New Year after the Winter Solstice: the End of Kali Yuga, the Start of the Age of Aquarius

We have passed through the eye of the needle, and emerged on the other side, victorious. Congratulations to all Lovers, Lightworkers, and People of Good Will! On December 21, 2020,  the planets Jupiter and Saturn entered into a conjunction that made their light appear as a bright Star of Bethlehem, last seen 800 years ago, and supposedly seen at  Christmas... 

This Winter Solstice also marks a monumental cosmic event: the old era of chaos and destruction ended. We entered into the glorious waters of the Age of Aquarius. We are on our trajectory to a Thousand Years of Peace. Or so, I read, and decided to believe. Why not? Much better vision of the future than the alternative... 

I celebrated this momentous transition with a new poem:

The Star of Christmas, The Way of Light

Jupiter and Saturn became one. Bright

orange gold merged with deep blue purple

into a diamond white Bethlehem star.

A solstice miracle.

We saw it through the telescope

in the neighbors’ driveway.

The cross on the hilltop is flooded with light.

A Christian beacon, a sea lantern on the shores

of receding darkness. The end of Kali Yuga,

the twisted age of chaos and destruction.

We look at it from the safety of our bed - 

limbs intertwined, after interstellar flights

through galaxies of affection.

The portal opens. The way back

irrevocably closes. From the Zero Point

of no return, we step into the Age of Aquarius.

my Winter Solstice poem comes to life. 

Togetherness, acceptance carry us

on ultraviolet waves into 

the ultramarine infinity 

of one true love.

Our ascent is punctuated by bursts

of belly laughter, flavored 

with the sweetness of winter tangerines, 

dissolving into the pure intensity 

of childlike joy - rediscovered 

at the threshold of the Golden Age, 

embroidered on the fabric

of the Thousand Years of Peace. 

(C) December  21 2020  by Maja Trochimczyk

Well, technically speaking we are still deep within the Kali Yuga that lasts for 432,000 years, has begun 5,121 years ago and will end in the year 428,899. But we can end it sooner in our own lives if we want to bring peace, prosperity, happiness, kindness, gratitude, love and light into this world, ourselves and all around us... 

According to  the ancient prophecies of Srimad Bhagavata Purana, the last avatar of Lord Vishnu will descend as Kalki to destroy the effects of Kali and Satya Yuga will begin. There are four eras starting from the Golden Age, Satya Yuga, followed by Treta, Dvapara, and Kali Yugas. As we have seen so far, during the Kali Yuga, "religion, truthfulness, cleanliness, tolerance, mercy, duration of life, physical strength and memory will all diminish day by day" and "wealth alone will be considered the sign of a man’s good birth, proper behavior and fine qualities. And law and justice will be applied only on the basis of one’s power." In contrast, in Satya Yuga, the age of goodness, all virtues will triumph and people will live long, in peace and happiness. https://vedicfeed.com/the-symptoms-of-kaliyuga-ancient-hindu-predictions/

As for the Age of the Aquarius, it follows the Age of Pisces, or Christian Fish, and some say will start in 2024, while others claim it already started in 1957, or in 2000. In the hippie musical "Hair" there is a song celebrating its arrival. It all has to do with the "precession of the equinoxes" an astronomical phenomenon caused by the curious rotation of the Earth with its axis at an angle; while going through the 12 signs of the Zodiac during 25,868 years, it stays in each sign for 2,155.67 years. If the Age of the Pisces started in the year 1 of our times, we still have 135.67 years to go... In other words, nobody knows anything...

The most important news is the most timeless. Whether in this age or the next, whether at Christmas alone or with family, we are a rain of diamond light on this planet. Let's shine! 

A Diamond Miracle

I live on a planet

where it rains diamonds

on red-gold leaves of myrtle tree

under the azure – sky so alive that it breathes

and vibrates in the distance.

 

Look up! See the cosmic sigh?

 

I live on a planet

where it rains diamonds.

Water droplets shine in sunlight

scattered on pine needles and broad leaves

of the bird of paradise, stretching, stretching,

growing until orange blossoms alight amidst the foliage

like a flock of birds, copper flames in jade.

 

On my planet, western bluebirds,

Finches, and doves drink from the fountain.

They fly away when the scrub jay comes to take a bath,

dip his head into the crystal pool and shake diamond droplets

down his back.

