Friday Night: Gerald Locklin

As an undergraduate at CSULB in the early 1980s, I was too easily intimidated by the writers who dominated the English department. The venerable Gerald Locklin was at the forefront, surrounded by a posse of fellow poets, most of whom seemed to be following the intoxicated footsteps of Charles Bukowski. It was all too much for me back then, 22 years old, carrying around my paperback copies of Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath and Adrienne Rich.

Locklin is still around, now Professor Emeritus at CSULB and teaching in the Master's of Professional Writing Program at USC. He is the author of over 125 books and chapbooks of poetry, fiction, and criticism, with over 3000 poems, stories, articles, reviews, and interviews published in periodicals. Whew.

And tonight, Friday June 27, Locklin reads in the Tebot Bach series at Golden West College along with poet Zachary Locklin. Reading begins at 8:00 p.m. with open reading sign up at 7:30 p.m. in Community Room 102. It's free.

Gothard Street Entrance Instructions: The entrance closest to the venue is on Gothard near the corner of Gothard & Edinger in Huntington Beach. Do not use the main entrance to the college as there will be a long walk across the campus to find the room. PARKING IS FREE. Please ignore the sign directing you to the parking sticker vending machine. The Tebot Bach audience does not pay for parking.


The Best Year of Her Life

When my two-year-old daughter
sees someone come through the door
whom she loves, and hasn't seen for a while,
and has been anticipating
she literally shrieks with joy.

I have to go into the other room
so that no one will notice the tears in my eyes.

Later, after my daughter has gone to bed,
i say to my wife,

"She will never be this happy again,"
and my wife gets angry and snaps,
"Don't you dare communicate your negativism to her!"
And, of course, I won't, if I can possibly help it,
and, of course, I fully expect her
to have much joy in her life,
and, of course, I hope to be able
to contribute to that joy—
I hope, in other words, that she'll always
be happy to see me come through the door—

but why kid ourselves—she, like every child,
has a life of great suffering ahead of her,
and while joy will not go out of her life,
she will one of these days cease to actually,
literally, jump and shriek for joy.

~Gerald Locklin