“Computers are mixed blessings,” she says while gritting her teeth.🤨
Sigh! 🤷‍♀️Am doing this on my cell, but can’t seem to manage the length and complexity of Sunday Announcements using my iPhone, though I’m tickled with myself for managing the photos. đź‘Źđź‘Ťđź‘Ś
“After all ….tomorrow’s another day” … maybe a good day to think about new equipment. 🤔 Now that would be fun.
Thanks for hanging with me.
Jamie
Thank you for sharing your love of words. Comments will appear after moderation.
Your heart is smarter, my Baruch,
then your head,
which is smart indeed –
and your hands and gnarly fingers
are smarter still.
They fashion bread from
cream-colored flours,
silky to the touch.
Kneading the dough
patiently, patiently
letting it rise
while I sleep – safe, in my bed.
Up at six a.m. we walk sleepily
down a lavender-gray street,
an apricot sun peeking at us
and, rising higher in the sky,
it seemingly follows us to you.
Cheer-filled arrival with greetings
and smiles from dear Baruch and
warm sugar smells, yeasty scents
and the sight of golden loaves,
some voluptuous rounds and
others, sturdy rectangulars.
You have baked cinnamon rolls,
a child’s delight, pies and
sticky buns too…and cookies!
“We’ll take a French bread” my Mom says
pointing to a crispy brown baguette.
“And a raisin bread.”
She adds …
“We’ll need that sliced.”
I watch your hands flit gracefully
like butterflies in a green valley
stopping here and then there
to pull fragrant loaves from display
and slicing them, neatly packaging,
then reaching down over the counter
you hand me a little bag of rugelach.
As I look up, reaching for your gift
I stop breathing, arrested by
a wisp of blue on your forearm.
I am studious, a reader, dear Baruch,
I know what that tattoo means …
Looking down, with a whisper I choke
“Thank you, Baruch!”
swallowing that lump of sadness,
trying not to show my tears. What right have I to tears?
But then you, dear Baruch, come
bounding round the counter
with warm hugs and soft tissues,
as though I was the one hurt.
From that day forever more,
I saw you only in long sleeves.
At lunchtime, I demanded –
“Mom, tell me about Baruch.”
And she does.
I am pensive over our meal,
canned marinara and slices of
of your baguette.
Dear Baruch, with each salty bite
I eat your tears and
the blood of your daughter.
Nights she stares at me from that
sepia photo by your register.
Baruch, did she, like me, assume
a grown-up life
of school and jobs,
marriage and children? And you! You must have assumed
the tender comfort of
her love in your old age.
Do you hold the vision of her
young and happy in your
brave, kindly old heart?
Does your ear still play back
her childish laughter,
the sound of her voice
begging for a story?
Do your warm brown eyes still hold
her smile in remembrance?
When you see little girls like me,
does your anguish grow?
Dear Baruch, our dear Baruch –
how will you set your child free
from that faraway land and
cold, unmarked mass grave?
 “The first time it was reported that our friends were being butchered there was a cry of horror. Then a hundred were butchered. But when a thousand were butchered and there was no end to the butchery, a blanket of silence spread.
When evil-doing comes like falling rain, nobody calls out ‘stop!’
“When crimes begin to pile up they become invisible. When sufferings become unendurable the cries are no longer heard. The cries, too, fall like rain in summer.”
― Bertolt Brecht, Selected Poems
Some folks say they don’t believe there was a Jewish Holocaust and some young people are unaware that it happened. Some folks say “never again,” but there are 24 or more genocides, including Gaza, that are happening even as I write this post, even as you read it. Some Americans fail to recognize or don’t want to acknowledge that this country was partly built on a foundation of death. Even the Bible is weighted with stories of genocide.
Tell us about your own pain, perceptions and perhaps resolutions born of this knowledge. Write of your awakening to this reality as a child, your adult perceptions or, perhaps depending on where you live, your first-hand experience.
All poetry shared by you will be posted here next Tuesday. The deadline is Monday evening, May 22 at 8 pm PDT. Â If you share a poem for the first time, please send a brief bio and photo to thepoetbyday@gmail.com. Â These will be used to introduce new participants to readers. Thank you!
