Theresa Whitehill • Poet

Fort Bragg Library Poetry Open Mic
2023-06-01 18:00 - 20:00, 2023-05-04 18:00 - 20:00, 2023-04-06 18:00 - 20:00, 2023-03-02 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Fort Bragg Library Meeting Room, 499 East Laurel Street, FORT BRAGG, CA, 95437, United States
First Thursday Poetry Open Mic in Fort Bragg, CA has returned to meeting in person. You can also attend this event via Zoom.
Since the library is a crossroads and we want to reduce risk of illness, we still ask you to wear masks while you’re in the audience. Wear a sweater because we need to ventilate the room well. When you’re at podium reading poems, you won’t need a mask.
We ask that you keep your reading under 10 minutes and stick to poetry in all its variety of forms.
To receive an invitation to the Zoom reading, or for more information, contact Dan Hess, Branch Librarian (info in Organizer section below).

Dedan Gills: 29 Best Poetry Books of 2023
2023-06-01, 2023-05-01 | CA
Dedan Gills
I Give You the Springtime of My Blushing Heart: A Poetic Love Song
Dedan Gills (August 21, 1945–December 20, 2015) is co-author, with Belvie Rooks, of I Give You the Springtime of My Blushing Heart: A Poetic Love Song, which has been selected as one of the 29 best poetry books by Speechify for this year’s Poetry Month
Dedan described himself as a “soulutionary.” He was a poet and active member for eight years in one of the first urban intentional environmental communities in the country—the L.A. Eco-Village. Certified in Permaculture, he was a founding member of the L.A. Permaculture Guild. His poems have appeared in the International Sufi Association Journal. Born in Watts, California, Dedan was instrumental in the formation of the Black Student Alliance movement in Southern California and for a time was a member of the Black Panther Party. The demise of the Black Liberation movement was followed by years of despair while trying to find his activist footing on a different ground. He became an unrelenting advocate for human rights and Mother Earth. Dedan worked to integrate principles of permaculture design, sustainability, environmental awareness, and the greening of the inner spirit for healing and recovery. He gave tirelessly to groups of people abandoned by mainstream culture—the homeless and those suffering from addiction and incarceration. He touched many souls while actively and simultaneously addressing their physical, material, and emotional wounds. As he was known to say, “Things come and go, but the soul is eternal. When souls embrace, it is like a kiss that lasts forever!”
https://speechify.com/audiobooks/blog/best-poetry-books/
See more of the work of Belvie Rooks and Dedan Gills:
http://growingaglobalheart.weebly.com/about-us.html
Dedan Gills; photo, Santosh Peters

Devreaux Baker and Gordon Black, Poetry on the River
2023-05-28 13:00 - 15:00 | Slack Tide Café, 32430 N. Harbor Dr., Fort Bragg, 95437
CALLING ALL POETS, WRITERS, AND FELLOW WORD TRAVELERS,
This is to invite you to the next Poetry On The River reading at the beautiful, recently remodeled Slack Tide Cafe on Noyo Harbor in Fort Bragg, sponsored by the Noyo Center for Marine Science. This is a monthly series, held on the last Sunday of the month. The May 28th reading will feature Devreaux Baker and Gordon Black for the first 30 minutes or so, then a break followed by open mic readings. Please get this around far and wide, as we’d like to reach out to all Mendocino County poets, writers, and lovers of literature. There is no cover, and all ages are invited to attend as readers and/or audience. Any suggestions you might have for featured readers would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks and looking forward to seeing you Sunday, May 28th, 1-3 pm.
Slack Tide Café (formerly Carine’s Fish Grotto)
32430 N. Harbor Dr., Fort Bragg
Noyocenter.org
(Marine/ocean-themed poems are encouraged, but not required)
For more information: Larry Felson, 510-584-8270

Connie Post, Writers Read Ukiah
2023-05-25 19:00 - 20:30 | Grace Hudson Museum Community Room, 431 South Main Street, Ukiah, CA, 95482, United States
Writers Read will meet on Thursday, March 30 at 7 PM at the Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah. The featured reader will be Connie Post.
Open mic session will follow the featured reading. Maximum time for each reader is six minutes. Event will end at 9 PM.
For Information, contact Writers Read Ukiah MC Michael Riedell, innisfreeriedell@gmail.com
Writers Read happens on the last Thursday of almost every month and has been happening in Ukiah since 1999. This reading series is sponsored by an anonymous local writer, Colored Horse Studios, Michael Riedell, Dan Barth, the Poet Laureate Committee of Ukiah, the Grace Hudson Museum and donations.

