We Are Here Anthology at Flintridge Bookstore Virtual Reading, Oct 11 at 4:30 pm

FLINTRIDGE BOOKSTORE PRESENTS VIRTUAL CELEBRATION

OF 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF VILLAGE POETS READINGS

Sun., Oct. 11, 2020 4:30 PM

ZOOM Link: https://zoom.us/j/96258987514 

WE ARE HERE: VILLAGE POETS ANTHOLOGY

MAJA TROCHIMCZYK & MARLENE HITT, EDITORS

ISBN 978-1-945938-39-9 (paperback), $22

ISBN 978-1-945938-40-5 (eBook, ePub), $10

Edited by Marlene Hitt and Maja Trochimczyk, and entitled We Are Here: Village Poetry Anthology, this collection presents 80 poets featured during the monthly readings at Bolton Hall Museum in Tujunga, CA as well as the group of current and former Poets Laureate of Sunland-Tujunga who organize the readings.  In addition to its home base at the Bolton Hall Museum, the Village Poets have also had occasional visits to the McGroarty Arts Center, the former home of the California Poet-Laureate in 1933-1944, John Steven McGroarty. His Poet-Laureate title inspired the local Poet-Laureate program, established in 1999. The anthology's editors are both former Poets-Laureate of Sunland-Tujunga: Marlene Hitt was the First, in 1999-2001 and Dr. Maja Trochimczyk served as the Sixth in 2010-2012 when the readings were initiated. 

The volume includes work by: 15 Poets Laureate from California; 20 Pushcart Prize nominees – Accardi, Askew, Byrne, Canyon, Collins, Dobreer, Dove, Ford, Fancher, Luza,  Leland-St. John, O’Brien, Jones, Pero, Reyna, Rinne, Rogers, Rummel, Skiles, and Terzi; 12 current and former college professors – Campbell, Kirby, Dove, Lipkin, Lummis,  Peterson, Rummel, Rizk, Talwar, Trochimczyk, Saine, and Zaro; and eight poets with doctoral degrees – Dove, Lipkin, Mataric, Meyer (honorary), Peterson, Reyna, Saine, and Trochimczyk. Poets from the states of California, Illinois, New York, New Mexico, Texas, and Washington are represented along with those who have roots in 18 different countries: Argentina, Armenia, Chile, China, Cuba, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, the U.K., the U.S. and Vietnam. 

 The colorful cover, designed by Maja Trochimczyk, features artwork by Polish American poet and painter, Andrew Kolo, who appeared at the readings to present both his art and his poetry. The painting, entitled “Landscape with the Palm Tree” (oil on canvas), is a mosaic of vivid, saturated colors, contrasting, yet somehow in harmony with each other. This is a great metaphor for a poetry reading filled with numerous, distinct poetic voices.  The book consists of two parts: Guests and Featured Poets, represented by 1-3 poems each; and Poets-Laureate, with 10 local poets, represented by 6-8 poems each. A list of Village Poets Readings, a brief history of the program, and biographies of the poets are included as well. The 290-page anthology is published in two versions, as a paperback and an e-book in ePub format.  moonrisepress.com/village-poets-anthology.html

ABOUT THIS BOOK

"This anthology is a treasure and I'm honored to be part of it! Over the last ten years, the Village Poets of Sunland-Tujunga, along with the faithful support of the Little Landers Historical Society and the McGroarty Arts Center, provided a place, not only for local poets to gather, but for poets from well beyond our town to come together as a community and enjoy conversation and share their work.  This anthology is a wonderful tribute to all who participated over the years."

~ Dorothy Skiles, Seventh Poet Laureate of Sunland-Tujunga

"This is a lovely anthology, my fellow Americans! We are all Village Poets, in one way or another. And we are all Little Landers, also called “los terrenitos,” the utopian colony of collective agriculture established in and around Bolton Hall Museum in the early 20th century. Let us cultivate our poetic land!"

~ Margaret Saine, author of Lit Angels and Gardens of the World (Moonrise Press)

"The busy poetry circles of mountain communities cohabiting the threatened southern rim of our forests, has produced a series, celebrated in this gorgeous anthology which artfully embraces power of place. These are the precious words of lyrical poets from everywhere, who joined the Valley Poets inside the halls of the pioneer settlers of Tujunga, joining in a decades-long tribute to and embodiment of the democratic community practices of the founding ancestors, gathered within the walls of monumental Bolton Hall."

