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.
to the sweet past
to the savory present
to the hopeful future l’chaim
According to Wikipedia, among Argentine Jews, the Spanish name Jaime (xajme, a Spanish cognate of James) is often chosen for its phonetic similarity to Haim (life). I should change my name from Jamie to Jaime!
I believe “l’chaim” is generally used at weddings though it appears to have a complex history. At any rate, I have taken some liberty here.
With all the horrors in the news these days, there are still moments of peace, hearts at peace, sweet and savory pleasures and we haven’t lost our hope for the future. This week write a poetic toast to Life, to all that is good and blessed and persists even in the face of tragedy. If you are comfortable, please share your work on theme or a link to it in the comments section below. All work shared will be published here next Tuesday.
The variety of responses to the last Wednesday Writing Prompt “Archaic Torso of Apollo,” September 27 are a pleasure to read. Thanks to Renee Espiru, Sonja Benskin Meshery, Gary Bowers and Paul Brookes for coming out to play and sharing their fine work.
Join us tomorrow for the next Wednesday Writing Prompt. All are welcome to take part no matter the status of career. Beginners and experienced are welcome to come, be inspired, share their poems and get to know other poets.
A Life Betrayed
She lives the only life
she has ever known
inside someone else’s home
she wonders how she came to this
miles of fields and distance
a breeze touching her
now frail being
did someone leave her here
without her knowing and
will she wake one day
to find she’s dreaming
for she loved him so in her way
but was he a mirage or
just a ruse she wrote of
in her own knowing
before her body did betray
and stole her life
and youth
the characters for the most part
get themselves into such a muddle
usually intent on mirroring
the messes & muddles of others
closely observed by scheming clowns
with special peculiar insights
how will they get out of the muddle?
a question which keeps you entranced
turning the pages rapidly
never really wanting an unravelling
no linearity just sets of closed circles
of rather bizarre impossibility
occasionally a character will experience
a bright moment of illumination
or clarity which I have come to call
the specificity of the ordinary:
the cat on the terrace dust particles
lizard on a sunny bank
bare gritty floorboards leaves in the wind
ivy climbing on a rock as it might be
to refer it all to myself measuring
the impact of the ordinary
if only the characters had listened
to their author’s commentary
more carefully they might all have been
able to rescue themselves
he grips the tablets in his charge, this
courier of commandmenta, and takes umbrage or looks
askance at some person or
persons on
his left. on his head
are zigguratish lumps,
horns, that should have been
unsculptable rays of
light. julius the pope, the vicar
of christ, has left
his mortal remains entombed
here, and moses to guard
them. the likeness
of julius was to be
the capstone of the tomb
but it was never
done. the militant pope
had need of his hireling
visionary elsewhere,
as plasterer and muralist
for a now-renowned chapel.
the tomb was finished in 1545,
decades after julius’s promotion
to resident of Heaven.
TETHERED BY LETTERS (TBL), a nonprofit literary publisher and writer’s resource, describes itself as “passionate about educating budding authors and increasing literacy rates across the globe. We run several FREE programs to help cultivate the next generation of great literature: For more, visit our Education or Writing Resource Center.” Open year-round for submissions of short fiction and creative nonfiction, poetry, and graphic stories or comics to f(r)online. Details HERE.
GRAVEL publishes fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, photo essays, book reviews, author interviews, artwork, comics, video, and hybrid. Details HERE.
THE BeZINE submissions for the October 2017 issue – themed Music – are open and the deadline is October 10th. Send submissions to me [Jamie] at bardogroup@gmail.com. Publication is October 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 and submissions of work on your country and its history and culture are welcome. The more diverse the representation, the better. English only or accompanied by translation into English. Please check out a few issues first and the Intro/Mission Statement and Submission Guidelines. We do not publish anything that promotes hate or violence. The lead for the October issue is Sheffield poet and musician, John Anstie (My Poetry Library and 42).
Heads-up on the November zine: The theme is Hunger, Poverty and Working-class Slavery. Deadline: November 10.
