NEWS & EVENTS

Meditations on Divine Names

Moonrise Press has published an anthology of divinely-inspired poetry, edited by Maja Trochimczyk and dedicated to multi-cultural perspectives on the divine. The volume includes 138 poems by 63 poets and will be soon available from all major book sellers. More information is on the Moonrise Press Blog and on the Meditations on Divine Names book site.

New Book on Music: Gorecki in Context

Moonrise Press is currently preparing Maja Trochimczyk's collection of essays entitled Gorecki in Context and including interviews with Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki, and studies of Gorecki's music in a broad cultural context by Anna Maslowiec, Ivan Jimenez, Maja Trochimczyk, and others. More information is on the book's site: Gorecki in Context

YouTube Channel for Moonrise Press

A recently created YouTube video channel for Moonrise Press features video excerpts from various poetry readings by Maja Trochimczyk, including the following poems:

  • The Arms of Mercy, Poetry Audio Tour of the Pacific Asia Museum, August 22, 2009. http://www.youtu.be/52p-lWq2zxU

  • Ascension (A Memorial Poem) dedicated to Barbara Koziel-Gawronski (1946-2009), read at the Passing of the Laurels Ceremony, McGroarty Arts Center, Tujunga, California, April 25, 2010: http://youtu.be/9gB9Yj9acaM

  • Claremont Concert, read at the Passing of the Laurels Ceremony, McGroarty Arts Center, Tujunga, California, April 25, 2010, published in poeticdiversity.org vol. 8 no. 2 (August 2008): http://youtu.be/ceX1_IWZW4Q

  • Illuminata, Pacific Asia Museum Audio Tour, with Rick Wilson, flute, recorded at Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, August 22, 2009, also posted on the museum's website and published in the "Poetry Audio Tour" chapbook, Poets on Site, Pasadena, 2009: http://youtu.be/mbiIMszaLwY

  • Illuminata, written for Pacific Asia Museum Audio Tour, version read at the Passing of the Laurels Ceremony, McGroarty Arts Center, Tujunga, California, April 25, 2010: http://youtu.be/Bst2kYh8ciM

  • 'Look at me...' , inspired by Ella Fitzgerald's "Misty" and a Sunday drive to a Buddhist orchard. The first reading as Poet Laureate of Sunland-Tujunga, at Bolton Hall Museum, Tujunga, California, May 23, 2010: http://youtu.be/TJzzOId3KCY

  • A Magnolia Courtryard for Pacific Asia Museum Audio Tour, with Rick Wilson, flute, recorded at Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, August 22, 2009, also posted on the museum’s website and published in the “Poetry Audio Tour” chapbook, Poets on Site, Pasadena, 2009: http://youtu.be/1kOTn11xa1I

  • Mountain Watch, at the first reading as Poet Laureate of Sunland-Tujunga, introduced by Joe DeCenzo, at Bolton Hall Museum, Tujunga, California, May 23, 2010: http://www.youtu.be/MxlahG639pY

  • An Ode of the Lost, dedicated to Adam Mickiewicz and all Polish exiles. The first reading as Poet Laureate of Sunland-Tujunga, at Bolton Hall Museum, Tujunga, California, May 23, 2010: http://youtu.be/LWSOufEAk30

  • Of the Mountains, inspired by a painting by Bill Anderson, "Foothill Rancho Cucamonga, Cliff Road" and read at "Three Generations" Exhibition, APC Gallery Torrance, California, July 26, 2008: http://youtu.be/TL3oXxJC-Bg

  • Passing of the Laurels Ceremony for the Sixth Poet Laureate of Sunland Tujunga, with Joe DeCenzo, McGroarty Arts Center, Tujunga, California, April 25, 2010. Includes reading of two short poems from "Miriam's Iris" ("Of the Mountains" and "Of Bliss"): temporarily unavailable

  • A Portrait in Brackets (Eidetic Reduction) at the first reading as Poet Laureate of Sunland-Tujunga, at Bolton Hall Museum, Tujunga, California, May 23, 2010: http://youtu.be/eFhVhOAxbxM

  • Point San Vincente, inspired by Milford Zornes's painting of the same title. "Three Generations" Exhibition, APC Gallery, Torrance, California, July 26, 2008: http://www.youtu.be/jLai-H7wf5A

  • Selected love poems from Rose Always - A Court Love Story, poems no. 12, 13, 20, 52. The first reading as Poet Laureate of Sunland-Tujunga, at Bolton Hall Museum, Tujunga, California, May 23, 2010: http://youtu.be/k5W-X6mEygM

  • A Study with Cherries, from the "Chopin with Cherries" anthology (Moonrise Press, 2010), read at Kathabela and Rick Wilsons’ poetry salon, Pasadena, August 8, 2009: http://www.youtu.be/ljaCVn9NZqI

  • Stravinsky's Venice, inspired by Bill Anderson"s painting Venice, Italy. "Three Generations" Exhibition, APC Gallery, Torrance, California, July 26, 2008: http://youtu.be/hh6SWgsX09c

  • What I love in Sunland, the first reading as Poet Laureate of Sunland-Tujunga, at Bolton Hall Museum, Tujunga, California, May 23, 2010: http://youtu.be/I1DFKCDZ83s

Pushcart Prize Nominations

Moonrise Press nominated the following poets whose work appeared in the Chopin with Cherries anthology for Pushcart Prize 2010.

