Autumn 2011
Artists Embassy International is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting intercultural understanding and peace through the universal language of the arts. Founded by Althya Youngman in 1951, AEI has continuously promoted individual and group artists working in many media, offered venues, publication opportunities, poetry contest, prizes, festivals, conferences, classes, exhibitions and many other opportunities for the promotion of artists and their work throughout the United States and the world. Membership dues, $30 per year, include quarterly newsletters, advertisements of events, opportunities and contacts for international events and reports on your personal artistic work. Subscription only to the quarterly Newsletter, $10 per year. Send dues, subscription, newsletter articles and information to AEI for inclusion in the next publication. For more information about AEI, please visit www.dancingpoetry.com
Late Summer Events
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Multi-Cultural Poetry Reading and Pot Luck Lunch
AEI was a major part of the 11th Annual Multi-Cultural Poetry Reading and Pot Luck Lunch held at the Redwood Empire Chinese Association in Santa Rosa, CA. This event is cosponsored annually by AEI, RECA and Poets of the Vineyard chapter of California Federation of Chaparral Poets. Alameda Island Poets are always our honored guests with a large contingency attending.
For more photos of this event, please go to MultiCultural Poetry Reading 2011 of this website.
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| Poets from the North Bay and East Bay areas gathered with a fabulous pot luck lunch. Food included everything from lasagna to chicken encheladas to Viet Namese egg rolls to the “Happy Poetry AEI, POV & RECA cake. Poets got to meet new people, look at poetry and choose partners for the “Pick-A-Partner” Read-around. |
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| After lunch, we gathered in the dance studio turned auditorium to watch the exquisite RECA Teen Cultural Dancers have a public dress rehearsal of their number they would be performing for the Dancing Poetry Festival. After, we had our read-arounds. |
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Poetry’s Modern Muses of America Honored
At Alameda South Shore Mall
Mary Rudge, Poet Laureate of Alameda asked AEI to join her in a gala event at the Alameda, CA, South Shore Mall. Mary chose various poets from who have distinguished themselves in various ways and honored them as Modern Muses of Poetry. Poets and titles included:
Muse of the Publishing World, Julia Park Tracey
Muse of Tanka (Japanese Form), Jeanne Lupton
Muse of Renga (Japanese form), Florence Miller
Muse of Ekphrasis, Judy Hardin Cheung
Muse of Ars Poetica, Andrena Zawinski
Muse of Poetry Education, Tobey Kaplan
Muse of Irish-American Poetry, Eileen Malone
Muse of African-American Poetry: Shia Shabazz Smith
Muse of African-American Poetry: Wanda Sabir
Muse of Spanish Language, Gloria Rodriguez
Muse of Korean Language, Angela Cheung Reiss
Muse of Cantonese Language, Dolly Ci Wai Fong
Muse of Cherokee Language and Culture, Nanette Bradley Deetz
Muse of Tagalog Language, Amy B. Estrada
Muse of Philippine-American poetry, Lourdes Costales
Muse of Hungarian and Polish Cultures,Mary Kavalitsky
Muse of TV Media, Jerri Lange
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| Photo by George Hollie. Modern Muses of Poety pose with Mary Rudge at the South Shore Mall in Alameda. Natica Angilly (L) and her Poetic Dance Theater Company heralded each muse onto the stage with an arch of clarions and a glorious introduction. |
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| Dancing Poetry Festival, 2011
California Palace of the Legion of Honor Art Museum, San Francisco, CA
September 24, 2011, Noon to 4:00 p.m.
Sponsored by Artists Embassy International and hosted by Natica Angilly’s Poetic Dance Theater Company
Photos by Judy Hardin Cheung unless otherwise indicated
For more photos, please look at Dancing Poetry Festival, 2011 on this site.
