In celebration of the Benicia City Council’s recent unanimous vote to direct staff to pursue the framing of an Industrial Safety Ordinance, Mary Susan Gast has shared her adaptation of the lyrics to the song “Air.” She notes, “In the summer of 1970 I was offered the role of Jeanie in the Detroit production of Hair. I declined, but I’ve always wanted to sing Jeanie’s song from that musical. Here is my variation from 2018 on Jerome Ragni and Jim Rado’s composition from 1968.”
AIR
Welcome! sulphur dioxide, Hello! hydrogen sulfide,
The air, the air
Is everywhere—
Breathe deep, while you sleep,
Breathe deep.
Bless you, particulate matter,
Oxides of nitrogen scatter
Benzene, benzene
Is in the air—
Breathe deep, while you sleep,
Breathe deep.
Cataclysmic emissions,
Invisible toxic conditions,
Vapor and fume
From a towering plume,
Breathing in that sullen perfume
Sends us to the emergency room.
Welcome! sulphur dioxide,
Hello! hydrogen sulfide,
The air, the air
Is everywhere.
Breathe deep, while you sleep,
Breathe deep,
Deep, deep, deep-da-[cough cough]deep.
Adapted by Mary Susan Gast from Jerome Ragni and Jim Rado’s “Air”
Here’s some details on Sunday’s “Benicia Our Home” program and information that may be of help to those not familiar with the Clock Tower. This is a once in a decade – or a lifetime – Benicia event – don’t miss it!
“Benicia Our Home” This Sunday, June 25, 3 p.m. at the Benicia Clock Tower
The program starts at 3 p.m.
Premier showing of video “Benicia Our Home” AND “The Making of Benicia Our Home”
Overview of Benicia Poetry during the past three years of challenge and crisis
California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick—Vision for poetry in our communities
MC Mary Susan Gast, outgoing Benicia Poet Laureate
Benicia “ZipOdes” sprinkled throughout
When you arrive at the Clock Tower
You will be greeted at the entrance and directed to the 2nd floor auditorium. You can take the stairs or the elevator.
When you enter the auditorium, please stop at the nametag table.
Sign the copy of Yearning To Breathe Free that we will present as a gift to California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick.
Enjoy the art display – Benicia Artists, Scenes of Benicia
Books of Herrick’s poetry, along with Yearning To Breathe Free, will be available for sale.
Driving Directions to the Clock Tower, 1189 Washington St
From I 780
Take exit 5 toward Central Benicia/E. Second St.
Turn left toward downtown Benicia on E 2nd St. at the end of the exit ramp.
Continue on E 2nd St for about half a mile and turn left onto Military East at stoplight.
Follow Military East .8 miles to Adams St. Adams St. verges to the left; make the slight left turn onto Adams. (It is really a slight left, not a 45 degree hard left.)
Follow Adams Street .3 miles to a stop sign. To the left is a big sign, “Johannson Square, Commandant’s Lane.” This is Washington St. Watching for oncoming traffic, turn left onto Washington St. / Commandant’s Lane.
Follow Washington uphill to the parking lot and the Clock Tower on the right.
From inside Benicia
Find your way to Military East.
Follow Military East .8 miles to Adams St. Adams St. verges to the left; make the slight left turn onto Adams. (It is really a slight left, not a 45 degree hard left.)
Follow Adams Street .3 miles to a stop sign. To the left is a big sign, “Johannson Square, Commandant’s Lane.” This is Washington St. Watching for oncoming traffic, turn left onto Washington St. / Commandant’s Lane.
Follow Washington uphill to the parking lot and the Clock Tower on the right.
From BenIndy contributor Roger Straw…
Roger Straw, Benicia CA
‘Benicia Our Home’ at the Clocktower will be incredible – kind of a send-off for my sweetheart of 52 years, Benicia Poet Laureate Mary Susan Gast. …Larnie Fox commented on Mary Susan’s poetry and leadership, “Mary Susan has been an amazing presence on the scene here, easing us through insurrections, mass shootings and COVID with compassion and insight.” As to the June 25 event, I can’t believe we ALSO have the California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick coming! And more – Constance Beutel’s song-video will bring Benicians together in an unprecedented way – such positivity as we’ve not seen in my time in Benicia… Mark your calendar now, and plan to attend!]
“Benicia Our Home” Celebration at Benicia’s Clocktower on June 25
Special to the Benicia Herald, by Lois Kazakoff, June 9, 2023
[Note from BenIndy Contributor Roger Straw: For more about California’s first AAPI Poet Laureate and his understanding of racism and the importance of telling story, see KCRW News LA.]
California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick will headline “Benicia Our Home” on Sunday, June 25 at 3 PM at the Clock Tower.
California’s poet laureate wants you to write about Benicia, maybe in rhyme – but definitely with heart.
“Usually those who speak for a community are politicians or officials but we all have thoughts connected to where we live, grew up and raise a family,” said Lee Herrick, 52, a Fresno City College writing instructor who was appointed state poet laureate in November. “We each have a voice. And there is poetry in everyone.”
