Meet Cholla Needles

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cholla Needles and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Let’s start with a quick intro of each of the interviewees?

Cynthia Anderson: Poet Michael G. Vail: Novelist
Kent Wilson: Retired Truck Driver / School Yard Supervisor
John Sierpinski is a retiree of AT&T and poet
Greg Gilbert: Retired English Professor and College Trustee
Kurt Schauppner: local writer, newspaper editor, playwright
John Brantingham: Poet
Cindy Rinne: Poet, Artist
Susan Abbott: Writer, Artist
George Howell: Poet & Writer

Thanks – so, maybe we can start by hearing from each of you about how you think about how Cholla Needles helps the community?

Cynthia Anderson: Cholla Needles provides a welcoming place for writers to be heard. The tone of every organization is set by its leader, and Cholla Needles is no exception. Rich Soos is dedicated to encouraging and supporting writers of all ages and abilities. He works tirelessly on behalf of the local literary community. He publishes the Cholla Needles magazine monthly as well as a seemingly endless stream of books by individual authors. It’s no exaggeration to say that Rich and Cholla Needles have created an oasis for writers in the desert, and beyond.

Michael G. Vail: The town of Joshua Tree and the rest of the surrounding Morongo Basin is unique in that it’s a region with a small population but a vigorous literary community. Cholla Needles is that community’s heart and soul. This non-profit organization not only publishes novels and book-length collections of short fiction and poetry, but features local writers and poets in its monthly literary journal. In addition, Cholla Needles organizes a year-round calendar of readings; in fact, it’s a major reason why the Basin has been selected as a Big Read community over the last several years. For readers and authors, the Morongo Basin offers more than the large nearby urban areas of Riverside, San Bernardino and Orange Counties. This is extraordinary, and Cholla Needles is always involved this wonderful situation.

Kent Wilson: Cholla Needles gives the community a professional literary magazine of its
own. It is, however, much more than simply a place to show work. The
editor pushes its writers to dig deep. He is generous with suggestions of how
a piece may be improved but also accepts some submittals with a simple
“thanks.”
The monthly poetry readings that Cholla Needles host provide a wonderful
chance to hear and meet other local authors. These events take place at the
beautiful and storied Joshua Tree Retreat Center.

John Sierpinski: Cholla Needles is a real asset to the high desert community as it brings together local poets and writers as well as lovers of poetry. Its monthly readings are very interesting, and take place within the Joshua Tree landscape.

Greg Gilbert: Cholla Needles has fostered a community of local artists, literary and visual. Readings bring people into a common space, and the magazine showcases their selected works. An additional benefit is that Cholla Needles publishes selected works by our local K-12 students, books by individual authors, and encourages support for local book shops and the arts.

Kurt Schauppner: Cholla Needles provides a place for local writers to express themselves and also organizes local events to bring writers and readers together.

John Brantingham: Cholla Needles is exactly what the communities in and around Joshua Tree needs, but its influence stretches far beyond those desert communities. Cholla Needles long time book series and magazine have found some of the most interesting and important voices in the area, and it has promote people who might have been overlooked in the past, but whose work is profoundly important to the community. Among such notables are Ruth Nolan, Cindy Rinne, and Cynthia Anderson who all have certainly reframed my understanding of the natural world, especially the desert areas.

Cindy Rinne: Cholla Needles brings people together of all ages and various levels of writing. Rich Soos, publisher, is welcoming and inclusive. All are encouraged to read at open mics. Authors also are featured at readings. Cholla Needles role as a publisher is a huge help for the writing community to get their voices out there in physical books. Local bookstores carry the books. Soos has created a place where the literary arts thrive. In turn, friendships happen here and we support one another.

Susan Abbott: Cholla Needles and its chief instigator, Rich Soos, are a boon to the high desert community in myriad ways. They provide a friendly, accessible platform for local (national and international as well) writers to share their work, notably with its beautiful, high quality monthly publication, “Cholla Needles” (since 2017) and with its monthly open mic reading series. They also publish chapbooks as well as full volumes of poetry and art by local (high desert) writers. This is totally a labor of love on their part, as a non-profit (501c3) organization that sustains itself on donations and grants. Rich is an exemplary citizen poet who also puts himself at the heart of many community efforts promoting literacy such as the Big Read, participating in book festivals, cultivating young writers, and in general encouraging us all to express freely. As an editor, Rich has been discerning and helpful to so many of us in making our work be the best it can be.

