Remembering Jackson Wheeler 7/8/17
“Remembering Jackson Wheeler” is set for Saturday, July 8 at 11am in the PACC Oxnard Room 800 Hobson Way in Oxnard, CA. Please join his friends, family, and fans. “We’re going to get together to remember and celebrate our friend Jackson Wheeler,” says Phil Taggart, Ventura County Poet Laureate and long time friend of Jackson’s. Phil is also collecting images for a video montage. Read more about who Jackson was and why we’re remembering him.
A social worker with the Tri-Counties Regional Center, Jackson worked with the Developmentally Disabled for thirty years.
But for many, Jackson is most well known as one of Central and Southern California’s finest poets.
Published internationally, Jackson was a leader in the visual arts and poetry communities since he arrived in Oxnard from North Carolina in the1970s; he donated his extensive art collection to Oxnard’s Carnegie Art Museum where he the Arcade Poetry Series for many years; in total, the series ran for 25 years. With his co-editorship of the SOLO poetry journal, he brought the eyes of the national literary community to California’s mid-coast. Jackson authored three books of poetry, Swimming Past Iceland, A Near Country, and his most recent, new and selected poems, Was I Asleep.
Below, read a poem by Jackson and watch a video of his friends reading poetry from his recently published book Was I Asleep. Stay tuned for more details about upcoming fundraisers to help with end of life expenses. Read more…
Farewell, Jackson Wheeler
Poet, art collector, community activist Jackson Wheeler
Last night, June 9 before 9pm, surrounded by friends and family poet Jackson Wheeler, 64, passed on from this life experience to the next one. He had fainted on April 21, 2015 and they discovered and removed a tumor in his brain. While he recovered in time and was able to rejoin the poetry community and his Arcade reading series at the Carnegie Art Museum in spring of 2016, by January 2017, the last time I saw him, he was not faring well. Read more…
It can be very easy to overwhelm yourself with how much there is to do in the summer sun — and under the moon! — in Southern California! While the weather is great most of the year, once the June Gloom burns off, summers are full of outdoor music, wine, art and other festivals and concert series, many of them FREE!
For us in Ventura, it’s an hour or so more to drive south to get to various venues in LA and less than an hour to get to Santa Barbara. And Ojai is even closer!
Tonight the world-famous 71st annual Ojai Music Festival commences under the oak trees in downtown Ojai’s Libbey Bowl. If classical or new music is what you crave, this is world class: Read more…
While April is National Poetry Month, this May there’s some great poetry readings to catch in Ventura County!
Tomorrow, Thursday, May 11 at 7:30pm in the EP Foster Library Topping Room (651 E. Main Street, Ventura), join Ventura County Poet Laureate Phil Taggart as he hosts a featured reading by Joy Manesiotis followed by an open mic with readings by local luminaries as well as poets in training and others including my Ventura College Composition students.
Expect the unexpected! I tell my students they can find poetry anywhere. They could submit anything they chose to that they’d written this semester but they can read what they want Thursday night. Above is the cover that Brandon Elliott designed using the title that the students generated and voted for and an image submitted by Maria Sheldon that she took in her photography this semester.
Featured poet is Univ of Redlands prof Joy Manesiotis
On Saturday, April 29, the People spoke about Climate, Jobs, and Justice.
- we spoke with our feet as we marched
- we spoke through our signs
- we spoke with our voices through chants, cheers, song
- we spoke through our actions–
- our circles of unity
- our swarm
- our thermo-climb
- read more about why!
- and more background here
Today’s the day! Time to get your Climate March on! People are already marching around the world to send a message to leaders and community members alike that we need to tackle global warming and climate change in a way that addresses social and environmental justice. Read more about why, where, and how.
It is not only the right thing to do to create a more just world, but the Green Economy is creating far more jobs that the older petroleum and carbon based one! It is time for the US to step forward to renew our commitment to the Paris Agreement, to be inventive and innovative, and not hold the world back.
While it may seem that the weather and the climate is just fine, especially on a gorgeous day like today, 97% of the world’s scientists argue that it is not.
We need to take radical action, and we need to do it now: for our children and for the all living beings on our planet:
If you are joining us in Ventura where we will make a rainbow and a circle to show our diversity and our unity for justice for all at around this HUGE Moreton Fig in Mission Park:
and then we will be at the Ventura Botanic Garden in all of its spring wildflower glory:
At both sites, we will have postcards to decorate and address to be sent. We will be collecting donations to pay for the postage for these postcards as well as a commemorative postcard that we will send to participants who make a donation and fill out a mailing label.
If you are willing to help out, we need 1-3 people to collect donations and help coordinate each color.
We will have water donated from The Water Store as well as juices, sodas, and organic lemonade and organic snacks for sale.
