Ray's Reviews

Romance at the Writers Guild

2012-01-28T06:38:00.001-08:00

For Immediate Release
January 26, 2011

Romance writer gives hot tips – on the Craft of Writing - at the February meeting of the Chattanooga Writers Guild
February.14, 2012
7:00 PM
The Public Library, Downtown branch

This year, our regularly scheduled meeting falls on Valentine's day, so we just had to present a romance writer, but one who has published numerous titles and been a presenter a writers workshops across the nation. Elysa Hendricks. will speak on use of craft to create a compelling genre novel, including:
Plot basics (how to use "GMC" and "Scene and Sequel);
Characterization (back story, dialogue and point-of-view);
Mechanics and grammar;
the all-important concept of Voice.

Elysa's Bio:
After trying her hand at a variety of careers: retail sales, insurance underwriter, video store owner, home day care provider, and motherhood, Elysa Hendricks, a longtime reader of romance, sat down to write a short contemporary romance. When her heroine turned out to be a winged, telepathic alien, Elysa decided she enjoyed writing stories set in different places and times. Fortunately for the reading public, that first book remains hidden under her bed along with the evil killer dust bunnies.

While living in Illinois Elysa helped found the Windy City Chapter and the Futuristic, Fantasy & Paranormal Chapters of Romance Writers of America as well as taught workshops on writing at writer’s conferences and at local community colleges. Recently relocated to central Ohio, she’s happy to be part of the Central Ohio Fiction Writer family.

After spending some time (longer than she cares to remember or tell) learning how to write, she penned a series of fantasy romances set in an alternate universe. GEMINI MOON, CRYSTAL MOON, SHADOW MOON and FORBIDDEN MOON are available from ImaJinn Books.

THE BABY RACE, her first eBook, is a short contemporary love story set in the real world of small town America.- Race Reed doesn’t want a wife, but to save his ranch he needs a baby. To gain custody of her stepsister, Claire Jensen needs a husband, but she wants love. Wants and needs are bound to clash when they run THE BABY RACE.

THIS HEART FOR HIRE is the first of two western historical romances soon to be released. The companion book, previously published with Hard Shell Word Factory will be re-released in early 2012 under the title HER WILD TEXAS HEART.

Someday she dreams of sitting on a tropical beach, writing on a laptop, while handsome, bare chested cabana boys bring her fruity, alcoholic drinks.

The Word on the Bird

2012-01-08T11:33:00.001-08:00

Ascension Lutheran Church
720 S Germantown Rd
Thursday, January 12, 2011
5:30 PM Executive Board Meeting
7:00 PM Monthly Meeting:

PROGRAM
Adventures with Audubon

Spend an hour in the studio of one of America’s greatest naturalists and wildlife artist. Listen to tales of his adventures as he finishes something no one had every accomplished before: drawing every bird in North America. Audubon will enchant you with stories of his travels and travails in the wildest places on the planet. He will celebrate the natural history of the North America as he saw it in the early 1800s. Audubon will bring to life bird behavior, focusing on the birds you are most likely to see as you go bird watching in your area. With lessons on field ecology, the scientific method, art history, and bird migration, the audience is invited to imitate birds and discuss the life histories of their favorite feathered friends.

Storyteller Brian “Fox” Ellis portrays Audubon in these entertaining and meticulously researched monologues drawing from Audubon’s journals, essays, and letters to his friends and colleagues. This program was developed with a grant from the USFWS as part of their celebration of the 100th anniversary of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Fox has performed as Audubon in museums, nature centers, birding festivals, schools and libraries across the United States, including Audubon’s home in Henderson, Kentucky.

Finn Bille's Fire Poems

2012-01-02T16:00:00.003-08:00

Chattanooga Poet survives home fire, publishes Fire Poems book, and donates a portion of the proceeds to American Red Cross.

Out of the flames of his house fire Finn Bille created poetry and collected aid for other fire victims.

Bille’s recently published collection, Fire Poems, deals with the fire that destroyed his house at 504 Fort Wood Place in Chattanooga on March 18, 2003. He and his wife, Jeanne, had lived in the Fort Wood Historic District for 25 years.

A few of these poems were also published in 2011 in the anthology, Southern Light: Twelve Contemporary Southern Poets, Executive Editor, Ray Zimmerman.

The Red Cross assisted the Billes with necessary personal items, while the neighbors united to help them with housing, clothes, and support.

Bille’s advice: Do not leave oily rags where they can start a fire. Enclose them in airtight metal containers.

When you buy a copy of Fire Poems at Winder Binder Gallery and Book Store on Frazier Avenue in Chattanooga, two dollars will be donated to the Red Cross for aid to fire victims.

2012-01-02T16:00:00.001-08:00

An excerpt from “A Walk on the Levee”

2011-12-31T07:58:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-23T09:12:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-14T14:54:00.000-08:00

Bold

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

morning

2011-12-12T04:55:00.001-08:00

Morning

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

Samaritan

2011-12-10T10:18:00.001-08:00

Samaritan

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

Shepherds

2011-12-09T04:42:00.000-08:00

Shepherds

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

Eclipse

2011-12-07T15:41:00.000-08:00

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

Moon

2011-12-06T17:13:00.000-08:00

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

Leaves

2011-12-05T04:46:00.000-08:00

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

Winter Tree

2011-12-04T14:17:00.000-08:00

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

Stream

2011-10-05T16:05:00.001-07:00

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

2011-09-18T14:24:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-18T14:22:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-07T11:51:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-19T15:19:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-11T09:36:00.001-07:00

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

2011-06-04T05:40:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-09T14:31:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-09T14:30:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-07T07:03:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-06T17:59:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-03T15:27:00.001-07:00

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

2011-05-02T15:02:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-30T14:46:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-29T17:15:00.001-07:00

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

2011-04-25T04:59:00.000-07:00

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

Launch

2011-04-14T05:11:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-09T18:08:00.000-07:00

