On the 8/6/25 edition of Dr. Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour:

Partners Robin Ekiss and Keith Ekiss are the first guests on the program. A former colleague of Dr.Andy’s, Robin reflects on her time at UC Davis, mentored by poets such as Sandra McPherson and Sandra Gilbert. Keith discusses his recent book, Burial Fragments, which co-won the Barry Sparks Poetry Prize for 2024 from Gunpowder Press. He describes the collection as his “San Francisco book report,” documenting change in the city since the dot-com bubble. They then both share poems, with Robin reading “The bird of God.” and Keith reading a piece titled “Explaining Shockley.” The next guest on the show is Santi Elijah Holley, who describes his recent publication in the New York Times column Letters of Recommendations, “I don’t believe in God I believe in Gospel music.” He describes his journey with gospel music, and how he came upon the genre later in life. Holley credits listening to music from a critical lens as a reason why he was able to become a successful writer, writing an award winning book about the Shakur family. He recommends the gospel songs “Previous Lord Take my Hand,” “How I Got Over” and “Sit down Servant."

Robin Ekiss earned her MA in creative writing from UC Davis so many years ago that Dr. Andy was actually one of her graduate student colleagues. A former Stegner Fellow in Poetry at Stanford, she’s the author of The Mansion of Happiness, winner of the Shenandoah/Glasgow Prize and a finalist for the Northern California Book Awards. Her poems and prose have appeared inThe Atlantic, POETRY, APR, and elsewhere. She’s a recipient of a Rona Jaffe Foundation Award for emerging women writers, and residencies from the MacDowell Colony, Millay Colony for the Arts, and Headlands Center for the Arts.

Keith Ekiss is the author of two collections of poetry — Burial Fragments, co-winner of the Barry Spacks Poetry Prize for 2024 from Gunpowder Press — and Pima Road Notebook (New Issues Poetry & Prose, 2010), a book about growing up on the edge of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community in Arizona. As a translator, his works include The Fire’s Journey (Tavern Books, 2019), an epic poem by the Costa Rican writer Eunice Odio in four volumes and Territory of Dawn: The Selected Poems of Eunice Odio, published in 2016 by The Bitter Oleander Press. He has been a lecturer in the Creative Writing program at Stanford since 2007.

Santi Elijah Holley is an award-winning journalist and a recipient of the 2019 Robert B. Silvers grant for Work in Progress, and a 2017 Oregon Literary Fellowship for nonfiction. His 2023 nonfiction book, An Amerikan Family: The Shakurs and the Nation They Created, was selected as a New York Times Editors' Choice, an NPR selection for “Books We Love,” "Best Book of the Year" by Kirkus Reviews, and longlisted for the 2024 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. His book on Black American independent cinema is forthcoming by Mariner Books. He lives in Los Angeles.

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, Robby Nykodym, and by members of the staff at the John Natsoulas Gallery. Your host will be Dr. Andy Jones, poet laureate emeritus of the City of Davis. Robin and Keith Ekiss will read at the 8/7/25 iteration of Poetry in 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 7/30/25 edition of Dr. Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour:

Allison Proffitt joins the show to discuss her upbringing in music and upcoming performances in Sacramento. Proffit outlines how her upbringing in Illinois, and transition to California helped develop her artistic sensibilities and practices. She details the Light Opera Theatre of Sacramento’s iteration of Dracula; or the town of Sibiu, which will show at the 24th Street Theater in Sacramento on August 8, 9, 10, 15, 16 & 17, 2025. Proffit then sings a song, “Corpus Christi Carol,” specifically the Benjamin Britten setting. The next guest of the hour is Joseph Finkelman, who describes his forthcoming solo show at Viewpoint Photographic Art Center which is located at 2015 J St Sacramento, held between 1-4 P.M. on August 10th. He then reads a poem which was published in the Marin Poetry Center’s 2024 Anthology, “The Sacred Plans of Small Spaces.” Finkelman finishes his segment by speaking on his poetic practices, which include writing thirty different poems in thirty different forms this past January.

Allison Proffitt is a classical soprano who performs with the women's vocal ensemble Vox Musica and the Light Opera Theatre of Sacramento. Allison holds a B.S. in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior from UC Davis, where she sang in the Early Music Ensemble. Allison works at UC Davis Health conducting clinical research studies. She also enjoys performing at Dr. Andy's Poetry Night Reading Series in Davis.

