RSR LIVE SHOW AT PPL

Poet Hannah Gamble reads her poem "Cabana." 

---

A River & Sound Review (RSR) hosted a live show at Puyallup Public Library (PPL), which last happened a few years ago. TWT thought it was a blast, with enough literary shenanigans to keep the people of Puyallup awake for nearly two hours.

---

Chicago poet Hannah Gamble read poems, many of them fairly new and/or recently published. Her gently transgressive poetry was delivered in a conversational tone, which would be used amongst friends and casual acquaintances alike. The poems are just slightly skewed or absurd, yet point out the beautifully flawed nature of what it means to be human. They are filled with sex and death and suffering and longing and love and loss. I was smitten with her very first words and continued to be so throughout her reading.

---

RSR plays various interactive literary games during its shows. One of those games is 4-Minute Poetry Project. Each audience member is given a notecard and a pen. Then the entire audience is given five words (and one bonus word) that they need to use to write a poem in a period of four minutes. RSR poetry editors collect the poems and judge them. At the end of the show, the winner is revealed. At this show, the winner was none other than Troy's Work Table.

The five words were scribble, button, knuckle (selected by guest poet Hannah Gamble), danger, and tremble. The bonus word was warp.

The prized for the win were many. First, my notecard poem was returned with three stars at the top followed by two exclamation points, whose periods had also been used as eyes of a smiley face! Second, I received a copy of The Circus Train by Judith Kitchen. (I was planning on buying a copy after hearing her read, so this was a very pleasant surprise.)  Third, I got to read my poem for all those gathered.

---

My 4-Minute Poetry Project poem:

The danger
is that you allow me to scribble
down words and thoughts such as
"button" and "knuckle"
and "lemon Jell-o is
best left for Lutheran potlucks"—
where and when I expect you to
reflect and tremble
while I quietly warp away.

---

Creative non-fiction writer Judith Kitchen and poet Stan Rubin read together. They happen to be wife and husband, as well as cofounders of the Rainier Writing Workshop low-residency MFA at Pacific Lutheran University.

For their reading, Judith found words that appear in both of their most recently published books—her The Circus Train and his There.Here. The words were then thrown into a fishbowl and drawn out. They took turns reading the passage or poem in which the selected word appeared. It was a wonderful way to read and even they didn't know exactly what was coming. And their interplay with one another as people, alongside the interplay of their pieces, was something to witness. They were gentle with one another, yet playful and pushing at times. It is obvious that they both spend time with one another and allow one another time to be alone with words. The balance of their relationship to one another as spouses and as fellow writers seemed perfect.

---

There were also a few other features to the show. A couple of "advertisements" from the Pencil Advisory Council made an appearance. Two musicians known as Boyd and Grubb (and soon to be renamed, with suggestions from the audience) played a few blues-influenced numbers, as well as the new RSR live show theme song and a few other themes for various portions of the show. There was another literary game, Name That Book. RSR founder and host Jay Bates read a humor piece to start the show and ended the evening singing a cover version of "(They Long to Be) Close to You" as Elmer Fudd.

---

It was truly an evening to experience and one that I am grateful that I did.

A RIVER & SOUND REVIEW

"We want you guys to celebrate with us...Make some noise!"
—RSR board member Michael Schmeltzer

The evening of Sunday 09 August 2009 was the latest live show from A River & Sound Review. This particular show was held at Northern Pacific Coffee Company in Parkland, next to the campus of Pacific Lutheran University.

This show was what it never was in Puyallup, and perhaps what it could never be there. The space consisted of two rooms of people, each with about forty audience members. Many people were eating food and most everyone was enjoying various drinks—beers of various styles, light and dark; coffee; hot tea; iced tea; fruit juices, water, and the occasional Italian soda. Members of the crowd were engaged in lively conversation with one another, waiting for the show to start, because, as all good literary events, this one was not going to start on time.

The evening began with the 4-minute poetry project, wherein audience members had four minutes to write a poem using each of the following words: maul, citrus, dilettante, undulate, and one other that I now fail to recall. This was followed by RSR founder and emcee Jay Bates delivering a hilarious monologue on a recent trip to Las Vegas and the "characters" he met there. Next up was singer-songwriter Jerin Falkner singing an anti-love song.

