by Portia Choi | Mar 2, 2017 | Events, Featured Poet, Interviews, Poems
Night of Poetry at Levan Center, Bakersfield College The “movers and shakers” of poetry were together to read poems of nationally acclaimed poets at the Levan Center on February 16, 2017. Each of the presenting local poets read a poem by another nationally known poet...
by Portia Choi | Feb 8, 2017 | Featured Poet, Features, Pictures
Tony O’Brien was the featured poet at First Friday Open Mic on February 3, 2017. O’Brien is also a photographer and a jazz musician. He melded his talents of being a poet and a photographer for his performance. At the open mic, he had participants hold up...
by Portia Choi | Jan 11, 2017 | Featured Poet, Pictures, Poems
story by Portia Choi On the First Friday of January 2017, the featured poets at Dagny’s Coffee were Joseph Mosconi, Barry Michael and Maryah Paige Chester. They read from their poetry books which were in themselves a work of art. Each book was unusual and unique in...
by Portia Choi | Jan 5, 2017 | Featured Poet, Interviews, Pictures, Poems
Story by: Martin Chang Photos by: Greg D. Cook and Martin Chang top box photo provided by Chris Fendt Chris Fendt is inspired by different aspects of life. For Fendt, a chance meeting with a stranger, his favorite music, or quiet moments in Bakersfield, can...
by Portia Choi | Dec 21, 2016 | Featured Poet, Pictures
photos by Greg D. Cook story by Portia Choi Ara Shirinyan was the last guest poet of the Bakersfield Fan Forum at California State University Bakersfield (CSUB) Todd Madigan Gallery. He performed at the gallery on November 30, 2016. Shirinyan is a poet,...
by Portia Choi | Dec 14, 2016 | Featured Poet, Pictures
The Open Mic for December 2016 featured Yaritza I. Castro. Castro has been an active member of the poetry community and has performed at the Open Mic several times. She read from her first poetry book “Unfinished Poems for a Lover.” To read more on Castro...
by Portia Choi | Dec 7, 2016 | Events, Featured Poet, Pictures
By Portia Choi, with contributions by Martin Chang Photos by Martin Chang On December 1, 2016 the California Poet Laureate, Dana Gioia, was the presenter at the December Room of the Walter Stiern Library at California State University, Bakersfield. He was...
by Portia Choi | Nov 30, 2016 | Featured Poet, Pictures
Story by Portia Choi Photos by Martin Chang Yaritza I. Castro is another poet who found a place to express her writing at First Friday Open Mic at Dagny’s Coffee. She started attending First Friday Open Mic at Dagny’s Coffee in summer 2015. Castro found out about the...
by Portia Choi | Oct 27, 2016 | Featured Poet, Pictures
Mateo Lara performs his poems regularly at the First Friday Open Mic at Dagny’s for over a year. He has recently published his first collection of poetry, “Keta-Miha and Other Poems.” Mateo will be the featured poet at the next Open Mic on November 4. He is a Cal...
by Portia Choi | Oct 6, 2016 | Featured Poet, Pictures
by Martin Chang Guitarist and vocalist Tomo and drummer Glenn Mattews have built a bond based on the sharing of Blues and Rock and Roll. Through this connection they create words and music that flows out of them with a unique flavor, Tomo likes to call it “just...
