A child at a school bus stop, on his way out into the world, a fine subject for a fine poem by Dante Di Stefano, who lives in Endwell, New York.

Might we all live out our days in a place called Endwell! "With a Coat" is from his book from Brighthorse Books of Omaha, Nebraska, entitled Love is a Stone Endlessly in Flight.

With a Coat

I was cold and leaned against the big oak tree
as if it were my mother wearing a rough apron
of bark, her upraised arms warning of danger.
Through those boughs and leaves I saw
dark patches of sky. I thought a brooding
witch waited to catch me up from under
branches and take me, careening on her broom,
to her home in the jaundiced moon.
I looked to the roof of mom and dad's house
and wondered if the paisley couch patterns
would change during the day. My brother peeked
from a window and waved. When the bus came,
I pawed away from the trunk, fumbled,
and took my first step toward not returning.


American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2016 by Dante Di Stefano, "With a Coat," from Love is a Stone Endlessly in Flight, (Brighthorse Books, 2016). Poem reprinted by permission of Dante Di Stefano and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2019 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.

‘MISS BALA’ Rated PG-13

Bringing a new perspective to a remake, director Catherine Hardwicke’s “Miss Bala” is a reimagining of an acclaimed 2011 Mexican film of the same title.

Not having seen the original, this review is regrettably unable to make any comparisons. Nevertheless, there’s an intriguing element to “Miss Bala” that may well revive interest in the source material.

Known for the “Jane the Virgin” television series, Gina Rodriguez stars in the leading role as Gloria. Here she is suddenly thrust squarely into the dangerous world of cross-border crime.

An American of Mexican descent, Gloria is a makeup artist who travels from Los Angeles to Tijuana to visit her close friend Suzu (Cristina Rodlo) to help her win the Miss Baja California beauty pageant.

Suzu persuades Gloria to attend a pre-pageant event at a swanky nightclub, at which Suzu hopes to network with officials and power brokers that could enhance her chances at taking home the winner’s sash and the prize money.

The party is where the trouble starts. While in the ladies room, Gloria is confronted by armed thugs from a drug cartel who shoot up the nightclub in an attempted hit on a corrupt government official.

During the melee, Gloria is separated from Suzu, who goes missing without a trace. After a long night of a vigil in a café, Gloria seeks the help of a local cop who turns her over to a bunch of tattooed bad guys.

Ending up face-to-face with cartel honcho Lino (Ismael Cruz Cordova), Gloria becomes a hostage forced to do the bidding of Lino and his gang as a condition of getting help to find Suzu.

The so-called favor involves Gloria’s unwitting participation in a heinous crime that results in severe repercussions when American DEA agent Brian Reich (Matt Lauria) threatens her with years in prison if she doesn’t become a mole in Lino’s organization.

An interesting dynamic takes shape in the Stockholm syndrome that causes Gloria to develop a psychological alliance with Lino as a survival strategy during captivity. Sexual tension hangs in the air but nothing comes of it.

The tenuous bond between Lino and his captive is that both of them have identities that transcend the border between the U.S. and Mexico. Lino was once an immigrant living in Bakersfield and Gloria, an American citizen, was born in Mexico.

Both the DEA and Lino string Gloria along to do their respective bidding. Caught between two opposing forces, Gloria makes the dangerous trek to and from San Diego to transport cash and contraband.

More than once, Gloria has to take cover during shootouts between the cartel and law enforcement. In a climactic scene, Gloria, who has been courageous yet skittish, summons up her inner action heroine.

Plot twists abound in “Miss Bala,” and there are enough action thrills in the violent showdowns to keep the pace spirited enough to be entertaining. But the best feature is Gloria’s eventual empowerment to outsmart all sides.



‘PROJECT BLUE BOOK’ ON HISTORY CHANNEL

The History Channel has decided to tap into the zeitgeist of the early 1950s fascination with UFO sightings and the possibility of abductions by little green men from outer space.

The 10-episode “Project Blue Book” may be compared to the paranoia stoked by “The X-Files” series, but Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are fictional characters. This new series is loosely based on the U.S. Government’s actual top-secret alien research with the help of an astrophysicist.

While “The X-Files” had the tagline “The truth is out there,” it should be more appropriate for “Project Blue Book” because the lead character, Dr. J. Allen Hynek (Aiden Gillen), was recruited by the Air Force to investigate alien life.

Dr. Hynek teams up with Capt. Michael Quinn (Michael Malarkey) to travel the country to study reported UFO encounters, beginning with an Air Force pilot’s alleged aerial dogfight with a mysterious, fast-moving craft that resembled a brightly illuminated sphere.

After engaging the unexplained flying object, Air Force pilot Fuller (Matt O’Leary) is fortunate to survive a crash landing. He’s utterly convinced that this encounter was something otherworldly.

When pressed by Dr. Hynek for details, Fuller tries to unravel the mystery, and then comes up short by concluding that “logic can’t begin to explain what we are dealing with here.” This fairly well sums up the conundrum that faces Dr. Hynek’s mission.

Capt. Quinn is more than eager to wrap every case with a tidy report to debunk any alien activity. He’s pushed in this direction by hard-nosed General Harding (Neal McDonough) and General Valentine (Michael Harney).

On the other hand, such as in the episode about the Flatwoods Monster (based on what happened in a small town in West Virginia), Dr. Hynek shows more openness to those who believed they stumbled upon an alien.

Shades of conspiracies abound. Shadowy men in fedoras lurk about. A mystery woman conducts surveillance on Hynek and his family.

“Project Blue Book” delves into the paranormal with a relish that proves eminently watchable.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Friday, Feb. 15, the Soper Reese Theatre’s Third Friday Live series features Stevie and the Shufflenuts, with the show starting at 7 p.m.