The night was co-hosted by RainierWorkshop Writing, which meant that the readers for the evening were alumni of the program or current students (as were many of the audience members). Jennifer Culkin (RWW class of 2007) read an essay about helicopter crashes and the fragility of life. Andrea, an RWW thesis student, read a poem that bounced about and lovingly played with languages. David Huddle (poet and prose writer, as well as teacher at RWW), the keynote reader for the evening, read two "naughty" pieces—a short story about warfare and violence and freedom, and a poem about "Two Joke Man."

Rounding out the night were additional songs from Jerin Falkner, the literary game of Name that Book, and the "crowning" of the new 4-Minute Poetry Project champion.

It was a night to celebrate literature in all of its various forms—poetry, music, fiction prose, non-fiction prose, humor—with like-minded lovers of the word, spoken and written. At times, the crowd even bordered on raucous. Some of that may have been the beer and the informal atmosphere, but I also believe it was simple celebration and joy to be out on a summer night, listening to good words, and being comforted by them.

A RIVER & SOUND REVIEW ONLINE JOURNAL

A River & Sound Review just went live with the first issue of its new online journal. Visit their website to read poems, fiction, humor, and essays by established and emerging writers, many of them local.

IN TAHOMA'S SHADOW

"Communication and community derive from a common root that means sharing. This anthology grew from the conviction that poetry builds connections among individuals and that connected individuals are better able to shape their shared destiny."
—from the "Introduction" by William Kupinse and Tammy Robacker, as found in In Tahoma's Shadow: Poems from the City of Destiny edited by William Kupinse and Tammy Robacker

I picked up a copy of In Tahoma's Shadow at King's Books on Saturday. It contains one or two poems from 77 Tacoma area poets, fifteen of whom will read their poems at King's Books on Thursday 21 May 2009.

---

From the King's Books website:
"Poets reading at the event include: Leah Coakley, Beverly Conner, Terry Conner, Sonya Hunt, Michelle Jones, Brendan McBreen, Kay Mullen, Hans Ostrom, Carl Palmer, Morgan Perry, Beth Richardson, Erin Sanchez, Tim Sherry, Brittany E. Short, and Jessica Uhler."

---

Having read work from both William Kupinse and Tammy Robacker, as well as having heard both of them read their poetry aloud at Showcase Tacoma 2008, I was excited to see the poets and poems they selected for this first book from new press Exquisite Disarray Publishing. I was also excited to see that each of them had a poem included that highlighted a particular Tacoma locale (Kupinse's "Point Defiance" and Robacker's "Once Around Wright Park").

---

The collection is varied, for which I am grateful. Many voices are represented. There are short poems and longer poems. Rhymed verse and prose poems. Poems that are as tight as a drum and poems that threaten to spiral out due to their own centrifugal force.

---

Within these pages are words and phrases waiting to be heard, savored, relished:
*knarred—page 121, "Everyone Has a Poem about the Sea" by Brittany E. Short
*seersucker—page 135, "The Agronomist" by Josie Emmons Turner
*precocious—page 65, "April's Blue Doors" by Lynn Martin
*bandito-narrated—page 33, "Postcard to Miller from Ashland" by Casey Fuller
*Marlboro—page 33, from the same
*baton of wrath—page 11, "Blood in the River" by David Blackwell
*honeybee fervor—page 71, "Soup" by Camella McMillin

...and hundreds more...

---

The News Tribune did a story on Tacoma's poetry scene on Sunday 10 May 2009. Entitled "Poetry: The art of words is alive in fair Tacoma," the story covers the release of In Tahoma's Shadow, new Tacoma poet laureate Antonio Edwards (2009-2010), readings by Puget Sound Poetry Connection, and the literary arts entertainment of Puyallup's A River & Sound Review. It was excellent coverage and exposure of the lively and varied poetry scene of Tacoma and the rest of South Puget Sound.

---

The poets of Tacoma have sculpted words to be seen and heard. Now you need to look and listen.

"You can blend serious literature reading and insert a musical interlude and then feature a quiz show that is silly and full of fun and trivial humor and give the audience that sense of rhythm that they need to pay attention for sixty minutes. It’s part of what makes us so fresh and original. Nobody is doing what we’re doing.”
—Jay Bates, founder and master of ceremonies of A River & Sound Review

Show#23. LIVE.

Wednesday 19 November 2008. 7:00 p.m.

Scandinavian Cultural Center, Pacific Lutheran University.

Featuring
student writers: Jacob Harksen and Paikai.
alumni writers: Kolby Harvey and Corinne Holmberg.
musical guest: Alex Smith.

