Poet Laureates & Transgressive Art
INTENTIONS | 2.1.2021
Dear Herders,
Happy Black History/Future Month! What does this month mean to you, fellow Herder? Among many things, Black History/Future Month is a reminder to support movements dedicated to Black liberation and joy. Throughout the year, this could mean donating to the Movement for Black Lives, purchasing books from a Black-owned bookstore, and supporting Black artists on Etsy.
Why not kickoff the month this weekend by tuning into The 31st Annual Celebration of African American Poets and Their Poetry? It is this Saturday, February 6th, if you’d like to participate or watch, from 1-4 PM PST. You can also follow @westoakland_westafrica to stay tuned for more Bay Area events.
There’s lots of ways to make this month—and every month—a celebration of all of the ways that Black people have continued to challenge, save, and shape American democracy. Please feel free to add comments below to add any art & literary events also happening this month, especially in celebration of Black creators and artists. As Black poet and musician Avotcja said during a powerful and special poetry reading last November,
Please support us while we are alive. Don’t wait until we die and then make us your hero. —Avotcja
In this issue of The Herd, we have a special artist interview with Dorian Katz, the artist behind Poppers the Pony, and much more. There are also several Herder events and updates, shared in the “Happenings” section below, as well as a thank you note for all who were able to attend The Poetry of Place workshop on January 23rd. Thank you.
And of course, we have our writing prompt and lit review. You can submit your writing responses, or an excerpt from them, and have them featured in the next issue too.
Thank you for your presence, and your time to read The Herd.
-Allie
OPINING | 2.1.21
Imagine a World Where Poet Laureates Rule
Amanda Gorman is the first National Youth Poet Laureate.
What does it mean that a poet—and perhaps only a poet—could find the words to acknowledge the lack of democracy in American history, and also hold politicians to a higher standard of social justice that we as citizens have yet to see?
If the idea of a “poet laureate” is new to you, Joy Harjo (the US Poet Laureate in 2019) clarified some of the confusion. The day of the inauguration, Harjo wrote on Twitter that, “There are many poet laureates in this country. We have city, state, the US Poet Laureate and more recently the National Youth Poet Laureate.” What do poet laureates do? It varies. Many poet laureates plan and organize epic weekends of poetry and activism, while others start a monthly reading series.
Amanda Gorman is the first National Youth Poet Laureate. Gorman’s poem “The Hill We Climb” inspired a lot of downtrodden Americans, perhaps more than any other speech that day. Gorman plays with language while also keeping the message clear: democracy is not an end-all, be-all state of a nation—and the United States slipped from many of its’ democratic ambitions during the violent presidency of Donald Trump and its aftermath.
You can read the transcript of Amanda Gorman’s poem here. Here are two brief excerpts below:
We braved the belly of the beast;
We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace.
And the norms and notions of what just is
Isn’t always justice.
[…]
We, the successors of a country and a time
Where a skinny black girl descended from slaves
And raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president,
Only to find herself reciting for one.
—Amanda Gorman, “The Hill We Climb”
You can support Gorman’s work and learn more about her poetry by purchasing one of her three books, available on her website.
Meanwhile in San Francisco, the brilliant poet laureate Kim Shuck passed the poetic baton on to the legendary Tongo Eisen-Martin. I’m sure we will still be seeing more ideas and art from the marvelous Kim Shuck as well, so stay tuned. If you are new to Kim Shuck’s poetry, here is a clip featuring Shuck discussing the funny transition from the “nerdy thing” of writing poems to being in a position like poet laureate.
In Tongo’s own words from his inaugural address,
San Francisco has legends too fearless for me to count myself as one of them, but I am from this collection of thousands and thousands of participants in revolutionary history and culture.
—Tongo Eisen-Martin in his inaugural address.
Are we living in a time where poets will actually be listened too? Does your city or county have a poet laureate? Who is it and what are they making happen in your community? In what ways can you show up and support their vision?
Feel free to share in the comments below.