We are proud to present the following Pushcart Prize 2010 nominees:

  • Lia Brooks for "During Nocturne"
  • Elizabeth Murawski for "Polonaise"
  • Diane Shipley DeCillis for "Postcards of Home and Homesick"
  • Sharon Chmielarz for "Chopin: Apples"
  • Katrin Talbot for "It's been a tough symphony week," and
  • Leonard Kress for "The Piano of Chopin," a translation of Cyprian Kamil Norwid's poem "Fortepian Szopena"

Congratulations to all the poets! The Pushcart Prize and publication in the annual collection of the best poetry published by small presses and literary journals nationwide has become one of the most prestigious honors in the poetry field. The nominations are made by editors and publishers who select the best of the best from amongst the work that they have published during the past year.

A New Review of "Chopin with Cherries"

REVIEW BY CHRISTOPHER WOODS: "For those who have been moved by the music of Fryderyk Chopin, this new international anthology will be a treat... One breathtaking aspect of the anthology is the diversity of voices, both stylistically and geographically... [Among] the striking aspects of the anthology is the way in which the editor, Polish born Maja Trochimczyk, arranges the various sections, not only by musical forms, but also into sections like beauty and death, words that often come to mind when considering Chopin’s life, his passions and his early demise." Christopher Woods in Contemporary World Literature 5 (Feburary 2011).

About Rose Always by Maja Trochimczyk
  • "I'm enormously impressed by what Maja Trochimczyk has achieved. I note that she has been working for over 11 years on this very complex work, with its many layers of meaning and allusion. Her facility in writing about the innumerable nuances of love (naturally enough from a very feminine viewpoint) is simply breathtaking. Reading Rose Always is an exhilarating experience, even if I am sure that I have not always understood all of its subtleties."
    ~ Tom Berman, Israel (scientist and poet, author of Shards and Rambles)

  • "Maja's work is very sensitive, engaged in love and poetry, specific and imagistic, bold, courageous, still and beautiful. Love should not be made up, it should be real, as it is here..."
    ~ Radomir Luza, Los Angeles (poet, writer, and actor)

Chopin with Cherries - Fall 2010 Events

  • November 13, 2010 - Chopin with Cherries Anthology Reading at Loyola University, Chicago, part of Chopin & Paderewski 2010 Conference.

  • September 25, 2010, at 1 p.m. - Chopin Lecture, Recital and Poetry Reading at Polish Fest LA, Adams Blvd., Los Angeles, featuring poets Maja Trochimczyk Mira N. Mataric and Lois P. Jones. www.polishfestla.com

  • September 12, 2010 at 3 p.m. - Chopin with Cherries Anthology Reading at Beyond Baroque, Venice, CA with Maja Trochimczyk, anthology editor, Rick Wilson, flute (historical crystal glass and ivory flutes) and sixteen poets, appearing in person: Marlene Hitt, Georgia Jones-Davis, Lois P. Jones, Marie Lecrivain, R. Romea Luminarias, Radomir Vojtech Luza, Rick Lupert, Mira Matric, Ruth Nolan, Marilyn Robertson, Susan Rogers, Kathi Stafford, Taoli Ambika Talwar, Maja Trochimczyk, Kathabela Wilson, and Erika Wilk. chopinwithcherries.blogspot.com

Chopin with Cherries - A New Blog

The "Chopin with Cherries" Blog, recently created by the editor, Maja Trochimczyk, at chopinwithcherries.blogspot.com, is dedicated to topics associated with the anthology of poetry of the same title, the presence and meaning of Chopin's music in contemporary world, and the intersections of music and poetry that his art inspired. The first two posts introduce the book and discuss Emma Lazarus's "Chopin." Another copy of the blog is on Open Salon" open.salon.com/blog/chopin_with_cherries. See us in the blogosphere!

Reviews of "Chopin with Cherries"
    Chopin with Cherries: A Tribute in Verse
    An anthology of poetry edited by Maja Trochimczyk. This volume celebrates the 200th birth anniversary of a Polish pianist-composer, Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849) in a selection of 123 poems by 92 contemporary poets, mostly based in America. The highlights include the first English translation of Norwid's Fortepian Szopena by Leonard Kress. Read more about this anthology.

