March 2012

You’ve probably walked past this landmark – or on it – without realizing.

On Addison Street between Shattuck and Milvia, Berkeley’s Poetry Walk is a collection of some 120 cast-iron poetry panels. Each of the poems laid in 55-pounds of cast-iron was selected by UC Berkeley professor, Pulitzer-prize winner and U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Hass.

Poetry Walk, which was installed in 2003, features poems that live and breathe the history and atmosphere of Berkeley itself. Among the authors whose work appears on these two-by-two foot panels are Allen Ginsberg, Shakespeare, Thorton Wilder, Gertrude Stein, Jack London and Alice Walker. Included, too, are pieces by classical Chinese poet Li Po and Ohlone Indians who once inhabited the Berkeley area.

Interspersed among the poems are artistic imprints. One, for example, says “Make art” in a dozen languages and has ears of concrete, as if even the ground were listening for voices, for expression through art.

The Addison St. Anthology, an anthology of the poems featured in Berkeley’s Poetry Walk, was also published in 2004. The volume was edited by Drs. Robert Hass and Jessica Fisher, a post-doctoral fellow at UC Berkeley.

So the next time you can afford to stop and smell the roses, stop and read the poetry. These pieces were unearthed and intended for your very satisfaction.

If you have a car and a restless spirit, drive up to Grizzly Peak. On a clear day, the view from this summit is stunning. At night, the campus glitters like stars fallen on the ground, the water shimmers and San Francisco sparkles in the distance. Streets and bridges are like silver necklaces draped throughout. Yes, Grizzly Peak is the kind of place where you can capture the beauty of city from above, cap off an unforgettable a date night, or find a quiet place of reflection. Also, for the photography hobbyist, the panoramic view of the Bay Area from here is a must-see.

You’ll be well advised, though, to dress warmly if you come at night and, if on a sunny day, to bring sunglasses, as the light reflection from the water and buildings can be glaring.

The spot is near the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, along Grizzly Peak Boulevard in the Oakland Hills. On a regular day or night, parking is free and readily available near the viewing point. You should be mindful, though, that Grizzly Peak is not readily accessible to pedestrians, and cyclists should expect a torturous uphill climb.

Still, the next time you think “Yes” to Southwest Airlines’ “Wanna get away?” commercials, remember that you can get a delightful aerial view from Grizzly Peak, without the security checkpoints or the airfare.

In the Night at the Museum movies starring Ben Stiller, exhibits literally come to life. Though collectionsat the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive do not come galloping out of their frames, onecould easily argue that the works capture much about life and living.

The recently opened State of Mind: New California Art circa 1970 exhibit is particularly timely. Displaysare sectioned off by theme: the street, the body, politics, private/public space and language/wordplay.Amidst Occupy protests and national debates about the legality of contraception, the State of Mindcollection seems to transcend time, dialoguing with and addressing the present state of our union.

Another fascinating temporary BAM/PFA project is The Reading Room. When you walk into this room,you’ll find that, not only are you invited to read, but also the room itself reads to you. Concurrent poetryrecordings play you move among the shelves. But that’s not where your interaction with The ReadingRoom ends; the curators invite you to take home a free book and, in turn, to replace it with one fromyour library. The original set of books in The Reading Room were drawn from the overstock collectionsof several East Bay small presses, but, by virtue of the book exchange, the collection is expected to be inconstant flux – a fact that makes the prospect of more regular visits titillating.
Whether you’re schmoozing at one of the museum’s L@TE: Friday nights or lying on the rolling orangewaves of Thom Faulder’s BAMscape, accessing free Wi-Fi, you might find that you have become part andparcel of the museum’s art. After all, the jutting concrete balconies of BAM/PFA beg visitors to admirethe collections from multiple angles. From these vantage points, you’d be hard-pressed to deny that the exhibits are very much alive.

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While admission is free to Berkeley students, there’s also Free First Thursdays for the public. The Stateof Mind: New California Art circa 1970 exhibit and The Reading Room project will be open through June17, 2012.