Herrick will headline “Benicia Our Home,” an afternoon of poetry, art and song at the Clock Tower on Sunday, June 25, sponsored by the Benicia Public Library. Everyone is invited. To learn more, go to benicialibrary.org/poet/events or email Benicia’s Poet Laureate, Mary Susan Gast at poetlaureatebenicia@gmail.com .
Event flyer – click to enlarge
Benicia is one stop on Herrick’s travels around the state to hear what Californians experience and celebrate. Or what concerns them. Or what they see differently. In April alone, he participated in 27 events.
Poetry can help us explore and celebrate California’s diversity and the range of our experiences through a personal, emotional and social lens, he said. The poet’s imagination can transport us and illuminate the full range of the human condition. California is the most populous state in the country, and we lead in many disciplines, including the literary arts and poetry.
He hopes to bring together the social justice, civic engagement and poetry communities in each town under his platform, “Our California.” Californians will be able to submit their poems at the “Our California” webpage on the California Arts Council’s website when the project launches later this year.
Poetry can help us reflect on how life in our hometown could be different or celebrated more widely. “Change starts with an individual’s imagination,” said Herrick.
His own poetry is rooted in these themes. His 2020 poem, “What I Hear When I Hear You in My Head,” begins: It’s the little whisper, the aggregate sorrow …
Poetry lays bare what we find beautiful and joyous but also the less pleasant human emotions – anger, sadness, fear, grief, he said. “When we are writing, we discover more of who we are.”
As the world sheltered in place in 2020 and health concerns engulfed us, Herrick wrote, “The Birds Outside My Window Sing During a Pandemic:”
What we need has always been inside of us. For some — a few poets or farmers, perhaps — it’s always near the surface. Others, it’s buried. It was in our original design, though — pre-machine, pre-border, pre-pandemic. …
Herrick, Fresno Poet Laureate in 2015-17, emerged from the remarkable Fresno poetry scene. That Central Valley city has produced two U.S. Poet Laureates, Juan Felipe Herrera, the nation’s first Latino poet laureate (2015-17), and Philip Levine (2011-12), known as the poet of the working class.
He was named in November to a two-year term as California’s 10th poet laureate and confirmed by the state Senate in May. In announcing the appointment, Gov. Gavin Newsom said, “Lee (Herrick)’s dedication to highlighting the diverse experiences of Californians, and making them so accessible through his poetry, makes him a perfect candidate for Poet Laureate. I look forward to his work to inspire communities and individuals across the state through the power of the written word.”
Herrick was born in Daejeon, South Korea, and adopted as an infant by White American parents. He lived in Danville until the family moved to Modesto when he was 8. He has taught at Fresno City College for 26 years and teaches in a master’s of fine arts program at the University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe. He lives in Fresno with his wife and teenage daughter.
Lois Kazakoff is a member of the Benicia Public Library Board of Trustees.
* * * * *
Write a ZipOde
Maybe you are a poet and don’t know it? Start small. Write a ZipOde, a poem about a town based on its ZIP code.
Each ZipOde has five lines, with the number of words on each line determined by the numbers of the ZIPcode. Benicia’s ZIP code is 94510.
For example,
I will change into my painting pants and shirt (9 words)
Benicia is a palette (4 words)
Of limitless and gorgeous vistas (5 words)
Yay! (1 word)
[Ooooo] (0 words)
[BenIndy contributor Roger Straw: ‘Benicia Our Home’ at the Clocktower will be incredible – kind of a send-off for my sweetheart of 52 years, Benicia Poet Laureate Mary Susan Gast. Larnie Fox commented on Mary Susan’s poetry and leadership, “Mary Susan has been an amazing presence on the scene here, easing us through insurrections, mass shootings and COVID with compassion and insight.” As to the June 25 event, I can’t believe we ALSO have the California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick coming! And more – Constance Beutel’s song-video will bring Benicians together in an unprecedented way – such positivity as we’ve not seen in my time in Benicia… Mark your calendar now, and plan to attend!]
Click image to enlarge.
BENICIA OUR HOME, JUNE 25 – Mark your calendar now!
Plan now to attend a festive historic event at Benicia’s Clocktower on June 25th at 3 PM. Benicians and friends will gather to celebrate our homeplace, to tell its story and join in song. This free event sponsored by the Benicia Public Library will feature a very special guest, California’s Poet Laureate Lee Herrick, and we will hear from our outgoing Poet Laureate, Mary Susan Gast. Visual artwork portraying life in Benicia will be on display, and we will hear “ZipOdes 94510,” short poems by Benician residents. A super highlight will be the premier showing of “Benicia Our Home,” a film portraying scenes of Benicia accompanied by over 200 Benicians in song. Don’t miss this!
Reserve the date – June 25 – and plan to meet at the Clock Tower at 3PM.
In celebration of the Benicia City Council’s recent unanimous vote to direct staff to pursue the framing of an Industrial Safety Ordinance, Mary Susan Gast has shared her adaptation of the lyrics to the song “Air.” She notes, “In the summer of 1970 I was offered the role of Jeanie in the Detroit production of Hair. I declined, but I’ve always wanted to sing Jeanie’s song from that musical. Here is my variation from 2018 on Jerome Ragni and Jim Rado’s composition from 1968.”
Take exit 5 toward Central Benicia/E. Second St.
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