CREATIVITY CRUSH | 2.1.21
Dorian Katz on censorship and how “humor got strangers talking.”
Dorian Katz has been creating art for as long as she can remember. Today she is a visual artist based in the Bay who creates colorful cartoons that speak to a world with more pleasure and sexual liberation. Recently, some of Katz’ pieces were censored, an unpleasant phenomenon in the arts which Dorian touches on in this issue.
Enjoy this conversation with the brilliant creator of Poppers the Pony and much more. Dorian Katz is available for commissions and her art work is available for purchase here.
The Herd: In three words, how would you describe your art?
Dorian Katz: Fanciful, sumptuous and transgressive.
Excerpt from the interview.
The Herd: Can you tell us a little bit about the creation of your alter-ego of sorts, Poppers the Pony?
Dorian Katz: Poppers the Pony comes from not letting go of that sense of play with friends that happened when I was a kid. As an artist, I continue creating imaginary worlds and characters with friends and lovers as well as in my art.
Becoming a pony character does have an origin story. I have made most projects as Poppers for 15 years. I will let readers imagine what may have happened to lead to this evolving sex utopia. Poppers the Pony is my ideal self. She’s brave and not shy. She and her friends diligently work with the hope that they can make the humans understand sexual liberation and help other non-human critters experience more pleasure.
Poppers is in the journalism business and runs a newspaper. Her milieu is influenced by science and so-called queerness in nature, friends, art history, growing tomatoes, Jewish humor, whatever else I adore and on occasion whatever pisses me off.
Follow Dorian Katz @Poppers_the_Pony on Instagram, or explore her artwork available for purchase here!
The Herd: Your work speaks a lot to sexual cultural making, in a world where "art about sex is so often banned," as you mention in your talk here. When did your work in this arena begin? How has your art changed over the years, if it has?
Dorian Katz: I wrote about sex before it filtered into my drawings. Twenty years ago, I took Jen Cross’ Writing Ourselves Whole workshop. All of us were queer women survivors of sexual trauma. We wrote love letters to our bodies, filthy stories, what if essays and poems. Through writing it became easier to talk with lovers about my desires--a nifty benefit. The workshop morphed into the dyke erotica collective, Dirty Ink. We performed in San Francisco for a few years.
Follow Dorian Katz @Poppers_the_Pony on Instagram, or explore her artwork available for purchase here!
I never stopped drawing. Erotica, both visual and literary, often has an element of humor. Performing with Dirty Ink, I always knew the crowd was with me if they laughed. And lets face it—it feels wonderful to amuse others. Through showing my drawings in public, I learned that humor got strangers talking while viewing my art. Humor is disarming.
Censorship in the arts is random and unpredictable. Typically it is the ideas in the art that someone is upset by and this is why a creative work is banned. My art was recently censored in a small public project in San Francisco along with 5 other artists. I’ll be discussing this on a personal and community level in the next issue of Foglifter with Justin Hall and Tina Horn.
Still, I try to just focus on making the art I want to the best of my ability, without worry for how others may respond. If I censor myself, what is the point?
The Herd: Any other questions/comments/topics you'd like to share or use this space for?
Dorian Katz: Thank you for taking time to learn about and share my work, Allie. I really appreciate how you generously create community among writers and artists.
I have drawings, zines and prints available here. I’ve also been doing more commissions, illustrations and even some commercial graphics recently, feel free to get in touch via my store, Instagram, or twitter.
The zine will be available as a downloadable PDF here by the end of January. I’ll also post updates to my Twitter and Instagram as the release date solidifies.
Follow Dorian Katz @Poppers_the_Pony on Instagram, or explore her artwork available for purchase here.
FEBRUARY WRITING PROMPT | 2.3.2021
Prompt: Write an “ABC” poem or prose piece. That’s right, start your prompt with a word that begins with “a” and the next word “b” followed by a word that starts with “c” and onwards you go.
