On the 4/17/24 edition of Dr. Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour:

Jeri Howitt begins the podcast episode by sharing her love of reading, which inspired her to found the reading series Stories on Stage Davis. This recurring event showcases the stories of emerging and established authors to make the art of storytelling more accessible through visual means. The storytelling frequently intersects with the art in the Pence Gallery, where this event takes place. Nooneh Gyurjyan is the next guest and she discusses her role as Editor in Chief for the creative writing and art journal Open Ceilings. She explains their strategy of compiling two publications a year, each given a thoughtful theme selected by members of the team to aid in the curation process. Robi Castaneda, a second-year music and political science major, closes out the podcast by sharing information about his upcoming piano recital at the Ann E. Pitzer Center on May 3rd at 5 pm.

Many Davis, California parents and their children will fondly remember the author, Jeri Howitt, as the Founder/Director of Partners in Learning for over twenty years. Others know her for her work as the founding director of Stories on Stage Davis, the successful event that presents established and emerging authors, with selections of their work performed by professional actors at the Pence Gallery.

Nooneh Gyurjyan is a third-year student studying English and Professional Writing at UC Davis. She is an editor by trade, a writer by passion, and a baker by necessity. She is currently working as the Editor in Chief of Content for Open Ceilings, a local literary magazine run by UC Davis undergraduates. Nooneh also works on campus at the ASUCD Coffee House bakery.

The Poetry Night Reading Series occurs on the first and third Thursdays of the month at the John Natsoulas Gallery (521 First Street), beginning at 8pm. An open mic follows the featured performer. Come early to find a seat or a spot on the open mic signup sheet. The Poetry Night Reading Series is hosted by Dr. Andy Jones, The Poet Laureate Emeritus of Davis.

Find out more about Dr. Andy's Poetry Night Reading Series in Davis, California by visiting http://www.poetryindavis.com. Invite your friends to sign up for the mailing list. To learn more about Dr. Andy’s tiny media fiefdom, visit his weekly newsletter at https://andyjones.substack.com and follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/andyojones.

On the 4/3/24 edition of Dr. Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour:

Dr. Andy is joined by the Poet Laureate of Davis, Julia B. Levine, and shares the intersectionality between the natural environment and the difficulties of her grandson’s experience with leukemia that she has recently been exploring through her writing. She then reads a poem that captured her time at a lavender farm, and another poem, inspired by her husband, about the relationships between wasps and figs. Rebecca Foust is the next guest, and she shares her deep love for reading to live audiences. She shares a poem about marriage and slow erosion. She raises points about awareness and intuition, and their incredible value in the world of writing. Foust refers to this collection of details as fodder for future poems as “gestation.”

Julia B. Levine’s poetry has won many awards, including a 2021 Nautilus Award for her fifth poetry collection, Ordinary Psalms, (LSU press, 2021), as well as the 2015 Northern California Book Award in Poetry for her fourth collection, Small Disasters Seen in Sunlight, (LSU, 2014). Recently she has won the 2024 Hippocrates International Prize for Poetry and Medicine, the 2023 Oran Perry Burke Award from The Southern Review, the 2022 Steve Kowit Poetry Prize, the 2020 Bellevue Literary Review Poetry Award, as well as a 2022 American Academy of Poetry Poet Laureate Fellowship for her work in building resilience in teenagers related to climate change through poetry, science and technology. She received a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MFA in poetry from Pacific University. Currently, she serves as Poet Laureate of Davis.

Rebecca Foust's fourth book, Only (Four Way Books 2022), earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly and was recently reviewed by Mark Jarmon in The Hudson Review. Her poems appear in journals including Narrative, POETRY, Ploughshares, and Southern Review, and in 2023 won the New Ohio Review prize and were runner-up for the Missouri Review Editors’ Prize. Past recognitions include the James Hearst, Pablo Neruda, and Poetry International prizes, fellowships at Hedgebrook, MacDowell, and Sewanee Writers’ Conference, and a Marin County Poet Laureateship where Rebecca’s program, “Poetry as Sanctuary,” featured readings by local immigrant poets.

The Poetry Night Reading Series is excited to feature Davis Poet Laureate Julia B. Levine and Rebecca Foust at 7 PM on Thursday, April 4th, 2024, on the first floor of the John Natsoulas Gallery, 521 1st Street in Davis.

Find out more about Dr. Andy's Poetry Night Reading Series in Davis, California by visiting http://www.poetryindavis.com. Invite your friends to sign up for the mailing list. To learn more about Dr. Andy’s tiny media fiefdom, visit his weekly newsletter at https://andyjones.substack.com and follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/andyojones.

On the 3/27/24 edition of Dr. Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour:

Anthony Xavier Jackson discusses his time in the Baptist church and his love of music, which inspired his poetic journey. Jackson began writing without knowing academia was there, mostly taught by culture and upbringing instead. He found that poetry served as a medicine that assuaged the challenges he faced in life, such as homelessness and addiction. Jackson also shared his dedication to writing poetry as a Black man in a culture and community that fosters writing. He then reads a poem about time spent with his dying father.

Anthony Xavier Jackson is a self-taught poet and musician who has been creating songs, poems, and albums of spoken word for several years. Relatively new to the Sacramento poetry scene, Anthony has been featured multiple times at Luna’s Cafe, as well as Sacramento Poetry Center. Anthony has been recently published in Tule Review 2023 and has plans to begin self-publishing his poetry via Amazon self-publishing. Anthony’s influences include Nikki Giovanni, Octavia Butler, William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Edward Ka-Spel, and a variety of writers from all genres and eras, including Sappho. Anthony reads his work Thursdays at The Silver Lining piano bar in Sacrameto, and will be joining in Dr Andy’s Poetry Night on future Thursdays. Having written about addiction, trauma, and homelessness, Anthony is actively involved in recovery and works as a certified substance abuse counselor. Anthony also dabbles on speculative sci-fi themes, as well as about spirituality, race, culture, LGBTQ themes and history. As he says, “To me the most revolutionary act is self love.”

The Poetry Night Reading Series is excited to feature Davis Poet Laureate Julia B. Levine and Rebecca Foust at 7 PM on Thursday, April 4th, 2024, on the roof of the John Natsoulas Gallery, 521 1st Street in Davis. Please dress warmly.

Find out more about Dr. Andy's Poetry Night Reading Series in Davis, California by visiting http://www.poetryindavis.com. Invite your friends to sign up for the mailing list. To learn more about Dr. Andy’s tiny media fiefdom, visit his weekly newsletter at https://andyjones.substack.com and follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/andyojones.