Chief Settle (public domain photograph)
“My people are few. They resemble the scattering trees of a storm-swept plain…There was a time when our people covered the land as the waves of a wind-ruffled sea cover its shell-paved floor, but that time long since passed away with the greatness of tribes that are now but a mournful memory.”  Chief Seattle, The Chief Seattle’s Speech
The BeZine logo design and copyright by Terri Stewart.
The BeZine is published quarterly on the fifteenth of March, June, September and December. Please read our Intro and Mission Statement and at least one back issue of The BeZine before submitting work for consideration. Each issue is theme based.
Please be mindful that our core team (The Bardo Group Beguines), guest contributors and readers represent the world’s diversity. Nonviolence, respect and inclusion are core values.
All work must be submitted in English and properly edited for publication. Submissions in other languages are fine but only if they are accompanied by an English translation.
Please send submissions to bardogroup@gmail.com and put “submission” in the subject line.  If you were referred by one of our core team, please put their name in the subject line along with “submission.” Please include a brief bio not a curriculum vitae. If you have published the work submitted on your own website, blog, YouTube channel or other online venue you may send a link.
PLEASE NOTE: We apply the same standards with regard to content, quality, submission guidelines and reading policy that all high-caliber literary magazines do with the exception that we will consider work that is already published. The copyright, however, must be yours.
DEADLINE: The 10th of the month prior to the publication date, but for the June issue it is extended through May 20th. You still have some time.
Themes each year are consistent with the concerns of the global movement cofounded by Michael Rosenberg and Terri Carrion, 100,000 Poets (and others) for Change:
March, Peace;
June, Sustainability;
September, Social Justice
… and for December the shared value of The Bardo Group Beguines:
a life of the spirit.
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On the fourth Saturday in September , we’ll hold our traditional 100,000 Poets (and other artists and friends) virtual event. Michael Dickel will be our master of ceremonies. Details in future announcements.
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COPYRIGHT: You retain your copyright for work published in The BeZine. If you are doing multiple submissions, please let us know that you have submitted the work to other publications and advise us when and if the work is accepted elsewhere. From our perspective this does not preclude publication in The BeZine but we need to know if another publisher has contracted for first-time or exclusive rights.
We regret that we are unable to offer payment or editorial feedback. However, while we don’t offer payment we also don’t charge submission or reading fees or subscription fees. This effort is entirely volunteer run, a gift of love.
Some issues will include a subtheme and for June it is Domestic and Gendered abuse. Â As of today (May 15, 2018) I have sufficient materal from women and would be interested in reviewing the work of other genders.)
All creative arts that lend themselves to online publication are acceptable for consideration: visual arts, literature and poetry, and music and film (video).
FICTION/NONFICTION/ESSAY: Should you have anything to submit for consideration that is over 1,000 words, please forward a brief one-paragraph summary description for preliminary evaluation.
POETRY: If you are submitting poetry, please don’t bomb us with work. Restrict your submissions to three at a time every three months. Be selective. Send your best.
VIDEO: One video at a time.
PHOTOGRAPHS and ILLUSTRATIONS: If you include these with your poems and features, then you must include the source with url and licensing information. We do not accept work that is not properly – respectfully – credited.
READING SCHEDULE: At the time of this writing, the reading schedule is variable but a regular schedule is forthcoming and will be announced.
Send your work for the zine to us at the bardogroup@gmail.com.
NEW THIS YEAR: We’ll submit nominations for The Pushcart Prize, probably in October. The BeZine welcomes – encourages – work from the world community, but The Pushcart Prize is only open to citizens of the United States.
We look forward to hearing from you. Â Thank you!
Be the peace.
Jamie Dedes, Founding and Managing Editor
Update: May 15, 2018
CONNECT WITH US
The BeZine: Be Inspired, Be Creative, Be Peace, Be (the subscription feature is below and to your left.)
Daily Spiritual Practice: Beguine Again, a community of Like-Minded People
Ah, tech problems but here at last are Sunday Announcements. Good luck with your submissions. “The poet is the priest of the invisible.” Wallace Stevens
CALLS FOR SUBMISSIONS
Opportunity Knocks
DESERT WILLOW PRESS is open to the submissions of 14 – 18 poems for chapbooks, which are its speciality. Details HERE.
