Poetic Spirit

2011-04-30T11:13:00.000-07:00

Eldridge Moores

Internationally known geologist
Eldridge Moores to lead
Poetic Spirit Conference field trip

Faculty includes: Julia Connor, William O'Daly and Sydney Smith

Noted geologist Eldridge Moores will lead the "Poetic Spirit" geology field trip and give the keynote talk at this year’s event, scheduled for June 17-19 in Cedarville, California.

In addition to Moores the Poetic Spirit staff includes Sacramento Poet Laureate Emeritus Julia Connor, noted Pablo Neruda translator and poet William O’Daly and ecologist Sydney Smith.

The Poetic Spirit Conference was created in response to poets’ and writers’ desire to inform their work through field study, workshops, readings and reflection.

“This event is a time for environmental, ecological, historical education and experience,” said co-founder Barbara March, “and will include field workshops, journal writing, or note-taking, based on a gathering of information and an enhanced awareness of the natural world.”

The three-day event in Cedarville—located in Modoc County’s Surprise Valley—includes readings and discussion by both staff and participants.

Moores, a tectonicist/structural geologist, and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Geology at UC Davis is an advocate of public awareness of geology. He was prominently featured in New Yorker writer John McPhee's best-selling book "Assembling California" (1993), and is a Fellow and Honorary Fellow of numerous international geologic societies and associations including the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Geological Society of America.

Poetic Spirit complements the Surprise Valley Writers’ Conference which is held each September. For more information and to register, please scroll down or call 530/ 279-2099. Also see www.modocforum.org.

2011-03-07T10:38:00.002-08:00

“Poetic Spirit”

June 17-19, 2011

Schedule

June 16 -- Thursday
6 - 8 p.m.
Arrivals and reception at Modoc Forum Headquarters
28100 County Road One (March residence, 530/ 279-2099)
1/2 mile south of downtown Cedarville left hand side (east)

Evening reading by Julia Connor and William O’Daly on the subject of poetry of place

June 17 -- Friday Field Trip with Eldridge Moores
(We will assign writers to Field Workshops prior to departure)

9 a.m. - Meet at Senior Center on Main St., Cedarville

9:15 a.m. -- Orientation on field trip, day’s schedule of events and assignments to workshops, i.e. either Bill or Julia.

9:30 a.m. -- Car pool departure for field trip site

10 a.m. -- Geology/ ecology field trip

12:30 p.m. -- Lunch provided

1:30 p.m. -- Workshops in the field conducted by Julia and Bill

1:30 p.m. -- Field trip continues for non-writers in attendance

3 p.m. -- Return to Cedarville

6:30 p.m. -- Dinner - Senior Center

7:00 p.m. --Keynote talk by Eldridge Moores

June 18 -- Saturday
9:30 to 11:30 a.m. - Meet at Senior Center on Main St., Cedarville
Writers workshop with their staff person from the afternoon before.

11:30 - 1:30 -- Lunch on your own

1:30 to 3:30 p.m. -- Writers switch and workshop with alternate staff person.

Workshop locations:
William O'Daly Workshop - Senior Center
Julia Connor Workshop - Modoc Forum Headquarters

4:00 - Eldridge Moores booksigning at Floating Island Books, Cedarville

5:00 - 6:30 p.m. Dinner Prep - Senior Center
Please pitch in where you're most comfortable; slicing, dicing, setting tables, giving orders, taking orders. The object here is not necessarily gourmet cooking but a time for sharing and fun.

6:30 p.m. Dinner - Senior Center
Participant readings and open discussion.

June 19 -- Sunday
9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. - Senior Center
Group discussion moderated by Ray March

11:30 a.m. - Farewell and departure

Fee - $325
Field trip, dinners only - $175

Questions? Call Barbara March - 530/ 279-2099

2011-03-07T10:38:00.000-08:00

Yes, I’d like to register for the Poetic Spirit Conference.

Name______________________________________

Address____________________________________

City_____________State______Zip______________

Day Phone____________E-mail_________________

Amount Enclosed_____

Make check payable to Modoc Forum

Credit Card Number___________________________

Expiration Date___________Security Code________

Signature___________________________________

Send your registration form to:

Modoc Forum
PO Box 126
Cedarville, CA 96104

Questions? Call 530/ 279-2099

2011-03-07T10:36:00.000-08:00

A partial listing of available accommodations:

