Beate Sigriddaughter - CN Zoom Party 43!

What makes prose poetry poetry?

Beate Sigriddaughter reads from her new prose poetry book, Kaleidoscope, talks about  prose poetry, and shares some of her traditional poetry to supply a compare and contrast for us. Beate Sigriddaughter is the editor of Writing In A Woman's Voice. Recorded July 11, 2021 for Cholla Needles Zoom Party 43.

Beate Sigriddaughter - Intro

Beate reads Three Poems from Kaleidoscope

Why prose poetry for this project?

Beate reads two lyric poems
from Xanthippe and Her Friends

the difference between poetry and prose

Three more poems from Kaleidoscope

prose poetry and flash fiction

Beate closes with two poems

Click directly on book you're interested in =:-)

June Virtual "Open Readings"

 Welcome to our June 2021 Shelter-In-Place Video "Open Readings". A huge thanks is due to all the folks who have participated either as audience or as featured readers in our Cholla Needles Zoom Shelter-In-Place readings. 

The videos below are a part of our history, and are newly edited. There is one more set of these Shelter-In-Place videos to come. The good news for many of us is that we have stopped video-taping shelter-in-place readings, and have started meeting in small groups of six in a program we are calling "Poetry Walks". If you are interested in participating in live, small group readings, please feel free to contact me: editor@chollaneedles.com. These are scheduled whenever we get a small group of people wanting to come, and so far we have met on a Friday morning (9 AM), a Wednesday morning (9 AM), and a Thursday evening (5 PM). We will meet whatever time is best for the group - in Joshua Tree. 

If you are browsing our pages, we consider YOU a part of our family and you are welcome to become part of Cholla Needles. Simply contact us at editor@chollaneedles.com & send us your poetry, short stories, essays, photos and art for publication in our monthly magazine. 

Good Times!!! We are working right now to prepare to return to large group readings in Joshua Tree, with a hopefully not too optimistic thought of early July 2021. Stayed tuned here or on facebook for announcements. In the meantime, enjoy the videos:

Alan Catlin reads A Horse Named Dancer

Gabriel Hart reads The Killing Tree

Kelsey Bryan-Zwick reads
To Describe The Body I Invent

Greg Wyss reads Two Bar Poems

Cindy Rinne reads Three New Poems

Ernest Alois reads
Short Poems Of The Mountains

Heather Morgan reads Lipstick

Dave Benson reads Undocumented God

Jeff Alfier reads The Shadow Field

Tobi Alfier reads The Way of the Warrior

Alan Catlin reads Two Recipe Poems

Gabriel Hart reads
Birth, War, and Everyday Bleeding

Kelsey Bryan-Zwick reads
X-Rays, MRIs, CTs, Bone Scans

Greg Wyss reads

Four Mosquitos Buzzing Inside His Head

Cindy Rinne reads Ode To Cactus Spines

Ernest Alois reads
Poems of Wine and Spirits

Heather Morgan reads The Bad Ones

Dave benson reads Viva Wisconsin

Jeff Alfier reads Late Train


Renee Gurley reads A Eulogy Of Sorts

Alan Catlin reads Black Widow

Gabriel Hart reads Frozen Grin

Kelsey Bryan-Zwick reads Dark Star

Greg Wyss reads The Pubic Hair Blues

Cindy Rinne reads After Corona Blues

Ernest Alois reads
Pioneer at the Desert Saloon

Heather Morgan reads Depression

Dave Benson reads The Sheep Cafe

Jeff Alfier reads A Failed Artist's Statement

Tobi Alfier reads Eating Italian In Austin

Good Times!!! Thanks for watching!!!

Click here to check out all our "Shelter-In-Place" videos

Click here to check out all our "Big Read 2020" videos

May Virtual "Open Readings"

Welcome to our May 2021 Shelter-In-Place Video "Open Readings". A huge thanks is due to all the folks who have participated either as audience or as featured readers in our Cholla Needles Zoom Shelter-In-Place readings. 

If you are browsing our pages, we consider YOU a part of our family and you are welcome to become part of Cholla Needles. Simply contact us at editor@chollaneedles.com & send us your poetry, short stories, essays, photos and art for publication in our monthly magazine. 

Our readings in May started with Simon Perchik & Friends doing a book release party for the long awaited release of his Family Of Man Poems, which took over 30 years to appear after he had spent eight years composing the 600 pages of poems. The sheer size, which you'll hear Simon refer to as a "doorstop", made it difficult for even the most willing publishers to accept. Our research shows this is the largest original book of poetry in the English language. 

The next group of readings was hosted by John Brantingham, who also worked as editor of the May 2021 issue of Cholla Needles.   

