We extend a warm welcome to poet and musician Dick Jones, new to Wednesday Writing Prompt, and a warm thank you to our treasured regulars: Colin Blundell, Paul Brookes, Kakali Das Ghosh, and Sonja Benskin Mesher and to occasional participants Gary W. Bowers and Denise Aileen DeVires. Welcome back!
The Northern Maronite Basilica in Brad (Barad), Aleppo courtesy of Hani Simo under CC BY 2.0
I’m pleased that Dick chose to write about Abu Ward, a citizen of Aleppo, the city from which my family sailed from the Middle East to come to the United States a little more than a century ago. CNN called Abu Ward the “last Syrian gardener.” He’s not, of course, though there are few like him. Nonetheless, how some support their spirit in the face of a tragedy so monumental is remarkable.
Like my Lebanese grandmother before me, I season my cooking with Aleppo Pepper. I know that it no longer comes from these beautiful people and their cultured city, which was one of the oldest in world. To say the heart aches is understatement. Rest in peace, Abu Ward, and all victims of this multifaceted violence. The peoples of Syria are not forgotten.
Join us tomorrow for the next Wednesday Writing Prompt. All are welcome: novice, emerging or pro. See you then … Meanwhile, enjoy – and perhaps be inspired by – this rather special collection.
ABU WARD
‘The presence of the world is flowers’. Abu Ward
This was the man
who planted flowers
where the bombs
were falling.
This is his son
who kneels alone
by the garden gate.
The dust he pushes
around their stems
with his thumb is where
his father lives now.
And each flower
will lift some dust
as it rises in spring.
Abu Ward (from the Arabic for ‘Father of the Flowers’) maintained his carefully nurtured flower garden during the worst of Assad’s systematic bombing of Aleppo. He was killed by a bomb dropped near his home. His son Ibrahim left school at thirteen to help his father. After Abu Ward’s death, Ibrahim attempted to maintain the garden, which is now closed. Sadly, in this instance, environmental justice has been, as so often, a victim of warfare.
DICK JONES says he was initially wooed by the First World War poets and then seduced by the Beats. He has been exploring the vast territories in between since the age of fifteen. His work has been published in a number of magazines, print and online, including Orbis, The Interpreter’s House, Poetry Ireland Review, Qarrtsiluni, Westwords, Mipoesias, Three Candles, Other Poetry, Rattlesnake and Ouroboros Review. In 2010 he received a Pushcart nomination for his poem Sea Of Stars. His first collection, Ancient Lights was published by Phoenicia Publishing and is available from them or via Amazon. His translation of Blaise Cendrars’ epic poem La Prose du Trans-Siberien… was published in an illustrated collaborative edition with artist Natalie D’Arbeloff by Old Stile Press in 2014. Dick writes lyrics and plays bass guitar in acoustic/electric songwriting trio Moorby Jones.
as you take the road to Paradise
about half-way there
you come to an inn
which even as inns go is admirable
you go into the garden of it
and see the great trees and the wall
of Box Hill shrouding you all round
it is beautiful enough (in all conscience)
to arrest you without the need of history
or any admixture of pride of place
but as you sit in a seat in the garden
you are sitting where Nelson sat
when he said goodbye to Emma;
if you move a yard or two you will be
where Keats sat biting his pen
thinking out some new line of poem
bagged sugar cherry extract oil
of cloves buckminsterfullerene
essences pantheonized for delectation
bottled genies at our command
we so love purities
fleece white as snow
anthracite darkly dense
radial 24-caratotomy
kruggerrandom acts
and we feel godlike
magicmongering
we soupify the sky
we landfillet the lakes
sadsaturate soil
slagsilt the seven seas
it is a remorseless juggernaut
this megamodular magicker
and some of us are waking up
some of us want a different magic
the magic of the camper
who goes sees enjoys records
leaves the site none the worse
some of us want a reckoning
a calling to account
shame and punishment
some of us want to be sheriffs
but YOU STOP THAT NOW
is just like any other war
on any other badguy
and artificial value
has yielded unartificial power
and corruptive pushback
and corrosive continuance
deliverance must come
as with any other childbirth
spasmodically and with some blood
crowning and pushing through membrane
a slap and a gasp and a wail
our magical recording
and
transmitting devices will help
ill-gotten gains though they be
our one-person choices will help
at least
the enormity of the challenge
the size and perversity of the beast
will be revealed
as you yes you
give up your midas’s vehicles
stop eating the factory-farmed
children of hell’s misery
and reduce
the
“places you must see before you die”
to
