Lawrence Dinkins, Indigo Moor, and Karma Waltonen

On the 10/1/25 edition of Dr. Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour:

Sacramento poet Lawrence Dinkins (NSAA) joins the program to discuss his upcoming reading in Davis, aging, and the Sacramento poetry scene. Dinkins states that poetry readings are a democratic space where voices can be heard, and highlights how they foster special connections decoupled from traditional media. The Warrior Poet then reads, “Inner-City Love Poem,” before Indigo Moor joins the program. Moor updates listeners on his upcoming collection, Reconstruction of Eden, and shares his excitement about the upcoming 2027 Association of Writers & Writing programs 2027 conference. The last guest on the program is  Dr. Karma Waltonen, the former president of the Margaret Atwood society. She details California Free Thought Day,  which occurred Sunday, October 12th, at the state capital building. Waltonen encourages resistance to the current attacks on the first amendment.   

Lawrence Dinkins (NSAA) is a Detroit transplant to Sacramento, and began writing poetry here a few decades ago. A dynamic performance poet (who describes his style as neo-folk spoken word), he has recorded two CDs: NSAA Live (The Mario Ellis Hill Recordings) and ElectroPoeticCoffee, with guitarist Ross Hammond. He organized and hosted poetry and 3 spoken word events for over twenty years, notably at Luna’s Café and at the Mahogany Urban Poets series. His Open Mic Sketchbook chronicles his hosting events in photographs, art and poetry. His selected poems, Warrior Poet, was published by Random Lane Press in 2019.

Poet Laureate Emeritus of Sacramento, Indigo Moor’s fourth book of poetry, Everybody’s Jonesin’ for Something, took second place in the University of Nebraska Press’ Backwater Prize. Jonesin’—a multi-genre work consisting of poetry, short fiction, memoir pieces, and stage plays—was published in the spring of 2021. Through the Stonecutter’s Window, won Northwestern University Press’s Cave Canemprize. His first and third books, Tap-Root and In the Room of Thirsts & Hungers, were both parts of Main Street Rag’s Editor’s Select Poetry Series. Indigo is part of the visiting faculty for Dominican’s MFA program, teaching poetry and short fiction. His stageplay, Live! At the Excelsior, was a finalist for the Images Theatre Playwright Award. The subsequent screenplay was optioned as a full-length film.

Dr. Karma lives and teaches and writes in Northern California. She writes about her successes and failures (the failures are mostly in dating and in figuring out how to treat chronic medical stuff) here for her friends and is surprised that anyone else reads this. She has three cats and a son (aka The Boy), who lives at home and goes to college nearby. Most of her writing is academic, but it’s on awesomely geeky topics like Doctor Who, The X Files, and Star Trek. She is an expert on The Simpsons, stand-up comedy, and Margaret Atwood. Her work has been featured at ComicCons and on NPR.

The Poetry Night Reading Series takes place on first and third Thursdays of the month at 7 PM, is generously supported by the people and poets of the Sacramento Valley, by John Natsoulas, Robby Nykodym, and by members of the staff at the John Natsoulas Gallery. Your host will be Dr. Andy Jones, the poet laureate emeritus of the City of Davis. NSAA and Bob Stanley will be the featured poets on October 2nd.

Find out more about Dr. Andy's Poetry Night Reading Series in Davis, California by visiting http://www.poetryindavis.com. Invite your friends to sign up for the mailing list. To learn more about Dr. Andy’s tiny media fiefdom, subscribe to his weekly newsletter at https://andyjones.substack.com.