To accomodate our members near and far
our meetings are now on ZOOM
Our Third Meeting
for the 2025-26 Program Year:
Saturday, November 15
at 2pm
Hosted by Louise Moises
Karen Marker
will Present:
Writing The Resistance of Despair Through Poems of Protest and Hope
Karen will talk about how she engages with poetry as a force for healing and hope in times of darkness. This includes both on a personal level of the family and on the larger level of our country. She will read and talk about some of her poetry from her book Beneath the Blue Umbrella that explores haunting by grief, loss and stigma in response to family mental illness and misdiagnosis (all proceeds from book are being donated to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.) She will also read some of her most recent poetry and talk about the process of writing a poem a day in response to the news in this unprecedented time in our history.
Karen Marker retired as a school psychologist in Oakland five years ago and since then has been a full-time poet/activist. For the past nine months she has been writing a poem a day of protest and hope in response to current political events. Karen’s first book of flash memoir/ poetry, Beneath the Blue Umbrella, was published in February by Finishing Line Press. Books can be ordered directly through Karen (klmarker123@gmail.com) or at https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/beneath-the-blue-umbrella-by-karen-marker/ You can learn more about Karen’s work at www.karenmarker.com
Deborah Schmidt will send out the Zoom link on Saturday morning, and instructions for the Open Mic.
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Following are screen shots from a typical zoom meeting. Though the faces are frozen and silent in the photos, imagine voices in recitation, and the appreciative, attentive listening. ____________________________________
