 Red Room Writer Profile
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Jeanne Powell's Blog
March 11, 2010
- I have been asked why I'm not more outspoken about President Obama. Why should I be? Everyone else seems to have an opinion, especially those who voted for him with such high hopes, as well as those who voted for Senator McCain. No need for me to join all the yelling, screaming and tearing out of hair follicles. The presidential candidate for whom I cast my vote in 2008 was Cynthia ...
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February 22, 2010
- A weekend like any other, running in a light rain to catch a bus and then a train. Destination? A neighborhood bookseller on the other side of the city -- publication party in progress and my friend Will was reading. We wanted to drink a toast to poetry at a nearby cafe when the reading finished, but Will kept pausing to listen to a slender man with silver hair who talked with quiet ...
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January 12, 2010
- Finding Christmas is an adventure in our society. Since our national economy is dominated by one philosophy and that system controls the advertising industry, only one set of values is promulgated 24 hours a day. It can be a challenge to find and hold onto any spiritual significance during the winter solstice period, inside or outside of Christianity. Last December I set out on a public ...
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December 3, 2009
- My birthday season is AUTUMN, a source of great joy, and not just because of warm hugs, great presents and free lunches. It's about the season, easily the most beautiful and bountiful one Nature has given us in those climates where seasonal changes are noticeable.Because I love my birth season so much, I am experiencing a deep slow burn at the steady erosion of this lovely time of year, at the ...
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November 3, 2009
- Iranian woman protests in the streets of Tehran. (Photo: .faramarz / flickr) Afghani woman. (Photo: twocentsworth / flickrYou know those women in veils, who are the subject of patronizing soundbites on American newscasts? Those women in veils who frequently appear as exotic subjects in lurid emails circulated by American liberals, who think of them as domestic drones paperclipped to a kitchen ...
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September 17, 2009
- People actually have asked me why I didn't call them when I was in Vancouver BC for a week, since they know I like to stay in touch. Well, I really did plan to call, despite the roaming charges my carrier would have loaded on the cell phone bill. There was a little problem, though.Our agile guide took 16 of us into the wilds of Capilano Canyon, an hour or two outside Vancouver. You get ...
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August 3, 2009
June 22, 2009
- So much to celebrate last November 5th, the day after America's 2008 national election. The Chicago audience was giddy with excitement as the incoming president spoke. No reason to notice an older man standing quietly in the crowd, tears running down his face, features twisted with emotion. Once the photograph was published, though, responses were quick -- twitters, smug columns and lightweight ...
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June 17, 2009
- [Fruitvale BART station,Oakland CAJanuary 1, 2009]my country 'tis of theesweet land of libertyof thee I singdid you know before today a bullet fired in disdain,callous indifferenceinto a young father's backas he lies face down on harsh cementwill power through, race throughhis body pronebounce off the pavement coldand splash back into vital organslike the heart and spirit and soul,leaving ...
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May 16, 2009
- Bay windows shimmer where he standson a picture perfect afternoonframed in flashpoints of sunlighthe is desperately in search of coveracross the living room she glowedexulted in his safe returnhowever unsteady his directionback in the world, walking pointfrom kitchen to backyard barbecuethick carpet, forest greenobliterates their teakwood floordisguises her barefoot stepsas she glides ...
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May 13, 2009
- Veterans deserve competent counseling and they need it now.Pressure the Pentagon and the VA, the President and Congress, until somebody listens.Increasing numbers of combat personnel are returning to the U.S. with ptsd; several have turned their weapons on strangers, colleagues, their families and/or themselves. Berkeley poet Julia Vinograd's powerful poem appears below.Instructions for ...
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May 11, 2009
- The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats [published after the Great War of 1914-1918]Turning and turning in the widening gyreThe falcon can not hear the falconer.Things fall apart; the center can not hold;Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhereThe ceremony of innocence is drowned;The best lack all conviction, while the worstAre full of passionate ...
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May 3, 2009
- "Come up to Point Arena and read for me." OK, why not? Even though I have no idea where Point Arena is, I think it cannot be too hard to find. So I schedule this event in the distant future, and ask for a street address to post on Redroom. "Well, we don't really use street addresses here -- it's the red building with flowers in front. We only have one main ...
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May 2, 2009
- If someone mentions art, slam poetry, fiction writing and live music -- you think of San Francisco, right? Of course you do, unless you're from Berkeley, but that's another story.However, if you are talking about the first weekend of April 2009, you would be wrong. Pleasanton -- yes, Pleasanton -- hosted its "8th Annual Poetry, Prose & Arts Festival" and you missed a lot of ...
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April 26, 2009
- In anticipation of revisiting one of my favorite historical periods, I waited in line to see "The Other Boleyn Girl," directed by Justin Chadwick. New perspective, what's not to like, I thought. I even invited one of my friends to join me at the Metreon cinema south of Market Street. After the preview, Barry and I drowned our cinematic sorrows around the corner at Jillian's ...
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