Session 2 From Mark Latiner’s kitchen in Richmond, CA you can see the north end of the San Francisco Bay, the refineries crowding Richmond Point, and, further out toward the coast, Mount Tamalpais and its redwood groves and oak woodlands. Mark and I hung out in his garden one Sunday in July as the sun started to break through the fog. It seemed a long way from the Nob Hill neighborhood in the city where he and I were neighbors during the heady dot-com days. At our Web company, we ran a series of performances during which he wore a white lab coat and glasses mounted with tiny flashlights. The lab coat may be retired, but Mark’s finding new ways to entertain. His latest role is performing as father to his sprightly 14-month-old baby girl.
Session 4
There’s something intriguing about seeing a poet read his work in a credit union parking lot at night. In Session Four, Travis Brown takes us there, while his poems transport us to scenes of the Midwest and beyond. This is the final part of a two-reading series in Portland, OR, choreographed and videotaped by Travis and Jill Stukenberg. Watching this session, I kept waiting for one of the people passing by to linger at the edge of the frame, to hang out and listen or to ask what Travis was doing.
For the year that Travis (aka, Boots) and I were classmates in New Mexico State University’s MFA program, he schooled me in new music. Now he schools me in fantasy baseball.
Session 9
Tucked into a residential neighborhood in North Berkeley, the Berkeley Rose Garden is one of those beautiful public spaces you might stumble upon by accident. It’s a great place to browse the dozens of varieties of roses on display or take in the excellent views of the bay. In fact, it’s the first place that came to mind when I started thinking of interesting places to shoot Lively Words sessions.
In Session 9, we go there with Lauren Schiffman, whose wonderful ‘povella’ excerpt provides gritty, compelling contrast to the park’s gracious tranquility.
As we march into 2009, I’m thankful for the chance to continue highlighting writers whose work I admire. And I thank you for coming along for the journey.
Enjoy.