More details here:
Choose a color and RSVP to this FREE event:
https://www.facebook.com/events/275301409589868/
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ventura-county-climate-rally-march-and-thermo-climb-tickets-33914938494?aff=ebapi
Climate march color flyer here to print out.
You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.
— Pema ChodrunUnless it’s not weather but climate change…
On the first day of his presidency, along with a few million others, I marched.
Now on the 100th day of his presidency, along with a million or more, I will march again, this time for Climate, Jobs, and Justice, in an event that I am co-organizing that takes a stand for climate justice and a clean energy economy.
Even for someone like me who considers herself an activist, it seems like it has been non-stop from one March or action to the next, including spelling out RESIST at the beach and waving at cars about education in the pouring rain.
Because times have changed. Just watch this Simpson’s episode if you have doubts. Read more…
In this time of alternative facts, the eradication of information from government websites, the slashing of science budgets, and being that April is Earth Month, now more than ever we need to stand up for SCIENCE.
Join a nationwide movement to champion support and funding for science, science-based policy, and diversity
On Earth Day 2017, scientists and fans of science will march together because as Neil DeGrasse Tyson noted in an interview with Bill Maher,
The good thing about science is that it’s true whether or not you believe in it.
The other good thing about science is we have so many great scientists around who love to talk about science — and that are fun to listen to and learn from, like Bill the Science Guy who will be saving the world on Netflix starting today.
While a fan of Bill Nye, I am not the aficionado — like my son is. Now 13 and in 8th grade, every Friday in 7th and 8th grade, he’s looked forward to getting out early, having shorter classes, and, in science, watching an episode of Bill Nye The Science Guy.
So I asked the expert in the house to watch the trailer with me — and yes he’s impressed!
“Much better production values,” the 8th grader says knowingly. “Can we watch it now?”
Ha! Later, I said, I’ve got this blog post to finish and other things to do as we prepare for the Climate March in Ventura April 29. But we will, I promise! Soon!
Most people have probably figured out how they are going to celebrate Earth Day and which March for Science they will participate in. But just in case you haven’t got those kinds of friends who tell you about stuff like this, here’s a few of the BIG events going on around here.
Or do as the Sierra Club suggests, and take a hike! “It doesn’t matter where you are or how you do it–it can be a walk through your neighborhood, a stroll through your local park, or an urban hike in your city,” the Sierra Club says. “Share your corner with us. There’s something special about each corner of our Earth–we want to know about yours! Use the hashtags #EveryCornerand #TeamSierra.”
SELECT SOCAL MARCH FOR SCIENCE and EARTH DAY EVENTS FOLLOWED BY CLIMATE MARCH EVENTS Read more…
An Evening with Three Authors:
Weds. April 12 530-9pm
ASC 150 * FREE
Musician Alice Bag – LA, CA
Violence Girl: East LA Rage to Hollywood Stage—A Chicana Punk Story
Music Journalist Tony Fletcher – Woodstock, NY
Boy About Town; In The Midnight Hour: The Life & Soul of Wilson Pickett
Editor and Entrepreneur Zhena Muzyka – Ojai, CA
Life By The Cup: Inspiration for a Purpose-Filled Life
VC Celebrates Diversity 3/29, 4/12-13: dance, speakers, authors, poets, film, free food!
You are invited to this year’s Cesar Chavez Event at Ventura College hosted by M.E.Ch.A on Weds. March 29 starting at 430pm in Guthrie Hall. The event is free and open to the public and Danza Azteca Xochipili will start the evening right outside in the quad area plus free food from Mom and Pops restaurant will be provided while provisions last.
Recent executive actions have caused a time of uncertainty and genuine fear for many on our campus and in local communities. With threats of deportation faculty, staff and students need to know how to navigate in this new environment. Guest presenters include Attorney Gabriella Navarro Busch, who will lay out the legal conditions we are facing and Leo Martinez, a local community activist who will discuss how students can proactively protect themselves and their families. Please join us in examining these and other questions about the new administrative challenges.
Earlier in the day, at 330pm Ventura College’s Sociology Club will show and discuss The Illusionists a campus event in MCW 110. This new documentary film is about global commercialization of beauty ideals. They will also have a food truck with FREE food on a first-come, first served basis.
We are also busy planning Ventura College’s second annual Culture in Diversity Festival on April 12 and 13 from 930am-9pm. Wednesday highlights include evening readings by Alice Bag, Tony Fletcher, and Zhena Muzyka. Thursday’s highlights include a Poetry Slam by area and VC student poets plus Richard Blanco from 1-2pm and Donna Granata on women artists and activists from 3-4pm.
If you’re a VC student and you’d like to participate in the Poetry Slam, submit your poem for consideration by Friday March 31!
art predator 