An excerpt from “A Walk on the Levee”

The Northern Shoveler is living proof that the design of living things has room for a sense of humor. It is a most unusual duck, a rare bird, with the green head of a mallard, but a beak that even from a distance appears to be twice the length of its head. ______________

After the hawk’s departure, it wasn’t long before we viewed a great disturbance on the water, far back in the wetland. Our binoculars revealed two male Northern Shovelers engaged in the ritual combat for territory. Shaped by thousands of years of success, and certain to continue for centuries into the future, this battle involved rushing at each other, attempting to push the other under water, and pushing each other, sumo-wrestler style, out to the edge of the pond.
Each round was followed by display, another ritual in which the males circled with heads held high and then began bobbing their heads as if in greeting. Almost like water ballet, this ritual showed both their willingness to enter the battle, and their intentions toward the smaller brown female bird, watching from nearby. Soon the battle was done, and she swam off with the victor in tow.
That was the appearance, but appearances can be deceiving. The vanquished male soon followed, and another round of display and combat ensued. It seems that the rites of spring were not quickly ended.
These observations would have made any day complete, but we had two more sightings waiting for us, perhaps the best of the day. As we continued out the levee, one of my companions pointed out red head ducks – bay ducks that dive for fish. I am not certain what they were doing in a seasonal wetland, where plants are the mainstay of duck diets. Red head ducks are not typically pond inhabitants, but there they were, perhaps resting and preparing to move on north.
Then we saw the blue winged teal, five altogether. These small ducks are cousins of the green wings we had been watching all day, but they never appear here in numbers. Possibly they were up from the bayou country on their early migration to northern marshes. Whatever brought them here, I was delighted to view such unusual creatures on their way north.

“A Walk on the Levee” began as a journal entry recording the events of a March 1 walk on the Brainerd Levee with two bird watching friends. Hellbender Press of Knoxville published the resulting article, the first of several I wrote for them. It led to a regular column.

Seasons' Greetings

Last Night was the winter solstice, longest night of the year. With all the clouds there was no chance of seeing the Ursid Meteor Shower here in Chattanooga. By the way, Solstice is an ancient celebration of the return of light.

It is also the fourth day of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve.

Kwanza begins Monday.

May you all find joy at this time of year.

Bold

Bold

Chickadee in tree
Sings protection from darkness.
Sun rises in East.

morning

Morning

The dog runs ahead
Red band graces eastern sky
I shiver, walk on

Samaritan

Samaritan

He was an outcast.
Unwelcome, they would shun him..
He was merciful.

Shepherds

Shepherds

No one trusted them
They performed the useful tasks
Angels sang to them

Eclipse

Darkness covers land.
Chickens flying off to roost.
Sun races homeward.

Moon

Moon behind a cloud
Orion rises in East.
Cloud obscures all stars.

Leaves

Green leaves gather light.
Sun sinks with each passing day.
Red leaves fall to earth.

Winter Tree

Branch has lost its leaves.
Bare bark gathers winter sun.
Buds wait to uncurl.

Stream

Stream

Log awaited rain
feeds plants
brings life
fills stream
to overflowing

Long awaited rain
floods forest
breaks down trees
ends lives.

UTC Offers Meacham Workshop

For more infor see http://www.meachamwriters.org/index.htm

We would like to once again invite you to the Meacham Writers' Workshop, which will be held October 27-29, 2011, on the campuses of UTC and Chattanooga State, and at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre. The full schedule and bios of the visiting writers are available on the Meacham web site. Just select Schedule.
Also, for those of you unfamiliar with the campuses or the Chattanooga area, there are links to maps on the schedule to help you find locations. Some events have not yet had rooms assigned. This information will be added to the schedule as it becomes available.
If you would like to submit poetry or prose for review, the deadline is October 7th. All of the information regarding submissions is availabe from the Submissions page on the Meacham web site, where you can submit your files electronically, which is our preference. When you submit, you will be asked your preference for either a group workshop seminar or an individual conference. Because of the limited time available to the visiting writers, we will not be able to offer the option of selecting both, as we did in the spring.
When you submit, the system is set up to send you an automatic response indicating your mss. has been received. Unfortunately, many e-mail services tend to block this message as spam. If you do not receive the auto-response and cannot find it in your spam folder, feel free to contact the Meacham webmaster to verify your mss. was received. For your convenience, there is a web form that you can use to contact the webmaster on the Meacham web site. Just click on Contact the Webmaster.
There will also be two open workshops during the Meacham, one on publishing and one on song writing. Participants do not need to register for these events.
Since you are receiving this message, you are already on the Meacham mailing list, so, if you submit a manuscript, answer NO to that question, or you may receive duplicate announcements from us.
Thank you for your interest in the Meacham Writers' Workshop, and we hope to see you in October.

