Sunday, September 12, 2010

A Tharu Family In Dang, Nepal



Batuwaa is a made up village set near the village of Parasi in the Lumbini District of Nepal.  It also takes on some characteristics of the village in Dang where I took this photo.  I gave a health training there in the early 1990's, and I knew I would write about it one day.  Thus, Only Ghosts.

Friday, September 10, 2010

October 2nd Performance at Beach Books

Saturday 10/2/10 (5-8pm) at Beach Books in Seaside, OR: A poetry and musical experience featuring five local artists. These Portland poets will weave their work into a tapestry with full musical accompaniment.

A. Molotkov is a writer, composer, filmmaker and visual artist. Although he has been writing fiction and poetry for over 25 years, his more recent involvement with other art forms allows him to approach the creative process from various angles, with individual parts contributing to a greater whole. Molotkov is the author of several novels, short story and poetry collections and the winner of the 2008 E. M. Koeppel Short Fiction Award for his short story “Round Trip”, which was nominated for a Pushcart. His fiction and poetry has appeared in or accepted by the Hawaii Pacific Review, Peralta Press, Acquillrelle, Gival Press, Epicenter, Suger Mule and elsewhere. His debut CD “Can You Stay Forever”, an ambitious project utilizing 15 musicians, has received glowing reviews. A. Molotkov is quickly becoming known in the Portland poetry community for his exceptional skills at oral presentation. In February 2010, Molotkov spearheaded a one-hour performance “Love Outlives Us” presented by the Show and Tell Gallery and repeated on KBOO in June.
www.amolotkov.com

John Sibley Williams is a poet and book publicist residing in Portland, OR. He has a previous MA in Writing and presently studies Book Publishing at Portland State University, where he serves as Acquisitions Manager of Ooligan Press and publicist for Three Muses Press. His poetry was nominated for the 2009 Pushcart Prize, and his debut chapbook, A Pure River, is forthcoming from The Last Automat Press. Some of his over 100 previous or upcoming publications include: The Evansville Review, Ellipsis, Flint Hills Review, Euphony, Open Letters, Cadillac Cicatrix, Juked, The Journal, Hawaii Review, Cutthroat, The Furnace Review, Red Wheelbarrow, Aries, and River Oak Review.
www.TheArtOfRaining.com

Before landing in Portland, Carrie-Ann Tkaczyk lived all over. She learned kickboxing in Turkey, faced-off with a rhino in Nepal, discussed the weather with Queen Elizabeth in England, and was chastised by Mother Theresa in India. Portland has been her home for ten years. For the last four, she has been collaborating with members of The Guttery. Some of her readings have been published by The Peace Corps Digital Library, The Oregon Literary Review and Show and Tell Gallery as well as featured on the site Love Outlives Us. She writes novels about what happens when the will of the individual and the collective muscle of a culture clash. Her latest novel, Only Ghosts, is about the changes to a village in Nepal during the democratic movement of 1990. More at www.kalirati.blogspot.com

David Cooke was raised Catholic in Oakland, California, and now lives in Lake Oswego, Oregon. His debut poem Edges won the Ruth Stone Poetry Prize and was nominated for a 2010 Pushcart Prize. His work appears in Flatmancrooked, Hunger Mountain, A River & Sound Revie,w and in performances at the Blackbird Wine Shop, Show and Tell Gallery, Stonehenge Studio, and KBOO’s Talking Earth. He is also known as The Lawn Guy throughout Portland and Lake Oswego for his lawn maintenance business. Much of his current work is included in his forthcoming chapbook, Discretion.

Ragon Linde is a musician specializing in eclectic jazz. He plays the guitar, drums, and bass. Ragon moved to Portland in 2006 from Tulsa, Oklahoma where he lived most of his life. While in Oklahoma, Ragon played in a wide range of musical groups over the last 35 years whose styles included big band, psychedelic jazz, heavy metal, acoustic folk, classical, and western swing. Much of his work has been recorded and his latest album of work titled My Own Private Jihad can be found on his MySpace site, www.myspace.com/RagonLindeMusic.

Love Outlives Us

LOVE OUTLIVES US
by The Moonlit Guttery Team

love outlives us like trees
love outlives us
like the air we breathe

A. Molotkov: text, spoken voice, vocals,
duduk, percussion, handsonic
Bruce Greene: text, spoken voice
Shawn Austin: text, spoken voice,
percussion
David Cooke: text, spoken voice
Ragon Linde: guitar, electric guitar,
percussion, musical direction
Carrie-Ann Tkaczyk: text,
vocals, spoken voice


Love Outlives Us

Peace Corps


50 years of Peace Corps volunteers tromping around the world. From 1990 to 1992, I worked in Nepal (PCN170) as a teacher, teacher trainer, women's health trainer, and smokeless stove builder. My novel, Only Ghosts, comes from this time. Also, I've written some articles about my service. My narrative essay, "Assimilation" can be found in the Peace Corps Digital Library. Happy 50th Anniversary, Peace Corps.

Assimilation