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Arts & Life
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- Written by: Editor
UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake continues its 2016 series of “Concerts with Conversation” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 5, with a talented chamber ensemble headed by the Laura Reynolds, principal oboist with the Santa Rosa and California Symphonies and instructor at U. C. Davis, Sonoma State and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Joining Reynolds for the evening will be local musicians Tom Aiken on harpsichord and oboist Beth Aiken together with visiting artists Eva von Bahr on bassoon and pianist Kymry Esainko.
Titled “Exploring Personalities,” the informal Tallman program will “explore the personalities” of the oboe through pieces showcasing the different “colors” of the instrument.
Five pieces will be on the program including a Vivaldi sonata in which Reynolds is backed by harpsichord and bassoon and a trio for oboe, bassoon and piano by Francis Polanc.
Tallman owner Bernie Butcher recounted the story of how this program came to be. Last fall well-known local musician Tom Aiken mentioned that he and Beth had been asked to join an exciting all-star ensemble for a January concert with Laura Reynolds in Mendocino’s prestigious Opus Chamber Series.
“I asked Tom if he thought it would be possible to repeat this program here in Lake County,” said Butcher. “Tom worked out the details and here we are. The reviews of the Mendocino concert were five-star, so this should be a fun evening.”
Tom and Beth Aiken are equally excited to be performing with this group.
“As an oboist myself,” said Beth Aiken, “it’s a great treat to play with Laura Reynolds who is one of the most acclaimed concert musicians in Northern California.”
“I’ll be playing the harpsichord on Saturday,” said Tom Aiken, “and leaving the piano to Kymry Esainko. He is an absolute master of the instrument and really wowed the crowd at our concert in Mendocino.”
This will be the fourth in the Tallman’s 2015-16 series of Concerts with Conversation.
The series concludes on April 16 with the Macy Blackman Trio, a jazz, blues and boogie woogie program featuring Blackman on piano, Nancy Wright on sax and Bing Nathan on bass.
Tickets for the March 5 show are priced at $25 plus tax and may be purchased by calling the Tallman Hotel at 707-275-2244, Extension 0.
They are also available online through www.eventbrite.com .
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- Written by: Editor
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The search is on for the ninth Poet Laureate of Lake County.
Any Lake County resident can apply or nominate a fellow resident for this position.
For more information, including application guidelines, please visit the Lake County Art Council Web site at http://www.lakearts.org/ and click on the “poetry” link.
Application information is also available at Lake County public libraries.
Applications are due March 18.
To apply:
– Collect up to eight of your original poems (10 pages maximum). Submit five sets of each poem, one set with your name on each page, and the other four sets without your name. This guarantees as much anonymity as possible when the poets laureate read the submissions.
– Ask a community member to write a letter of recommendation for you.
– Write a mission statement of how you would serve Lake County’s literary community, including any current or previous activities or involvement. Include your name, address, email, telephone number, and best time to call.
– If any of your poems have been published, list the titles, names of the publication and dates they were published.
– Be available on Friday, April 8, for an interview and public reading.
Send five copies of each of the above to Casey Carney, P.O. Box 84, Lower Lake, CA 95457. Email a copy of the same items to
If you do not have Internet access, mail six copies of the listed items by March 18.
You may nominate someone for the position by sending an email or letter to Casey Carney at the above addresses.
Include the person’s contact information, phone number, and a short statement about why you are nominating them.
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- Written by: Editor
LAKEPORT, Calif. – LakeWorks and Watershed Books join the Main Street Gallery in hosting the First Friday Fling on Friday, March 5.
The event takes place from 5 to 7 p.m. and celebrates Lake County artists and authors.
LakeWorks will host harpist, Linda Brown, and there will be good conversation with local creators and light refreshments round out this event.
LakeWorks is located at 307 N. Main St., Lakeport.
For more information contact Cheri Kessner at 707-263-5787.
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- Written by: Ted Kooser
Here's a poem of loss by Jo McDougall, from her collected poems, In the Home of the Famous Dead, from The University of Arkansas Press. Like many deeply moving poems, it doesn't tell us everything; it tells us just enough. Ms. McDougall lives and writes in Little Rock.
This Morning
As I drove into town
the driver in front of me
runs a stop sign.
A pedestrian pulls down his cap.
A man comes out of his house
to sweep the steps.
Ordinariness
bright as raspberries.
I turn on the radio.
Somebody tells me
the day is sunny and warm.
A woman laughs
and my daughter steps out of the radio.
Grief spreads in my throat like strep.
I had forgotten, I was happy, I maybe
was humming "You Are My Lucky Star,"
a song I may have invented.
Sometimes a red geranium, a dog,
a stone
will carry me away.
But not for long.
Some memory or another of her
catches up with me and stands
like an old nun behind a desk,
ruler in hand.
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation ( www.poetryfoundation.org ), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. They do not accept unsolicited submissions. Poem copyright ©2015 by Jo McDougall, This Morning,” from In the Home of the Famous Dead: Collected Poems, (The University of Arkansas Press, 2015). Poem reprinted by permission of Jo McDougall and the publisher. Introduction copyright © 2016 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.