Southern Light at Winder Binder

Southern Light Poets Read at Winder Binder, October 2nd

Several contributors to the anthology, Southern Light: Twelve Contemporary Southern Poets, will read at Winder Binder Gallery and Bookstore, 10 Frazier Avenue, Chattanooga on Sunday, October 2nd at 2:00pm. A signing will immediately follow the reading which is part of the One Bridge Art Festival annually sponsored by Winder Binder. Readers include Helga Kidder, Penny Dyer, K.B. Ballentine, Ray Zimmerman, Rebecca Cook, Jenny Sadre-Orafai, E. Smith Gilbert, and Finn Bille.

Cranes

This was just republished on the blog Miriam's Well. It also appears in Southern Light: Twelve Contemporary Southern Poets, and in my chapbook, Searching for Cranes.
It was first published in The Chattanooga Chat, newsletter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society, Chattanooga Chapter.

Cranes

Their voices
call to my ears,
pull my eyes skyward,
Sandhills from Michigan.

Cranes wing southward,
call my thoughts to fly with them
to Okefenokee
or the Gulf Coast of Florida.

They bring their news of winter,
their voices compared to barking
geese, to the bugling
of wild elks.

These are no geese,
their words no honk,
no barnyard bark for them.
It is a rattling coo,
doves amplified 1000 times.

Arrows shot from a bow,
they neither swoop nor slow,
they rocket southward,
abandon me here
rooted to the ground.

Cranes – According to An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Traditional Symbols, 1978, Thames and Hudson, Ltd, London, cranes are symbols of longevity, vigilance, prosperity, protective motherhood, and happiness. Various cultures have regarded them as intermediaries between heaven and earth, heralds of spring and light, and sacred birds inhabiting the isles of the blessed.

Southern Light

For Immediate Release
Contact: Ray Zimmerman (423) 315-0721, znaturalist@yahoo.com

Southern Light at Summer Showcase

Southern Light: Twelve Contemporary Southern Poets will be included in Summer Showcase, an exhibition at Poets House, NYC, in July, 2011. At the conclusion of the exhibition, a copy will be archived in the Poets House library and database.

Ford, Falcon and McNeil, publishers, released Southern Light: Twelve Contemporary Southern Poets in April of this year. The book is a diverse collection of works by authors connected to the southern landscape. Each poet speaks, with a unique voice, of a land illuminated by the hot southern sun. Over 180 poems celebrate both regional traditions and life in the New South.

The collection begins with twenty poems reclaimed from out of print works by Robert Morgan and continues with poems by regional writers. Many of the works are published in this volume for the first time while others are well known and award winning.

Southern Light includes poems by: Robert Morgan, Penny Dyer, Bill Brown, Bruce Majors, Jenny Sadre-Orafai, Rebecca Cook, Ray Zimmerman, E. Smith Gilbert, Helga Kidder, K. B. Ballentine, Finn Bille, and Dan Powers. Ray Zimmerman served as Executive Editor, while Bruce Majors and Ed Lindberg also served on the editorial team.

Follow Southern Light on Faceboook at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Southern-Light/159959427392604

Hear Southern Light poets read their work at http://www.archive.org/details/southernLightTwelveContemporarySouthernPoets


ISBN 978-0-9827252-2-1

Bio

Ray Zimmerman

Ray Zimmerman is the Executive Editor of Southern Light: Twelve Contemporary Southern Poets, an eclectic anthology that celebrates both regional traditions and life in the New South. He is a former president of the Chattanooga Writers Guild and won Second Place in the 2007 Poetry Contest of the Tennessee Writers Alliance. Ten days after undergoing coronary bypass surgery, he read his winning poem, “Glen Falls Trail,” at the awards ceremony of the Southern Festival of Books at Legislative Plaza, Nashville, Tennessee. Jeff Biggers, Associate Editor of the Bloomsbury Review, favorably reviewed Ray’s Chapbook, Searching for Cranes, in his end of year roundup article. Biggers referred to Ray as a “southern Edward Abbey or Terry Tempest Williams.” Ray was the subject of a feature article in the September, 2008 issue of Blush magazine.

