Contents of California Quarterly Vol. 49, No. 2 (Summer 2023) Edited by Maja Trochimczyk

California Quarterly, vol. 49, No. 2, Summer 2023, Edited by Maja Trochimczyk

Cover Image: Digital Photo "Soap Bubbles in Encinitas" by Chris Hannemann

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

California Quarterly, Vol. 49, Number 2, Spring 2023

The Smallest is the Bridge  ―  Charlene Langfur   ―  7

When the Desert Blooms   ―  Sarah Baker   ―  8

Totem   ―  Carlo DiOrio   ―  9

Wild Cherry   ―  Erin Thomas   ―  10

My Daughter is Pregnant   ―  Daniel Thomas   ―  11

A Thousand and One   ―  Sarah Baker  ―   12

Soft Blankets Make the Stars Shine Brighter   ―  Daniel Wroten  ―   12

Dimensions   ―  Mark Belair  ―   13

maybe I’m only   ―  Margaret Saine   ―  13

My Relationship to the Universe   ―  David Woodward   ―  14

Ripples in the Fabric of the Universe   ―  Jim Tilley  ―   15

Space   ―  Bart Edelman   ―  16

Scrimmage   ―  Jane Stuart   ―  17

Canyon Creek Bioswalk, Ascott Hills   ―  Gregory Cecil   ―  17

Afflatus  ―   Livingston Rossmoor  ―   18

You Are on the River, Drifting   ―  M. C. Rush   ―  19

She Is Just Saying, Not That I Asked  ―   Jeanne Holdridge   ―  20

Morning Songs   ―  Gary Metheny   ―  21

Obeyance, Obeisance   ―  Carlo DiOrio   ―  21

When I’m Eighty-Four   ―  Wyatt Underhill   ―  22

At His Father’s Bedside   ―  Daniel Thomas   ―  23

all of them, fallen  ―   ayaz daryl nielsen   ―  23

Visiting Hours   ―  Michael Meyerhofer   ―  24

Saying Goodbye   ―  Jane Stuart  ―   25

Measures of Empathy, of Grief   ―  Diane DeCillis   ―  25

King for a Day   ―  Andy Roberts  ―   26

The Bantam Hours 41 ―  Jeff Graham  ―  26

The Song   ―  Bart Edelman   ―  27

To Ludwig, Oh Friend, Not These Sounds   ―  Marc Janssen   ―  28

Ode to an Unnamed Greek Slave   ―  Michael Meyerhofer  ―   29

One Sunny Afternoon   ―  Jeanne Holdridge   ―  31

Whale Watching   ―  E. Martin Pedersen  ―   32

Tomorrow I Will Be Another I   ―  Alex Przybyla   ―  33

The Beach Goes On  ―   Jim Stewart   ―  33

Basterà l’Oceano   ― Antonio Blunda   ―  34

Will the Ocean Be Enough   ―  Margaret Saine, tr.   ―  35

Lines Composed Above Cabrillo  Beach   ―   Giovanni Boskovich  ―   36

The Silence of the Common  Nighthawk   ―   John Schneider   ―  37

Moonlight   ―   Kevin Thornburgh   ―  38

A New Moon   ―   Erin Garstka   ―  38

This Quarter Moon   ―   Erin Garstka   ―  39

A Full Moon   ―   Claire J. Baker   ―  40

Memory Moon   ―   Brian James Stone  ―   41

Aynar Means Moonlight   ―   Diane DeCillis  ―   42

I Rediscover My Childhood  Microscope   ―   Henry Stimpson   ―  43

Daily Bread of Words   ―   Margaret Saine  ―   43

Silence Caught in Time   ―   Joseph Galasso  ―   44

After 2   ―  M. C. Rush   ―  45

I Was Awakened at Midnight   ―  Jiang Pu   ―  46

Alchemy for Want of a Kiss  ―   Cordelia Hanemann   ―  46

Absence   ―  Hedy Habra   ―  48

What Else Is There   ―  Jeanne Holdridge   ―  49

A Te Poggiata   ―  Rita Stanzione   ―  50

Begonia   ―  Paul Willis   ―  50

Leaning Against You  ―   Margaret Saine, tr.   ―  51

the world ends   ―  ayaz daryl nielsen   ―  51

I Fell in Love with Luo Jin   ―  Maja Trochimczyk   ―  52

When I Was in Istanbul   ―  Linda Hughes  ―   53

An Impossible Canvas   ―  John Schneider   ―  54

Confession   ―  Kevin Thornburgh   ―  55

Avoid Dance   ―  Marc Janssen   ―  56

Mad Apples   ―  Kit Kennedy   ―  57

Tremulous   ―  Paul Willis   ―  57

Just Thinking   ―   Leslie Hendrickson- Baral   ―  58

Less Prepared   ―  Lee Clark Zumpe   ―  58

A Place for the Luminous  ―   Charlene Langfur   ―  59

Cover Art: Soap Bubbles in Encinitas, color photo by Chris Hannemann

Contributors in Alphabetical Order   ―   60

CSPS Contest Opportunities   ―  60

CSPS Newsbriefs 2023, No. 2 by Maja Trochimczyk   ―  62

Publishing Opportunities with CSPS   ―  65

2022 CSPS Donors, Patrons, and Membership CSPS   ―  66

Membership Form   ―  68

"Hearst Castle Palms" Photo by Maja Trochimczyk

EDITOR’S NOTE

Poetry is “a place for the luminous,” observes Charlene Langfur of Palm Springs, California, in a poem I selected to close this summer volume of the California Quarterly, celebrating light and all that emits light – the sun, stars, and poets’ minds…, “Luminous,” from Latin “luminosus” or full of light (that is “lumen”) is what shines and makes this world more vivid, brighter. Langfur’s poems provide this CQ with its opening and closing; she finds inspiration during walks in the desert, in her garden, in daily life full of wonders and surprises. She joins several frequent contributors to the CQ with poems in this issue: Jane Stuart, Diane DeCillis, Jeanne Holdridge, Leslie Henrickson-Baral, Kit Kennedy, ayaz daryl nielsen, Margaret Saine, John Schneider, Kevin Thornburgh, and Paul Willis. There are also newcomers like Alex Przybyla and Lee Clark Zumpe. 

