self-portrait in increments of five, poem by David Diaz (Self-Portrait Poetry Series)

IMAGE: “Young Man with a Fountain Pen” by Diego Rivera (1914).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: David Diaz is a 26-year-old bike tech and part-time editor at American Mustard who lives in Lakewood, California. He received his BA in Literature and Creative Writing from Cal State Long Beach, and is currently pursuing his MFA there. His work has been featured by Cadence Collective, Birds Thumb, and has a chapbook entitled Loogie Papers that was published by Tiny Splendor Press in 2012. David loves concerts, poetry readings, book releases, drive-in movies, and is addicted to Los Angeles.

A Happier Half Year, poem by Shreyas Gokhale (Half New Year Poetry Series)

A HAPPIER HALF YEAR
by Shreyas Gokhale

There are a lot of poems on New Year
They tell you how it feels when it is near.

An excitement and joy sprouts in the mind
To start afresh and leave the past behind

But none tells you what happens in the mid,
When half is gone, half set to make a bid.

The half gives ample time to retrospect
And play fresh moves or make the wrongs correct,

May this Half Year bring lots of love and laugh,
You can’t be full unless you are a half!

IMAGE: “Calla Lily Vendors” by Diego Rivera (1943).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Shreyas Gokhale is currently pursuing his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Jabalpur Engineering College in India. He also serves as a writer at Keynotes Poets and Writers, Sacramento, California, and has written several works in Indian languages — including Hindi, Sanskrit ,and Marathi. A collection of his Sanskrit verses was published recently in an Indian spiritual magazine Atmotthaan.

Wedding Portrait, poem by David Dominguez

WEDDING PORTRAIT (Excerpt)
by David Dominguez

Yesterday afternoon, I hung a framed print in the living room—
a task that took two head-throbbing hours.
It’s a wedding portrait that we love: Frida and Diego Rivera.
I wonder how two people could consistently hurt each other,
but still feel love so deeply as their bones turned into dust?
Before Frida died, she painted a watermelon still life;
before his death, Diego did too.
I want to believe that those paintings were composed
during parallel moments because of their undying devotion.
If I close my eyes, I can see melon wedges left like
centerpieces except for the slice
Diego put on the table’s corner—
one piece of fruit pecked at by a dove
that passed through a window. . .

MORE: Read “Wedding Portrait” by David Dominguez in its entirety at poetryfoundation.org.

SOURCE: “Wedding Portrait” appears in David Dominguez‘s collection The Ghost of Cesar Chavez (C&R Press, 2010), available at Amazon.com.

IMAGE: “Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Wedding Portrait” by Frida Kahlo (1931).

NOTE: Artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo were married on August 21, 1929.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: David Dominguez earned a BA in comparative literature from the University of California at Irvine and an MFA in creative writing from the University of Arizona. He is the author of the collections Marcoli Sausage (2000), published in Gary Soto’s Chicano Chapbook Series, Work Done Right (2003), and The Ghost of César Chávez (2010). Dominguez’s poems have been published in the anthologies The Wind Shifts: New Latino Poetry (2007), Bear Flag Republic: Prose Poems and Poetics from California (2008), Breathe: 101 Contemporary Odes (2009), and Camino del Sol: Fifteen Years of Latina and Latino Writing (2010).  Dominguez is the co-founder and editor of The Packinghouse Review. He teaches at Reedley College in Reedley, California.

Happy Birthday, Frida Kahlo

Today we honor Frida Kahlo, the groundbreaking artist who was born on a summer day (July 6, 1907) and passed away on a summer day (July 13, 1954). Like her husband, the celebrated painter Diego Rivera (1886-1957), the subject of Kahlo’s last painting was the watermelon — the essence of all things summer. We raise a slice of summer to Frida and Diego — and thank them for their sublime art. Kahlo’s last painting includes the phrase “Viva La Vida” — long live life — as exemplified by the wonders of the watermelon.

When one has tasted watermelon, he knows what the angels eat.” MARK TWAIN

For the curious, Diego Rivera‘s last painting is featured below.

Poetry in Mexico & the U.S.

POETRY IN MEXICO AND THE UNITED STATES with Roberto Castillo, Jorge Ortega, Gerald Locklin, and Anthony Seidman 

At this literary event, Roberto Castillo and Jorge Ortega will share poetry and insights on the translation of contemporary North American poetry into Spanish. The evening will also feature Los Angeles poets Gerald Locklin and Anthony Seidman discussing the relationship between  Latin American and North American poetry.

Sat., 7/28/12, 7:30 PM, Admission $7, students/seniors/children $5.

Organized, in part, by the Centro Cultural of Tijuana, Mexico, in honor of the 3rd Encuentro de Poesía Tijuana-San Diego.

Beyond Baroque
681 Venice Bl. Venice, CA 90291
Phone 1-310-822-3006

Painting: El Vendedor de Alcatraces by Diego Rivera (1941)