Super moon
Stars in a cloudy sky
Lights, lights, and more lights
A night full of life and lights!
Storm waits till after
On the day of the dead, the queen super moon sat on her throne, entertained by the plays, the songs, the dances, the arts, the lights, lights and more lights! We condensed the donations of books into one red library on wheels: a little red truck orphanage for donated books to find a new home. Among the many who remembered us from last year, a friend told me she passed by repeatedly, waiting in vain to find a niche to squeeze into the crowd percolating through the books. Utilizing flashlight cellphones, browsers crowded the truck until the last hurrah while dancers reveled to San Antonio’s musical history and starry lanterns trickled away in the cloudy sky. Even the storm maintained a festive mood, kindly waiting until everyone left before raining down around us.
Paul Hoeg Gemini Intern TU Alumn’11
Toy trumpets and our banner led the Gemini march at the King William Parade. Waving princess waves, and holding up a banner, while walking 1.5 miles proved to be hard work awarded by a good time. Exciting stunts by Rolling with the Best & Bexar County Rollergirls behind us, and swanlike Bedouin Middle Eastern Dancers in front of us, falling confetti, and yes, a person dressed up as butter, provided plenty of photographic opportunities. Afterward we enjoyed the festival full of good food, art, music and fun which included bungee jumping and making hats out of paper bags. Thank you Half Priced Books for your donation of children’s books––they were a big hit with the youngest of Fiesta-goers!
Paul Hoeg Gemini Intern TU Alumn’11
On Good Friday, Mike Greenburg read from his play, Three Views of a Waterfall, and a new one about a man writing to a future post brain surgery self. Tomas Morin read from his book, A Larger Country, recipient of the Honickman First Book Award.
Both classes on the following Saturday were small and casual. Both provided great opportunities for writers to learn from and have their own work work shopped by published writers. In Morin’s case, the zeal for poetry extended well into the El Mirador lunch.
Notes for Morin’s class:
Humor as a means to deflect the serious.
-mix contents
-exaggeration
-slapstick
-self-deprecation
Workshopped poems:
“Another Insane Devotion” Gerald Stern
“Ax” Charles Simic, from his book Selected Early Poems
“America” Tony Hoagland
“Dog Poem” Phillip Levine
“Workforce” James Tate
“Hatred” Wislawa Szymorska,
“Open Mic in Heaven.” Alan Shapiro, in his book Old War.
Referenced:
Rhyme’s Reason, by John Hollander
Poet Laureate to be Phillip Levine
Paul Hoeg Gemini Intern Trinity University Alum’11Gemini Ink and the Writers in Communities program is grateful to learn that the Genevieve and Ward Orsinger Foundation has granted us funding to facilitate two summer creative writing workshops for elders at the Elvira Cisneros Senior Center. We’re excited to hear and share their stories!
Read more about the Orsinger Foundation by clicking the image link.