Rhythm Running River on KZYX Public Radio
2023-05-21 15:00 - 17:00, 2023-05-07 15:00 - 17:00, 2023-04-16 15:00 - 17:00, 2023-04-02 15:00 - 17:00, 2023-03-19 15:00 - 17:00, 2023-03-05 15:00 - 17:00 | KZYX & Z, 88.1, 90.7, & 91.5 FM, 9300 HWY 128, Philo, CA, 95466, United States
Rhythm Running River poetry programming every 1st Sunday and every 3rd Sunday from 3 to 5 pm on KZYX&Z Public Radio, 90.7, 91.5, and 88.1 FM with host Dan Roberts.
For playlists, visit Rhythm Running River on Out Far Press. Stream the audio here.

LOBA Poetry Series at the Ukiah Library Presents: Michael Riedell
2023-05-20 15:00 - 16:00 | Ukiah Branch Library, 105 North Main Street, Ukiah, CA, 95482, United States
LOBA Poetry Series Open Mic at the Ukiah Public Library is on the third Saturdays of the month, from 3-4 pm. This month’s featured reader is Michael Riedell.
Join in to read or just listen to great poetry at the Ukiah Library!
This free event is open to both teens & adults – all are invited to share poems in any form or style.
Please email Melissa (she/her/they) at the Ukiah Library (details below) for more information.

Michael Riedell Point Arena Third Thursday Poetry & Jazz - hybrid event
2023-05-18 19:00 - 21:00 | Point Arena Community Center, 40 School Street, Point Arena, CA, 95468, United States
On Thursday, May 18, at 7pm The Third Thursday Poetry & Jazz Reading Series will feature Michael Riedell. The reading will take place at the Point Arena Community Center (as well as virtually via Zoom), located at 40 School Street in Point Arena. The reading will begin with live improv jazz, followed by a featured reading with Michael Riedell, then an open mic with jazz improv, and finally the reading will conclude with more live improv jazz. Third Thursday Poetry & Jazz is supported by The Third Thursday Poetry Group, many anonymous donors, and Poets & Writers, Inc.
To receive an invitation to the Zoom reading, or for more information, contact Blake More (info below).

Felicia Rice & Theresa Whitehill: Heavy Lifting, Listening Tour at the Starlight Lounge
2023-05-13 19:00 - 21:00 | Starlight Lounge, Willits Community Theatre, 37 W Van Lane, Willits, CA, 95490, United States
The Heavy Lifting Listening Tour is coming to the Starlight Lounge at the Willits Community Theatre on Saturday, May 13 at 7 pm.
The Heavy Lifting Listening Tour aspires to offer opportunities for healing, and dreaming, through dialogue. An introduction to the project opens a display of the artists’ book and of the experimental film, On Heavy Lifting, that accompanies the book. This is followed by a conversation between poet Theresa Whitehill and the audience in which she alternates reading her poems with an invitation for audience members to read their own work or share brief stories in response to the themes and material.
It kicks off in March 2023 in Caspar and will occur monthly in communities impacted by the wildfires throughout northern California in 2023.

To learn more about the entire Heavy Lifting Project, see https://theresawhitehill.com/books-broadsides/heavy-lifting/
To see the full lineup of events for the Heavy Listening Tour, see: https://theresawhitehill.com/books-broadsides/heavy-lifting/#About-Tour
Entry to the reading is by donation, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. The Willits Community Theatre Playhouse is located at 37 West Van Lane, a block west of Mazahar Clothing Store and a block south of Pizza To Go.

Molly Fisk, Writers Read Ukiah
2023-04-27 19:00 - 20:30 | Grace Hudson Museum Community Room, 431 South Main Street, Ukiah, CA, 95482, United States
Writers Read will meet on Thursday, March 30 at 7 PM at the Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah. The featured reader will be Molly Fisk.
Open mic session will follow the featured reading. Maximum time for each reader is six minutes. Event will end at 9 PM.
For Information, contact Writers Read Ukiah MC Michael Riedell, innisfreeriedell@gmail.com
Writers Read happens on the last Thursday of almost every month and has been happening in Ukiah since 1999. This reading series is sponsored by an anonymous local writer, Colored Horse Studios, Michael Riedell, Dan Barth, the Poet Laureate Committee of Ukiah, the Grace Hudson Museum and donations.

