Endicott College Creative Writing student Kara L. Bonelli loves Red Hot Chili Peppers–no, not the food, but the music group. She shared her zeal for these “monks of mayhem” with her poem titled ” Red Hot Chili Peppers.”

Somerville Police are seeking to identify the suspects depicted in the attached video in connection with a series of diversion thefts at neighborhood convenience stores.  In a recent incident at Shivalic Food and Spices at 310 Broadway in Somerville on November 10, a lone subject enters the store shortly after opening and presents a large bill for a small purchase.   Knowing that the clerk will not have sufficient change in the register, the clerk will go to wherever additional working cash is stored.  After seeing where the clerk retrieves the money, the lone subject then leaves the store. 

– Photo by William Tauro

By William Tauro

A Somerville DPW crew worked diligently in the cold temperatures to put up  a Christmas tree in front of the Gold Star Memorial Library on Broadway early Tuesday afternoon with the help of a front end loader.

Ryan Anthony Perez

On November 1 Somerville Police responded to a disturbance at the YMCA at 101 Highland Avenue.   Upon their arrival, officers learned that a female had observed an unknown suspect who had been secretly taking photos from behind a bathroom stall while she was changing her clothes.  A second woman, who had just left the women’s locker room minutes earlier was also present.   After getting a description of the suspect, a search of the YMCA resulted in locating the suspect in the men’s locker room.  He was identified as Ryan Anthony Perez, age 24, who at the time, was a resident at the YMCA.  Perez admitted being in the women’s locker room but said it was all a misunderstanding.  Perez had a cell phone in his possession but denied taking any pictures.  The phone was seized as part of this investigation.

– Photo by William Tauro

By William Tauro

Water was gushing out of a hole in the middle of Somerville Ave.  directly in front of Burger King  Tuesday afternoon.

Even though Tracy Strauss no longer technically lives in Somerville, (she is just over the border in the Republic of Cambridge); she is at heart a Somerville writer. She is an accessible woman with an open face and no discernible literary affectations. She lived in the 'Ville for 5 years, won a Somerville Arts Council fellowship for her poetry, and she continues to pound the keys of her laptop at the Diesel Cafe in Davis Square. Her work has appeared in the LYRICAL SOMERVILLE in the The Somerville News, as well as Somerville's independent literary journal IBBETSON STREET. In regard to her use of the Diesel as a writer's retreat of sorts she told me for some reason the din of the cafe helps her writing, " Chris Castellani, the director of GRUB STREET in Boston writes there all the time too. Maybe it is something about the atmosphere in which all these writers are present writing and creating throughout the cafe. It spurs us on I guess," she said. Strauss, who recently completed a 5 year teaching stint at Emerson College in Boston will be teaching Writing at the New England Conservatory this fall. She is an accomplished writer and has been published in such journal as Solstice, Briar Cliff Review and Drunken Boat, to name just a few. Strauss had a residency at the prestigious writers' colony BREAD LOAF as well at the NORMAN MAILER WRITER'S COLONY, and is currently working with the best selling literary agent Kent D. Wolf of Global Literary who is shopping her memoir: HANNAH GRACE: HOPE, HEALING & A RESCUE CAT that involves healing from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome with her real life rescue cat Hannah.

Strauss has been the victim of sexual abuse when she was much younger and a cat she brought home helped her heal. Strauss said: ” Hannah had been traumatized in her past as well and was afraid of people. I was afraid of animals, especially dogs, so we both dealt with our issues through our relationship. ”

I asked Strauss how hard was it for her to get an agent. As you would expect it ain’t easy. She said: ” I sent out 100 query letters. I networked at writers’ conferences, I networked on Twitter, and on my blog. At one point I met Kaylie Jones (the daughter of James Jones ” From Here to Eternity”) and she helped me get the manuscript in shape to be marketed.”

Although Strauss is concentrating on memoir writing she loves writing poetry. She finds it a great way to express herself. “It is a foundation for my prose,” she reflected. “Poetry has a musicality to it and so should all writing to some extent.”

Like many Somerville area writers Strauss is a hustler: teaching, writing, giving readings, her fingers dancing on the keyboard at the Diesel, and loving every minute of love it. I always say if you have passion for what you do–you are living a charmed life indeed.

From Here

I am able

to overlook

the track

where the

people run

in circles as

I have done so

many times

now

I rest, I breathe deeply

aware my knees have unshut

I sit on the

metal bleachers

high above

freed

for a moment my eyes

my mind transcends

I look out

beyond the rooted trees,

the American flag half-staff

tied to its hard silver pole

the chaotic city, my life’s upset

all so distant, all so close

my fingers fit between

each other, my knuckles

spread, I am able to

bend without breaking

my tightened frightened

cramped hands, open myself

as much as is possible

to this world given my body

and spirit’s painful past

my elbows slowly, shyly

show their pale, naked selves

my arms stretch forward, up

I reach for the sky –

the clouds are like closed eyelids

the lashes spilling streaks of light.

—
trace elements # 52 & # 830:
———————————-
“By associating with a cat, one only risks becoming richer.” – Colette

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”
– Anatole France

http://thehannahgracebook.wordpress.com/

Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian assigned an inmate work crew to the Housing Authority in Somerville from November 21 to November 23.

The work crew will be assisting the authority with various painting, clean-up, and landscaping projects. The project will save Somerville an estimated $4,500 dollars.

On November 1, Thomas P. Champion, returned to the city as Executive Director of Communications and Cable.

By Cathleen Twardzik

Michael Meehan has tendered his resignation as Executive Director of Communications and Cable of the City of Somerville. That became effective on Friday, October 28.

Meehan has served as the city’s communications director since April 2010.