by Portia Choi | Nov 23, 2016 | Events, Pictures
Story by Portia Choi Photos by Greg D. Cook Don Thompson, the Kern County’s first-ever Poet Laureate, spoke at the Writers of Kern (WOK) meeting on November 19, 2016. Thompson has written about Kern County for over 50 years in his poems. He was born in Bakersfield,...
by Portia Choi | Nov 17, 2016 | Events, Pictures
story by Portia Choi November 7, 2016 was the opening of The Bakersfield Fan Forum at the Todd Madigan Gallery at California State University Bakersfield. It is being presented by The Poetic Research Bureau through the visiting artist, Joseph Mosconi. The...
by Portia Choi | Nov 10, 2016 | Events, Pictures
Story by Portia Choi There was extraordinary excitement at the First Friday Open Mic on November 4. There was a standing-room only crowd. That wasn’t all. There have been other evenings with persons where persons stood to listen to poets perform their word...
by Portia Choi | Nov 2, 2016 | Events, Pictures
These were photos taken at Dagny’s on October 7th 2016. The featured poets were Heavy Vinyl who performed their new song “Rock and Roll Beauty Queen” and between songs describes their process behind the songs they have...
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 13, 2016 | Events, Pictures
By Martin Chang “Words Come to Life” was an event held to benefit CASA and celebrate the poetry and art of Kern County. In her opening remarks Diana Ramirez, the organizer of the event, was emotional, and barely held back tears. She said, “Look at...
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...
by Portia Choi | Oct 4, 2016 | Featured Poet, Pictures
By Martin Chang Greg Stanley has been in touch with his creative side for most of his life. He paints, writes poetry, and gets a different feeling from both types of artistic expression. Stanley grew up in Gaithersburg, Maryland until he was around 30. Then, in 1989,...
by Portia Choi | Sep 29, 2016 | Events, Featured Poet, Pictures
By Martin Chang Like many others in America, Kate Durbin found herself fascinated by the world of Reality television. As a poet, Durbin began to watch with a closer eye. From the way that the camera moves from Kardashian to Kardashian, to the carefully manicured...
by Portia Choi | Sep 8, 2016 | Events, Pictures
On September 2, Fidel A. Martinez was the featured poet. He read from his books of poetry: Factory Lights (2013), An American Mythology (2011), Ghost Stories from the Tower of Souls (2006), and recent poems. Later on that evening, Ian Perry and Paul Clery...