zero
serve up justice to yourselves
and fire the single brick
of your life’s commitment
in the kiln
of paradise
Raise your head
I’m your benevolent mother
My eyes -your azure sky
When you are blown by caustic fervor
My brimming watery eyes turn into serene raindrops to alleviate you
My hands -your verdurous trees
When you lie wearily on my verdant lap
My hands spread florid twigs to shade you
My moist lips -your rivers
When your thirst touches me
Words of my lips turn into rivulets to kiss you to mitigate your thirst
Now -my son
Why are you burning my eyes with your voluminous black smoke
Why are you cutting my hands with your severe axe so grimly
Why are you tearing my lips throwing poisonous blues
I’m your mother earth
I’m your reason of survival -with snowy peaks
-golden flowers
-dancing rivers
Wouldn’t you be just to me
Wouldn’t you be fair to me
Not only for me but also
For your nourishment
For your children’s nutriment
For your future’s sustenance ages after ages …
PEN America announced last week that it will honor author and LGBT cultural pioneer Edmund White with the annual PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction.
EDMUND WHITE (b. 1940) is an American novelist, memoirist, and an essayist on literary and social topics. Much of his writing is on the theme of same-sex love. His books include The Joy of Gay Sex (1977) (written with Charles Silverstein, a writer, therapist, lecturer and gay activist), his trio of autobiographic novels, A Boy’s Own Story (1982), The Beautiful Room Is Empty (1988) and The Farewell Symphony (1997), and his biography of Jean Genet. His website is HERE. His Amazon page is HERE.
If you are viewing this from an email subscription, you’ll likely have to link through to the site to watch this video.
The 2018 PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature will go to the extraordinarily prolific Irish novelist Edna O’Brien, whose acclaimed work broke down social and sexual barriers for women in Ireland and elsewhere.
Edna O’Brien at Hay Festival 2016 courtesy of Andrew Lih under CC BY-SA 3.0
EDNA O’BRIEN, DBE (b. 1930) is an Irish novelist, memoirist, playwright, poet and short story writer. Philip Roth described her “the most gifted woman now writing in English”, while the former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, cited her as “one of the great creative writers of her generation”.
O’Brien’s works often revolve around the inner feelings of women, and their problems in relating to men, and to society as a whole.Her first novel, The Country Girls, is often credited with breaking silence on sexual matters and social issues during a repressive period in Ireland following World War II.The book was banned, burned and denounced from the pulpit, and O’Brien left Ireland behind.
O’Brien received the Irish PEN Award in 2001. Saints and Sinners won the 2011 Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award, the world’s richest prize for a short story collection. Faber and Faber published her memoir, Country Girl, in 2012. Her Faber & Faber author’s page is HERE. Her Amazon page is HERE.
If you are viewing this from an email subscription, you’ll likely have to link through to the site to watch this video.
PEN America will also honor:
poet Kamau Brathwaite with the PEN/ Voelcker Award,
translator Barbara Harshav with the PEN/ Manheim Medal for Translation, and
author Dave Kindred with the PEN/ ESPN Lifetime Achievement Award for Literary Sports Writing.
The PEN/ Laura Pels Foundation for Theater Awards will be conferred on playwrights:
Luis Alfaro for Master American Dramatist,
Sibyl Kempson for American Dramatist in Mid-Career, and
Mike Lew for Emerging American Playwright.
White, O’Brien, and PEN America’s other career achievement award winners will accept their prizes at the 2018 PEN America Literary Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, February 20, at the NYU Skirball Center near Washington Square Park. Featuring readings, performances, and edge-of-your-seat live announcements of the winners for the year’s prizes, this annual celebration of literature and free expression has become one the city’s premier literary events drawing the biggest names and the hottest new voices in literature. Special guests, finalists, and presenters in attendance will include:
Tanwi Nandini Islam
Yahdon Israel
Hari Kunzru
Victor LaValle
Colum McCann
Lynn Nottage
Philip Roth
Layli Long Soldier
Monique Truong
Kevin Young
David Zirin
… and many more
Hosted by author, social activist, and political commentator
Sally Kohn
A full list of finalists for the 2018 PEN America Literary Awards is available HERE . All book award winners will be announced at the ceremony. Purchase tickets HERE. I understand that this is the first year tickets are being made available to the general public. Student tickets are discounted.
