Rattlesnake Review

Born on Leap Year Day, 2004, Rattlesnake Review (Poetry with Fangs!) is the flagship publication of Rattlesnake Press. Our 17th issue is currently available; Issue #18 is due out in mid-June (deadline for #18 has passed; next deadline is August 15 for Issue #19, due out in mid-September).

RR is a free, spiral-bound, 8.5”X11” quarterly journalzine of photos, line art, articles, a cryptogram, numerous reviews, poetry challenges, poetry puzzles for youngsters (no grown-ups allowed!), and other miscellaneous articles about poetry and related happenings, and—most of all—POETRY by which the Snake, his flirtatious floozy, Lola, and the sassy littlesnake hope to bemuse and confustigate the (mostly) Northern California poetry community. It is also a showcase for the tremendous mountain of poetry talent that our area has to offer.

Here are some samples:

“CELEBRATE YOUR EYESIGHT”

declares the poster with a photo
of a common roadside flower.
Such sky-shade blossoms
here on the wall of the waiting room
for EYE SERVICES.

One man’s eyes are buried
in a magazine, another’s down-turned
to the angle of his laptop screen.

My eyes are tired of waiting,
as patients come and go.
Behind a closed door, doctors
peer into the depths of pupils
and find them wanting.

I want to see
that wild blue flower.
I want to watch it bloom.

—Taylor Graham, Somerset

HOBO OF COLFAX TUNNEL
—Matt Amott, Roseville

we sit in the café
she must see me
as a relic
a living fossil of time
before the Nintendo revolution
we discuss books, movies and trains
time frozen until she is summoned
away by the ring of her phone
we go our separate ways
a beautiful afternoon spent
humoring an old man
who wonders
where was she
when he
was
17

The Snake Posse includes resident columnists who write for each issue. Currently, these are:

	B.L. Kennedy, Reviewer-in-Residence, and his “THE BL 418 BUZZ”
	Joyce Odam, Formalist-in-Residence, writing about formal poetry
	Taylor Graham, with her “Making Fun of Poetry” (poetry triggers)
	Shawn Pittard, Marketeer-in-Residence, and his musings about the organization and publishing of your poetry
	B.L. Kennedy, Interviewer-in-Residence
	Katy Brown, Snake Eyes

Artist-in-Residence is Sam The Snake Man Kieth, who does all our covers and various other artistic irreverencies.

The Snake emerges in April, June, September and December, so deadlines are 2/15, 5/15, 8/15, and 11/15.

Submissions
to the Review should be done as follows, please:

	3-5 poems, photos, small-ish artwork
	no bios, cover letters, prev-pubs or simul-subs
	name, address, email on every snail page or on email, please
	e-mail to: kathykieth@hotmail.com or snail with SASE to: Kathy Kieth, Wrangler-in-Chief P.O. Box 762 Pollock Pines, CA 95726

Reviewer-in-Residence B.L. Kennedy encourages poets to send him books for review: P.O. Box 160664, Sacramento, CA 95816

Current issues are available for free at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento. Subscriptions are possible; see the menu. Back issues may be had from the above addresses for $2.00 each including postage. Also available:

FANGS 1: Snake Poems from the Snake, ed. by Robert Grossklaus.

Published in 2005, this is a spiral-bound anthology of poems about snakes that appeared in the Review, Issues 1-6. Also has snake artwork by Sam Kieth and others, including covers and some of the sketches and photos from Issues 1-6.

$2.00 each including postage.