The evening also includes
"game show" Name That Book
and our newest tradition
the Four Minute Poetry Project.

Free admission. (Donations are always accepted.)

Cosponsored by PLU literary magazine Saxifrage.

A RIVER & SOUND REVIEW AT SHOWCASE TACOMA

Clockwise from upper left: (1) A River & Sound Review was part of Showcase Tacoma's Poemporium & Lit Fair; (2) singer-songwriter Scott Andrew; (3) RSR emcee Jay Bates and Tacoma poet laureate William Kupinse; and (4) award winning Spokane novelist Jess Walter.

"I love telling stories more than anything."
—Jess Walter at A River & Sound Review

What if you had a show, a performance, a literary entertainment extravaganza, and no one came? Well, it happened. A River & Sound Review had its most recent show at 5:00 p.m. on Friday 08 August 2008 in the Vicky Carwein/Keystone Auditorium at University of Washington Tacoma as part of the Showcase Tacoma arts festival, and no one came.

Well, that is not completely true. Out of the fifteen people present, three were performing, nine were members of A River & Sound Review or related to a member, one was a William Kupinse fan, and two looked completely confused about where they were. So, in an auditorium that has a capacity of approximately 120 people, three people came to see the latest RSR offering.

Everyone else missed the best show that RSR has produced.

Scott Andrew played his guitar and sang as though he were in front of a packed room. He produced enough rhythm and beat by tapping his foot that it sounded as though someone was accompanying him on drums.

William Kupinse read many poems about nature and our place in it, as well as a few about Tacoma, which made sense, since he is Tacoma's poet laureate.

Jess Walter read a poem, which he said he must be crazy to do on the heels of Kupinse. Then, rather than read from his most recent novel The Zero, a National Book Award finalist, he spoke about what it means to be a writer. He spoke about his writing relationship with Kurt Vonnegut, who acted as a "distant" mentor to him.

The best part, however, was how the three principle performers interacted with one another and improvised their individual performances based upon those of the other two. William Kupinse referenced one of Scott Andrew's songs, Jess Walter read his poem with a sense of play and a nod to William Kupinse's reading, and Scott Andrew played a song that dealt with some of the same themes of the reading of William Kupinse and the talk of Jess Walter. It was all unscripted and unplanned and perfect.

It is just too bad that you missed it!

---

You can view more pictures of show #21 (RSR comes of age!) of A River & Sound Review at the troysworktable Flickr page.

A RIVER & SOUND REVIEW "COMES OF AGE" AT SHOWCASE TACOMA

Friday, August 8, 2008

5:00 p.m.

University of Washington Tacoma Keystone Auditorium

an event of Showcase Tacoma

A River & Sound Review “comes of age” with show number 21. Featured artists include award-winning Spokane novelist Jess Walter and Tacoma poet laureate William Kupinse reading from their works, as well as the music of singer-songwriter Scott Andrew. 5:00 p.m. on Friday, August 8, 2008 at UWT Keystone Auditorium as part of Showcase Tacoma.

---

MORE INFORMATION

A River & Sound Review - website

A River & Sound Review - myspace

Showcase Tacoma

Jess Walter

William Kupinse

Scott Andrew - website

Scott Andew - myspace

A RIVER & SOUND REVIEW

"Our breath makes a sound like lions..."
—Elea Carey reading from "Kiss Me"

Thursday 15 May 2008 was the latest live show of A River & Sound Review, and it was a good one. (Conflict of interest alert: I am helping out with publicity for RSR. Please note, however, that I was a fan prior to working with them.)


The show began with singer-songwriter Patrick Bradshaw. He sang three haunting, offbeat, quirky tunes throughout the evening, accompanying his voice with guitar and harmonica. I also had the pleasure of hearing him play a cover song during sound check, although I cannot remember either the artist or song title. But, if I hadn't known better I would have thought the song an original since it fit so nicely into his oeuvre. I purchased his album Alice and Other Curiosities after the show and have been listening to it constantly.


Kendall Pepple was the winner of Pierce County Library System's "12th Annual Our Own Words: Teen Poetry and Fiction Contest" in the 11th and 12th grade poetry category. He read winning poem "The Nature of New York City." He was obviously a little nervous, but held his own rather nicely.


