THIS OL' BEATNIK POET WILL BE READING...

I'm honored! I've been invited by Poet Laureate of Washington State Tod Marshall to share my poetry at Washougal High School in Southwest Washington this coming Wednesday, the  26th at 7:00pm. Chris Luna, Clark County Poet Laureate, will also be reading and his wife, the accomplished poet Toni Luna. I'll be reading my poem "Legacy" from the anthology  Washington 129  as well as older work and perhaps one or two from the collection of poetry I wrote while dealing with prostate cancer last year. Washington 129 is a collection of poetry all by Washington State poets. Here's a chance to support poetry in Washington State by going to the Sage Hill Press internet site and purchasing a copy from the publisher.

Randall Jahnson

I'm elated and surprised. My second short film script is done and emailed in PDF form to Randall Jahnson. I am enjoying this process all to hell, and I fear I'm learning that I ought to have taken to screenwriting as my first choice in writing. I enjoy it so much and my imagination seems to flower more completely. When I think about my misspent writing life, I realize that when a book became a movie, I always referred to the movie in my head when I talked about the book. Another interesting thing to me has come up because of screenwriting. Except for my science fiction novel, I have a hard time not writing about myself. I'm the main character in much of my poetry and fiction. Not all, but a great deal of it. However, my first two short film scripts are completely imaginary affairs. I'm not in them at all except as writer. I'm floored by this realization, and hope it doesn't turn into depression based on lost opportunities. What the hell! It's fun now, and I'm still alive and writing. Who knows how it'll turn out?

THE SILENT BOOMER READS ALOUD!

Two sketches of Carl in Mobile Alabama

I moved forward another step in my goal tonight of pulling myself out of obscurity and cowardice, reading four poems from my self-published books at an open mic event on St. John's Road, hosted by newly appointed Clark County Poet Laureate Christopher Luna at Cover To Cover bookstore. Full house. Many readers and many good readers too. One young man, Matthew gave a spirited reading that entertained everyone. His first reading. 

I felt good about my performance and the poems I read. Let me repeat that the names of my two poetry books are Tenderfoot and Gray House By Cold Mountain and both are at Amazon.com or Authorhouse. I also summoned the courage to leave a packet of my two books, with a promotional letter and Silent Boomer business card in the afternoon at Cover To Cover books. Progress. First poem I read tonight follows:

EXPLORATION BY CANOE

The savages had left them.

By accident, by searching, hidden
in bushes, we found them—
canoes of animal skin.
Where water was stillest, we pushed in,
then worked out where it ran swiftest.
Someone had lost our maps—
by a not knowing, we got along.

This river we've not seen the end of

empties to a sea we've not tested,
a sea horizon we must think beyond—
over its edge another place to go or,
up, an endless black the stars gleam through
like small hopes we feel inside of us that say, 
Yes. Our boats are working out a long journey.
From this river, the sea's imagination away
and beyond that the endless black or…
over the edge in our animal skin canoes!

Thanks for reading!