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“nervy anna” … and other responses to the last Wednesday Writing Prompt

c 2018, Jamie Dedes

 

“If you are a poet, you will see clearly that there is a cloud floating in this sheet of paper.  Without a cloud, there will be no rain; without rain, the trees cannot grow; and without trees, we cannot make paper.  The cloud is essential for the paper to exist. If the cloud is not here, the sheet of paper cannot be here.” Thick Nhat Hanh as quoted by Satish Kumar in You Are Therefore I Am, A Declaration of Dependence [Recommended]

Three brave souls took on the the last Wednesday Writing Prompt, A Commonwealth of Saints, August 7, both challenging and probably controversal to some. A few of the poems are not quite on target but certainly pointing to it. Enjoy! and Special Kudos! to Gary W. Bowers, Paul Brookes and Sonja Benskin Mesher.

Read on and be with us tomorrow for the next Wednesday Writing Prompt.

I hope you’ll visit and get to know these poets. It’s important for us to support and encourage one another in our art and in our solidarity around our concerns for the social and ethical issues with care about.  I’ve linked in blogs for your convenience.

nervy anna

we won’t incur nirvana’s wrath
if we don’t stroll the eightfold path.
for lucid lurid sharp or dense
nirvana has indifference.
and karma is as karma does
but karma will not be nor was
nor heretic nor missionary
is a beneficiary.
it is never headline news
when one retains one’s unright views.
the crunch point is what satisfaction
derives from someone’s unright action.
a range from peace to dissolution
is found in retro retribution.

© 2018, Gary W. Bowers (One with Clay, Image and Text)

That Yes

of your breath as it lets go into the fresher air opportunity offers with open hands,

an apology for pain given from the giver heals the sores and blemishes, some self inflicted, hands

over a cup of tea, coffee or glass of fresh greeting
A wholesome kiss and gleam gladdened eyes

without expectation of return or reparation,
sip down electricity that sparkles your bones.

© 2018, Paul Bowles (The Wombwell Rainbow / Inspiration. History. Imagination.)

So Grave

As she stands in the queue
she sees his down turned mouth,
his face buried in his chest,

Along with her order she buys
an extra cup of coffee.

The stranger smiles at her smile as she gives
him the drink. “You look so sad.”

“My wife’s grave has been vandalised,
love. It’ll cost a thousand pounds to repair.”

© 2018, Paul Brookes (The Wombwell Rainbow / Inspiration. History. Imagination.)

.sarah’s bible.

there is lavender
in the fire, someone
is tapping
on the window, patterned
with cracked kings and
predecessors.

sarah’s bible, hand held,
open via perspex
and blue velvet
at ecclesiastes
chapter three.

to everything
there is a
feafon, etc,
in italics.

© 2018, Sonja Benskin Mesher

.notes for anna.

back to the cathedral where the book says it is all for nothing anyway talk about giving hope away. a spiritual reduction, a sad deduction from some who should know better.

© 2018, Sonja Benskin Mesher

There’s much to enjoy in Sonja’s art and you can view much of it on her sites and she shares are generous amount on her Facebook Page. So multitalented.

 

ABOUT

Poet and writer, I was once columnist and associate editor of a regional employment publication. Currently I run this site, The Poet by Day, an information hub for poets and writers. I am the managing editor of The BeZine published by The Bardo Group Beguines (originally The Bardo Group), a virtual arts collective I founded.  I am a weekly contributor to Beguine Again, a site showcasing spiritual writers.

My work is featured in a variety of publications and on sites, including: Levure littéraure, Ramingo’s Porch, Vita Brevis Literature,Compass Rose, Connotation Press, The Bar None Group, Salamander Cove, Second Light, I Am Not a Silent Poet, Meta / Phor(e) /Play, and California Woman.

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Creative Activist Ai Weiwei to receive award at Pen America 2018 Litfest Gala

Ai Weiwei (2017) courtesy of Jindřich Nosek (NoJin) under CC BY-SA 4.0 license

“When human beings are scared and feel everything is exposed to the government, we will censor ourselves from free thinking. That’s dangerous for human development.” Ai Weiwei (b. 1957, China)

PEN American announced this weekend that artist Ai Weiwei (Ai Weiwei’s blog,Writings, Interviews, and Digital Rants, 2006-2009) will receive the Artistic Expression Award at the organization’s 2018 LitFest Gala in Los Angeles. Ai is renowned for making bold aesthetic statements that expose fault lines, unmask hypocrisies, and unleash empathy on a global scale. This honor comes in the wake of the razing of Ai Weiwei’s Beijing studio, including the destruction of several artworks, purportedly to make way for gentrification.