Albert Flynn DeSilver Point Arena Third Thursday Poetry & Jazz - hybrid event
2023-04-20 19:00 - 21:00 | Point Arena Community Center, 40 School Street, Point Arena, CA, 95468, United States
On Thursday, April 20, at 7pm The Third Thursday Poetry & Jazz Reading Series will feature Albert Flynn DeSilver. The reading will take place at the Point Arena Community Center (as well as virtually via Zoom), located at 40 School Street in Point Arena. The reading will begin with live improv jazz, followed by a featured reading with Albert Flynn DeSilver, then an open mic with jazz improv, and finally the reading will conclude with more live improv jazz. Third Thursday Poetry & Jazz is supported by The Third Thursday Poetry Group, many anonymous donors, and Poets & Writers, Inc.
To receive an invitation to the Zoom reading, or for more information, contact Blake More (info below).

LOBA Poetry Series at the Ukiah Library Presents: Denise Low
2023-04-15 15:00 - 16:00 | Ukiah Branch Library, 105 North Main Street, Ukiah, CA, 95482, United States
LOBA Poetry Series Open Mic at the Ukiah Public Library is on the third Saturdays of the month, from 3-4 pm. This month’s featured reader is Denise Low.
Join in to read or just listen to great poetry at the Ukiah Library!
This free event is open to both teens & adults – all are invited to share poems in any form or style.
Please email Melissa (she/her/they) at the Ukiah Library (details below) for more information.

Felicia Rice & Theresa Whitehill: Heavy Lifting, Listening Tour
2023-04-15 14:00 - 16:00 | Coast Community Library Community Room, 225 Main St, Point Arena, CA, 95468, United States
The Heavy Lifting Listening Tour is coming to the Coast Community Library Community Room in Point Arena on Saturday, April 15 at 2 pm, with guest Sidney Regelbrugge, Mendocino County Youth Poet Laureate.
The Heavy Lifting Listening Tour aspires to offer opportunities for healing, and dreaming, through dialogue. An introduction to the project opens a display of the artists’ book and of the experimental film, On Heavy Lifting, that accompanies the book. This is followed by a conversation between poet Theresa Whitehill and the audience in which she alternates reading her poems with an invitation for audience members to read their own work or share brief stories in response to the themes and material.
It kicks off in March 2023 in Caspar and will occur monthly in communities impacted by the wildfires throughout northern California in 2023.

To learn more about the entire Heavy Lifting Project, see https://theresawhitehill.com/books-broadsides/heavy-lifting/
To see the full lineup of events for the Heavy Listening Tour, see: https://theresawhitehill.com/books-broadsides/heavy-lifting/#About-Tour

Felicia Rice, Theresa Whitehill, and Sidney Regelbrugge: Be More Now
2023-04-06 19:00 - 20:00 | KZYX & Z, 88.1, 90.7, & 91.5 FM, 9300 HWY 128, Philo, CA, 95466, United States
Tune into KZYX&Z’s Be More Now program at 7pm on Thursday, April 6 when host Blake More interviews artist/printer Felicia Rice, poet Theresa Whitehill and poet Sidney Regelbrugge, the Mendocino County Youth Poet Laureate.
Heavy Lifting, the outcome of a 3 1/2 year collaboration between artist/printer Felicia Rice of Moving Parts Press and poet Theresa Whitehill is part event, part film, part exhibition and part reading, and it is currently touring Mendocino County and beyond. Our discussion will center upon how this project presents an opportunity for dialogue and healing in an historic time of crisis and renewal.
Heavy Lifting is a fierce work that names the darkness in the belief that the first stage of recovery from grief is acknowledgement, and that the precursor to action can be anger. It is a response to a call sounded by artist/educator Paul Soulellis in 2021: “Publishing has always been political, but has it ever felt as urgent as it does right now in the global distress and intersecting crises of the past year? There’s a desperate need for new language to express publishing’s renewed urgency and importance. …let’s turn away from old, legacy publishing models towards something new: an ethics, craft, and politics of urgent making.”
The limited edition artists’ book, Heavy Lifting, is the outcome of a close collaboration between artist/printer Felicia Rice of Moving Parts Press and poet Theresa Whitehill. It began in 2019 with an exchange in which a poem sparked a drawing which sparked a poem which led to a book structure, then spiraled back round again. In 2020, during their early work on the project, Felicia lost her letterpress shop of over 40 years to a devastating megafire in the Santa Cruz Mountains just as the death of George Floyd trained a blazing light on the many deep-seated inequities in this country amid the global pandemic and threat of political totalitarianism. Heavy Lifting took flight in spite of and because of our personal and collective crises of this terrible time and tackles these issues in book form, performance, and dialogue in search of a tenable future. The innovative book structure of nested accordion-fold panels features stunning poems by Theresa Whitehill in compelling conversation with prints by Felicia Rice. Inge Bruggeman writes in the preface to The Heavy Lifting Companion, “Felicia Rice has … an unsurpassed commitment to the book as a unique space for expressing artistic content…. Heavy Lifting not only demonstrates Rice’s innovative use of the artists’ book format, it reveals the unique power of this art form to unfurl within the hands of the individual, thus beautifully connecting the individual’s role to art, poetry, and the world around them.”
Heavy Lifting acknowledges the almost unbearable pace of relentless crises that have unfolded in recent years—covid, climate change, racial injustice, the threat of totalitarianism, immigration crises—and begins to dwell in what might lie beyond these times. Theresa Whitehill’s poems tread a tenuous path at the boundaries between personal and collective reckonings with work that portrays alternating grief, tenderness, defiance, and outrage.
For more informtation on Heavy Lifting, visit: https://movingpartspress.com/publications/heavy-lifting/
Audio Archive: https://www.snakelyone.com/radio/be-more-now/audio21/bmorenow-bam-dec1-2021.mp3
For more information, contact Blake More, host, Be More Now (info below)

