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Poetry Break


A guest on Susan Taylor’s The Electric Picnic, a program about poetry, spoken word, prose and other creative arts, Olivia shares two of her poems with KNSJ.

–By Permission from Olivia Mercedes

Olivia Mercedes is a perpetually overwhelmed human who relies on creative mediums to process the intense spectrum of her conscious experience. Her poetry has been published, her artwork has been exhibited, her voice has been featured, but her most beloved accolades are the moments of real-life connection in response to her authenticity. She finds hope and gratitude in inspiring someone to feel, to question, to learn, to heal, to express, and ultimately to be more fully human. 

instagram: @oliviamercedesart

how to write a poem

first, gather your materials:

you’ll need something to write with,

something to feel with,

something to think with,

and enough vulnerability to actually use these.

you’ll need a language

adequate enough to transpose the sparks of synapses

setting fire to your imagination–

oh yes, you’ll need an imagination.

if capitalism has taken yours hostage,

you might be able to bargain with your inner child.

just make sure you use an encrypted messaging app,

the oppressor doesn’t like us to think

let alone imagine,

what this world might be like

if we all listened to poetry

instead of those in self-appointed power.

you’ll also need power,

but not the kind that’s harnessed inside an ego

the kind that’s harnessed inside every atom of the universe.

the universe that made everything before you

everything after you

and everything

you

are.

and chances are,

once you realize that,

once you realize that what qualifies you to write

is that which qualifies you to be human,

your pen will no longer feel foreign or like a burden,

rather it will appear as the instrument you’ve known how to play all along.

you will realize that a poem is not something you write

it’s something you witness.

and the words you use to capture it

are merely a photograph

documenting the reason we exist at all.

the hardest part of writing a poem

is noticing it.

noticing not only that it exists,

but that you exist inside of it.

the fact that you are asking how to write a poem

proves that you are one,

and the part of you that knows this

is simply asking for your attention

in the language of curiosity.

it’s existence itself

begging you

to experience it so fully, you can’t help but write it down.

like a message you know must be delivered, must be heard.

and in this way

you don’t write a poem, the poem writes you.

and if you so choose to surrender to its demands,

to allow your blood to dance like ink,

let your authenticity spill across the page,

your soul scream its unfiltered truths,

you will find yourself doing more

than writing poems

you will find yourself living them.

and what better way to exist,

than to live.

what better way to write,

than to be.

what better way to be,

than poetry.

What goes in a backpack? (From a conversation Olivia had with Susan during her interview on The Electric Picnic poetry show)
Olivia: okay Sue, I’ve written the second half of this poem, but not the first half, so I need your help with
the beginning. Can you help me brainstorm things that go in a backpack?
Sue: chapstick?
Olivia: that’s a great one, but the owner of this backpack doesn’t have any of their toiletries around.
What’s something else?
Sue: a pen?
Olivia: oh I wish, but their school actually isn’t in session, they don’t have their pens or notebooks right
now. What else?
Sue: a cell phone?
Olivia: ah unfortunately they lost their cell phone and all their electronics already. Anything else?
Sue: dog treats?
Olivia: oh sadly their dog has passed away…
Sue: a water bottle?
Olivia: I wish, but there’s no access to clean water or food where this person is right now. Ugh, I know
this is hard, this is why I needed your help! Thank you for helping me brainstorm, Sue. And before I
finish this poem, I’d like to preface this by saying I wish I didn’t have to do this.
I wish this were simply an exercise for us to stretch our imaginations,
but this is actually me using my imagination
to communicate to you
what is happening to our humanity.
because the owner of this backpack
is a little boy in Palestine named Ismael,
who was wearing his backpack on his chest
as he stepped out of an ambulance
and a journalist asked him what he had in his backpack.
and as blood dripped heavily
from the bottom of his blue bag
ismael answers,
“in my backpack i have Ahmed,
my dead baby brother.”
my dead
baby
brother.
when i asked you a moment ago
to brainstorm things that belong in a backpack,
there is a reason
you did not suggested that as an answer,
and that’s because
it’s not supposed to be one.

instagram: @oliviamercedesart

CNS

CA School Budgets in Disarray After Trump Freezes Federal Funding

Suzanne Potter–CA school budgets are in limbo as almost 7 billion dollars in expected federal education funding is being withheld to determine if grant programs support administration priorities.

Panic has set in at school districts across the Golden State as the Trump administration continues to withhold federal funds. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond says California school districts stand to immediately lose close to one billion dollars. Dr. Luis Valentino is a retired superintendent of Coachella Valley Unified School District and host of the podcast “District Leader: Transforming Education.” He says unless this is resolved quickly, schools will be forced to cut back or even eliminate programs.

“Without timely allocation tables from the United States Department of Education, states will be left uncertain, making it challenging to prepare for the 2025-26 school year. School districts, especially those in high-poverty and rural areas, will be left scrambling.”

Last week the Department of Education notified schools across the country that five grant programs are now “under review” to determine if they align with administration priorities. In a statement to Real Clear Politics, the Office of Management and Budget said “initial findings have shown that many of these grant programs have been grossly misused to subsidize a radical left-wing agenda.” The grants in question fund summer learning, teacher professional development and after-school programs. They also fund English language classes and support for children of migrants.

The grants are usually distributed on July 1st. Valentino warns there will be far-reaching consequences if the congressionally-approved funding isn’t restored.

“Migrant children, English language learners, and those in low-performing schools stand to lose vital support that helps them meet academic benchmarks. This decision will only exacerbate existing educational inequities across each state.”