Surprise Valley

Sunrise Motel and Bush House
http://www.hdo.net/~sunrise/
(530) 279-2161
Surprise Valley Hot Springs
www.svhotsprings.com
(530) 279-2040
JNR Hotel
www.jnrhotel.com
(530) 279-2423
Cockrell’s High Desert Lodging
www.highdesertlodging.com
(530) 279-2209 or (888) 279-2209
The Bunkhouse
www.surprisevalleybunkhouse.com
Steve and Lisa Levy, Proprietors
Rustic Lodging in Beautiful Surprise Valley
Located at the corner of County Roads 29 and 29A
(530) 279-2270 (Cedarville)
(530) 795-2021 (Winters)
Fandango Guest Ranch
www.fandangoguestranch.com
Bob Altieri, Owner
P.O. Box 2
Cedarville, CA 96104
(530) 640-1603
Winje’s Farm Cottage
(530) 279-6373 or (877) 813-8632
Modoc District Fairgrounds RV Park
(530) 279-2315
Alturas Hacienda Motel
(530) 233-3459
Essex Motel
www.essexmotel.com
(530) 233-2821
Rim Rock Motel
www.rimrockmotelalturas.com
(530) 233-5455
Best Western Trailside Inn
(530) 233-4111
1/ 800-Western
Super 8 Motel
(530) 233-3545

2011-01-24T14:19:00.001-08:00

2010-06-29T21:48:00.000-07:00

Surprise Valley     4 A.M.

the ignimbrite above where I have slept

stands      silent     sentinel
     exposed
            withstands

so do we align to our tectonics
    book / pen -- basin / range
the signatures of what creates
    stretching out our crust
to break free what lay      below
    to lift its narrative
competent       improvisational
           (the chaos of deep time all around)
to full promise --
    a matrix of script and scrabble

    matrix: n. 1. surrounding substance within which
    something originates, develops, is contained
    Archaic: womb, fr. mater, mother

she who gathers a geology of imagination
deposits as she goes       what’s laid between
strata
        sediment & word



                                           Julia Connor© 2010
                               Modoc Forum, Poetic Spirit

2010-06-24T21:41:00.000-07:00

Ignimbrite School of Poets - Class Photo - June 13, 2010

2010-06-24T21:29:00.000-07:00

Goddess Ignimbrite Speaks Through the Oracle

You tip-toe talkers, how dare you
compare me! I am gaseous,
hot, scalding, or so I was.
I am the majestic one.

Igneous fabric flows
from my
pencil box waist,
acre on square acre of sediment and ash,
iron-on symbols of power,
fracture — motion — fault,
now compared by poets to a thought?

Eons, literal eons of exhaustion

shaped
and formed me, I, by myself,

-without
benefit of polite critique.

Specks, seekers of truth,
you wave and probe my desert lace
like ticks, craving a belly
tight with words.

I defy you, ascend beyond
literal ash and pumice.

Go ahead, slide down

pleats of pain.
Embed yourselves
on a remnant flash of my fire.

I am goddess ignimbrite—

the ultimate revisionist,

formed by explosive creation.

-- Barbara March

More Poetic Spirits - Deanna, Julia, Bill

2010-06-16T21:15:00.000-07:00

Poetic Spirit - June 10 -13, 2010

2010-06-15T22:26:00.000-07:00

Extra Credit Homework

2010-05-19T15:01:00.000-07:00

There are two remarkable lectures, one by Julia Connor and the other by William O'Daly, which were presented at the '09 Surprise Valley Writers' Conference that all poets will find enlightening. The lectures can be found at www.modocforum.org on the Surprise Valley Writers' Conference page. Both these lectures will help you prepare for "Poetic Spirit" next month.

Poetic Spirit Suggested Reading

2010-05-17T13:45:00.000-07:00

William O’Daly

"Can Poetry Save the Earth? A Field Guide to Nature Poetry" by John Felstiner, Yale University Press;

"News of the Universe: Poems of Twofold Consciousness," an anthology edited by Robert Bly, Sierra Club Books;

"The Immense Journey: An Imaginative Naturalist Explores the Mysteries of
Man and Nature," by Loren Eiseley, Vintage Books;

"The Night Country," by Loren Eiseley, with introduction by Gale E. Christianson, Bison Books (or original edition, from Sierra Club Books in hardcover, is great).

This is a suggested, not a required, list, and with only a few books. I include an anthology, and two books by Loren Eiseley, who was a wonderful poet with three or four books of poems, as well as a world-class naturalist (anthropologist/archaeologist), and a beautiful writer of prose. These books are prose, and on a personal note "The Immense Journey," which I read at age 18, went a long way toward making me a poet, and fit nicely with my sensibility as always having been, without at first realizing I was, a poet of place. "The Night Country" is incredible, a journey through the imagination, beginning in boyhood, in a boyhood that is not available to our children anymore, and what it is like to be truly attentive and use the imagination truly to SEE. I reread much of Eiseley's poetry about 3-4 years ago, and enjoyed it all the more. No postmodernist, this fella.

Julia Connor

First, I concur with Bill's list. Especially "News of the Universe." I would add anything by Snyder, but especially "Mountains and Rivers Without End" And, for those linguistically experimental, the recent work of Brenda Hillman, especially her new book "Cascade." This is interesting (postmodern) work, but it is not first-person centered. Also, there is a small pocket-size anthology of poems about the land put out by the Sierra Club a few years ago, but I gave mine to a friend and can't remember the name of it.

