ERIC PARK, MUSICIAN & ARTIST
 GEN-U-WINE BOTTLENECK GUITAR SLIDES,
& WOODLARK MUSIC

Art News:  Eric is pleased to announce that the April 2009 issue of The Idiom magazine has published his three-poem suite, "Cowboy Haiku Trilogy." The third one had never been published before. The Idiom, out of New Jersey, is a feisty and spiritedly independent little publication. You can check out their website and no doubt access his poems online. Eric has hard-copies of the magazine, which you can get from him for $5 (1000-7th St. #8, Arcata CA 95521). If you wish, he'll autograph it for you. This is Eric's fourth poem publication of 2009.

Eric exhibited 4 of his sculptures on Saturday April 25 at Gist Hall Parking Lot at Humboldt State University. The four sculptures were accepted into the "Green Campus" exhibit of "Eco-Art", a part of the Sustainable Living Arts & Music ("S.L.A.M.") Fest. See Art Page for descriptions of the four exhibited pieces and photos of 2 of them.

Eric finished "Obama Can," a painting of Barack Obama on a vegetable can, on the day before the election. The idea when it was painted was, if he loses, it's a compost can; if he wins, then it depends on how he does. If he does a good job: more decorations or dried flowers. If he screws up, fails to get us out of Iraq, etc., then it's still a compost can. Before that, Eric completed a landscape painting that had been in the works for some months. "Last Days of the One Lane Bridge" is a view of the old bridge with a background of forests and mountains. The bridge, near Hayfork High School in Trinity County, has since been replaced with a modern 2 lane bridge. The painting is a companion to his twice-published poem of the same name (published in Peoples Press, a monthly publication from near Redding, and in his book, "The Sad Songs Contest," ready to go into its 4th Edition). The painting is accompanied by a framed parchment copy of the poem of the same name and a photo of the original one lane bridge. Eric also completed the fourth in his nature series, "River Otter". See all of Eric's paintings and sculptures.

Music News: As of July 2008, only a few dozen copies remained of the second edition of Eric's latest major musical work, Shakespeare and the Sonettes: The Bard's Blues. On this CD, there are five songs telling the stories of the great plays in blues form and five actual Elizabethan guitar pieces. Eric has since written two new Shakespearean blues songs: "MacBeth's Blues" and "Julius Caesar's Blues", the latter actually telling some of the story of Antony and Cleopatra as well, the tales being continuous. "MacBeth's Blues" was debuted at Peacemas '07. There is certain to be a third edition of the album, and it may include these 2 new pieces. Read 3 reviews of this CD. Please see Recordings Page to listen to songs and for more information on all of Eric's recordings.

The CD is available on this website on the Order Page for $16.95, which includes shipping. It is also for sale in a number of stores: Music Millennium, the biggest music store in Portland, Oregon; Buffalo Brothers Guitars in Carlsbad, CA; Folk Music Center in Claremont (East LA), CA; Central Coast Music in Morro Bay, CA; Down Home Music in El Cerrito, CA; Bird & Beckett Books in San Francisco, CA; Bookpeople in Moscow, Idaho; and BWI Distributors, who specialize in marketing to libraries.

Eric Park is accepting guitar students in the Arcata, CA area! Eric is beginner-friendly, can teach note-reading and tab, but can also teach advanced melodic fingerstyle a la Hurt, Kottke, Kaukonen, and in slide guitar. All musical styles: blues, folk, standards, some jazz and classical. Call Eric at 707-826-0357 or contact Eric by email for more info or to set up a lesson. Listen to Eric playing guitar.

"The Sad Songs Contest, Collected Poems 1964-2006, a 60th Birthday Anthology". Eric Park has created a lifetime poetry collection of 59 poems with 14 original illustrations in a 32 page book. l8 of the poems have been published over the years in a number of literary magazines. The first sold-out edition was named "Coming of Age", for his 60th birthday. For the second edition, which sold out, it was renamed with its current name, "The Sad Songs Contest, Collected Poems 1964-2006, a 60th Birthday Anthology". The third edition sold out. Eric is now working on the fourth edition of his poetry book, which will probably be re-issued in October 2007. It will sell for $5.95 ($6.65 with postage & handling). It is now being carried at 2 bookstores: Bookpeople in Moscow, Idaho and Bird & Beckett Books in San Francisco, CA. Listen to a clip of Eric reading "Plastered in Stratford" at his CD Release Party at Bird & Beckett Books on February 20, 2006. To order, contact Eric by email, call him at 707-826-0357, or mail him at: 1000 7th Street #8, Arcata, CA 95521.

Joel Dunsany emailed and wrote "I've been meaning to find a moment to e-mail you & tell you that your COLLECTED POEMS are simply A MARVEL. I couldn't have enjoyed them more! They are sparkling & shimmering. They are music. They are insightful & full of the stuff of life. Like they say about the astronauts, you've got the RIGHT STUFF!!!"

If you would like to order anything on this site, please go to Order Page. When you are ready to order, there is a link to a shorter printer-friendly order form on that page. For folks who do not have a printer, you can write down and mail the essential information. Allow 7 - 10 days for delivery.
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