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WATERSHED Saturday,
November 1,
2008
•
Noon
to
4pm
•
Free For Immediate Release:
October 6, 2008 Poetry should be able to
comprehend the earth, For a poetic, pre-election
update on the State of the
Planet, join Pulitzer
Prize-winning poet Robert
Hass with musicians, artists,
and environmentalists on
Saturday, November 1, noon to 4
p.m. at the 13th annual WATERSHED
Environmental Poetry Festival in
Berkeley's Martin Luther King Jr.
Civic Center Park, located one
block west of the downtown
Berkeley BART. A free day of poetry, music,
and interactive events, the
festival features Robert
Hass, reading from his newest
collection of poems, Time and
Materials; California Poet
Laureate Al Young with
bassist Dan Robbins; and
poets Jane Hirshfield
(After), Brenda
Hillman (Pieces of Air in
the Epic), Joseph
Lease (Broken World),
and Camille Dungy (What
to Eat, What to Drink, What to
Leave for Poison). Also on stage will be Sonoma
County Poet Laureate Mike
Tuggle (Absolute
Elsewhere), poet and
eco-educator Chris
Olander, performance poets
Grace Faye and Grace
Tea, poet and percussionist
Avotcja with Eugene
Warren on bass, Poetry
Flash editor/poet Richard
Silberg, student and youth
poets from River of Words,
California Poets in the
Schools, and Poetry Inside
Out. For environmental updates,
Kirstin Miller from
EcoCity Builders will discuss the
daylighting of Strawberry Creek
in downtown Berkeley; and Kirk
Lumpkin from the Ecology
Center/Berkeley Farmers' Market
will present Eugene
Cordero, co-author of Cool
Cuisine: Taking the Bite Out of
Global Warming. All poets are invited to sign
up at the information booth by
noon for the We Are Nature
open reading. The traditional Strawberry
Creek Walk begins the
celebration at 10 a.m.
just inside the UC Berkeley
campus at Oxford and Center
Streets. The public is invited to
join our featured readers and
environmentalists for a short
hike along Strawberry Creek from
the UC Campus through downtown
Berkeley, tracing the route of
the creek as it tunnels beneath
the heart of the city to the site
of the festival. The walk will
focus on the project of
"daylighting" the creek. At
several points throughout the
tour poets will read from their
work and restoration advocates
will discuss efforts to daylight
different parts of the creek. At
the WATERSHED Festival site, the
creek, which runs directly
beneath it, will be "miked" to
play gently behind the readers as
they present their poems. In addition to the main stage
readings and performances, the
Festival encourages involvement
with the environment and
literature via River
Village, an area for
interactive arts, all-ages nature
activities, and literary and
environmental exhibits. As a special WATERSHED
pre-event, Robert Hass
will moderate a panel of
distinguished UC scholars
exploring the role that the
Humanities can play in leading
society to make choices for a
sustainable planet. Titled
"Creativity in the Face of
Climate Change: The Role of
Humanities in Awakening Societal
Change," sponsored by the
Berkeley Institute of the
Environment and open to the
public, this symposium will take
place Thursday, October 30,
from 2:00 to 4:30 pm on the
UC Berkeley campus. Reception to
follow. To RSVP, visit:
http://bie.berkeley.edu/ccc. Each year, the WATERSHED
Festival explores the connection
between the current spectrum of
the American literary imagination
and our landscape, natural
history, and sense of
environmental urgency, as
expressed through the work of our
featured writers and performers.
Past festival highlights have
included Gary Snyder, Joy Harjo,
Jimmy Santiago Baca, Diane di
Prima, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, John
Trudell, Brenda Hillman, Al
Young, Linda Hogan, Juan Felipe
Herrera, Lewis MacAdams, Kay
Ryan, Ernest Callenbach, Jerome
Rothenberg, Maxine Hong Kingston,
Pattiann Rogers, Jane Hirshfield,
Homero Aridjis, Lawrence
Ferlinghetti, and many
others. The WATERSHED Festival is a
collaboration between Robert
Hass, Poetry Flash, the Ecology
Center/Berkeley Farmers' Market,
EcoCity Builders, and the
Berkeley Institute of the
Environment. WATERSHED was
created from Robert Hass's
national Watershed initiative
during his tenure as U.S. Poet
Laureate, 1995-97, to explore the
connection between the
environment and the American
literary imagination. In case
of rain, the festival will be
moved indoors to the Berkeley
City College Auditorium and
Atrium, 2050 Center Street in
downtown Berkeley. For further details (including
selected biographies and photo
downloads):
www.poetryflash.org FOR CALENDAR
EDITORS Subject Line: November
1, 2008, Civic Center Park,
Berkeley Description: The 13th
annual WATERSHED Environmental
Poetry Festival will convene at
Berkeley's Civic Center Park on
November 1. A free day of poetry,
music, and activism, the program
explores the State of the Planet
with Pulitzer Prize-winning poet
Robert Hass; California Poet
Laureate Al Young with bassist
Dan Robbins; and poets Jane
Hirshfield, Brenda Hillman,
Joseph Lease, and Camille Dungy,
plus many more poets, musicians,
and environmental activists. To
participate in the We Are Nature
open reading, sign up at the
information booth by noon. In
addition. the traditional
Strawberry Creek Walk will begin
the celebration at 10 a.m. just
inside the UC Berkeley campus at
Oxford and Center Streets. The
public is invited to join our
featured readers and
environmentalists for a short
hike along Strawberry Creek. The
walk will focus on the project of
"daylighting" the creek. When: Noon to 4 pm,
November 1, 2008 (See
'Description' for special 10 am
event.) What: WATERSHED
Environmental Poetry Festival Who: Poets Robert Hass
(Time and Materials), Al
Young (Something About the
Blues) with bassist Dan
Robbins, Jane Hirshfield
(After), Brenda Hillman
(Pieces of Air in the
Epic), Joseph Lease
(Broken World), Camille
Dungy (What to Eat, What to
Drink, What to Leave for
Poison), and Mike Tuggle
(Absolute Elsewhere). Also
Chris Olander, Grace Faye, Grace
Tea, Richard Silberg, Avotcja
with bassist Eugene Warren, and
student and youth poets from
River of Words, California Poets
in the Schools, and Poetry Inside
Out. Environmental updates will be
provided by Kirstin Miller of
EcoCity Builders, Kirk Lumpkin of
the Ecology Center/Berkeley
Farmers' Market, and Eugene
Cordero, co-author of Cool
Cuisine: Taking the Bite Out of
Global Warming. Where: Civic Center
Park, downtown Berkeley, Martin
Luther King Jr. Way at Center
Street, one block west of
downtown Berkeley BART. Public info: (510)
526-9105; www.poetryflash.org |
