My Calendar

The week's events

  • - Between Worlds: A Conversation with Stephanie Barbé Hammer, Collage and Poetry with Richard Allen May III, Puppets Say What? with Nicole Cloeren and Puppets a la Carte
    Between Worlds: A Conversation with Stephanie Barbé Hammer

    Between Worlds: A Conversation with Stephanie Barbé Hammer


    March 5, 2023

    Conversations at the Culver

    Between Worlds: A Conversation with Stephanie Barbé Hammer

    Location: Downtown Riverside

    1:30-3:00 PM

    Doors open at 1:00 PM

    Free and open to the public.

    The veil between the real and the surreal is thin wherever Hammer’s writing goes. Where do her ideas come from? How does publishing a book change her relationship with it? Why magical realism? In conversation with Cati Porter, Stephanie Barbé Hammer will share her secret alchemy for making magically real books.

    The world of Stephanie Barbe Hammer’s writing is inhabited by the ghosts of Houdini and David Foster Wallace and Eva Gabor, magical talking tattoos, the trees of the Pacific Northwest, and swimming and puppets, among other things. The veil between the real and the surreal is thin wherever Hammer’s writing goes. Where do her ideas come from? How does publishing a book change her relationship with it? Why the fascination with magical realism? In conversation with Cati Porter, Stephanie will share her secret alchemy for making magically real books.

    Books will be available for sale and signing.

    Stephanie Barbé Hammer is a seven time Pushcart Prize nominee in fiction, nonfiction and poetry and is the author of two poetry collections (How Formal? City Slicker: Encounters with the Outside), two novels (The Puppet Turners of Narrow Interior; Pretend Plumber), a novelette (Rescue Plan), and a how to write magical realism craft book (Delicious Strangeness).

    Collage and Poetry with Richard Allen May III

    Collage and Poetry with Richard Allen May III


    March 5, 2023

    First Sundays at RAM: “Collage and Poetry” with Richard Allen May III

    In person at Riverside Art Museum

    3425 Mission Inn Blvd

    Riverside, CA 92501

    1:00-3:30 PM

    This workshop is free and open to the public, but registration is required: https://tinyurl.com/CollageTechniquesRAM

    First Sundays are free at Riverside Art Museum! Stop by the museum and tour the exhibits – then join us upstairs for making some original art of your own. Artist and educator Richard Allen May III will guide you through a series of collage techniques designed to open up your artistic flow. Participants will then craft a free verse poem inspired by their art. This is an art and poetry workshop won’t want to miss.

    Richard Allen May III comes with a wealth of knowledge about the AfriCOBRA Movement, having written the forward to AfriCOBRA: Experimental Art Toward a School of Thought, published by Duke University, 2020. He is a staff writer at Artillery magazine and his work has been displayed in art galleries throughout the Inland Empire, as well as exhibits throughout the United States. May has taught courses in community colleges, universities, and prisons and will discuss his artwork in the context of community. https://richardmayart.com/

    Puppets Say What? with Nicole Cloeren and Puppets a la Carte

    Puppets Say What? with Nicole Cloeren and Puppets a la Carte


    March 5, 2023

    First Sundays at RAM

    with Nicole Cloeren and Puppets a la Carte

    “Puppets Say What?”

    Riverside Art Museum

    3425 Mission Inn Blvd

    Riverside, CA 92501

    2:00-3:00 PM

    Free and open to the public. No registration required.

    An important part of puppeteering is finding the right voice for a puppet – and an important part of a puppet show are the sound effects. Join us as Nicole's puppets help you play with the microphone and experiment with sound effects. We will explore these techniques through the New Mexican story "The Goat in the Chile Patch."

    Nicole B. Cloeren is the founder and creative director of Puppets a la Carte where she uses puppets to feed the imagination.  Emphasizing play and techniques of improvisation, she creates a space of surprise and wonder in which we all learn from one another through puppetry arts. Nicole is a Teaching Artist with the McCallum Theatre. She likes to pretend her PhD stands for doctor of puppet handling. When not talking with her hands – or to her hands – Nicole enjoys eating jicama, playing dice, camping, and spending time with her family.