When selecting poems, I felt a bit like a magpie, attracted to all that shines – jewels, pennies, bottle caps... From bird of paradise (Carlo diOrio) and blooming desert (Sarah Baker) to mad apples (Kit Kennedy), poets find inspiration in nature that seems tamed by people. Yet, the grand, ageless themes of the ocean, universe, sunlight or moonlight keep attracting their attention, so much so that I was able to assemble a section about the moon (new, quarter, full) and the meaning of moonlight (poems by Thornburg, Garstka, C. Baker, Stone, & DeCillis). The word “moon” appears in six titles and 34 other places; sun – 18, day – 17, sky – 14, star – 13, ocean and universe – 10 each, night – 9, time – 7... 

What are the most obscure words and topics that caught the poets’ attention? Livingston Rossmoor dedicates his poem to “Afflatus” or “inspiration” – with operas by Bellini and birdsong. Ludwig van Beethoven hides among instruments (Marc Janssen). Phoebes, roadrunners, hummingbirds, bees, dragonflies, dogs, coyotes, and whales are among the lively menagerie that inspires poets, mostly based in California. I take readers to movies in China; Linda Hughes to Istanbul. Poets reflect about human relationships, with an array of emotions, joy to grief: a daughter’s pregnancy (Daniel Thomas), absence (Hedy Habra) and saying goodbye (Jane Stuart). They know, as Leslie Hendrickson-Baral notices: “within the universe of the heart space lies the Secret.”

 Maja Trochimczyk 

Los Angeles, California

 NEWSBRIEFS 2023, NO. 2, SUMMER 2023

By the time readers receive this issue of the California Quarterly, the submission period for the 2023 Annual Contest will have been closed and the judge Anna Maria Mickiewicz will be selecting the best poems from the batch of anonymous submissions forwarded to her without any identifying information. The three prize-winners will then be published in the last CQ of 2023 while the Honorary Mentions will be considered for publication. 

Since I decided to feature all Honorary Mentions from the 2022 Annual Contest in the first Poetry Letter of 2023, the Winners of the 2022 Monthly Contests will appear together in the second issue of our newsletter. The winners of the 2022 Monthly Contests, adjudicated by Alice Pero, are:

• January (Nature, Landscape): 

1st Prize: Pamela Stone Singer,“Forest Air”;

2nd Prize: Jane Stuart, “On the North Side”;

3rd Prize: Gwen Monohan, “Focal Points”

• February (Love): 

1st Prize: Jerry Smith “Lovers”;

2nd Prize: Jane Stuart “Crossing the Moon”

• March (Open, Free Subject): 

1st Prize: Jeff Graham, “A Certain Day's Every,”

• April (Mythology, Dreams, Other Universes): 

1st Prize: Debra Darby, “Awaken.”

• May (Personifications, Characters, Portraits): 

1st Prize: Carol L.Hatfield “Cloud on the Ground”; 

2nd Prize: Joan Gerstein “White on White”

• June (The Supernatural): 

1st Prize: Pamela Stone Singer,“Buffaloes Escape”

• July (Childhood, Memoirs): 

1st Prize: Anna J. Jasinska “My chicken egg apron”; 

2nd Prize: Lynn Axelrod “Fenestra”

• August (Places, Poems of Location): 

1st Prize: Sean McGrath “10/21: At Sea, After Light”; 

2nd Prize: Colorado Smith “Tigers of the Tsangpo”; 

3rd Prize: Teresa Bullock “Born Again”

• September (Colors, Music, Dance): 

1st Prize: Jane Stuart, “Watching Time Go By”

• October (Humor, Satire): No award

• November (Family, Friendship, Relationships):

1st Prize: Richard L. Matta, “Shucking Shells”

• December (Best of Your Best (awarded or published poems):

1st Prize: David Anderson “Where Plovers Complain”; 

2nd Prize: Carla Schick “She Painted”

MEMBER NEWS 

CSPS Monthly Contest Chair, Alice Pero who is also Sunland/Tujunga Poet Laureate, had a six- page feature in Cholla Needles 76 and a feature with Brendan Constantine at Village Poets in Bolton Hall Museum in April 2023. She also received a commendation for her work with students at Fair Oaks School in Altadena. 

Former CSPS Secretary, CQ Editor, and CSPS Life Member, Margaret Saine had one poem and two haiku sequences published by David John Tyrer of Atlantean Publishing in his monthly broadside Bard. Margaret was also recently featured as “Bard #36” (6 pages of poems) published in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. 

CSPS VP for Communications, Richard Modiano received the Joe Hill Prize for labor poetry from the Los Angeles-Long Beach Harbor Labor Coalition, published The Forbidden Lunch Box poetry collection and serves among rotating hosts of The Poets Cafe on KPFK 90.7 FM. 

CSPS Secretary Ambika Talwar won 9th place in the Bharat Award for Literature (2022) for a short story titled, Big, Blue & Beautiful. She published haiku and haibun in Red Paper Parasols: 2022 Anthology of Southern California Haiku Study Group. With cover design and haiku by Maja Trochimczyk and poems by William Scott Galasso , Deborah P Kolodji and other CSPS members; this anthology received a Honorary Mention at the 2023 Los Angeles Festival of Books. 

Talwar was also published in Crystal Fire. Poems of Joy and Wisdom (Moonrise Press, 2022) with 11 other poets (including CSPS’s members Ella Czajkowska, Mary Elliot, Alice Pero, Allegra Silberstein, Jane Stuart, & Bory Thach). Talwar’s paintings were used to design the cover and begin each poet’s set of remarkable poems. The anthology was edited by Maja Trochimczyk, and recently praised by Michael Escoubas in Quill & Parchment vol. 262.  

We are grateful that our list of generous benefactors, that is members of Gold Circle, Silver Circle, Patrons and Donors (names listed in each CQ) has increased this year. Thanks to your donations, our wonderful group of volunteers can publish an excellent poetry journal, organize contests, and keep promoting poetry.

~ Maja Trochimczyk, CSPS President

"Butterfly Kite in Azure Sky" Photo by Maja Trochimczyk

Cover image, Soap Bubbles in Encinitas by Chris Hannemann, features soap bubbles made by 

Maja Trochimczyk for her granddaughter Juniper at San Diego Botanic Garden, May 2023.