Sydney Smith

Some recommended reading includes:
“A Field Guide to Pacific States Wildflowers: Washington, Oregon, California and adjacent areas (Peterson Field Guide),” Niehaus & Ripper. This is a good pictorial guide to area wildflowers. One can often get to genus with this guide, species as well.

“Terrestrial Vegetation of California,” Special Publication/California Native Plant Society, No 9,(hardcover), Jack Major, author, editor, Michael G. Barbour author, editor. Especially first chapter, by Jack Major, which is an overview of California vegetation with emphasis on climate.

“Fire in California's Ecosystems,” (hardcover), Neil G. Sugihara, editor, Jan W. van Wagtendonk editor, Kevin E. Shaffer editor, JoAnn Fites-Kaufman, editor, Andrea E. Thode editor; chapters on NE California; other areas that might be of interest to participants.

A note from Barbara and Ray
We think Gary Snyder’s "Mountains and Rivers Without End" is particularly apropos. The last poem, Finding the Space in the Heart, takes in Vya, Nevada, which is not far from where we will be going for our first geology tour with Gail Mahood and Sydney Smith. A side note to “Mountain and Rivers Without End:” This work was the inspiration behind the Common Ground Symposium we held two years ago here in Surprise Valley and Gary was our keynote speaker. Also, Gail has produced a informative guide to Surprise Valley geology which we will have for everyone when they arrive.

Insights from the Poetic Spirit Staff

2010-04-22T19:36:00.000-07:00

“There is nothing quite like the chemistry of a group of poets stirring things up in the heat of discussion and creation. This June's ‘Poetic Spirit’ event promises to be one such occasion...land, location, lore and a hands-on opportunity to let the alchemy of place
and the alembic of writing have their way with us. I can't wait!”

-- Julia Connor, poet

2010-04-22T19:30:00.000-07:00

"I am really looking forward to retreating from the clamor with others who seek to enhance understanding of these remarkable landforms and habitats. Sharing our experiences via discussions and workshops will inspire us in writing an exploration of our inner lives; of shapes, colors, and substances of the natural world; of the profane and the sacred."

-- William O'Daly, poet

2010-04-22T19:23:00.000-07:00

“Just as perceptive reading is a prerequisite for good writing, being a reader of the rock record is the starting point for my craft as a geologist and is my role in "The Poetic Spirit" -- to give a sense of how the geologic history of Surprise Valley is a story constructed on a foundation of rigorous observation, scaffolded by an understanding of the natural laws governing Earth processes, and given final form by imagination."

-- Gail Mahood, geologist

2010-04-22T19:19:00.000-07:00

“My intentions for the workshop: Provide what assistance I can in acquainting participants with the identity and dynamics of local trees, shrubs, graminoids, forbs, and soils, and how these interact with landscapes, climate, animals and people. And, of course, to share stories and good times with the "Poetry Campers"!”

-- Sydney Smith, ecologist

2010-04-01T15:50:00.000-07:00

Regarding
Poetic Spirit

Some Specifics of Importance

When: June 11-13, 2010
Where: Surprise Valley, Cedarville, CA
What: Writers interacting with the landscape and vice versa
How many writers: A maximum of 20
Cost: $325 for three creative days,

including dinners and a reception
Other: Scroll down for more details and faculty bios

Call 530/ 279-2099

Thanks!

2010-03-23T10:33:00.000-07:00

“Poetic Spirit” Schedule

June 10 - June 13

Field trips, panels, workshops and readings

This event will foster-self discovery and self-awareness through panel discussions, workshops and field trips and contemplation.

June 10 -- Thursday -- Arrivals and reception, evening reading by Julia Connor and William O’Daly on the subject of poetry of place.

Field Trips - A time for environmental/ecological/historical education and experience, journal writing, or note-taking, based on a gathering of information and an enhanced awareness of sensory experience.

June 11 -- Friday:

Field Trip No. 1
A field trip to Espil Canyon on the Nevada side of Surprise Valley, guided by Gail Mahood (geologist), Sydney Smith (ecologist) and Sara Gooch (property owner, historian and advisory board member for Modoc Forum).

Friday Panel

Panelists include Julia Connor and William O’Daly, Gail Mahood and Sydney Smith. The panel will be facilitated by Modoc Forum Executive Director Barbara March, to discuss poetry of place and its tradition grounded in the regional landforms and species, and propose questions with regard to what "place" and "interrelatedness" encompass, helping set the tone for the workshops.

Workshops - Two hours

Evening -- Dinner. Announcements/observations by “Poetic Spirit” Moderator Barbara March followed by participant readings and social mixer.

