In the creative arts, bravery is rewarded. The truth on the page. Emotional honesty. These are just a couple of our holy grails. OK, it doesn’t hurt that the one telling the truth is Benjamin Bratt, one of the sexiest actors working today. So, he’s the writer’s brother. Hey. They’re networking. But here’s why we [...]
The April Poetry Flash events calendar lists over 20 poetry events a week including Marin Poetry Center’s Annual Event on April 18, the upcoming Word Temple Party in Sonoma, and many other fabulous and inspiring venues featuring amazing up and coming and iconic poets. Two Tuesdays ago, I read as the first winner selected for [...]
Passover Nisan moon shatters picture, window Bright operating theater, moon’s surgical lamp Magnetizes white hot center. Inside, below Agitated shards of memory forced to dance. Howl at the moon for what was lost In the sea of rough truths Howl at the moon for the child tossed Stripped of lifeboat, safety, youth. It’s Passover: Eat [...]
“A Dreamer’s Guide to Cities” San Francisco Bay Press, Virginia/San Francisco: 2009
In her second full-length poetry collection, Joan Gelfand explores the poignancy of living in a world that is war-torn and environmentally damaged. With a nod to the humorous paradox of modern life, Gelfand writes from the vantage point of a mother, an artist, and a Zen meditator. “A Dreamer’s Guide…” looks beyond the surface of our lives at the connections that make live worth living, and the sensual details that color it. Read More
Seeking Center: A Collection of Poems by Joan Gelfand, Two Bridges Press, Richmond CA: 2006
In Seeking Center, Joan Gelfand joins the reader in a free-wheeling discussion, beyond the poems themselves, regarding what is poetry today, here at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Read More