Sunday, February 25

2:30 pm – Walker Talks!
on the German poet Holderlin

Once a month, Walker mesmerizes us with his fascinating meanderings amidst the meanings of writers, philosophers, mythologies and mysteries… how he does it, we don’t know, but he’s gained a following that hangs on the gossamer threads of thought that he spins.  Holderlin?  Come and find out…

4:30 pm – WordWind Chorus

Brian Auerbach, Q R Hand Jr. and Lewis Jordan (shown left to right here) are joined by Julian Carroll in an acapella jazz poets aggregation that will set you on your ear.  Four voices augmented by Lewis’s saxophone weave an intricate web of word strands to create heady music indeed.

Founding WordWind member Reginald Lockett, who left us a few years ago, had this to say about Q R:
“Q R Hand’s poetry traverses the terrain of form, music and language. This is an inspired, well crafted poetry that is political in intent and spirited in execution and defies any comparison to any literary predecessors or contemporary schools of thought. Q. R. Hand is an entity unto himself; a true visionary walks among us.”

The ensemble will set the air on fire, delivering deep blues and exhortations to electrify your senses.

Read up here for more on QR and WordWind.

Monday, Feb. 27, 7:00 pm

Poets Norman Fischer & Stephen Ratcliffe read their work.

Zoketsu Norman Fischer is a Soto Zen roshi, poet and Buddhist author practicing in the lineage of Shinryu Suzuki; he is a Dharma heir of Sojun Mel Weisman, from whom he received Dharma transmssion in 1988. Co-abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center from 1995—2000, Fischer has published several works of poetry and books on Buddhism.

He will read from his latest book-length poem, Conflict, incorporating readings by the audience into the work.

Stephen Ratcliffe has authored numerous books of poetry and three books of criticism. He lives in Bolinas, and has published the work of a number of significant modern poets under his Avenue B Press imprint.

Formerly the director of the Creative Writing program at Mills College, where he has been an instructor for more than 25 years, Ratcliffe continues to teach poetry and literature courses there.