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

2011-03-26T06:55:00.000-07:00

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

2011-03-26T06:32:00.000-07:00

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

Who is this quotation from?

evangelism

2011-03-20T12:12:00.000-07:00

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

2011-03-17T10:42:00.000-07:00

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

2011-03-08T15:13:00.000-08:00

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

2011-03-06T08:38:00.000-08:00

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

2011-03-04T17:54:00.001-08:00

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

2011-03-03T05:13:00.000-08:00

Monteagle Mountain

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

Warrior Poet

2011-03-02T15:43:00.000-08:00

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

2011-03-02T04:45:00.000-08:00

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

2011-03-01T04:41:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-27T15:23:00.001-08:00

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

2011-02-22T16:16:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-18T04:50:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-16T15:40:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-07T05:11:00.000-08:00

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

What’s Your Mission

2010-12-29T14:32:00.000-08:00

Most of the mission statements I have read recently fall flat. They fail the smell test. Organizations spend phenomenal amounts of time constructing mission statements, and so should individuals, if Steven Covey is to be believed. They invest great energy in being very precise about what they do, as a good mission statement should. They sometimes devolve into a discussion of how they will do it, which is not really a mission, but a method. They fail at this important task because they lack passion. Its one thing to state a goal, but are you prepared to rally the troops and motivate yourself to march forward. State what you do, and you are stating the obvious. Begin with why. Begin with what makes you passionate about this mission.

Emerson

2010-12-28T12:08:00.000-08:00

The earth laughs in flowers. - Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Christmas Papers

2010-12-23T13:31:00.000-08:00

This piece is copyright 2008 by Ray Zimmerman and will appear in the soon to be released anthology,
Southern Light.

Christmas Papers

I was older when I noticed
the same color and pattern
on the Christmas paper.
Each year a pattern
graced a smaller package.

Christmas morning emanated
excitement and opening
packages with scissors,
carefully cutting tape,
so as not to rip the paper.

I was older when I noticed
my mother’s hands,
ironing on Christmas night.
She ironed the same towel
again and again.

Under the towel
Christmas papers
lost their creases,
regained smooth surfaces.

Her hands rolled the paper
we could not replace. Choosing
between gifts and new paper,
she chose gifts.

Murder Mysterty

2010-12-07T17:27:00.000-08:00

I just received this announcement from Becky Wooley:

Dear Ones, My publisher is telling me that I need people to request that my book,

"Non-Prophet Murders," be made available as an ebook.

You can do this by going to Amazon.com, entering my name or the name of my book

and clicking on the question about ebooks under the cover picture. (You aren't buying anything,

you are just requesting that it be made available.)

Also, I need you to pass this email on to anyone who might want to read my funny, murder mystery.

I am available to speak for book talks, ladies' days, and book clubs.

I will supply posters and news releases.

I can travel up to 200 miles from Chattanooga, OR appear via SKYPE.

Please do send this on to many, many people.

Thank you!

Becky Wooley
www.facebook.com/BeckyWooley1

Becky is the author of the humorous clerical crime novel, "Non-Prophet Murders: A Grit and Grace Mystery." Signed copies are available from the author. Unsigned copies can be ordered from Amazon.com, Christianbook.com or Wipfandstock.com. "Non-Prophet Murders" should be available as an ebook in April of 2011.

New Voices

2010-12-06T16:38:00.001-08:00

This time around, I will be starting "New Voices" at 6:00 so those who are interested can attend another spoken word event in St. Elmo later that evening. You are invited to read. - Ray

Confirmed Readers thus far include Finn Bille, N.L. Diwan, Jim Pfitzer, Ray Zimmerman, Christyna Jensen

New Voices
Pasha Coffee House,
3914 St. Elmo Avenue,
6:00 to 8:00 PM
Saturday, December 18, 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, E. Smith Gilbert, and others. Contact: znaturalist@yahoo.com

New Voices

2010-11-19T14:42:00.001-08:00

Pasha Coffee House,
3914 St. Elmo Avenue,
6:30 to 8:30 PM
Saturday, November 20, 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, E. Smith Gilbert, and others. Contact: znaturalist@yahoo.com

Confirmed Readers for November 20
Ray Zimmerman
N.L. Diwan
Mike Riello
Jim Pfitzer
Mary Wier
Bob Dombrowski
Christian Collier
Marcus Ellsworth
Travis Kilgore
Tobiah Tillman
Scottie Allman
John Mannone
John C. Mannone, nominated three times for the Pushcart Prize in Poetry and once for the Rhysling Poetry Award, has over 150 poems and short fiction publications in literary and speculative poetry journals, including Abyss & Apex, Skive, Mobius and Pirene’s Fountain. He teaches poetry online at To Write Well and is the poetry editor for a literary fantasy magazine, Silver Blade. When not writing poetry, he does astrophysics research and is a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador for the Great State of Tennessee. Visit his interactive website/blog, The Art of Poetry: The world of poetry, the music of words at http://jcmannone.wordpress.com.

The Writing Life

2010-11-16T14:47:00.001-08:00

The Writing Life
Annie Dillard
ISBN 978-0-06-091988-7
Edit mercilessly. Annie Dillard makes this point early in her short book of advice. Comparing the construction of a book to that of a house, she points out that the portion you must cut may have been the point of the whole story, the wall that must go may be a load bearing wall. All the writer can do is take out her hammer, knock out the wall, and duck.
Dillard makes other important points, such as avoid interesting work places. They will distract you from the work.
In an odd interlude near the middle of the book, a typewriter erupts like a volcano. That metaphor may well be the whole point of her book.
If you want to write, buy this book. Read it again and again.

