Landed flop in the lap of Portland in the cozy cozy home of poet Dan Raphael and wonderful partner Melba waaaaay SE in Quiet Town. Entered to the smell of mashed raspberries and apricot cobbler. Made a supply run to local establishments Fred Meyer and Chinese Delicacy. Settled in a weary traveler well welcomed to a house and room that felt like home. Invested in home. And for a weary traveler in this malicious age, a few days at home on the road can heal one’s heart and make all the darning difference.
In a word, every time I come here, Portland feels like home. I can’t say why – it's just one of those things, what Brant Lyon, great weather's dear departed co-founder, would have called "just the right geomancy."
But we're not here to talk about geomancy; we're here to talk about great weather for MEDIA and about a reading. Or are we?
The wind blew. The winds blew, all day, shaking trees and foundations. great weather came in on the wind, with it, part of it, indistinguishable, and landed at Another Read Through Bookstore with a thump. Greeted and intro'd by gracious owner Elisa.
Whereupon:
Jane Ormerod opened us up with her familiar and essential whirlwind of words. How fine to be open! Dawn Z. Montefusco reflected on the galeshorn state of the world and the need for safety and companionship in the coming dark, echoing through her piece like a mantra, "Stay with me…Stay with me…Stay with me…." I put down my second boot (click here for the first one) despite the wind, and I meant it. Mary Mackey, thank goddess for her, gave us a few minutes' reprieve of sweet breeze speculating on infinite worlds and the qualities of jaguars. Natasha Moni blew in from Seattle to paint us a deeper portrait of her mixed-race childhood in racist Virginia. And Portland's own Dan Raphael proffered an excellent imitation of Portland's own Dan Raphael stopping the wind with this thumb and a poem. Way to plug it, Dan!
The American psyche has cracked and there’s a storm coming, an artificial storm, a storm of artifice and hate, and so we must be wind, real wind, fierce wind, we must be flood, we must be fire, we must be earth, real earth on which is built a home, a home filled with light and love and forgiveness and tolerance, a home for all not possessed by artifice, because in the coming fray, and there will be fray, and grief, and horror that we'll need to fight with every fine element of our being, we must remember always to keep that home, and keep it well, to allow us always to remain, to remain in heart at home, to be that home in peace and fury that we as human beings need.
*
Submissionsfor great weather for MEDIA’s anthologies are open October 15 to January 15.
The Careless Embrace of the Boneshaker is a fearless and dynamic collection of contemporary poetry and short fiction by established and emerging writers. This is essential reading for everyone looking for the innovative, the reflective, and the fearless. The anthology also contains an interview with musician Thurston Moore.