Compiled with thanks to PEN America, White’s website, Faber & Faber, Wikipedia and Amazon.
PEN Americastands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect open expression in the United States and worldwide. It champions the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Its mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible.
A Place for Freelance Writers and Artists, The Haven Foundation (created by Stephen King) “gives financial assistance to provide temporary support needed to safeguard and sustain the careers of established freelance artists, writers and other members of the arts and art production communities who have suffered disabilities or experienced a career-threatening illness, accident, natural disaster or personal catastrophe. Grants are awarded and renewed at the discretion of the Haven Foundation Board.” Details including eligibility guidelines and application are HERE.
The Authors League Fund (writers helping writers) has assisted professional writers and dramatists who find themselves in financial need because of medical or health-related problems, temporary loss of income, or other misfortune. Details HERE.
Human Rights Watch administers the Hellman/Hammett Grants program for writers who have been victims of political persecution or are in financial need.Hellman/Hammett grants typically range from $1,000 to a maximum of $10,000. In addition to providing much needed financial assistance, the Hellman/Hammett grants focus attention on repression of free speech and censorship by publicizing the persecution that the grant recipients endured. Details HERE: 212 292 4700
PEN Writers’ Fund Grants of up to $2,000 available to published writers in acute financial crisis. No membership necessary. Application and details HEREarielle@pen.org Note the next deadline is February 15.
FELLOWSHIP
The Oxford American welcomes submissions for The Oxford American Jeff Baskin Writers Fellowship. Fellow will receive a $10,000 living stipend, housing, and an editorial apprenticeship with the Oxford American toward a nine-month residency in the thriving creative capital, Central Arkansas. Submissions are open until March 24, 2018. Read more about eligibility and guidelines, here.
CALLS FOR SUBMISSIONS
Opportunity Knocks
COTTON XENOMORPH a relatively new “journal produced with the mission to showcase new and ecstatic art” focused on social justice. Its editors categorize it as a “no creeps” publication … that is, no xenophobes, sexist, fat-shamers and the like … much the spirit of The BeZine. Nice! Although new, it’s clearly getting its groove on with a nice mix of poetry, fiction and visual arts are of interest. No submission charges. No payment. Copyright remains with the author. DetailsHERE.
ECOTONE MAGAZINE, Reimaging Place, a publication of University of North Carolina Wilmington, is published twice a year and features prose and poetry. Submissions are open from August 15–September 5, and again from December 15–January 5. Mark your calendar. Details HERE.
FIELDS MAGAZINE publishes fiction, nonfiction, poetry and visual arts. Submission are accepted on a rolling basis. Query for articles, profiles, interviews and essays. $3 submission fee to help defray operational costs, which may be deferred in hardship cases. Details HERE.
HERON TREE: invites submissions through 8 April 2018 for a special series devoted to visual poetry crafted for presentation in a black-and-white format. “Visual poetry” means different things to different people, and the editors are open to a wide range of submissions, including but by no means limited to: concrete poetry, calligrams, altered text, erasures, typewriter art, asemics, abstractions, collages of words and/or images, poems in which visual arrangement is primary and unconventional, and poems that aren’t readable out loud but communicate visually. Accepted pieces will be published on the Heron Tree website (herontree.com) and collected in a free, downloadable PDF e-volume. Editorial reading and decisions are on a rolling basis. For more information about how to submit your work, visit herontree.com/how.
JOURNAL OF MODERN LITERATURE, UNIVERSITY OF INDIANA PRESS is published quarterly and welcomes submission on scholarly studies of literature in all languages. Details HERE.