Art Waves: Mendocino Spring Poetry Celebration 2023 Interview
2023-04-02 15:00 - 16:00 | KZYX & Z, 88.1, 90.7, & 91.5 FM, 9300 HWY 128, Philo, CA, 95466, United States
Marty Durlin of KZYX Art Waves interviews Dan Roberts and Gordon Black regarding the upcoming Mendocino Spring Poetry Celebration, scheduled for June 11 at the Hill House, with radio broadcasts to follow, beginning June 18. This will be the 48th anniversary and 18th consecutive revival of the Celebration.

Tune in here for info and flights of fancy:

http://youthspeaksout.net/gordon_dan_artwaves041823.mp3

And what’s your definition of poetry?

Dedan Gills: 29 Best Poetry Books of 2023
2023-04-01 | CA
Dedan Gills
I Give You the Springtime of My Blushing Heart: A Poetic Love Song
Dedan Gills (August 21, 1945–December 20, 2015) is co-author, with Belvie Rooks, of I Give You the Springtime of My Blushing Heart: A Poetic Love Song, which has been selected as one of the 29 best poetry books by Speechify for this year’s Poetry Month
Dedan described himself as a “soulutionary.” He was a poet and active member for eight years in one of the first urban intentional environmental communities in the country—the L.A. Eco-Village. Certified in Permaculture, he was a founding member of the L.A. Permaculture Guild. His poems have appeared in the International Sufi Association Journal. Born in Watts, California, Dedan was instrumental in the formation of the Black Student Alliance movement in Southern California and for a time was a member of the Black Panther Party. The demise of the Black Liberation movement was followed by years of despair while trying to find his activist footing on a different ground. He became an unrelenting advocate for human rights and Mother Earth. Dedan worked to integrate principles of permaculture design, sustainability, environmental awareness, and the greening of the inner spirit for healing and recovery. He gave tirelessly to groups of people abandoned by mainstream culture—the homeless and those suffering from addiction and incarceration. He touched many souls while actively and simultaneously addressing their physical, material, and emotional wounds. As he was known to say, “Things come and go, but the soul is eternal. When souls embrace, it is like a kiss that lasts forever!”
https://speechify.com/audiobooks/blog/best-poetry-books/
See more of the work of Belvie Rooks and Dedan Gills:
http://growingaglobalheart.weebly.com/about-us.html
Dedan Gills and Belvie Rooks; photo, Santosh Peters

Jabez W. Churchill, Writers Read Ukiah
2023-03-30 19:00 - 20:30 | Grace Hudson Museum Community Room, 431 South Main Street, Ukiah, CA, 95482, United States
Writers Read will meet on Thursday, March 30 at 7 PM at the Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah. The featured reader will be Jabez W. Churchill.
Jabez W. “Bill” Churchill has two muses, one English and the other Spanish. He has been a California Poet in the Public Schools since 1998, working primarily with bilingual and at risk students. A member of the Ina Coolbrith Poetry Circle since the 1970s, he was Ukiah Poet Laureate from 2014 to 2016. Says Bill: “Still writing. Still submitting for publication. Still reading.”
Open mic session will follow the featured reading. Maximum time for each reader is six minutes. Event will end at 9 PM.
For Information, contact Writers Read Ukiah MC Michael Riedell, innisfreeriedell@gmail.com
Writers Read happens on the last Thursday of almost every month and has been happening in Ukiah since 1999. This reading series is sponsored by an anonymous local writer, Colored Horse Studios, Michael Riedell, Dan Barth, the Poet Laureate Committee of Ukiah, the Grace Hudson Museum and donations.

