A Crowded Poetry Night Under the Stars
Dr. Andy marvels at marvelous poetry and a packed roof
The question at the after-party Thursday night was this: “What drew 100 people to Poetry Night tonight?”
Many theories were batted about. One was that Margaret Ronda, a much-loved UC Davis English Department faculty member with family ties to the community, gives only occasional poetry readings, and her many friends wanted to support her.
Another is that one of my faculty colleagues brought an entire class of students to the reading; even a small graduate class can make a poetry reading look crowded.
Another is the well-designed fliers that I posted in the English Department. Never discount design when getting the word out. Another is the graduate student instructors who have been telling their creative writing classes that the Poetry Night open mic is a place they can try out their new poems.
Another is that the event was advertised in the Facebook group Events in Davis, which I created about five years ago to publicize Poetry Night and the pub quiz that I used to host at an Irish Pub that did not survive the pandemic. While the Poetry in Davis group (which is about 15 years old) has now topped a thousand members, the Events group now has more than five thousand, or about 15% of the population of Davis.
Ernest Hemingway wrote a famous line in The Sun Also Rises that has informed how we understand economic downturns: “How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked. “Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually, then suddenly.”
I think that’s how our Poetry Night audience grew. Gradually, over the last 15 years, and then, Thursday night, all at once.
The Poetry Night reading series now meets on the actual rooftop of the John Natsoulas Gallery, in a sculpture garden that offers some of the best views of the city. Savoring the daylight during Daylight Savings Time, we enjoyed the last wisps of sunset while starting to set up at 6:30, with the local director, actor, and musician Timothy Nutter providing top-rate sound equipment and enough theatrical lighting to impress upon people that they had come to see a “show.”
We had chairs set up for about 50, and it looked at 6:55 that that would be sufficient, but then more and more people emerged from the five-floor staircase or the lugubrious elevator. Some of them agreed to help my event producer and flier designer Kat fetch more chairs, with more people and more chairs emerging as I began my introductions.
Our opener, Augusta Funk, and our headliner, Margaret Ronda, delighted the polite crowd. Atypically, people sat silently after each poem – so many people were attending for the first time that they didn’t know that crowds typically make noises in between the performances, even if only light applause.
I had fun introducing our opening poet, who I had talked to the day before on my radio show, now also a podcast (to which you should subscribe!). Recalling my time listening to funk songs on Washington DC radio stations when I was a youth, I quoted a favorite Parliament song: “We want the Funk. Give us the Funk,” and then I brought on Augusta Funk. As I did at her age, Funk balances the scholarly labor of a PhD student with the creative flights of fancy of a poet, and with stirring results.
I have known our second poet, Margaret Ronda, for years, so I was looking forward to her performance. Ronda wrote a bunch of epistolary poems during the pandemic, poems addressed to people she knows, people she knew, and admired poets from generations before, such as the Romantic poet John Clare. Each poem was titled “Dear Friend,” and each one compelled me to buy the book where they will eventually be published.
Such events as Thursday’s are to be treasured. Perhaps people familiar with Ronda’s new project knew that Poetry Night would be their opportunity to hear her new work, and that is why 100 of them recently packed the roof of the John Natsoulas Gallery, to enjoy an evening of poetry under the stars.
Every week I write and publish a Pub Quiz, one version without answers for subscribers to share with their groups, and one with answers. Such fun. This week’s pub quiz featured questions on topics raised above, and on the following: medications, celebrity holders of Guinness records, The Marx Brothers, knights, baseball teams, people who overdo it, French people, cows, pigments, obscure airlines, new countries, board games, world-builders, people with alliterative names, directors, Marvel movies, entities named Karen, goliaths, impossible missions, different sized workouts, British bands, long American rivers, periods in history, unexpected memoirists, soul musicians, populous cities, ghosts, Republicans, consoles, solutions, current events, mottos and slogans, and Shakespeare.
Thanks to all the supporters on Patreon who make all this happen, especially the Outside Agitators, the Original Vincibles, Potent Potables, and Quizimodo. I got to meet on Zoom with a bunch of Quizimodo players – happy birthday, John! I’m always grateful to the team captains who pledge for their entire team, and thus sustain this enterprise. Please subscribe so you can share the fun of the Pub Quiz with your friends and neighbors!
Be well.
Dr. Andy
P.S. Here are three questions from last week’s Quiz:
Halloween Preparations. In the films Hocus Pocus and Hocus Pocus 2, the three main witches were played by Bette Midler and two other actresses. Name one of those two.
Sports. The jazz standard “Sweet Georgia Brown” eventually became the theme song of what sports team?
Science. In the world of medicine, what S-word do we use for a tubular support placed temporarily inside a blood vessel, canal, or duct to aid healing or relieve an obstruction?
P.P.S. Our next Poetry Night, featuring Joshua McKinney and Matthew Chronister, takes place on November 3rd, the day before my wife Kate’s birthday!
Dr Andy! I’m so happy to hear about Poetry Night and its success. I am currently writing from Firenze, Italy— and I cannot wait to attend this special Thursday tradition again soon this winter quarter.