Programs already underway this summer are now in limbo. In a statement, the head of the Boys and Girls Clubs said that without the promised funding, more than 900 sites nationwide serving 220-thousand kids could be forced to shut their doors, taking almost 6-thousand jobs with them.

East County Magazine

June 27, 2025 (San Diego’s East County) – East County Magazine editor Miriam Raftery won two awards from Society for Professional Journalists in the San Diego SPJ Journalism competition. The honors bring ECM’s total awards to 149 since our founding in 2008. 

In the series category for daily reporting and writing, Raftery took third place for her series on the Water Conservation Garden’s growing pains.  The series chronicled the Garden’s financial struggles, brief closure, and reopening after operations were taken over by the Garden’s joint powers authority. View the series:  part 1, part 2, and part 3.

Raftery also won third places in the opinion/editorial category for her editorial published last July 4 , titled As we celebrate Independence Day, our democracy is at risk. Several of the threats to our democratic system of government  that she warned of have since come to pass via authoritarian actions rolled out by the Trump administration following the blueprint outlined in Project 2025.

https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/ecm-wins-two-journalism-awards

Sunday

Custom Taylored

CUSTOM TAYLORED with Tim Taylor Sunday 11am-Noon

FOR YOUR MUSIC ENJOYMENT

CUSTOM TAYLORED is a chronological journey of the popular music that influenced rock and roll. This episode is part of a subseries on the music that led to post war urban blues. Featured today are some acoustic blues, some boogie woogie, and some classic jazz. All of the songs in the episode were first recorded or released in 1941. You’ll hear ROBERT PETWAY, SISTER ROSETTA THARPE and GENE KRUPA & HIS ORCHESTRA, among others.

Friendly Fire

FRIENDLY FIRE LIVE with Don Kimball Sat 2-3pm

A Show for and About Veterans

GUESTS: VETERANS FOR PEACE MIKE FERNER and LISA LING

Studio Call-in Number 619-790-KNSJ (5675)

Don Kimball is originally from Manchester by the Sea, Massachusetts. Don got the “radio bug” in 1971, when he became a DJ at the student-operated radio station KVPC-FM on the campus of Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa. He’s holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Cal Poly Pomona and is a graduate of the Brown Institute of Broadcasting. Don is a veteran of the US Air Force where he worked as an air traffic controller. Don is a board member of Military Families Speak Out, and a Veteran For Peace member of Chapter 91 in San Diego. 

Don started Friendly Fire, A Voice For Veterans in 2017 at WMPG-FM, a community radio station on the campus of the University of Southern Maine in Portland, Maine. Friendly Fire is also heard on KURU-FM in Silver City, NM. He has interviewed veterans and their families and supporters from as far away as Japan and Ireland. He guests have included everyone from enlisted personnel to US Senators and Congresspeople. Don’s guests have included author Norman Solomon, author of War Made Invisible, UCSD professor Colonel Greg Daddis, whistleblower Reality. L Winner and Veteran For Peace Advisory Board Member, former US Marine Captain, State Department official, NC Green Party Senatorial Candidate and current Eisenhower Media Institute co-director, Matthew Hoh. 

Among the many issues Don has covered on his show are those dealing with veteran homelessness, PTSD, MST, deported veterans, TBI, The Veteran’s Administration, USAF veteran whistleblowers Daniel Hale and Reality Winner, and the epidemic of veteran suicide. Don hopes his show will give veterans an opportunity to let the listeners know what really happens to them and their families when they serve, and how people can work together for the common good of everyone instead of making war against helpless women and children in third world countries, destroying their homes and lives, while at the same time creating an atmosphere of hatred towards the US making citizens here less safe as terrorists seek revenge for America’s endless wars. 

Talk of the Town

TALK OF THE TOWN with Mike Aguirre LIVE Sat 11am

Celebrating KNSJ’s birthday, Mike and KNSJ show hosts, producers, and other volunteers who give their time behind the scenes, talk about KNSJ public community radio and what KNSJ’s mission means to them. KNSJ launched on July 4 2013. Join us. Our call in number is 619-790-KNSJ (5675).

KNSJ Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KNSJ

July 4, 2013

Thank you to all of our listeners and supporters as we celebrate our 12th year on the air. And a special thank you to all of KNSJ’s volunteers who work tirelessly in front of and behind the microphone to run the radio station and bring you programming, stories and music you won’t hear on other San Diego stations.

The Electric Picnic

THE ELECTRIC PICNIC with Susan Taylor Mon 8am

Guest Poet: Leah Meihaus

Leah is an educator and poet who believes that teaching is possible, and that eventually she’ll figure out how to do it. She enjoys baking. She sings when content. She wonders where along the road it all went right and how to get there from here. She holds a master’s degree because something spilled on the certificate and stuck to her hand and won’t come off. She has a bedtime and she does not follow it. She hopes more poets realize they’re everyone. She knows the future is uncertain and dangerous and she invites herself to be there to see it

Sunday Daytime Music

CUSTOM TAYLORED with Tim Taylor Sunday 11am

Custom Taylored is a chronological journey of the popular music that influenced rock and roll.

SOLITUDE CITY with Carson Young, Sunday 3pm

The best in jazz for your Sunday afternoon.

Talk of the Town

TALK OF THE TOWN with Mike Aguirre Sat 11am

Mike is in conversation with Marjorie Cohn on consitutional law nationally and internationally focusing on Iran during the first half of his show.

Duncan McFetridge, ex officio member of The Cleveland National Forest Foundation, then joins Mike to talk about the sale of public lands, land that belongs to the people, under the current federal administration. They discuss how that will affect us in East County reaching into the Anza Borrego Desert.