Poets, Poetry, News, Reviews, Readings, Resources & Opportunities for Poets and Writers
Author: Jamie Dedes
Jamie Dedes is a Lebanese-American poet and free-lance writer. She is the founder and curator of The Poet by Day, info hub for poets and writers, and the founder of The Bardo Group, publishers of The BeZine, of which she was the founding editor and currently a co-manager editor with Michael Dickel. Ms. Dedes is the Poet Laureate of Womawords Press 2020 and U.S associate to that press as well. Her debut collection, "The Damask Garden," is due out fall 2020 from Blue Dolphin Press.
‘Twas All Hallows’ Eve, and all through the house
Every creature was stirring, even our pet mouse
Oh the pumpkins were carved with very great care
In the hope that trick-or-treaters soon would be there
The children were agitated, not one in her bed
As visions of sweet treats danced in their heads
Dad and I in our costumes and me with my cap
Had settled by the door listening for the first rap
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter
We sprang to our feet to check on the matter
We threw open our door to offer sweet stash
While witches flew by, all glitter and flash
And the moon on the rise and the dark ground below
Gave lustre and bluster to ghosts on the go
And what to our startled eyes should appear,
But a miniature ballerina among goblins, one bear
Now, Alice! Now Ernie! Now Jimmy! Now Chris!
Come little Tony, big Brandy and Trish
To the top of the stairs, don’t any one fall …
Now dash away, dash away, dash away all
Write a Halloween poem or a poem commemorating a traditional fall celebration from your own culture. If you feel comfortable, leave your work or a link to it in the comments section below. All work shared on theme will be published here next Tuesday. Anyone is welcome to take part no matter the status of your career, beginning, emerging or established. You have until Monday, October 30 at 8 pm PST.
Last Wednesday’s Writing Prompt, The Scent of Ma’amoul, October 18 was to write about favorite winter memories and these poems are mostly just that. All are well done. Welcome to Anthony Carl and Lisa Ashley, newcomers to Wednesday Writing Prompt. A warm welcome back to Renee Espiru, Kakali Das Gosh, Colin Blundell, Paul Brookes, Sonja Benskin Mesher and Ginny Brannon. Enjoy this weeks collection and visit the poets at their blogs as well. Join us tomorrow for the next prompt. Everyone are welcome to share their work, no matter the stage of career: beginning, emerging or experience.
winter offering
the first frozen
day and my whole
world is swallowed
in snow. quiet air
chills my bones
as i draw each breath.
exhale.
every grey puff
is winter’s sacred
meditation chime,
an invocation
of gratitude as time
fades quickly away.
ANTHONY CARL majored in English Literature and has worked in the financial services industry for twenty years. Poetry is his outlet for creativity and staying sane. He is the author of one collection of poetry, Awaiting the Images, and his work appears in publications such as Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review, Panoply, and Empirical Magazine.
Snowball Wars
Red rubber boots, unlined and stiff, crackling with the cold,
stuffed with small round snowballs at days’ end,
attached to our snowpant cuffs
like the thistle burrs in summer to our socks,
we seven heedlessly dumped it all out on the kitchen linoleum,
pulling off those puffy clown pants,
draping wet woolen mittens, grandma knit,
over the wooden rack in the corner.
The mittens and hats never dried between forays
into that foot-deep,
knee-deep white stuff,
yet back on they went, wet and clammy next day
our enthusiasm warming the wet threads.
We never tired of building the snow forts
creating our cover, our barricade for attacking the neighbor kids,
defending our clan against them all,
my job to form the balls,
keep the pyramid pile stacked
so my brothers could jump up and fire them
over the top of the u-shaped fort.
I cowered from the enemy’s rock-hard snow bullets,
happy to make the ammunition behind the front line.
Were we catching a sense of what a war would be like,
years before my brother was sent to Vietnam?
I tried hard to follow directions,
pack the snow hard,
slapping the balls together in my smaller hands.
They were older, my brothers, like savages sometimes,
so maybe that’s why they invented the ice ball—
snow dipped in a bucket of water,
then surrounded with more snow—
so dangerous when they connected.
