Poetry Archive: OPA Anthology of Poetry, 2019: Spirit of Nature, Call for Submissions / Second Light Featured Poets for May

“I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, “This is what it is to be happy.”  Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar



THE POETRY ARCHIVE “extends an open invitation to you to participate in the upcoming OPA ANTHOLOGY of Poetry 2019 “SPIRIT OF NATURE”. The expected date of publication of this Anthology is 10th JULY 2019. We’ll be really obliged if you would contribute to this anthology with at least three poems along with your current profile picture. You can also add your short Bio written only in 3rd person narrative. Submission of poetry to our mail address will be considered as the explicit confirmation of your permission to publish your copyrighted materials in OPA ANTHOLOGY OF POETRY 2019. Please do send your contributions attached only in one single MS-WORD file with your mail at the earliest.”

Deadline: 10th June 2019

The email address for this ANTHOLOGY is opa.anthology@gmail.com
* .pdf file is not acceptable!

Thank You,
The Editorial Board:
Our Poetry Archive.

Thanks to German poet Aprilia Zank for sharing this lead with us.  You can read some of Aprilia’s wonderful work here on The Poet by Day:


THANK YOU to Dilys Wood, Anne Stewart, and Myra Schneider for including me in Second Light Live Featured Poets for May with my poem One Lifetime After Another. The other featured poets with whom I am honored to be included are: Angela Croft, Clare Crossman, Fokkina McDonnell, Jenny Hamlett, Lynne Wycherley, Mimi Khalvati, Pam Zinnemann-Hope, Sue Wood and Vivienne Tregenza. Great little collection for your evening read and my apologies to Anne for not catching her email announcement until this late date. Second Light Live is the website for Second Light Network of Women Poets (UK). SLN publishes fabulous anthologies and “ARTEMISpoetry” one of my fave poetry magazines.


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I Am the Answer, a poem … and your next Wednesday Writing Prompt

“Girls are one of the most powerful forces for change in the world: When their rights are recognized, their needs are met, and their voices are heard, they drive positive change in their families, their communities, and the world.” Kathy Calvin, United Nations Foundation President & CEO



They come like thistle and thorn,

and write their rage upon my body.

They come like locusts and

feed on the fields of my soul.

Like an angry storm, they drown me.

Like the desert sands, they sufficate me.

They see me, a little person of

little consequence …

a girl.

Just a trinket, a toy, a receptical.

Something to sell, buy, and trade …

a workhorse.

– But hear me –

I am the answer.

I am the calm after the storm.

I am the antidote to your stone heart

and desiccated soul.

I am the future, the present, the past.

I am the hope, the dream, the reality.

I am authentic.

I am human.

I am the answer.

~ As the women go, so goes the world ~

© 2010, Jamie Dedes; illustration courtesy of Mohamed Mohamed Mahmoud Hassan, Public Domain Pictures.net

WEDNESDAY WRITING PROMPT

“There are more than 500 million adolescent girls living in the developing world today. Every one of them can potentially help break the cycle of intergenerational poverty, with ripple effects multiplying across her society.” Anthony Lake, Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

In November 2010, I wrote I Am the Answer for a Universal Children’s Day event sponsored by UNICEF. It’s not that men don’t make constructive contributions. It’s not that boys and men don’t suffer.  It’s just that we’ve seen what a difference it makes in the lives of all children and the grown-ups they become – no matter the gender – when women are respected, educated, and not forced into marriage. What difference would it make if women and girls were not looked down upon within their cultures, religions, the workplace, and government? What difference would it make in the world if girls were always and everywhere seen as fully human. Tell us in your poem/s.

Share your poem/s on theme in the comments section below or leave a link to it/them. All poems on theme are published on the first Tuesday following the current Wednesday Writing Prompt. (Please no oddly laid-out poems.)

 No poems submitted through email or Facebook will be published. 

IF this is your first time joining us for The Poet by Day, Wednesday Writing Prompt, please send a brief bio and photo to me at thepoetbyday@gmail.com to introduce yourself to the community … and to me :-). These are partnered with your poem/s on first publication.

PLEASE send the bio ONLY if you are with us on this for the first time AND only if you have posted a poem (or a link to one of yours) on theme in the comments section below.  

Deadline:  Monday, May 20 by 8 pm Pacific Standard Time.

Anyone may take part Wednesday Writing Prompt, no matter the status of your career: novice, emerging or pro.  It’s about exercising the poetic muscle, showcasing your work, and getting to know other poets who might be new to you. This is a discerning non-judgemental place to connect.

You are welcome – encouraged – to share your poems in a language other than English but please accompany it with a translation into English.


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