George Howell: Cholla Needles, the monthly magazine and open reading series, is a wonderful example of publisher Rich Soos’ gift for community building and the promotion of excellent poetry and fiction.

Please tell us more about your writing/art. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your story?

Cynthia Anderson: I’ve been a poet all my life. Now that I’m retired, I can devote time to poetry like I never could before. It also helps that most of the people who used to ridicule my efforts and undermine my interest in poetry are now dead—and the rest, I’ve learned to ignore. I would say to any aspiring poet, protect your time and space as best you can. Put your writing first and find other people who are doing the same. Learn from other writers and pour your heart into what you write. I’m most proud that in the past few years, I’ve been published more than I ever believed possible. It’s never too late.

Michael G. Vail: Growing up, I was one of those little boys who enjoyed sitting alone in my bedroom, writing stories, poems and plays, as much as I enjoyed playing touch football with my siblings in the front yard of our family’s house. I’ve had a lifelong dream of being a published writer. That dream was never realized until I became part of the Morongo Basin literary community. Since 2018, I’ve had two books published—a novel entitled The Salvation of San Juan Cajon and a short story/poetry collection entitled High Desert Elegy–as well as numerous stories and poems. I’m excited about having an audience of readers and the opportunity to write about subjects I find to be compelling: the relationships between parents and children and husbands and wives and the importance of place in storytelling.

Kent Wilson: I write short stories about everyday people, often working class. My goal is to create characters in my fiction that feel familiar. The tales I’m compelled to tell tend to be small and personal rather than grand or elaborate. In the three years I’ve been writing, work of mine has been published in eight issues of Cholla Needles. Along with the short fiction, I’ve tried my hand at poetry with some success. As a songwriter for years, I have played with language before but with poems one can’t rely on melody or harmony to aid in reaching someone. Several times during the readings at The Joshua Tree Retreat Center, I felt confident that my words worked. That’s quite a thrill for a retired Teamster.

John Sierpinski: My poetry comes from the heart. It comes from the soul. It comes from the rough and sometimes jagged edges of life. My first collection, Sucker Hole, relates alcoholism and dysfunction, both the nasty side, the humorous, and the beautiful. I have a new book I’m finishing on hotels of many descriptions as well as a book about bi-polar disease. My writing has sometimes been referred to as “gritty”, but it always tells the truth.

Greg Gilbert: My poetry examines social and familial issues with overlays of history, mythology, and musicality. Reading and writing have been staples in my life since adolescence. This led me to become an English major who eventually stood at the front of the room as a professor. My academic life, as a student, was stop and go and involved a number of occupations, all of which contribute to my writing and teaching life. My primary love is prose, but as with poetry, it must say something, and it must sing. I initiated the publication of my college’s literary magazine, Howl, now in its 25th year. One important lesson I’ve garnered involves the inherent joy found in devoting myself to what I love. Teaching, reading, and writing have provided a remarkable feedback loop that enriches my life every day. Now retired, I continue to write, particularly one novel, now in its final (?) draft, that examines a decade in a post-WWII marriage. The 1950’s offer a hinge decade in a hinge century that traversed a period from the horse and carriage to the digital age. The book considers the time leading up to the 1950’s, its vision of the future, and the realities that intervened, all through the lens of a marriage.

Kurt Schauppner: My poetry, I think, tends to be clumsy and awkward but also heartfelt and deeply personal.

John Brantingham: I am a poet and writer who focuses on nature and ekphrasis. The most difficult thing for me was the number of hours I had to work outside of writing. This is the story of many writers who are also professors, which is what I was. I am lucky in that I was able to retire early from teaching (a profession I loved) to be able to focus on writing full time. I know that having time to work on what I love is going to feed me.

Cindy Rinne: I had published books with publishers I never met. They didn’t arrange my book launches or readings locally. I decided to seek local, small presses. I have published three books with Cholla Needles Press. Rich made it possible to include my fiber art in full color. The books sell at affordable prices. I’ve had book launches in Joshua Tree, CA!
My fiber art and poetry are collages of cultures, the mystical, my life, and observations. I create from intuition piecing these fragments together. I am a storyteller. Sometimes I make up myths and folk tales. My art is abstract, surrealist, and narrative. I also enjoy combining forms such as performance art (I stitch my costumes), fiber art, and poetry. Expanding my voice in collaborations with other writers happens often with my books. I am working on new art series and devising my first solo performance art inspired by a collaborative book of my poems with two artists. I am delighted to read and have art openings in person.
Challenges manifest in rejection and comparison. Passion and believing in what I do are key. I envision a future of continuing to create. I’ve had loss (lost my house in a fire), illness, and other obstacles, but remind myself through it all I am still here. Poetry and art are healing forces.

