So Many Voices

January 2nd, 2018 by admin

Poetic Matrix Press' 20th Anniversary Authors' Anthology 246 pages, Price $20.00, available from Small Press Distribution (SPD) www.spdbooks.org With material from our 60 books and 45 authors (including new pieces from many) this is a true reflection...

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Posted in: Poets Comment into the World

J.P. Linstroth Indiegogo Campaign

May 25th, 2017 by admin

Join J.P. Linstroth in his Indiegogo Campaign Production costs for the publication of the Book of Poetry: The Forgotten Shore by J. P. Linstroth https://igg.me/at/linstrothpoetry/emal/16507486 J. P. Linstroth is an Adjunct Professor at Barry...

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20th Anniversary of Poetic Matrix Press

March 22nd, 2017 by admin

New pieces from the 20th Anniversary Anthology posted in Forever Journal: Diana Festa Dan Tharp Joe O'Connell Anne Whitehouse Poetic Matrix Press was founded in the high mountain beauty of Yosemite in 1997, and has since grown into a press that...

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Raphael Block in Concert 3/16

March 10th, 2017 by admin

...

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February 1st, 2017 by admin

If you are going to be in the Bay Area do stop by for this concert. Raphael's poetry is beautiful as is David's music, the two together is a real treat.  You can pick up Raphael's book as well; Stings Shining Silence: Earth-Love Poems.   ...

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Poetic Matrix Press 20th Anniversary

January 17th, 2017 by admin

In times like these, art has the power to make us feel less alone Christina Patterson - The Guardian - Saturday, November 26, 2016 “As a citizen of the world in 2016,” says DiDonato (American opera singer Joyce DiDonato) in the introduction to (her)...

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Raphael Block Video

October 19th, 2016 by admin

Dear friends, Thank you for all your comments on the 5 minute documentary that serves  as my book trailer, too. It seems to have touched many of you! We would really appreciate your help to get this film into the world. So, please consider posting this...

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Book order for Raphael Block

September 28th, 2016 by admin

Friends of Poetic Matrix Press.  Here's a great way to support Raphael Block, one of our authors, in his 2nd book with us and receive an early copy of the finished book.  Please show your support. Thanks John Dear friends, I would like you...

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-overheard at a DC bar.

September 7th, 2016 by admin

Picked up somewhere on the net. Truth is like poetry and most people fucking hate poetry  ...

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Ashley Pinkerton

June 14th, 2016 by admin

Spiraling Forward Let the dance of the sacred Spiral carry you on a journey through the cycles of Life. Ashley Pinkerton This is an invitation to support Ashley Pinkerton and Poetic Matrix Press in publishing her new book Spiraling Forward. Check...

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The Bay Area Bookfair

June 8th, 2016 by admin

    Here is our table at The Bay Area Bookfair in Berkeley this past weekend (June 4 & 5). The weather was beautiful and I met many good people.  Grace Grafton, Gail & Charles Entrekin came by as did Devon and Catherine.  It was...

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Traveling and Events

April 27th, 2016 by admin

We have been on the road for a few weeks.  We went to the Associated Writing Programs (AWP) Conference and Book Fair April 1 & 2 in Los Angeles, my daughter Kiirsti joined me and we met a lot of good people.  Kim Shuck, Joe Milosch and Brandon Cesmat...

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Francisco Memorial Reading

February 21st, 2016 by admin

On Thursday Feb. 18th a large group gathered at the John Natsoulas Gallery in Davis to celebrate the life and work of Francisco X Alarcon who on Jan. 16th passed from this place to that on his journey.  So many souls that he has touched and so they came...

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I am a white man

January 26th, 2016 by admin

It is time, before the coming Republican primaries, for me to say something I first formed 40 years ago. Before the pundits spew out the stereotype about disaffected white men voting for the likes of Trump and Cruz, let me say this, I am a white man (even...

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Buckminster Fuller

January 7th, 2016 by admin

(Buckminster) Fuller said that he had experienced a profound incident which would provide direction and purpose for his life. He felt as though he was suspended several feet above the ground enclosed in a white sphere of light. A voice spoke directly...

