On the 3/12/25 Edition of Dr Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour:

Pia Baur joins the show to speak on her recent essay “Every Day Anew” which touches on her lived experience with epilepsy. The essay was recently chosen for the Felice Buckvar Prize for Nonfiction and will be published in the Bellevue Literary Review this Spring. Baur then details her colleague Elizabeth Mitchell’s upcoming horror-sci-fi anthology called "The Claw Machine," which Baur will be contributing to. Will Alpers then joins the show to discuss his upcoming workshop, where he will teach prospective authors about self-publishing their work. He shares a poem titled “In a middle school biology class”, before the last guest of the program, Grant Faulkner calls in. Faulkner describes the structure of his upcoming reading at Avid Reader in Davis, California where he will be discussing his book titled The Art of Brevity: Crafting the Very Short Story. He also details how he came about starting his Write-minded podcast and his virtual writing classes that he runs out of Berkley, California.

Pia Baur is a writer born to German and Korean parents and raised in the United States. She received her BA in English from UC Davis in 2011 and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Montana in Missoula. She lives and works in the Pacific Northwest.

Will Alpers has self-published one book of poetry, The Demon is Curious About My $45 Lunch, which will soon be available for purchase on Amazon.

Grant Faulkner is the co-founder of 100 Word Story, the co-host of the Write-minded podcast, and the author of The Art of Brevity: Crafting the Very Short Story, All the Comfort Sin Can Provide, a collection of short stories, and Fissures, a collection of 100-word stories. His “flash novel,” something out there in the distance, a collaboration with the photographer Gail Butensky, is coming out in September 2025 with the University of New Mexico Press. His essays on creativity have been published in The New York Times, Poets & Writers, Lit Hub, Writer’s Digest, and The Writer.

The Poetry Night Reading Series takes place on the first and third Thursdays of the month at 7 PM in the John Natsoulas Gallery. The event is generously supported by the people and poets of the Sacramento Valley, by John Natsoulas, and by Thea and the other members of the staff at the John Natsoulas Gallery. Your host will be Dr. Andy Jones, the poet laureate emeritus of the City of Davis.

Find out more about Dr. Andy's Poetry Night Reading Series in Davis, California by visiting http://www.poetryindavis.com. Invite your friends to sign up for the mailing list. To learn more about Dr. Andy’s tiny media fiefdom, subscribe to his weekly newsletter at https://andyjones.substack.com.

On the 3/5/25 Edition of Dr Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour:

Professor Jessie Drew joins in to discuss the Davis screening of his upcoming movie, Open Country. He shares details on the event, which is occurring this Friday, March 7, at Sudwerk‘s Beer Hall, before telling a cool story about a phone conversation with American Folk legend Pete Seager. The next guest on the hour, Anthony Xavier Jackson, joins the show to advertise an event for late poet and friend Al Cortez. The event occurred Wednesday, March 5th at Sacramento’s California stage, but the organizing event Sac Poetry will still be collecting donations to pass on to the family of Al Cortez. The last guest on the hour, Christina Deptula, opens her segment by sharing a poem, “Spontaneous Grace.” She then shares details about an upcoming event, “The Hayward Lit Hop, " a writing group gathering to share and improve their respective crafts.

Jesse Drew is an American artist, author, media activist, and educator. He became a teenage runaway at age 15, and lived on communes in Vermont and California. In 1974, he was a candidate for the State Legislature of Vermont on the Liberty Union Party ticket with Bernie Sanders. Because of his runaway status, he ran under the name of Jesse Clemens. In 1975, he was recruited by Fred Ross to work for the United Farmworkers Union in California. He was a boycott organizer in San Francisco before moving into industrial organizing in the San Francisco Bay Area. Drew is now a professor in the Cinema and Technocultural Studies (CaTS) program at the University of California at Davis.

Anthony Xavier Jackson is the recent winner of The 2024 Sacramento Poetry Week’s Annual Poetry contest. Anthony Xavier Jackson has been writing poems and songs since his teens, drawing inspiration from sci-fi, myths, all genres of music, and all manner of spiritual pursuits, including recovery. Anthony has recently published his first collection of poetry, The Razor of Your Smile, available on Amazon and other venues. Anthony has enjoyed publishing honors from the likes of Bar Bar, Wingless Dreamer, Dipity, The Word’s Faire, and Tule Review 2024. Anthony is a member of GTFO Poetry Collective based in Sacramento. You may find his poems paired with his music on SoundCloud and Bandcamp. Anthony is also a Substance Use Disorder Counselor who aspires to Social Work credentialing. Anthony firmly believes everyone deserves healing.

Cristina Deptula is a UC Davis alumna, a science journalist, book publicist, and publisher of the online literary magazine Synchronized Chaos.

Our March 6th, Poetry night will feature local poets Cindy Juyoung Ok, Jade Menshew, and Roy Magat. We meet at 7PM at the John Natsoulas Gallery, 521 1st Street in Davis, and we hope you can join us.

Find out more about Dr. Andy's Poetry Night Reading Series in Davis, California by visiting http://www.poetryindavis.com. Invite your friends to sign up for the mailing list. To learn more about Dr. Andy’s tiny media fiefdom, subscribe to his weekly newsletter at https://andyjones.substack.com.

On the 2/26/25 Edition of Dr Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour:

Ethan Gallogy joins the show to discuss his award-winning novel The Trail, which follows two character’s journeys on the John Muir Trail. Gallogy shares his experiences on the John Muir Trail, stating that a month straight in the wilderness was an unforgettable experience. He reiterates the importance of being disconnected from technology, and outlines some of the traits of the novel's main character Gil. Gallogy then imparts some advice about how to go about hiking, seeking out trails, and joining hiking groups. Connie Poet then calls in to discuss her poetic habits, including submitting to a variety of journals, as well as setting writing goals. Post shares a poem titled, “The Wandering” before stating that she intentionally writes poems about topics like Sexual Assault in aim to help readers in their healing. She ends the episode by sharing another poem, this one in honor of her late brother titled, “Broken Metronome.”

Ethan Gallogy is a local author and an avid hiker and backpacker. He graduated from UC Davis with a PhD in Physical Chemistry in 1993, has taught around the world, including at UC Berkeley and in mainland China, and is an emeritus professor from Santa Monica College, and has now returned to live in Davis. He has written two books and is the author of The Trail, an award-winning novel set on the John Muir Trail in the High Sierra.

Connie Post’s work has appeared in Calyx, Slipstream, Comstock Review, 2 River, American Journal of Poetry, River Styx, Spoon River Poetry Review, Slippery Elm, and Verse Daily. Her poetry awards include the Caesura award, Liakoura award, and the Crab Creek Poetry Award. Her full-length collections include Floodwater, Prime Meridian and Between Twilight. Between Twilight was a finalist in the 2023 Best Book Awards and the International book award. Her 2023 chapbook, Broken Metronome has been a finalist for six book awards and won the American Fiction award for a chapbook.

The Poetry Night Reading Series takes place on first and third Thursdays of the month at 7 PM, is generously supported by the people and poets of the Sacramento Valley, by John Natsoulas, and by Thea and the other members of the staff at the John Natsoulas Gallery. Your host will be Dr. Andy Jones, the poet laureate emeritus of the City of Davis.

Find out more about Dr. Andy's Poetry Night Reading Series in Davis, California by visiting http://www.poetryindavis.com. Invite your friends to sign up for the mailing list. To learn more about Dr. Andy’s tiny media fiefdom, subscribe to his weekly newsletter at https://andyjones.substack.com.