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TABLE OF CONTENTS
A Path I Can’t Refuse — William Scott Galasso 7
Teton sunset — Cynthia Anderson 7
Fire Season — Milton Bates 8
Asleep on the Couch — Cary Bogart Ziter 9
Morning — Michaela Chairez 9
Dusk, Hudson Valley Palisades — Robert Dorsett 10
Arch — Paul Willis 10
Stargazer Lily — Sharon M. Williams 11
drops of morning dew — Nancy Marie Fernandez 11
Rain Slippers — Thomas Belton 12
Cassandra as Climate Scientist — Jeannine Hall Gailey 13
[Sombra] — Carla Pravisani 14
[Shadow] — Margaret Saine, tr. 14
salt and pepper — Cynthia Anderson 14
The Fortuneteller’s Bad Day — George J. Searles 15
Void — Michael Potter 15
Mockingbird — Jeffrey Kingman 16
Questions for a Lodgepole Pine — Paul Willis 17
An Evening Flock — Matthew J. Spireng 17
Blood Moon — Basil Rouskas 18
The Photo — Margaret Brinton 19
New Moon’s Old Tale — Raphael Block 20
A Stranger — Ruth Holzer 21
Sheltering on the Coast — Rosemary Ybarra 22
The Big Bang — Georgia San Li 23
A Fading Band — Claire Scott 24
Rain Regiment — Dr. Emory D. Jones 25
what’s left of the night… — Gregory Longenecker 25
Morning at Moore’s Lake, Again — Kimberly Nunes 26
Droplet — Michael Kleis 27
[Receta] — Carla Pravisani 28
[Prescription] — Margaret Saine, tr. 28
golden years — Lee Hudspeth 28
Reconciled — Cynthia Anderson 29
Morning — Nancy Marie Fernandez 29
Phoenix Hairpins — Margaret Chula 30
Mona Lisa in Hell — Andrew Miller 31
passing time — Gregory Longenecker 31
Goodnight — Greg Bell 32
Orange County Roots — Sabrina Skye 34
Ode to an Old Nature Pilgrim — C.L. Hoang 35
October winds — Gregory Longenecker 35
Spider — Carla Schwartz 36
When I begin — Patricia J. Machmiller 37
my mind emerging — Margaret Saine 37
She Learns to Become Fire — Jeannine Hall Gailey 38
oak leaves — William Scott Galasso 38
With Determination — A.J. Hoffman 15
Corsage, Eight Grade Dance, 1960 — Matthew J. Spireng 39
The Queen Mary — Deborah P Kolodji & Mariko Kitakubo 40
Waiting for the Light — Beverland, Terry, etc. 41
Cranberry Fields Forever — Jim Tilley 42
The Gargoyle, Time — S.T. Brant 43
You Are Eating Oatmeal — Betsy Martin 44
In the Snow — David Sapp 45
Karaoke — Jackie Chou & Genie Nakano 46
March — Henry Stimpson 47
Flies Circling Light Bulbs — Cary Bogart Ziter 48
Mothlight — Lynn Axelrod 49
The Last Small Town — Robert H. Guard 50
Jazz Hat — Bj Cotton-Jeffords 51
The House on Green Street — Michaela Chairez 52
2022 Annual Contest Winners — 53
Dolores Street — Jeanne Wagner 56
After — Susan Wolbarst 56
Ariadne Auf Naxos — Claire Scott 58
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EDITOR’S NOTE
Guest editing California Quarterly has been an honor. As I read through submissions, I found myself entranced by many of the nature-infused images I discovered, reminding me of a quote by Mary Oliver from A Poetry Handbook: “I must make a complete poem—a river-swimming poem, a mountain-climbing poem. Not my poem, if it’s well-done, but a deeply breathing, bounding, self-sufficient poem.”
There are many river-swimming, mountain-climbing, deeply breathing, bounding, self-sufficient poems in this issue, and I found myself walking by a lake and watching a cormorant, sunlight break through pine boughs, a moose on a hiking trail, seeing crocuses emerge from dirty snow, and floating in a cranberry bog.
Poems about aging, caretaking, and mortality also grabbed my editorial heartstrings as it is winter again, both in the seasonal sense with a poet’s wish to see egrets in the snow and with the thought of the approaching winter of our lives, as time becomes a gargoyle, we say goodnight to our mothers, are isolated in the last small town in Ohio, and ponder our own mortality.
the cuff cold as I check
morning blood pressure
potted amaryllis
It’s a short leap from nature poetry and natural science to science and I was entranced by images of the Big Bang and a climate scientist who wishes she were a mermaid or selkie, along with a fairy dust sprinkle of fantasy in a couple poems.
As you settle down with your favorite beverage and start perusing through this issue, I hope you will enjoy reading the poems as much as I enjoyed selecting them.