Contents of the California Quarterly, Vol. 48, No. 3, Autumn 2022, edited by Bory Thach

Cover Art: Ambika Talwar, Gateway for Ascending Lilies. 

Acrylic on canvas. 24x24 inches. (c) May 1996.

 Editor’s Note

The task of selecting and arranging poems on different topics and in different styles can be difficult. However, it can also be rewarding.  Sometimes it is only after the work has been completed that we marvel at the wonderful end result. And in the process, no matter how chaotic or hopeless, we must continue and push on to the finish line. The editing process is like the subject of poems about resiliency, coping with loss and regret. It is all about the ability to find purpose even when it doesn’t feel like there is any, yet we refuse to quit on life. Christine Candland’s “Princess” illustrates this same perseve-rance: the mother holds down all the turmoil at home, with a baby and a toddler in tow, teaching “elementary, up before six: arithmetic, reading, story time” and reviewing lesson plans—all in a “satisfying day,” so her home is “content with vibration” as she counts her blessings.

In order to write poetry, it is essential for poets to read and find joy in that journey of discovery. Most importantly, poets have to nurture their artistic sensibility—much as gardeners have to tend to their plants so that the seeds sprout and bear fruit. Our everyday lives are filled with thoughts and feelings of love, peace, and happiness, sorrows and disappointments that are unpredictable from one moment to the next. 

As a veteran of the U.S. military, even after experiencing war and death, I know we cannot let the turmoil of negativity stop us from enjoying our lives to the fullest. There is more to life, even more beyond this world. All one has to do is to believe. At the end, everything balances itself out. In “A Chime Sitting on the Feeder,” Sharon Lopez Mooney notices that “there’s nothing to do today except enjoy” after watching songbirds and wrens dance without worry. Their collective jitteriness, irregular rhythms as they play “hide & seek” in her ficus tree, can only mean one thing—that we have no choice but to see beauty everywhere, especially when life reveals difficulties... not only when life is easy. May the light guide us on this road on which we’re all traveling.  Please enjoy the journey!

Bory Thach, Editor                

San Bernardino, California

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

California Quarterly, Vol 48, Number 3, Autumn 2022

Evanescence                 Greg Stidham           7

The Color Empty                     Bella Hanlon                    7

Princess                        Christine Candland              8 

Her Grace                   Gloria Keeley                  9

Southwest at Dusk                 Laura Johanna Braverman  10

Sun-dipped Skin                 Bella Hanlon          11

Bubble Gum                 Tara Cummins                  11

Candle Watcher                 Alessio Zanelli                  12

Bloodline                 Jane-Rebecca Cannarrella   13

In The Belly of a Canoe          Cindy Rinne          14

Tule Elk Preserve in March     Vivian Underhill                      15

Secrets of the Trackless Field      Laura Johanna Braverman   16

Oncoming Traffic                  Francesca Astiazaran           17                                           

Dirge for Solo Voice          Sharon Lopez Mooney           18

Hay Rolls                          Richard Dinges, Jr.   19

Late Night Visitor                  Greg Stidham                20

Life’s Menu                              Danny Barbare                   21

Lament on a Baked Fish         Mike Maggio                           22

Gratitude List #18                   Ace Bogges                        23

A Chime Sitting on the Feeder   Sharon Lopez Mooney      24

Rooftop Blues          Ann Olive          25

Wavespell                                Alessio Zanelli                         25

Waves of Blue                 Katia Aoun Hage           26

Long Play Record                 Dan Fitzgerald          27

Pink Moon, Red Light            Ann Olive          28

Night at the Beach House       Gloria Keeley                  29

Seven Ways of Looking at a Cardinal in Late March    Henry Stimpson   30

Star-crossed                          Wendy Blackwell          31

A Story of the Sea          Bhibu Padhi                    32

August Heat                  Richard Dinges, Jr.   33

Teetotaler                          Becky Nicole James   34

I Wonder What Heaven Looks Like For You  Angelica Medlin        35

Night Sky at Groveland           Michael McGuire                 36

Endless Spring                  Gary Metheny                   37

Manzanita                  Cindy Bousquet Harris          38

Tears of St. Lawrence          KL Straight                   39

Welcome                               Allison Collins           40

Isn’t She Lovely                  Francesca Astiazaran   42

Belonging to the Sky  Russell Rowland          43

Across a Lost Horizon             Jane Stuart                               44         

The Glistening Edge of What Remains     Ken Holland   45

Ara’s Silver                          Ambika Talwar           46

Secret Pain                          MariaJane Gitchell                   47

That’s, Interesting: Becoming A Castaway  David Bethel    48

In Loving Memory                 Wendy Blackwell          49

Roadside Roads Jeff Graham 50         

An Eagle at Starved Rock  Lucia Haase                   51

Idyll                           Jessie Lim                   52

Meeting Spot                Deborah P. Kolodji                 53

Seasons              Mary Elliott                54

Homeland Awaits           Conner Frederick          55

Butterflies in the Killing Fields    Sally Vogl                         56

The Calling           Ella Czajkowska           57         

Jar of Reasons              Cindy Bousquet Harris           58 

Cribbage for Two           Sally Vogl                   59

Afterlife                                    Bory Thach                             60

Cover Art: Ambika Talwar, Gateway for Ascending Lilies. Acrylic on canvas. 24x24 inches. (c) May 1996.

Contributors in Alphabetical Order                      61

CSPS Contest Opportunities                                62

CSPS Newsbriefs 2022, No. 2 (Maja Trochimczyk) 63

Publishing Opportunities with CSPS                 65

2022 CSPS Donors, Patrons, and Membership         67

CSPS Membership Form                                 68

          

NEWSBRIEFS 2022, NO. 3, AUTUMN 2022

Congratulations to Paul Ford, elected to serve as the 35th President of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies during the NFSPS Annual Convention held in June 2022 in Ohio. Mr. Ford had previously served as the Editor of Strophes, the NFSPS newsletter, now posted online on the Federation’s website, nfsps.com.  He wrote the following about the plans of the NFSPS Board: “We will work together to keep our societies vibrant and meet the critical challenges of today (e.g., our societies' aging demographics). […] I also want to improve the benefits of membership our societies deliver to members, such as hosting poetry readings and open mics, making major poetry events accessible via video conferencing technologies such as Zoom and partnering with other arts groups engaged in hosting public events/programs.” 