    Published in February 2010.
    ISBN 978-0-9819693-0-5.
    Paperback Edition - $23.00 or
    PDF Download - $8.00.
SEPTEMBER REVIEW: "In Poland, June is the month for Bing cherries (czeresnie) and July for sour cherries (wisnie), but it is Chopin season year-round, especially in 2010, the 200th anniversary of the birth of the great composer. Maja Trochimczyk, Polish American music historian, poet and photographer, decided to celebrate Chopin's birthday in an unconventional manner: with 123 poems by 92 poets, gathered together into a handsomely produced and exciting new anthology." From a review by Elizabeth Kanski, in Polish American Journal, September 2010, p. 21.

MAY REVIEW: "What is most striking about this verse tribute is how deftly the editor weaves together the various themes, treatments and styles within the volume, meticulously detailed in the introduction and then presented format-wise in the book... All in all, I am immensely pleased with how this anthology turned out. In fact, it exceeded my expectations, because it is so comprehensive and cohesive. The poems are fascinatingly diverse in voice, topic, content, and style, and the poems reveal such richly individualistic interpretations of Chopin's powerful pathos. . . "Chopin with Cherries" is an anthology to treasure as intimately as one might cherish Chopin's compositions. From a review by Alison Ross, in Clockwise Cat, May 2010

FEBRUARY REVIEW: "Maja Trochimczyk's Chopin with Cherries... is a masterful celebration of this composer and the complex range of emotions, impressions, memories, and dreams his music evokes... Finally, let me say that I cannot remember reading an anthology of poems centered around a single-theme that I liked more. The poems Maja Trochimczyk has gathered together to commemorate Chopin's 200th birthday are inspiring and exhilarating, as I have already noted, and - I don't know how else to say this - fun to read." From a review by John Z. Guzlowski in The Cosmopolitan Review 2 no. 1 (Spring 2010).

Guzlowski's essay in The Cosmopolitan Review is accompanied by a selection of poems from the book including works by: Kerri Buckley, Ryan McLellan, Rick Lupert, Elizabeth Murawski, Ruth Nolan, William Pillin, Katrin Talbot, and Maja Trochimczyk.

Other Book Reviews


    Miriam's Iris, or Angels in the Garden, Poetry and Photography by Maja Trochimczyk. A new review of this collection of 60 poems was published by G. Murray Thomas, in the February issue of poetix.net.

    You may read a sample of poems and see selected photographs here. Published in 2008. Paperback ($12.40): ISBN 978-0-578-00166-1. Hardcover with Color Photos ($48.00):
    ISBN 978-0-9819693-2-9
    PDF Download in Color ($10.00):
    ISBN 978-0-9819693-2-9

"Rarely does one find a book of poetry which holds together as well as Miriam's Iris. Although presented as a collection of individual poems, it reads like it was composed as a whole, as a single poem of multiple parts. . . Miriam's Iris is a strong demonstration of how poetry can evoke emotion without getting bogged down in the details of one's affairs. Along the way it provides some wisdom about finding one's place, accepting what one is given." (G. Murray Thomas, Poetix.net, Feburary 2010)


EVENTS

Chopin with Cherries - Readings and Concerts

  • Chopin with Cherries Anthology Reading at Loyola University, Chicago, November 13, 2010, part of Chopin & Paderewski 2010 Conference. With poets: Sharon Chmielarz, Gretchen Fletcher, George Bodmer, Ben Humphrey, Katrin Talbot and Maja Trochimczyk. The photographs from the event are posted in a Picasa Web Album.


    • Poets at Chopin Poetry Reading, Loyola University Chicago, November 13, 2010: Sharon Chmielarz, Gretchen Fletcher, George Bodmer, Ben Humphrey, Katrin Talbot. Kathabela and Rick Wilson, and Maja Trochimczyk

  • Chopin with Cherries: Anthology Reading at Polish Festival Los Angeles, Our Lady of the Bright Mount Parish Hall, Adams Blvd. Los Angeles, CA, September 25, 2010. With poets: Mira Mataric, Lois P. Jones, and Susan Rogers.

  • Chopin with Cherries II: An Evening of Poetry and Music. Ruskin Art Club, Los Angeles, CA, Saturday, May 8, 2010, 7 p.m. Chopin recital by eminent Polish pianist Dr. Wojciech Kocyan with readings by poets from around the country. With a polonaise dance lesson by a Polish dance expert, Edward Hoffmann.

