Photo by Ed Aust. See Ed's profile on the Artists page.

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Events

Ongoing, 7 artists from Artists Connect have a group show at Burlap Coffee, 511 40th St. Oakland, Ca. Please patronize Burlap Coffee during these challenging times. Regular hours: M-Sat 8:00 am. -6:00 pm.  Sun. 8:00 am. -5:00 pm.

In April , Artists Connect meeting. An informal, open gathering of East Bay artists to connect and support each other. Stayed tuned for location, date and time. It's always inspiring to exchange ideas, resources and encouragement.

Artists Connect group show ongoing at Burlap Coffee, 511 40th St. Oakland. See Events listing above.

At Artists Connect during a discussion of making a living doing art: "My first goal is to pay for my habit" Janis Anton

"Horizon", painting by Michelle Fillmore.

November Artists Connect gathering at Burlap Cafe, Oakland. Always inspiring. See "Events" listing above for information about the next gathering.

"Water on Railing", photo by Ed Aust. See Ed's profile in the "Artists" page.

Mission of Past and Present Media

Past and Present Media is a platform for arts, culture and history of the East Bay and beyond. Treat this website as you would a gallery. Meander through it and see what pulls you in. Come back later and see what's new. If you like an artist visit their site. Support these artists by buying their art or going to an event. Support us supporting local artists by making a contribution, however small, to Past and Present Media. 

**New Poem from James Cagney's "Black Steel Magnolias in the Hour of Chaos Theory." **

Vigil For Vespers - Opus No. 38
 
what if each star were a flame fountaining
beneath an onyx teepee
elder tongues in a whisper of moth wings
licking the flames with stories
 
the endless equations calibrated on nights chalkboard
the pulse point of planets scattered along the topographical
map of the sky’s arachnid body
spinning out combinations of constellations
 
a tarot of planets unlocking red flaked memories
abandoned and rusting beneath the sweet
drizzle of attention
 
bet the coins between corpses teeth all the hoaxes
of love dissolve to moon dust back home
 
the milky way is here because i am here
and it is well worth crying over
my offering in a rising swarm of tears
ghostly embers of dead stars
 
i am less a crumb on the lip of the lake
how its tongue sleepwalks a language
night often mistranslates in dreams
 
the harmonic choir of cutthroat trout
sounds cribbed from the pages of Rachmaninoff’s
lost rhapsody -- a tragedy of silence
 
lulling me into this all-night vigil for vespers
and its uneasy correspondence with gravity
 
its hard to lie quietly in the unmade bed of a prehistoric crater
with its sweet sheets of sage brush
and not consider love’s offices bankrupt and ridiculed back home

Poet- James Cagney

Watercolor on Paper, Julie Cohn. J

Jonathan Taylor, "Tulip and Shadow". See Jonathan's profile on the Artists Page.

Poet James Cagney reads at the "East Bay Vision" show, at the Piedmont Center for the Arts. James new book of poetry, "Black Steel Magnolias in the Hour of Chaos Theory" is available. See graphic of his book cover above.

James Cagney's new book of poetry, "Black Steel Magnolias in the Hour of Chaos Theory", available through Nomadic Press. (Clink on Nomadic Press to order book).

Valeria Brown Troutt- "The Blues Wore a Church Dress", Mixed Media, See Valerie's profile on the Artists Page

West Oakland, 1950s., San Pablo Ave. & Filbert St. Uploaded to Oakland History Facebook page by Philip Duhe

ACME House of Music sells guitars and other instruments, hosts music classes and has a cool variety of vintage stereo gear. 4444 Piedmont Ave., 510- 655-2263  ACME House of music is a supporter of local arts and Past and Present Media. Please patronize them!

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