The Magic Bridge

2010-11-15T16:31:00.001-08:00

The Magic Bridge
Herbert Barks
ISBN 1-884327-05-3
Anyone contemplating a new venture or facing life changing circumstances should read this book. The author had served as headmaster of a private school for 17 years when he faced a major illness. As an ordained minister he had served three congregations and attended the sick and dying. He was present at the death of beloved colleague.
As he faced each crisis, he realized the truth in the words of a former student and valued friend, “Your teacher has arrived.” From this simple phrase, he gathered strength to face, and learn from, adversity. He also emphasizes wilderness as a sanctuary and teacher.
Throughout the book, Barks weaves the Russian folk tale of the Firebird. A character known only as the Hunter finds a feather from this magnificent bird. The find sets him on a series of quests which cause him to learn his ultimate destiny, a destiny greater than he imagined.

New Voices

2010-11-13T09:05:00.000-08:00

Early Winter

2010-11-13T09:01:00.001-08:00

Early Winter
Bill Brown

He is sixteen years old when his father dies in his arms. His brother returns from Vietnam, but a close friend does not. Young neighbors serve in Iraq. Villagers rebuild after a bombing. He is surprised to find his grandmother’s portrait hanging on the wall of a Cracker Barrel, next to old time memorabilia. A neighbor tells of a cave with ancient burials, but no one is able to find it.
These are but a few of the characters inhabiting Bill Brown’s book, Late Winter. Add the quiet beauty of the Tennessee hills and you understand why Brown is an acclaimed poet, why he has five books to his credit. Read this book immediately.

Ballistics

2010-11-11T15:26:00.000-08:00

Ballistics
Billy Collins

The title poem sets the tone for this latest contribution from the former Poet Laureate of the United States. Collins speculates as to what book may have been the victim in Edgerton’s famous stop action photograph. We see the bullet piercing the cover of a book, but the title is not discernable. Typical of his often used dry humor, his list of possible volumes seems to be a suggestion of various books he would not miss, would suggest sacrificing.
Collins concludes that the book in the picture must be a work of poems, a book by a fellow poet of whom he is not fond. He imagines the bullet piercing the author’s photograph adorned with that “…special poet’s hat he loves to wear.”
Collins writes poetry that is, above all, accessible. He is perhaps unique in having achieved commercial success as a contemporary poet. If you have friends who believe they don’t like poetry, have them try reading Billy Collins. His work could be a gateway for them.

Manifest

2010-11-11T15:25:00.000-08:00

Manifest
The Camp House 4127 Williams Street
Friday, November 12
Manifest is a monthly showcase to highlight local artists. At the first showcase, regional blues musician Mark “Pork Chop” Holder will give a one hour performance. Poets Sourne Korvid, Marcus Ellsworth, Anthony Pollard and Christian J. Collier will read.

The Speakeasy

2010-11-08T14:44:00.000-08:00

The Speakeasy Open Mic
The Office at City Cafe
Every Wednesday
Sign in 8:00 PM
Readings begin 8:30
With the change of venues, The Speakeasy has dropped language and content restrictions. Admission at The Office is limited to those 21 years of age and older.
For full information contact: thespeakeasypoetry@gmail.com

The speakeasy is now webcast.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thechattanoogaspeakeasy/2010/10/28/the-chattanooga-speakeasy

Congratulations Marsha Mathews

2010-11-06T08:17:00.001-07:00

Marsha Mathews’ poem, “Pastor Visits Parishioner” was selected as a finalist in the Fall 2010 Rash Awards, sponsored by the Broad River Review and Gardener-Webb University, with poet and editor Keith Flynn of the Ashville Review judging. Her poem “Blue Flowers” just came out in Child of my Child (Gelles-Cole Literary Enterprises). Marsha presented “Heartbeats: A Series of Poems” at La Lesche, a local literary group on October 11. Her first book of poems, Northbound Single-Lane was recently released by Finishing Line Press. It is available from Amazon.com and also at Winder-Binder Gallery and Books in North Chattanooga.

New Voices, November, 2010

2010-10-30T07:23:00.000-07:00

Trust

2010-10-28T13:48:00.000-07:00

Trust

A friend of mine is adamant
Thinks it highly important
we keep the words "in God we trust"
emblazoned on our currency.

I hate to disillusion him
but God has done quite well
for several millenia
without our endorsement.

God will undoubtedly do so
long after we all have departed.

Poems by Ray

2010-10-27T15:34:00.001-07:00

Wind

It rattles 'round my brain.
A freight train it roars
up canyons, mows down trres,
yet autumn leaves remain.

Presentation

2010-10-21T05:57:00.001-07:00

Local author to speak at Northgate Branch of the Public Library, at 11:00 am, Saturday, Oct. 23

RAY ZIMMERMAN, Poet, Writer, Essayist, Storyteller, Educator and Naturalist, will be the featured speaker on Saturday, Oct. 23 at 11:00 am at the Public Library's Northgate Branch, in honor of Friends of the Library Week.

Zimmerman, former president of the Chattanooga Writer's Guild, and organizer of spoken word events in Chattanooga, is a favorite in our city. He will read some of own poems, as well as poems by other authors, a short prose piece, and talk about developing the craft of writing.

Come and be delighted by his gentle spirit, wise words, and humorous observations

Refreshments provided by: Friends of the Library

Pine Tree Tops

2010-10-14T14:37:00.000-07:00

Quoting A Poem from Gary Snyder

Pine Tree Tops
in the blue night
frost haze, the sky glows
with the moon
pine tree tops
bend snow-blue, fade
into sky, frost, starlight.
the creak of boots
rabbit tracks, deer tracks,
what do we know. - Gary Snyder

New Voices

2010-10-12T17:17:00.000-07:00

Pasha Coffee House,
3914 St. Elmo Avenue,
6:30 to 8:30 PM
Saturday, October 16, 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, E. Smith Gilbert, and others. Contact: znaturalist@yahoo.com

Confirmed Readers So Far include:
Christyna Jenson
Mary Wier
Christian Collier
Bob Dombrowski
Finn Bille
N.L. Diwan
Dean Mobley
Marcus Ellsworth
Ginnie Strickland Sams
Travis Kilgore
and others

New Voices October 16

2010-10-05T17:09:00.002-07:00

Had a great reading Sunday at Winder Binder with the Southern Lights poets. This is the first time Bill Brown has read in Chattanooga in a while.