 

On my planet, hummingbirds hum

suspended in the air by red hibiscus flowers.

Mockingbirds mock the tune of my alarm clock

at four a.m. and sing the songs of red wing blackbirds

that pass through on the way to Mexico or Canada

resting in the garden, then moving on.

 

My planet, where it rains diamonds,

breathes and vibrates with wave after wave

of energy that spins into life forms, growing, decaying,

returning – the endless ocean of live diamonds

that multiply and sparkle in the sun.

 

Would you like to be a diamond with me?

 

(C) November 2020 by Maja Trochimczyk

Happy New Year of Peace, Prosperity and Diamond Light! 

2021 Pushcart Prize Nominations from "We Are Here: Village Poets Anthology"

Moonrise Press is pleased to inform you that the editors of "We Are Here: Village Poets Anthology" - Maja Trochimczyk and Marlene Hitt - nominated to the Pushcart Prize 2021 the following poems included in the anthology:  

• Sharon Alexander, “Wheatfield with Crows” -p.8
• Katerina Canyon, “Feet” -p. 171
• Joe DeCenzo, “Conversing with Shadows” p. 181
• Georgia Jones Davis, “Monumental Dog” – p. 63
• Rick Lupert, “Heat” – p. 87
• Mariano Zaro, “Synapse” – p. 157

Given the choice of 80 poets included in the anthology and the incredibly high artistic level of all their creations, the editor decided to follow their hearts and select poems that "resonated" with their personal artistic preferences, and represented the diversity of poems and poets in the volume.  Congratulations to all nominated poets! 

Marlene Hitt writes about her choices: "No one knows whether a poem is 'good.' The response of the reader is the important judgement. I chose Wheatfield With Crows because, at first, I was reminded, with emotion, of my own father's death. Upon reading I found enjoyment the dreamlike inward journey of the author. Sharon Alexander's language is more than pleasing and her images inspiring. Rick Lupert in Heat brings the reader into his world on a hot, hot day as he exaggerates a bit, then teases and pleases us as with a tall tale. Joe DeCenzo, with Conversing With the Shadows points toward the mystery of one woman' state of frailty in a memoir of her life as it has encapsulized in her failing memory as that memory then failed. It renders a kind and loving tribute to all life as it begins to end.  Poetry is for the poet, yes, but more for the reader and the connection of thought and emotion between the two. A poem speaks to each person with the beauty and passion which only words can do."

Maja Trochimczyk explains her selections: "I was really perplexed about the nominations from our anthology. I know it is a service to poets, and should be done, but in We Are Here there are so many amazing poems by incredibly talented poets that I was at a loss, wondering, what to do? In poetry, I am not interested in competitions and awards, but rather in expressing the infinity of human experience. When Marlene sent me her three titles, I realized I could simply pick poems that I love and that resonate with me at this particular time. I've always loved Georgia Jones Davis's Monumental Dog - the compassion for the hapless animal, sent by her trusted caretaker into the orbit, to certain death; the vivid portrait of a communist country, where life is not valued at all. I'm from Poland and I remember stories about this dog on our national news; though, back then, nobody eulogized her sacrifice. There was just praise for the technological triumph of Soviets over Americans in the space race... Katerina Canyon's Feet is another perennial favorite, perhaps because my Mom had not washed my feet like that, and neither did I wash hers. There was something profoundly amiss in our relationship that I only understood after my Mom died and I found my desperate letters to her written when I was six years old. I learned to write in order to tell her how much I loved her when she abandoned us for some mysterious lover and was gone for almost two years. I completely blocked that memory and I only know it happened because I now have those letters. I guess it was through the longing of an abandoned child that found such intense beauty in filial love and devotion, captured so vividly by Canyon. Finally, Mariano Zaro's Synapse about the poignant last days of his father, expertly weaves personal emotion with scientific descriptions of the mystery of the brain at the end of life." 

Village Poets at the Passing of the Laurels Ceremony in 2017.