Susan Abbott: As an artist and poet I feel the influence of so many who have been inspirational – women artists and poets, such that I feel that nothing sets me “apart” from them. I am part of a sorority and a tradition that stands on the shoulders of many fine folks, more “a part of”! than “apart from.”! These include most notably the influences of poets Muriel Rukeyser, Judy Grahn and Audrey Lorde. The artistic influences come the likes of Georgia O’Keeffe, Frieda Kahlo, Carol Carter and Mary Whyte as well as Indigenous Australian artists, origin stories and Mother Nature herself. So I am not unique or apart in this. I share with many contemporary women artists and writers that my work fortifies and encourages us by incorporating strong female imagery into the work. I hope that women especially take away a sense of their own agency, strength and creative liberating possibility in engaging with my work. If it can be said I am proud of my work, it is for the senses of respect, joy, wonder, playfulness and humor I bring to it.

George Howell: I have written poetry throughout my life, though I haven’t published much until I retired and moved to the Hi-desert. My work, which often reflects my spoken voice, draws from encounters with the curious and sometimes outrageous facts of life in this unique natural and social environment. My subjects have ranged from mating insects to a car bombing – things I have witnessed in the desert. Recently my poetry has become more lyrical, based on meditative reflections, and dreams, as a result of isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic. Being connected to the writing community here has given me much to appreciate. The Cholla Needles reading series is a terrific venue for presenting work publicly, and I have been inspired to explore poetic forms, like haibun and the villanelle, after listening to the work of my peers.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc. In your view, what are some of the most fun, interesting, exciting people, places or things to check out?

Cynthia Anderson: We would definitely attend a Cholla Needles poetry reading. We would eat at the Food for Thought vegan café and hike the Split Rock Loop, Barker Dam, and Hidden Valley trails in Joshua Tree National Park. We’d also drive the Geology Tour Road loop in the park. We would go bird watching in Big Morongo Preserve and stop for some fresh produce at the Morongo Fruit Market. We would attend various art openings held on the second Saturday of the month. If it was the month of October, we would visit local artists during the Open Studio Tour. We would explore Pioneertown and visit the “Rhythms of Life” earthworks sculpture in Yucca Valley.

Michael G. Vail: A perfect day in the Morongo Basin would include: breakfast at the Country Kitchen in Joshua Tree, a restaurant that was featured on one of Anthony Bourdain’s TV shows; a drive through the Joshua Tree National Park and a hike and picnic in Hidden Valley; a visit to the Glass Outhouse art gallery in Wonder Valley; participation in a Cholla Needles author reading; and BBQ dinner and concert at Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace.

Kent Wilson: The first stop in the Morongo Basin should be to grab some pizza at Pie For The People in Yucca Valley. Whether a regular slice of cheese or one of their more exotic specialties, it’s wonderful. Coyote Hole is another must. Just outside The Joshua Tree National Park it’s a calming stroll. Perhaps it is my personal connection to the place as it was my father’s favorite spot to hike and it’s changed little in sixty years. It feels like such a privilege to walk freely among all those petroglyphs.
Raven’s Bookstore in Twentynine Palms is a great little store. It is very friendly and features some local writers’ work. They also have a well-curated selection of used books.
For a real treat, I recommend dining at La Copine on Old Woman Springs Road in Yucca Valley. It is pricey but well worth it. Everything I’ve tried there is so fresh tasting and delicious. Even the simplest dishes are terrific.
Joshua Tree Coffee makes a world class cup of joe. No better way to start a day in the desert than with the locally roasted brew.

John Sierpinski: Of course the first and foremost attraction is Joshua National Park. Both a ride through and a hike on one of the many trails like Barker Dam and Blackrock. I then take visitors to Ravens Book Store, Space Cowboy Books and Rainbow Stew. Sometimes I will take them to the Beatnik Lounge. Yucca Valley Old Town and the Frontier Cafe. Down the grade to the aerial tram as well as Twenty-nine Palms downtown and the Joshua Tree farmers market. I can’t forget Pappy and Harriets for dinner and music. Some other eating and drinking venues: J.T. Saloon, Three Sisters and Joshua Tree Coffee Company. If they stayed longer, more of the desert and down the grade to the Palm Desert area. I take visitors to Ravens Book store, Space Cowboy Books and Rainbow Stew.