  • - Memoir: Writing Your Life Story with Rose Y. Monge, Writing for Children with José Chávez
    Memoir: Writing Your Life Story with Rose Y. Monge

    Memoir: Writing Your Life Story with Rose Y. Monge


    March 6, 2023

    (Seniors, all levels)

    Mondays, 1:00-3:00 PM Janet Goeske Center (Art Room), 5257 Sierra Street, Riverside,

    1/23, 1/30, 2/6, 2/13, 2/27, 3/6, 3/13, 3/20, 4/3, 4/10, and 4/17/22.

    To register: https://tinyurl.com/Winter2023CWW

    Writers are encouraged to respond to prompts about universal themes related to the human condition: key relationships, physical places, historic events, personal hardships/recovery, love and loss, and personal achievement and development. It is these ties that bind us all in different stages of our lives. Each of us brings a unique perspective to every story. Maybe it's time to write yours. Space is limited.

    Rose Y. Monge has facilitated memoir classes at the Goeske Center since 2009. She encourages everyone to leave a written legacy for future generations. As an immigrant from Mexico, her memoir honors her parents’ legacy of life lessons. Her activism since retirement has been advocating for social justice, diversity, and inclusion.

    Writing for Children with José Chávez

    Writing for Children with José Chávez


    March 6, 2023

    (All Levels)

    Alternating Mondays, 6:00-8:00 PM, Zoom, 1/9, 1/23, 2/6, 2/20, and 3/6/23.

    To register: https://tinyurl.com/Winter2023CWW

    This workshop is designed to meet the needs of those who wish to write or are writing for children. We’ll explore the writing voice for children, define a “picture book,” story arc, story introductions, appropriate vocabulary, children’s poetry, and more. There will be time to flex our writing muscles and develop the beauty and strength of our “voice” for children.

    José Chávez is a retired bilingual teacher and dedicates his life to writing. He's had poetry published in the Multilingual Educator Journal, Acentos Review, Inlandia Anthology and has written two award-winning bilingual poetry books for children. He lives in Riverside, CA, is married, and has three grown children.

  • - Celena’s Scribes with Wil Clarke, All Genres Workshop with Allyson Jeffredo, "Creating a Poetry Routine” with John Brantingham
    Celena’s Scribes with Wil Clarke

    Celena’s Scribes with Wil Clarke


    March 7, 2023

    (All Levels)

    Tuesdays, 11:30 AM-1:00 PM, Zoom, Weekly. Meetings resume January 10.

    To register: https://tinyurl.com/Winter2023CWW

    Named in honor of beloved workshop leader CelenaDiana Bumpus, participants are encouraged to write from a prompt and share their work, with friendly critiques offered by workshop members. All genres are welcome to be explored. Enrollment is limited.

    Wil Clarke tolerates writing, but loves having written. He was born and spent 27 years of his life in Africa. He misses the guidance and wisdom of Celena Bumpus and is attempting to keep her legacy alive in her former students through Celena’s Scribes.

    All Genres Workshop with Allyson Jeffredo

    All Genres Workshop with Allyson Jeffredo


    March 7, 2023

    (All Levels)

    Alternating Tuesdays, 6:00-8:00 PM, Zoom, 1/24, 2/7, 2/21, 3/7, and 3/21/23.

    To register: https://tinyurl.com/Winter2023CWW

    In this multi-genre workshop, participants receive bi-weekly inspiration in the form of both poetry and prose. Prompts inspire writing in the genre of your choice. Class discussions include the craft of writing and the challenges writers face in generating poetry, memoir, and short and long fiction.

    Allyson Jeffredo is a poet, writer, and educator from the Coachella Valley. Learn more about her and her work at www.allysonjeffredo.com.

    "Creating a Poetry Routine” with John Brantingham

    "Creating a Poetry Routine” with John Brantingham


    March 7, 2023

    John Brantingham Boot Camp

    “Creating a Poetry Routine”

    Tuesdays, March 7, 14, 21, 28, 2023

    7:00-9:00 PM PT, on Zoom

    $100, four weekly meetings

    Register today at https://tinyurl.com/BrantinghamWrites.

    This boot camp will teach you how to develop a regular writing routine that will get you to write and keep you writing. Students will learn how to develop prompts, generate ideas, and revise work on their own. There will be emphasis both on creating work now and learning how to continue working even while you are busy. Students will also be given the tools to find magazines for their poetry and publishers for their poetry collection. (Meets weekly.)