Now I am ready for more poetry, Saturday, October 16 with New Voices and the Undoctored Originals at Pasha Coffee House in St. Elmo. 6:30 to 8:30.

Oil

2010-10-05T17:09:00.001-07:00

Reposted by popular request.

Oil
Ray Zimmerman
7/5/2010

B.P. Drills for you.

Dick Cheney gave them money,
a few million or so
of taxpayer dollars
to assure America’s
energy future.
Denied they were at the meeting

Sarah Palin said
drill baby drill,
you betcha!

So the earth bleeds
oil into the Gulf
killing fish and fishing
directly or by fear.

Insinuation – don’t you dare
eat that shrimp, marinated
in the earth’s blood, in
ancient microbes under pressure
to give up
their energy stored for
our rainy day.

So the earth bleeds
killing fish and fishing
scaring investors into selling
all those condos on the beach
for pennies on the dollar
saved for their rainy day.

Their retirement goes up in flames
flaming tar balls
on the beach,
scaring tourists into staying
far away.

Put that vacation money away
save it for your rainy day.

The governors say
we need the revenue
from oil wells
with tourism going away.

Keep on drilling.

With fishing up in flames,
keep on drilling.

We need jobs
on the oil rigs.

Keep on drilling.

I say no,
stop the drilling,
but I keep driving
my truck,

reports of dead pelicans
on the radio as
I keep driving my truck.

Reports of broke fishermen
on the radio
dead fish washing ashore
still life with sand
painted by an artist,
his oil on canvas rendering
of oil on fish
of oil on beach as
I keep driving my truck.

Acclaimed Poet to Read in Chattanooga

2010-09-20T16:05:00.000-07:00

Acclaimed Poet to Read at Winder Binder

Bill Brown, author of five collections of poetry and recipient of numerous awards will lead off the Southern Lights Poetry Reading at Winder Binder Gallery and Book Store, Sunday, October 3, 2010 at 2:00 PM .

Winder Binder is located at 40 Frazier Avenue on Chattanooga ’s North Shore

Southern Lights:

Seven regional poets share the power of the spoken word:

Bill Brown grew up in Dyersburg , Tennessee .

•Five collections of poetry
•Three chapbooks
•Author of a writing textbook with Malcolm Glass
•Wrote and co-produced the Instructional Television Series, Student Centered Learning, for Nashville Public Television.
•Graduate degrees in English from the Bread Loaf School of English, Middlebury College and George Peabody College
•Directed the writing program at Hume-Fogg Academic High School in Nashville
•Part time lecturer at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University
•Scholar in Poetry at the Bread Loaf Writers Conference
•Fellow at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts
•Two Fellowships in poetry from the Tennessee Arts Commission

Penny Dyer has published work in numerous literary journals.

•2007 Oberon Poetry Prize
•2006 Louisiana Literature Prize for Poetry
•Pushcart Prize nomination for “Summer Storm, 1963”

Bruce Majors has published in several literary journals.

•Author of The Fields of Owl Roost
•First finalist - 2005 Indie Excellence Book Awards.

Rebecca Cook writes poetry and prose and has published in many literary Journals

•Two-time Pushcart nominee
•Writer’s residency at Dairy Hollow Writers’ Colony in 2005
•Margaret Bridgman Scholar in fiction at the 2009 Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference
•Chapbook of poems, The Terrible Baby, available from Dancing Girl Press
•The Terrible Baby has been translated into Romanian, poems to be published in Romanian literary journals.

Ray Zimmerman is a former president of the Chattanooga Writers Guild.

•Second Place in the 2007 poetry contest of the Tennessee Writers Alliance
•Chapbook, Searching for Cranes favorably reviewed in Bloomsbury Review

Helga Kidder received a BA in English from the University of Tennessee and an MFA in Writing from Vermont College .

•Co-founder of the Chattanooga Writers Guild and leads their poetry group
•Poetry and translations have been published in many journals and anthologies
•Chapbook Why I Reach for the Stars, was a finalist in the Firewheel Chapbook competition

E. Smith Gilbert is a pseudonym.

•Published in the United States and Great Britain
•Currently involved in documentary film

Signs

2010-08-28T13:05:00.000-07:00

Signs

Clouds promise rain.
Cuckoo sings his promise too.
All signs fail in dry weather. - Ray Zimmerman

Red Star

2010-08-28T13:04:00.000-07:00

Red Star

I awaken
beneath Antares glare.
You are still gone. - Ray Zimmerman

The Armchair Birder

2010-08-07T04:13:00.000-07:00

As previously appeared in "The New Writer"

The Armchair Birder:
Discovering the Secret Lives of Birds
John Yow
ISBN 978-0-8078-3279-0
Very occasionally, I read a book, or a passage from a book and say, “I wish I had written that.” The Armchair Birder by John Yow is such a book.
Mr. Yow is a skilled observer. He filled his book with first hand accounts of his observations of 40 common birds observed at his home in rural Georgia or on short trips away from home. Woven into this framework of observation are narratives from famous North American bird observers such as John James Audubon and Arthur Cleveland Bent. These accounts echo his own observations, complimented by reproductions of Audubon’s classic illustrations.
There is one thing his book is not. It is not a guide to bird identification. Yow picked 40 birds easily identified and took the study much further by examining the lives, behavior, and folklore of each species. The Armchair Birder is a delightful read which will motivate readers to further their own investigations.
Reviewed by Ray Zimmerman
http://znaturalist.blogspot.com

Meacham

2010-08-04T18:07:00.000-07:00

Meacham Workshop
The semi annual Meacham Writers’ Workshop is hosted by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and Chattanooga State Technical and Community College. Notable writers from across the nation participate by giving readings of their published work and by leading workshops for emerging writers. Area writers can submit manuscripts for review and evaluation. For details, see
http://www.meachamwriters.org/

library book sale

2010-08-02T19:20:00.000-07:00

As published in "The New Writer"

Library Book Sale
The Summer Book Sale to support the Chattanooga – Hamilton County Public Libraries will take place at Eastgate Town Center, August 7 -14. Readers can pick up some bargain used books, and support the libraries at the same time. Sale hours are Monday – Saturday, 9 am, to 7 pm and Sunday, 10 AM to 6 PM.

