Literary Subcultures: Upstream from Mainstream
By Michael Clarity and Michaelyn Logue
The roots of Nevada County’s literary scene run deep, with the original Dharma Bum, Gary Snyder, at the forefront of a counterculture back to the land movement. As depicted in Snyder’s work, it is this reverence for nature and irreverence for the typical that permeates the poetics of today—both spoken and written—in venues across the county.
Michael Clarity. Photo by Casey Garrotto.
“Newton's third law states, ‘for every action in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction,’” shares poet and emcee of The Muse Exchange, Michael Clarity. “If Newton’s Law holds true—which I’m guessing it does—then I can’t wait to see what happens when our literary counterculture creates a reaction of its own. If you know where to listen, you'll discover a cacophony of voices wrought with grit and passion in pursuit of communion beyond the pale of ordinary life.”
The GVNC and Truckee Cultural Districts are bursting with literary energy, and the chemical reaction of poetics is already taking shape. The inaugural Tahoe Literary Festival took place in October 2024, including an evening of poetry and prose featuring Kat Terrey and others, writing sessions, discussion panels, pop-up book stores and an evening keynote with writer and naturalist, Obi Kaufman. From The Muse Exchange in the West, with origins from New York City, to Tangled Roots writing workshops lead by Kat Terrey in the East, there exists a recherché literary scene. Open mics take place throughout the week, inviting even the shyest of writers to take a risk and share their love of the word. What reverberates throughout these unexpected venues is the sense of community that exists and is felt by each listener and reader in the room.
“Muse Exchange taps into a community of poets, writers and artists that would have been here anyway. They are your cashier, your server, your gardener, your trimmer, your yoga partner—breaking out in their equal and opposite roles at the mic.”
A few showing up in the local scene include: Odder Colors, a Nevada City based rapper and producer who calls his style “syntactical origami.” Marilyn Souza, a local poet with four chapbooks, is another force in the emergent alternative literary scene. So too, Obo Martin, Matthew Osyposwki, Andrew Phillips Hayes, Lanny Bunny, Tim Hart and—before his passing in 2022—Mike Seeba, who authored the novel “The Cat in the Rye.” Even young people—like local teens Michael Dubnow and a poet simply known as Lavender—are nudging their way into the anarchy of the ever-growing scene.
You won’t catch many of these troubadours with their name in lights. If you want to experience their work, you have to get lucky by exploring underground venues and events that take place throughout the year. There’s a certain magic to the immediacy of discovering artists this way; it requires an almost complete surrender and a willingness to recognize a beacon and let it guide you to port.
“Muse Exchange taps into a community of poets, writers and artists that would have been here anyway. They are your cashier, your server, your gardener, your trimmer, your yoga partner—breaking out in their equal and opposite roles at the mic,” shares Clarity.
Similarly, open mics at Seven Stars Gallery in Nevada City and the monthly Poetry Happy Hour, lead by Nevada County Poet Laureate Emerita Kirsten Casey at Communal Cafe, invite locals and visitors to listen and share their own creations. Equally, the month-long SPF Fringe that accompanies the mainstage Sierra Poetry Festival each April, invites collaborations of all kinds, from farmers market recitations to aerial poetics. Poetry in Nevada County remains unconfined and undefined, on its own journey back to the land.