Rain and Radio

Radio Program: Arts Live and Local w/ Carol Newman
Click for Part 1 - Laura // Click for Part 2 - Sarah Jane
Click for Part 3 - Sarah Jane // Click for Part 4 - Laura & Sarah Jane

The 41st edition of Rain Magazine, a project of students and faculty at Clatsop Community College, under the direction of Nancy Cook, had its annual reception on the evening of Thursday, May 28. The 2009 edition was aptly called the "Hope Edition", and in it, I had my first poem published since college. Along with many of the other writers and artists featured in Rain this year, I read my poem "Webster, Mass. – 1972"––the first poem I wrote for this blog!––during the almost three-hour soirée, which is a favorite and well-attended community event every year. Reading with us was Sarah Jane Bardy, a lovely and especially brilliant first-year student at CCC. She read her essay "The Perfect Slice", a wonderfully descriptive treatise on what constitutes the best pizza and where to find it. (New Jersey, of course!)

The next day, both of us were invited to read and talk about our pieces on KMUN, the North Coast's community radio station. "Arts Live and Local" is Carol Newman's longstanding radio program of events coming up soon in the region, airing every Friday at 3pm. The show is quite an undertaking and features several artists, writers and musicians each week. Sarah Jane and I had a blast, along with her proud mom Rita Bardy, a beautiful and fascinating woman in her own right, and an equally proud Ron, who snapped a bunch of great photos. All of this was due, of course, to Carol, the masterblaster, and her unbridled enthusiasm for our local art scene and for each and every person she interviews. Way too much nonstop fun over two days... and I've been flying pretty high ever since! Merci à tous!

The entire broadcast is reposted here, approximately 20 minutes. Part 1 features introductions and my reading of "Webster", parts 2 and 3 is Sarah Jane's reading and a great song by John Gorka ("I'm from New Jersey"), and part 4 is Carol interviewing first Sarah Jane and then me. All photos are courtesy of Ron Walker, except the picture of Sarah Jane on Soundclick, which was snapped by Carol during Sarah's reading.