    • Maja Trochimczyk, Wojciech Kocyan, choreographer Edward Hoffman, May 2010

    Chopin with Cherries II: Poetry and Music at the Ruskin, May 8, 2010, Ruskin Art Club, Los Angeles. L-R: Pianist Wojciech Kocyan, Maja Trochimczyk and choreographer Edward Hoffman. The poetry reading and concert by pianist Wojciech Kocyan was hosted by Maja Trochimczyk, editor and featured 14 poets: Gretchen Fletcher, Millicent Borges Accardi, Georgia Jones-Davis, Donna Emerson, Erika Wilk, Laura Mays Hoopes, Mira Mataric, Maja Trochimczyk, Kath Abela Wilson, Kathi Stafford, Marian Kaplun Shapiro, Beata Pozniak Daniels, Taoli-Ambika Talwar, and Susan Rogers. The festivities ended with a polonaise to Chopin's music, led by Edward Hoffman, choreographer of the Krakusy Polish Folk Dance Ensemble. See more photos at Chopin II Photo Album

    Location: Ruskin Art Club, 800 South Plymouth Avenue, Los Angeles, California, 90005.

    See a pdf flyer with more information: Chopin at the Ruskin



  • Chopin with Cherries I: An Evening of Poetry and Music. South Pasadena Library Auditorium, 1115 El Centro St., South' Pasadena, CA, 91030; Sunday, April 11, 2010, 6 p.m. Reading by poets from around the country with Chopin's music played by special guest artist, American pianist, Dr. Neil Galanter, students of Prof. Roza Yoder from Azusa Pacific University. Location: South Pasadena Public Library, 1115 El Centro St., South Pasadena, California 91030.

    Some poets and musicians at the Chopin with Cherries I: An Evening of Poetry and Music, South Pasadena Library Auditorium, April 11, 2010 (L-R): pianists Kristi Chiou, Stacy Chiou, and Anna Nizghorodtseva, poet Russell Salamon, pianists Dr. Neil Galanter and Sue Zhou, poets Mira N. Mataric, Erika Wilk, Lois P. Jones, Kathabela Wilson, Marilyn N. Robertson, Rick Lupert, and Radomir Luza. Seated: poets Maja Trochimczyk, Susan Rogers, artist Monique Lehman, and poet Peggy Castro.


  • Concert of Romantic Music, Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, CA, Tuesday, Feburary 16, 2010, 7:30p.m. With Roza Yoder, Director. Piano music performed by APU students. Readings from Chopin with Cherries by Maja Trochimczyk and local poets.

    Location: Munson Recital Hall (MUNS), Munson Chapel, East Campus, Azusa Pacific University, 901 E. Alosta Ave. Azusa, CA 91702. Free.


    Poets at Azusa Pacific University's "Fryderyk Chopin in Music and Poetry," February 16, 2010. Erika Wilk, Mira Mataric, Susan Rogers, Taoli-Ambika Talwar and Maja Trochimczyk read their poems from Chopin with Cherries.

  • Bicentennial Chopin Celebration, Colburn School of Music, Los Angeles, CA, Saturday, February 27, 2010, 8 p.m. With eminent pianists John Perry, Wojciech Kocyan and actress Jane Kaczmarek reading poems from Chopin with Cherries. Presented by the Paderewski Music Society and Helena Modjeska Polish Arts and Culture Club. All proceeds will be used to support the first International Paderewski Piano Competition in California, May 2010. Tickets $25.00. More information

    Location: Colburn School of Performing Arts, Zipper Concert Hall, 200 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012

  • 3rd International Chopin Congress, Warsaw, Poland, February 25 - March 1, 2010. Congress organized by Fryderyk Chopin Institute and the University of Warsaw. The official presentation of the book during Maja Trochimczyk's paper: "From 'Eternal Eloquence' to 'What Does he Know' - Images of Chopin in English-language Poetry."

    Location: University of Warsaw Old Library, Warszawa, ul. Krakowskie Przedmiescie 26/28, Poland.


    Maja Trochimczyk with Prof. Irena Poniatowska, organizer of the Chopin Congress, February 28, 2010, Warsaw, Poland. See more pictures in the Chopin Congress Photo Album (Picasa web albums).


    Other Events
  • February 7, 2010 - Beyond Baroque, Venice, CA. Reading by Maja Trochimczyk (featured poet), with selections from Miriam's Iris, Rose Always and Chopin with Cherries

  • August 2, 2009 - Kath Abela's Poetry Salon, Pasadena, Chopin with Cherries Lecture and Book Project Presentation

  • May 23, 2009 - Memorial Day Weekend Small Press Festival, 10:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., The Church in Ocean Park, 235 Hill St. Santa Monica, CA 90405. Reading and Moonrise Press presentation.

  • September 12, 2008 - Semi-staged reading from Rose Always by Maja Trochimczyk, Pasadena Central Library, Walnut St., Pasadena, CA.



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