800px-Artz_Pedegral4
Ai Weiwei – Forever, 2018, Artz Pedregal, Mexico City courtesy of Keizers under CC BY-SA 4.0

“Ai Weiwei’s inventive, iconic, and utterly original lens on contemporary life both within and outside China have bridged the worlds of art and activism, awakening millions to the plight of refugees, government corruption, and human suffering. His dramatic, insistent, and impossible-to-forget films, artworks, and installations have jolted the art world, inspired millions, and stoked fear in the minds of governments alert to the power of creativity to spark social change,” said PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel.

“Ai Weiwei has, for decades, endured the personal price of harassment, intimidation, and constraints on his freedom in his determination to speak out and be a voice for those who cannot. Coming without warning, the demolition of his studio last weekend was a vivid reminder of the arbitrary and unpredictable exercise of power that Ai’s work has consistently exposed and contested. PEN America has been proud to stand with Ai Weiwei in his courageous posture of artistic defiance, and is honored to present him with our Artistic Expression Award this year.”

From architecture to installations, social media to documentaries, Ai Weiwei uses a wide range of mediums as expressions of new ways for his audiences to examine society and its values.

Recent exhibitions include: Good Fences Make Good Neighbors with the Public Art Fund in New York City; Ai Weiwei on Porcelain at the Sakip Sabanci Museum in Istanbul; Maybe, Maybe Not at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem; and Ai Weiwei. Libero at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence. In the fall of 2018, Ai Weiwei will open three major exhibitions in Los Angeles.

Ai currently resides and works in Berlin. He is the current Einstein Visiting Professor at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK) and the 2012 Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent from the Human Rights Foundation. Ai’s first feature-length documentary, Human Flow, premiered at the 74th Venice Film Festival in competition.

***

PEN America stands 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. 

ABOUT

Testimonials

Disclosure

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Poet and writer, I was once columnist and associate editor of a regional employment publication. I currently run this site, The Poet by Day, an information hub for poets and writers. I am the managing editor of The BeZine published by The Bardo Group Beguines (originally The Bardo Group), a virtual arts collective I founded.  I am a weekly contributor to Beguine Again, a site showcasing spiritual writers. My work is featured in a variety of publications and on sites, including: Levure littéraure, Ramingo’s Porch, Vita Brevis Literature,Compass Rose, Connotation Press, The Bar None Group, Salamander Cove, Second Light, I Am Not a Silent Poet, Meta / Phor(e) /Play, and California Woman. My poetry was recently read by Northern California actor Richard Lingua for Poetry Woodshed, Belfast Community Radio. I was featured in a lengthy interview on the Creative Nexus Radio Show where I was dubbed “Poetry Champion.”

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SUNDAY ANNOUNCEMENTS: Calls for Submissions, Contests, and Other News and Information

“We often miss opportunity because it’s dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Thomas A. Edison

TIPS FOR NEW WRITERS: The search for places to send your poems or other literary creations can seem overwhelming. It’s not an easy task but it is part of the job. All jobs have aspects that are unappealing.  The leads here are meant to help a bit, to lighten the load, to offer some insight into how this business works and – I hope – to encourage you to seek opportunities on your own.

YOU need to . . .

  • familiarize yourself with publications (that is, READ them) so that you know whether the piece you want to submit is suitable for the journal, zine, magazine or anthology you’ve targeted [not in your best interest to waste your time or that of an editor];
  • get ideas and inspiration for new works by learning just what editors are seeking and reading what other writers have written; and
  • strategically submit your poetry, fiction or other art to publications and competitions.

It can help to attend classes and conferences where you will meet writers, publishers, and agents.

Commitment to your career dictates that you DON’T rely solely on market lists. That you do the research to find your opportunities. This involves sitting in the library studying literary magazines and doing deep internet searches.

Courtesy and professionalism suggest that you DON’T impose on working writers to ask where you should send your latest poem or manuscript.  That’s your job and not doing your job marks you as a dilettante.

CALLS FOR SUBMISSIONS

Opportunity Knocks

BRUSH TALKS, an English language journal about China, publishes essays, travel essays, profiles, memoir and narrative nonfiction, photographs and occasionally poetry. Details HERE.

CHEAT RIVER REVIEW publishes poetry, flash fiction and nonfiction. Submissions are open through October 7, 2018. Details HERE.