Joseph Finkleman was born in Hollywood California. He was educated as a Photo-Journalist. He was a Literature major both in German and English. In 1973 he changed majors and went to and graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute with a BFA in 1974 and an MFA in 1976. He was a commercial photographer for over twenty years. Finkleman was a credentialed teacher in both photography and animation, and had taught off and on for the last 47 years. He has written numerous feature articles on photography besides having had a regular column for Close-Up Magazine, now defunct. Finkleman has been in 131 exhibitions over the last 57 years of his career. He has been a Spoken Word Poet for the last 30+ years with numerous featured readings. Finkleman and his wife Susan Finkleman developed a Two Voice poetry series, which resulted in a Chapbook by Rattlesnake Press and two CDs. He finished his first Graphic Novel in 2023 titled Happy Tooth and is currently working on his second novel titled Trouble in the Troupe.

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, Robby Nykodym, and by members of the staff at the John Natsoulas Gallery. Your host will be Dr. Andy Jones, 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 7/23/25 edition of Dr. Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour:

Danielle Collins joins the program to discuss her journey as a burnout survivor. Because of her lived experience with burnout, Collins returned back to school to learn more about coaching others through the ongoing crisis. From their research, coaching experience, and their own journey, Collins wrote the book Work Comes Third:Eradicating Burnout in Overwhelmed Leaders and Their Weary Employees, a rally cry for those faced with burnout. Collins shares the themes of her book, explaining how to manage workloads and set boundaries with demanding bosses. The next guest on the show is Dave Boles, who reflects on his time at Cold River Press. Boles started the VOICES anthology to capture the art of Sacramento Valley region poets, and just published its newest iteration in 2025. Boles also details a special event celebrating the release, which is a five hour reading and potluck in Sacramento on July 26th. He shares two poems, “Circumstances” and a political poem “Inconsequential.”

Danielle Collins is a previous fundraiser and burnout survivor. She returned to school to pursue a career more aligned with her values and then founded Primavera Strategies for Wellbeing. Today, she is a coach, author, and speaker, helping dedicated leaders who are burning out to renew their passions. Danielle believes that burnout affects the most committed employees, not the weakest. Collins recently published her first book titled, Work Comes Third: Eradicating Burnout in Overwhelmed Leaders and Their Weary Employees. You can connect with her at PrimaveraStrategies.com.

Dave Boles has worked as an Alternative Publisher, Writer and Designer since 1982. Founder of the magazine Primal Urge, he also created The Sacramento Free Press and Cruisin' Magazine. He has published, designed, edited and written numerous books, magazines and articles both nationally and internationally. His publishing company, Cold River Press, has helped many new writers, artists, poets, illustrators and photographers further their careers.

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, Robby Nykodym, and by members of the staff at the John Natsoulas Gallery. Your host will be Dr. Andy Jones, 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 7/16/25 edition of Dr. Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour:

Dane Cervine joins the program to discuss how his meditative writing process has changed over time. He discusses the difference between his two recent releases, At Home in the [Burning] World, which reads like a nonfiction travel book, and Nine Volt Nirvana, a poetry collection. Cervine then shares samples of his work, a sample of Adela Najaro’s work, and praise for his and Adela’s writing group, Emerald Street Writers. Joseph Fasano is the next guest on the program. Fasano reflects on his training as a poet, and how it has led him to be apt to write his prose in multiple genres. He describes the importance of writing between tensions and trying to discover our wholeness as people through writing mediums. Fasano then reads a poem “Sudden Hymn in Winter,” before discussing what it means to write for other people versus just writing for other poets. Cervine also leads a discussion and shares praise for the late, great poet Andrea Gibson. The episode concludes Andrea Gibson's last reading and TV interview.

Dane Cervine’s recent books of poetry include Nine Volt Nirvana (Word Poetry Press), DEEP TRAVEL – At Home in the [Burning] World (Saddle Road Press), The World Is God’s Language (Sixteen Rivers Press), Earth Is a Fickle Dancer (Main Street Rag), and The Gateless Gate – Polishing the Moon Sword (Saddle Road Press). Dane’s poems have won awards from Adrienne Rich, Tony Hoagland, the Atlanta Review, Caesura, and been nominated for multiple Pushcarts.

Joseph Fasano is a poet and novelist whose works have been translated into more than a dozen languages. His most recent books include THE LAST SONG OF THE WORLD and THE MAGIC WORDS.

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, Robby Nykodym, and by 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 7/9/25 edition of Dr. Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour:

Jamil Jan Kochai joins the show to discuss his upcoming reading at CapLit and his recent release, The Haunting of Hajji Hotak. Kochai details how his writing about Afghanistan and Sacramento grow with distance and in parallel to each other. He also discusses the writing process more broadly, and how that encompasses being a receptive learner. The next guest on the show is Naomi J. Williams, who further details the genesis of CapLit and their upcoming events. Williams discusses how CapLit goes about choosing novels that could be interesting as performances. She also shares praise for Priya Balasubramanian, who is performing at CLARA with Jamil 7/18/24 at 7 P.M. The last guest on the hour is Eve Imagine, who imparts on a conversation surrounding her recent release of autofiction, Body In Script. Imagine shares a section from her, titled “Heart Murmur.” She then outlines upcoming events, including a live reading on Facebook next Friday with Miriam Dorsett, and Rock Art by the Bay this upcoming Saturday.