Perhaps our padded clothing kept us safe,
the ice ball dipping the source of their soaked mittens.
Gram had hot chocolate on the stove sometimes
when we came inside in the twilight
on the best winter days.
And no, my balls never measured up to theirs.
The dash says 53 today,
not bad for January.
I glance across the street
into the opening of his tent
pitched there
on the sidewalk
under the overpass.
What tethers his tent there?
His body? His belongings?
He’s a white man, balding.
I can’t stop looking at him.
I check the light.
I invade his tent again.
He’s putting on his shoes, I think,
his tent flap rolled up
to catch the morning light.
Cars move through the intersection
rolling by one after the other.
It’s my turn to go.
Winter’s cut crystal breath
blasts concrete city
and clement countryside alike
as darkness drops down.
We live mostly inside these days.
Some live outside,
connected without choice
to nature’s moods and rhythms.
Gelid wind rushes ‘round corners
down brick and steel canyons,
sneaks beneath crackling tarps
pitched in peril
on grass-barren ground.
Mean homes huddled together,
snugged up behind a stone pole,
the metal dumpster,
a frigid freeway barricade
in hopes of blocking sleety rain.
Who blows on numb hands
inside these rimed plastic walls?
He lies on back-breaking sidewalks
night after night,
hears stiff tarps snapping
with the same indifference
as the taps of sharp-soled boots
skirting his home.
It’s colder than a witch’s tit out there,
we tell each other
over a drink at the bar
while hundreds
hunker down
that frozen-in-time night,
shivering,
waiting for morning
when the tent flap can roll up.
LISA ASHLEY, MDiv, Spiritual Director, Chaplain with incarcerated teens at the King County Detention Center, story-catcher and emerging poet, lives on Bainbridge Island, WA, where she meets with clients, writes and blogs at www.lisaashleyspiritualdirector.com She has also written for The BeZine.
#None keeps promise #
That scarlet evening beside Shilabati is still sleepless
That earthen road through which we did wayfaring
is still waiting for you
That deck bridge across the river
is abiding still now just for you
Some wintry leaves are flying on its chest agonized
On that severe brumal evening
lights of sideway poles were reflecting from the crystalline rivulet
After a long walk we settled on a giant pebble
Grasses -sedges and bamboos were grown most for their foliage
Remains of some aquatic plants were kissing our mortal feet
Divers waterbirds were peeping through hydrilla
You uttered softly witnessing the pole star
,”Jhimli -we will come here again during the next fall of dew .”
and touch the last pole
Now it is a wintry evening anew
I’m tramping again restless and lonely here
Tears rolling down my cheeks are amalgamating with crystalline water of the rivulet
You haven’t kept your words
The mild bridge is calling me
saying -“Don’t wait anymore -none would come –
none would wipe your tears -none keeps promise .”…..
that now perceives a full moon in darkness
slightly hazy behind the thinnest of cloud coverings
behind the stark grasp of wintered branches –
a something – but in reality an absolute nothing
dreaming inconsequentially that it’s a something
by reason of the idea that it guides the scudding pen
across the page in the way it learned long ago to do
to produce a modicum of words – just sufficient
to say that there’s a something that perceives…
and so on and on; there will come other occasions
when it will choose to allow itself to be beguiled
into imagining that grand & conspicuous heaps
and heaps of words make some kind of sense –
all the stout metaphors and the dancing images
circumlocutions qualifications periphrastics…
but in these bold moments before this winter dawn
it has a sudden understanding that between words
– whatever words you so carefully choose –
and the infinite scintillations of externality there are
gross mucky swamps and dire deserts monstrous
mountains & galaxies that can never ever be traversed
Gray chalk hills fade one behind another
until they dissolve into oyster sky.
Ice crystals dance on gelid air,
glisten highway’s edge, and settle
in the crooks of sleeping maples.
Evergreens bend with the weight
of their thick winter shawls.
In spite of its bleakness, we are taken by
the stark frost-coated beauty of it all.
