Fun in the Sun at the Dam

To some, the idea of taking sunscreen to a poetry reading may seem odd. But for the poetry picnic that a San Fernando group plans Saturday at the Sepulveda Dam, it may be wise.

Titled “Dam Fine Poetry,” the picnic will feature informal--very informal--readings by poets and music by acoustic musicians in the grassy outdoor setting, said Michelle Klein-Hass, 27, co-founder of Abstract Productions and event organizer.

“People can bring their sack lunches and just soak up the sun and enjoy some poetry,” said Klein-Hass, whose group usually puts on poetry readings--indoors--at the Big Valley Coffeehouse in Northridge.

“Most of the time, a poetry reading is in a very cooped-up environment,” she said. But the outdoor event was planned “so that people can enjoy nature and enjoy poetry and share each other’s work. The closer you are to the Earth, the closer you are to the source of life, to art, the essence of art.”

Klein-Hass, a Van Nuys poet and free-lance journalist, said she got the idea “because the Sepulveda Dam is a very important place to me. It’s one of the last wild places in the entire Valley. Everything else has been developed like crazy.

“Being in a relatively wide-open space, sitting on the grass is the way poetry was experienced a long time ago, way back in the days of ancient Greece when poetry as an art form was actually born,” she said.

To draw a more recent parallel, she added, “in a way, it will be like sitting around a campfire telling stories.”

Her husband, Richie Hass, 38, co-founder of Abstract Productions and a bass player with a local band called Zoogz Rift, added that “anyone who brings an acoustic guitar and knows a song can play or sing and has the option of jamming” with other musicians at the event.

The program, scheduled to last four hours, will be very informal, Klein-Hass said.

Signs will be posted the day of the event to direct people to the grassy area just north of the Japanese gardens at the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant, 6100 Woodley Ave., between Burbank and Victory boulevards on the east side of the Sepulveda Dam basin, Klein-Hass said.

“Dam Fine Poetry,” an informal poetry reading and picnic, is scheduled from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area . From Victory Boulevard, turn south on Woodley Avenue. From Burbank Boulevard, turn north on Woodley and follow the signs to the Japanese gardens. Other signs will give directions to the poetry picnic. Free. Information: (818) 894-0226.