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The WordPlay Shop, the review and publication policies of this site … and an important book recommendation for all Americans

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THE WORDPLAY SHOP: books, tools and supplies for poets, writers and readers

Since the 11th of this month posts here often include a link to The Poet by Day store (The WordPlay Shop, an Amazon Affiliate), a natural extension in support of this site and its mission to champion poets and writers and to broaden and continue to offer resources and inspiration.

THE POET BY DAY POLICIES:

Though I have made the site an Amazon Affiliate, I continue my standard policy of not accepting – and I will never receive or accept  – compensation to offer opinions on books, magazines, movies and documentaries, products, services, websites or political interests.The opinions expressed on this blog are entirely my own. I reserve the right to change my mind.

If I review it here or recommend it in the bookstore, it means I appreciate the work and find the content worthwhile.

I don’t do negative reviews, I simply don’t review books, magazines or films I don’t like or find wanting.

I do not return material submitted to me for review.

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
  • your book or other product doesn’t have to be available through Amazon for review here, but it does need to be easy for readers to find through your website or other source.
  • I do my best to feature products or services that I believe are worthy of your time and consideration based on my experience or their reputation or on recommendations by colleagues and readers. Nonetheless, any event, competition, product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about an event, competition, book, magazine, association, practice, film or other type of product or service should be verified by you with the author, manufacturer, provider, or other authority.

Awards and Contests – These are for generating income for the host organization. As in any other line of work, some are more reputable than others. I don’t enter every competition or have experience with all hosts, so please be sure to do your own homework.

Events – I am largely homebound due to disability and the need for supplemental oxygen. I no longer attend conventions and other events for poets and writers. For event information I have to rely on reputation and/or recommendations from readers, colleagues and friends. Again, be sure to do your own homework.

Some information is just that – information – and not necessarily recommendation.

Jamie Dedes

SPECIAL NOTE: A MUST READ FOR ALL AMERICANS

The Third Reconstruction: How a Moral Movement is Overcoming the Politics of Divsion and Fear by the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II

800px-william_barber_at_moral_mondays_rallyREV. BARBER is a conservative Christian who embraces the full religious, ethnic and racial diversity of our country. Some say he is this era’s Martin Luther King, Jr.  He believes in the dignity and worth of all people and the essential inter-relationship of all human beings. He stands for compassion, unity and social, environmental and economic justice.

In reading his views and about his work, I found myself moved to both hope and joy. This memoir is not simply an emotional or moral reaction. It’s a pragmatic plan for a more just and equitable country. I agree with Rev. Barber that our emerging leadership is encouraging scapegoating, a divide-and-conquer strategy that foments racial strife and economic inequality and the pitting of the 99% against one-another for the exclusive benefit of the 1%.

” … he laid the groundwork for a state-by-state movement that unites black, white, and brown, rich and poor, employed and unemployed, gay and straight, documented and undocumented, religious and secular. Only such a diverse fusion movement, Rev. Barber argues, can heal our nation’s wounds and produce public policy that is morally defensible, constitutionally consistent, and economically sane. The Third Reconstruction is both a blueprint for movement building and an inspiring call to action from the twenty-first century’s most effective grassroots organizer.”

Photo credit ~ courtesy of TWBuckner under CC BY 2.O License

you will rise again, a poem

img_3620the sun is fading,
the starlight tarnished,
but the brilliant moon
whispers in the night ~
you will rise again

“Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.” Isaiah 58:12

For all the people I know and don’t know who work tirelessly for social justice, peace and sustainability.

Thanks for the inspiration Linda F., good friend, book buddy and now-and-then lunch buddy. 

© 2016, poem and illustration, Jamie Dedes, All rights reserved

♥ ♥ ♥

THE WORDPLAY SHOP: books, tools and supplies for poets, writers and readers

LITERATURE AND FICTION oo Editor’s Picks oo Award Winners oo NY Times Best Sellers

THE ART BEAT: Kudos to Dutch Nature Artist Paula Kuitenbrouwer on her newest book

8103372-9c1f4a2a29abdb8bf0d1c7398b7d8cabPAULA KUITENBOUWER is a Dutch nature artist. Her particular special gift is to help us appreciate the beauty of the natural world. I’m pleased that she’s compiled a portfolio of her art into a book that includes twenty-four of her drawings along with thirteen short explanations. This master of the tools of her trade shares with us the kind of beauty that can only be found through sustained observation and a meditative approach to art. Paula’s work has inspired a number of my poems but the poem featured below was really fun to write.