Northbound…
my core senses those timeworn mountains
long before my eyes discern them.
Yet, it is not these ancient mounds
that draw me back, but the folks therein
I long to see—those I love who wait for me.
With each mile passed, the years begin to dissipate;
like those hills now veiled by mist and gloam;
my pulse beats faster as this heart anticpates
that final stretch of road that leads me home.
A sudden snow shower,
flakes fly past the panes,
we watch in silence
mugs in hand; steam rising.
You turn on an old movie—
one seen a dozen times,
maybe more…
we laugh in unison,
quoting favorite lines,
echoing off each other,
anticipating what comes next…
as the steam rises
the quality of light that morning
stilled time, after days by her bedside,
listening to the stories in her breath ~
i heard her plants talking too, felt her
osteoarthritis in the settling of the house
they came to take her away; a blue
cover, feet peeking out, worn, plump,
pale in the sunrise, i walked before the
gurney, tossed rose petals from my heart,
gave her one last wet baby kiss …
….twenty years past
still i listen, i wait
sometimes i hear her voice on the wind, i feel
her arthritis in my bones; and always, i walk on her
worn feet, see her smile from my son’s eyes …
A WANTON TEXT PRODUCTION, a freewheeling small press, accepts submissions of “visual and concrete poetry, art, photography, collage, asemic writing, blackout poetry, conceptual writing, flarf, found poetry, spam lit, flash fiction, mail art, typewriter art, computer/digital art …” on a rolling basis. Details HERE.
ANGRY OLD MAN (AOM), experiental art and poetry “accepts visual and concrete poetry, art, photography, collage, asemic writing, blackout poetry, conceptual writing, flarf, found poetry, spam lit, flash fiction, mail art, typewriter art, computer/digital art, etc…. Essays/non-fiction/journalism are (heartily) accepted (especially related to contemporary art/poetry). AOM indulges the non-mainstream. If you have something to say that bucks accepted (and acceptable) dogma (especially within so-called experimental circles), and is (probably) considered unpublishable by both mainstream and “experimental” outlets, please feel free to submit.” Details HERE. Published by A Wanton Text Production, a freewheeling small press.
FIRST LINE LITERARY JOURNAL is all about a “first line” writing prompt for fiction and nonfiction. The publication comes out four times a year. No submission fee. Paying market. DEADLINE: November 1, 2017.Details HERE.
FOUNTAIN MAGAZINE is published bimonthly and has an open all for submissions of articles on upcoming themes: – Violence: Root Causes and Solutions; Environmental Ethics and Spirituality; Internet and Society; Biomedical Science, Health, Technology and Society; Challenges and Opportunities for Interfaith Dialogue; Family and Society; Economic Crisis and Intolerance. Details HERE.
HORROR ADDICTS has an open call for its upcoming Crescendo of Darkness, A Horror Anthology edited by Jeremiah Donaldson. The theme is music. Fiction from 2,000 to 5,000 words is welcome for consideration. If accepted the payment is $10 and a digital contributor copy. The deadline is October 31, 2017. Details are HERE.
NINTH LETTER is a collaborative arts and literary project of the Creative Writing Program and School of Art & Design at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. It is edited by faculty and students. Ninth letter has an call for submissions of fiction (closes November 30) and poetry (through February 28). Details HERE. This publication hosts an annual competition which begins in March. Watch the site for announcements.
PALOOKA is an international press and online lit mag that publishes “many voices, forms, and styles. Please send your best fiction, poetry, nonfiction, graphic narratives, comic strips, artwork, and photography.” $2.50 submission fee for poetry, fiction and nonfiction. No submission fee on graphic narratives and comic strips, photography and art. Details HERE.
READER’S DIGEST accepts proposals for feature articles. Details HERE.
SEQUESTRIUM, Literature and Arts publishes on a rolling basis – “about every two weeks” – is a paying market for short fiction, nonfiction, poetry and visual arts. Will consider unsolicited manuscripts. Details HERE.
THE BeZINEcall for submissions
The November 2017 issue – themed Hunger, Poverty and Working-class Slavery – is now open and the deadline is November 10th. Send submissions to me at bardogroup@gmail.com. Publication is November 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.