Tickets are $15 for all seats.

The band is the product of drummer Steve DuBois’ many years on the club circuit with two great bass players at his hi-hat side: Tall Paul Dowling and Dave Falco.

Tall Paul, an accomplished guitar player and singer, takes the front man job. He’s played with DuBois for more than 25 years, and he sings great too.

DuBois worked with Dave Falco when they both played with Bill Noteman for 13 years. Falco has a unique five string fretless way about him. Together the trio plays a brand of blues with their own twist. Guest soloists often join the group, putting their own stamp on the sound as well.

For the Third Friday Live show on Feb. 15, Kim Thomas will play on keys. Thomas’ resume is too big to fit anywhere.Just believe that this group will not disappoint dancers who love blues, nor observers of improvisation. Don’t miss this important Nut Gathering.

The major sponsor is the Strong Financial Network. Also sponsored by KXBX 98.3 and KNTI 99.5. The dance floor will be open.

Tickets are available online at www.soperreesetheatre.com or at The Travel Center, 1265 S. Main, Lakeport, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The theatre is located at 275 S. Main St., Lakeport.

For more information call 707-263-0577.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The Lake County Wine Studio is presenting monthly art classes with wine, co-hosted with artist Anna Sabalone.

This month's wine and art session with Sabalone is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 10, and will feature a butterfly painted with arcylics. The session time is 1:30 to 4 p.m.

The class fee of $40 covers all of the provided art supplies needed along with step-by-step guidance and a glass of Lake County wine. Reservations are required for each month's class as participation is limited to 12 people.

Sabalone was born and raised in Lake County. She has been involved in the Lake County Arts Council since her teen years.

She attended the University of California, Santa Barbara and the University of Leeds, England for her undergraduate degree in English, history and anthropology. She earned her teaching credential and Master’s of Education from UCSB and has been teaching art, English, history and academic decathlon at Upper Lake High School since 2008.

For class schedule, reservations and additional information, contact Susan Feiler at 707-293-8752.

The Lake County Wine Studio is both a gallery for display of arts and a tasting room, wine bar and retail shop for the fine wines of Lake County. Artists’ shows are held on a monthly basis with art and wine receptions held the first Friday and subsequent Saturday of each month.

The gallery is located at 9505 Main St., in Upper Lake.

For more information call LCWS at 707-275-8030.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Middletown Art Center’s Restore project features a writers workshop with Lake County Poet Laureate Richard Schmidt on Saturday, Feb. 9, from 1 to 5 p.m.

Richard Schmidt, current Lake County Poet Laureate invites all interested writers to an afternoon of comfortable fun, a “no theme, no rules, spontaneous positive energy, natural born storyteller creative writing workshop.”

He is a co-author of “Reads” (an anthology of writings by the Lakeside Writers Guild), iUniverse 2006, and is the author of three books, “Single Tree,” a collection of short stories, fiction, Tenacity Press 2008; “Abel Stover, a novella, fiction, Tenacity Press 2011; and “Pony Tales,” a collection cowboy prose and poetry, Tenacity Press 2014.

Schmidt is a facilitator of the First Thursday Writer Circle, a monthly gathering at the Main Street Gallery in Lakeport, for all levels of writers. He is the literary arts coordinator of the Lake County Arts Council’s Main Street Gallery Committee and current coordinator for the Lake County Poetry Out Loud competition.

For the past several years he has judged the Academic Decathlon poetry and art divisions for the Lake County Office of Education and facilitated Big Read Events for the Lake County Library.

He has produced a bimonthly column “Creative Expressions” with the Lake County Record-Bee to give local poets a venue for publishing their work and is a literary commentator on KPFZ’s “Big Art” radio show.

Adults and children age 12 and up of all levels of experience are invited to come to one or monthly Restore writers workshops that will be offered through May.

Please register in advance for all Restore classes at www.middletownartcenter.org/restore, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 707-809-8118. The cost is $5. Pre-registration is required, as space is limited.

Participants in this or any of the project’s writers workshops are invited to contribute to MAC’s second chapbook of writings and images, and to read in upcoming Spoken Word events on March 23 and June 1.

In addition to welcoming submissions for the chapbook, participants are invited to join the curatorial team.

The first chapbook, “Resilience – a community reframes disaster through art,” features the work of 22 poets and 17 visual artists who attended Resilience workshops throughout 2018. The book is available for purchase at MAC or on the MAC Web site.

Middletown Art Center is located at 21456 State Highway 175 at the junction of Highway 29.

Visit www.middletownartcenter.org or “Like” Middletown Art Center on Facebook to stay up-to-date with what’s happening at MAC.

Caitlin Doyle, who lives in Ohio, writes haunting, memorable poetry about the familiar and the strange.

Her poetry is a fine example of what I call strategic artistry, as if her words have been carefully held back until they burst into light at just the right moment.

This sonnet, in which a young girl awakens to a world of new discoveries, originally appeared in The New Criterion.

Cradle Thief

"A cradle thief," my mother called the man
we'd see in shops, cafes, parks, even church,
with "that poor girl" beside him. Hand in hand,
they'd walk as if they didn't feel the scorch
of people's stares. The day we saw him press
his lips to hers, my mother blocked my eyes
as if his mouth (I longed for my first kiss)
against her mouth was smothering her cries.
All week, I ran a fever that wouldn't break.
"A cradle thief"—–a voice I only half
knew as my own surprised me in the dark,
my sick-bed wet with shivers. "A cradle thief,"
I said again, as if the words could will
my window broken, footprint on the sill.

American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2017 by Caitlin Doyle, "Cradle Thief," from The New Criterion, (Vol. 35, no. 10, 2017). Poem reprinted by permission of Caitlin Doyle and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2019 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.