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SUNDAY ANNOUNCEMENTS: Calls for Submissions, Contests, Events and other News and Information

CALLS FOR SUBMISSIONS

Opportunity Knocks

THE BeZINE will accept submissions until April 10 midnight PST of poetry or essays on poetry for our interNational Poetry Month issue.  Submissions to bardogroup@gmail.com Pub date is April 15th.  Mission statement HERE.  Submission Guidelines HERE.

URBAN FARMHOUSE PRESS is now seeking book-length manuscripts.  General guidelines: Crossroads Poetry Series: minimum 50-60 pages of poetry; Fiction: minimum 150 pages of prose: Novellas: 60-145 pages of prose; Cities of the Straits Chapbook Series: 20-40 pages of poetry or fiction. Submissions open from April to August annually. Details HERE.

BIRDS PILED LOOSELY PRESS magazine is published three-times a year and the editors are interested in plays, sestinas, sonnets, short-stories, creative nonfiction, “hybrid word vomit,” etc. and “we welcome work from all genres.” This press also publishes three chapbooks a year.  Details HERE. 

HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN, an anthology on parenting and mental illness seeks nonfiction: essay, memoir, or creative hybrid. “It doesn’t have to be in first person, but it needs to be personal and true.” Submission from April 1 – August 1 2017. Details HERE.

WRAPAROUND SOUTH seeks submissions of poems, fiction, creative nonfiction, mixed genre works, and interviews that are previously unpublished literary works between September 1st through November 20th for our Fall/Winter issue, and between February 1st to April 20th for our Spring/Summer issue. Details HERE. There is a processing fee of $2.50 on all submissions.

HIPPOCAMPUS MAGAZINE is a monthly magazine that accepts submission of memoir excerpts, personal essay and flash creative nonfiction. Articles by assignment only. $45 dollar honorarium or accepted work sixty days after publication. Processing fee of $3. Details HERE. This press also publishes books. Details HERE.

ARTEMISpoetry is published twice yearly by Second Light Network of Women Poets (based in London). Poems by women of any age may be submitted now for Issue 19. Deadlines:  Poetry by 31st August 2017; Artwork by 14th September 2017. Details HERE.

HAUNTED WATERS PRESS “is the annual literary journal of Haunted Waters Press. Featuring works of prose and poetry, the journal is released in both print and digital formats in the fall of each year. Described as “one of the most compelling and beautifully illustrated literary journals,” From the Depths was created to showcase and celebrate the writing of new, emerging, and established authors. We offer contributors several paths to publication.” Reading periods vary. Calendar and other details HERE.

CONTESTS

Opportunity Knocks

The PEN Center USA Literary Awards, Calls for Submissions:”… is accepting teleplays by writers living west of the Mississippi River. Entries are reviewed and judged by panels of distinguished writers, critics, and editors. Winners will be announced in the late summer of 2017. Each winner receives a $1,000 cash prize, a one-year membership to PEN Center USA, and two tickets to the Literary Awards Festival in the fall of 2017.” Further Details HERE.

HIPPOCAMPUS MAGAZINE CREATIVE NONFICTION AWARD $1,200: Memoir excerpts and personal essays up to 4,000 words; August 31, 2017 deadline; $12 entry fee.  Details HERE.

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS has deadlines coming up on three contests:

  • $5,000 Miller Poetry Prize deadline is September 30, 2017.  The judge is Billy Collins and the entry fee is $28.  This is for collections. Further details HERE.
  • 2018 $1,000 Etel Adnan Poetry Prize for a second book of poetry in English by a writer of Arab heritage.  “Since its founding in 1996 the Radius of Arab American Writers has celebrated and fostered the writings and writers that make up the vibrant and diverse Arab American community; and the University of Arkansas Press has long been committed to publishing diverse kinds of poetry by a diversity of poets. The series editors are Hayan Charara and Fady Joudah, and the prize is named in honor of the world-renowned poet, novelist, essayist, and artist Etel Adnan.”  $25 entry fee. Hayan Charara and Fady Joudah are judges and the series’ editors. Further detail HERE. April 15, 2017 is the dealine to be considered for the 2018 prize.
  • 2018 $1,000 CantoMundo Poetry Prize for “a book of poetry by a Latina/o writer. Since its founding in 2009, CantoMundo has cultivated and supported a community of Latina/o poets and the poetry they create, and the University of Arkansas Press has long been committed to publishing diverse kinds of poetry by a diversity of poets.” Deborah Paredez and Celeste Gúzman Mendoza are the judges and the series’ editors. $28 entry free. Further detail HERE. April 15, 2017 is the deadline to be considered for the 2018 prize.

SECOND LIGHT NETWORK OF WOMEN POETS 2017 (Demographic restrictions) Short and Long Poem competion is open JUDGE MYRA SCHNEIDER will read all entries. Myra Schneider’s latest and recent books are Persephone in Finsbury Park (SLP), The Door to Colour (Enitharmon); What Women Want (SLP); and the writing resource, Writing Your Self (with John Killick). Deadline Tuesday, 15 August.