The NFSPS Annual Convention, hosted by the Ohio Poetry Association and entitled Renewal Through Poetry, was a good example for Mr. Ford, with its hybrid model of live, in-person lectures and Zoom participation, and a total attendee count of over 130. That’s impressive! Also, of 33 member states of NFSPS, 23 states were represented at the convention among the lecturers or attendees. Poets enjoyed a variety of lectures and readings either in-person or virtually. 

Another type of poetry events that Mr. Ford favors as a solution to the poets’ aging demographics and a potential magnet for younger poets, supposedly preferring performance poetry, is the poetry slam. On October 20-23, 2022, in Daytona Beach Shores, Florida, the Blackberry Peach National Slam Poetry Competition will be held. Organized jointly by the NSPS and the Florida State Poets Association, this first annual championship slam poetry competition will feature 48 spoken word poets competing for prizes. 

As mentioned earlier, members of the California State Poetry Society are primarily interested in publishing and contests conducted on paper.  The California Quarterly, our flagship publication, was edited by Margaret Saine as Guest Editor in the Summer 2022 and will again see a Guest Editor, Deborah P Kolodji in the Winter 2022 issue (vol. 48, no. 4).  Ms. Kolodji, in the opinion of a member of the Editorial Board that approved this choice, is “a fine writer and very experienced as an editor/moderator." Another Editor commented: “I remember her work, and yes, I think she is capable and talented. I'm glad she is able to be a guest editor. Good choice!” 

We are looking forward to the CQ for Winter 2022, while enjoying the current issue, edited by Bory Thach. This is the second issue that he has worked on, and again he brings to the readers a diverse array of poetic inspirations, topics, and forms. The issue includes poets published in the CQ before, like Cindy Rinne or Ambika Talwar. It also features first-timers, like Ella Czajkowska, a young, bi-lingual Polish American poet from Beverly Hills.  Congratulations to all poets selected by Bory and to the Editor for crafting such a fine issue. The cover was selected from among several paintings by Ambika Talwar. Entitled Gateway for Ascending Lilies and painted in 1996 (the year I arrived in California from Canada) this sublime image perfectly captures the fleeting beauty and lasting impact of poetry.

Member News: Terry Ehret’s book tour is in progress, presenting Plagios/ Plagiarisms, Volume Two, by Mexican poet Ulalume González de León. This collection was co-translated with Nancy J. Morales and John Johnson. It was issued by the Sixteen Rivers Press with an introduction by Mary Crow. My newest collection of poems and photos, dedicated to my children and “grandchildren, when they grow up,” includes 85 poems and over 160 photos of landscapes, flowers, trees, etc. Entitled Bright Skies, the volume features “positive poetry” written in and about my garden and its visitors. It is partly inspired by the “positive psychology” movement, with a focus on what’s beautiful, good, and true – to paraphrase the ancient adage of Plato. 

Alas, it is much easier to write about what’s not beautiful and not good. We can do better than that, I think, so I wish you all a beautiful and fruitful autumn, full of poetic inspirations, charms, and delights.

 Maja Trochimczyk 

CSPS President

Contents of the California Quarterly, Vol. 48, No. 2, Summer 2022, edited by Margaret Saine

California Quarterly vol. 48, no. 2, Summer 2022

Cover Art: Michael Kostiuk, Dancing with the Poetry Queen,

pencil on paper, 19.50 x 15.69 cm. May 2019

EDITOR’S NOTE

Dear Poets and Lovers of Poetry,

Welcome to another issue of the California Quarterly, Number 48:2! Soon, as you can see, the CQ will complete half a century of publication, and we plan to celebrate in due course. For me, it is also some kind of anniversary, since this is the tenth issue I have edited. As you are used to by now-- and don’t seem to mind, thank you!-- my issues usually have quite a few translations, because I’m interested in poets all over the world: I read and write and translate in [and from] German, French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. I have studied one year of Czech and two of Navajo and know a little bit of Russian, Hungarian, Polish and Japanese. The CQ policy is to publish poems in many languages with English translation, always preceded by the original. Today we have a poem in Polish for the first time; we have already published some in other Slavic languages such as Czech, Bulgarian and Russian. Romanian, in which we’ve had a poem, is a Romance [from Latin] and Slavic language.

CQ’s practice of almost always publishing the original-- Tamil looks so pretty!— is based on the assumption that every reader is usually able to understand parts of the original in any Indo-European language, except Tamil, which is a Dravidian language. And the original is the lodestar version of the poem! Recently I found another purpose of translation, which makes a lot of sense, now that so many people in the world are multicultural and have left their original language and homeland. In the New York Review, an Armenian woman who lives in the US, and had Hindi as her third language when she was a child, is very happy when she can snap up bits of Hindi, to refresh this language she once knew, so she won’t forget it completely.

This is probably my last issue, I have had some eye trouble, I fear I’ll soon need an operation. And I shall certainly get one, since I won’t easily give up on reading and writing. I wish you a pleasant summer of good writing and reading and relaxing. May all wars end, and all people instead become poets! Please feel free to e-mail me about anything.

~ Margaret Saine, Editor                               

TABLE OF CONTENTS

California Quarterly, Vol 48, Number 2, Summer 2022

                