Submissions of work on your country and its history and culture are welcome no matter your citizenship, national origin, first language, religion or lack thereof. The more diverse the representation, the better. English only or accompanied by translation into English. Please read at least one issue and the Intro/Mission Statement and Submission Guidelines. We DO NOT publish anything that promotes hate, divisiveness or violence or that is scornful or in any way dismissive of “other” peoples.
The BeZine is a gift of life and love and an entirely volunteer effort. It is not a paying market but neither does it charge for submissions or subscriptions.
I do consider previously published work if you hold the copyright and I encourage submissions from beginning and emerging poets and writers as well as pro. / J.D.
The BeZine fosters understanding through a shared love of the arts and humanities and all things spirited; seeks to make a contribution toward personal healing and deference for the diverse ways people try to make moral, spiritual and intellectual sense of a world in which illness, violence, despair, loneliness and death are as prevalent as hope, friendship, reason and birth. Actively supports peace, environmental sustainability, social justice and a life of the spirit.
THE BeZINE NEWS:
The October music issue of The BeZineis available for reading.
HEADS-UP ON THE DECEMBER ISSUE OF The BeZine: the theme is Spirituality (Spiritual Paradigms, Awakenings, Miracles). Deadline: December 10.
Beginning January 2018, we’ll move to a quarterly format with themes and – possibly – sub-themes. Your suggestions for sub-themes are welcome. Email me at bardogroup@gmail.com
COFFEE, TEA AND POETRY dot net
Coffee, Tea and Poetryis a home for simple pleasures and features poets and their poems, specialty teas and coffees along with slow-carb grain-free recipes.
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Send food poems and brief bio to Jamie Dedes for consideration – thepoetbyday@gmail.com with Coffee, Tea and Poetry in the subject line.
Encourages responsible sourcing and wholesome – not prefabricated – foods.
Anhinga Press, 2017 Rick Campbell Chapbook Prize, 18-14 pages of poetry that may include previously published works. Entry free. Cash award and publication. Deadline: December 17, 2017. Details HERE.
READERS DIGEST 100 WORD STORY COMPETITION, a competition for a true story. Monthly. $100 award, No entry fee. Details HERE.
MINOTAUR BOOKS/MYSTERY WRITERS OF AMERICA FIRST CRIME NOVEL COMPETITION Deadline January 12, 2018. Details HERE.
THE TONY HILLERMAN PRIZE FOR BEST FIRST MYSTERY SET IN THE SOUTHWEST 2018 Contest. Deadline: January 2, 2018. Details HERE. Scroll down.
THE POETRY NOOK, Poetry for Every Occasion collects classic poems, famous poems, love poems, and your poems. Sponsors a weekly poetry contest. $150 for the winning poem, $15 for honorable mentions, free entry, prior publication is okay. Each contest ends on Sunday with results published on the following Sunday. Registration required. Details HERE. Winners and honorable mention are eligible for inclusion in anthologies.
LIFE OF WRITERS was established in 2013 as “the place where you as a writer can meet equals and discuss the journey of getting your work such as a poem, short story, novel or screenplay published. This is a place where you can get inspired by others, or even inspire others yourself. For the time spend here, in return you will get new ideas, thoughts and tools that you may not have thought about before. We hope that you find our website a fun and productive place to meet fellow writers.” Those with self-published books can post info. This site hosts a themed short-story contest each month. No fees. Registration required. Details HERE.
THE FOUNTAIN MAGAZINE hosts an annual essay contest. 1,500 – 2,500 words. The current them is How to face a disaster?: “Hurricanes, tropical storms, earthquakes … More and more, humans are being affected by natural disasters. But life’s challenges do not come only in the form of natural disasters – individuals have to face all sorts of disasters in their personal lives. Sometimes it’s the loss of a loved one or a job, or even a loss of faith; it could be having to abandon one’s home due to war or persecution at the hands of a tyrant. Some disasters may seem smaller at first glance, but can feel just as consequential – a first gray hair, a failed class, getting passed over for a promotion … the list goes on and on.” Prize: 1st Place – $1,000, 2nd Place – $500, 3rd Place – $300, Two Honorable Mentions – $150 each. Deadline: January 31, 2018.