Jamil Jan Kochai is the author of 99 Nights in Logar (Viking, 2019), a finalist for the Pen/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel and the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. His second book, The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories (Viking, 2022), won the 2023 Aspen Words Literary Prize, the 2024 Clark Fiction Prize, and was a finalist for the 2022 National Book Award in Fiction. His short stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Ploughshares, Zoetrope, The Sewanee Review, VQR, and A Public Space, and they have been anthologized in The O. Henry Prize Stories, The Best American Short Stories, and A Century of Fiction in The New Yorker. He was a Truman Capote Fellow at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, and a Hodder Fellow at Princeton University. Kochai was born in an Afghan refugee camp in Peshawar, Pakistan, but his family originally hails from Logar, Afghanistan. He is a graduate of California State University, Sacramento, University of California, Davis, and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

Naomi J. Williams is the author of the novel Landfalls. Her short fiction and essays have appeared, most recently, in LitHub, Bourbon Penn, Electric Literature, the Brevity Blog, and the Sacramento Noir anthology. Honors include a Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories honorable mention, Best Horror of the Year recommendation, and artist residencies at Hedgebrook, Virginia Center for Creative Arts, Vermont Studio Center, Willapa Bay, and the Djerassi Resident Artists Program. She’s taught creative writing at UC Davis, Sacramento City College, Saint Mary’s College, and, since 2018, the low-residency MFA program at Ashland University in Ohio. A biracial Japanese-American, Naomi was born and partly raised in Japan and lives today in Sacramento, California.

Eve Imagine is a writer living in midtown Sacramento. She teaches English at Sacramento City College Working to get her first novel Body In Script in more readers’ hands.

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, Robby Nykodym, and by 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 7/2/25 edition of Dr. Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour:

Richard Loranger describes the creative panic that they have felt over the past couple years, taking on projects in many media, including podcasting and product naming. Along with these outlets, Loranger discusses writing in multiple genres and leading multiple workshops. Loranger shares three poems from an unpublished chapbook centered around the writing process, “The Truth,” “Your Body,” and “Bowery Poetry Club.” The next guest on the show is Jeffrey Bryant, the forthcoming author from Cherry Pie Press, which emerged from publisher Natasha Dennerstein in wake of the United States 2024 presidential election. Bryant then shares two poems titled “August Abade” and “Kissing and Kissing.” The last guest of the hour is Terry Tierney, who reflects on the release process of their most recent release Why Trees Stay Outside. Tierney states how he believes that everything has a voice, and that he tries to platform the voice of the natural world through environmental activism in his poetics. He then reads the title poem of the collection, “Why Trees Stay Outside.”

Richard Loranger is a multi-genre writer and spoken word artist who has been working around the United States for over forty years. He has done over 500 featured readings and performances from the Davis (CA) Jazz & Beat Festival to the main stage at Lollapalooza to The Bowery Poetry Club in New York. He leads writing workshops and offers a variety of literary services. He has work in over 100 journals and anthologies, and is the author of six books and ten chapbooks of poetry and flash prose.

Jeffrey Bryant is a Pushcart-nominated queer poet. His work has appeared in numerous publications including the LA Times, LA Weekly, Synkroniciti Magazine, Quill and Echo and Tension Literary, as well as the anthologies Coiled Serpent, Altadena Literary Review, Shadowplay Literary Journal and Sparring with Beatnik Ghosts. His debut collection The Catacombs of Vanished Lovers is forthcoming from Cherry Pie Press.

Terry Tierney is the author of the poetry collections Why Trees Stay Outside and The Poet’s Garage and the novels Lucky Ride and The Bridge on Beer River. His poems and stories recently appeared in The Bellevue Literary Review, Remington Review, Reed Magazine, Ghost Parachute, Flash Fiction Magazine, Rust + Moth, Typishly, Valparaiso Poetry Review, The Lake, and other publications. He lives in the Bay Area with his family, including two fluffy cats and an enthusiastic Golden Retriever. Website: http://terrytierney.com.

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, Robby Nykodym, and by 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. Our July 3 Poetry Night will be a Wide-Open Mic night.

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 6/11/25 edition of Dr. Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour:

The first guest on the hour is Nicolette Daskalakis, who joins the show to detail her career in the arts, which started as a high schooler at KDVS. Daskalakis reveals she was at one point the youngest ever staff member at the station, serving as the news director, before she went off to earn an undergraduate degree at USC and then to earn an MFA in France, impressively completed in the French language. Daskalakis details her inspirations for her most recent published poetry collection, Tell Me I'm Not On Fire (2024), before sharing a poem “Welcoming the Arsonist.” Dyson Kona Smith is the next guest of the hour, and he reflects on his undergraduate journey at UC Davis. Coming from Chicago, Illinois, Smith talks about his transition into academia and obtaining a multidisciplinary education. He shares praise for mentors, peers, and the campus-community radio station KDVS, before outlining the thematics of his senior thesis, Tomboy Ballet. Smith then reads three poems, “Duplex,” “Mine/Chicago,” and “Afterlife Poem.”