Heavy Lifting: Cascadian Prophets Interview
2023-03-29 | Online Event
Paul Nelson of Cascadia Poetics Lab in Seattle, Washington is delighted to present an interview about the art book Heavy Lifting, a collaboration by Felicia Rice of Moving Parts Press and the poet Theresa Whitehill. Recorded Friday, March 25, 2023, via Zoom, this interview is about how the project came together, what it means to create stunning works of art that are also books, and how we engage the realities of the anthropocene. This is an incredibly important fact given that Felicia’s home and studio was totally destroyed by a wildfire that has become the new normal in the California summer. Theresa Whitehill’s poetry works seamlessly with Felicia’s design in a book that is like few others every created. For book nerds, this is nirvana and we get inside of the whole project via the video version of this Cascadian Prophets interview.

LOBA Poetry Series at the Ukiah Library Presents: Georgina Marie Guardado
2023-03-18 15:00 - 16:00 | Ukiah Branch Library, 105 North Main Street, Ukiah, CA, 95482, United States
LOBA Poetry Series Open Mic at the Ukiah Public Library is on the third Saturdays of the month, from 3-4 pm. This month’s featured reader is Georgina Marie Guardado.
Join in to read or just listen to great poetry at the Ukiah Library!
This free event is open to both teens & adults – all are invited to share poems in any form or style.
Please email Melissa (she/her/they) at the Ukiah Library (details below) for more information.

Martin Hickel Point Arena Third Thursday Poetry & Jazz - hybrid event
2023-03-16 19:00 - 21:00 | Shindig, 35590 Verdant View, Sea Ranch, 95497
On Thursday, March 16, at 7pm The Third Thursday Poetry & Jazz Reading Series will feature Martin Hickel. The reading will take place at Shindig (as well as virtually via Zoom), an emerging new tea and wine salon located on Verdant View off Annapolis Road at the Ranch Center in The Sea Ranch. The reading will begin with live improv jazz, followed by a featured reading with Martin Hickel, then an open mic with jazz improv, and finally the reading will conclude with more live improv jazz. Third Thursday Poetry & Jazz is supported by The Third Thursday Poetry Group, many anonymous donors, and Poets & Writers, Inc.
To receive an invitation to the Zoom reading, or for more information, contact Blake More (info below).

Felicia Rice & Theresa Whitehill: Heavy Lifting, Listening Tour
2023-03-12 14:00 - 16:00 | Caspar Shul, 15071 Caspar Rd, Caspar, 95420
The Heavy Lifting Listening Tour is coming to the Caspar Shul on Sunday, March 12 at 2 pm.
The Heavy Lifting Listening Tour aspires to offer opportunities for healing, and dreaming, through dialogue. An introduction to the project opens a display of the artists’ book and of the experimental film, On Heavy Lifting, that accompanies the book. This is followed by a conversation between poet Theresa Whitehill and the audience in which she alternates reading her poems with an invitation for audience members to read their own work or share brief stories in response to the themes and material.
It kicks off in March 2023 in Caspar and will occur monthly in communities impacted by the wildfires throughout northern California in 2023.

To learn more about the entire Heavy Lifting Project, see https://theresawhitehill.com/books-broadsides/heavy-lifting/
To see the full lineup of events for the Heavy Listening Tour, see: https://theresawhitehill.com/books-broadsides/heavy-lifting/#About-Tour

Steve Hellman & Mike A'Dair: Starlight Lounge
2023-03-11 19:00 - 22:00 | Starlight Lounge, Willits Community Theatre, 37 W Van Lane, Willits, CA, 95490, United States
Veteran poets Steve Hellman and Mike A’Dair will read their poetry at the next installment of Starlight Lounge, a poetry series at the Willits Community Theatre. The reading will take place on Saturday, March 11 at 7 p.m. An open reading will follow.
A publishing writer since 1972, Steve Hellman’s poetry, fiction, memoir, journalism, reviews, and translations have appeared in many publications, among them: the San Francisco Chronicle, Carmel Pine Cone Weekly, Willits Weekly, Oboe Magazine, 14 Hills Literary Journal, and the Clamor of Innocence anthology. He has performed as a spontaneous spoken word poet since the early 1980s, after learning the form through Beat Era forerunners. He currently teaches creative writing at Mendocino College.
Mike A’Dair holds the title of the most obscure poet in America. A longtime resident of Willits, A’Dair was a newspaper reporter for Mendocino Country, The Willits News and Willits Weekly from 1990 to 2020. He is the author of two books on the Shakespeare Authorship Question and a book of poems, The Recrudescence of the Supernal.
Entry to the reading is by donation, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. The Willits Community Theatre Playhouse is located at 37 West Van Lane, a block west of Mazahar Clothing Store and a block south of Pizza To Go.
