Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,
I’ve spent the entire weekend at the San Francisco Writers Conference. I chaired or presented formally at 10 panels over four days, and hosted three evening poetry readings, including a raucous open mic that featured a live jazz trio (with whom I got to play my bongos). I’ve made close friends and valuable contacts at the conference over the last decade, and always relish the opportunity to learn more about the publishing industry. Michael Larsen and Elizabeth Pomada, the San Francisco literary agents who produce and host the event, are beloved heroes of the west-coast literary scene, even while the rapid changes in publishing – towards self-publishing and ebooks, and away from the New York publishers, sometimes called “legacy” publishers – complicate the work and livelihood of agents. Nowhere else can one find such gracious hosts.
My favorite moments of the conference involved interactions with the poets. Fifth-generation Davisite and third-generation UC Davis faculty member Brad Henderson was there, reading from his new ebook The Blue Devil. As you might guess, Brad is also a Davis High alum. Other terrific poets at the event included Brian Felsen, Matthew Zapruder (a contemporary of mine in DC who I’ve just met for the first time), Aya de Leon, Micah Ballard and especially Arisa White. Some of the poets at the conference have also appeared at the Poetry Night Reading Series here in Davis, including Joan Gelfand, Indigo Moor, and Mary Mackey. I include all their names here with the hope that you will look them up.
At SFWC I also learned even more about social media marketing, especially from Rusty Shelton, the Austin-based thought-leader in micromedia who offered to help Kate and me publicize the book we’re publishing next month about raising our son Jukie. I think Rusty appreciated that we are donating all the profits from book sales to the Smith-Lemli-Opitz Foundation. More on that in future newsletters.
Tonight’s Pub Quiz will feature questions on the Quizmaster Twitter account, Greek gods, Valentine’s Day (late), scientific slogans, Santa Claus, Toy Story, pens and sponges, men with hats, roses, Olympic coaches, US Presidents, noise, games, delicious desserts, great films, poet laureates that inhabit color, proper names that are not Kane, gangsters, dead birds, Italians, the sympathies of ash, islands that are not men, long lives, Frenchmen of the 17th century, the example of Mercy, Dukes, first choices, female leads, chocolate, and Shakespeare. There will also be a couple current-events questions that I haven’t written yet.
I hope you have been enjoying some time off this holiday. Consider taking a nap so that you are fresh and sharp for tonight’s Pub Quiz!
Your Quizmaster
https://www.yourquizmaster.com
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Here are five questions from last week’s quiz:
- Mottos and Slogans. The UNCF tells us that “a mind is a terrible thing to waste.” What do the letters UNCF stand for?
- Internet Culture. What is the length of those automated “Look Back” movies that Facebook created for everyone who cared to investigate them? Are they closest to 30, 60, or 120 seconds?
- Newspaper Headlines. We learned last Thursday of the closure this coming summer of which one of the following ebook retailers/ devices? Kindle, Kobo, Nook, Sony Reader.
- Four for Four. Which two of the following four actresses were born in Hawaii? Jane Fonda, Nicole Kidman, Bette Midler, Sofia Vergara.
- Star Wars Anagram. The first letters of the first names of Leia Organa’s mother, father, and grandmother together spell the name of a place where you’d never find Darth Vader. Name it.
P.S. This coming Thursday one of California’s most dynamic poets, Francisco X. Alarcon, will be performing with other poets at another meeting of the Poetry Night Reading Series. We start at 8 PM at the Natsoulas Gallery at 1st and E Streets, and you are invited. Details at http://www.poetryindavis.com.