"An Afternoon of Finnish American Poetry" to be heard in Berkeley

"An Afternoon of Finnish-American Poetry" with Paula Erkkila, Johanna Rauhala, Bill Vartnaw, and Don Hagelberg will be heard on Sunday, Oct. 24 at 2pm, at Finnish Kaleva Hall, 1970 Chestnut St. (at University Ave), Berkeley, CA, in the hall's downstairs meeting room.

The poems will be read in English, with some translated work read bilingually. Sponsor of this reading, the first such poetry recital held by the Berkeley Finnish community in decades, is the United Finnish Kaleva Brothers and Sisters, Berkeley Lodge 21. Hosts for the day will be Gina Hansen and Harry Siitonen.

An Open Microphone invitation will follow the initial reading with five minutes alloted per reader in order of signing up. Light refreshments will be available.

For Information, contact: 510-849-0125, or latoja86@hotmail.com.



The Finnish community's readers that day are all accomplished writers. We find their achievements exciting, as seen in their biographical notes below:

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Paula Erkkila attributes her passion for writing poems, essays, and short stories to the influence of her pioneering immigrant parents. Her father, who worked as an underground iron miner for 40 years, always dreamt of having a farm, but had to settle for his vegetable and flower gardens. He was noted for his humorous story-telling . Her mother, who was a very resourceful and competent emäntä of their household, was a proud member of the Knights and Ladies of the Kaleva. She instilled in Paula a love of Finnish mythology and Finnish and Russian culture. Paula has been published in the Sampo and Connecting Souls anthologies, and in the New World Finn and Raivaaja newspapers. Paula, who is a retired community psychiatrist, describes herself as a romantic adventuress and nature lover, who enjoys expressing her creativity through writing, singing, dancing, and gardening. She honors and treasures her nature-loving, ancestor-worshipping, shamanistic, animistic, and totemistic Finnish roots, as well as the strong cooperative and labor traditions that Finns brought to America. Her Americanness is deeply steeped in California's counter-cultural renaissance, whose movements and contributions she is very proud to embrace.

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Johanna Rauhala received her MA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University, where she studied under poet Camille Dungy. She's been published in The Squaw Review, Raivaaja, The Sun, and recently won second place in Kippis magazine's annual creative writing contest. She's been teaching in California public schools for over 15 years and has been nominated for California League of Middle Schools Teacher of the Year, a CHADDO (Children/Adults with ADD) Outstanding Teacher, and the Mt. Diablo Unified School District teacher of the year. She enjoys reading, history, wildflowers, cooking, music and spending time with her daughter, husband and friends.

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Bill Vartnaw (Estonian, Väärtnou) was born and raised in Petaluma, next door to his grandmother Elmi, and her sauna, although it wasn't used much by the grandkids. His Aunt Hilma, who took the bus up from the city and read his fortune with tea leaves when he was a kid, kept in touch with the "old country." He took his first sauna in Finland (at Aunt Sylvi's in Sysmä) in 1970 and has returned a couple of times since then to share his cousins' saunas. He established Taurean Horn Press in San Francisco in 1974, which has published 14 books of poetry, including his own: In Concern: for Angels (1984). Vartnaw has had two publications come out in 2009: Suburbs of My Childhood from Beatitude Press in Berkeley, and Postcards from Round Barn Press in Santa Rosa. He can be found online at the Red Room, http//www.redroom.com/author/bill-vartnaw.

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Don Hagelberg has been a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, almost always, since 1947. "Getting rid of 'Jim Crow' in the movies sparked me to do social justice." On Nov. 22, 1963, he sat at his pre-induction physical exam. Don walked out of the center, phoned his Draft Board office an hour after he was required to report for service and served 1964-1965 in prison for his refusal to be drafted. He attempted higher education but only was able to complete Creative Writing courses with satisfaction. In 1974 he created, produced and hosted "Live Poets," a two-hour radio program broadcast weekly on a listener-supported Bay Area station. A founding member of the Bay Area Poets' Coalition (BAPC), he supported the organization in trying to get dental insurance for its members as well as supporting its members' guerrilla poetry readings on BART's rapid transit trains. The break-up of a special relationship coincided with his 1981 breakdown. "She refused to annotate her poetry for easier understanding. She also refused to get treatment for her illness. I miss her." He got into recovery for his dual diagnosis. He approaches his 30th year in recovery and still writes and works for social justice. He has been published in The Oakland Tribune, Exit #13, New World Finn and in Vintage Voice. He has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, won third prize in the International Poetry 2008 competition, and won first prize in the Winter 2009 Kippis competition. He has appeared on numerous radio stations with his poetry: KPFA, KGO, KSRO, in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as on KKHO in the Tacoma-Seattle area.

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Do come and join us on Sun., Oct 24. You won't be disappointed!

--- Harry Siitonen, Berkeley, CA