HOOT, a {mini} literary magazine on a postcard [charming!], accepts work on a rolling basis: flash fiction, poetry, memoir, non-fiction, book reviews. Payment. Submission fee ($2). Details HERE.

LONG LEAF REVIEW is open for submission of flash and short fiction, short creative nonfiction and poetry through September 1, 2018. Details HERE.

PARHELION LITERARY MAGAZINE is open for submission of poetry, fiction, nonfiction and visual art through September 1 for its October issue. Details HERE.

SAVANT BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS has an open call for submissions to its 2019 Annual Savant Poetry Anthology. Unpublished work only. Deadline: 31 December 2018. Details HERE.

THE SOCKDOLAGER publishes original 1,000 – 5,000 word genre fiction online. Currently this zine is closed for submissions but will announce reopening on Twitter and Facebook.

WALLOON WRITES REVIEW, a contemporary writers and readers companion has an open call for submissions to its fourth edition that ends on September 1, 2018. Of interest: original stories, poetry, creative writing and photography inspired by Northern Michigan and UP. Details HERE.

ATTENTION EDITORS AND PUBLISHERS

BEST OF THE NET ANTHOLOGY

Open call for submissions of poems, stories, essays, creative nonfiction to be considered for a Best of the Net Anthology published by Sundress Publications. Submissions must come from editors of journal, chapbook, zine and so on. Deadline is September 30, 2018. Details HERE.

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The BeZine

Call for submissions for the September issue.

THE BeZINE, Be Inspired, Be Creative, Be Peace, Be. Submissions for the December issue – themed A Life of the Spirit – closes on November 10 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific .

 

Please send text in the body of the email not as an attachment. Send photographs or illustrations as attachments. No google docs or Dropbox or other such. No rich text. Send submissions to bardogroup@gmail.com.

Publication is December 15th. Poetry, essays, fiction and creative nonfiction, art and photography, music (videos or essays), and whatever lends itself to online presentation is welcome for consideration.

No demographic restrictions.

Please read at least one issue. We DO NOT publish anything that promotes hate, divisiveness or violence or that is scornful or in any way dismissive of “other” peoples. 

  • December 2018 issue, Deadline November 10th, Theme: A Life of the Spirit

The BeZine is an entirely volunteer effort, a mission. It is not a paying market but neither does it charge submission or subscription fees.

Previously published work may be submitted IF you hold the copyright. Submissions from beginning and emerging artists as well as pro are encouraged and we have a special interest in getting more submissions of short stores, feature articles, music videos and art for consideration. 

The Poet by Day

WEDNESDAY WRITING PROMPT

Reminder:

Response deadline is Monday, August 13, at 8 p.m. Pacific.  Poems are on theme are published on this site on Tuesday, the August 14. Details HERE.

COMPETITIONS

Opportunity Knocks

ANHINGA PRESS and CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FRESNO sponsor the PHILIP LEVINE PRIZE FOR POETRY [annual since 1983, a book contest] “open to all poets (except current or former students or faculty of CSU/Fresno). The winner receives a $2,000 prize and publication and distribution of the winning manuscript by Anhinga Press. The winning poet also receives 25 free author copies of the book.” Details HERE.

CAUSEWAYLIT an online zine of Dogwood: A Journal of Poetry and Prose, Fairield University is run by grad students who run a monthly contest and accept craft essays year round and poetry, fiction and nonfiction four times a year. Modest submission fees. $50 cash award to winner. Currently the deadline for poetry is August 31; fiction is September 31; and, nonfiction is August 31. Details HERE.

Discovery Poetry Contest, The Joan Leiman Jacobson Poetry Prizes

For over 60 years 92Y’s Discovery Contest has launched the careers of major poets like John Ashbery, Lucille Clifton, Mark Strand, Mary Jo Bang and Solmaz Sharif, to name a few. Will you be next? Four winners receive a reading at 92Y, publication, a two-night residency at the ACE Hotel and $500 each.

Read selections by last year’s winners

Applications must be submitted by Friday, January 11, 2019, at 5 pm.

To apply, read the guidelines and submit here.

This contest is endowed by Joan L. and Dr. Julius H. Jacobson, II.

DOGWOOD: A Journal of Poetry and Prose hosts an annual competition with a cash award for each for best essay, story and poem submitted during it’s reading period. Entry fee: $10. Deadline: September 5, 2018. Details HERE.

OTHER INFORMATION AND NEWS

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 or status. 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. Due to other Sunday commitments, this post will often go up late in the day.

