Village Poets of Sunland-Tujunga are pleased to present long-time friend, poet and artist, Kathabela Wilson, whose book "Figures of Humor and Strange Beauty" is the topic of Zoom reading on February 28, 2021. Maja@moonrisepress.com and DMH@gmail.com can be contacted to get the link, and to be added to the mailing list for these readings. Two segments of open mic for poets are available.
Video recording on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZkO-daV168
KATH ABELA WILSON lived and wrote mainly in Santa Barbara, California for 30 years, and still maintains a residence there, where the Ocean infuses her poetry with salty enigmatic inspiration. She lived for years on a street that led to stairs to the sea and walked there every day. Her poems and art are intimately linked with the tides, waves, stones and driftwood.
Her free verse, and Asian short form poetry is published in hundreds of journals worldwide. She travels the world with her husband Rick, a math professor and historical and world flute collector and player, performing together. Hosted poetry meetings and salons at her home and the local Storier Stearns Garden and museums. for many years, now she hosts three zoom meetings a week for community sharing, consolation and inspiration.
Her first book, Figures of Humor and Strange Beauty, was written over two years, 1998- 2000, as a spontaneous serial odyssey naturally forming itself into 18 poems. The poems were written as free verse, the short prose chapters were written in 2018. It was published by Glass Lyre Press, 2019.
It is in their "Quitab Editions" series, which features the back story, with archival material related to the book. Some chapters tell the story of the process of writing. And finishes with a chapter called Archeology.
Her chapbooks Driftwood Monster, Haiku for Troubled Times and The Owl Still Asking, Tanka for Troubled Times are available from Lulu, published by Moria Press, 2017.
Since writing this work, her writing has progressed in many directions. She is currently writing other serial poems in poetic prose, and haibun form as well as short forms, cherita, haiku and tanka. She especially loves collaborative poetry and collaborates and publishes with many local and faraway poets.
One of Kathabela's haiku won third place in The Santoka International Haiku Contest, 2017 on the theme of "Peace", Her tanka won first place in English language Tanka in the Fujisan Contest, 2017.
She is secretary of the Tanka Society of America and leader of her own group Poets on Site since 2008.
PHOTOS FROM THE ZOOM READING
