Poetry Night Reading Series: D.R. Wagner and Dave Boles

The Poetry Night Reading Series is excited to feature D.R. Wagner and Dave Boles at 7 PM on Thursday, October 19th, 2023, on the first floor of the John Natsoulas Gallery, 521 1st Street in Davis.

D.R. Wagner is the author of over twenty books and chapbooks of poetry and letters, including in 2023, VIGILS, an immense volume that includes 148 never before published poems and 61 selected poems from D.R. Wagner books going back to the 1960s. The illustrations chosen from D.R. Wagner’s acclaimed small tapestries, collected the world over, divide VIGILS into seven sections.

D.R. Wagner founded press : today : niagara in Niagara Falls, NY in 1965 and later Runcible Spoon (press) in the late 1960’s, and produced over fifty magazines and chapbooks. He has read with Jim Morrison of The Doors, Michael McClure, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Al Winans, Viola Weinberg, d.a. levy, Anne Waldman, Dave Boles, and many other poets over the past 40 years.

Also an accomplished visual artist and singer-songwriter, Wagner taught design at the University of California, Davis, from 1988 to his retirement in 2015. His most recent books include 97 Poems (2012), Remembering Eternity (2014), Love Poems (2016), Storm Footed —101 Collected Poems (2017), and The Order of Events (2018), all from Cold River Press (https://www.coldriverpress.com). He lives in Locke, CA.

Dave Boles has worked as an itinerant publisher, writer, and designer since 1981. His most recent publication, Visions of a Merciful Land, was published by his own Cold River Press, and other published works include Offerings (2011), and Homage of a Word (2011) Confessions of a Black Ink Junkie (2013), Alive in America (2020), Coyote Magic (2021), Coyote Visions (2022), and 15 Days to Slow the Curve (2021). Boles is the founder of such magazines as Primal Urge: A Journal For Diverse Humans, The Sacramento Free Press, Cruisin’ Magazine, Foothill Focus, and many more. His publications, editorials, writing and artwork have won numerous awards throughout his 30+ year publishing career, and he has published such noted writers as D.R. Wagner, A.D. Winans, and Ben Hiatt.

This event will take place on the first floor of the John Natsoulas Gallery (521 1st Street) at 7 PM on Thursday, October 19th, 2023. An open mic will follow the featured performers. Open mic performances will be limited to five minutes or two items, whichever is shorter. As the Bard says, “Brevity is the soul of wit.” The open mic list typically fills by 6:50 PM, so please arrive early if you would like to perform something during the 8 o’clock hour.

Find the Facebook event for this delightful evening of poetry at https://www.facebook.com/events/285152334364926

From Steve Martin to Jimmy Kimmel to Dr. Andy’s mom, October Covid test positivity is up in California. Attendees are encouraged to mask up when inside the John Natsoulas Gallery.

The Poetry Night Reading Series, taking place on first and third Thursdays of the month at 7 PM, is generously supported by the people and poets of the Sacramento Valley, and by John Natsoulas and the staff at the John Natsoulas Gallery. Your host will be Dr. Andy Jones, the poet laureate emeritus of the City of Davis. This event is supported by Katerina Hanks, producer, Poetry Night Reading Series, and many volunteers.

Find out more about the Poetry Night Reading Series in Davis, California by visiting http://www.poetryindavis.com.