Several years ago Paula wrote an explaination to go with a colored sketch that featured a beetle.  Since Paula is a good writer as well as a fine artist, the first line was both an homage to her unutterable respect for life and absolute poetry filled with the promise of story.

“I found a Carabidae beetle in a bucket with water and regretted its death by drowning… “

The line put me in mind of Isak Dinesen‘s unforgettable opening for Out of Africa,

“I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills . . . “

Something about those evocative sentences lets you know there’s a good story to come. And there was.

“It lay there for at least an hour and I hoped so much it would give a sign of life. Then I did the most crazy thing imaginable; I turned it on its back, squeezed it gently, and gave it heart massage (don’t ask). Three drops of water came out. I have no clue why I did such a weird thing. Would somebody tell me he or she had given cardiac massage to a beetle, I would have laughed out loud.” [Paula Kuitenbrouwer]

Check out Paula’s fine art at Mindful Drawing.

I REGRETTED ITS DEATH BY  DROWNING

after Paula Kuitenbrouwer

the garden floating in violet and ruby hues,
by the side of the house, a beetle floats too,
so jewel-like, amethyst and brilliant against
the dull gray water, it does not move

it lies there still as the dead of noon across
a bone-colored desert, and her hand so white,
wing-like flutters against its rigor, laying it
on the table, by a pad to sketch with pencils

that minuscule life, no will to release it
into whatever beetle heaven there might be,
laying tender finger to knead a tube-like heart
holding her breath, willing air into spiracles

wishful thinking? a flicker from the antennae?
slight movement of a leg? perhaps, perhaps
some healing pressure, one gentle push,
three drops of water, success in late hours

to savel a beetle, to sketch in varied colors
with time to hug the child and sip hot tea …
a creature rescued from death by drowning
and cherish the mindful drawing for a memory

– Jamie Dedes

© 2012, Jamie Dedes, All rights reserved; Photo credit ~ David Wagner, Public Domain Pictures.net

♥ ♥ ♥

THE WORDPLAY SHOP: books, tools and supplies for poets, writers and readers

LITERATURE AND FICTION oo Editor’s Picks oo Award Winners oo NY Times Best Sellers

December 2016, The BeZine, Vol.3, Issue 3, The Healing Power of the Arts

“Poetry finds you when you are broken, insists on taking you into its fold, puts your pieces together and then you never leave.” Reena Prasad

Long before we had libraries teaming with medical and psychiatric tomes, we had cave paintings, carved images, storytelling, song, musical instruments and dance. The power of artistic expression to transform both creator and consumer was assumed.

The arts bear witness to sacred space, to the spontaneous dance between the conscious and the unconscious, to the existence of a symbolic realm. It is from these liminal places that our truest art and our healing words, visions, sounds and movement are born. Through art we experience a shamanic-like world that is beyond the consensual one, a world where each spirit is free to find its own core truth.

Hence, this month, we have: a poet (Reena Prasad) finding sanctuary and rebirth by reading and writing poetry: a singer/musician/poet (John Anstie) connecting with his own joy and the people with whom he collaborates; and Corina Ravenscraft’s interview with a soldier suffering from PTSD and finding relief in building and painting hundreds of miniature figurines.

Italian journalist, Mendez Biondo, brings us an interview with and three poems by Poemedic Deborah Alma, who prescribes “emergency poetry.” Our resident storyteller Naomi Baltuck offers us a PhotoStory that suggests just how empowering it is to tell our own stories. It is an excerpt from her book Apples From Heaven: Multicultural Folk Tales About Stories and Storytellers.  Michael Watson takes us for an intriguing peek into toy theatre/object theatre performance as therapy.

Our BeAttitude this month is by Priscilla Galasso, who tells it like it is, as she always does, a critical must-read.

