Martha Meltzer Reads: Hello. This is John Rhodes with my regular “Open Mic Poetry Special”. Today we have Martha Meltzer. I met her at a Poetry get-together at Mclaren Park run by a close poet friend named Clara Hsu, who was on my first show almost a year ago. Martha Meltzer is a native Californian and an East Bay Poet. Currently she is in the second year of a two year term as Poet Laureate of Pleasanton. She has been seriously writing for about five years and has been published in California Quarterly, Song of the San Jacquin, Tipton Poetry Journal, and the SF Street Sheet. She pulls inspiration for her work from everyday life, especially nature. It has been said of her work that she only writes about bears and trees. "Not true," she replies, "I once wrote a poem about a chicken."She can be reached at her myspace page at . As usual, I will ask a few short questions of the the featured poet, then that poet will read first, and I will read afterwards few poems from my in print book: “Spirits of Bondage and Inherent Transcendence”.