Born in the fog of San Francisco, Nicolette Daskalakis is a poet, filmmaker, and multidisciplinary artist based in Paris. Her writing has been anthologized by HarperCollins, nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and published in numerous literary journals. Nicolette is the author of multiple poetry books, including Tell Me I'm Not On Fire (2024) and Portrait of Your Ex Assembling Furniture (2018). She holds a BA in Film & Television Production from the USC School of Cinematic Arts and an MFA from the institut supérieur des arts et du design de Toulouse.

Dyson Smith is a recent Statistics, English, and Sociology Graduate from the University of California, Davis. He was awarded the Herbert A. Young Award as the College of Letters and Science’s Medalist, given to the graduating senior they determine the most outstanding. His honors thesis in Poetry, Tomboy Ballet recently won the Lois Ann Lattin prize for UC Davis’s Best Honors Creative Writing Project. Poems from the collection have been published in journals such as Open Ceilings, Poet News, GTFO Poetry’s 2024 Anthology of Sacramento Poets, Euphemism and The Madison Review. Beyond poetry, Dyson is a social statistician who wrote his research thesis on the association between social proximity to gun violence and chronic health conditions in California. He has worked on other projects pertaining to housing insecurity in Davis and deaths of despair among formerly incarcerated persons. In the past school year, Dyson was a Community-Coordinator and DJ at the campus and community radio station KDVS, a researcher at the UC Davis Innovations and Research Lab, the producer of Dr. Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour, a data analyst for Davis's Data Driven Change Club, and a submissions reader for the literary magazine Open Ceilings. His mom owned a bike shop in Chicago.

June 20th we will be taking a Summer Break from Poetry Night. Please plan to join us on every subsequent first and third Thursday of the month at 7PM at the John Natsoulas Gallery for the Poetry Night Reading Series.

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 6/4/25 edition of Dr. Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour:

Heather Bourbeau joins the show to discuss her most recent release, Monarch, detailing that she spends a lot of time outside to better understand the protective lands which she writes about. Bourbeau then reads two poems, “Consequences: Cascades that Skew National Monuments,” and “Steelhead at Devil’s Gulch.” The next guest on the show is Tim Kerbavaz, who joins the show to recount his career as a Technical Producer and founder of Talon AV. He discusses his experiences building a queer-owned business in Yolo County, and the importance of small businesses supporting community-driven events like Davis Pride. Guests Morgan Strong and Breanna Garman finish the show representing events and ongoing showcases in the UC Davis Art Studio department, including their joint exhibit “Kindred Spirits” and the June 6th Art Walk from 12-3 P.M.

Heather Bourbeau’s award-winning poetry and fiction have appeared in The Irish Times, The Kenyon Review, and The Stockholm Review of Literature. Her writings are part of the Special Collections at the James Joyce Library, University College Dublin, and her latest poetry collection, Monarch, examines overlooked histories from the US West (Cornerstone Press, 2023). Much of her creative work is influenced by her work as a researcher, analyst, and writer with various UN agencies, including the UN peacekeeping mission in Liberia and UNICEF Somalia. In addition, she is a winter wildlife docent at Point Reyes National Seashore and organizes the annual Reyes the Pen writing workshop. She is currently working on a poetry collection about protected lands in the Western United States.

Tim Kerbavaz is the Founder and Principal Technical Producer at Talon Audio Visual, a Yolo-County Based Technical Production Agency which he founded 15 years ago in a college bedroom in Davis. As a Technical Producer, Tim manages the behind the scenes tools and processes that enable live events to bring people together, with a focus on connectivity and accessibility solutions for live events. Talon AV is proud to be providing audio and production support to Davis Pride for the 11th consecutive year, this Saturday, June 7, in Davis Community Park.

Breanna Garman is a 4th year UC Davis student soon to graduate with degrees in both Art Studio and Applied Chemistry. Garman serves as the programming director and a longtime DJ at the campus and community radio station KDVS.

Morgan Strong is an interdisciplinary artist specializing in printmaking and visual art. Strong is an Undergraduate at UC Davis, Radio DJ at KDVS, and an artist who aims to experiment ruthlessly, use water as a reservoir, exhibitions as community, discursive questions to disrupt patterns of complacency, and her intuition as a compass.

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, Robby Nykodym, and by 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. Our June 5 Poetry Night will feature poets and authors Heather Bourbeau and Andrea Ross.

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.