Read and discuss a book of poems with others who appreciate poetry and like to take a closer look at form, structure, and craft. Discussions will be lively and interactive, and participants will have a chance to share thoughts and ask questions. Come prepared to read favorite poems, lines, and passages from the book aloud. 

October's selection is Forest Primeval by Vievee Francis. The discussion will be lead by Sandra Cross. 

"Another Anti-Pastoral," the opening poem of Forest Primeval, confesses that sometimes "words fail." With a "bleat in [her] throat," the poet identifies with the voiceless and wild things in the composed, imposed peace of the Romantic poets with whom she is in dialogue. Vievee Francis’s poems engage many of the same concerns as her poetic predecessors—faith in a secular age, the city and nature, aging, and beauty. Words certainly do not fail as Francis sets off into the wild world promised in the title. The wild here is not chaotic but rather free and finely attuned to its surroundings. The reader who joins her will emerge sensitized and changed by the enduring power of her work. 

Sandra Cross lives in Stinson Beach, between the Pacific Ocean and a redwod forested mountain. After retiring from her legal career she returned to her love of reading and writing poetry and is also kept busy keeping deer, foxes and skunks out of her garden. She holds an MFA from Saint Mary's College of California and serves as Chair and Membership Secretary of the Marin Poetry Center. 

Registration is Required. Copies of the book will be made available to registrants. Please follow the information in the registration process to request a library copy. 

Tentative plans are in the works for this book club to meet monthly on third Mondays. Future book selections and discussion leaders will be announced as soon as the information becomes available.

In Collaboration with the Marin Poetry Center