Took the ferry to Bainbridge Island with Kathleen F. this afternoon, to hear Holly Hughes and Stan Ruben read for the Jewelbox Poetry Series. Because of a power outage, the reading was moved to the Poulsbohemian Coffeehouse. It was cramped quarters, but really fun!

Holly read from her chapbook Boxing the Compass, which won the 2007 Floating Bridge Press chapbook award. It's a terrific chapbook, full of poems about navigation, the sea, knots, love relationships lost, and more.

Here is a sample:

Catenary

— The curve assumed by a line that is flexible but not capable of being stretched and that hangs freely from two fixed points.

As in a line that hangs between a tug and its tow, its thrumming pull. The lines of the schooner that made him swoon. Spider web, its taut, rain-beaded strands. Empty hammock, nail pairing, canteloupe rind. As in narrative arc. She wants to be flexible, at least in theory. He never imagined himself a rigid person. As in spider web, unstringing. The bright arc of a rind as it sails out the galley window. The wake made by the schooner, leaving.

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Stan read from Hidden Sequel, as well as many new poems. I wonder if he has a new book in the works? All in all a good time. And thank you to K for driving!

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