“So, I may have been wrong after all – this damn cancer may indeed be the death of me.” -Joel Fallon, in an email of June 30, 2016 He died on the morning of August 11. That night, meteor showers dazzled the skies: The Perseids, at their peak. No reason to doubt that Joel hitched […]
Poetry Corner: “Colonel Poetry Father” by Peter Bray
They were playing “Mack the Knife” by Louis Armstrong at Starbucks when I got the call from Johanna Ely, our 6th Poet Laureate, 2016-2018: Joel Fallon, our first Benicia Poet Laureate had caught the morning train today to that Big Love Poem in the Sky. We spoke for a bit about our immediate group […]
Poetry Corner: “Joel’s Poetry” by Mary Susan Gast
It was the voice AND what he said That echo, that linger. The voice all deep and ready To use words honed to the point Of decisive descriptive endurance. He beckoned mismatched images to Sidle up to one another: Spaghetti and spaghetti straps, A golden owl and a bound foot, Key lime pie and [oh […]
City Council approved rate increases Tuesday
At its regular meeting Tuesday, the city council issued a proclamation declaring Sept. 8 as International Literacy Day, appointed a new member to the Planning Commission to fill an unexpired term, heard a report from the Historic Preservation and Review Commission, and adopted a resolution to approve new fee structures for water and wastewater services, […]
Joel Fallon, Benicia’s first poet laureate, dies
Joel Fallon, who had the distinction of being Benicia’s first poet laureate, died Thursday morning, according to an email sent out by current Poet Laureate Johanna Ely. He was 85. “Joel was a wonderful poet and mentor to many, who gave so much of his wisdom and energy to our community,” Ely wrote. “He […]
Poetry Corner: Joel Fallon “Your Turn”
Editor’s note: In a sad coincidence, the Herald received an email the morning this poem was published that Joel Fallon had passed away the previous morning at the age of 85. As Benicia’s first poet laureate, Joel established a lot of programs that have allowed poetry to thrive in our community, including this Sunday’s Poets’ […]
Poetry Corner: “Old Images” by Joel Fallon
How cumbersome the camera was, the tripod too and box of plates. The fuss to get the light just so, to make the whole thing straight and true was almost more than they could stand. Important too that everyone be still, not thrash or mill about. Regardless, trees moved in the wind and water flowed […]
Is this really adios?
WHAT AM I MISSING HERE? Are Benicians just kittens in a burlap sack, down by the riverside, resigned to the inevitable? Let’s see if I’ve got this right. (a) We’re in earthquake country (see evidence of the Green Valley fault in terrain on the way to Cordelia); (b) We’re next to fragile wetlands (for spectacular […]
Joel Fallon: The Gold Rush and the Oil Rush, a sad parallel
BY THE 1850s, IT HAD BECOME INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT FOR SMALL-SCALE MINERS to find and profitably extract gold from California’s gold country. That’s when big-time operators moved in with hydraulic technology. Sediment, washed away by their high-pressure hoses, dammed or clogged riverbeds and lakes. Rivers’ courses changed. Agriculture was threatened in the Central Valley. Conflicts over […]