Acrópolis  —   Khedija Gadhoum 7

Acropolis — Tr. Margaret Saine              8 

Runner’s Itch — Johnny L. Wooten          9

Chocolate Hearts —     David John Tyrer   9

Mixed Blessing — Marty Walsh 10

Se — Rita Stanzione                         11

If — Tr. Margaret Saine                         12

The Sadness    — Graham Buchan 13

Rebirth — Michael Keshigian                 14

Re:Set Text — d.p. houston         15

Oranges For Wallace Stevens   — Millicent Borges Accardi 16

Lockdown Sonnet #4   —  Santiago Villafania 17

G. Floyd    —    Ismael Diadié Haïdara         18                                           

G. Floyd   — Tr. Margaret Saine                 19

On the Brink   —   William Scott Galasso 21

Myth of Origin    —   Toti O’Brien 22

Leaves Tumble Across Parking Lot  —    David E. Howerton  23

Upadek Planety — Anna Maria Mickiewicz 24

The Downfall of Planets   —    Tr. Anna Maria Mickiewicz 25

Weiche ° Anomalie   —    Axel Görlach 26

Soft  ° Anomaly —   Tr. Margaret Saine 27

Door to Myself — Timothy Fab-Eme 28

Close Enough  — Mike Dillon         29

With…    —    J. C. Foritano                 30

Rier Child   — Marvin Sarkar Bynoe         31

Exit  — David Pratt                  32

What Muse Wants —     Doreen Beyer 33

Deciding Man   —  Sean MicKael Wilson  34

The Last Now   —     Donall Dempsey                 35

The Land I Long For     — Michael Fraley  36

Five Haiku — Billy Antonio                 37

Mercury in Wood —       S. D. Dillon                 38

Why the Warmth —      Chris Falcon                 39

Dandelions — Sarah Baker                 40

Once We Were God    — Michael Meyerhofer 41

Algorithms: What Do They Know? — Alun  Rees 42

Pirates — Bory Thach                                         43    

Elegy for Marie P. — Marie Lecrivain         44

Shades of Home — Anna Dunlap         45

On Solitude — Lynn Hoggard         46

I Zoomed Into... — Lynn Axelrod         47

Las Palabras Tienen Frío —  Eliécer Almaguer 48

The Words Are Cold — Tr. Margaret Saine 48

Lonely Sea and Stars — Jane Stuart 49

Time Immortal — Maja Trochimczyk         50

Collected Wounds — Savita Singh ``         51

 After I Tell My Father — Joanne Holdridge 52

[To Her Father] — Terry Olivi ` 53

[To Her Father]     —   Tr. Margaret Saine      54

Hope Is. a Good Thing — Sean MicKael Wilson 55

Querencia — Alfredo Pérez Alencart 56

Safe Place — tr. Margaret Saine         57

Humilitas  —   Manuel Francisco Reina 58

Humilitas    — Tr. Margaret Saine         59          

Johannes Vermeer, "Woman in Blue Reading a Letter" from Rijksmuseum, The Netherlands   http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/vermeer/woman-blue.html

NEWSBRIEFS 2022, NO. 2,  SUMMER 2022

 Let me repeat myself, so everyone remembers that “we are celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the California State Poetry Society in 2022. While the organization was founded in 1971 (so the 50^th anniversary was in 2021), the first volume of the California Quarterly was published in 1972.” To celebrate the anniversary, we decided to edit a special issue of the CQ, vol. 50, no. 1 which will appear in 2024, so we have two more years to get ready for our anniversary celebration. The journal will survey best poems of past 50 volumes selected by a group of editors, that will bring the history to the present with selected new poems. Just one poem per issue would result in 200 poems; one per volume – 50, so the selection must be done by a committee from a range of choices. We are looking for volunteers to join us in this effort! It will be lots of fun!

Our parent organization is older, the National Federation of State Poetry Societies was established in 1959 and officially incorporated in 1966. The NFSPS sponsors fifty annual poetry contests with cash prizes totaling over $6,000. It also sponsors the Stevens Manuscript contest for a collection of poems by one poet,  the BlackBerry Peach Poetry Awards, and the College Undergraduate Poetry competition. Strophes is the national society's official newsletter, published quarterly and available on nfsps.com. The BlackBerry Peach Slam, first national poetry slam competition to be held in Daytona Beach Shores, Florida on October 20-23, 2022. The NSFPS Annual Convention is held at the end of June.

Poets and Artists.  So far, I have found that CSPS poets are not interested in poetry slams or live readings, but in poetry publications, they also love our ideas of connecting poetry to art, as seen in their responses to the artwork in the CQ and Poetry Letters. The CQ covers last year have been graced by the artwork of Susan Dobay, Danielle Eubanks, Vera Campion, and Diane Lee Moomey. More of their art, and of work by additional artists (Toti O’Brien, Pam Coulter Blehert, Andrena Zawinski) could be seen on our blog and in the Poetry Letters, published quarterly in PDF format and re-posted on our blog.

I’ll just quote a couple of comments by readers in appreciation of poetry and art. Joanelle Serra: “Thanks for the wonderful newsletter, I'll read it bit by bit to savor the poems. But at first glance I wanted to say that the artwork is really lovely.” Beverly Barnes: “Thank you so very much for sending these great poems!  I am here in Massachusetts amid cold wintery days, unable to go out much. The poetry is fiery warmth for my soul!” John F. Harrell: “Your Poetry Letter is amazing ... just stunning, really ..”

The Poetry Letters welcome submissions of art, poetry, and reviews to maja@moonrisepress.com. In the Poetry Letter No. 2 of 2022, we published the prize-winning poems from CSPS Monthly Poetry Contests held  in 2022 – from January to April. The first prize winners were Pamela Stone Singer, Jerry Smith, Jeff Graham, and Debra Darby. Congratulations to all the poets and many thanks to Alice Pero, our Monthly Contests Judge. Our Featured Poet was Frederick Livingston and our guest artist – poet and photographer Andrena Zawinski. We also presented three book reviews. Jacqueline Lapidus wrote about Through a Grainy Landscape by Millicent Borges Accardi. Michael Escoubas reviewed Underground River of Want by Kathleen Gregg, and an anthology edited by J.J. Ferrer, Poems to Lift You Up and Make You Smile. Escoubas ended his review with; “The best I can do is this quote by Willa Cather (1873-1947), ‘You must find your own quiet center of life and write from that to the world. In short, you must write to the human heart, the great consciousness that all humanity goes to make up.’ This is what poets do, this is what Kathleen Gregg does.”         

I must say, I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment. I had the pleasure of editing the California Quarterly, vol. 48, no. 1 and received some pleasant comments from poets. Tammy Greenwood: “The issue is wonderful! I am so honored to be included in California Quarterly.” Keith Gorman: “The editors have done an outstanding job.” Brittany Nohra: “It looks brilliant, what a beautiful issue.” Terry Ehret: “Such an interesting, compelling selection of poems in this issue!” Pamela Stone Singer: “Thank you for publishing my poem, ‘Bullfrog Pond’ and for all that you do for the world of poetry.”