FELLOWSHIPS AND GRANTS
NEW YORK FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS annually provides over $650,000 in cash grants to people pursuing artistic excellence in all forms, as well as a variety of artist-in-residence opportunities. Details HERE.
EVENTS
Nov. 12, Sunday, 1pm – 2:30 pm Rising from the Ashes. Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 High St., Sebastopol, CA 95472 Sonoma County poets will gather to both honor the pain and celebrate the resilience of those who have been through so much from the disastrous fires. Organized by 100 Thousand Poets for Change and Susan Lamont, current Sonoma County Poet Laureate Iris Dunkle, former Sonoma County Poets Laureate Terry Ehret and Katherine Hastings and Rumi’s Caravan poet Larry Robinson
Willis and Tony Barnstone, Poets of the Bible, Nov. 13, Monday, 7 pm – 8 pm, Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley, CA
Bao Phi, Button Poetry Live, November 6, Monday, 7 pm – 10:30 pm, Camp Bar, 490 Robert St. N., Saint Paul, Minnesota Details HERE.
Button Poetry at Icehouse V: Rudy Francisco Release Party, November 19, Sunday, 7 pm – 9 pm, 2528 Nicollet Ave., Minneapolis, MN $15 in advance. $20 at the door. Includes copy of the book. Details HERE.
A Verse Record: Poet’s Journals/Journal Poems – Master class with Stacy Szymaszek, October 26, Thursday, 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm, St. Mark’s Church, Parish Hall, NY, NY. $95 admission. For details email: info@poetryproject.org
GLOBAL DAY OF CLAY is a “worldwide celebration of ceramics in all its forms, connecting professional ceramicists, artists, academics and everyday ceramics lovers everywhere to explore new ideas, innovations and works that are shaping the future of the art form.” Details HERE. Hosted by 92Y in New York and NCECA
Accessible from anywhere in the world:
The Poet by Day, Wednesday Writing Prompt, online every week 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 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.
POETRY FLASH
POETRY FLASH, LITERARY REVIEW & CALENDAR FOR THE WEST builds community through literature, providing literary writing, access to literary activities, information, and inspiration to writers and the public through publishing and events. Publication is our primary expression, both online and in print. MORE
OTHER NEWS AND INFORMATION
The hugely talented and multi-award winning UK poet Anne Stewart’s Let It All Come to Us is available in English and Romanian in printas free download
POETS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN: Here is Anne zip-lining
*****
Poet Evelyn Augusto calls on you to invite her to your high schools to speak out on gun safety.(c) Elayne Mosher Campoli /event hosted by Elayne Moshr Campoli
“Rise and Resist For Sensible Gun Safety
We will have an information table for voter registration and letter writing campaign to our representatives.
Our program includes: Evelyn Augusto
Invitations have also been extended to the State and City Police
Maybe you!? (Email tcwcoalition@gmail.com to sign up)
Join in a series of Rise And Resist protests, drawing from movements including Indivisible and the Women’s March. Each month on the first Thursday we will gather to take a stand on an issue we are passionate about. We are looking to collaborate with other local groups to plan topics, please contact us for more info. Format includes open mic (sign up ahead), candlelight vigil and singing. We set up an informational table so folks can sign up to stay involved in the larger movement, get registered to vote, write letters to their representatives, and make posters.”
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:
nothing that foments hate or misunderstanding
nothing violent or encouraging of violence
English only, though Spanish is okay if accompanied by translation
though your book or other product doesn’t have to be available through Amazon for review here, it should be easy for readers to find through your site or other venues.
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 a means to generate income, publicity and marketing lists for the host organizations, some of which are more reputable than others. I rarely attend events. Please be sure to verify information for yourself before submitting work, buying products, paying fees or attending events et al.
Jamie Dedes' THE POET BY DAY Webzine 