Note: I will consider previously published work as long as you hold the copyright. / Jamie Dedes
THE ATLANTIC “is always interested in great nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. A general familiarity with what we have published in the past is the best guide to what we’re looking for. All manuscripts should be submitted as a Word document or PDF. Succinct pitches may be submitted in the body of an e-mail. To submit nonfiction, send your manuscript or pitch to: submissions@theatlantic.com. To submit fiction, send your manuscript to: fiction@theatlantic.com. To submit poetry, send your manuscript to: poetry@theatlantic.com.” The Atlantic (You’ll have to scroll down in the FAQ’s to find the guidelines.)
MASON JAR PRESS has an open call for submission for an anthology scheduled for publication sometime in July 2018. “Metropolitan tales of city-focused fantasy with queer perspectives.” Details HERE.
From Evelyn Augusto: GUNS DON’T SAVE PEOPLE, POETS DO … Calling all Hudson Valley and Catskill Region Poets…Would you like to be a featured poet at GUNS DON’T SAVE PEOPLE, POETS DO?…Dueling with words to stop Gun Violence. Oct 6th at 8pm, The Glen Falls House, Round Top, NY? Send 3 poems to evelynaugusto2012@gmail.com and your contact information. Limited space.
PSKI’S PORCH PUBLISHING, Books for People Who Like People That Like Books has an open call for submissions of poems, short stories, book reviews, short essays … Details HERE.
THE SUN, Personal. Political. Provocative. Ad-free. Invites submissions of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. Details HERE. Special call for poems for a special section themed of Love and Justice to be guest edited by Crystal Williams. Deadline November 1. Details HERE.
CONTESTS
Opportunity Knocks
TETHERED BY LETTERS (TBL), a nonprofit literary publisher and writer’s resource has open calls or submission for its annual literary contests: short story, flash fiction and poetry. Cash award. Submission fee. Cash awards. Deadline is November 1. Details HERE.
WRITER’S DIGEST POETRY AWARDS, last call. Submission is electronic, so you can still make the deadline October 2 if you have something ready. Submission fee. Cash awards. Details HERE.
BLUE MOUNTAIN ARTS Thirty-first Biannual Poetry Card Contest. Cash prizes. Deadline December 31. Details HERE.
EVENTS
The Poet by Day, Wednesday Writing Prompt, online 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 will be published here on the following Tuesday.
2018 Saints and Sinners Literary Festival, a project of the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival. March 23 – 25. Details HERE.
A Multilingual Most Exquisite Corpse at Lit Crawl Brooklyn, October 7 at 8 p.m. Free and open to the public. Details HERE. The Greene Grape Annex, 753 Fulton St., Brooklyn, New York 11217
The 2018 Pen World Voices Festival, April 16-22, 2018 Details to come. Watch HERE.
Reading Philip Whalen, October 23, 7 pm – 8 pm, Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley, CA
Poets Maxine Chernoff and Gillian Conoley, November 8, 7 pm – 8 pm, Moe”s Books, 2476 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley, CA
KUDOS
to Michael Dickel for his gracious and graceful hosting of The BeZine 100TPC 2017.
to Debasis Mukhopadhyay for the arrival of his books on shelfs and through online venues.
to Aprillia Zank for a photographic award – The Best of Minimalism
to P.C. Vandall for the acceptance of her poem for an upcoming issue of the Irish journal, The Stinging Fly.
to Toni Morrison for her banned books: The Bluest Eye, 4th most banned book, 2014; Beloved, 10th most banned book, 2012.
Questions for Me About Dying, Cory Taylor (an Australian writer who died last year of brain cancer / her last book was Dying, A Memoir), The New Yorker
Global Action Calendar open to everyone to post Creative Actions from Around the World, actions that emphasize the need for inclusivity and diversity, Michael Rothenberg and Terri Carion, 100TPC.org,
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.
DISCLAIMER
Often information is just that – information – and not necessarily recommendation. I haven’t worked with all the publications featured in Sunday Announcements or elsewhere on this site. Awards and contests are often a means to generate income and publicity for the host organizations, some of which are more reputable than others. I am homebound due to disability and no longer attend events. Please be sure to verify information for yourself before submitting work, buying products, paying fees or attending events et al.
