Poets

"A Touch of the Poet," at Glendale's A Noise Within Theatre, pays homage to playwright Eugene O'Neill by presenting a straight-ahead, nonexperimental interpretation of the writer's work. This particular production excels, thanks to the sometimes fierce, sometimes tender acting of some actors, and it falters due to the over-wrought melodrama of others. Deborah Strang is wonderful, playing Nora, doting wife of tavern-owner and former military hero Cornelius Melody (Geoff Elliott)

GLENDALE — The following are updates on area athletes playing at the collegiate level .   Kathryn Poet (Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, 2007) sophomore outfielder, University of Missouri softball: Poet helped the Tigers reach the Women’s College World Series for the first time in 14 years, where Missouri opened up with a 7-3 loss to 10th-seeded and defending champion Arizona State on Thursday in Oklahoma City. Poet, a former All-Area selection, went hitless in two at-bats and walked once.

Gary Soto, author of 10 poetry collections, will speak at the Pacific Branch Library, 501 S. Pacific Ave., at 7 p.m. April 23. Soto, whose "New and Selected Poems" was a 1995 finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award and the National Book Award, writes about the lives of Mexican Americans, nature and personal dreams. He writes poetry, novels and short stories for young readers and adults. Soto's presentation will be titled "Local News: Poetry and Prose," and is presented by the Friends of the Glendale Public Library.

Michael Gross and David Birney are set to replace Craig T. Nelson and Pat Harrington in the CCAP production of Eugene O'Neill's acclaimed drama "A Touch of the Poet" at the Alex Theatre on Feb. 28, and March 1 and 2 at 7 p.m. Nelson and Harrington were forced to drop out of the performance due to scheduling conflicts. Nelson was recently cast to star opposite actress Diane Keaton in the new romantic comedy "The Family Stone." "A Touch of the Poet"is set in a shabby tavern outside Boston in 1828.

Last week, I joined a group of 12 pre-teens in the conference room of the Montrose Branch of the Glendale Public Library to observe their poetry writing class. The four senior citizens who are enrolled in the class were unable to attend. I was disappointed not to see them because the course is billed as a cross-generational experience; that feature had drawn my interest. I love to read poetry, but my college poetry writing classes made me feel as though I had taken apart a valuable watch to see how it worked and didn't have the skills to put it back together.

GLENDALE — The following are odds and ends from the local sports scene. TOLOGS IN ALL-STAR GAMES Several Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy softball players will get a chance to play at least one more high school softball game, taking part in all-star games this week. Senior center fielder Kathryn Poet will be the busiest. She will take part in the San Fernando Valley Classic All-Star Game at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Birmingham High in Van Nuys. She is the only local player to take part in the game which has essentially replaced the Bernie Milligan softball game.

GLENDALE — The following are updates on area athletes at the collegiate level. Christian Bergman (St. Francis High, 2006) senior pitcher, UC Irvine baseball: The former All-Area Player of the Year has a scoreless inning streak of to 24 1/3 innings going, as Bergman (8-3) has lowered his earned-run average to 3.82 and has 74 strikeouts on the year. But Bergman's good fortune didn't play a part in his team's setback on Friday. The Anteaters began play in the Los Angeles Regional on Friday afternoon at UCLA.