Fiction writer Elea Carey followed. She read her short story "Kiss Me." It was one of those stories that is so well written that it convinced many of the audience members that it was autobiographical. I heard a couple people discussing it after the show, and uttering that they couldn't believe that she would "expose" herself so publicly. I also overheard someone asking her about some of the experiences of the protagonist. She had to explain again that it was fiction, and that she was not the character. (To "celebrity culture" and the people that keep it alive: you are killing us!)


Master of ceremonies Jay Bates called forth an audience member to play "Name That Book." It consisted of three rounds. Each round gave some background information about a particular book. Then the first line of the book was read. The player was asked to name the book and the author. If necessary, the player received three multiple choice answers from which to choose or requested help from the audience. Whitney played a fair set, with only a few hints from the audience.


Pennsylvania poet Philip Terman was the highlight of the show. He read a longer poem from his first collection of poetry, The House of Sages. "For Ganya" was a sensual poem that delicately married imagery from the garden that he and his wife tend with his love for her. It was earthy and, at times, erotic. I don't think that I could have managed the complex balance of the garden, its contents, his wife, her sensuality, her sexuality, and his apparent love for her. And, his reading of the poem really made the words sing. He alone was worth attending.


The evening ended with another episode of the literary soap opera drama As the Publishing World Turns, as read by the RSR Players. Heathcliff Beed learned that Ophelia Paine, the object of his lust and affection, was actually his sister. Although I am sure that may turn out to be false. Only time will tell.


The audience was attentive and generous with its applause. It was good to once again have a true literary event happening in Puyallup. I can only hope that A River & Sound Review will continue to capture the imagination of lovers of literature in Puyallup and the South Puget Sound region.

---

The podcast of the above show (episode 19) is available for your listening pleasure.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A River & Sound Review Hosts Live Show
at Puyallup Public Library

Live Revue Features Local Authors and Musicians,
As Well As Sketch Comedy

NEWS FACTS

• Pennsylvania poet Philip Terman, author of three poetry collections—The House of Sages, Book of the Unbroken Days, and Rabbis of the Air—headlines the show.
• Poulsbo author Elea Carey, a graduate student of the Rainier Writing Workshop, a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program at Pacific Lutheran University, will read from her work.
• Local singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Patrick Bradshaw plays a selection of songs.
• PLUS: Name That Book—This audience-participation trivia contest will challenge your ability to name the titles and authors of three different books with only a short clue about each book's history and a reading of the book's first sentence.
• PLUS: As The Publishing World Turns—Follow the continuing saga of writers in crisis. Meet our hero Heathcliff Beed, his nemesis Eustace Faulkner, and the woman they both love, Ophelia Payne, and listen to them solve the mystery of the murdered Reader's Digest editor.
  

Puyallup, Washington — April 22, 2008 — A River & Sound Review, a literary entertainment program featuring the art of story in its myriad forms, will hold its next live production on Thursday, May 15, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. at the Puyallup Public Library. Featured artists include Pennsylvania poet Philip Terman, local author Elea Carey, and singer-songwriter Patrick Bradshaw.

A one-of-a-kind literary entertainment variety show, A River & Sound Review entertains audiences throughout the Northwest with readings and interviews with literary artists ranging from prize winning authors including novelist Ann Pancake and essayist and critic Judith Kitchen, as well as musical artists. The show is also designed for audience interaction via sketch comedy routines such as “Name That Book,” “The East Meets East Meets West Women’s Book Club,” and “Head to Head Shakespeare Trivia Challenge."

Also featured in the upcoming production is A River & Sound Review's trademark trivia game show, "Name That Book," as well as the latest installment of the literary soap opera drama, "As The Publishing World Turns."

Admission is free, but donations to support future productions will be accepted.

---

About A River & Sound Review
Started in February, 2006, by Puyallup teacher and writer Jay Bates, A River & Sound Review is a one-of-a-kind, live literary arts entertainment program that features the work of writers and musicians from the Pacific Northwest. Also designed for audience interaction via sketch comedy routines such as “Name That Book,” “The East Meets East Meets West Women’s Book Club,” and “Head to Head Shakespeare Trivia Challenge,” A River & Sound Review makes the literary arts accessible to the general public. Visit www.riverandsoundreview.org to upload podcasts of past productions.

---

Read more about the Thursday 15 May 2008 live production here.

---

Listen to past live and studio show podcasts at A River & Sound Review's podcast page.

---

In the interest of full disclosure, I need to let you know that I am now volunteering with A River & Sound Review, helping them out with publicity, because I wholeheartedly believe in what they are doing. If you know of anyone in the Puyallup, Washington area, or the South Puget Sound region, then please pass along the above information to them.