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| Natica Angilly’s Poetic Dance Theater Company opened the show with an homage to Greece in honor of the 22nd World Congress of Poets held in Larissa, Greece, June 29-July 3, 2011. First they heralded in the poets and dancers with clarions dancing to Richrd Angilly’s Voice of the Poet, then they did a lively tambourine dance, with Greek style moves, to a poem by WCP President, Dr. Dimitris P. Kraniotis, M.D., titled To the Dean and Unpublished Poet. |
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| The Vice Consul from the Greek Embassy in San Francisco accepted the award on behalf of Dimitis who could not attend due to his brother-in-law’s wedding in Greece. Officiating were Arthur Chang, Richard Angilly, Natica Angilly and Mary Rudge, Poet Laureate of Alameda. |
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| Twenty-five poets came from 7 states and all over California to read their prize winning poems at the podium and receive their awards from Judy Hardin Cheung, DPF Contest Chair. Here, Judy presents Don Feliz of Screamento, CA, for his poem Journal Entry: Leaving Mount Vernon. |
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| Seven dance troupes in addition to NAPDTC performed dance to poetry, including the Tamara Grose Classical and Contemporary Dance performing Snow by AEI member Susan Coons of North Bend, Oregon. |
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| Tanya Joyce, well known Bay Area poet and artist gave a brief talk on art fusion—how to combine poetry, dance, music and art, and what can be gained from the medley. |
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| Dancers of the Pharoahs performed It’s All About Balance, with swords on their heads. This poem was by Mary Rudge, Poet Laureate of Alameda and was done as part of the 100 Thousand Poets for Change Celebration occurring throughout the USA. |
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| Raoul Epling was our illustrious Master of Ceremonies with a new tuxedo for every act. |
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Grand Prize Winners, 2011
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| Claire J. Baker, Pinole California, Grand Prize Winner, 2011, with her Amazing Masks. |
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| Carol Frith, Sacramento, California, Grand Prize Winner, 2011, with her Indeterminate Breeze, Stone Fountain. |
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| Elaine Christensen, Sandy, UT, Grand Prize Winner, 2011, with her If the Moon Can Float |
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| Natica Angilly created the artistically, double-mounted masks for this piece. Each dancer carried two masks, back to back to depict the interactions we have with ourselves and each other. |
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| Photo by George Hollie. Reflection in a mirror, exchange-ing, sharing, turning, examining— all in the poem and danced. |
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| Photo by George Hollie. Claire J. Baker takes her on-stage bow with the audience. Richard read the poem on stage during the performance. |
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| Wanda danced this Grand Prize Winner as a solo while Natica read. |
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| Unique in its performance, this grand prize winner was poignant in its stark simplicity. Many in the audience wept. |
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| Photo by George Hollie. Wistfully, Natica and Wanda contemplate at the end of the piece. |
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| Poet Carol Frith takes her on-stage bow with Wanda and Natica. |
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| “If stars can blink on in the dark… |
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| Photo by George Hollie. Inspirational, filled with hope overcoming despair, serene, dynamic, fabulous! |
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| “If the moon Can Float….then I can face morning / arms outstretched… |
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| Elaine Christensen takes her on-stage bow with the dancers. |
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Dancing Poetry Contest Winners List, 2011
This year, we had 653 poems from 226 people from 9 different countries, 33 US states and 3 Canadian Provinces
Poems are listed according to prize won then alphabetically by surname of poet
Grand Prizes (3) Each poem danced by Natica Angilly’s Poetic Dance Theater Company, videotaped for poet, certificate suitable for framing, $100, invitation to read at the Dancing Poetry Festival to be held Saturday, September 24, 2011, Noon to 4 at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, San Francisco, CA. Poem will be published in the DPF Souvenir Program and might be danced or published with the poet’s credits around the world.