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Mandy Patinkin

December 10th, 2015 by admin

Earlier today I saw a CBS News piece on actor Mandy Patinkin as he went to a beach on a Greek island as refugees came ashore.  He went to, as he said "connect with reality" and meet these people as they fled conflicts in the Middle-East.  Patinkin said...

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Thanks Leroy

December 10th, 2015 by admin

I just saw Trump's disgusting and abusive portrayal of a disabled person. Having just published Leroy Moore's book Black Kripple Delivers Poetry & Lyrics I realize how much Leroy has affected me. Leroy has the same speech and physical patterns that...

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Echu

November 13th, 2015 by admin

Seen by the eye of faith the cherry blossoms are always about to fall. It is a rare privilege to be born as a human being, as we happen to be. If we do not achieve enlightenment in this life, when do we expect to achieve it? —Echu...

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Francis of Assisi

October 5th, 2015 by admin

"He who works with his hands is a laborer He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman He who works with his hands his head and his heart is an artist."  ...

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Watershed Event in Berkeley

September 26th, 2015 by admin

Folks, Poetic Matrix Press will have a table at the coming Watershed event in Berkeley this Saturday Sept 26th and we invite all of you who will be in the area to stop by and say hello.  All of the proceeds from all book sales will be donated to Sandy...

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Katrina by Lyn Lifshin

August 27th, 2015 by admin

If you have attended to the news lately you know this is the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina that so devastated New Orleans and the gulf region.  In 2010 our press had the opportunity to recognize Katrina's 5th anniversary by publishing Lyn Lifshin's...

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Star Trek Quote

August 20th, 2015 by admin

Star Trek Season 3: Ep. 5. Arthur H Singer Is There In Truth No Beauty The glory of creation is in its infinite diversity. And in the ways our differences combine to create meaning and beauty....

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Hart Crane

August 9th, 2015 by admin

"One must be drenched in words, literally soaked in them, to have the right ones form themselves into the proper patterns at the right moment." -Hart Crane, poet (1899-1932)...

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James Downs

July 19th, 2015 by admin

ONE STORY OF HOMELESSNESS In an online discussion about donating to the homeless, I waited to see if any other people who had been homeless in their life responded. I find it fascinating that we as a species make judgements without even asking what that...

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Ariel Gore

July 1st, 2015 by admin

“That kind of thinking [that writers must alleviate their guilt for leading a creative life] is based on the idea that the creative life is somehow self-indulgent. Artists and writers have to understand and live the truth that what we are doing is nourishing...

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Tomás Gayton

June 13th, 2015 by admin

Sojourn on the Bohemian Highway by Tomás Gayton ISBN:978-0-9852883-6-5 108 pages, retail price $16.00 Book Sojourn on the Bohemian Highway is the peripatetic poets’ travelogue in prose and poetry in the tradition of W.H. Auden’s “Letters From Iceland.”...

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Walt Whitman

May 30th, 2015 by admin

“This is what you shall do; Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and...

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THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES

May 16th, 2015 by admin

THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES by James Downs Too many people are paying no attention. Too much is going by in front of     them, because they, like everyone else, have busy lives. ...But what is not understood is that the plans, the legislation, that are...

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Mary Shelley

April 2nd, 2015 by admin

"It was the secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to learn; and whether it was the outward substance of things, or the inner spirit of nature and the mysterious soul of man that occupied me, still my inquiries were directed to the metaphysical, or...

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11 Main a new Shopping Site.

March 20th, 2015 by admin

      Our Press is joining 11 Main a new Shopping Site. Currently our books are discounted but we receive our full cover price. Our shop is open with a limited number of titles, more are being added daily. We hope that with the addition...

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Tom Petty

February 8th, 2015 by admin

Tom Petty NPR interview with Melissa Block 8/14/14: "Yeah, you kind of spend the whole day gearing up for it, and the night getting over it. You just want to be as wonderful as everyone thinks you are, and you know you're not. So something takes place...

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Poetry Bookshelf

December 5th, 2014 by admin

Poetry Bookshelf Having a full bookshelf of poetry books is one mark of an active and well-read intelligence. The benefits are many, from the quiet moment in the night where a short poem is perfect to a warm afternoon where a chosen book is just right....

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Eugene Ionesco

December 3rd, 2014 by admin

"To renew language is to renew the conception, the vision of the world. Revolution consists in bringing about change in mental attitudes." -Eugene Ionesco...