Good Times!!! We are working right now to prepare to return to live readings in Joshua Tree, with a hopefully not too optimistic thought of early July 2021. Stayed tuned here or on facebook for announcements. In the meantime, enjoy the videos:

Simon Perchik on completing
The Family Of Man Poems

Simon Perchik on Bomber Moon (1950)

Simon Perchik reads 

This Coffee Is Still Learning

Gloria Mindock reads 

Two Poems by Simon Perchik

Marty Tucker reads 

If I Fly High by Simon Perchik

Vaughn Bergen reads 

Each Night The Longing
by Simon Perchik

Vaughn Bergen sings for Mother's Day

Marieke reads The Granite Has Sea In It
by Simon Perchik

Katherine reads
I Recline Into The Branches of a Wild Dream
by Simon Perchik

Simon Perchik reads Nothing Enters Painlessly

John Brantingham hosts the readers
of Cholla Needles 53, which he also edited:

Aruni Wijesinghe reads Two Poems

Tim Hatch reads Two Poems

Andrew Turner reads Two Poems

Kelsey Bryan-Zwick reads Two Poems

Scott Noon Creley reads Samaritan

Lloyd Aquino reads Two Poems

Thomas Thomas reads poems about
Edward Hopper Paintings

Daniel Cryns reads Three Poems

Kitty Anarchy reads Two Poems

Kendall Johnson reads Two Pieces

T Anders Carson reads Two Poems

John Brantingham thanks the readers
from Cholla Needles 53!

Romaine Washington reads
What's Your Story?

Cindy Rinne reads Light Searches Shadows

Heather Morgan reads Hiding

Ernest Alois reads Two Poems 

of the mountains

Greg Wyss reads Three Poems
from the 1970's

Alan Catlin reads Hair

Good Times!!! Thanks for watching!!!

Click here to check out all our "Shelter-In-Place" videos

Click here to check out all our "Big Read 2020" videos

April Virtual "Open Readings" for Poetry Month 2021

Welcome to our April 2021 Shelter-In-Place Video "Open Readings". A huge thanks is due to all the folks who have participated either as audience or as featured readers in our Cholla Needles Zoom Shelter-In-Place readings. I am pleased that we are able to continue these video experiences to share with each other until we can meet again in person. I can honestly say hearing your voices is keeping me sane. 

If you are browsing our pages, we consider YOU a part of our family and you are welcome to become part of our Shelter-In-Place video pages. Simply contact us at editor@chollaneedles.com & ask how to get your videos posted on our pages. You can also use this address to send us your poetry, short stories, essays, and art for publication in our monthly magazine. 

I am both amazed and thankful to discover that of the thirty-one poets represented below for Poetry Month 2021, nineteen of them have books available from Cholla Needles, and a few have more than one book available. 

Good Times!!! Click here for information on watching our Sunday Zoom Show live at 3 - 3:30 PM each week. In the meantime, enjoy the videos:

Welcome To The Cholla Needles Zoom Party

Heather Morgan reads The Iron Man And His Puddle

Miriam Sagan reads Two Poems and Three Haiku

Steve Braff reads from Exodus Remix

Pamela Peery reads Old Roads And Empty Corrals

Peter Jastermsky reads five one line Haiku

Jean Paul L. Garnier reads Two Poems

Allyson Jeffredo reads from Even Gods

David Chorlton reads

Three Poems from Speech Scroll

Mike Vail reads Two Poems

Gracie Wilson reads Bukowski

Kent Wilson reads Four Poems

Caryn Davidson reads Storyteller

John Sierpinski reads Three Poems

Cindy Rinne reads Poems

George Howell reads Two Poems

Cynthia Anderson reads Two Poems

Francene Kaplan reads Two Poems

Dave Benson reads Ten Short Poems

Ruth Nolan reads Poems

Mark Evans reads My Skin Is Not A Tattoo

Kurt Schauppner reads Two Poems

Greg Wyss reads Two Poems

Susan Abbott reads Two Villanelle and Mirage

John Brantingham reads Two Poems

Kelsey Bryan-Zwick reads Three Poems

Kendall Johnson reads Two Poems

Lauren Henley reads Wonder

Jonathan Maule reads Language

Noreen Lawlor reads Two Poems

Steve Perry reads Three Poems

Romaine Washington reads Two Poems

Billy F. Gibbons reads Desert High

Good Times!!! Thanks for watching!!!

Click here to check out all our "Shelter-In-Place" videos

Click here to check out all our "Big Read 2020" videos

March Virtual "Open Readings"

Welcome to our March 2021 Shelter-In-Place Video "Open Reading". A huge thanks is due to all the folks who have participated either as audience or as featured readers in our Cholla Needles Zoom Shelter-In-Place readings. I am pleased that we are able to continue these video experiences to share with each other until we can meet again in person. I can honestly say hearing your voices is keeping me sane. 

If you have a video you'd like to share, please - send me a note & let me know. We consider this a community page, and is not limited to only our "featured readers". This spot is here to help us experience the love of great writing until we can meet together in one spot again.

If you are browsing our pages, we consider YOU a part of our family and you are welcome to become part of our Shelter-In-Place video pages. Simply contact us at editor@chollaneedles.com & ask how to get your videos posted on our pages. You can also use this address to send us your poetry, short stories, essays, and art for publication in our monthly magazine. 