Poet Laureate

2010-08-01T15:52:00.000-07:00

This piece previously published in The New Writer

W. S. Merwin Named Poet Laureate

On July 1, James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress, announced W.S. (William Stanley) Merwin will be appointed Poet Laureate of the United States. Merwin has published more than 30 volumes of poetry, essays, and translations. He has twice been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. He is also an avid conservationist, having worked to preserve the winter habitat of Monarch Butterflies in Mexico and numerous endangered plants found near his home in Hawaii.
The Librarian of Congress appoints the Poet Laureate after consulting poets, critics and other persons in the literary world. The Laureate has an office at the Library of Congress and serves a one year term, though several have been appointed to additional terms. The current Laureate, Kay Ryan, is now serving her second term.
The office of Poet Laureate was first established as Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1937. In 1986, the title was changed to Poet Laureate and Consultant in Poetry. Robert Penn Warren was the first to serve with the new title.

coming events

2010-07-11T08:48:00.000-07:00

Ray Zimmerman and Friends
Olde Towne books
Tuesday, July 13 7:00 to 8:00 PM
3213 Brainerd Road
Chattanooga, Tn 37411
(423) 475- 7187

New Voices:
Pasha Coffee House,
3914 St. Elmo Avenue,
6:30 to 8:30 PM, (July 17)
The third Saturday of each month.
At New Voices hot improvisational jazz meets the power of the spoken word.

New Writers Alliance
Sunday, July 18, 2:00 - 3:00
Winder Binder Gallery and Book Store, 40 Frazier Avenue
on Chattanooga’s North Shore
An afternoon of local writers sharing their work Participants include Bruce Majors,
Rebecca Cook, E. Smith Gilbert, Jenny Sadre-Orafai, and Ray Zimmerman

Speakeasy Open Mic
Mudpie Restaurant
12 Frazier Avenue
Every Monday
Sign in 8:00 PM
Readings begin 8:30
The Speakeasy is a weekly poetry/spoken word open mic hosted by Christian Collier. Contact thespeakeasypoetry@gmail.com

The Chattanooga Writers Guild
Bicentennial Library
7:00 PM
The second Tuesday of each month Programs vary, but frequently feature writing and/or marketing tips.
http://www.chattanoogawritersguild.com

oil

2010-07-11T08:39:00.001-07:00

Oil
Ray Zimmerman
7/5/2010

B.P. Drills for you.

Dick Cheney gave them money,
a few million or so
of taxpayer dollars
to assure America’s
energy future.
Denied they were at the meeting

Sarah Palin said
drill baby drill,
you betcha!

So the earth bleeds
oil into the Gulf
killing fish and fishing
directly or by fear.

Insinuation – don’t you dare
eat that shrimp, marinated
in the earth’s blood, in
ancient microbes under pressure
to give up
their energy stored for
our rainy day.

So the earth bleeds
killing fish and fishing
scaring investors into selling
all those condos on the beach
for pennies on the dollar
saved for their rainy day.

Their retirement goes up in flames
flaming tar balls
on the beach,
scaring tourists into staying
far away.

Put that vacation money away
save it for your rainy day.

The governors say
we need the revenue
from oil wells
with tourism going away.

Keep on drilling.

With fishing up in flames,
keep on drilling.

We need jobs
on the oil rigs.

Keep on drilling.

I say no,
stop the drilling,
but I keep driving
my truck,

reports of dead pelicans
on the radio as
I keep driving my truck.

Reports of broke fishermen
on the radio
dead fish washing ashore
still life with sand
painted by an artist,
his oil on canvas rendering
of oil on fish
of oil on beach as
I keep driving my truck.

more poetry

2010-07-06T17:22:00.000-07:00

Ray Zimmerman
and Friends
Olde Towne books
3213 Brainerd Road
Chattanooga, Tn 37411
(423) 475- 7187

Join a few area poets to hear their work.
Tuesday, July 13
7:00 to 8:00 PM
Innovative verse on the cutting edge.

New Writers Alliance

2010-06-05T06:18:00.001-07:00

New Writers Alliance

Sunday, July 18, 2:00 to 3:00 PM
Winder Binder Gallery and Book Store
40 Frazier Avenue
Chattanooga’s North Shore
An afternoon of writers reading their work for your listening pleasure.

Bruce Majors http://www.new-works.org/8_4johnson/roost.htm

Jenny Sadre-Orafe http://www.jennysadre-orafai.com/

Rebecca Cook http://www.meachamwriters.org/writers/rebecca-cook.htm

E. Smith Gilbert

Ray Zimmerman http://createhere.chattablogs.com/archives/2009/01/chattanooga-spo.html

North Chattanooga

2010-05-29T09:16:00.001-07:00

In view of the recent oil spill, I am reposting a poem I wrote several months ago.

North Chattanooga

Chicken wrap and fries
Six ninety-eight
All the lard you can eat
Fries clogging arteries
Of drivers as they clog
Traffic arteries burning
Oil and gas

Lawyers argue in Washington
Claiming their clients have
Already paid enough for
Letting a drunk run
Hard aground in
Prince William Sound
Oil polluting ocean water
Instead of Chattanooga Air
Where drivers burn oil
To get to Coolidge Park

A dragon kite flies mimicking
Fixed wing vultures though
The wooden slats give it a
Bat like appearance flying
Above pigeons and a gorgeous
Redhead throwing a Frisbee
Over her boyfriend’s Head
Beaning an innocent pigeon

The Park comes alive as lawyers
Prowl the sterile halls of justice
In Washington, stop to wash
And sanitize their hands
But can’t remove the oil
Of Prince William Sound as
It sticks to the money
In their wallets

They argue to limit damages
Paid to Alaskans twenty years
After the ship in the Sound
Ran aground killing herring
Killing the fishing economy
For twenty years as young men
Reach middle age and middle

Aged women reach retirement
But can’t sell their commercial
Fishing license with the economy
Gone to hell and who can tell
Them to switch to tourism
Since the oil killed the whale

New Voices

2010-05-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

New Voices: Where hot improvisational jazz meets the power of the spoken word: Pasha Coffee House, 3914 St. Elmo Avenue, the third Saturday of each month, 6:30 to 8:30 PM.