Polish-American Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907 -1972)
It is interesting that the Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, is being celebrated today at the same time that we are holding 100,000 Poets for Change (100TPC) around the world. Last night I couldn’t help but think of Rabbi Herschel. I tend to connect well and deeply with those who practice their religions with respect for the mystical. Without mysticism religion is just dry cracker, something without much Life or Light.
Rabbi Hershel lost his family to bombings, Nazis, and the camps. During the war, he lived for awhile in Frankfurt. He was arrested by the Gestapo and sent back to Poland. In the melting pot that was 1950s Brooklyn, we had neighbors from Poland, people who had lost everything but their generosity of spirit. Some were Catholic and some were Jewish.
There was one family I particularly loved. I encountered Rabbi Herschel on their bookshelves when I sat with the children. The wife, a beautiful frail creature whose “shell shock” was clear to me even in my early teens, was none-the-less a good mother, wife and friend. The husband, a cantor and devoted family man, let me read whatever I found in English in their house. What was remarkable to me was that he was also willing to take the time to talk to me about what I read. He encouraged me to speak my mind. With him, I never had to arm myself as the pretty dolt.
“If [a woman or man] were able to survey at a glance all he has done in the course of his life, what would he feel? He would be terrified at the extent of his own power.” Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
Apropro this discssion, I was surprised (I shouldn’t have been) and charmed when I found Michael Dickel’s introduction to The BeZine 100TPC 2017 event wrapped around Yom Kippur. Here’s the introduction (below) … and when you are done reading perhaps you’ll pop over to The BeZine blog and share a poem and/or read those of others. You’d be very welcome.
– Jamie Dedes
American-Israeli Poet, Michael Dickel
This year, the last Saturday of September, the regular day for the Global 100,000 Poets for Change Events around the world, falls on Yom Kippur, considered the Holiest day of the Jewish religion. Observant Jews around the world are fasting, having spent the Days of Awe leading up to Yom Kippur asking the people in their lives for forgiveness and inventorying their transgressions against Creation. Today, we Jews go to synagogue and ask Creation (G-d) for forgiveness. Another name for Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement.
First, the order matters: We ask the people in our lives for forgiveness. Then we think how we have acted against the World. Then and only then do we turn to G-d for forgiveness.
Second, saying sorry is not enough, in our tradition. It is a start. In the Jewish tradition, people must also act differently, that is, they must enact the apology with a change in how they are in the world.
Third, human purpose can be understood—in how I have been taught—as working toward Tikkun Olam. Tikkun Olam is the repair or healing of Creation. While there is definitely a range of interpretations that could be made on what this healing entails, it certainly incorporates attention to the physical world as well as the spiritual. These two intertwine and interrelate in such a way as to be inseparable. Social Justice, Environmental Sustainability, and Peace—and writing, the arts, music in service of activism for positive change—are very relevant issues to our human purpose, from this view.
And thus, on the Holiest Day of the Jewish Year, it is appropriate to work toward Tikkun Olam, asking G-d’s forgiveness for all we have done that harms our fellow humans, inventorying our own role, and moving forward with action that shows our genuine desire to change and make things right again.
And, further, as the spiritual and the physical are interrelated, so are all of the arts (literature, art, music, dance, stage, film…), so are all three of the themes: Social Justice, Environmental Sustainability, and Peace.
So this year, on Yom Kippur, we ask you to join in with your contributions from any of the arts—share your efforts toward healing and repair of our World. As you do, remember this, paraphrased from the sages:
Do not despair at the iniquity and injustice of the world in which we live. For today, that is, in this period where injustice, racism, and greed seem to have risen to power, do not give up or give in.
It is not up to us to complete the work of Tikkun Olam, but this does not free us from working toward the healing and repair of Creation. That is, although we may not achieve our goals of a just, sustainable and peaceful world in our lifetime, we must continue to make progress, and in working toward them, the healing of Creation will occur, one poem, one essay, one novel, one painting, one sculpture, one song, one symphony, one performance at at a time…
By action, not words alone, will this be done. If ever there was a time when this action is more needed than others, certainly now is one—Resistance! Activism! Peace! Sustainability! Social Justice!
Jamie Dedes' THE POET BY DAY Webzine 