    John Brantingham was Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks’ first poet laureate. His work has been featured in hundreds of magazines, Writers Almanac and The Best Small Fictions 2016 and 2022. He has nineteen books of poetry and fiction including Life: Orange to Pear (Bamboo Dart Press). He is the founder and general editor of The Journal of Radical Wonder. He lives in Jamestown, NY.

  • - All Genres Workshop with Victoria Waddle
    All Genres Workshop with Victoria Waddle

    All Genres Workshop with Victoria Waddle


    March 8, 2023

    (Int.-Adv.)

    Alternating Wednesdays, 6:30-8:30 PM, Zoom, 1/11, 1/25, 2/8, 2/22, and 3/8/22.

    To register: https://tinyurl.com/Winter2023CWW

    In this multi-genre workshop, participants submit poetry and prose for biweekly critiques and receive feedback from other group members. Discussions include the craft of writing and the challenges writers face. The workshop leader provides biweekly articles and links related to participants’ work, particularly to problems that were discussed in the previous session.

    Victoria is a Pushcart Prize-nominated writer, with fiction and nonfiction published in literary journals and anthologies, including in Best Short Stories from The Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction Contest. A collection of her short fiction, Acts of Contrition, was published by Los Nietos Press. Her chapbook The Mortality of Dogs and Humans is upcoming from Bamboo Dart Press in February 2023. Previously the managing editor of Inlandia: A Literary Journey, she helped to establish a yearly teen issue. In a previous life, she was a high school English teacher and librarian.

  • - All Genres Workshop with Mae Wagner Marinello, Nonfiction: Opening the Research Doorway, Part 4 with Jo Scott-Coe
    All Genres Workshop with Mae Wagner Marinello

    All Genres Workshop with Mae Wagner Marinello


    March 9, 2023

    (All Levels)

    Thursdays, 11:00 AM-1:00 PM, Redlands Community Center, 111 W. Lugonia Ave, Redlands, Weekly.

    To register: https://tinyurl.com/Winter2023CWW

    This ongoing writing workshop meets weekly at Redlands Community Center. Memoir writing, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction writing are all encouraged and welcome. Discover the pure joy of writing and creating with others in a supportive environment.

    Mae Wagner Marinello has been a part of Inlandia since a 2008 writing workshop with Ruth Nolan. In 2014, she began facilitating a weekly writing workshop called Joslyn Joy Writers, at the Joslyn Senior Center in Redlands. During the pandemic lockdown, the weekly workshop continued on Zoom; it is now a hybrid class averaging between 10-20 combined participants on Zoom and in-person.

    Nonfiction: Opening the Research Doorway, Part 4 with Jo Scott-Coe

    Nonfiction: Opening the Research Doorway, Part 4 with Jo Scott-Coe


    March 9, 2023

    (Int.-Adv.)

    Alternating Thursdays, 6:30-8:30 PM, Zoom, 1/26, 2/9, 2/23, 3/9, and 3/23/22.

    To register: https://tinyurl.com/Winter2023CWW

    Explore how variations of structure can open new possibilities in your nonfiction storytelling.

    Jo Scott-Coe’s essays and stories have been published widely, for literary as well as academic audiences. Her third book, Unheard Witness: The Life and Death of Kathy Leissner Whitman, is forthcoming in Fall 2023 from the University of Texas Press.

  • - Show Us! Don’t Tell Us! with Renee Gurley
    Show Us! Don’t Tell Us! with Renee Gurley

    Show Us! Don’t Tell Us! with Renee Gurley


    March 11, 2023

    (All Levels)

    Alternating Saturdays, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM, Zoom, 1/14, 1/28, 2/11, 2/25, and 3/11/23.

    To register: https://tinyurl.com/Winter2023CWW

    These five sessions will revolve around moving one’s writing from telling to showing.

    Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned writer, the chances are good that you’ve come up against this feedback and grumbled under your breath trying to figure out how, exactly, to show more than tell. In this workshop, writers will get down and dirty with ways to show and how to identify in their drafts where they are telling and how to enjoy transforming that telling into showing.

    Gurley, MA, MFA, is a writer and English teacherwith over 20 years of experience with words, whose works have appeared in Coping Magazine, Lehigh Valley Woman’ s Journal, and Budget Press.