Meet The Undoctored Originals. They improvise transition music between speakers and continue improvising during the intermission. Their improvisations show changing rhythm patterns, melodic phrases and real time synergy that takes the audience to new realms. The instrumental interplay with spoken words culminates in an astonishing conclusion.

The Undoctored Originals include Dr. Jim Woodford, Keyboards, Dr. Bob Vogt, Saxophone, Billy Lowry, Drums, Ian Kibby, Euphonium, and Jack Gaillard, Congas. The June 19 event will include special guest Dr. Rich Fastiggi on guitar.
Participating Writers from the Chattanooga area have included Bruce Majors, E. Smith Gilbert, Veronique Bergeron, Julie Alexander, Mary Wier, Bob Dombrowski, Ray Zimmerman, N.L. Diwan, Ninian Williams, Mike Bodine, and others.

Rubbyat

2010-05-09T11:35:00.000-07:00

Awake, for morning in the bowl of night
Hath flung the stone that puts the stars to flight
and low the Hunter of the Est hath caught
The Sultan's turret in a nose of gloden light

Omar Khayyam of Ancient Persia
This is the first of 88 Stanzas

A special place

2010-05-08T06:02:00.000-07:00

A Special Place
Ray Zimmerman
© 2010

There is a special place in Hell
For people who design
Online forms.

The single mother, whose
public terminal shut down,
just before she completed
the unemployment application,
will dance on your fingers
as you dangle from a cliff,
from which you never fall.

If you designed a phone system
to intentionally prevent
the caller from speaking
to a human, you will forever
push buttons, that lead nowhere.

Para Español, marke el dos.
Lo siento mucho,
no habla español.

To obtain credit
for time spent in Purgatory,
press three.
If you have lost
your travel visa for Heaven,
press four.

Your call is very important to us.
Please be patient.
All demons are busy assisting
other Hell bound customers.

Bumper Sticker

2010-05-02T11:58:00.000-07:00

I recently saw a bumper sticker that read, "Socialism: a good idea until you run out of other people's money." By this definition, most financial endeavors in our society are socialist enterprises. Think of it, banking, finance, insurance, and the stock market all involve generating profits or loss (mostly loss these days) by taking unwarrented risks with other people's money.

quotation

2010-04-24T13:42:00.000-07:00

When Facism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.
- Sinclair Lewis

read around Tennessee

2010-04-05T16:48:00.001-07:00

Read Around Tennessee
Saturday, April 17, 2:00 to 4:00 PM
Winder Binder Gallery and Book Store
40 Frazier Avenue
Chattanooga’s North Shore
Sponsored by
Tennessee Writers Alliance
Chattanooga Writers Guild
Check Winder Binder on Facebook
Join us at Winder Binder for readings by area authors. Thanks to Winder Binder Gallery and Book Store for hosting us. Faux Bridge Festival by Winder Binder takes place the same day. Contact Ray Zimmerman, znaturalist@yahoo.com or 423-315-0721 for additional information about Read Around Tennessee, Chattanooga venue, or New Voices Poetry Readings.

Confirmed Participants in Read Around Tennessee – Reading in this order

Sybil Baker’s linked short story collection, Talismans, will be published by C & R Press in Fall 2010. She teaches literature and writing and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and will be reading from her novel The Life Plan http://www.sybilbaker.com/home.html

Penny Dyer is the recipient of the 2007 Oberon Poetry Prize, and the 2006 Louisiana Literature Prize for Poetry. Her work also appears in Original Sin: The Seven Deadlies Come Home to Roost, SouthernReader, Poems Niederngasse, SouthLit, Arsenic Lobster, Dogwood, Oberon, and Narrative. Penny writes in several genres, and is at work on a poetry collection, Awaiting the Fall of Babylon, and a novel, How Sweet the Sound. Her poem “Summer Storm, 1963” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

Bruce Majors grew up in East Tennessee, graduated from Tennessee Technological University, and is retired from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). He has published poems in Arts and Letters, Homespun Magazine, The Distillery, NCPS Pinesong, River Poets Journal, Number One, and other literary journals. His book, The Fields of Owl Roost, is an autobiographical collection of loosely related poems that has been said to capture the eccentricity of our imperfect world. It was named first finalist in the 2005 Indie Excellence Book Awards.

Jenny Sadre-Orafai’s first chapbook, Weed Over Flower, was chosen for publication by Finishing Line Press. Her poetry has appeared in or is forthcoming in: Wicked Alice, can we have our ball back?, Literary Mama, Poetry Midwest, Boxcar Poetry Review, slant, Caesura, Gargoyle, ouroboros review, H_NGM_N, and other fine journals. Sadre-Orafai’s prose has appeared in Rock Salt Plum, in the Seal Press anthology, Waking Up American, and in the All Things That Matter Press anthology Contemporary American Women: Our Defining Passages. She currently serves as poetry editor for JMWW and is Assistant Professor of English at Kennesaw State University. : www.jennysadre-orafai.com

Rebecca Cook writes poetry and prose and has published in many literary journals including New England Review, Northwest Review, New Orleans Review, Wicked Alice, Midwest Quarterly, Story South, and Quarter After Eight. A two-time Pushcart nominee, she was awarded a writer’s residency at Dairy Hollow Writers’ Colony in 2005, and she was a Margaret Bridgman Scholar in fiction at the 2009 Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. Her chapbook of poems, The Terrible Baby, is available from Dancing Girl Press. Poems from The Terrible Baby have been translated into Romanian and will appear in several Romanian literary journals in 2010. She teaches creative writing and literature at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga.