ABOUT THE ANTHOLOGY

Edited by Marlene Hitt and Maja Trochimczyk, and entitled We Are Here: Village Poetry Anthology, this collection celebrates the 10th anniversary of Village Poets Monthly Poetry Readings. The volume 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 SunlandTujunga: 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 PoetsLaureate, 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 PUSHCART PRIZE XLV

Edited by Bill Henderson, with the Pushcart Prize Editors, "the 45th edition of the most celebrated literary series in America, Pushcart Prize XLV is continuing evidence that much of today’s vibrant writing appears only in small journals and book presses. The series has been selected for Publishers Weekly Carey Thomas Award, the National Book Critics Circle Ivan Sandrof citation, and the Poets and Writers/Barnes and Noble “Writers For Writers” award among others.  The current issue includes 70 authors from more than 50 presses, selected from the nominations of 220 distinguished Contributing Editors and 800 participating presses."

SHARON ALEXANDER - Nominated for "Wheatfield with Crows"

SHARON ALEXANDER recently relocated to Benissa Costa, Spain overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Her chapbook, Instructions in My Absence, won first place in the Palettes & Quills 5th Biennial Chapbook Contest and was released May 2017. Voodoo Trombone, Sharon’s previous chapbook, was published by Finishing Line Press, 2014. Her poetry appears in several publications including Barbaric Yawp; Caliban On-line; Idyllwild Life Magazine; Naugatuck River Review; Pearl; Pinyon; Redheaded Stepchild; Santa Ana River Review; Slipstream; Subprimal Poetry Art; and Tiger’s Eye. You can also find her work in the following anthologies: Beyond the Lyric Moment (Tebot Bach, 2014); In the News (The Poetry Box, Summer 2018); Poeming Pigeons (The Poetry Box, 2015); and Spectrum: 140 SoCal Poets ( 2015). 

KATERINA CANYON -  Nominated for "Feet"

KATERINA CANYON is a 2020 Pushcart Prize Nominee. Her stories have been published in New York Times and Huffington Post. From 2000 to 2003, she served as the Poet Laureate of Sunland-Tujunga. During that time, she started a poetry festival called “Shouting Coyote Poetry Festival” and ran several poetry readings. She was featured in the Los Angeles Times and was awarded the Montesi Award from Saint Louis University in 2011, 2012, and 2013. She has published multiple chapbooks and an album. Her recent books include Changing the Lines, a volume of poetry, and Los Angeles Nomad, a novel.  She hosts weekly readings on Zoom, called Canyon Poets. You can find more information about her on her website, poetickat.com. 

JOE DECENZO -  Nominated for "Conversing with Shadows"

JOE DECENZO grew up in Los Angeles and majored in theater and English Literature.  From 2004-06 he served as the poet laureate of Sunland-Tujunga. He produced  the  “Shouting   Coyote” Performing   Arts Festival and was a Department of Cultural Affairs grant recipient. His published works include The Ballad of Alley and Hawk and the Study Guide and Poetry Primer for the same collection. His poetry appeared also in Meditations on Divine Names anthology (Moonrise Press, 2012). He currently serves on the planning committee for the Village Poets of Sunland-Tujunga, as Chair of the Poet Laureate Search Committee, and as Chair of the Arts and Recreation Committee of the Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council.

GEORGIA JONES DAVIS - Nominated for "Monumental Dog"

GEORGIA JONES-DAVIS grew up in Northern New Mexico and Southern California. A former Los Angeles Herald Examiner editor, Los Angeles Times Assistant Book Editor and former free-lance journalist, Georgia’s poetry has appeared in various publications including West Wind, The California Quarterly, Brevities, The Bicycle Review, Nebo, Eclipse, poethicdiversity, Ascend Aspiration and South Bank Poetry, London. She served as a board member of Valley Contemporary Poets for three years.  Georgia was honored as one of the 2010 Newer Poets by the Los Angeles Poetry Festival and the Los Angeles Public Library ALOUD series. She is the author of two chapbooks, Blue Poodle (2011)  and Night School (2015), by Finishing Line Press. 

RICK LUPERT - Nominated for "Heat"

