Ojai Poetry Festival News

Recipe for a Poetry Fest

webmaster@ojaipoetryfestival.org (Ojai Poetry Festival) — Tue, 19 May 2009 00:00:00 MDT

"By economy and good management, by a sparing use of ready money, and by paying scarcely anybody, people can manage, for a time at least, to make a great show with very little means."

-William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair

This is a stone soup festival. We started with nothing but hunger and an empty pot. My partner, John Kertisz, put the first stone in the pot organizing the Ojai Valley Poetry Association. The Ojai Valley Library Friends & Foundation provided a grant to light a fire under the pot, and Bart's Books threw in some carrots. The soup started to build character.

In the 90's, Joan Raymund published Rivertalk, celebrated with an annual poetry festival at the Art Center. In 2003, Minneapolis poet, Jim Lenfestey, brought national favorites Robert Bly, and Coleman Barks to Libbey Bowl. It was a transcendental experience, one we had come to expect. When word went out that the 2009 Ojai Poetry Festival was canceled because of the economy, we decided to see what we could cook up locally. Now we're ready to serve a robust menu of poetic possibilities locavore-style--grown within a hundred mile radius.

Tree Bernstein, Director
John Kertisz, Producer

Ojai Valley Poetry Fest Schedule Announced!

webmaster@ojaipoetryfestival.org (Ojai Poetry Festival) — Mon, 04 May 2009 00:00:00 MDT

The Ojai Valley Poetry Fest announces its lineup and schedule for the June 6 program at the Ojai Art Center.

Visit the Ojai Poetry Festival website for a complete schedule.

The free Poetry Fest Day Program begins at noon and includes performances by teens and seniors, Santa Barbara poet laureates, the Razor Babes and Hispanic poets. Open mic signup begins at noon. A workshop in ecstatic Persian poetry will be offered. Word as Song, combining poetry and music, will round out the afternoon program.

The Evening Program features L.A. poets Wanda Coleman and Frank T. Rios, and Ventura Country favorites Marsha de la O. and Jackson Wheeler. The Evening Program is $10 (cash.) Tickets can be purchased in advance at Bart's Books, Ojai Creates, Ojai House or at the door.

For more information call John Kertisz at 805-640-1508 or email Tree Bernstein at Ojai Poets at gmail dot com.

Ojai Valley Poetry Fest Call for Poets

webmaster@ojaipoetryfestival.org (Ojai Poetry Festival) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:00:00 MDT

Call for Poets!

Bards, Spoken-Word Artists and Word Workers LARGE & small for Ojai's home-grown, locavore POETRY Fest!

Poets needed to host and perform 30 minute-to-1 hour segments throughout the day of the festival. Currently scheduled: Teen Poets Contest, the Silver Pens, and the Sumo Haiku Heavyweight Championship. Looking for Hispanic Poets, Haiku Masters, Limmerick Artists, Cowboy Poets, Open Mic and Slam performers. Got a writers group? Get on the program! Send a short proposal--100 words or fewer--along with the number of poets involved to: OjaiPoets@gmail.com by April 1, 2009.

Volunteers needed for the Poetry Fest on June 6. Smiling ticket-takers, handsome ushers, sober wine & beer servers, poet-wranglers and generally helpful, pleasant people needed to staff the event. Free admission in exchange for service--and chance to hob-nob with poets.

Featuring Wanda Coleman, Frank T. Rios, Jackson Wheeler & Marsha de la O. June 6th at the Ojai Art Center.

Sponsored by the Ojai Valley Poetry Association, in conjunction with the Ojai Art Center, under the auspices of the Ojai Valley Library Friends & Foundation.

. or call John Kertisz at 805-640-1508.

"Poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits." -Carl Sandburg

Ojai Valley Poetry Association Meeting

webmaster@ojaipoetryfestival.org (Ojai Poetry Festival) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 MST

Hello Poets and Festivilians,

We were all shocked and dismayed (although not entirely surprised, considering the current economic climate) to hear that the festival committee had to cancel the intended program for the 2009 Ojai Poetry Festival.

Nevertheless, a few of us optimistic souls met at the library and vowed to continue the good work of Festival co-founders Jim Lenfestey, Linda Silver, and Gael Belden--albeit in a new incarnation. To that end, John Kertis formed the Ojai Valley Poetry Association (OVPA), an unincorporated, non-profit entity under the auspices of the Ojai Valley Library Friends & Foundation, to oversee potential fundraising and organization of this year's festival. The current five-member board consists of myself, John Kertis, Liz Grumette, Dave Ray and Phil Taggart.

We're sending out a call to old and new friends of poetry to meet on Wednesday, January 21 at 7 p.m. at the Ojai Library to discuss the new agenda, new line-up possibilities and fund-raising potential. Volunteers are needed to design and manage all aspects of the Festival. All are welcome to the conversation.

Please pass the word.