Greg Gilbert: I would take them to my college and tell them the story of its founding, how local women held a quilt raffle to raise starter money for our own college, “right here at home.” I’d tell them how local Rotary clubs raised enough money to purchase land and begin construction, how the local military base did a “training” exercise to prepare the land, and how Copper Mountain College’s initial foundation, “The Friends” and local entrepreneurs financed its buildout.
Naturally, we would spend time in Joshua Tree National Park, walk out to Barker Dam and drive up to the Keys View to see the lower desert and Salton Sea, and visit the Integratron in Landers. We’d visit the Beauty Bubble Salon Museum in Joshua Tree, Space Cowboy Books, and the Noah Purifoy Desert Art Museum. We’d dine at Pie for the People, the Food for Thought Café at the Institute for Mental Physics, and La Copine.

Kurt Schauppner: Spots I would take my best friend include the murals of Twentynine Palms, the 29 Palms Oasis and the 29 Palms Inn.

Cindy Rinne: So many wonderful places to visit! Restaurants: Sam’s Pizza (Indian food), Frontier Café, Roadrunner Grab+Go. Galleries: La Matadora, JTAG (Joshua Tree Art Gallery), The Glass Outhouse, Mincing Mockingbird & Hey There, Beatnik, Desert Peach Art Gallery. Things to do: The Desert Split Open readings, Cholla Needles readings, Norah Purifoy, the Integratron, Wind Walkers Medicine Wheel, Joshua Tree National Park, World Famous Crochet Museum, Space Cowboy books, and much more.
Susan Abbott: I would want to show off Joshua Tree National Park and Queen Califia’s Magic Circle Sculpture Garden in Escondido. Two very different and magical places to visit in the area.

George Howell: The Joshua Tree area is blessed, and cursed, by its riches in nature, culture and creativity. A mecca for tourism, the region has become overrun with visitors, especially during the pandemic. I live in Wonder Valley, to the east of Twentynine Palms, and like to surprise people with what our part of the Hi-desert has to offer.
While it is sometimes difficult to get into Joshua Tree National Park, I like to take friends there as well as the Amboy Crater, a volcanic cone located about a 45 minute drive from downtown Twentynine Palms. Visitors also get a kick from the Glass Outhouse Gallery, a one-of-a-kind art space with a sprawling display of sculptural curios and bottle art in Wonder Valley, just a few miles from my home.
As for food, Mexican Street Tacos, in the bowling alley on San Gorgonio Street, is great for a quick bite, as is the humble Jelly Donut, which serves tasty Pho. For meals, there is the Kitchen in the Desert on Mesquite Avenue and the excellent Thai Cafe on Hwy 62. Another great spot with lots of atmosphere is the 29 Palms Inn, situated on a fragment of the Oasis of Mara near the national park visitor center.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there a person, group, organization, book, etc that you want to dedicate your shoutout to? Who else deserves a little credit and recognition in your story?

Cynthia Anderson: Rich Soos deserves all the credit in this story. Yay Rich!

Michael G. Vail: I dedicate my shoutout to two individuals: Ellen e. Baird, a professor at Copper Mountain College, and Rich Soos, the editor/publisher of Cholla Needles. For many years, Ellen served as the esteemed editor of HOWL, the college’s annual literary journal. She recognized the value of my writing when others didn’t and made me, for the first time in my life, a published author. Since Rich’s arrival in the Morongo Basin five years ago, the region’s literary community has grown and prospered. On a personal note, Rich has taken me under his wing. His advice has made me a better writer. The fact that Ellen and Rich published my work means I have an audience of readers to communicate with. No author can ask for more than that!

Kent Wilson: I shoutout Rich Soos is the editor Cholla Needles. He brings his many years of experience working with poets and writers to a locally focused publication. Even folks who are relatively new to this endeavor, like myself, receive encouragement and support from him. His enthusiasm for the written word
is infectious. He also makes a mean breakfast burrito.
And I shoutout Michael Vail, who is a marvelous author and poet that I’ve known for fifty years. While editor of his college newspaper, he was writing short stories. I was an early fan of his work and remain one. His fiction is unflinching and always moving. For the past three years, he’s been kind enough to help me polish my things before I submit them. He and his lovely wife Laura are two people I am grateful to know.