Gratitude is near the top of all human sentiments, healing in and of itself. It is also a daily nourishment, so I am happy to find so many people and things to be grateful for in CSPS. Let me cite from the editorial of the first issue of the Poetry Letter I edited in 2021 and dedicated to Margaret Saine: “I am especially grateful that she introduced me to the CSPS. Margaret’s contributions to our Society are immeasurable. To me, she is the embodiment of extensive, expert knowledge of all the arts (poetry, literature, painting, sculpture, and architecture), as well as languages, and history. I admire her deep, unyielding love of poetry in as many languages as can be brought together for the cause of peace and coexistence without violence, without wars—to seek beauty, inspiration and appreciation of the world as is, in all its darkness and light, in all its riches.  She writes and publishes poetry in English, her native German, as well as French, Italian and Spanish. She translates an international group of poets, giving them a space to share their insights. As a photographer, she depicts the world in motion—blurry, misty, ambiguous, yet enticing with mysterious patterns. Her erudite, thoughtful and passionate poems reflect her keen attention to detail, ability to see the large picture, find wisdom in nature and art. I am profoundly grateful for all the gifts Margaret brought to my life—richness of vivid language, sharp focus on quality of words expressing a thought or impression clearly and succinctly.”

I am also thankful for the talents and achievements of CSPS Members. This year, Terry Ehret, CSPS Board Member and former CQ Editor has published a volume of translations issued by the Sixteen Rivers Press. Plagios/Plagiarisms, Volume Two, by Mexican poet Ulalume González de León was co-translated with Nancy J. Morales and John Johnson. The book was issued by the Sixteen Rivers Press with an  introduction  by Mary Crow. William O’Daly praised the translation: “The finely wrought, scrupulous translations chart the shifting realities, the cumulative mysteries, by doing what the poems do: They live and breathe, and invoke the untouchable language of silence.” Look for the book tour events in August and September!

Our new CQ Editor, William Scott Galasso has been very busy. His haiku have been accepted for publication by Modern Haiku, The Autumn Moon Haiku, The Heron's Nest, Blithe Spirit (U.K). The Publishing Club of Laguna Woods Anthology 2022 and The San Diego Poetry Anthology for 2021-2022. He also  participated in readings at the Spoken Word, Laguna Woods Publishing Club, the Point Loma Library in San Diego and on several Zoom events, including Verse Virtual.  

In recent winnings, Ambika Talwar shares with four others the Poiesis Award for Excellence in Literature (2021-22) for a short story. She received the Nissim International Poetry Prize (2021) for writing a poem daily during April 2021 (poetry month) with The Significant League.  Ambika published a poem in The Force is With You – a collection to honor the Indian defense forces – her poem is for her father and his batch mates (2022). She is also published in  the following anthologies: Timeless Inspirations (2022); Ruddy Ravens. Cheshire Cat & Rusty Rats; Beyond Words; Breathe Poetry (2021), and Roseate Sonnet (2020). She is a monthly contributing poet to Glo-Mag (both online and print).

My own poems appeared in Quill and Parchment, Mary Evans Picture Gallery (UK), and Pisarze.pl (in Polish). My newest poetry and photography collection, Bright Skies, was issued in May 2022, with a dedication to my children and grandchildren. Finally, this June, Shoutout LA published my second interview, this one focusing on my legacy, something I should think about “when I’m sixty-four…”

For this summer, I’m sending you my heartfelt wishes for the creation of a fantastic poetic legacy for the future generations by all CSPS members and friends!

 Maja Trochimczyk

CSPS President

Contents of California Quarterly Vol. 47, No. 4, Winter 2021, Edited by William Scott Galasso

California Quarterly Vol. 47, No. 4, Winter 2021

Edited by William Scott Galasso

Cover Art: Cloudless Sky by Vera Campion, Collage of acrylic hand-painted paper, 11" x 8.5", 2020. From Alice Pero and Vera Campion, Beyond Birds and Answers (Elyssar Press, 2021).

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Percolation Period  — Thomas Sanford Weir — 7

