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California Quarterly, Vol. 50, No. 3 (Autumn 2024) Edited by Maja Trochimczyk. With A History of CSPS by John F. Harrell. Cover Art: Photo by Peter D. Tillman of Navajo Third Phase Blanket, ca 1890-95. Millicent Rogers Museum, Taos, New Mexico (Wikimedia Commons)
California Quarterly, Vol. 50, No. 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Saffron Gatherers — Ruth Holzer 7
to sunset a dream — Deborah P Kolodji 7
Passenger — Kareem Tayyar 8
A Note on Pronunciation — Craig Harris 9
Moss — Peter Hamlin 9
Writing Longhand Feels Strange — Hedy Habra 10
Fine Print — Erin Lee Brown 11
Money for Soul — Darragh Coady 12
Carolina Girlhood — Cheryl Black 13
Spark in the Static — Kelly Talbot 14
Shipwreck — Joe Bisicchia 15
lego blocks — Deborah P Kolodji 15
Going Nowhere — Shanta Acharya 16
The Gift of Emptiness — W. C. Gosnell 17
The Last Photograph of Chopin — Matthew J. Spireng 18
Her Favorite Chair is Covered with Thread — James Morehead 19
Y Fargen Newydd (in Welsh) — Byron Beynon 20
The New Deal — Byron Beynon, tr. 21
# 1092 — Greg Schwartz 21
Crescendo — Darragh Coady 22
Time into Night — Mary Elliott 24
Vino Verde — Deborah Paes de Barros 25
Evergreen — Niyah Dahl 26
Ambiguity — Michael Fraley 27
I Wish — Cami Rumble 28
Our Shared Impressions — Mark Belair 29
Sweet Iced Tea — Danny Barbare 29
Lullaby — Don Palmer 30
The Moon Falls — Dan Potter 31
What Does Size Have to Do with It? — Cecil Morris 32
Dandelions — Danny Barbare 33
Soft Breaths of Pear and Blackberry Currents — Allie Schleifer 34
Question — Lorraine Jeffery 34
After Rain — Selen Ozturk 35
Mountains — Peter Hamlin 36
The Weight of Winter — Gavin Kayner 36
Allegiance — Carolyn Chilton Casas 37
Twin Trees — Michael Fraley 38
June — Michael Blackman 39
Thoreau’s Concert — Livingston Rossmoor 40
Birdsong — Mary Elliott 41
Hike at Sea Ranch — Selen Ozturk 42
sunset peer — Deborah P Kolodji 42
On Some Days — Hillary Langford Taylor 43
Counting Tomatoes — David Starkey 44
Being Bent Flower — Daniel H.R. Fishman 45
Once — Ken Wheatcroft-Pardue 46
eucalyptus boughs — Deborah P Kolodji 46
If I Have Wings — Livingston Rossmoor 47
Wings — Stewart Breier 48
Sunshine Girl — Steward Breier 48
City Sunset — Mark Belair 49
straining sunlight — Deborah P Kolodji 49
All There Is — Allie Schleifer 50
Watching the River — Byron Beynon 51
#1128 — Greg Schwartz 51
Moose Licking Tire — David Starkey 52
Persimmon Cookies — Michael Blackman 53
음양 Yin & Yang — Jey Ley 54
Vessels (Arabic with tr.) — Abū Bakr ash-Shiblī, trans. Will Pewitt 55
Piety, Piercing (Arabic, with tr.) — Abū Bakr ash-Shiblī, trans. Will Pewitt 56
Om Mani Padme Hum — Jey Ley 57
EDITOR’S NOTE
I’ve been reading Giordano Bruno (1548-1600) in English translation recently. He was a heretic burned on the stake for not believing that the Earth is at the center of the Universe. A discoverer of the infinity of multiverses, he understood that a multitude of planets hides in the shadows, and that time is relative, measured by an observer only in reference to that observer’s own location. He wrote about so much more, including ingenious ways of memorizing, and mentally organizing information. And there was plenty of magic in his works, of course. But even in the 20th century, the Catholic Church, though apologizing for its past violence, did not reverse its dogmatic stance against the genius philosopher and thinker.
Yet, 424 years after Bruno’s death, we still remember his name. Perhaps, due to his courage. Courage to explore, think and write. Civil courage to say openly what he knew, regardless of consequences. How many have this kind of courage today? And how many names of poets published in the present issue of the California Quarterly will remain in the world’s memory for 424 years?
I do not know, but I hope that at least one will still be cherished for her enormous contributions to the poetry scene in California. Deborah P Kolodji left this world recently after a prolonged battle with cancer. She was active in the science-fiction poetry community and was a major figure in haiku societies. She had a gift of seeing and a gift of naming her diverse experiences of the world, helping us to see what she saw. She was a CSPS member and CQ contributor. She also edited CQ 48/4 and selected a vibrant artwork for the cover. In a memorial tribute, this issue of the CQ breaks its rules of no more than three poems per poet and includes five of her haiku, intermittently dispersed as comments to other poems throughout the pages of the journal.
