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Tahoe Poetry Collective
THEmakers
creative awareness | arts & culture | makers’ movement
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Tahoe Poetry Collective
CREATING A LITERARY COMMUNITY
PHOTOS & STORY BY PRIYA HUTNER
Poetry at the Backyard | Aug. 17 & Sept. 21 | 6:30-8 p.m. | Tahoe Backyard
FROM LEFT: Tahoe Poetry Collective readers, from left, Julie Morrow, Kelley Cooper, Scott Green, Gigi West, Sarah Dittmore, Elizabeth Pankhurst, Karen Terrey and her dog Towhee, and Karlie Watson. Gigi West opens the evening with her reading.
It’s a hot summer evening. A large group of people is seated at picnic tables. Some drink beer from the Bear Belly Brewing company and others enjoy food from the Yard Hen food truck. Children are running around playing. I’ve just arrived at Tahoe Backyard, a small patch of green in the center of Kings Beach. The scene is local as people gather for Poetry at the Backyard, the Tahoe Poetry Collective’s evening event, held on the third Wednesday of the month. Christine and Andrew Ryan, owners of Tahoe Backyard, are one of the sponsors of the poetry evening. Christine creates the poetry and prose chapbook. Andrew serves as the master of ceremonies. Scott Green, the founder of the Tahoe Poetry Collective, is an archeologist and tribal liaison for California State Parks. Has also organized Poetry in Parks events. “I became aware of the poet Kenneth Rexroth, who lived for a time in a small cabin in one of our state parks. This is how I learned there was a Beat poet connection with the state parks,” says Green. His love of poetry and nature inspired Green to start Tahoe Poetry Collective.
I settle at a picnic table with a Low Life Lager and wait for the event to begin. A single mic stands before an artsy backdrop, giving the impression there’s a stage. The first reading is by 10-year-old Gigi West. She reads her poem, “The Wild Wind.” Karen Terrey, a poet, and owner of Tangled Roots Writing, rises and walks to the mic. She reads three of her new poems. The first is entitled: “When I am Overwhelmed.” For many of the poets, it was their first time reading their work. Elizabeth Pankhurst from Chico read a poem about the tragic loss of her fiancée. Twenty-two-year-old Karlie Watson reads an essay about how she’s experiencing life around her. Her reading is raw, honest and vulnerable. Her voice quivered as she bared her soul. Poets Sarah Dittmore, Julie Morrow, Kelley Cooper and Green also read. The event finishes, the poet’s nerves settle and people connect about the readings. “I came here for the opening act, Gigi West. I couldn’t leave. I was hanging on to every word of each person. It feels so empowering. Kat’s [Terrey] reading was metered and soothing, while Karlie’s cathartic and raw,” says Stinger, a Kings Beach resident, who is a fan of Bear Belly Brewing. Moved by Watson’s prose, I thanked her for sharing her work. “There is beauty in poetry that use words to not say directly what you mean and there’s beauty in prose to say exactly what you mean,” says Watson. I loved the vibe and was excited by the sense of community created at this Kings Beach enclave of artists and guests. Poetry at the Backyard promotes a community-based literary expression in the form of poetry, prose and the spoken word. It’s open to the public and is a submission-based series; there are no fees. A team of curators selects the submissions. Submit poems to tahoepoetrycollective@gmail.com. “Poetry touches everybody from every generation. There’s a 10-minute limit. This allows for 10 or 12 poets to read,” explains Green. The Tahoe Poetry Collective will host two more free, outdoor events in Tahoe Backyard on Aug. 17 and Sept. 21 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Green hopes to continue the series this winter if he can find a venue. | tahoebackyard.com, Tahoe Poetry Collective on Facebook n
SAY IT’S ONLY A “TAHOE MOON”
the arts
Call & Response Visions of the Forest after Wildfire exhibit
Lake Tahoe Community College | South Lake Tahoe | Aug. 3-Sept. 1
Mystery writer Todd Borg has released his 20th book in the Owen McKenna mystery series: “Tahoe Moon.”
When Tahoe Detective Owen McKenna finds lost 8-year-old Camille Dexter, he doesn’t realize that her grandfather and only guardian has been murdered and a killer has been hired to kill Camille and dump her body in Lake Tahoe. McKenna also doesn’t know that Camille has no relatives or friends because she and her grandfather have been living in his camper. Complicating the situation: Camille is deaf.