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.

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 emails.

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.

ABOUT

Testimonials

Disclosure

Facebook

Twitter

Poet and writer, I was once columnist and associate editor of a regional employment publication. I currently run this site, The Poet by Day, an information hub for poets and writers. I am the managing editor of The BeZine published by The Bardo Group Beguines (originally The Bardo Group), a virtual arts collective I founded.  I am a weekly contributor to Beguine Again, a site showcasing spiritual writers. My work is featured in a variety of publications and on sites, including: Levure littéraure, Ramingo’s Porch, Vita Brevis Literature,Compass Rose, Connotation Press, The Bar None Group, Salamander Cove, Second Light, I Am Not a Silent Poet, Meta / Phor(e) /Play, and California Woman. My poetry was recently read by Northern California actor Richard Lingua for Poetry Woodshed, Belfast Community Radio. I was featured in a lengthy interview on the Creative Nexus Radio Show where I was dubbed “Poetry Champion.”

* The BeZine: Waging the Peace, An Interfaith Exploration featuring Fr. Daniel Sormani, Rev. Benjamin Meyers, and the Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi among others

“Every pair of eyes facing you has probably experienced something you could not endure.” Lucille Clifton

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Taking a Stand: Join with “The BeZine” team this weekend (August 11 & 12) and Unite with Might, to promote hope, love [respect], and inclusion

Passionflower courtesy of Niek Sprakel, Public Domain Photograph

“Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.” Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches

Rev. Terri Stewart, Associate Pastor at Riverton Park United Methodist Church

From the desk if Terri Stewart:

It is tempting to fall into silence when confronted with people whose attitudes and choices are so much different than your own.  For example, we know that Richard Spencer and Jason Kessler, leaders of the alt-right movement, are planning to have another rally and march, similar to the one they had at Charlottesville where Heather Heyer was killed.  We decided to do something about it and I hope you will join us.

Unite with Might

We are uniting together to stand against hate and to promote hope, love, and inclusion for all of our neighbors.

Sometimes it seems that there is so much hatred in the world that it is impossible to know what to do next.  But changing hate to hope, loneliness to love, paranoia to peace, isolation to inclusion, starts with us.  The beloved community.  We are mighty when united for causes that uplift the values of hope, love, and inclusion.  Hence the name, Unite with Might.

On August 11 and 12, Richard Spencer and Jason Kessler, leaders of the alt-right movement (Unite the Right) that marched in Charlottesville, VA, are having a rally in Washington, D.C. and hope to also rally again in Charlottesville, VA, where a young woman, Heather Heyer, was killed by alt-right marchers.

Washington, D.C., National Parks Service has approved the alt-right’s permit to gather.

In my faith tradition, the table is where everyone is welcome, included, and finds connection to the ineffable mystery beyond our understanding.  And so we propose gathering around food.  This is a different kind of gathering.  A gathering in each of our communities and each of our homes that opens our doors and hearts to everyone.

Bloggers!  Let’s splash the world with a voice that proclaims that this is a new day!

Make a public stand that the alt-right will not win the day.  Love always wins.

We will be hosting a party online at our Facebook event, and everywhere in the world that unity and diversity is declared to be an important value.

Please join us this weekend and link your blog post at the Facebook event or write directly into it.  Tweet using the hashtag #UniteWithMight .  Instagram with the hashtag #UniteWithMight.  Let the world of love declare that hate cannot win.

Sincerely,

Rev. Terri Jane Stewart

#UniteWithMight #LoveYourNeighbor #TheTableIsOpen #AllAreWelcome

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ABOUT

Testimonials

Disclosure

Facebook

Twitter

Poet and writer, I was once columnist and associate editor of a regional employment publication. I currently run this site, The Poet by Day, an information hub for poets and writers. I am the managing editor of The BeZine published by The Bardo Group Beguines (originally The Bardo Group), a virtual arts collective I founded.  I am a weekly contributor to Beguine Again, a site showcasing spiritual writers. My work is featured in a variety of publications and on sites, including: Levure littéraure, Ramingo’s Porch, Vita Brevis Literature,Compass Rose, Connotation Press, The Bar None Group, Salamander Cove, Second Light, I Am Not a Silent Poet, Meta / Phor(e) /Play, and California Woman. My poetry was recently read by Northern California actor Richard Lingua for Poetry Woodshed, Belfast Community Radio. I was featured in a lengthy interview on the Creative Nexus Radio Show where I was dubbed “Poetry Champion.”