E. Smith Gilbert has published in the United States and Great Brittan. His works appear regularly in Poetica and in TPQ Online.

Becky Wooley knows where the bodies are buried! She is a minister’s wife and former church secretary with journalism experience and writing credits in four states. She and her husband, Bruce, have attended or ministered to seven Universities and fifteen congregations of the Church of Christ and have been affiliated with five Christian schools. She will be reading from her latest murder mystery, "Non-Prophet Murders", a clerical crime novel and satire in which Grit and Grace, two young members of a progressive, Christian fellowship, solve the murders of three ministers.

Ray Zimmerman was the subject of a feature article in the September, 2008 issue of Blush magazine. His poetry chap book Searching for Cranes received a favorable mention from Contributing Editor Jeff Biggers in the November – December issue of Bloomsbury Review. Ray’s nonfiction has appeared in Envirolink magazine, Hellbender Press, and Legacy: The Journal of Interpretation. His photographs have appeared in the Photographic Society of America, PSA Journal, Tennessee Conservationist, and Cappers. He is a former president of the Chattanooga Writers Guild and won Second Place in the 2007 poetry contest of the Tennessee Writers Alliance. He read his winning poem, “Glen Falls Trail” at the Southern Festival of Books at Legislative Plaza, Nashville, Tennessee, ten days after undergoing coronary bypass surgery. He has organized poetry readings at Pasha Coffee House other Chattanooga venues.

N.L Diwan taught 4th grade in Dalton , Georgia and foreign language exploratory in the 6th, 7th, & 8th graders …Spanish, French and Latin respectively at Rossville Middle School .She has traveled to India 7 times each time for several months. She has also traveled to Italy and England. She has the honor of being born in Chattanooga where natives seem to be an endangered species. My dad was born here and so was her daughter and grandson. Her family is listed in the first families of Tennessee.

Ben Fischer grew up in the Northeast, but went to school in Texas and lived in Austin and Houston for ten years before moving to Chattanooga last year. He has published fiction and poetry in places like Black Dog Magazine, The Claremont Review, and Short Stories Bimonthly.

Bob Dombrowski is an artist with a history extending through sound explorations and performances to installation of outdoor sculpture. He is currently focused on writing as well as sculpture. Several of his artist’s books are archived in the Museum of Modern Art, as well as Poet’s House in NYC.
He has performed in venues where he read his poetry, throughout the eastern United States. He has been published in volumes of writings such as “Emerson at Harvard”; “Help Yourself”, and “The Spirit in the Words”. He also currently writes for an online journal, IPSFeatures.com.

Desert Notes

2010-03-27T06:48:00.001-07:00

"The land does not give easily. The desert is like a boulder: you expect to wait. You expect night to come. But you expect some-time it will loosen into pieces to be examined." - Desert Notes, Barry Lopez

Later the author goes on to say:
"Your confidence in these finely etched maps is understandable, for at first glance they seem excellent, the best man is capable of; but your confidence is misplaced. Throw them out. They are the wrong sort of map. They are too thin. They are not the sort of map that can be followed by a man who knows what he is doing. The coyote, even the crow would regard them with suspicion."

Read this years ago, and recently re-read it. Desert Notes and the companion volumes River Notes and Field Notes are the work of a master craftsman.

Equinox

2010-03-24T16:38:00.000-07:00

Written especially for the Equinox performance of New Voices Poetry and The Undoctored Originals (Jazz Improv Band), Chattanooga, TN. http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=dsbQaOF_ Awo

March 20, 2010
Ray Zimmerman

Equinox

Equinox is the sun
Stretching toward zenith
Reaching zenith
But not here.

Equinox is the red fox
I saw beside Scenic Highway
Walking about
The last night before spring.

The chorus frogs
Wind up their serenade.
Spring began for them
Two months ago.

Equinox is the bull
Fleeing Orion in the east.
The hounds join the chase.
The Twins look on.

Equinox is a tadpole
Hatching from an egg,
The sun spinning out
Cosmic dust from beginnings.

Red maples reach full bloom.
The forest seems to blush.
Bloodroot spreads white blossoms,
Oozes red sap when bruised.

I seek the crescent moon
Already beyond the horizon,
Fill with joy,
Howl my lament.

Hiking

2010-03-06T07:57:00.000-08:00

A brief segment from my soon to be published book.

I remember the words of Edward Abbey in Beyond the Wall. “The more often you stop, the more difficult it is to continue. Stop too long and they cover you with rocks.”

It appears to me that I have been a pretty tame environmentalist. I have not taken much action to preserve wild lands, nor have I done much to raise awareness. I need to preserve the lands I love – no more sentiment without action. I have stopped too long and need to get going before they cover me with rocks.

I think of how small and powerless I am compared to the giant government, indifferent to conservation and frequently complicit with business and industry in despoiling the natural environment. I think of how small I am compared to the developers and giant corporations, with their wealth. I wonder what I can do with my small resources.

Thinking these thoughts I heard the piercing call of a red tailed hawk and looked up to see the great raptor pursued by a kingbird. The kingbird is no larger than a blue jay or a mockingbird but it controls its territory, it chases away the bigger birds. Lord, give me the strength to be a kingbird.

The Levee Revisited

2010-03-04T15:23:00.000-08:00

The following piece is an excerpt from my article, The Levee Revisited, which appeared in Hellbender Press some years ago. It is also included in my soon to be published book, Guardians and Other Sightings.

The kingfisher I normally see at this marsh is strangely absent from view today. I am surprised by its absence, since I see the bird on nearly every trip here.

On my return trip, walking back toward the parking lot, I heard the rattling call of the kingfisher from the willows across the water. The bird was present, but in hiding, revealed only by its unique call.

Then it lifted from the cover and flew across the water, low. It was hunting for a fish dinner. I saw the kingfisher stop and perch on a fence that ran right into the water.

