Of Humilities and Horse Mussels

By Charles Hood

“To a mountaineer,” wrote John Muir, “a sea voyage is a grand, inspiring, restful change.” And one snowless January, unable to ski and too lazy to climb, I took him up on that, voyaging not over the sea but along its side, on a ramble through the tide pools of Orange County. Is there still nature south of Los Angeles? Indeed so, as was obvious even at the starting point, Corona del Mar, where in a minute (and with binoculars) you can tick a dozen species of coastal birds.

This is Newport Beach

By Chris Davidson
 

Outside the Crab Cooker, two in their twenties
enjoy a kiss, are biting lips, their heads
two boxing-gloved fists, waiting for the bell.

They eventually stop and he hands her something,
money or keys, and one of them must work
at the Crab Cooker—that’s why they kiss like that.

They are dressed in browns and royal blues and
forest greens before a rust restaurant near a black car,
like an ad for something I didn’t know I want.

After nearly 14 years, The Ear is returning to the Orange County literary scene. We encourage submissions of poetry and prose from new and professional writers from the local area. We seek to include a diverse range of styles and content. We especially like work that pulls us into the moment, something that helps us see the world in a new way.

Staff

Virginia Shank
Faculty Advisor

Advisory Board

Ruben Guzman
Lewis Long
Summer Serpas

​Editorial Board

For more information, visit the IVC Foundation

The Ear is the literary journal of Irvine Valley College, a member of the South Orange County Community College District. It began in 1982 under the editorship of Elaine Rubenstein as a labor of love by faculty in the Humanities Department of what was then Saddleback College North Campus. The faculty wanted to share the excellent work of students, faculty, and local authors and artists. We celebrated many authors’ very first publications, as well as including the work of writers who have been celebrated by many others.