John Sierpinski: I shoutout my friend and mentor Debra Vest of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and of course, Rich Soos, editor-in-chief of Cholla Needles publications. Also local writers like George Howell, Cynthia Anderson, Cindy Rinne and Caryn Davidson to name a few.

Greg Gilbert: I would give a shout out to Space Cowboy Books, an independent bookshop in Joshua Tree, for hosting the first several years of Cholla Needles readings on the wooden stage outside its door. Space Cowboy and its proprietor Jean-Paul L. Garnier feature local authors and, inch-for-inch, offers an extraordinary variety of publications within its limited space. Space Cowboy books and online events have become a mainstay in the high desert.

Kurt Schauppner: I shoutout Susan Rukeyser of the Split Open Mic, which ought to be of interest to others.
John Brantingham: Rich Soos has done an exceptional job of developing and promoting much of the talent in this area. He tireless work for the community has given people a wide-ranging voice by publishing a magazine available worldwide.

Cindy Rinne: Rich Soos of Cholla Needles Press encouraged me to think out of the box. He designed books with more than one poem on the page and my art woven throughout. Books without a table of contents or page numbers. He places my art to tie the book together, not as literal interpretation. He is open to various forms. I have published a novel in verse that includes my fiber art, a collaborative collection of poetry and art, and poems with my photographs

Susan Abbott: I first met Rich in May 2017 when a local gallery hosted a show on the “Nasty Woman” theme. I had written a special poem for the spoken word aspect of the show’s opening. Rich was there and heard my performance after which he came up to me and said, “That really needs to be published. Soon. As it is so timely.” It was an anti-Trump political rant. I knew the timely relevance of it and agreed, having my own vision of a broadside or chapbook somewhere down the line. Many changes were afoot in my life at the time and I knew darn well it would be at least a couple of years before I would get to it. But, yes, I agreed it was publication worthy. Rich invited me to a poetry reading brunch they were having the next day in a nearby town. So on the tails of the rousing reception to the first reading of my “Nasty Women” poem, I went to do it again the next day at The Palms in Wonder Valley. Again, a warm poetry crowd that included many familiar faces, among them my new friend, Rich Soos. Again Rich told me, “This needs to be published and soon.” “Yah, yah, yah. I know,” I said somewhat dismissively. Two weeks later I read the poem at a gay pride celebration. Rich was there and again after the reading approached me saying, “That REALLY needs to be published soon. I even have reserved an ISBN for it. If you want I could do it.” Really? Third time was the charm. This guy was way ahead of me . . . so why not? I agreed to send him the text and by the end of the week he brought me a print out of my poem laid out into a 24-page chapbook. We tinkered about the graphic art work over the next month and we had a published manifesto in hand by August! In a world where publishing turnaround often takes at least two years, I thought this was quite remarkable and inspiring!
More recently Rich worked with me to publish my chapbook of original poetry and art, “The Everyday Holy of We” (Cholla Needles, 2022). We had a lot of communication back and forth communication to make the book as beautiful as possible. Again the turnaround time from delivery of manuscript to publication was less than three months!

George Howell: I first met Rich at a large group reading in Joshua Tree. After the event, he approached every reader and individually encouraged us to contribute to his magazine. I’d never heard of Cholla Needles, but I couldn’t pass up an invitation to submit my work for publication. I hadn’t published much poetry before, so this shot in the arm was just what I needed. In addition to printing my work in the magazine, Rich encouraged me to publish my first book, The Stony Embrace. I don’t know how many books Rich has nurtured into existence, but I’m sure it’s in the hundreds. I think Rich’s sense of service – of providing opportunities to build solidarity among creative writers who tend to be solitary and isolated – is a gift and a talent that makes him such a special human being.

Website: https://www.chollaneedles.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cholla.needles.3

Other: https://www.facebook.com/ChollaNeedlesPoetry/ folks interested in submitting to the magazine can send 10-12 poems to editor@chollaneedles.com

Image Credits
Rich Soos & Cholla Needles photo by Greg Wyss. John Brantingham photo by Alexis Fancher. Kent Wilson Photo by Caylie Phillips.