Deborah P Kolodji Temple City, California
ABOUT THE EDITOR
'Deborah P Kolodji is the California regional coordinator for the Haiku Society of America and moderator of the Southern California Haiku Study Group. The former president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association, Kolodji is also is a member of the Haiku Poets of Northern California, the Yuki Teikei Haiku Society, Haiku Canada, and the California State Poetry Society. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Haiku North America.
Author of four chapbooks of poetry, her first full-length book of haiku and senryu is Highway of Sleeping Towns, from Shabda Press, which won a Touchstone Distinguished Book Award from the Haiku Foundation. Her e-chapbook of scifaiku, tug of a black hole, won 2nd place in the Elgin Awards by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association, and is available as a free download (https://e7b207b8-f70d-4a2b-9a92-95e280e7fb92.filesusr.com/ugd/8a417d_31b9e61a29aa4a5290d90d02c869f714.pdf)
Kolodji has published more than 1100 haiku in publications such as Frogpond, Modern Haiku, The Heron’s Nest, Bottle Rockets, A Hundred Gourds, Acorn, Rattle, and Mayfly, as well as speculative poetry in Strange Horizons, Star*Line, Grievous Angel, The Magazine of Speculative Poetry, Tales of the Unanticipated, Tales of the Talisman, and Dreams and Nightmares. She has also published short stories in Thema and Tales of the Talisman and a short memoir in Chicken Soup for the Dieter’s Soul. Her work has been anthologized in such publications as The Rhysling Anthology, Red Moon Anthology, Dwarf Stars, Aftershocks: Poetry of Recovery, New Resonance 4, and The Nebula Awards Showcase: 2015.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
California State Poetry Society
NEWSBRIEFS
2022, NO. 4, WINTER 2022
CPSP is pleased to announce the winners of the 2022 ANNUAL POETRY CONTEST, adjudicated by Frank Iosue of Arizona. The three prize-winning poems and the judge’s comments are included in this issue of the CQ. There is no need to repeat the same information in the same journal, however, for the record, the winners' names should be posted here:
FIRST PRIZE: Jeanne Wagner – “Dolores Street”
SECOND PRIZE: Susan Wolbarst – “After”
THIRD PRIZE: Claire Scott – “Ariadne Auf Naxos”
HONORARY MENTIONS
1. Claire Scott – “S&H Green Stamps”
2. Claire Scott – “Motel Rooms of Last Resort”
3. Claire Scott – “The Sea Squirt Loses its Mind”
4. Susan Wolbarst – “Where’s Ginny?”
5. Claire Scott – “In the Revised Version: A Different Mother”
6. Sunny Yim Alperson – “Husband’s Urn”
JUDGE’S STATEMENT: “I am proud, honored and humbled to have been selected as the judge for the 2022 California State Poetry Society Annual Contest. The poems submitted reflected an amazing diversity of subjects and styles, and the caliber of the work submitted, overall, was outstanding. I congratulate all the Winners and Honorable Mentions, and thank and commend everyone who entered. I wish you all continuing success in your poetic endeavors.” ~Frank losue, 2022 Annual Contest Judge
Mr. Iosue also commented about the winners: “The mark of a truly outstanding poem is its capacity to elicit sensations, emotions and intuitive associations that grow richer and more inexhaustible every time it is read. To my mind, these three winning poems all share that quality.” He was also quite surprised that he awarded the third prize and as many as four out of six honorary mentions to the same poet, Claire Scott. The contest was judged anonymously and Mr. Iosue had no way of knowing that these poems were penned by one author; in fact, he selected them because they were so different from each other! On behalf of the CSPS, I’d like to express my gratitude for his insights, hard work and dedication. He reviewed over 120 poems, reading through anonymous submissions multiple times.
