By Chris Murphy
April is National Poetry Month. We are very fortunate to have so much local poetry talent in our area. We have multiple current and ex poet laureates, we have poetry slams with a National Slam championship, we have a Ninja Poet that moonlights as an action hero while by day a mild-mannered English professor. The spoken and written word is one of society’s treasures, inspiring action, thought and education. We need more if this in our life so we can get beyond the simple obstacles like “there, their, they’re and thur”.
We hope you enjoy our monthly poetry installments from local poets and hope you will attend some reading and maybe even write some yourself as poetry gets back “in person” this month. Please enjoy and take part.
The Carnegie in Turlock is hosting Portuguese Faith and Culture poetry with poet Lara Gularte and Sara Coito on April 2 @ 2 pm.
MoSt Poetry Book Club will be feature a discussion of Amanda Moore’s Requeening on April 18 @ 6:30 pm at the Modesto Library.
STANISLAUS ARTIST OPEN STUDIO
by Salvatore Salerno
Since “art nourishes the roots of our culture”
(John Kennedy’s line, sadly not one of mine)
Why not visit the spaces where they grow,
And the arborist artists whose water is beauty?
These urban groves of art began a decade ago,
When Alice Richards sowed the first seeds—
Mix local artists, their works with their homes,
And plant a unique Modesto spring weekend.
All the fruits of their labors so wildly diverse,
Who of their visitors would not be amazed?
Who wouldn’t be pleased with something?
Let me count the ways that creation can flow—
For those who love paint, as surely why not,
There are watercolor scenes of land and sea,
Acrylic, oil and pastel, still lifes and portraits,
What-have-you abstracts, collages, clever inks,
And for 3-d fans of things to touch & hold,
There are ceramic pots to show or to fill,
All things denim, geometric sculptures of metal,
Handspun alpaca scarves, equine art,
Crafted jewelry of turquoise and pearl
Of pendants, bracelets and earrings,
Photography, whimsy for walls, paper cranes—
All from the imaginations of your neighbors.
Then there is the added pleasure of visiting
Artists in the homes where they live and work—
They’re the ones with the name tags and smiles—
So, pick up a map and follow down its clues,
Make a weekend of walking these groves of art,
Drop some green and take home some treasure!