Published Poems
“Sign” appeared in TPQ Online
“Glen Falls Trail” appeared in www.vinestreetpress.com subsequently in Presenting the Beatniks
“Cranes” appeared in the Chattanooga Chat, newsletter of Tennessee Ornithological Society – Chattanooga Chapter
“Reincarnation” appeared in the Earth First! Journal
“No Hair,” Moonscape,” and “Dog Star – Isis” appeared in Presenting the Beatniks
“Moonscape” was part of a collection the Create Here gallery in Chattanooga, Tennessee published on their windows to celebrate local poets
“No Hair” and “Sign” appeared in the DVD The Beatniks are Back, read by the author and accompanied by The Drum Circle. The Contrapasso interpretive dance troop performed a dance during the performance of “Sign”

Photography
Ray's photography has appeared in Tennessee Conservationist and the Photographic Society of America Journal. He has shown his work at the Creative Arts Guild (Dalton, Georgia) and in local galleries and shows in Chattanooga. He is a former Board Member of the Photographic Society of Chattanooga.

Published Prose
“Nature’s Bookshelf” was a column in the Bimonthly publication Hellbender Press, Knoxville, Tennessee. Each installment was a profile of a nature or environmental author.
“March 1: A Walk on the Levee,” and “The Levee Revisited” appeared in Hellbender Press, Knoxville, Tennessee.
“The Owl and I,” “Journey to Springtime,” “The Little River Canyon: A New National Park,” and “Owls of Springtime” appeared the The Art of Living, Chattanooga, Tennessee.
“Moccasin Bend Part I: Key to the Past” and “Moccasin Bend Part II:” Preserving the Resource” appeared in Envirolink magazine, Chattanooga, Tennessee.
“A Tale of Two Landscapes” appeared in The Chattanooga Chat, newsletter of the Chattanooga Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society.
“Annual Assateague Pony Roundup” appeared in Cappers.
“Tennessee’s Ocoee River,” “The Little River Canyon,” and “Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge” appeared in Photo Traveler, San Francisco.
“Making Friends with and Opossum” and “Owl Aboard” appeared in Franklinia, Southeast region newsletter of the National Association for Interpretation. Franklinia was named for a rare tree discovered by Bartram and named for Benjamin Franklin. The newsletter has since been renamed Southern Exposure.
Several short pieces in Nature Notes, the Newsletter of the Chattanooga Nature Center, since renamed Native Ground.
“Dinosaurs Come to Chattanooga,” and several other feature pieces appeared in Legacy, the Journal of Interpretation, a publication for park rangers and nature interpreters.

Fire Poems

A more recent review



Fire Poems. opens with the author awakened from a pleasant dream to a crashing burning home, from which he and his wife escape through a window. The glass has melted and cracked away to create the portal for their getaway and rebirth. The cleansing fire burns away a dead starling trapped in a window screen. Through the entire book, the beat of Finn's Djembe drum resonates, the goat skin head cracked and burned away, the hollow body shooting flame. Perhaps the most poignant of all images appears in the short poem “Silence of Ashes,” in which a Plum Wood Flute, now gone, was once a blossoming twig, once a source of music and joy. A copy of his previous book, “Rites of the Earth,” escapes with charred pages. From these bits and pieces they reconstruct their lives. Fire Poems is a must read for all who have survived tragedy, and for those yet to do so.

Fire Poems

Fire Poems
Reviewed by Ray Zimmerman

Fire is a destroyer and a cleanser. It is a force of nature from which we warm ourselves, cook our food, and flee in terror when it is beyond our control. All of these elements appear in Finn Bille's soon to be released collection, Fire Poems.
The book opens with the author awakened from a pleasant dream to a crashing burning home, from which he and his wife escape through a window. The glass has melted and cracked away to create the portal for their escape and rebirth. The cleansing fire burns away a dead starling, trapped in a window screen.
Through the entire book, the beat of Finn's Djembe drum resonates, the goat skin head cracked and burned way, the hollow body shooting flame. Perhaps the most poignant of all images appears in the short poem ashes, in which a Plum Wood Flute, now gone, was once a blossoming twig, once a source of music and joy.
As the flames continue their rampage, furniture, paintings, musical instruments, and household icons alike fall victim to the destruction. A favorite coffee mug escapes only cracked, and a window is reformed for their new home. A copy of his previous book, “Rites of the Earth,” escapes with charred pages. From these bits and pieces they reconstruct their lives.