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Philip Levine

November 20th, 2014 by admin

"...poetry will save nothing from oblivion, but I keep writing about the ordinary because for me it's the home of the extraordinary, the only home." ~Philip Levine...

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You are part of the power of this country by James Downs (click here for full post)

October 20th, 2014 by admin

I do believe in fairness and care for our fellows and getting rid of poverty and help the homeless. But until we solve the problems that keep us apart on core issues, we will never start down that road at all.  Those who do not want these things fixed...

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TEN QUESTIONS of Juan Felipe Herrera

September 9th, 2014 by admin

TEN QUESTIONS of Juan Felipe Herrera [caption id="attachment_438" align="alignleft" width="150"] Juan Felipe Herrera, at the National Bookfest, 2013(from Wikipedia)[/caption] Juan Felipe Herrera, poet, playwright, founder of four theatre ensembles,...

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Francisco X. Alarcón

July 26th, 2014 by admin

      Poetic Matrix Press with Francisco X. Alarcón has started an IndieGoGo campaign to raise funds to publish his new book Borderless Butterflies:/Mariposas sin Fronteras: Go to: http://igg.me/at/borderlessbutterflies/x/3168928...

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Poets House Showcase

July 12th, 2014 by admin

Poets House Showcase "The only event of its kind, the annual Poets House Showcase is a free exhibit featuring all of the new poetry books and poetry-related texts published in the United States in a single year (volumes by individual authors, anthologies,...

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Walt Whitman

July 2nd, 2014 by admin

“This is what you shall do; Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and...

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Barnes & Noble, a problematic view of poetry

June 6th, 2014 by admin

Click on above link to see entire essay. I recently left Barnes & Noble with a problematic view of the position of poetry in the store. The poetry section in Barnes & Noble in Fresno is located towards the back of the store, right up against...

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Muso Soseki

April 24th, 2014 by admin

Still from the film Baraka The sounds of the stream splash out the Buddha’s sermon Don’t say that the deepest meaning comes only from one’s mouth Day and night eighty thousand poems arise one after the other and in fact not a single word has ever been...

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Martha Graham

April 24th, 2014 by admin

There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy...that is translated through you into action. And because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. If you block it, it will never exist... It is not your business to determine how good...

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Quote

March 4th, 2014 by admin

When we see truly, there is nothing at all. There is no person; there is no Buddha. Innumerable things of the universe Are just bubbles on the sea. Wise sages are all like flashes of lightning. —Yoka Genkaku (665-713 CE), Shodoka   Seen by the...

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Leo Tolstoy

December 31st, 2013 by admin

  “Remember that there is only one important time and that is now. The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion. The most important person is always the person you are with, who is right before you, for who knows if you will have...

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What Use Is Poetry?

September 14th, 2013 by admin

I found this article recently and it seemed to speak to what we as poets might be up to even though we often don't know what we are up to and may not even understand our own words until sometime later.  I offer it and elicit your comments.  There might...

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Andre Gide

July 11th, 2013 by admin

  "What another would have done as well, do not do it. What another would have said as well or written as well, do not say or write it. Be faithful to that which exists nowhere but in yourself." --Andre Gide ...

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James Dickey on Poets

June 20th, 2013 by admin

"A poet is someone who stands outside in the rain, hoping to be struck by lightning." – James Dickey...

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New from Poetic Matrix Press by John Peterson

June 7th, 2013 by admin

Welcome to our new blog, Poet's Comments into the World.  Continuing the on-going commentary by poets and others on poetry, contemporary culture and the world.  James Downs, Associate Editor, proposed this for poets and readers of poetry to have a place...

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Shadab Hashmi's new book of poetry KOHL & CHALK

February 13th, 2013 by admin

  "These poems ring with clarity, restraint and humanity. My admiration for Shadab Zeest Hashmi's poetry continues to grow." — Sam Hamill Shadab's poetry does what some commentators over the years say is impossible; to write extraordinary poetry...

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Re: Anti Union efforts in Michigan and Wisconsin by John Peterson, Publisher

January 4th, 2013 by admin

Over the course of my working life I have joined two unions the International Union of Operating Engineers and the Service Employees International Union where at one point I was on the contract negotiating team. In management positions I have manged non-union...

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