Memory on a Dream of the Future — Dorothy Howe Brooks — 8

When We Gather — Marilyn Robertson — 9

in creek shallows — William Scott Galasso — 9

An Impulse to Believe — Joan E. Bauer — 10

Left with the Sky — Kevin Thornburgh — 11

seven-year itch — Gregory Longenecker — 11

Birth of Venus — Doreen Beyer — 12

a white heron’s plume — Richard Matta — 13

Union Claire Watson — 13

train trestles… — Richard Matta — 13

So Little Time — Cordelia Hanemann — 14

Painting Moreno Valley — Joel Ferdon — 15

midsummer — Gregory Longenecker — 15

Desert Junk — Richard Nester — 16

Ironic Ashes — Claire J. Baker — 17

Breakthrough — Claire J. Baker — 18

Cartography of a Symphony — Ellyn Maybe —18

Air — Mark Newman — 19

The Size of It — Mark Newman — 20

‘Round Midnight — Joanne Sharp — 20

first notes — Renée Owen — 20

sheltering in place — Renée Owen — 20

The Snail Digger — Linda Kunhardt — 21

Transformations — Kath Abela Wilson — 22

Orca School — Jacqueline Schaalje 23

Hagabat, you bring — Lawdenmarc Decamora — 24

Pagoda of Pots — Paul Willis — 24

garden opening — Kath Abela Wilson — 24

Body Count — Dorothy Howe Brooks —25

Intention — Michael Sprake — 26

Here There Be Dragons — Robbie Nester — 27

Magic Time — Bibhu Padhi — 28

Valve Nutrients — Martha Webster — 29

Leave No Trace — Russell Rowland — 30

Standoff — Diane Lee Moomey — 31

indigo tinctorial — Renée Owen — 31

At a Certain Age It Seems …— Jane Hilary —32

Leavings — John Zedolik — 33

Burden — Marc Fisher — 34

Stitches — Michael Meyerhoffer — 35

Selcouth — Charles Wilkinson — 36

lifestyles of loneliness  — ayaz daryl nielsen — 36

I Am Rooted in the Wind — Lonna Blodgett — 37

Taking Flight — Gary Metheny — 38

sometimes — Gregory Longenecker — 38

Men at Work — Tasha Cotter — 39

the nail he was — William Scott Galasso — 39

New Dad — Danielle Lemay — 40

first marriage — Gregory Longenecker — 40

Night Without Walls  — Margaret Saine —  41

String Theory — Gloria Keeley — 42

A Late September Night… — Gabriella Miotto — 43

True Light — Dennis Ross — 44

The Well — Matthew J. Spireng — 45

my smile — Renée Owen — 45

Tatterdamelion — David Prather — 46

Hollow Bones Haiku for You — Joanell Serra — 47

Moving the Stars — Kathleen Gunton — 48

Pilgrimage — Bibhu Padhi — 49

October Trace  —William Scott Galasso — 49

Geochemistry — Michael Sprake 50

Snowmelt — Marianne Karplus 51

Return — Marc Fisher 52

35th Annual Contest Winners, Comments — 53

Three Men in a Boat — Robert Spich — 56

Snow (a tanka) — Bruce Gallie —57

Rub-a-Dub-Dub, Three Men in … David Anderson — 57

Contributors in Alphabetical Order — 58

CSPS Contest Opportunities — 59

CSPS Newsbriefs 2021, No. 4 — 60

Publishing Opportunities with CSPS — 64

2021 CSPS Donors, Patrons, and Membership — 65

CSPS Membership Form — 67

Image by Vera Campion from a poetic dialogue with Alice Pero.

EDITOR’S NOTE

I’m going to start with what might appear to be an odd choice…a quote by North Carolina’s basketball coach Jim Valvano who was suffering from cancer at the time he made it. I’ve never forgotten what he said: You should do three things every day, laugh, think and cry—because that’s a “full day.” 

As poets we do not merely rearrange words found in a dictionary or thesaurus and call that exercise, poetry. We engage heart, mind and spirit, hopefully expressing ourselves artistically through our shared love of language and a certain musicality. Further, we share a sense of community and a desire to be part of the natural world on a unique and beautiful planet now threatened by climate change and our own counter intuitive will to dominate the very force that gives us life.

Clearly, we live in a complex modern world admixed with light and darkness. One of the elements apparent in the work that follows is that we, in contrast to many, are aware of our own contradictions and in search of harmony. Sometimes we achieve it, sometimes we don’t, sometimes we falter,  sometimes we rise. As editor, I wanted to include poems that were at once topical and of the moment, yet timeless. In doing so, I sought to achieve balance between what we must endure and the inspiration that gives us the strength to do so. 

In addition, I am pleased to introduce work by poets not previously seen in the California Quarterly including Mark Newman, Ellyn Maybe, Richard and Robbie Nester, Gabriella Miotto, Jane Hilary and Mike Sprake and I hope you enjoy their work as much as I do. Further, I take full responsibility for the choices made and have no doubt other editors might choose differently, but it is that diversity that enriches poetry and makes us who we are. 

Finally, it was an honor and a privilege to be given the opportunity to read such fine work. And, frankly, it was a challenging undertaking due to the number of quality poems received. To all the poets who submitted and the staff that guided me in the process, my most sincere gratitude.

William Scott Galasso, Editor 

Laguna Woods, California

WILLIAM SCOTT GALASSO,  EDITOR

William Scott Galasso is the author of sixteen books of poetry, including Silver Salmon Runes published in 2016; Rough Cut: Thirty Years of Senryu and Mixed Bag, A Travelogue in Four Forms, a collection of Haibun, Haiku Sequences, Tanka and Short Poems (2018). His most recent book is Legacy: 30 Years of Haiku (Galwin Press, 2020), described as “a collection of over six hundred poems, ranging from classical nature to personal, intimate haiku… This lifetime achievement stands out as a treasure to stir your senses and heighten your awareness of earth’s nature and our humanity.”  In this book, Bruce H. Feingold writes, “Galasso invites us into a world of quietude, beauty and humility and has mastered the art of saying so much with so few words. His images stand out like exquisite carvings, and he demonstrate[s] the hallmark of great haiku…”

An active member of the Southern California Haiku Study Group, Galasso is the contributing editor of the SCHSG anthology, Eclipse Moon (November 2017).  He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Hofstra University, and worked for 25 years as an actor for Kim Brooke Group (1990-2015), while also providing event security for Seattle Mariners, Seattle Seahawks and Sounders FC as a team captain, or staff member.  As a volunteer, he supported the Hopelink Foodbank as the coordinator of collection and distribution of donations, also supervising other volunteers, as well as assisting special needs clients, especially the elderly and the disabled.

one breath

the difference between

I am and I was

The Journey by Vera Campion from a dialogue with poet Alice Pero.

NEWSBRIEFS 2021, No. 4, Winter 2021

By Maja Trochimczyk, CSPS President

The English language is taking over the world through its versatility and capacity to mutate. Sort of like a virus. Other more complex and stable languages disappear in the fog of time. Let’s look at new words

in Merriam-Webster Dictionary, that publishes short stories about them twice a year, each time adding about 500 words. In 2019, deep state came out of obscurity, escape rooms became a popular form of entertainment, haircut affected businesses losing value, snowflakes became human, yet we relished fabulosity. In April 2020 among 535 new words, we found verbal horrors: deepfake, slow-walk, microtarget, latrophobia, and truthiness. Among the 555 new words in 2021 there are monstrous succubus types, both in sound and meaning (superspreader, deplatform, bit rot), but also amusing ones (teraflop, oobleck), and the beautiful (digital nomad, and amirite for am I right?). The “amirite” – the new mineral of being right… 

35th ANNUAL POETRY CONTEST. We are happy to announce the winners of the 2021 Annual Contest, administered by Joyce Snyder and adjudicated by Georgia Jones-Davis. The contests are judged blindly, the Contest Chair prepares and sends the entries to the Judge. It must have been a surprise for Georgia to find out that the three best poems she selected were written by men! It does not

happen very often, since we have so many female poets; poetry, like teaching and nursing, seems a very feminized profession. 