Northbound Single Lane

Northbound Single Lane
Marsha Mathews

Mathews explores, with two children in tow, the wonders of a museum, an Appalachian trail, a garden plot in her new home and her first view of snow. Add to these stories a few more with themes of pregnancy, childbirth, motherhood, falling in love, divorce, and single parenting. Mathews provides a tightly woven work which scales the heights of human experience and emotion.
For male readers, many of the topics in Northbound Single Lane are terra incognita, so the first poem to strike a resonant chord for me was”Death Pulls me South.” This poem is the author's tale of her travel to her dad's funeral. It called to mind my own fathers death, at 92, and his graveside service, complete with bugle and twenty-one gun salute. The visitation she describes is quite different, but loss and mourning are universal, and her words bring the point home with eloquence and sad beauty.

Reviewed by Ray Zimmerman, Executive Editor
Southern Light Press

More Storm Poems

Texting

Tornado
In it
Me 2
U OK



My Neighborhood

Flowers among rocks
Campfires and Whiskey
Candles in the Wind

Dedication

Officials give impressive speeches.
Little boy rides by on tricycle.
Brmm Brmm Brmm
Blah Blah Blah
Bye Bye.

another storm poem

A Mother

Dropped one of
at elementary, another
at high school.

Saw the funnel,
sheltered in
a convenience store.

Wondered
which daughter she
should go to first.

5 Star Review

Carolyn Sieradzki, a former Chattanooga resident gave Southern Light a five star review on Amazon.com It is reprinted bewlow.

When I read poetry, I expect to hear music and see light, to sense cadence and color as well as to learn, even obliquely, something about the poet’s experience. I grew up in the South and I know whereof the poets whose poems appear in Southern Light: Twelve Contemporary Southern Poets speak. The music created by these poets, by their accents, by their well-chosen, well-placed words delights the ear. The quality of light, that Southern Light of the title, is the light that I remember from childhood, piercing and surrounding, sharp and mellow, illuminating external events that everyone experiences and internal realizations that only the individual suspects. From public history to personal pain they have left very little out, but one wants more. If you read only one book this summer, read Southern Light. It will take you to places you remember well and to places you have only imagined before.

Carolyn

Storm Poem

I wrote this while watching the dance/ceremony for healing on the Walnut Street Bridge yesterday. May we all feel the healing.

The Healing

The dance is not linear.
Forward and back
the dancers turn.
Elaborate moves
heal the hurt
inflicted
by nonlinear winds,
whirling in
their greatest power

Tai Chi master
plays wooden flute.
Guitar strings vibrate.
Energy of peace
stronger than solid earth
which cracks beneath
a nuke plant.
Tsunami wipes out
coastal villages.

Homeless man stands
before the dancers
Backs across bridge.
Seems to preside.

New Voices

New Voices:
Pasha Coffee House,
3914 St. Elmo Avenue,
Saturday, May 7
6:30 PM to 8:30 PM

Hot improvisational jazz meets the power of the spoken word. The Undoctored Originals include Dr. Jim Woodford, Keyboards, Dr. Bob Vogt, Saxophone, Billy Lowry, Drums, Ian Kibby, Euphonium, and Jack Gaillard, Congas.

Readings by Chattanooga area writers: Past participants have included Ray Zimmerman, Finn Bille, Jim Pfitzer, Bruce Majors, N.L. Diwan, Mary Wier, Julie Alexander, K.B Ballentine, E. Smith Gilbert, Christian J. Collier, Mark “Pork Chop” Holder, Bob Dombrowski, Marcus Ellsworth, and others.