Amazing Masks Claire J. Baker, Pinole, CA
If the Moon Can Float Elaine Christensen, Sandy, UT
Indeterminate Breeze, Stone Fountain Carol Frith, Sacramento, CA
First Prizes (6) Each poet receives $50, a certificate suitable for framing, and an invitation to read at the podium at the Dancing Poetry Festival, 2011
Eight Judith Arcana, Portland, OR
Vivaldi Barbara DuBois, Socorro, NM
Statue Child Mary Halliburton, Hope Hull, AL
Recipe for Dragonfly Chicken Aaron E. Holst, Sheridan, WY
Sidestepping the Important Catherine Moran, Little Rock, AR
Ode to the Wind Julia Paul, Manchester, CT
Second Prizes (12) Each poet receives $25, a certificate suitable for framing, and an invitation to read at the podium at the Dancing Poetry Festival, 2011
Woman Shaking a Rug Elaine Christensen, Sandy, UT
Cromwell’s Horses Dorothy K. Fletcher, Jacksonville, FL
Baccarat at Deauville, 1928 Laverne Frith, Sacramento, CA
The Lady Shigura Zoe Harber, Asheville, NC
Fashionable Opinions Sandra Inskeep-Fox, Clear Spring, MD
Love Poem for the Purple Gallinule Jen Karetnick, Miami Shores, FL
The Crop Duster Mary Loughran, Alameda, CA
When I Return to Sardinia Katharyn Howd Machan, Ithaca, NY
Tossing Night and Day Around Catherine Moran, Little Rock, AR
Chosen to Survive Ina G. Perlmuter, Northbrook, IL
Score Kay Renz, Santa Rosa, CA
In East Africa—the Girls in the Tree Martin Steele, Delray Beach, FL
Third Prizes (30) Each poet receives $10, a certificate suitable for framing, and an invitation to read at the podium at the Dancing Poetry Festival, 2011
The Stars Still Shine David LaRue Alexander, Pontiac, IL
The Map to Eden Katy Brown, Davis, CA
A Little Night Music Elaine Christensen, Sandy, UT
At Dusk Jabez W. Churchill, Ukiah, CA
Half Moon Bay Mona Clark, Sandy, UT
Obon Festival Lourdes Costales, Alameda, CA
about her body Cathy Dana, Alameda, CA
New Life Jan Dederick, El Cerrito, CA
Bound to Compostela Mariano deSouza, Madrid, SPAIN
Making the Dresses Move Christina Wos Donnelly, Buffalo, NY
Jazz in the Lounge Raynette Eitel, Las Vegas, NV
Journal Entry: Leaving Mount Vernon Don Feliz, Sacramento, CA
Night Flowers Joan B. Gerstein, Oceanside, CA
Saffron Gatherers Peggy C. Hall, S. Miami, FL
Exchamsiks Woman Ruth Hill, Chetwynd, BC, CANADA
Angel of My Heart Reem Hisham Adeeb Hijiawi, Long Beach, CA
News Rachael Z. Ikins, Liverpool, NY
The Fat Man John Laue, La Selva Beach, CA
Reprieve Kathleen McClung, Son Francisco, CA
The Old Dancer Asks Bruce Moody, Crockett, CA
Nuts in Charge Garrett Murphy, Oakland, CA
The View John Rowe, El Cerrito, CA
Leah High upon My Shoulders Art Schwartz, Rockville Center, NY
Kitchen Table Peace Talks Linda Schwartz, Santa Barbara, CA
Daybreak Departure Nick Sweet, Shepherd, TX
Retro-specs Judith Terzi, Pasadena, CA
Lazarus Marianne Tynan, Mountlake Terrace, WA
Moon Magic Sestina Lorraine A. Vail, Sanibel, FL
Water Whispers Maureen Wallner, Moline, IL
Once A Year, Pause Under A Sidra Tree Diana Woodcock, Doha, QATAR
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AMAZING MASKS!
By Claire J. Baker, Pinole, CA
There are all these masks—
colorful, glistening, riveting,
full of possibilities.
In passing, we exchange.
Your mask is now my mask,
my mask now your mask.
We can be each other. We can be
no one who has ever lived before.
A mask is a portal for escape,
to hide for awhile, to dream—
to dream of what?
That repeating dusty dream?
A dear fresh dream?
A dream as yet undreamed?
Wearing a new mask, you change
inside & out, inside & out of
yourself into another you once were
and can never be again.
Who were you then?
Who are you now?
Eagerly you slip off a mask
for there is a persona
you may prefer, will try it on
for size, see inside & out
with your all-seeing eyes.
The stage of life excites you,
invites you to assume an illusion,
a fantasy, a mystery, a someone
else, an elsewhere, a return
to there, a leaving behind for here,
a looking ahead & ahead.
There are all these masks.
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INDETERMINATE BREEZE,
STONE FOUNTAIN
By Carol Frith, Sacramento, CA
I have separated myself from the letters
of the alphabet, from the stone fountain
in the neighbor’s yard.