Prize Winners

• 1st Prize: “Three Men in a Boat” by Robert S. Spich, Los Angeles 
• 2nd Prize: “Snow” by Bruce Gallie, Rancho Cucamonga, California
• 3rd Prize: “Rub-a-Dub-Dub, Three Men in a Tub” by David Anderson, Lincoln, California

Honorable Mentions

• “Winged Sandals” by Claire Scott, Oakland, CA
• “A Snake in Pajamas” by Louise Moises, Richmond, CA
• “I Don’t Know Why” by Livingston Rossmoor, Modesto, CA
• “Wish” by Susanne Wiley, Hot Springs, AR 

After managing the Annual Poetry Contest for 2021, the Contest Chair, Joyce Snyder, has decided to step down from her role and leave the CSPS Board. Although it happens just once per year, the Contest requires at least six months of volunteer service, so we appreciate Joyce’s hard work since 2016. Thank you so much! 

LIFE MEMBERSHIP. During its October 2021 Board Meeting, the CSPS Board decided to award Life Membership to Margaret Saine in recognition of her many contributions to the organization during decades of volunteer work as Editor, Board Member, and Secretary. The Board minutes stated: “The Board expressed gratitude for the multitude of services offered by Margaret Saine to CSPS and its publications. For many years, she served as the Board Secretary/Historian, Editor of the California Quarterly, proof-reader, Editor of the Poetry Letter, as well as a frequent contributor of translations to the CQ, soliciting submissions from great poets around the world and translating their work from German, Italian, French and Spanish. She also managed the mailbox of the Society (a time-consuming task), sent contributions to other issue editors, and assisted John F. Harrell with mailings of the Quarterly.” The Life Membership means that the Members do not have to pay CSPS dues and will continue receiving our publications. Personally, I am particularly grateful for Margaret’s dedicated and tireless work for CSPS, since she introduced me to this wonderful organization and helped me learn how to edit the CQ and manage the CSPS. 

The CSPS may bestow one Life Membership per year. Our organization, so far, has recognized few other poets with this honor: Gwen Castilli, Torre Houlgate-West, Joyce Odam, Kate Ozbirn, and Russell Salamon who died in 2018. In 2019 we recognized the distinguished Los Angeles poet Suzanne Lummis as our first Honorary Member.  

AMENDMENTS TO CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS. The distinction between Life and Honorary Membership was finalized in the Amended Constitution and Bylaws, that were approved by all Members after a long editorial process initiated by the Board in 2019. Most of the amendments correct the language to adjust it to the actual practice, like changed dates for Board meetings  and elections, or expanding the number of CQ Editors to a maximum of eight (we currently have four Editors, so we have ways to go!). There was information about the CSPS no longer mailing the Newsbriefs, Poetry Letters, or NSFSPS Strophes that used to be inserted into each issue of the CQ. Another item was to formalize submission requirements, raising the limit from five to six poems. 

The first new idea in Amended Constitution and Bylaws was the separation of Life Membership from Honorary Membership in the Article III of the Constitution, as follows: “a) Subject to the approval of the Board, one Life membership per year may be bestowed upon an outstanding person who has made substantive contributions furthering the purpose of the CSPS. Life Members shall be exempt from payment of dues. b) Subject to the approval of the Board, one Honorary membership per year may be bestowed upon an eminent poet to honor contributions to poetry in California. Honorary Members shall be exempt from payment of dues and are invited to contribute poems to the CQ in the year of their recognition.”

The second new idea in Amended Constitution and Bylaws was the removal of the position of Editorial Chair that had duties overlapping with that of the Managing Editor. Instead, the responsibilities of the Managing Editor are described in detail. The Managing Editor oversees the production, publication, and

distribution of the CQ, and all tasks associated with this process. The President may also serve as Managing Editor with the Board approval, as is currently the case. The confirmation of this role is scheduled every two years. 

CSPS ELECTIONS. The bi-annual CSPS Elections of Officers took place in October 2021 and the ballots included option to approve these Amendments, the full text of Amendments, along with original versions. The Amendments were approved by 100% of voting members that returned their ballots. Amended version of our Constitution and Bylaws will be posted on our website.  The CSPS Elections confirmed the currently serving CSPS Officers for the next two years, to the Fall of 2023:

• President, Maja Trochimczyk, 
• Vice President/Communications, Richard Modiano; 
• Vice President/Membership, Richard M. Deets; 
• Secretary/Historian, Ambika Talwar; and 
• Treasurer John Forrest Harell. 

We thank CSPS members for entrusting the Society to us for two more years.

CQ EDITORS. When I joined the CSPS Board, there were only women serving as the CQ editors. I decided to add some younger men of diverse backgrounds and as a result we now have three new editors who have published their first issues of the CQ: Bory Thach (a Cambodian refugee from Vietnam, U.S. veteran with an MFA) edited No. 1, Konrad Tademar Wilk (Polish bilingual poet, grandchild of Righteous among Nations) edited No. 3, and William Scott Galasso (a “refugee” from Seattle, author of 16 poetry books) prepared for print the CQ No. 4. It has been a grand adventure to work with them and read the poetry they selected.

THE POETRY LETTER. In the world of words, poets are digital nomads and our journeys take us far and wide. In 2021, I started sending the Poetry Letter to our email list, so this quarterly publication of poems and book reviews has expanded its reach – in addition to being posted on our website and in sections (book reviews and poems separately) on our blog, californiastatepoetrysociety.com. In its previous incarnation, edited by Margaret Saine, the Poetry Letter was printed and inserted in the California Quarterly mailings, along with the CSPS Newsbriefs and the Strophes, the NFSPS newsletter, now available only on NFSPS website.

PUSHCART PRIZE 2022 NOMINATIONS. Finally, the editors of California Quarterly selected six poems published in 2021 for nominations to the Pushcart Prize, a tradition of small presses and poetry journals. You can read these poems on our blog.

• Vol. 47, No. 1: Sheer Optimism by Lavina Blossom and Blue Fantasia by Ruth Holzer

• Vol. 47, No. 2: Providence by Diana Donovan and Tree Songs by Dana Stamps II

• Vol. 47, No. 3: Quantum Birds by Ida Marie Beck

• Vol. 47, No. 4: Intention by Mike Sprake

https://www.californiastatepoetrysociety.com/2021/12/the-pushcartprize-nominations-from.html. 

Congratulations to all the poets!

~ Maja Trochimczyk, CSPS President

 

Image by Vera Campion from Beyond Birds and Answers dialogue book with poet Alice Pero