Most of the poems featured in the current issue were found among hundreds sent to us via Submittable.com. It is a journey of discovery to wade through a sea of words and find gems among the sand. What joy! Remember: poets who do not provide their address, email, and city/state cannot be published in our beautiful journal.
Simultaneous submissions are also not considered. Our journal changed over 50+ years of CSPS history, reaching its 50th volume this year. But one thing remained the same: we cherish quality!
—Maja Trochimczyk, Editor, CQ 50:3, Los Angeles, California
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NEWSBRIEFS NO. 3, 2024
California State Poetry Society is thriving in its middle age. Established in 1972, it passed its 50th anniversary mark in 2022, but the Board decided to move the celebrations to 2024, marking the 50th volume of the California Quarterly. The journal started to appear in 1972; since two of its four-issue volumes were divided between two years each, we reached the 50th only this year. How to celebrate? In this issue, I looked for something “ancient” for the cover, and found a Navajo wool blanket with five crosses, with equal arms, the kind that symbolize the Sun in many ancient cultures. This artwork is from 1890s and not from California, either, but, for me, it fits our anniversary theme since it reflects the general idea of celebrating five decades under the Sun… At CSPS, our focus is on the printed word, so we decided to publish the best poems of the past 50 years in a 50th Anniversary Anthology. I am happy to report that r.g. cantalupo agreed to edit this anthology and select four poems per CQ volume to form a total of 200 most impressive poems published in our journal. He does not have all the past issues yet, so it will take a while to gather the materials. Therefore, the book will appear in 2025.
Since human memory is fickle and the internet unreliable, I decided to remind our readers about the history of the organization using an essay written about CSPS by John Forrest Harrell, a former President and a long-time Treasurer of the Society. If anyone knows what was going on with CSPS over the years, he does for sure! I added the lists of names of CSPS’s presidents, treasurers, and editors that he compiled (the list of editors is slightly expanded to bring it to the present). They all spent years as volunteers, selflessly working to promote poetry in California. It is good for us to remember their efforts. Thanks, everyone! I would also like to express my gratitude to all other volunteers, board members, chairs and judges of monthly and annual contests whose names are not listed here, but who also deserve our gratitude. Because so many people believe that poetry is important, that words can change the world for the better, we have succeeded in publishing the California Quarterly since 1972. We have also published the Newsbriefs and Poetry Letter, organized monthly and annual contests, maintained the website and the blog…
Happy Anniversary, CSPS!
—Maja Trochimczyk, President
Los Angeles, California
What follows has been constructed from records provided by Keith Van Vliet (notes from the late Anna Mae Johnson Terrell and the late James MacWhinney) and information in the various issues of the California Quarterly (CQ), the journal of the California State Poetry Society (CSPS) —John Forrest Harrell, May 2017
The group of thirty or forty poets that would later form the California State Poetry Society first gathered for roasted hotdogs and marshmallows on the beach near the San Luis Obispo campus of the California State Polytechnic University (Cal Poly SLO) in 1972. Both students and faculty from the University and many from the California Federation of Chaparral Poets (CFCP) in southern California (the oldest organization of poets in the state) had responded to Gordon Curzon’s invitation to meet for fellowship and poetry readings. The meeting lasted throughout the day and, with the aid of a flashlight passed from reader to reader, well into the night!
The members of the CFCP contingent in particular were interested in supporting an effort to form a larger California State Society Association (CSPA). Two of them—Nelle Fertig, their leader, a teacher and prize-winning poet, and Vivian Bonine, another poet and educator—were also members of the Poetry Society of Texas, which was a member society of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NFSPS). They urged all present to establish a new state- wide organization that would be eligible for membership in the NFSPS, with all the benefits and privileges the larger group could provide. By the time the beach picnic ended, plans had been made to meet again and to set up the CSPA. With the publication of Volume 1 Number 1 of the CQ later in 1972, the name of the group was changed from the CSPA to the California State Poetry Society (CSPS), which moniker it has retained thenceforth. On November 20th, 1976, the Constitution Study Committee (Sally Herres, Lorrie Hodges, Ruth Iodice, Robert Knighton, Miriam Maloy, Jerry Rose, Anna Mae Johnson Terrell, Dorothy Tournour, and chair Nelle Fertig) submitted its findings for consideration by the general membership. Their recommendations were approved and the formal organization was established that would later be incorporated as a 501(c)(3) California nonprofit corporation on August 14th, 1985.
A poetry magazine with the title California Quarterly had already been (or was intended to be—remember, this was 45 years ago and this is all at least second-hand information) published by the University of California at Davis (UCD). The original name for our journal was therefore shortened to CQ with the subtitle California State Poetry Quarterly. The name stayed the same from 1972 until 1999, when UCD ceased publication of its journal. In any case, Dr. Curzon was fond of pointing out that CQ also meant query, calling you or seeking you in Morse Code, or canto quest (bird song)—a veritable menagerie of meanings. The magazine, frankly, has lived up to all of them! The masthead of the journal has been California Quarterly since 1999.
