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Peter Kaufmann

“Life Is a Small Family Farm …” by Peter Kaufmann

November 30, 2022 by The Poetry Box Leave a Comment

front book cover of The Round Whisper of No Moon, designed by Robert R. Sanders
“Life Is a Small Family Farm Going Out of Business or Maybe It’s Just the Auction” by Peter Kaufmann, published in The Round Whisper of No Moon, released in November 2022, has  been nominated for The Pushcart Prize.

Please enjoy the poem, and feel free to leave a comment.


Life Is a Small Family Farm Going Out of Business
or Maybe It’s Just the Auction

You will try and try again,
slowly the machinery will break down.
The old rust colored tractor, held together with bailing wire
will keep running, tires cracked as chapped lips.
The wheat still sprouts green and forever each spring,
which come more often now.
The banker’s shadow appears on the side of the barn
leaning with the prevailing wind,
like the row of cypress trees
that line the dirt road.
The neighbors sold out.
No one knows the new owners, who will not live there.
The auction is scheduled,
all your years priced to sell,
the stamps patiently collected, 40 cents on the dollar.
Someone will argue over the Indian basket
you decide to keep at the last minute.
Someday kids will look through the windows,
maybe salvage the 6-paners or decide to move in,
clean out the squirrel nests and porcupine shit,
where they will find your old spatula with the wooden handle
and your old love letters,
leaving the calendar on the wall
with the picture of a farmer’s wife
holding a jar of preserves,
hair held back in a polka-dotted scarf.

Filed Under: Pushcart Poems Tagged With: Peter Kaufmann, pushcart nominee

The Poetry Box LIVE (Oct 8, 2022)

August 24, 2022 by The Poetry Box 1 Comment

Graphic for The Poetry Box Live Oct Edition

The Poetry Box LIVE – October Edition!

Saturday, Oct 8, 2022 @ 4:00 PM (Pacific) / 3:00 Pm (Alaskan) / 7:00 PM (Eastern)

Featured Poets:

  • Lauri Cruver Cherian (Washington/Texas), author of POEMS OF THE POINT
  • Peter Kaufmann (Alaska), author of THE ROUND WHISPER OF NO MOON
  • Leanne Grabel (Oregon), author of MY HUSBAND’S EYEBROWS

Enjoy a Video from the Show:

ABOUT THE POETS 

front cover of Poems of the Point

author photo of Lauri Cherian in the garden
cr: Kari Cruver Medina

Lauri Cruver Cherian is a Washington State native raised in Gig Harbor on a beautiful piece of beachfront property. She awoke each morning to the cry of the seagulls and the view of the bay in her front yard, which was glorious in rain or shine. Her childhood memories are rich with singing around the bonfire, boat trips with her dad, fishing and clam digging, paddle boarding in Wollochet Bay, and watching for sea lions and orcas that would often swim past her house.

Lauri has lived on the South Texas Coast for three decades. She holds a Master’s degree in Language Acquisition Education from the University of Houston and a Bachelor’s degree in Bilingual Education from Washington State University. Lauri has taught English as a Second Language for children and adults for twenty-five years and is a teacher trainer, consultant, and a workshop leader in adult ESL. She is the recipient of several teacher of the year awards including District Bilingual Teacher of the Year in Spring Branch Independent School District in Houston. (You can visit her website at https://lessonswithlauri.com for more information.)

Besides returning to the beach when she gets the chance, Lauri enjoys acting in community theater, singing, and playing the piano, traveling, and writing short stories and poetry. Her poem “Courage” dedicated to healthcare workers during the pandemic, won honorable mention in the Texas Mental Health Creative Arts Contest in 2021. Lauri and her husband have three adventuresome adult children.

You can order Lauri’s new book HERE

 


front book cover of The Round Whisper of No Moon, designed by Robert R. Sanders

photo of Peter Kaufmann standing in a field

In 1973 Peter Kaufmann left California with his girlfriend to go to Alaska for the summer. Fifty years later they are still there. In Alaska he has worn the hats of a biologist, builder, salmon fisherman and improv teacher and performer. In 1997, in need of change, he volunteered to teach in Viet Nam for one year. That year grew into 20 years. Spending summers in Alaska and three seasons living and working in Asia, he helped communities voice their stories through drama, film, radio, television, and museum exhibitions. He was blessed to work with widely varied populations, including people living with HIV/Aids, sex workers, disabled youth, government officials, museum and television professionals and Buddhist monks. Peter’s poetry draws from both wild Alaska and urban Asia.  His poems have placed in a statewide contest in Alaska, appeared in Cirque magazine, and twice been chosen for National Poetry Month. Peter’s work has been used to introduce non-profit meetings and scored with original music.

You can order Peter’s new book HERE

 


Front Cover of My Husband's Eyebrows

Leanne Grabel is a writer, illustrator, and performer in love with mixing genres. Her first collaboration was with a bongo player and sax player in the mid-70s and her most recent collaborations were with filmmaker Penny Allen and dancer/choreographer Gregg Bielemeier. She has written & produced numerous multi-media shows, including “The Lighter Side of Chronic Depression” and “Anger: The Musical.” Grabel’s graphic novel, Brontosaurus Illustrated, recently serialized in The Opiate, was published by The Opiate Books in 2022. Grabel is the 2020 recipient of the Bread & Roses Award for contributions to women’s literature in the Pacific Northwest. She and her husband started and ran Cafe Lena, a poetry hub and restaurant, throughout the 90s. Grabel is a retired special education teacher, the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of two nubbins, Ophelia and Elliot.

You can order Leanne’s new book HERE

 


Filed Under: past events, Poetry Box LIVE, Readings & Events Tagged With: Lauri Cruver Cherian, Leanne Grabel, Peter Kaufmann, Poetry Box LIVE, Reading

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