Contact: znaturalist@yahoo.com

Immediately Before New Voices
Book Signing by
Ray Zimmerman, Executive Editor
Southern Light:
Twelve Contemporary Southern Poets
Pasha Coffee House – May 7
5:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Southern Light

What makes Southern Light Southern? This question is best answered by Ed Lindberg in the introduction to the book:

Introduction
The poets in this volume have one thing in common. All are native to or have spent some sizable portion of their lives in the distinct physical and cultural geography of the Southern United States. This book presents some of the best examples of poets currently working in the South. Some of these poets are well recognized while others are not widely known. Some are academicians; some shun the academy. Some are young; several are past sixty. In this volume we show the vigor and variety of contemporary Southern poets.

The label “Southern” can be expressed as a form of striking depiction supported by a certain perspective on the contents of the heart. A huge body of written work from poems to novels to songs continues to come from this geography. This intense flow of words may have some common source and in­fluence. Some suggested origins of this diverse output of work have been religion, separatist politics, ethnicity, the language of the King James Bible, and Elizabethan English. Other components include land worked, struggled and fought for, the hard dignity of integrity, and various story telling forms and traditions.

I think whatever informs and impacts the lands of place and heart is the definition of what generates this considerable literary effort labeled “Southern”. A central component of important stories is the cost of things and how things come to be. If they are anything, good poems are stories and are put down to tell of what has come upon or to their writer from whatever source named or unnamed, nameable or unnam­able. Experience is the heat that ferments the passion to tell.
Ed Lindberg

Published

Having a book is like having a second job - one that doesn't pay.

Launch

Winder Binder Gallery will host Robert Morgan, member of the fellowship of southern writers, winner of an Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and a featured poet in Southern Light: Twelve Contemporary Southern Poets on Saturday, April 16 at 6:00 PM. Launch of the book will continue at 2:00 PM on Sunday, April 17, with reading by other contributors to the book (biographical sketches attached).

Robert Morgan
Robert Morgan is the author of eleven books of poetry, most recently The Strange Attractor: New and Selected Poems and October Crossing. He has also published eight volumes of fiction, including Gap Creek and Brave Enemies: A Novel of the American Revolution. Winner of the Hanes Poetry Award from the Fellowship of Southern Writers, the North Carolina Award, and the Appalachian Heritage Award, he has also received an Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Gap Creek, a New York Times bestseller, also received the Southern Book Award. A nonfiction book, Boone: A Biography, received the Kentucky Book Award in 2008. A native of western North Carolina and a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers, Morgan has taught since 1971 at Cornell University where he is now Kappa Alpha Professor of English.



Winder Binder Gallery and Book Store will host the book launch for Southern Light: Twelve Contemporary Southern Poets at 2:00 PM, Sunday, April 17. This launch will be part of their 4th Annual Faux Bridges Art and Literature Festival http://www.fauxbridges.com/
Faux Bridges also has a Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=146361792098062


For Immediate Release

Contact: Ray Zimmerman znaturalist@yahoo.com




Ford, Falcon and McNeil, publishers, are pleased to announce the release of Southern Light: Twelve Contemporary Southern Poets, a diverse collection of authors connected to the southern landscape. Each poet speaks, with a unique voice, of a land illuminated by the hot southern sun. Over 180 poems celebrate both regional traditions and life in the New South.

The collection begins with twenty poems reclaimed from out of print works by Robert Morgan and continues with poems by regional writers. Many of the works are published in this volume for the first time while others are well known and award winning.

Southern Light includes poems by: Robert Morgan, Penny Dyer, Bill Brown, Bruce Majors, Jenny Sadre-Orafai, Rebecca Cook, Ray Zimmerman, E. Smith Gilbert, Helga Kidder, K. B. Ballentine, Finn Bille, and Dan Powers.

Follow us on Faceboook at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Southern-Light/159959427392604

Book Launch

Winder Binder Gallery and Book Store will host the book launch for Southern Light: Twelve Contemporary Southern Poets at 2:00 PM, Sunday, April 17. This launch will be part of their 4th Annual Faux Bridges Art and Liuterature Festival http://www.fauxbridges.com/
Faux Bridges also has a Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=146361792098062

For Immediate Release

Contact: Ray Zimmerman znaturalist@yahoo.com

Ford, Falcon and McNeil, publishers, are pleased to announce the release of Southern Light: Twelve Contemporary Southern Poets, a diverse collection of authors connected to the southern landscape. Each poet speaks, with a unique voice, of a land illuminated by the hot southern sun. Over 180 poems celebrate both regional traditions and life in the New South.

