 "Photo: City of Riverside")
Artist types, beatniks, cultural activists and some of the most esteemed authors of the Inland Empire were present at the Inlandia Institute Literary Laureate Program Launch and Poemeleon Annual Poetry Project. Hosted by the Sweeney Art Gallery last Wednesday, about 30 individuals were present to hear nine poets read some of their award-winning poetry.
The Inlandia Institute is a literary center in partnership with Heyday Books to represent the richness of the literary enterprise in the Inland Empire. It seeks to preserve the history and culture of the Inland Empire from the point of view of natives, as well as of visitors.
The publication of their first anthology, "Inlandia", in 2006 sparked enough interest in other local authors, poets, and the community to warrant a second compilation, "No Place for a Puritan: The Literature of California's Deserts", to be released in late November.
"We had a reading of 'Inlandia' at a coffee shop downtown and once people heard what we were about, more and more authors wanted to be involved. It was then that we knew that this was just the beginning, not the end," Executive Director of the Inlandia Institute, Marion Mitchel said.
"Poemeleon", a poetry journal, was founded by Cati Porter in 2005 and is published twice per year in April and October. Each issue includes poems, interviews, book reviews and essays submitted by authors who are nominated and then selected through a voting process. The theme for the October issue is gender. The journal explores the ways in which gender identifies individuals, both positively and negatively.
"A month ago Marion and I came up with this idea and it is such a pleasure to team up with a great community sponsor such as Sweeney as well," editor of "Poemeleon," Cati Porter said.
Associate editor for "Poemeleon", Maureen Alsop was the first to read several of her works, including a poem on Lake Superior.
"I'm originally from Michigan and this poem pays homage to the lake and its beauty and all the magic that it can inspire," Alsop said.
Ching-In Cheng was featured in the gender issue and presented a poem based on feminism and how appearances are often used to judge character. A strong sense of pride in being a woman was present in all of her works.
"Last year I had my long hair chopped off and it is interesting to see how I am accepted. Even my mom mentioned how my hair resembled a boy's," Cheng said.
Judy Kronenfeld was perhaps the most anticipated reader of the night. Kronenfeld retired from UCR's creative writing department last June where she taught for 25 years. Her achievements include winning the 2007 Litchfield Review Poetry Prize, as well as penning "Light Lowering in Diminished Sevenths." She recently became the associate editor of "Poemeleon."
"I'm a city soul though I've lived in Riverside for almost forty years," Kronenfeld said of a poem she read from her book.
Kronenfeld also joked about a poem she recently finished because "it took centuries to find the right way to end it."
Robert Krut, a University of California, Santa Barbara writing instructor is the author of "The Spider Sermons."
"I read this poem ["Gravity Pants Rocket Boy"] at an event once where by the end of it only about five people were left sitting. There were two 14-year-old girls sitting in the front row who sent me an e-mail afterwards thanking me for reading even though nobody was there," Krut said.
Ruth Nolan, associate professor of English at College of the Desert, and editor of "No Place for a Puritan," read from the forthcoming book. The anthology features stories with diverse topics from a drug-addled journalist's drive from Los Angles to Las Vegas to a Japanese-American family coping with incarceration during World War II.
All works detail the fear and romanticism the desert has held throughout the ages. The stories and poems are works by local author but the book also includes greats such as John Steinbeck, Juan Felipe Herrera and Aldous Huxley.
Other performing authors of the evening include Frances McConnell, Stephany Prodromides, Jo Scott-Coe and Hilda Weiss.
The event was free and open to the public. Champagne, wine and other beverages were offered to attendees. The Sweeney's current art exhibit, Intelligent Design: Interspecies Art, was also on display for visitors to view.
The exhibit is partially in celebration of Charles Darwin's 200th birthday and also of the anniversary of the publication of "On the Origin of Species." It runs until Feb. 6, 2010.
To learn more about the Inlandia Institute or "Poemeleon,", visit www.inlandiainstitute.org and www.poemeleon.org.
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