  • £300 First Prize for each of Long (no upper limit) and Short (max 50 lines) poems
  •  £150 Second Prize (1 poem from either category)
  • £75 Third Prize (1 poem from either category)
  • Winning & Commended Poets published (in full or extract) in ARTEMISpoetry
  • Winners offered a London reading.

Entry: £6 each per long poem. Short poems: £4 each or £9 for 3, £14 for 8. Enter by post (2 copies) or online.
**Members are entitled to one free entry into the competition. Join now to be eligible.** (see About Second Light/Joining)
more: Rules & Entry        direct link to payment at poetry p f online shop note: payment link in competition flyer ends ‘s l(el) 5’, not ‘s 1(one) 5‚. The results will be posted on the website by 30th September.

EVENTS

  • TONIGHT! Austin Writers’ Roulette, Sunday April 9, 4-6 p.m. CDT, Malvern Books, 213 W@ 29th St. Austin, TX,  Austin Writers Roulette is an uncensored, theme-inspired spoken word and storytelling event. It features a different monthly theme and line up of artists who perform their original written works such as poetry, essays, spoken word, singer-songwriting, or excerpts from novels for 5-8 minutes (1200 words or fewer). Interested artists who would like to perform for an upcoming event can email their submission to mathdreads@yahoo.com. Or you can show up during the day of the event and sign up for the open mic after all the featured artists perform. And of course, performance art lovers are always welcome! This month’s theme is “Pretense Is Underrated.” Our featured artists include: DONNA DECHEN BIRDWELL, JUSTIN BOOTH, TERESA Y. ROBERSON, & THOM THE WORLD POET. Visit the Austin Writers Roulette website for more information:http://austinwritersroulette.com/
  • TONIGHT! Bus Boys and Poets, Jazz & Verse Open Mic, Tacoma, Washington, every second Sunday, cap off brunch with two hours of incredible music and poetry! Audiences can expect a diverse array of spoken word performers, open mic rookies, musicians and more with a Jazz soundtrack! It will feature the sounds of a professional Jazz Band to groove us into the night. All are welcomed to perform, or enjoy a night of Jazz & Verse! Time, Place and other Details HERE.
  • HIPPOCAMP 2017 A Conference for Creative Nonfiction Writers, September 8-10, 2017, Lancaster, PA  Early Bird Registration: $379.00 Regular registration: $419.00  Details HERE.
  • Reginald Gibbons & Angela Jackson, Thursday, April 20, 7 pm Poetry Foundation,  61 West Superior Street, Chicago.
    Free admission. Details HERE.

NEWS & INFORMATION

The recommended read: On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder. Left, right or center – American or not – it’s a must read.

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ABOUT THE POET BY DAY

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not with a bang but a whimper, three poems

BARUCH, THE BAKER

Your heart is smarter, my Baruch,
then your head,
which is smart indeed –
and your hands and gnarly fingers
are smarter still.
They fashion bread from
cream-colored flours,
silky to the touch.
Kneading the dough
patiently, patiently
letting it rise
while I sleep –
safe, in my bed.

Up at six a.m. we walk sleepily
down a lavender-gray street,
an apricot sun peeking at us
and, rising higher in the sky,
it seemingly follows us to you.

Cheer-filled arrival with greetings
and smiles from dear Baruch and
warm sugar smells, yeasty scents
and the sight of golden loaves,
some voluptuous rounds and
others, sturdy rectangulars.
You have baked cinnamon rolls,
a child’s delight, pies and
sticky buns too…and cookies!

“We’ll take a French bread” my Mom says
pointing to a crispy brown baguette.
“And a raisin bread.”
She adds …
“We’ll need that sliced.”

I watch your hands flit gracefully
like butterflies in a green valley
stopping here and then there
to pull fragrant loaves from display
and slicing them, neatly packaging,
then reaching down over the counter
you hand me a little bag of rugelach.

As I look up, reaching for your gift
I stop breathing, arrested by
a wisp of blue on your forearm.
I am studious, a reader, dear Baruch,
I know what that tattoo means …
Looking down, with a whisper I choke
“Thank you, Baruch!”
swallowing that lump of sadness,
trying not to show my tears.
What right have I to tears?
But then you, dear Baruch, come
bounding round the counter
with warm hugs and soft tissues,
as though I was the one hurt.
From that day forever more,
I saw you only in long sleeves.

At lunchtime, I demanded –
“Mom, tell me about Baruch.”
And she does.
I am pensive over our meal,
canned marinara and slices of
of your baguette.
Dear Baruch, with each salty bite
I eat your tears and
the blood of your daughter.
Nights she stares at me from that
sepia photo by your register.

Baruch, did she, like me, assume
a grown-up life
of school and jobs,
marriage and children?
And you! You must have assumed
the tender comfort of
her love in your old age.
Do you hold the vision of her
young and happy in your
brave, kindly old heart?
Does your ear still play back
her childish laughter,
the sound of her voice
begging for a story?
Do your warm brown eyes still hold
her smile in remembrance?
When you see little girls like me,
does your anguish grow?