The collection begins with twenty poems reclaimed from out of print works by Robert Morgan and continues with poems by regional writers. Many of the works are published in this volume for the first time while others are well known and award winning.

Southern Light includes poems by: Robert Morgan, Penny Dyer, Bill Brown, Bruce Majors, Jenny Sadre-Orafai, Rebecca Cook, Ray Zimmerman, E. Smith Gilbert, Helga Kidder, K. B. Ballentine, Finn Bille, and Dan Powers.

Follow us on Faceboook at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Southern-Light/159959427392604

April 3 Event

The Undoctored Originals will participate in a Jazz porgram at the Hunter Museum on Sunday, April 3. This is a free admission (first Sunday) day at the Hunter. I will be one of several poets reading with the Undoctored Origianls. This is the preliminary schedule I received for the event.

Welcome / Introduction

Shane Morrow & Adera Causey, Director of Education at The Hunter Museum

1:05 – 1:35pm Ben Friberg Trio

1:45 – 2:15pm the Undoctored Originals

2:25 – 2:50pm Azusa Dance / Ko Alexander / Shane Morrow

3:00 – 3:45pm UTC Jazz Ensemble

CLOSING REMARKS

Hubris

Those whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad.

Who is this quotation from?

evangelism

Evangelist on the bridge asks,
if you died tomorrow
would you go to heaven?

An old west gunslinger
he carves a notch on his belt
for each soul saved.

Belief

Throughout my life certain people have told me I would never amount to anything. It is on the mornings I think they may be right that I most want to give them a poke in the eye.

New Voices

For Immediate Release
March 8, 2011
Contact: Ray Zimmerman (423) 315-0721

Spoken Word Fundraiser ‘New Voices’ Planned for March 19 in Chattanooga
Event includes poetry, live jazz, readings from conservation giants to benefit Tennessee Wild

Chattanooga, TN: Tennessee Wild is pleased to present an evening of Spoken word artistry on Saturday, March 19, 8 PM to 10:30 PM at the Salvation Army, 800 McCallie Avenue, in Chattanooga. The event is open to the public. A $5 suggested donation will be collected at the door. The evening will feature the recital of original poetry as well as readings from the works some of America’s most influential conservation greats including John Muir, Aldo Leopold, Edward Abbey and Henry David Thoreau. The Undoctored Originals will perform improvisational jazz.

Local storyteller Jim Pfitzer, known as a Tennessee Treasure, will emcee the event. Pfitzer will also perform “Thinking Like a Mountain.”. The fundraiser is collaboration between local poet Ray Zimmerman and Tennessee Wild’s Jeff Hunter. According to Hunter, “Ray invited me to attend one of his New Voices events, and I was very moved by the talent in our community. I was especially struck by the fusion of impromptu jazz and poetry. It is really inspiring, and Tennessee Wild is in the business of inspiring people.”
The event will take place in the newly refurbished Salvation Army facility near the campus of UTC. Coffee and baked goods will be available. For more information, please contact Ray Zimmerman at 423-315-0721 or znaturalist@yahoo.com.


Tennessee Wild is dedicated to protecting wilderness on the Cherokee National Forest for the benefit and enjoyment of current and future generations. We aim to educate the public about the benefits of wilderness and promote volunteerism and the sound stewardship of Tennessee's wild places.
###

Southern Lights

Coming soon from
Ford, Falcon and McNeil, Publishers

Southern Light: Twelve Contemporary Southern Poets

Ray Zimmerman, Executive Editor
Bruce Majors, Editor
Ed Lindberg, Editor

Bird Walk

This is an official field trip of the Tennessee Ornithological Society, Chattanooga Chapter.

Saturday, March 19, 8:00 AM
Brainerd Levee
Ray Zimmerman 315-0721 or znaturalist@yahoo.com
Meet at the parking lot near the intersection of Shallowford Road and Moore Road.
Ducks are preparing for their departure, but a number should still be in the area if the water levels are right. Some early arrival shorebirds are possible. If you have access to a scope, you may want to bring it. Dress for the weather, which can get quite windy on the levee.

Monteagle Mountain

Monteagle Mountain

White clouds offset
blue sky
directionless, ever swirling.
The space between branches

Warrior Poet

Steve Toth recently posted this in the Warrior Poet Society blog. Reposted here with his permission.

