)(( hannah mello ))(

poetry mondays ---------

it all began around a 23rd street bonfire -- one of the first nights of summer in june -- wendy and molly and me talking about how great poetry is and how little explored, little read, little talked about in this adult world of work, relationships, and the rest.

and so it started.

monday nights of poetry in wendy's upstairs room -- full of art, candle flickers, an open window, textures, and yellow painted walls. somehow these weeks of writings and writers and writing ourselves have changed us all. we're living a little more openly. expressing a little more naturally. intersecting a little more creatively. complimenting each other a little more colorfully. who would have guessed that these mondays would stretch to mondays and thursdays- mondays and wednesdays == taking up more space into our lifestyles-- not just because we're meeting more frequently-- but because we're integrating art into our everday.

here's some snapshots from this experience.
i brought my camera for the first time last night. 200 photos later, a bit of it has been captured.




the space where we meet is full of such inspiring tidbits-- all wendy's art and precious possessions. but we all bring our uniqueness to fill the space. amber, wendy, molly, me, kaycee, megan, julia, and for the first time this week amanda.



wendy's red door art piece she's working on-- all of us being silly and posing.



molly's writing assignments -- freewriting that ends up taking up 5 or 20 minutes...



humus, crackers, and little bear. our shaggy dog companion. yes, that is a t-shirt on him. :)



listening. it takes practice to listen and really hear a message through another's voice.



me and molly doing our italian hand motions. :) she lived 5 months in siena-- i 8 months in napoli.



we each wrote 4 lines in one poem-- one poem about this experience. it definitely had a humorous twist to it. so fun. :)



wendy reading merton. <<>>



i can't help thinking about how i'm saying goodbye in less than 3 weeks. although the poetry nights will go on, i'll be a satellite sit-in.



opened books and bookmarks. my neruda 'isla negra' that has me captive.



more of us.

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CONTEXT:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

i can't help but think of how unique the context is. santa cruz. the place where bumper stickers like that below are everywhere. an openmindedness unique and SO characteristic.



beaches and sea. winds and sands. textures. light. spaces to sit. benches on every cliff for whoever to perch. this fact reinforces the context of thinking, exploration, organic integration.

posted by )(( hannah mello ))( @ 4:20 PM