“Tahoe Moon” is available on at Word After Word Books in Truckee, on Amazon and on Borg’s website.
Borg will be reading from “Tahoe Moon” and signing books at Shelby’s Book Shoppe in Minden on Aug. 5, at The Red Hut Café in Carson City on Aug. 6, The Red Hut Café in South Lake Tahoe on Aug. 7, and the South Lake Tahoe Library on Aug. 16. Details online. | toddborg.com
Gatekeeper’s Museum | Tahoe City | Aug. 3-31 11 a.m.-4 p.m. | northtahoemuseums.org
Tahoe Art League Gallery | South Lake Tahoe | Aug. 4-Sept. 30 11 a.m.-4 p.m. | talart.org
First Fridays Outdoor Artisan Market
Muse Art Reclaimed | Tahoe City | Aug. 5 4-9 p.m. | museartreclaimed.com Marcus Ashley Gallery | South Lake Tahoe | Aug. 5-July 22 12-5 p.m. | (530) 544-4278
Painting Adventures
area venues | South Lake Tahoe | Aug. 5 1-4 p.m. | ltcc.asapconnected.com
Tahoe Art League Artist Studio Tour
area venues | S. Lake Tahoe | Aug. 5-7 | talart.org
“Eye want candy” artists’ reception
Melhop Gallery º7077 | Zephyr Cove | Aug. 6 5-8 p.m. | melhopgallery.com
Makers’ Markets
Tahoe Backyard | Kings Beach | Aug. 6-Sept. 24 3-8 p.m. | facebook.com
Public Tour
Truckee Roundhouse | Saturdays 1-1:45 p.m. | truckeeroundhouse.org
Todd Borg reading
The Red Hut Cafe | South Lake Tahoe | Aug. 7 8:30 a.m. | toddborg.com
Plein Air Painting Outdoors
Commons Beach | Tahoe City | Aug. 13 3-6 p.m. | checkout.square.site North Tahoe Art Center | Kings Beach | Aug. 15-Sept. 5 6-8 p.m. | northtahoearts.org
Todd Borg Reading
South Lake Tahoe Library | Aug. 16 5 p.m. | toddborg.com
Caldor Fire Dedication & Community Ceremony
Haldan Art Gallery | S.Lake Tahoe | Aug. 17 5-7 p.m. | ltcc.edu
Truckee Mural Camp
Truckee Community Center | Aug. 17-24 12-4 p.m. | (530) 582-8278, artsfortheschools.org
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CONTEMPORARY ART FOR MOUNTAIN LIVING
PLEIN AIR ABSTRACT METALWORK SCULPTURE WOODWORK LANDSCAPE GLASS LOCAL ART
10153 West River Street, Truckee, CA 96161 Downtown Truckee’s Newest Gallery with a Fresh Take on Tahoe Art PiperJGallery.com
40TH ANNIVERSARY
1982 – 2022 MISSING
FEB. 27 - MAR. 12, 1997 | Professional snowmobiler Paul Ketterman was featured on the cover of “North Tahoe Truckee
Week” riding through the meadows above Kings Beach. Photos by Mike Eadington,
High Mountain Imagery.
President Bill Clinton announced that the first Lake
Tahoe Summit would take place that summer,
Super Diamond was playing at the old Humpty’s and the all-day breakfast special at the now-closed
Tahoe Biltmore was $1.39.
We are missing copies of “North Tahoe Truckee This Week” from SEPTEMBER 1998 to MID-JUNE 1999 in our archives. If you have a copy that you can donate or lend to us for scanning, email editor@tahoethisweek.com.
AUG. 21 - 27, 1997 | All-around athlete Chuck Patterson enjoying a day wakeboarding on Lake Tahoe. Photo by Dave Norehad. The U.S. Forest Service was considering building the Lake of the Sky Visitors’ Center with a nature area and public pier in Tahoe City (it was never built), High Sierra Water Ski School celebrated its 20th anniversary, golf and dine packages at Northstar were $55, and Emerald Bay cruises with Kingfish Guide Service were $19 per person.
More covers from our past will be featured @TheTahoeWeekly on Facebook and Instagram and in our newsletter throughout the year.