The bird perched only briefly. Then it was up high, hovering over the marsh like a miniature osprey, preparing to descend and deal death to the fish below.

Only the hovering is like an osprey through. The kingfisher is not a raptor like the osprey or bald eagle. They grasp their victims in the talons of their feet and barely wet their feathers. The kingfisher hovered and dropped. The descent ended with its whole body immersed in the water. Then it emerged, with no fish in its beak, and flies across the water.

Not easily discouraged, the bird is hovered and dropped again and again. Finally it moved to the trees across the marsh, perhaps with meal in beak, though I really couldn’t tell from my vantage point.

As I left the Marsh, the bird hovered over the water yet again. I am uncertain as to whether it failed in its last attempt, or is simply hungry for more fish. In either event, the marsh will provide a feast for kingfisher, heron, egret, and duck. It provided a physical feast for the birds and a psychic feast for me as I left, happy with the day’s observations and discoveries.

As the march of progress continues to assault the natural environment the question remains, will we preserve the unique beauty of this wetland and its bird species both resident and migratory, or will they become only one more monument to “progress.”

Guardian

2010-03-03T15:29:00.000-08:00

Excerpt for "The Guardian," first section of my unpublished book, Guardians and Other Sightings.

The guardian has a thick body, like the biceps of a body builder. Her body is filled with membranous eggs without shells. They hatch when expelled, snakes born alive.
The young snakes will have a rattle, just like mom. They will shake their rattle as a warning. Beware their presence as you stop to admire a pink lady’s slipper orchid or a Catesby’s trillium with delicate, lavender, recurved petals. The guardians may be there, just off the trail saying, “Don’t tread on me.”

New Voices Poetry

2010-03-01T16:19:00.001-08:00

New Voices Poetry includes talented local poets and writers as well as improvisational jazz by the Undoctored Originals.
It all takes place in the St. Elmo Living Room, in the same building as Pasha Coffee House, Blacksmith's Restaurant, and Asher Love Gallery. Food and Drink are readily available at the coffee house and restaurant.

Saturday, March 20, 2010
6:00pm - 9:00pm
3914 St. Elmo Ave. Chattanooga, TN 37409

Refuge - an Unnatural History

2010-02-19T11:40:00.001-08:00

“Tolerating blind obedience in the name of patriotism or religion ultimately takes our lives.
When the Atomic Energy Commission described the country north of the Nevada Test Site as ‘virtually uninhabited desert terrain,’ my family and the birds at Great Salt Lake were some of the ‘virtual uninhabitants'." – Refuge, an Unnatural History, Terry Tempest Williams

Williams and her Utah family are among the group of unfortunate people known as Downwinders. See http://www.downwinders.org

Thoreau

2010-02-19T11:39:00.000-08:00

Quote from Walden:

I plan to build me a house which will surpass any on the main street in Concord in grandeur and luxury, as soon as it pleases me as much and will cost me no more than my present one. – Walden, or Life in the Woods, Henry David Thoreau

The Guardian

2010-02-14T12:33:00.000-08:00

From "The Guardian" as published in Feed Your Brain.

Introduction:

The Guardian

The Guardian moves in circles, round and round, beside the road. She is not coiling, not preparing to strike, just circling. Is she injured by a passing car? Is she warming up, absorbing heat from the pavement? Is she preparing to give birth?

I stop the car but don’t get out. I don’t want to meet the guardian. I have no wish to uncurl the scaly body and take an accurate measurement of the guardian’s length. I have enough woodsman’s knowledge to have a healthy respect for the power of a mature timber rattlesnake.

What the Ants are Saying

2010-02-14T12:31:00.000-08:00

it wont be long now it wont be long
till earth is barren as the moon
and sapless as a mumbled bone

dear boss i relay this information
without any fear that humanity
will take warning and reform

archy

- excerpted from Don Marquis, “What the Ants are Saying” as it appeared in The Lives and Times of Archy and Mehitabel. (1935)

The Creation

2010-02-07T11:05:00.000-08:00

The Creation:
An Appeal to Save Life on Earth
Edward O. Wilson, 2006
W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
New York
ISBN 978-0-393-33048-9 pbk

"Pastor, I am grateful for your attention. As a scientist who has spent a lifetime studying the creation, I have done my best here to brief you and others on subjects I hope will be more a part of out common concern. My foundation of reference has been the culture of science and some of secularism based on science, as I understand them. From that foundation I have focused on the interaction of three problems that affect everyone: the decline of the living environment, the inadequacy of scientific education, and the moral confusions caused by the exponential growth of biology. In order to solve these problems, I’ve argued, it will be necessary to find common ground on which the powerful forces of religion and science can be joined. The best place to start is the stewardship of life."
So begins Chapter 17, the final chapter, of Edward O. Wilson’s book, The Creation. Wilson wrote the book as a letter to a Southern Baptist preacher, and has no fear of directly referring to both their differences. He begins with a reference to his own early experiences in the faith, his departure from it, and their common roots as southerners.
Within the framework of this unique approach, Wilson describes subjects already known to his readers: the importance of nature as our home, the destruction of nature by habitat loss, invasive species and other causes, and the love of nature (Biophilia). The Creation is a book long appeal for science and religion to find common ground and save the natural world.

Ham and Rye

2010-02-06T12:11:00.000-08:00

It seems like half the times I visit Bicentennial Library there are fire trucks outside Patton Towers. This morning there were several, and it was the real deal. They were evacuating the building with tall ladder trucks. I didn't think of the second stanza of this poem as prophetic, but it appears to be so.

Ham and Rye

I went to the deli a gleam in my eye
said "Give me some ham and put it on rye."
They said "we've got whole wheat and foccacia for to die
but don't get upset sir, we ain't got no rye."
Ham and Rye.

Sirens are screamin' headed downtown
one day Patton towers will burn to the ground.
I'm still sittin' here hangin' around
Pour me a whiskey and I'll drink it down
Ham and Rye.