I have forgotten what it is I need to know,
what mysteries I need to listen for.
I will parse the sentence of the afternoon,
each word drifting like a frail leaf
on an indeterminate breeze.
Were my French good enough,
I would translate my unrest into
perfectly modulated French phrases.
My French is no longer good at all.
I shall put aside my small book and think
of how long I have lived my life in youth.
In age.
I shall wear a warm scarf and contemplate
the passage of the quiet years.
I shall put on a modest dress and walk
the neighborhood, counting pairs of courting
flickers in the tulip trees.
I shall focus on the clean beauty of time
in its increase and time in its diminishment.
I shall face the east to say my daily prayers.
I shall walk until the evening turns to stone.
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IF THE MOON CAN FLOAT
By Elaine Christensen, Sandy, UT
If night can hunker like a thief
in the foothills,
waiting to steal tree by tree
across the valley,
Then I can kneel, an old woman
in a dark room,
prayers spiraling up the chimney,
curling themselves in the coils of God’s ears.
If prayers can escape
through layered shingles of my roof,
through chinks in brick walls,
then I can hide here, a velvet mole,
safe from the yellow beak,
bent and sharp,
the flapping wings,
that floodlight moon.
If the moon can float all night in the lake,
like a thin smile,
an empty canoe,
God’s all-seeing eye almost shut,
then I can swim out into the black stream,
a tiny minnow,
a flash of quicksilver
one fish in a school of stars.
If stars can blink on in the dark
like street lamps,
if street lamps can pool their light
on every corner like gold coins,
if gold coins can link their profiles
into shining bracelets
across the city,
then I can face morning,
arms outstretched,
palms open,
fingers extended,
each, a ray of sun.
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Calendar Highlights of Upcoming Artists Embassy International Events
For further information and additional activities, please contact Natica at naticaei@aol.com and visit www.dancingpoetry.com.
Our schedule is always having new and exciting events added to it. Don’t miss out on the fun and opportunities.
The listed events are put on by AEI or are produced by organizations that promote art and culture.
Ongoing: Visual Art Shows: Natica Angilly’s Poetic masks, tambourine intrigues (sound paintings) and unique abstract canvases. New installations by Natica continue at Cafe Arrivederci in San Rafael.
October 7-November 10: Art Show: Judy Cheung shows her ( poetography ) photography and poetry at Ristorante Aurora, 8 Commercial Blvd., Novato, CA
October 10-16: Festival, Bazaar and week long dance workshops. Rakkasah East, Ukrainian Cultural Center, Somerset, New Jersey. AEI has a fund raising booth of art related to dance. Natica will be teaching classes on Monday & Friday. Natica and Richard Angilly’s Poetic Dance Theater Co., and Shukriya DeVine’s Dancers of the Pharoahs perform.
December 5: Judy Cheung teaches a workshop on making Christmas decorations from recyclables such as egg shells and medicine containers. Call about Monday art solons that include discussion, poetry and other arts.
December: Date TBA. AEI Board Meeting. All members are welcome.
January 1, 2012: Dancing Poetry Contest 2012 opens. We appreciate early entries. Deadline May 15, 2012.
January: at the Alameda Museum. AEI Artists Showings, Month long exhibition at Alameda Historic and Art Museum, Alameda, CA. Check gallery hours.
January 14: Jack London’s Birthday (and Natica’s too). Poetry party, reading and birthday party in the Alameda Historic Art Museum/Gallery. Poetry Muses of the USA, Lots of fun, cake, poetry and art! All welcome!
January 21: GALA Art Reception & Extravaganza with Entertainments, & Food!: 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.,
Celebrations with food all afternoon. Muses, Dancers, Artists, Poets, Food and Fun Featured!
January 28: WORKSHOP at Museum with Tanya Joyce and Natica Angilly. Enjoy sharing intriguing techniques with art dance magic and meaning.– PLEASE call TO RESERVE YOUR PLACE – and free materials!
Feb. 25: Chinese New Year Celebration, 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. Vets Memorial Building, Santa Rosa, CA. For tickets & information, contact AEI VP Judy Cheung at jhcheung@comcast.net & visit www.recacenter.org.
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