Literary readings serve as potluck dinners for writers. Yes, the refreshment tables tantalize us and occasionally satiate, but the real feast is the words of fellow writers which nourish us, comfort us, and invigorate us.

What a pleasure to indulge yesterday on the citric words of fellow contributors to Orangelandia: The Literature of Inland Citrus at the Riverside Barnes and Noble. I so enjoyed hearing again many of this anthology’s works read by their creators and nibbling on a piece of the English shortbread made by Marion Mitchell-Wilson. Gayle Brandeis left the Inland Empire with such a legacy through this collection she edited.

If you’re shopping online for holiday presents at Barnes and Noble before November 26th, use Inlandia Institute‘s identification code (11484482) and a portion of your purchase will be given to support this non-profit arts group that offers writing workshops, readings, and so much more.

Today, I read for the first time at Fourth Sundays: Poetry at the Claremont Library. I think I counted nearly twenty poets who read to a full room. I was particularly touched by the post-reading conversations where poets shared the stories of the personal events that inspired their poems.

Serendipitously, the event was not only a great gathering of poets for an open mic, but also an annual holiday party complete with refreshments, a choice of a complementary book of poetry, and the opportunity to purchase more bargain-priced books in support of the Claremont Library, just finishing its hundredth year of service to the city. I took away Tony Hoagland’s Unincorporated Persons in the Late Honda Dynasty, Michael Chitwood’s Poor-Mouth Jubilee and four other great titles. I’m grateful for a feast of poems to enjoy over my Thanksgiving break.