA Berkeley, Ca
-GO has worked tirelessly to promote Bay area arts in general, but his main love and focus has been on: Video Production, Spoken Word, SLAM, Freestyle and Conscience Hip-Hop. It is the goal of -GO to be a lead promoter in the Bay-Area Poetry evolution.
-GO mailto: artisticinsomnia@tmail.com
(707) 803 3393
artisticinsomnia@tmail.com
3rd Eye Collective http://www.artisticinsomnia.com
www.artisticinsomnia.com
-GO
(707) 803 3393
artisticinsomnia@tmail.com
3rd Eye Collective Productions/Agency
Myspace.com/artisticinsomnia

Marc Elihu Hofstadter was born in New York City in 1945. He graduated from Swarthmore College and earned a Ph.D. in Literature from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1975. He taught American Literature at Santa Cruz, at the Universite d'Orleans in France on a Fulbright in 1977-78, and at Tel Aviv University in 1978-79. He served as the Librarian of the San Francisco Municipal Railway from 1982 until his retirement in 2005. Marc won the Whetstone Poetry Award for 2004. He has published five volumes of poetry: House of Peace, Visions, Shark, Luck and Rising at 5 AM, all books are available from www.Amazon.com .

He has published poetry, translations and essays in many magazines, including Talisman, Exquisite Corpse, The Hawai'i Review, The South Carolina Review, The Malahat Review, Rattle, Home Planet News, Pearl, Confrontation, Whetstone and The Redwood Coast Review. He lives with his partner David Zurlin at 2301 Tice Creek Drive, #1, Walnut Creek, CA 94595-5274. His phone number is 925-934-8194 or you may e-mail him at mhofstad@ifn.net

Debralee Pagan (Deborah Fruchey) has spent much of her life in churches, 12-Step meetings,

and mental hospitals. Now she lives in Walnut Creek. Her sixth chapbook, Not Without My Latte, is being produced online by Languageandculture.net. She holds a monthly reading, Pagan's Place, which is meant to replace the beloved but folded Primo Poets. Her newest venture is a newsletter, Strictly East, for poets past the Tunnel. It is currently available by email, but she hopes to build a website with weekly updates.

Deborah published her first novel, the award-winning comedy The Unwilling Heiress,

at the age of 25. Her goals now are a Master's Degree, another book contract, and a flat stomach.

You can visit Deborah at www.lafruche.zoomshare.com, or email her at debralee@astound.net.

Albert J. Rothman albroth@comcast.net
I was born 1924 and raised in Brooklyn NY. I moved to SF Bay Area in 1948. BS Columbia; PhD (chemistry and chemical engineering) UC-Berkeley.
Since retiring in 1986 I have written personal essays, memoir, poetry, and short stories. A memoir of my childhood is ready for publication.
I am an avid hiker, the source for numerous nature writings, and a classical music lover and collector. I belong to several writers¹ groups, including Tri Valley Writers, Ina Coolbrith Poetry Group, and attend writing classes at Las Positas College.
I received prizes in Ina Coolbrith Circle poetry contests, 1997-2004, First Prize and publication in The Poets¹ Edge Magazine. Poems and prose were published in Northwoods Journal, Dan River Anthology, two Bristol Banner Books, and Drumvoices Revue 2005. I have won awards and publication in annual Las Positas College Anthologies, 1996 through 2005, and other poetry awards, including Sky Blue Waters, California Federation of Chaparral Poets, California State Poetry Society, Dancing Poetry contest, 2005, etc.

Deborah Grossman is the City of Pleasanton’s 6^th Poet Laureate. To discover what she’s up to with programs ranging from BOO-etry, a Halloween reading of “The Raven” to “Poetry Rocks in Many Languages” with poems read in Spanish, French and Italian, visit www.facebook.com/PleasantonPoetry. A poet, food and wine journalist, and essayist, Deborah published Goldie and Me, a book about the many facets of freedom, family and friendship through the lens of poetry in 2006. Her poems and essays have won awards at the Las Positas College Literary Arts Contest, the Ina Coolbrith Circle’s Annual Poet’s Dinner, the Pleasanton Poetry and Arts Festival, and the Alameda County Fair. Deborah contributes to publications such as the Wine Enthusiast, Flavor & the Menu, and the San Francisco Chronicle. Deborah hails from Wilmington, Del. and received her postgraduate degree from the U, of London, England. She’s a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA). She likes to travel wine country back roads with her husband Michael and read umpteen newspapers, books, and magazines.

Contact Deborah @ PleasantonPoetry@gmail.com or join the Pleasanton Poetry community @ www.facebook.com/PleasantonPoetry . Goldie and Me is available on at www.amazon.com .To peek at her wine and food writing, visit www.deborahgrossman.com

RASHNA Heart Poet
Resides in Castro Valley, Ca. the founder/owner of “POEMS FROM MY HEART TO TOUCH YOUR HEART” CD AND BOOK/RED I GRAVY AFFAIR a poetry troupe of various artists who comes together to entertain.
My goal is to reach a new level of poetry through song and speak out against violence and various social issues. To enjoy life and continue to enhance with ALLAH (GOD) spirituality and mentality.
I love to love all! I speak IN PEACE AND IN LOVE!

Matt Miller was born and raised in Lowell, MA. He earned a BA from Yale University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College. A former Visiting Assistant Professor of Writing at New England College, Miller has taught also at Stanford University, Harvard University, Endicott College, Cambridge College, and the New Hampshire State Prison for Men. His work has been published in Third Coast, DMQ Review, Entelechy International, Renovation Journal, Boston Magazine, the Lowell Sun, LiteraryTraveler.com, and is forthcoming in the Poetry Nation Review. He has been nominated for three Pushcart Prizes and his first book, Cameo Diner: Poems, was published in 2005. He is currently a Wallace Stegner Fellow in Poetry at Stanford University. He lives in East Palo Alto, CA with his wife, Emily Meehan, and their daughter, Delaney Grace.

David Alpaugh’s poetry, fiction, drama, and criticism have appeared in over a hundred literary journals and anthologies, including Poetry, Exquisite Corpse, The Formalist, Modern Drama, Light, Wisconsin Review, Zyzzyva, and California Poetry from the Gold Rush to the Present. His collection Counterpoint won the Nicholas Roerich Poetry Prize from Story Line Press and his chapbooks have been published by Coracle Books and Pudding House Publications. His essay “The Professionalization of Poetry,” serialized by Poets & Writers Magazine in 2003, drew hundreds of emails and letters plus wide discussion on the internet where his poetry has also frequently appeared.

A graduate of Rutgers University and the University of California, Berkeley, where he was a Woodrow Wilson and Ford Foundation fellow, Alpaugh operates Small Poetry Press, a chapbook design and printing service and edits its Select Poets Series. He has taught at the University of California Extension; publishes The Carquinez Poetry Review; hosts the popular Second Sunday Poetry Readings in Crockett; and is a member of the board of trustees of The Ina Coolbrith Circle, a statewide association of California poets & historians.

Check out a live interview with David Alpaugh on www.NewVoices.com "Not Your Same Old Radio" LadyBugLive, then click on Poet's Lane program and the icon next to David Alpaugh's name.

THE PLATITUDES OF WILLFUL RESEMBLANCES

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For Credit Card On-line Orders, go to http://www.bluedolphinpublishing.com or Amazon. COM The Nature of Music or Cornsilk

Tshaka Menelik Imhotep Campbell

For Credit Card On-line Orders, go to
http://www.bluedolphinpublishing.com or Amazon. COM
The Nature of Music or Cornsilk