We are happy to announce CSPS nominations to the Pushcart Prize selected from among poems published in 2022 in four issues of the California Quarterly, Vol. 48: No. 1 (edited by Maja Trochimczyk), No. 2 (guest-edited by Margaret Saine), No. 3 (edited by Bory Thach) and No. 4 (guest-edited by Deborah P Kolodji). The nominated poems may be read on this blog:
https://www.californiastatepoetrysociety.com/2022/12/pushcart-prize-2022-nominations-from.html
1. From Vol. 48 No. 1. “Waterfall
Symphony” by Dana Stamps II
2. From Vol. 48 No. 1. “Light” by Frederick Livingston
3. From Vol. 48 No. 2. “The Land
I Long For” by Michael Fraley
4. From Vol. 48 No. 3. “The Calling” by Ella Czajkowska
5. From Vol. 48 No. 3. “Tule Elk Preserve in March” by Vivian
Underhill
6. From Vol. 48. No. 4. “Morning
at Moore's Lake, Again” by Kimberly Nunes
CSPS
POETRY LETTERS continue to be published online, with PDF versions
emailed to about 440 poets and poetry lovers; and the online posts divided into
two, book reviews and poems. The Poetry Letter No. 3 presented
two book reviews by Michael Escoubas, of In January, The Geese By
B.J. Buckley, and Dearest Water by Nancy Takacs. William Scott
Galasso reviewed Bright Skies by Maja Trochimczyk. The poetry
section included work by featured poet Jeff Graham, a frequent CQ
contributor, the author of the chapbook The Eye of Morning
(Zeugma Impress) and one of 12 poets featured in Crystal Fire. Poems of Joy
and Wisdom. As for the Monthly Contest Winners, selected by Alice
Pero, in April, the 1st Prize was
awarded to “Awaken” by Debra Darby. in May (Personifications,
Characters, Portraits) the 1st Prize went to Carol L. Hatfield "Cloud on the Ground" and the 2nd
Prize to Joan Gerstein "White on White." In June (the Supernatural), the 1st Prize
wineer was, "Buffaloes Escape" by Pamela Stone Singer. The Poetry Letter No. 3 was
illustrated with photographs of delightful and highly decorative fruit
paintings on antique porcelain plates from Bavaria, a disappearing art in the
era of sterile Swedish design and very appropriate for the time of harvest.
We
are very grateful that our list of supporters and generous benefactors,
that is members of Gold Circle, Silver Circle, Patrons and Donors (names listed
in this CQ) has increased this year. The CSPS is deeply grateful for a generous
anonymous gift of $2,500, sent with the following note: "This donation is
made with special appreciation for the dedication of Maja Trochimczyk, the
Board of Editors and guest editors who all work tirelessly to bring diverse
poetry to the wider world. Happy Holidays and thank you!"
MEMBER NEWS
Terry Ehret reported about her book reading last summer after the Fall issue of the CQ was sent to the printer. Here’s her report: “On Wednesday, August 17, Heal the Bay Aquarium at the foot of the Santa Monica Pier hosted the Southern California book launch for Plagios/Plagiarisms, Volumes One and Two, by Mexican poet Ulalume González de León; and Beyond the Time of Words/Más allá del tiempo de las palabras, by Chilean poet Marjorie Agosín. Both books were published by Sixteen Rivers Press as part of their ongoing translations project. After a lively reception with refreshments in the courtyard, author Marjorie Agosin, along with translators Celeste Kostopulos-Cooperman, Terry Ehret, and Nancy Morales presented the poems to a standing room only crowd in the aquarium. The special guest was Los Angeles Poet Laureate Lynne Thompson, who opened the reading with her inspirational poems. This was a first for Heal the Bay, a nonoprofit environmental organization, which has hosted many events at their aquarium, but never a poetry reading. It's our hope that this is the first of many more!”
In the last couple of months Alice Pero, 10th
Poet Laureate of Sunland/Tujunga,has had poems accepted in Vilas Avenue,
Dodging the Rain, Southern Arizona Press, Wonders of Winter and the
San Diego annual anthology. Five of her students' poems from Fair Oaks School
in Altadena were published in Fly Like the Clouds of Time - 2022
California Poets in the Schools State Anthology, as well as one of her own.
Alice was also proud to be one of the 12 poets published in the beautiful new
anthology Crystal Fire. Poems of Joy and Wisdom (Moonrise Press, 2022).
The 12 poets in this volume included four
members of the CSPS Board and 11 contributors the CQ. The volume
contains 144 poems by 12 poets: Elżbieta Czajkowska, Joe DeCenzo, Mary Elliott, Jeff
Graham, Marlene Hitt, Frederick Livingston, Alice Pero, Allegra Silberstein, Jane Stuart, Ambika
Talwar, Bory Thach, and Maja Trochimczyk. I edited this anthology of “positive
poetry” and it is illustrated with 14 paintings by Ambika Talwar. Initial
two readings were associated with Sky Garden, an exhibition presenting
artwork by Ambika and my photographs. It was curated by gallery owner Hungarian
American painter, Susan Dobay and held from 16 October to 20 November 2022 at
the Scenic Drive Gallery in Monrovia.
We are grateful for the hard work of our Editors this year, including two guest editors, Margaret Saine for issue no. 2 and Deborah P Kolodji for issue no. 4. Deborah also selected cover art, a vibrant watercolor by Tiffany Shaw-Diaz called “You Push and You Pull” (2020). You can see more art at www..tiffanyshawdiaz.com. Celebrating creativity with more creativity… not such a bad idea, after all. So let’s celebrate poetry selected for this issue by eminent haiku author and editor, Deborah P Kolodji by creating more poems!
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