Dear Baruch, our dear Baruch –
how will you set your child free
from that faraway land and
cold, unmarked mass grave?

“The eyes are not here
There are no eyes here
In this valley of dying stars
In this hollow valley
This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms”
The Hollow Men, T.S. Elliot

© 2008, poem, Jamie Dedes, All rights reserved; photograph of a holocaust survivor displaying his arm tattoo courtesy of Frankie Fouganthin under CC BY-SA 2.0 license

SOME MOTHERS HEARTS HAVE STOPPED

Some mothers’ children stare unseeing
No sweet, wet baby kisses from blistered lips,

. . . . songs unsung

No wedding portraits to dust and treasure
No graduations or trips to the sea

. . . . just their bodies to bury

crushed
beaten
stilled

by the engine of nihilism

Limbs cracked and broken, bellies torn
Faces purpled, hearts stopped

Hearts stopped …
. . . . hearts stopped

Some mothers’ hearts have stopped

Some mother's children
Some mothers’ children

“It was a slow and brutal death for so many,” Trump said as he announced the attack on a Syrian airbase, retaliating for the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime. “Even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this very barbaric attack. No child of God should ever suffer such horror.” 

“Mistah Kurtz-he [lives]
….. A penny for the Old Guy …

Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!”
The Hollow Men, T.S. Elliot

© 2015, poem, Jamie Dedes, All rights reserved; photograph of some mothers’ children killed in the Syrian Civil War, Ghouta massacre/uploaded by Bkwillwm to Wikipedia under CC BY 3.0 license (I believe it may be a screen shot from a news video)

THE DOVES HAVE FLOWN

what must it be like for you in your part of the world?
there is only silence, i don’t know your name, i know only
that the fire of Life makes us one in this, the human journey,
trudging through mud, by land and by sea, reaching for the sun
like entering a ritual river without a blessing or a prayer
on the street where you lived, your friends are all gone
the houses are crushed and the doves have flown
there is only silence, no children playing, no laughter
here and there a light remains to speak to us of loneliness,
yet our eyes meet in secret, our hearts open on the fringe,
one breath and the wind blows, one tear and the seas rise,
your grief drips from my eyes and i tremble with your fear

“This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.”
The Hollow Men, T.S. Elliot

© poem, 2016, Jamie Dedes, All rights reserved; Mindanao Bleeding-heart at London Zoo, England courtesy of Drew Avery under CC BY-SA 2.0 license

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JUSTICE ACTION MONDAYS: Flash Advocacy

Unitarian Universalist Church of San Mateo California

Rev. Benjamin Meyers and the congregation of the Unitarian Universalists of San Mateo (UUSM) invite friends and neighbors in San Mateo to take part in Justice Action Mondays: Flash Advocacy. This Monday/April 10, we’ll write postcards protesting the elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts.  We’ll continue making posters for those participating in the local Climate Marches in San Jose and Oakland on Earth Day, April 29. Snacks, supplies and pleasant, like-minded company provided.

Justice Action Mondays: Flash Advocacy!
Every Monday from 5:30-6:30 pm in Beck Hall
Unitarian Universalists of San Mateo
300 E Santa Inez Avenue
San Mateo, CA 94401
650 342 5946
Office Hours: Tu-Fri 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Apropos this effort: Lesson Fifteen: Practice Corporeal Politics. Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen.  Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people.  Make new friends and march with them.” Prof. Timothy Snyder, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century.

The quote and recommended reading suggestion are from me, not UUSM. Justice Action Mondays are, however, a good way to implement this lesson and something that can be implemented by any organization almost anywhere in the world.

Peace! Hope! Joy!

Love, Jamie

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the mind and love, like two wings

Furious dreams, rivers of bitter certainty,
decisions harder than the dreams of a hammer
flowed into the lovers’ double cup,

until those twins were lifted into balance
on the scale: the mind and love, like two wings.
– So this transparency was built.

– Pablo Neruda
One Hundred Love Sonnets: Cien sonetos de amor (English and Spanish Edition)
translation by Stephen Tapscott

Regarding the flower photograph: As you may have noticed over the past few days, I’ve been experimenting with special effects for flower photographs. This flower photo put me in mind of Neruda’s poem. (Everything he wrote seems to stay in memory.) Originally the photograph wasn’t meant to be blurry but The Bax was pulling me along as I was clicking away and some photos got “ruined.” In the end, I appreciated the misty mysterious quality that the blurring gave this one. Some of the best things happen by accident – or at least partly by accident.

“In politics being deceived is no excuse.” Leszak Kolakowski

Recommended read: On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder. Left, right or center – American or not – it’s a must read for our chaotic times … and not just the list of lessons but Prof. Snyder’s commentary on each. This book is a rational enlightening little gem and a powerful wake-up call.

Lesson Five: “Remember Professional Ethics When political leaders set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become more important.  It is hard to subvert a rule–of-law state without lawyers, or to hold show trials without judges. Authoritarians need obedient civil servants, and concentration camp directors seek businessmen interested in cheap labor.”

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