~ Ed Rosenthal, author of Salvation Canyon and The Desert Hat, survivor www.poetbroker.com   

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Preface – vii, Table of Contents - viii, Poetry in the Foothills – A Look Back - x, Listing of Featured Poets and Artists – xii. PART 1. Featured and Guest Poets  - 1: Lida Abramian - 3; Millicent Borges Accardi – 5; Sharon Alexander – 8; Eliécer Almaguer – 10; Christopher Askew – 12; Beth Baird – 14; Judy Barrat – 16; Cile Borman – 18; Madeleine Swift Butcher – 20; Elena Karina Byrne – 22; Don Kingfisher Campbell – 23; Ross Canton – 25; Gloriana Casey – 27; Jackie Chou – 29; Teresa Mei Chuc – 31; Jeanette Clough – 33; Beverly M. Collins – 35; Brendan Constantine – 37; Bill Cushing – 39; Marsha De La O – 41; Peggy Dobreer – 42; Linda Dove – 44; Alexis Rhone Fancher – 45; Mary Fitzpatrick – 47; Michael C. Ford – 49; Joyce Futa – 50; William Scott Galasso – 52; Jerry Garcia – 54; John Guzlowski – 55; Charles Harmon – 57; Lloyd Hitt – 59; Lois P. Jones – 62; Georgia Jones-Davis – 63; C.E. Jordan – 65; Mandy Kahn – 67; Mina Kirby – 69; Andrew Kolo – 72; Deborah P Kolodji – 74; Mariko Kitakubo – 76; Sharmagne Leland-St. John – 78; James Levin – 80; Wayne Allen LeVine – 81; Stephen Lindsteadt – 83; Elline Lipkin – 84; B.D. Love – 86; Rick Lupert – 87; Radomir Vojtech Luza – 89; Suzanne Lummis – 91; Shahe Mankerian – 96; Mirjana N. Radovanov Matarić – 97; Maria Elena Mahler – 99; Gabriel Meyer – 100; Naia – 102; Toti O’Brien – 104; Cece Peri – 106; A.R. Peterson – 108; Thelma T. Reyna – 110; Cindy Rinne – 112; Susan Rogers – 114; Sharon Rizk – 116; Ed Rosenthal – 118; Mary Kay Rummel – 120; Sonya Sabanac – 122; Margaret Saine – 124; Shaymaa – 126; Param Sharma – 128; Rick Smith – 130; Kathi Stafford – 131; Julia Stein – 133; Melissa Studdard – 134; Konrad Tademar Wilk – 136; Ambika Talwar - 138; Judith Terzi – 140; Bory Thach – 142; G. Murray Thomas – 144; Mary Torregrossa – 145; Yun Wang – 147; Mari Werner – 149; Kath Abela Wilson – 152; Mariano Zaro – 155. PART 2. Poets Laureate of Sunland-Tujunga - 157: John Steven McGroarty –159; Marlene Hitt – 161; Katerina Canyon – 170; Joe DeCenzo – 179; Damien Stednitz –188; Ursula T. Gibson – 197; Maja Trochimczyk – 204; Dorothy Skiles - 212; Elsa Samkow-Frausto – 219; Pamela Shea – 225; Alice Pero - 233.  Biographical Notes – 239.

MARLENE HITT was the first Poet Laureate of Sunland Tujunga (1999-2001). She has been a member of the Chupa Rosa Writers of Sunland-Tujunga and the Foothills since its inception in 1985. In addition to publishing numerous poetry chapbooks, she has authored a non-fiction book Sunland-Tujunga, from Village to City. Her poems appeared in Psychopoetica (UK), Chupa Rosa Diaries of the Chupa Rosa Writers, Sunland (2001-2003), Glendale College’s Eclipse anthologies, two Moonrise Press anthologies, Sometimes in the Open, a collection of verse by California Poets Laureate, and The Coiled Serpent, anthology of Los Angeles poets, edited by Luis Rodriguez (2016). She served at the Bolton Hall Museum in Tujunga as Museum Director and docent for many years. Ms. Hitt was the history writer for the Foothill Leader, Glendale News Press, North Valley Reporter, and Voice of the Village newspapers. She has been honored as the Woman of Achievement by the Business and Professional Women's Club, and Woman of the Year by the U.S. Congress. Her critically-acclaimed poetry collection Clocks and Water Drops was published in 2015. In 2019, after retiring from active participation in Village Poets Readings, Marlene was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award, shared with her husband, Lloyd.

DR. MAJA TROCHIMCZYK, the sixth Poet Laureate of Sunland Tujunga (2010-2012), is a poet, music historian, photographer, and non-profit director born in Poland and living in California (www.trochimczyk.net). She selects and invites poets to feature at the Village Poets series. She published seven books on music, five volumes of poetry, and three other anthologies (Chopin with Cherries, Meditations on Divine Names and Grateful Conversations). The venues for her poetry included: Altadena Poetry Review, Loch Raven Review, Epiphany Magazine, Lily Review, Ekphrasis Journal, Quill and Parchment, Magnapoets, The Cosmopolitan Review, The Scream Online, The Original Van Gogh’s Ear Anthology, Lummox Journal, Phantom Seed, Spectrum, Poezja Dzisiaj, OccuPoetry, Pisarze.pl, as well as anthologies by Poets on Site, Southern California Haiku Study Group, and others. Trochimczyk presented papers at over 90 national and international conferences in Poland, France, Germany, Hungary, U.K., Canada, and the U.S. She received awards and fellowships from ACLS, SSHRCC, USC, McGill University, MPE Fraternity, Polish American Historical Association, City and County of Los Angeles, and Poland’s Ministry of Culture. The Senior Director of Planning and Development at Phoenix Houses of California, she serves as the President of the California State Poetry Society and the President of Helena Modjeska Art and Culture Club.