Your Poetry Pal,
Tree Bernstein

2009 Ojai Poetry Festival CANCELLED

webmaster@ojaipoetryfestival.org (Ojai Poetry Festival) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:00:00 MST

Update: the 2009 festival has been rescheduled to June 6th, with an all new lineup.

Dear Festival Supporter,

The Ojai Poetry Festival Committee, on advice from the festival founders, has decided to cancel the 2009 festival. Due to a variety of factors, the Committee has decided to conserve its resources this season in hopes of bringing a great lineup of poets and poetry events back to Ojai in 2011.

Our website remains a great resource for information and photos from past events, and news of the future.

Thank you for your understanding, and your continued support.

Sincerely,
Robert Peake, Webmaster
on behalf of The Ojai Poetry Festival Committee

Ojai Poetry Festival: Calling All Volunteers

webmaster@ojaipoetryfestival.org (Ojai Poetry Festival) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 00:00:00 MST

Dear Festival Supporter,

The Ojai Poetry Festival depends on volunteers like you to help bring poetry to the Ojai Valley. We have no endowment or institutional affiliation--just a group of community-minded, poetry-loving individuals dedicated to enriching our community by bringing world-class poets and poetry events to Ojai.

If you have a talent for marketing, communications, print design, event planning--or would just like to learn more about how you can pitch in to help make the 2009 festival a great success, please come join our merry band!

The next volunteer meeting of the Ojai Poetry Festival committee will take place Wednesday, November 19th at 7:00 PM at the Ojai Public Library.

Please RSVP to muse [at] ojaipoetryfestival [dot] org if you are planning to attend (and, if you forget, just show up anyway).

The 2009 festival includes an incredible lineup of first-rate poets, including: Robert Bly, accompanied by David Whetstone on sitar, Dorianne Laux, Elizabeth McKim, and David Whyte, as well as community events, such as a local poets reading and open mic.

Join us in continuing the tradition of one of the premiere literary events on the West coast. Your support can make a huge difference!

Sincerely,
Robert Peake, Webmaster

Save The Date: 2009 Ojai Poetry Festival

webmaster@ojaipoetryfestival.org (Ojai Poetry Festival) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 00:00:00 MDT

Update: the 2009 festival has been rescheduled to June 6th, with an all new lineup.

Dear Festival Supporter,

Save the date! The Ojai Poetry Festival returns to Libbey Bowl on May 15-16, 2009.

As a supporter of this premiere West-coast literary event, we wanted you to be among the first to know about the incredible lineup we have planned for this season, including:

Friday, May 15th at 8 p.m., a poetry reading with Elizabeth McKim and Robert Bly. Mr. Bly will be accompanied on sitar by David Whetstone during his reading.

Saturday, May 16th from 10-noon, a dynamic poets' panel with all four headliner poets, featuring discussion around the festival theme of "Poetry as a Way In."

Saturday, May 16th at 8 p.m., a poetry reading with Dorianne Laux and David Whyte.

...as well as community events, such as a local poets reading and open mic. So mark your calendars now, as this is one event you won't want to miss.

More details to come via email, and on our website at www.ojaipoetryfestival.org.

Thank you for your continued support. See you in May!

Sincerely,
Robert Peake
Webmaster

2009 Ojai Poetry Festival Planning Meeting

webmaster@ojaipoetryfestival.org (Ojai Poetry Festival) — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 12:03:25 MST

Dear Festival Supporter,

The annual planning meeting of the Ojai Poetry Festival committee will take place Tuesday, February 5th at 7:00 PM at the Ojai Public Library. The agenda will include themes, poets, format, and committee assignments for the 2009 event. Please RSVP to Jimfest [at] aol [dot] com if you are planning to attend (and, if you forget, just show up anyway). There will also be an informal gathering after the meeting to socialize and fondly remember our late founding committee member, Hope Frazier. Join us in continuing the tradition of one of the premiere literary events on the West coast.

Sincerely,
Robert Peake, Webmaster

Ojai Poetry Festival Tickets On Sale Now

webmaster@ojaipoetryfestival.org (Ojai Poetry Festival) — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 23:03:25 MST

Dear Festival Supporter,

We are pleased to announce that tickets for the 2007 Ojai Poetry Festival are now available through our website:

http://www.ojaipoetryfestival.org/order.html

This season continues a tradition of bringing poets of international repute to Ojai and again includes a Teen Poetry Contest, regional poets reading and open mic events. We hope you will join us as we present four outstanding featured poets - Gary Snyder, Sherman Alexie, Sandra Alcosser and María Meléndez - in what promises to be our best season yet!

Sincerely,
Tami Haggard, Head Muse

2007 Festival Press Release (Updated)

webmaster@ojaipoetryfestival.org (Ojai Poetry Festival) — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 13:02:57 MST

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, including photos of all poets, contact:

John Kertis, 805-640-1508, jkertis@adelphia.net.