Thank you,

Troy's Work Table

A RIVER & SOUND REVIEW

RSR master of ceremonies Jay Bates and poet Casey Fuller.

Thursday evening saw the latest live production of A River & Sound Review at the Puyallup Public Library. This was the best production by far. The room was set up to be smaller, which pushed the audience into closer proximity to the various performers on stage, and made the space and event more intimate. The program was mostly scripted, rather than overly spontaneous, which helped to maintain a good pace. This is partly due to the fact that they also podcast the production once they edit it, but, in any case, RSR has become very good at simultaneously "playing" to both their live and podcast audiences.

Poet Casey Fuller read four "prose" poems that notice what others often overlook or wouldn't even bother to notice in the first place. Each of the poems was filled with a comical, humorous, quirky sense of the world, that also allowed the darkness and despair of the same world to show through. This rich palette of emotions and experience allowed me to relate to each of his poems in some way. I enjoyed his first three poems—"Postcards," "You're My Guy, Blue," and "The Fort from 12"—but was especially impressed by the final poem "After Which We Only Watch the Ground." He claims it is a new direction for his writing, and it is one that I hope he continues to pursue.


Singer-songwriter Wes Weddell.

Local musician Wes Weddell played three numbers throughout the evening, as well as helped out with sound effects for RSR's "continuing saga of writers in crisis" entitled "As the Publishing World Turns"—a soap opera of epic proportions. Wes is obviously in love with his guitar and with performing. When he played and sang, he was usually looking skyward or "through" the audience, as though peering into another realm. He seemed very confident in his music and stories, as well as being comfortable in just being who he is.

He was equally adept on the harmonica as on the guitar, and the narrative tales of his songs rival many written pieces because his storytelling is so vivid and detailed. He is definitely a singer-songwriter whose career and music I plan on keeping an eye and ear upon.

Novelist Karen Fisher.

Karen Fisher, the author of the novel A Sudden Country, was the guest writer for the evening. She read an excerpt from her novel. Her prose is infused with the cadence of poetry. The language of her writing is likewise rich and ambitious. She is as great a reader as she is a writer, with a soothing, solemn voice that entices one to continue to listen to her voice, her words.

All in all, a great evening of poems, reading, music, literary games, and short skits. It truly was a review in the sense of some of the old variety radio programs. I just wish that more members of the community would attend and show their appreciation for such a great offering to us.

A RIVER & SOUND REVIEW

"JANUARY 1
Today I realized that what I wrote yesterday I really wrote today: everything from December 31 I wrote on January 1, i.e., today, and what I wrote on December 30 I wrote on the 31st, i.e., yesterday. What I write today I'm really writing tomorrow, which for me will be today and yesterday, and also, in some sense, tomorrow: an invisibile day. But enough of that."
—page 527, The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño


Saturday afternoon was the latest live performance of A River & Sound Review, which also podcasts shows on the months when there is no live performance. This live show clearly demonstrated a literary organization that is leaving its infancy behind. This show was better organized and trimmed of the excess fat of RSR's first few offerings—it was leaner and flowed better than ever before.


The musical guest was Puyallup singer-songwriter Kristin Connell. She poured her heart into her three offerings, even with slight sound problems due to vacationing sound operators. (The two normal sound operators were literally on vacation, leaving sound duties to master of ceremonies and RSR founder Jay Bates.) She played an opening number, another in the middle of the show, and closed the festivities with her final song. This worked well. In the past, musical guests played one or two short sets. Having the songs interspersed throughout the entire show helped to highlight the music and the readings.


Poet Adrian Gibbons Koesters followed the first song and introductory remarks of Jay Bates with a reading of five or six poems. I enjoyed the earthiness and ordinariness of her poems. They took the everyday and made it vibrant and alive.


Next was "Name That Book," where a member of the audience attempts to name a book and its author from a clue and its first sentence. If they cannot then they receive three choices and are allowed to ask for help from the audience. I always find this funny, but would be terrified to have to be the person in the spotlight. Therefore, I have great admiration for the person selected, no matter how well he or she does.


The keynote reader was Kent Meyers. He read a gritty piece about death and family from his novel The Work of Wolves. I could picture the protagonist's grandfather lying dead upon the ground after an accidental fall from a horse. I could see the death and smell the last nicotine-laced breath as it left the body. I could feel the protagonist's pain as he had to tell his mother that her father was dead. I haven't read the novel, but this selection surely whetted the appetites of a few audience members. It was wisely chosen as a set piece with which to "sell" the book.