TIGER PEOPLE
Steve Toth

When a tiger
comes to the watering hole
the other animals
lose their thirst
in a hurry

Some run others slip away
Some scamper others bolt to shadows
Some raise dust clouds others take wing
but all are well suited
for making themselves scarce

Unhurried he walks in the royal manner
as if everything belongs to him
Some people in power get to
feeling especially entitled but there is
more tapeworm than tiger to them

When things get tough they are more
than ready to fight to the last
drop of everyone else's blood
A parasite cares nothing
about the welfare of its host

Tell the dictators we won't be
taking any more dictations
The people are the tigers now
So fly monkeys fly
Crawl tapeworms crawl

Classic Poem

Dennis Fritzinger posted this classic on the Warrior Poet Society list

Break the Mirror

In the morning
After taking cold shower
----------What a mistake----- -----
I look at the mirror.

There, a funny guy,
Grey hair, white beard, wrinkled skin,
----------What a pity-------- --
Poor, dirty, old man!
He is not me, absolutely not.

Land and life
Fishing in the ocean
Sleeping in the desert with stars
Building a shelter in mountains
Farming the ancient way
Singing with coyotes
Singing against nuclear war--
I'll never be tired of life.
Now I'm seventeen years old,
Very charming young man.

I sit down quietly in lotus position,
Meditating, meditating for nothing.
Suddenly a voice comes to me:

"To stay young,
To save the world,
Break the mirror."

Nanao Sakaki

New Voices Fundraiser

Spoken Word Fundraiser ‘New Voices’ Planned for March 19 in Chattanooga
Event includes poetry, live jazz, readings from conservation giants to benefit Tennessee Wild

Chattanooga, TN: Tennessee Wild is pleased to present an evening of Spoken word artistry on Saturday, March 19, 8 PM to 10:30 PM at the Salvation Army, 800 McCallie Avenue, in Chattanooga. The event is open to the public. A $5 suggested donation will be collected at the door. The evening will feature the recital of original poetry as well as readings from the works some of America’s most influential conservation greats including John Muir, Aldo Leopold, Edward Abbey and Henry David Thoreau. The Undoctored Originals will perform improvisational jazz.

Local storyteller Jim Pfitzer, known as a Tennessee Treasure, will emcee the event. Pfitzer will also perform “Thinking Like a Mountain.”. The fundraiser is collaboration between local poet Ray Zimmerman and Tennessee Wild’s Jeff Hunter. According to Hunter, “Ray invited me to attend one of his New Voices events, and I was very moved by the talent in our community. I was especially struck by the fusion of impromptu jazz and poetry. It is really inspiring, and Tennessee Wild is in the business of inspiring people.”
The event will take place in the newly refurbished Salvation Army facility near the campus of UTC. Coffee and baked goods will be available. For more information, please contact Ray Zimmerman at 423-315-0721 or znaturalist@yahoo.com.

Tennessee Wild is dedicated to protecting wilderness on the Cherokee National Forest for the benefit and enjoyment of current and future generations. We aim to educate the public about the benefits of wilderness and promote volunteerism and the sound stewardship of Tennessee's wild places.

The Shadow of Sirius

The Shadow of Sirius
W.S. Merwin
Reviewed by Ray Zimmerman
Merwin completed this collection shortly before being named Poet Laureate of the United States. These hauntingly beautiful works reflect his lifelong concern for the natural world and use of stunning nature images. “The Curlew,” is a personal favorite of this reviewer:
When the moon has gone I fly on alone
into this night where I have never been....
The poems are evocative of the spirit Merwin manifested his earlier collection The Lice, and particularly the poem “For a Coming Extinction::”
Gray whale
Now that we are sending you to The End
That great god
Tell him
That we who follow you invented forgiveness
And forgive nothing
Get a copy of this book today.

Talismans

Talismans (Short Fiction Collection)
Sybil Baker
Reviewed by Ray Zimmerman
Elise is disarmingly honest in her appraisal of the boys and men in her life. As heroine of this collection of linked short stories, she begins her narrative in kindergarten when she beats a boy in a race and doesn’t realize until years later why this victory fails to impress him. She is equally forthright in her commentary on the adult men who later appear as friends, companions, and lovers.
The one man who remains enigmatic is the father who returned from Vietnam to start a family with her mother and abandoned them the year after she was born. He seeks peace in another Asian country and dies of drowning before she enters school.
A grown Elise travels to Asia after the death of her mother who seemed as distant as the deceased father. As a teacher and then a casual tourist she is determined to find clues to her father’s life and motivation. A powerful ending reveals how both parents have shaped her psyche through their absence, perhaps with greater impact than presence could have allowed. A must read.