Good Times!!! Click here for information on watching our Sunday Zoom Show live at 3 - 3:30 PM each week. In the meantime, enjoy the videos:

Poets told at last minute to "grab a poem" to read.

Caryn Davidson reads 

Meeting At The Indian Place

Mike Vail reads

Jesus Walks The Earth

Susan Abbott reads Beloved: A Love Sonnet

Francene Kaplan reads Added Lines

Kelsey Bryan-Swick reads Street Talk Sassafras Jazz

Kent Wilson reads My Mother's Machine

John Sierpinski reads Bruges, Belgium

Cynthia Anderson reads Two Super Short Poems

Ruth Nolan reads Of The Mojave

Dwayne Alicie reads
Confession of An Unworthy Man

Kelsey Bryan-Swick reads Letter To Ansel

Heather Morgan reads The Baby

John Sierpinski reads Budapest

Noreen Lawlor reads Desert Tortoise Tussle

Ruth Nolan reads
Teaching My Daughter To Put Out Fire

George Howell reads Mary Grace

Kelsey Bryan-Zwick reads In The City Girl

Greg Wyss reads
How To Become A Useful Member Of Society

Ruth Nolan reads
We Could Be Doing This (Instead)

David Chorlton reads On Hold

John Sierpinski reads Second To Last Stop

Mark Soden reads Underserved Tonal Systems

Francene Kaplan reads I Am Not A Robot

Heather Morgan reads Monsters

Caryn Davidson reads
A Poem For The Vernal Equinox

Bye Everybody!!

Click here to check out all our "Shelter-In-Place" videos

Click here to check out all our "Big Read 2020" videos

February Virtual "Open Readings"

 Welcome to our February 2021 Shelter-In-Place Video "Open Reading". A huge thanks is due to all the folks who have participated either as audience or as featured readers in our Cholla Needles Zoom Shelter-In-Place readings. I am pleased that we are able to continue these video experiences to share with each other until we can meet again in person. I can honestly say hearing your voices is keeping me sane. 

If you have a video you'd like to share, please - send me a note & let me know. We consider this a community page, and is not limited to only our "featured readers". This spot is here to help us experience the love of great writing until we can meet together in one spot again.

If you are browsing our pages, we consider YOU a part of our family and you are welcome to become part of our Shelter-In-Place video pages. Simply contact us at editor@chollaneedles.com & ask how to get your videos posted on our pages. You can also use this address to send us your poetry, short stories, essays, and art for publication in our monthly magazine. 

Good Times!!! Click here for information on watching our Sunday Zoom Show live at 3 - 3:30 PM each week. In the meantime, enjoy the videos:

Kelsey Bryan-Swick reads In The Wild

Caryn Davidson reads Conjugation

Ernest Alois reads Desert Saloon

John Sierpinski reads Floppy Hats

Ruth Nolan reads from Cholla Needles 51

Heather Morgan reads Promises

Dave Benson reads Soul Soup

Jeff Alfier reads New Iberia

Tobi Alfier reads Cape Blitz

Michael G. Vail reads Desert Elegy

Mark Evans reads Bonesaw

Enid Osborn reads Three Poems 

from When The Big Wind Comes

Ginny Short reads Landscape of Drought

George Howell reads The Hole In The Night

Cindy Rinne reads Open Eyes

Noreen Lawlor Reads Two Poems

Kelsey Bryan-Zwick reads Dark Star

Caryn Davidson reads Spike

Ernest Alois reads Freedom Road

John Sierpinski reads Gypsies In Bulgaria

Ruth Nolan reads Firestorm, Southern California

Heather Morgan reads Green In The Dead Part

Dave Benson reads Re-Evolution

Jeff Alfier reads A Map of Vaughn, New Mexico

Tobi Alfier reads A Lifetime Ago

Michael G. Vail reads My Old Man

Kurt Schauppner reads from Mary's Confession

Enid Osborn reads Dirt

Ginny Short reads
two poems about her mother

George Howell reads
Dreaming About The Dead

Cindy Rinne reads Climb Tumble Dance

Noreen Lawlor reads Equinoccio

Allen Ginsberg reads Hum Bom!

Raymond Antrobus reads Happy Birthday Moon

Kelsey Bryan-Zwick reads My Name

Caryn Davidson reads Intermission

Ernest Alois reads Lost Lenses

John Sierpinski reads Prague, The Palace Hotel

Ruth Nolan reads Three Poems

Heather Morgan reads My Last Surgeon Told Me

Dave Benson reads Two Poems

Jeff Alfier reads Mojave County

Tobi Alfier reads from
Symmetry - Earth and Sky

Michael G. Vail discusses Writing

Jean-Paul L. Garnier reads Betelgeuse Dimming

Kim Moore reads And the Soul

Ginny Short reads Only Dust

George Howell reads The Scientist

Cindy Rinne reads Cycle of Incarceration

Noreen Lawlor reads Morongo Preserve

Allen Ginsberg reads Elegy for Neal Cassady

Click here to check out all our "Shelter-In-Place" videos

Click here to check out all our "Big Read 2020" videos

See you again in March!!!!