FURROW MAGAZINE, An Undergraduate Literary Journal for UW-Milwaukee, publishes poetry, fiction, nonfiction, art and comics by undergraduate student. The next reading period runs from December 1, 2018 – February 20, 2019. Details HERE.
THE MATADOR REVIEW, alternative art and literature, is now accepting submissions for the Summer 2018 publication. Deadline: May 21. The review is interested in poetry, fiction, flash fiction, and creative non-fiction, inviting all unpublished literature written in the English language (and translations that are accompanied by the original text) as well as many forms of visual art. Submission information can be found at: www.matadorreview.com/submissions ; Submissions can be sent to editors@matadorreview.com ; Questions and concerns can be sent to contact@matadorreview.com;
NARRATIVE MAGAZINE has a year-round open call for submission including fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Reading fee. Payments. Details HERE.
POETICA MAGAZINE, Contemporary Jewish Writing has an open call for submissions to its 2018 poetry anthology. Deadline: August 31. Details HERE.
STRATA MAGAZINE reads submissions of short fiction, poetry, flash fiction and libretti, interviews, essays, columns or series, criticism, visual art, multi-media collections, travel writing and reportage. on a rolling basis. Details HERE.
WIZARDS IN SPACE MAGAZINE publishes poetry (up to five pages), speculative fiction, political and personal, faith, identity, love, loss, and humanity. Deadline May 26. Details HERE.
The BeZine
Call for submission for the June issue.
THE BeZINE, Be Inspired, Be Creative, Be Peace, Be. Submissions for the June issue – themed Sustainability –close on May 10 at 11:59 p.m. PDT. Â
New rules: 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 June 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 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.Â
June 2018 issue, Deadline May 10th. Theme: Sustainability
September 2018 issue, Deadline August 10th, Theme: Human Rights/Social Justice
December 2018 issue, Deadline November 10th, Theme: A Life of the Spirit
Deadline for the June issue is extend to May 20th.
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.Â
CONTESTS
New:
THE NARRATIVE PRIZE for best short story. Cash award. Deadline for entries: June 15. Details HERE.
2018 Anna Davidson Rosenberg Award will open from June 1-January 15, 2018. Watch HEREfor announcement.
YEOVIL PRIZE of the Yeovil Community Arts Association awards best Novel (synopsis and opening chapters), short stories (up to 2,000 words), poetry (max of forty lines), Writing Without Restrictions and is open through May 31, 2018. No demographic restrictions. Cash award. Submission fee. Details HERE.
Reminders:
THE SWANEE REVIEW, First Annual Fiction & Poetry Contest will open July 1 – 31, 2018 for a set of 1-3 poems or a short story of up to 10,000 words. Cash award: $1,000 and publication. Details HERE. The poetry judge is Dan Chiasson.
SEQUESTRUM LITERATURE & ARTS 2018New Writer Awards for fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Cash award and publication. Submission fee. Deadline: October 15, 2018. Â Details HERE.
MAGMA POETRY will announce the details for its pamphlet competition soon. Watch the site for information.
TARTS FICTION AWARD of Livingston Press at the University of West Alabamayearly deadline is December 31st. The entry fee is $20. Standard royality contract. Details HERE.
TERRAIN.ORG, 9th Annual Contest in Poetry, Nonfiction and Fiction is accepting submissions through September 3. $15 submission fee. Cash award: $500 to first place. Publication for first place winner and finalists. Jane Hirschfeld is the poetry judge. Details HERE.
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. Â
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:Â thepoetbyday@gmail.com
TO CONTACT ME REGARDING SUBMISSIONS FOR THE BeZINE:Â bardogroup@gmail.com
PLEASEÂ do not mix the communications between the two.
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.
Artwork by The Bardo Group Beguines team-member, © Corina Ravenscraft (Dragon’s Dreams) for The BeZine, 100,000 Poets (and Others) for Change, 2018.
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.
Jamie Dedes' THE POET BY DAY Webzine 