GARY SNYDER AND SHERMAN ALEXIE TO HEADLINE THE 2007 OJAI POETRY FESTIVAL MAY 18-19 IN LIBBEY BOWL

The third biennial Ojai Poetry Festival, "Poetry and the Voice of the Earth," will take place May 18 and 19, 2007, under the live oaks in Libbey Park Bowl in Ojai, CA. Four of the nation's premier poets, Gary Snyder, Sherman Alexie, Sandra Alcosser and María Meléndez, will spend the weekend in Ojai reading and discussing their work and ideas. Readings are at 8PM May 18 and 19. From 10:30AM to noon on Saturday, all poets will take part in a roundtable discussion on the Festival theme, followed that afternoon by free readings by invited regional poets and free open mike readings.

Gary Snyder, a Pulitzer-Prize winning poet and pioneering environmentalist, will read Saturday evening, May 19, along with María Meléndez, a young California poet now living in Logan, Utah.

Snyder was an early translator of the Buddhist hermit poet Han-shan, before moving to Japan to study Zen. He returned to America to become a major force behind the modern environmental movement, for which his books Earth Household and Turtle Island are touchstone texts. He recently completed his long poetry cycle, Mountains and Rivers Without End. Among his many awards for sixteen volumes of poetry and prose are the Levinson Prize from Poetry Magazine, the Robert Kirsch Lifetime Achievement Award from the Los Angeles Times and the Shelley Memorial Award. Snyder was elected a Chancellor of The Academy of American Poets in 2003. He is emeritus professor of English at University of California-Davis, and lives in the High Sierras.

María Meléndez, a former student of Snyder's at UC-Davis, writes essays, stories and poetry and has just released her first poetry collection, How Long She'll Last in This World, from University of Arizona Press. While at Davis, she received a California Arts Board grant for her work as writer-in-residence at the UC-Davis Arboretum, where she taught environmental poetry workshops. She has also worked at a wildlife biology field assistant and as Area Coordinator for California Poets in the Schools. She now lives in northern Utah, where she teaches literature and writing that explore the "ragged edges" of environmental writing and cultural studies.

Sherman Alexie will read Friday night, May 19, along with Sandra Alcosser. Best know for his award-winning short stories, novels and films, including the runaway hit Smoke Signals, Alexie began his writing career as one of the most celebrated poets of his generation, and has returned to poetry again and again. Among other poetry awards, he was four-time World Heavyweight Poetry Champion at the Taos Poetry Circus, and his poem "Avian Nights" won the 2005 Pushcart Prize. His short stories and novels have earned an American Book Award, National Magazine Award and LA Times Best of the Best, among many others. In addition, he is gifted musician and performer. Ruminator Review wrote of Alexie, a Spokane Indian now living in Seattle: "Do not miss a reading by Sherman Alexie! He is drop dead funny, acerbic, broadly satiric, and quite moving."

Sandra Alcosser is the National Endowment for the Arts Conservation Poet for the Wildlife Conservation Society and Poets House, New York. The first poet laureate of Montana, where she lives in the mountains, she was a 2006 recipient of the Merriam Award for Distinguished Contribution to Montana Literature. She also founded and directs the Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing at San Diego State University each fall, as well as SDSU's International Writers Summer Program at National University of Ireland, Galway. Her most recent book of poems, Except by Nature, selected for the National Poetry Series, received four national awards including the Academy of American Poets' James Laughlin Award. James Tate selected A Fish to Feed All Hunger to be the Associated Writing Programs Award Series winner in poetry. Her poems have appeared The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Poetry and the Pushcart Prize Anthology. Celebrated poet Jane Hirshfield says Alcosser's "superbly sure-voiced poems possess intelligence and passion in equal measure, and they explore, question, surprise and inform in utterly distinctive ways."

Tickets can be purchased on the website, ojaipoetryfestival.org, by calling 805-289-4873, or in downtown Ojai at Bart's Books, Table of Contents and Ojai Creates! A weekend pass is $40, individual readings range from $10 to $20.

Previous Ojai Poetry Festivals featured poets Robert Bly, Coleman Barks and Jane Hirshfield in 2003, and Joy Harjo, Galway Kinnell, Suzanne Lummis, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti in 2005. The Ojai Poetry Festival website, www.ojaipoetryfestival.org, contains links to each poet.

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The Ojai Poetry Festival Has A Newly Redesigned Website

webmaster@ojaipoetryfestival.org (Ojai Poetry Festival) — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 07:44:00 MST

Dear Festival Supporter,

The Ojai Poetry Festival is pleased to announce the launch of its newly updated website, including expanded information about previous festivals, guidelines for the upcoming Stan Brown Teen Poetry Contest, and much more. Please take a moment to peruse the new site:

http://www.ojaipoetryfestival.org/

Also, for those of you interested in helping out with the festival, our next volunteer meeting will be held on January 8th at 7PM in the Ojai Library. We're looking forward to a great event!

Sincerely,

Tami Haggard, Head Muse