---

A River & Sound Review is one of those local offerings that make life in a small town great. I look forward to future live shows, as well as future studio productions.

A RIVER & SOUND REVIEW

Clockwise from upper left:
(1) Student writer David Treichel;
(2) Musical guest Camille Bloom;
(3) Essayist Jennifer Culkin; and
(4) Poet Kathleen Flenniken.

You are just going to have to take my word for it. This is what happens when you take a low resolution digital camera to a public reading series and sit in the back.

A River & Sound Review is my pick of the week. Master of ceremonies Jay Bates is a high school English teacher who also happens to be a student in Pacific Lutheran University's MFA in Creative Writing Program. He has been responsible for most of the behind-the-scenes work, setup, and recruitment. The audience was primarily students from his English classes, their families, fellow students from his MFA program, their families, and a few stray souls (such as myself) from the community-at-large.

David Treichel has promise. His essay was very well written. Camille Bloom has a great voice and plays the guitar well, although I am not overly fond of her music. But that is just personal taste on my part. Jennifer Culkin read an interesting, and rather revealing, personal essay on periods and pregnancy and reflection and relationships. At first, I found myself fidgeting a bit due to uncomfortableness with the subject matter, but she handled her audience well, infusing the reading and the essay with just the right touches of humor and universality that everyone has something to grasp. Kathleen Flenniken's poems were masterful glimpses into the quotidian and banal, which she managed to make magical and viewed anew.

This was a wonderful evening spent enjoying readings at the Puyallup Public Library. I am looking forward to more.

THE PAYOFF

My wanderings with the child have been pleasant in their own right. I imagine that this is how most of life should be: somewhat aimless, with no real goal, all the while enjoying the scenery and experiences and events and people along the way. There has been no expectation on my part that anything has to happen. Today, however, it did.

The child and I took our weekly walk to the Puyallup Farmers Market. It usually entails stopping in at the library, playing on the slides and swings in the park, sometimes purchasing some local produce or bread, and looking at a few booths. We usually head out in the morning and are back home for lunch by noon. On this trip, I decided we would take lunch so that the child could play in the public wading pool when it opened. After she "swam," we went searching for something to be the anchor of my meal, which in this case meant a chili dog. As we headed over to the food booths to obtain the aforementioned chili dog, I noticed that there was to be a poetry reading in the park. Considering that the poetry reading was in the park and in Puyallup, I figured we might sit for a few minutes and go home. But, the headliner for the event was Marvin Bell, one of my favorite poets whom I have had the pleasure of hearing read before.

So, the child and I ate our lunch while the opener, a high school student whose name I forget (sorry), read three well-written poems. Next, while Boyd Benson, a poet who teaches English at Washington State University read for 20 or so minutes, the child decided to take a nap in her stroller, albeit with a noisy beginnings to her slumber. I walked out of the range of other audience members, so they could not hear the child, and started pushing the stroller back and forth across the park. She fell asleep in time for me to regain a seat close to hear Marvin Bell read.

It was wonderful. He read some old poems, he read some newer poems, and he read some poems from a forthcoming book to be published in July 2007. He read one of my favorite poems he has written, "White Clover." His newer poetry was about war and dreams, especially the dream that our nation has fallen into during this current war in Iraq. It was exactly what I feel political poetry should be about: subtle rather than blunt, challenging without being overly accusatory, personal while speaking to all. This was definitely "payoff" for all of my wanderings, even though a "payoff" was not necessary.

Afterwards, I went home and grabbed my volumes of Bell's poetry off of my library shelves. The inscription inside my copy of Poetry for a Midsummer's Night, which includes "White Clover," reads: To Troy - with much pleasure - Marvin Bell - 6 August 1998 - Open Books. That was eight years ago tomorrow.

I cannot make this stuff up.

I should also mention that the poetry reading was presented by River and Sound Review, a non-profit that is affiliated with Valley Arts United. Valley Arts always seems to be an organization on the brink of collapse; their website hasn't been completely updated in over two years. However, River and Sound Review seems to be of a higher caliber than what normally passes for Valley Arts affiliates. River and Sound Review did a good job of hosting and also had two literary games involving audience members between the readings. I was impressed enough to add myself to their email list.