New Voices

New Voices:
This Saturday with Guest MC Finn bille
Pasha Coffee House,
3914 St. Elmo Avenue,
6:00 to 9:00 PM
Saturday February 19, 2011

Hot improvisational jazz meets the power of the spoken word. The Undoctored Originals include Dr. Jim Woodford, Keyboards, Dr. Bob Vogt, Saxophone, Billy Lowry, Drums, Ian Kibby, Euphonium, and Jack Gaillard, Congas.

Readings by Chattanooga area writers: Past participants have included Ray Zimmerman, Finn Bille, Jim Pfitzer, Bruce Majors, N.L. Diwan, Mary Wier, Julie Alexander, K.B Ballentine, E. Smith Gilbert, Christian J. Collier, Mark “Pork Chop” Holder, Bob Dombrowski, Marcus Ellsworth, and others.

Look for a special New Voices,

Saturday, March 19, 8 – 10 PM

Salvation Army hall across from UTC.

The Monday edition is a fund raiser for Tennessee Wild.

Meacham Writers Workshop

MEACHAM WRITERS’ CONFERENCE RETURNS FOR SPRING 2011

Offering free readings and workshops twice a year, the biannual conference connects local writers with award-winning authors.

Chattanooga, Tennessee (February 10, 2011) – Since 1985 the Meacham Writers’ Conference has been an opportunity for the Chattanooga community improve their own writing, as well as appreciate the work of nationally and internationally acclaimed authors. Each conference includes public readings by the visiting authors, as well as workshops, individual conferences, and seminars for local writers to receive feedback and instruction from the published writers. Held March 24-26th, all events are free and open to the public.

Visiting writers this conference include Iztok Osojnic and Amir Or from Slovenia and Israel, respectively, Art Smith, John Hoppenthaler, Cathy Holton, Beth Nugent, Laurel Snyder, Robert Vivian and Terrence Hawkins.

Readings will be held Thursday, March 24 at 7:00pm at Chattanooga State, Health Science Center, HSC 1085, as well as a community reading/reception at 909 Oak Street Fortwood (near UTC) at 9:00pm; Friday, March 25 at 12:00pm at UTC, University Center, Raccoon Mountain room, 7:00 pm at UTC, EMCS building, Benwood Auditorium; and Saturday, March 26 3:00pm at the Chattanooga Theatre Center.

A combination of creative writing workshops, individual conferences and seminars will be held on Saturday, March 26th from 9:00am to 2:00pm at UTC’s University Center. Additionally, there will be an hour of individual conferences on Friday afternoon from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm.
All those who submit works for review will be assigned to a seminar with a writer in the genre they have submitted. In addition, participants may indicate their preference for an individual workshop, group workshop, or participation in both. There are, however, limited spaces for individual conferences, and organizers will set priorities in filling those slots.

To participate, writers MUST submit their work by March 1st. Up to three poems or up to twelve double-spaced pages of prose can be submitted. Please visit http://meachamwriters.org/submissions.htm to submit and for more information. Online submission is preferred, however, if absolutely necessary, participants may bring three copies each of their work in collated packets to Richard Jackson, Meacham Writer's Workshop, UTC Engl. Department #2703, 203 Holt Hall.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS MARCH 4th!

New Voices

Pasha Coffee House,
3914 St. Elmo Avenue
Chattanooga, Tennessee
6:00 to 9:00 PM
Saturday, January 15, 2010
At New Voices, hot improvisational jazz meets the power of the spoken word. Hear music by The Undoctored Originals, including Dr. Jim Woodford, Keyboards, Dr. Bob Vogt, Saxophone, Billy Lowry, Drums, Ian Kibby, Euphonium, and Jack Gaillard, Congas. This event includes readings by Chattanooga area writers. Past participants have included Ray Zimmerman, Finn Bille, Jim Pfitzer, Bruce Majors, N.L. Diwan, Mary Wier, Julie Alexander, K.B Ballentine, Christian J. Collier, E. Smith Gilbert, and others. Contact: znaturalist@yahoo.com