For example, an ABC response could be:
“at breakfast, cracked dawn exquisitely faded—gone, how I just knew […]”
Have fun with it! If you happen to get to “z” and you’re on a roll, try to start at “a” and complete another round. Or, if you developed a character you like, go back and examine it a little more. Could this be a short story? What does this character want?
Writer’s Tip: When revising pieces, read your work aloud. That will help you notice where “the heat” is. Underline parts that seem especially strong, as well as parts where you tripped over the words. Often when we stumble over our words, it means the sentence needs a little revision.
QUICK LIT REVIEW | 2.3.2021
Heart Berries cracks stereotypes and explores the danger of “representative texts.”
Heart Berries is the first memoir by Terese Marie Mailhot, who is a writer and member of the the Seabird Island Band in the Pacific Northwest. The memoir is directed towards a “you” that readers can assume is a lover, in this case, a man named Casey.
At no point is Mailhot trying to express this story as solely an indigenous text that is representative of all indigenous women’s journey—she states this several times, as if a warning to the reader to not warp her narrative. The quote below is one example where Mailhot pulls readers in, explaining the difficulty of telling her story truthfully and subverting sterotypes, if and when she can.
“As an Indian woman, I resist the urge to bleed out on a page, to impart the story of my drunken father. It was dangerous to be alone with him, as it was dangerous to forgive, as it was dangerous to say he was a monster. If he were a monster, that would make me part monster, part Indian. Is it my politic to write the humanity in my characters, and subvert the stereotypes. Isn’t that my duty as an Indian writer? But what part of him was subversion.” -Terese Marie Mailhot, Heart Berries (82).
The text grapples with heavy subjects around dislocation, abuse, PTSD, and trauma, and Mailhot does not put herself in any singular box on this larger journey around healing.
The effect leaves readers closing the book, and feeling like this is only Part I.
HAPPENINGS | 2.3.21
Click on the image above or here to learn more and purchase Aster’s latest zine. All proceeds go towards chemo treatment. Every little bit helps!
Amanda Gorman Captures the Moment, in Verse. Read more here.
Thank you to all who were in the January 23rd workshop I facilitated called the Poetics of Place. Here’s a little PDF honoring all who shared that space together.
Featured Herder Katia Aoun Hage has started an independent publishing company called Elyssar Press! Stay tuned for more updates, author events, and released books.
Shuffle creators Tess Bliven and Anuj Nijhawan are inviting all Herders to join the supportive and amazing Shuffle community! Click here to view your private invite or see more information. I was honored to be a part of the 2020 cohort, and I look forward to witnessing everyone’s growth in this community!
Last month’s feature, Aster K. Foley, was recently interviewed for the podcast. Basement Gallery Art and Conversation Series. Listen here! Their zine is available for purchase here as well, with all proceeds going towards ongoing chemo treatment.
Georgina Marie, the Lake County Poet Laureate, hosts a poetry series every other week. “Tune in on Saturday February 6th, 2021 for the next Rooted in Poetry/Wordweavers radio show from 4-5 pm. Listen live on KPFZ 88.1 FM or online here.”
The 31st Annual Celebration of African American Poets and Their Poetry will be this Saturday, February 6th, if you’d like to participate or watch. 1-4 PM PST! Follow @westoakland_westafrica for more.
Featured Herder Tara K. Shepersky is releasing a book! Learn more about Tell the Turning and pre-order your copy today. (PS, pre-orders are vital for crowdfunded limited editions!)
Poetry in Pandemic Times: Six California Poets on the Healing Power of Verse. Article available here, courtesy of The Mercury News.
Looking for Literary Events? Here are many to choose from, virtually speaking.
That’s it for Issue XIX of The Herd. Feel free to comment below, or share The Herd with anyone who needs a lift.
Our artist feature for this issue is Dorian Katz, who is available for paid commissions. This is her incredible visual rendering of the poem, “Honey Jars.”
The Herd is a literary newsletter that celebrates artistic expression and elevates artists who build community and foster connection.