RICK LUPERT has been involved in the Los Angeles poetry community since 1990. He served for two years as a co-director of the Valley Contemporary Poets. He created the Poetry Super Highway ( http://poetrysuperhighway.com ) and hosted the Cobalt Cafe reading for almost 21 years. He’s authored 25 collections of poetry, including “God Wrestler” and “ The Tokyo-Van Nuys Express!”, and edited  “A Poet’s Siddur”, “A Poet’ s Haggadah”, the Noir anthology “ The Night Goes on All Night.” and “Ekphrastia Gone Wild” under his imprint Ain’t Got No Press. His poetry has appeared in numerous magazines and literary journals, including The Los Angeles Times, Rattle, Chiron Review, Zuzu’s Petals, Caffeine Magazine, Blue Satellite and others. He edited A Poet’s Haggadah: Passover through the Eyes of Poets anthology and is the author of thirteen books: Sinzibuckwud!, We Put Things In Our Mouths, Paris: It’s The Cheese, I Am My Own Orange County, Mowing Fargo, I’m a Jew. Are You?, Feeding Holy Cats, Stolen Mummies, I’d Like to Bake Your Goods, A Man With No Teeth Serves Us Breakfast (Ain’t Got No Press), Lizard King of the Laundromat, Brendan Constantine is My Kind of Town (Inevitable Press) and Up Liberty’s Skirt (Cassowary Press). . He is regularly featured at venues throughout Southern California and works as a music teacher and graphic designer for anyone who would like to help pay his mortgage.

MARIANO ZARO - Nominated for "Synapse"

MARIANO ZARO is the author of six books of poetry, most recently Decoding Sparrows (What Books Press, Los Angeles, CA) and Padre Tierra (Olifante, Zaragoza, Spain). His poems have been published in anthologies and literary journals in USA, Mexico and Spain. His translations into Spanish include Poemas de las Misiones de California by Philomene Long, Buda en llamas by Tony Barnstone and Cómo escribir una canción de amor by Sholeh Wolpé. He is the winner of the 2004 Roanoke Review Short Fiction Prize and the 2018 Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing Short Fiction Prize. Since 2010, he has been hosting a series of video-interviews with prominent American poets as part of the literary project Poetry.LA. (More information here: www.Poetry.LA). He is a professor of Spanish at Rio Hondo Community College (Whittier, California).  Website: www.marianozaro.com. 

An Alphabet of Birds by Toti O'Brien - Zoom Reading, Saturday, December 5, 2020 at 3 pm

AN ALPHABET OF BIRDS

≈≈≈☼≈≈≈

Topic: Moonrise Press Presents Toti O'Brien's An Alphabet of Birds

Time: Dec 5, 2020 03:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Recording on YouTube: https://youtu.be/RYti3hBLs1Q

This presentation is partly sponsored by the Dignity Health Foundation, through a grant for "Close to Nature" Project for Phoenix Houses of Los Angeles, with the California State Poetry as one of the collaborating partners. 

Link to the recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYti3hBLs1Q

ABOUT THIS BOOK

http://www.moonrisepress.com/alphabet-of-birds.html

Buy it now: ISBN 978-1-945938-41-2, paperback, 184 pages, $15.00

Buy it now: ISBN 978-1-945938-42-9, ebook in ePub format, $10.00

Maja Trochimczyk with Toti's book

Not quite hard to decipher… on the contrary, friendly and familiar sounding, An Alphabet of Birds is a prose collection inspired by “daily nature,” by those kerchiefs of landscape gracing us through a kitchen door, a car window, in the middle of our urban, busy life. They are glimpses and fragments, fugitive and yet poignant, loaded with surprise, magic, lessons to learn or else mysteries for the heart to treasure in secret, in awe. 

~ Toti O’Brien, author

Toti O'Brien during her reading, Dec 5, 2020

An Alphabet of Birds encompasses an entire bestiary, from its namesake birds to the squirrel that owns the narrator’s backyard to the bears that own the salmon streams. The ground of these short prose pieces is everyday life, the “daily display of splendor.” Toti O’Brien invokes a world where what is wry and wise meets what is whimsical and surreal. Questions tumble, pile on top of one another, full of possibilities and speculation. O’Brien’s language has a rolling rhythm that unspools like an incantation. Fall under her spell and journey with her into the  mysteries of the quotidian.

~ Cynthia Anderson, author of Now Voyager and Route

This prose collection of 34 short stories describes the vagaries of birds, animals, plants, seen and described by a keen and talented observer. The author has patience, a gift of attentive focus on their behaviors and transformation, and a talent to write down the reflections on the meaning of these behaviors and transformation in the constant flow of daily life. Toti O'Brien author is a multi-talented poet, writer, artist, musician, and a friend of all living beings, the whole Earth.