NARRATIVELY, Human Stories, Boldly Told ” is devoted to original and untold human stories, delivered in the most appropriate format for each piece, from writing to short documentary films, photo essays, audio stories and comics journalism. We are always interested in adding new, diverse voices to the mix and we pay for stories. We accept both pitches for story ideas and completed submissions …” Details HERE.
OXFORD AMERICAN publishes fiction and nonfiction and its window for submissions closes on September 1. Submission free. Details HERE.
WILDNESS REVIEW “is an online literary journal that seeks to promote contemporary fiction, poetry and non-fiction that evokes the unknown. Founded in 2015, each thoughtfully compiled issue strives to unearth the works of both established and up-and-coming writers.” This review works on a rolling submissions basis. Poetry (under 80 lines) and prose (under 2,500 words). No submission fees. No payment. Wilderness reviews does “nominate for most major prizes (Pushcart, Best of the Net, Best American, etc.) and continue to promote contributors after publication.” Details HERE.
WORDRUNNER eCHAPBOOKs publishes short stories collections and is open through April 15. Some stories may be previously published. Submission fee. Cash payment. Details HERE.
CONTESTS
Opportunity Knocks
THE ANTIVENOM POETRY AWARD sponsored by Elixir Press is for a first or second collection and is open through March 31. Cash award. Entry fee. Details HERE.
THE ELIXIR PRESS 2018, FICTION AWARD for short story collections and novels is open for submissions through May 31 and offers a cash prize, publication and copies. Entry fee. Details HERE.
THE KILLER NASHVILLE CLAYMORE AWARD for English-language genre fiction (mystery and thriller) is open through April 1. Cash awards. Entry fees. Details HERE.
THE NEW AMERICAN POETRY PRIZE “is awarded each year to a full-length collection of poetry. The winner receives $1,000 and a book contract, as well as 25 author’s copies and promotional support. The submission period is usually September 1 – January 1. Mark you calendar for 2018. Details HERE.
THE NEW AMERICAN FICTION PRIZE is awarded each year to a full-length collection of fiction. The winner receives $1,000 and a book contract, as well as 25 author’s copies and promotional support. The submission period is usually February 15 – June 15.” Details HERE.
TIN HOUSE features fiction, nonfiction and poetry and accepts submissions March and September only. Details HERE.
EVENTS
Tin House Summer Workshop, July 8th-15th, Portland, OR is accepting application now. Details HERE.
National poetry Series Winners Reading, AWP Offsite Event, Tampa, Florida March 8 Details HERE.
Reading Queer: Poetry in a Time of Chaos, AWP off-site reading, Tampa, Florida, March 9 Details HERE.
This reading and mixer event presents Michael Dickel, the first 2018 resident for the 100 Thousand Poets for Change On Lake Jackson Residency Program-Tallahassee, FL.
Michael Dickel’s (Meta/Phor(3)/Play) poetry has won international awards and has been translated into several languages. His most recent books of poetry include Breakfast at the End of Capitalism (2017) and The Palm Reading after The Toad’s Garden (2016). He is co-editor of Voices Israel Volume 36 (2010), was managing editor for arc-23 and 24, and is a past-chair of the Israel Association of Writers in English. With producer / director David Fisher, he received an NEH documentary-film development grant. Michael Dickel lives in Jerusalem.
Kristine Snodgrass is the author of most recently Out of the World (Hysterical Books, 2016), Co-director of Anhinga Press, and a professor at FAMU. She loves collaborating and is always searching for new projects with artists and poets.
Terri Carrión was conceived in Venezuela and born in New York to a Galician mother and Cuban father. Her poetry, fiction, non-fiction, translations, and photography has appeared and disappeared in print and online. She is assistant editor and art designer for Bigbridge.org., and co-founder of the global grassroots movement 100 Thousand Poets for Change.
Accessible anytime from anywhere in the world:
The Poet by Day always available online with poems, poets and writers, news and information.
The Poet by Day, Wednesday Writing Prompt, online every week (except for vacation) and all are invited to take part no matter the stage of career (emerging or established) or status (amateur or professional). Poems related to the challenge of the week (always theme based not form based) will be published here on the following Tuesday.
The Poet by Day, Sunday Announcements. Every week (except for vacation) opportunity knocks for poets and writers.
THE BeZINE, Be Inspired, Be Creative, Be Peace, Be – always online HERE.
