Book Release Party! July 24, 5-7 PM

 

Sunday, July 24, 5-7 PM. 

We are celebrating three fabulous poets with new books to share! Kendall Johnson, John Sierpinski & Jonathan Ferrini will read from and sign copies of their new work at the Retreat Book Store, located at The Joshua Tree Retreat Center.

We are entering through the main gate and following the signs to the office (bookstore is near the office). Plenty of space to social distance, and plenty of parking. Feel free to bring a mask, a lawn chair, and a sun umbrella for your personal comfort. There is limited seating available on-site if you do not have a chair. There is a restroom available at the bookstore. 

Bring a friend and enjoy the party! If you have questions, message us, or send rich an email - editor@chollaneedles.com. Good times!!! 

CLICK TO LEARN MORE:

Open Poetry Reading July 3, 5-7 PM

 

Open Poetry Reading

July 3, 2022 5-7 PM

at

The Retreat Center Bookstore Stage

Bring a mask, a lawn chair,
and a free standing umbrella for comfort

as well as your own poetry to read!
Everyone is welcome! Bring a friend!

Sponsored by The Joshua Tree Folk School

Come early (open 7a.m. - 3 p.m.) and enjoy the
Joshua Tree Retreat Center Cafe/Restaurant

located at the large red dot on the map.

Map:

New Issue Released! Cholla Needles 67

Cover art by Kennedy Knight

This issue features the wonderful writings of
Jeffrey Alfier
Adélia Prado
Jeremy Szuder
Bharti Bansal
David Chorlton
Hannah Szenes
James Marvelle
Vicente Aleixandre
Federico García Lorca
Konstantínos Pétrou Kaváfis
Ishikawa Takuboku

Click here to purchase ($5)

Open Poetry Reading June 5 at 5 PM!

Cholla Needles

Open Poetry Reading

June 5, 2022 5-7 PM

at

The Retreat Center Bookstore Stage

Bring a mask and a lawn chair for comfort

and your own poetry to read!
Everyone is welcome!

Sponsored by The Joshua Tree Folk School

Come early (open 7a.m. - 3 p.m.) and enjoy the
Joshua Tree Retreat Center Cafe/Restaurant

located at the large red dot on the map.

Map:

New Issue Released! Cholla Needles 66

 

Powerful photoart by Peter Nash
and new creative writing by:

D. Marie Fitzgerald
Richard Kostelanetz
Beth Schraeger
Christien Gholson
Tamara Madison
Peter Nash
Ernest Alois
Kent Wilson
Timothy Robbins
Samuel P. Schraeger
Ishikawa Takuboku

click here to purchase on-line ($5.00)

New Book! The Elliott Erwitt Poems by Simon Perchik

 

It must have been obvious to the early moon
shaded by all these trees —under their bark
the darkness would seep out and in time

turn amber with this beetle locked inside
to record the night it made the Earth its home
̶ what's missing is this moonlight as a trace

where love began its life side by side
not yet extinct, a fossil whose glance
shaped stars then broke them apart to find

where love goes once it's gone —you look up
and from your grave hold fast to each small stone
mourners leave as shadows beginning to open.

- Simon Perchik

- - - - -

Click here for recent on-line multi-media review by Maureen Alsop

Simon Perchik, an attorney, was born 1923 in Paterson, NJ and educated at New York University (BA English, LLB Law). His poems have appeared in various literary journals including Cholla Needles, Partisan Review, Poetry, The Nation, and The New Yorker.

Click here to purchase on-line ($6.00)

See other recent books by Simon Perchik

New Books! Dreams Getting Away and Dropped By For Coffee by James Marvelle

James Marvelle continues on his exploration of the world around him in his poetry, tackling everything from ecology to having coffee with friends in word pictures. His poetry is drawn from many different aspects of the world around him because he has a deep fascination for everything in that world. We are blessed in his willingness to share his insights while watching a jogger on a path or a dog chasing a frisbee. He considers no idea too small or too large for poetry. We are richer because of that.

from Dreams Getting Away:

Fish In Flight

the osprey claws me
taken to flying a fish
the east sky burns out

from Dropped By For Coffee

he would hand out short poems
on packets of seed
hoping they’d start growing

- - - -

James Marvelle is a Rhode Island poet.

He grew up on an island.
There was always the ocean and the salt air.

He began writing at a tender age and
has traveled throughout the country.

His poetry is a daily wandering
through the paths he takes.

Today he is a new resident of Tybee Island in Georgia
where there is a community of artists and writers.

There are beaches and waves and
more paths to take.

The inspiration of the arts and artists have been woven into James Marvelle’s work. He has been published in a great variety of magazines, and is the author of a number of poetry chapbooks with Seven Stars and Realities Library. He has written seven recent full collections of poems, Lasting Notes (2017), Walking In The Light (2018), Morning Of Promise (2019), In The Quiet (2020) Morning’s Path (2021), Dreams Getting Away, and Dropped By For Coffee (2022) from Cholla Needles Arts & Literary Library in Joshua Tree, California.