June 12 -- Saturday

Field Trip No. 2
A nature walk up Granger Canyon on the California side of Surprise Valley, hosted by Sara Gooch who lives at the canyon’s entrance, guided by Sydney Smith (ecologist) and Gail Mahood (geologist).

Saturday Open Forum

Faculty, coordinators, will meet with participants to further develop threads of discussion that have formed in relation to the experiences and themes. This will be an open, free-flowing discussion, where poems or passages of prose might be read to illustrate points or to pose or respond to questions.

Workshops

Evening -- Dinner, Announcements/observations by Julia Connor and William O’Daly followed by participant readings and group discussion.

June 13 -- Sunday

Morning -- Workshops, Open forum/ discussion and evaluation surveys

Farewell and departure - 11:30 a.m.

2010-03-06T13:04:00.000-08:00

"The Poetic Spirit"

June 11 -1 3, 2010

Surprise Valley, California

"The Poetic Spirit, An Exploration of Inner & Outer Landscapes"

Gather to celebrate and preserve the human connection to the landscape
through poetic spirit and voice inspired in part by field study,
historic education,writing exercises, reflection and lively discussion.

For further information scroll down to
"The Poetic Spirit" postcard or call 530/ 279-2099
for details and to sign up.

Meet Our Staff

2010-03-06T12:58:00.000-08:00

Julia Connor

Julia Connor was Sacramento Poet Laureate from 2005-2009. She has taught poetry in a wide variety of situations from Graduate MFA Programs such as Naropa University's Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics where she was on the faculty, to state prisons. She teaches poetry workshops for all levels of experience, which she has presented at places as diverse as Nathan Mayhew Seminars, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, and Emerson College, Sussex, England. Her honors include a Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission Literary Fellowship and a California Arts Council Literary Fellowship.

2010-03-06T12:54:00.000-08:00

William O’Daly

A resident of the Sierra Nevada foothills of northern California, William O’Daly is a poet, translator, and fiction writer. His published works include eight books of the late and posthumous poetry of Chilean Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda (Still Another Day, The Separate Rose, Winter Garden, The Sea and the Bells, The Yellow Heart, The Book of Questions, The Hands of Day, and World’s End), and a chapbook of his own poems, The Whale in the Web. O’Daly was a finalist for the 2006 Quill Award in Poetry for Still Another Day and was profiled on NBC’s The Today Show. A National Endowment for the Arts Fellow, he has worked as a literary and technical editor, a college professor, and an instructional designer. He is a board member of Poets Against War and co-founder of Copper Canyon Press. (Photo by Jill Engel-Cox)

2010-03-06T12:45:00.001-08:00

Gail Mahood

Gail Mahood is a professor at Stanford University, where she teaches courses ranging from introductory geology to advanced courses in her research specialty: the origins and histories of the explosive volcanoes that spread ash continent-wide and are related to geothermal systems and ore deposits of gold, silver, copper, and uranium. Gail is a fourth generation northern Californian. She and her geologist husband, Wes Hildreth, own a home in Cedarville, which Gail and Stanford graduate students use as a base of operations for their geologic mapping in the Warner Range, Surprise Valley, and points east in northern Nevada.

2010-03-06T12:42:00.001-08:00

Sydney Smith

Sydney Smith, a native of northern California, recently retired from the U.S. Forest Service. For most of her career, she was a terrestrial ecologist for several National Forests in Northeastern California. She specialized in identifying and describing ecological sites (including vegetation communities) and their relationships to climate and landscape setting and history, as well as responses to disturbances such as fire, grazing, and other managed and natural processes. Sydney is a graduate of U. C. Davis.

2010-02-14T12:46:00.000-08:00

Communicate. Reflect. Celebrate.

2010-02-14T12:41:00.000-08:00

Join us for three creative days in Surprise Valley.

www.modocforum.org

2010-01-24T15:56:00.000-08:00

2010-01-18T15:51:00.000-08:00

Walk Granger Canyon with us.

"The Poetic Spirit"

June 11 -1 3, 2010

Surprise Valley, California

"The Poetic Spirit, An Exploration of Inner & Outer Landscapes"

Please visit this blog often for updates on our comprehensive program, staff, and additional details.

2010-01-12T20:52:00.000-08:00

Whoooo on the Window?

Some people see a head and swear it's an owl. Some don't see a head, only the chest up to the neck. They say if there was a head imprint, the bird would have broken its neck and died when it hit the window.

No trace of the bird was found.

What made the imprint? A dust bath taken right before it hit?

Or was there frost on the window melted by the body heat of the bird? Not likely, the imprint remains after three months.

Some people say the owl, if it is one, has a moth in its mouth. What is it carrying in its claws? A bat? A mole?

KNOWN FACTS

The wingspan is 18 inches.

The length is 6 inches.

The window is in Surprise Valley, facing east.