You’ll find the poetry ranges from catharsis to confirmation. We feature the work of three emerging poets: M. Zane McClellan, new to our pages; Inger Morgan, who shares her poem, the splendor of blue, in Swedish and English and debuted last month; and Mark Heathcotte, whose work has graced several issues.  Be sure to encourage them with your “Likes” and comments.

The accomplished Reena Prasad who debuted with us last month is back with two poems.  Her stunningly beautiful essay Sanctuary is written from the perspective of the poet, but I’m sure other art forms offer the same potential for comfort and transformation to their own devotees.

We’re pleased to treat you to the work of regular favorites:  contributing writers Charlie Martin and Lily Negoi and guest writers Renee Espiru and Carolyn O’Connell.

We have a special guest poet this month, Myra Schneider, who has been featured in these pages before.  Myra is most well-known in the UK where – on turning 70 this year – she celebrated both her birthday and the publication of her fourteenth collection, Persephone in Finsbury Park. She teaches at Poetry School and is a consultant to Second Light Network.

THE JANUARY ISSUE

In January, our topic is Resist. We are piggy-backing on Michael Rothenberg’s and Alan Kaufman’s call to American poets to resist the incoming president.  Our effort is not restricted to poetry or to the United States. We’re doing a global call for submissions that counter policies – no matter what country – which undermine equity, foster poverty, encourage elitism, hate and scapegoating … all those things that pit people against people, putting many people at risk of disease, homelessness, starvation and murder. Please read the submission guidelines first. Send your work to bardogroup@gmail.com. American-Isreali poet and contributing editor to The BeZine,  Michael Dickel, and I will collaborate on the production of the January issue.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM ALL OF US AT THE BeZINE!

We represent the beautiful and great wealth of the world’s wisdom traditions, nationalities, races, disabled and LBGTQ.

The historic experience of our Jewish friends, the plight of our Palestinian friends, the suffering of our Syrian brothers and sisters and others who are or have been victims of social and economic injustice and human rights violations informs our effort. We know that lines must be drawn, that silence is not an option, and that scapegoating can only lead to pain. Having said that, we are  “prisoners of hope*,” and our hope is founded on our faith in you and on the foundation of those values we hold in common.

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In the spirit of community and
on behalf of The Bardo Group Beguines,
Jamie Dedes
Founding and Managing Editor

* Rev. Doctor William J. Barber
Illustration source unknown: if it’s yours, please let me know. I’ll take it down or credit as you prefer.

Bios of Contributing Editors and Writers
Bios of Guest Contributors

TABLE OF CONTENTS

You will have to link HERE to read The BeZine. My apologies: I had some technical issues and the Zine lays out in reverse order. I know what the problem is and the next issue will be fine. I recommend that you scoot to the end and move forward to read it in the correct order. J.D.

THE HEALING POWER OF THE ARTS

BeAttitude

Armageddon and The Art of French Cooking, Priscialla Galasso

Essay

Sanctuary, Reena Prasad

Feature Articles

Aftermath, Michael Watson
Piece by Painted Piece, Corina Ravenscraft
The Healing Adventures of Deborah Alma, Poemedic, Mendes Biondo
Singing for the Love of It, John Anstie
Don’t Confuse Hunger for Greed, the poems of Ruth Stone, Jamie Dedes

PhotoStory

Telling It To the Walls, Naomi Baltuck

Poetry

Special Guest Poet

Mahler’s Ninth, Myra Schneider

Poems

Dark over Light Earth / Violet and Yellow in Rose, Laura Braverman
Wabi Sabi, Jamie Dedes
More Than a Gift, Renee Espiru
The Artist’s Restorative, Mark Heathcote
a poet’s prescription, Charles W. Martin
Laying on of Hands, Z. Michael McClellan
Birthing to Earthing, Z. Michael McClellan
Unfolding, Z. Michael McClellan
Writing to Stay Alive, Reena Prasad
The World in the Cracks, Reena Prasad

MORE LIGHT

Poetry

Special Guest Poet

The Silence in the Garden, Myra Schneider

Poems

december mail, Liliana Negoi
the was of the will be, Liliana Negoi
water, Liliana Negoi

CONNECT WITH US
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THE WORDPLAY SHOP: books, tools and supplies for poets, writers and readers