Beguine Again, daily inspiration and spiritual practice – always online HERE. Beguine Again is the sister site to The BeZine.
ONLINE POETRY COMMUNITIES
All Poetrydubs itself the largest poetry community, more than 500,000 poets. “Friendly advice and encouragement and detailed critiques when you’re ready. All Poetry hosts free contests with $50 cash prizes, active discussion forums, and an annual anthology to which you may contribute.” Free and optional paid monthly memberships are available. (I have not sampled this myself, but a friend has and reports a mostly positive experience. She was involved for several years.)
d’Verse Poets Pub “is a place for poets and writers to gather to celebrate poetry. We are many voices, but one song. Our goal is to celebrate; poets, verse & the difference it can make in the world. To discover poetry’s many facets and revel in it’s beauty, even when ugly at times.” This is a smaller and more intimate group than All Poetry (above) would appear to be. I can testify that there are some excellent poets participating and coaching one another. This is quite an ambitious project, long running and lead by a dedicated team.
YOUR SUNDAY ANNOUNCEMENTS may be emailed to thepoetbyday@gmail.com. Please do so at least a week in advance.
If you would like me to consider reviewing your book, chapbook, magazine or film, here are some general guidelines:
send PDF to jamiededes@gmail.com (Note: I have a backlog of six or seven months, so at this writing I suggest you wait until June 2018 to forward anything. Thank you!)
nothing that foments hate or misunderstanding
nothing violent or encouraging of violence
English only, though Spanish is okay if accompanied by translation
your book or other product should be easy for readers to find through your site or other venues.
TO CONTACT ME WITH ANNOUNCEMENTS AND OTHER INFORMATION FOR THE POET BY DAY: thepoetbyday@gmail.com
TO CONTACT ME REGARDING SUBMISSIONS FOR THE BeZINE: bardogroup@gmail.com
PLEASE do not mix the communications between the two.
Often information is just that–information – and not necessarily recommendation. I haven’t worked with all the publications or other organizations featured in my regular Sunday Announcements or other announcements shared on this site. Awards and contests are often (generally) a means to generate income, publicity and marketing mailing lists for the host organizations, some of which are more reputable than others. I rarely attend events anymore. Caveat Emptor: Please be sure to verify information for yourself before submitting work, buying products, paying fees or attending events et al.
the ghosts of our parents search vainly for wildflowers near the beach at Big Sur
they were deaf to the threat in thunder,
but we were struck by lightning,
heaved in the rain and waves and
the overflow from the melting ice
the computers went down
their screens black as the wicked water,
in whirling chaos they morphed into drums
every fetus turned in the womb,
the men went to the mountain tops
and the women sheltered in caves
the souls of saints and sinners
were run through a cosmic wash cycle
after the spin dry, a new wisdom
but the shades of our parents remain,
they wait in vain for us at Big Sur,
in vain by the Santa Lucia Mountains
“We tell our children they’re trapped like rats on a doomed, bankrupt, gangster-haunted planet with dwindling resources, with nothing to look forward to but rising sea levels and imminent mass extinctions, then raise a disapproving eyebrow when, in response, they dress in black, cut themselves with razors, starve themselves, gorge themselves, or kill one another.” Scottish comic book writer and playwright Grant Morrison, MBE (b. 1960)
DICK JONES says he was initially wooed by the First World War poets and then seduced by the Beats. He has been exploring the vast territories in between since the age of fifteen. His work has been published in a number of magazines, print and online, including Orbis, The Interpreter’s House, Poetry Ireland Review, Qarrtsiluni, Westwords, Mipoesias, Three Candles, Other Poetry, Rattlesnake and Ouroboros Review. In 2010 he received a Pushcart nomination for his poem Sea Of Stars. His first collection, Ancient Lights was published by Phoenicia Publishing and is available from them or via Amazon. His translation of Blaise Cendrars’ epic poem La Prose du Trans-Siberien… was published in an illustrated collaborative edition with artist Natalie D’Arbeloff by Old Stile Press in 2014. Dick writes lyrics and plays bass guitar in acoustic/electric songwriting trio Moorby Jones.
Jamie Dedes' THE POET BY DAY Webzine 