The objective first stated by the CSPS was to produce a journal “reflecting the highest quality of poetry, editing and publishing” and it has remained the mission of the CQ Editorial Board ever since. The original concept was to have a single CQ Editor overall, and generally an Associate Editor in northern California and another in southern California to cull the many hundreds of submissions down to a more manageable number for the Editor’s final review. The editorial operation was changed in 1991 to establish an Editorial Board with at least six members and a Chair to coordinate the selection of rotating Editors for each issue of the CQ. The Chairs of the Editorial Board over the decades since 1991 have been Julian Palley, Kate Ozbirn, John Forrest Harrell, and Pearl Karrer. Since 1972, the Managing Editors of the CQ have been Gordon Curzon, Torre Houlgate-West, Kate Ozbirn, John Forrest Harrell, Pearl Karrer, and Maja Trochimczyk.
It was originally the intention of the CQ editors to publish only California poets, but the ranks from which submissions were accepted grew by 1976 to include a few from other states, as well. Over the decades, high-quality submissions from other countries have increased to the point where there is usually at least one foreign poem (and a translation if it is not in English). Membership was originally only from California residents, but this too has changed to include poets in other states and in other countries.
—John Forrest Harrell
Yorba Linda, California
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CSPS Presidents: Phillip Padellford 1972-1973, Ventura; Romayne Dowd 1973-1974, Los Angeles; Joyce Odam 1974-1975, Sacramento; Ellis Oveson 1975-1976, Los Altos Hills; John F. Kerr 1976-1977, Grover City; Gary Lagier 1977-1980, Sunnyvale; Ward Fulcher 1980-1982, Bakersfield; Jack Fulbeck 1982-1983, Covina; Helen Shanley 1983-1991, Bakersfield; Torre Houlgate-West 1991- 2000, San Luis Obispo; Kate Ozbirn 2000-2012, Orange; John Forrest Harrell 2012-2019, Yorba Linda; Maja Trochimczyk 2019 - Present, Los Angeles.
CSPS Treasurers: Jane Wolgemuth 1972-1973, Ventura; Piche McBee 1973-1973, Ventura; Eugene G. E. Botelho; Robert Knighton 1973-1975, Stockton; Elaine Jenkins 1975-1976, Pasadena; Lawrence Jaffa 1976-1977, Modesto; Margaret Cortes 1977-1978, Berkeley; Lawrence Jaffa 1978-1978, Modesto; Raymond Rose 1978-1985, Santa Cruz; Helen Shanley 1983-1991, Bakersfield; Clara J. Koziolek 1987-1989, Long Beach; Jo-Ann Allee 1989-1991, Fullerton; John Forrest Harrell 1991-Present, Yorba Linda.
Managing Editors of the California Quarterly 1972-1991: Gordon Curzon, 1972-1992; Torre Houlgate-West, 1992-2000; Kate Ozbirn, 2000-2012; Pearl Karrer, 2013-2017; John Forrest Harrell, 2012- 2019; Maja Trochimczyk, 2019-Present.
CQ Associate Editors, 1972-1991: Kenneth John Atchity, Mary Ellen Barnes, Eugene G. E. Botelho, Norma Calderone, Louise Derby, David Doorn, Ernestine Hoff Emrick, Esther Erford, Nelle Fertig, Ward Fulcher, Lois Atchley Hyatt, Terri Brint Joseph, John Kerr, B. Jo Kinnick, Clara J. Koziolek, Howard Lachtman, Arthur Lane, Tom Massey, Martin Nakell, Julian Palley, Thomas Piekarski, Ben Pleasants, Sylvia Rosen, Marcia Van Wyck, Marine Robert Warden, Charles Webb, Gardner Wheeler, Harold Witt, and Heidi Ziolkowski.
Guest Editors & Members of CQ Editorial Board since 1991: Kenneth John Atchity, Claire J. Baker, John Morran Brander, Beverly M. Collins, Gordon Curzon, Nancy Cavers Dougherty, Jack Fulbeck, Ward Fulcher, William Scott Galasso, John Forrest Harrell, Maura Harvey, Marlene Hitt, Torre Houlgate-West, Lois Atchley Hyatt, Ruth Iodice, Terri Brint Joseph, Pearl Karrer, Deborah P Kolodji, Howard Lachtman, Elaine Lazzeroni, Mona Locke, James MacWhinney, Maggi H. Meyer, Joyce Odam, Kate Ozbirn, Sherman Pearl, Tom Piekarski, Dianne Riffle, Margaret Saine, Russell Salamon, Nicholas Skaldetvind, Lani Steele, Bory Thach, Maja Trochimczyk, Keith Van Vliet, Jeanne Wagner, Marine Robert Warden, and Konrad Tademar Wilk.
Native North American Art from the Southwest: Navajo, Post-Contact, Early Peri - Fourth-Phase Chief Blanket Style Rug - 1937.903 - Cleveland Museum of Art (Wikimedia Commons)