~ Maja Trochimczyk, Ph.D., Moonrise Press 

TOTI O’BRIEN is the Italian Accordionist with the Irish last name. She was born in Rome, Italy, raised in Sicily and France. After touring Europe and Brazil with her itinerant theater, in the early nineties, she established herself in Los Angeles where she makes a living as a self-employed artist, performing musician and professional dancer. O’Brien’s first book of stories, Africa, was published in 1990. It was followed by another short story collection, Reversed Memories, two illustrated children books and an essay collection, Lanterna Magica, gathering selected work out of her long-term collaboration with Italian journals and magazines. O’Brien started writing in the English language in 2004. Since then, her poetry, fiction and non-fiction were published in hundreds of journals and anthologies in the US, UK, Ireland, Canada, India, Australia, and all over the world. 

Her most recent appearances include The Moth, The Hamilton Stone, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and World Literature Today. Her poetry collection Other Maidens (BlazeVOX, 2020) and a prose collection, Pages of a Broken Diary (Pskj’s Porch, 2021), are about to be released. Her work was nominated for Best of the Net, Best Small Fiction, Best American Essay, the Pushcart, and various other prizes. Her memoir ‘Nicotine’ won a nonfiction prose award in 2018. 

Her essay ‘Blur In The Front Line’ won the Anthony Award in 2016. Besides her creative writing, she contributes articles and reviews about art, music, film, literature and civilization to several magazines. She also translates poetry and prose from the Italian, the Spanish, and the French. O’Brien’s multimedia artwork was exhibited in group and solo shows in Europe and the US, since the early nineties. Her paintings, sculptures, collages and textiles were featured in many publications, and she has produced book covers and illustrations.

Table of Contents

In the Moonlight — 3 

The Lawn — 4 

The Staircase — 9 

The Leaf and the Butterfly — 14 

Darwin —17 

Pavo Regina — 21 

Terra Firma — 29 

Speculum — 33 

Milagros — 37 

Sunset Walk — 39 

Doves — 42

Precious — 47 

The Decadence of Grapefruit —49 

Spectrum — 58 

Dog Days — 61 

The Salmon and the Bear — 64 

Beautiful Bones — 69 

Creation — 72 

In the Garden — 81 

Lunacy — 84 

September — 93 

November — 99 

Peacocks — 102 

Engraved — 105 

Five Senses — 109 

At Risk — 127 

The Statue —129 

Augur — 134 

The Flowers — 139 

The Fountain — 141 

Part Out — 158 

An Alphabet of Birds —164

The Volvo and the Bike —168 

Gardener’s Companion — 172 

About the Author — 174

We Are Here: Village Poets Anthology Zoom Reading, October 25, 2020 at 4:30 pm

                                 

                        WE ARE HERE: VILLAGE POETS ANTHOLOGY

       ZOOM READING FOR THE VILLAGE POETS MONTHLY READING

                 Topic: WE ARE HERE: VILLAGE POETS ANTHOLOGY

                 Time: Oct 25, 2020 04:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

HOW TO BUY THIS BOOK

The anthology is available to poets at a discounted price of $15 with mailing (please include your mailing address in the message) or $12 for in person pickup, from Maja Trochimczyk, publisher of Moonrise Press. Send your checks to Maja Trochimczyk, PO Box 4288 Sunland CA 91040 or use paypal, maja.trochimczyk@gmail.com. 

For all others, the books can be ordered online from the distributor, click on the ISBN number to go to the site and place your order: 

ISBN 978-1-945938-39-9 (paperback) , $22 plus $3.99 shipping and handling

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

Maja Trochimczyk with Cile Borman

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. 

ABOUT THIS BOOK

"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 

"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)  

MORE DETAILS

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

Beverly M. Collins

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.

PHOTOS FROM FLINTRIDGE BOOKSTORE ZOOM READING

Maja Trochimczyk with Cile Borman

Katerina Canyon 

Cindy Rinne

Mari Werner

Susan Rogers, Gail Mishkin, Maja Trochimczyk and Ela Trybus

Katerina Canyon

Marlene Hitt

Maja Trochimczyk 

Ambika Talwar

Gail Mishkin

Dorothy Skiles

Mariko Kitakubo, she also took most photos from the reading

Deborah P Kolodji

Mariano Zaro

Suzanne Lummis

Elsa Samkow Frausto

Mary Torregrossa

Jackie Chou

Ed Rosenthal

Pamela Shea

Mari Werner

Joe DeCenzo

Beth Baird

The last guests to leave, with Joe DeCenzo's heart...