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THE SUNDAY POESY: Opportunities, Events and Other Information and News

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Opportunity Knocks

DELAWARE POETRY REVIEW is currently sponsoring a national (U.S.) open call-out for “Previously Unpublished Poetry Dedicated to Prince.”  Deadline: July 15, 2016 Details HERE

BUTCHER’S DOG is a biannual poetry magazine that is currently reading submissions. The deadline is 31 July 2016.  Editors “welcome submissions from writers living in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, particularly those with a connection to Northern England. There is no set theme, we just want you to send us your best work.” Details HERE

LIMINAL STORIES is currently reading poetry and fiction submissions and will close again on June 30 at 11:59 p.m. The search is for poems of “a particular tone.” Editors “like poems with strong imagery and precise language. Fantastical elements are encouraged, but not required. Some of the editor’s favorite poets include, but are not limited to, Claudia Emerson, Jamaal May, Judy Jordan, Jack Gilbert, Ai, and David Kirby.”  Poems may be any length and payment on publication is $50. Editors will consider fiction up to 10,000 words and pay six cents a word on publication. No reprints, non-fiction, simultaneous or multiple submissions. Details HERE

THE RUMPUS accepts submissions year round for essays, reviews, interviews, advice, music, film and poetry and – heads-up – comics. More than a few readers here do comics – yes!, I do pay attention. Writer’s Guidelines for The Rumpus are HERE.

YES! MAGAZINE – Each issue of YES! includes a series of articles focused on a theme—about solutions to a significant challenge facing our world—and a number of timely, non-theme articles. “Our non-theme section provides ongoing coverage of issues like health, climate change, globalization, media reform, faith, democracy, economy and labor, social and racial justice, and peace building.” Submission Guidelines HERE

THE BeZINE is open for submissions of essays, feature articles, book and movie reviews, short stories, poetry, art, photography and video. (We might take a good cartoon as well!) The theme for the June issue is “Friendship” and the deadline for June is the 13th. Send to bardogroup@gmail.com Submissions guidelines and themes for upcoming months are HERE

ARTEMISpoetry deadline for Issue 17, November 27 has not yet been announced. Submission is open to women only, including non-members. “We aim to publish new work, so submissions should be unpublished (by ‘published’ we mean: in print, on the internet or by way of media broadcast or on CD), and not ‘out in submission’ elsewhere, whether to magazines or competitions.”  Details HERE.

NIGHTJAR REVIEW is a new publication that is currently reading submissions of poetry and also welcome art. The reading period will close at the end of July. Details HERE.

CONTESTS/COMPETITIONS/GRANTS

Opportunity Knocks

SUSTAINABLE ARTS FOUNDATION, SUPPORTING ARTISTS AND WRITERS WITH FAMILIES: Online Application available July 15, 2016; Deadline to apply September 2, 2016; Awards announced November 18, 2016 Applicants must have at least one child under the age of 18 years.

Sustainable Arts Foundation Visual Arts Award: $6,000
Sustainable Arts Foundation Writing Award: $6,000
There will be multiple winners for each award.

“Additionally, we will be awarding a number of smaller Promise Awards to those applicants whose work may not qualify for the main awards, but nonetheless demonstrates both skill and potential.”

Full details HERE

RESCUE PRESS presents the BLACK BOX POETRY PRIZE, “a contest for full-length collections of poetry, open to poets at any stage in their writing careers. This year’s submissions will be accepted between June 1st and June 30th.”  Details HERE.

SECOND LIGHT NETWORK POETRY COMPETITION for long and short poems by women to be judged by Alison Brackenbury. The deadline is 31 August 2016 with winners to be announced on 30 October 2016.

£300 First Prize for each of Long (no upper limit) and Short (max 50 lines) poems
£150 Second Prize (1 poem from either category)
£75 Third Prize (1 poem from either category)

Winning & Commended Poets published (in full or extract) in ARTEMISpoetry.  Details HERE.

EVENTS

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF AUTHORS (IFOA):  presents the finest international novelists, poets, playwrights, short story writers and biographers, and provides Canadian writers with an internationally recognized forum in which to present their work. Toronto, Canada. October 20-30, 2016  Details HERE.

BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL – is an annual book fair held in Brooklyn, New York. It was begun in 2006 by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who wanted to showcase the “Brooklyn voice” in literature, as numerous authors reside in the borough. However, in subsequent years the fair has expanded its scope and hosted many non-Brooklyn writers, including Joan Didion, Dennis Lehane, John Reed, Rosanne Cash and Dave Eggers.

Unlike most book fairs, the Brooklyn Book Festival caters to the adult readership, although they also feature numerous activities and readings for children.[4] In 2009, attendance reached 30,000. Also in 2009, St. Francis College established a biannual Literary Prize worth US$50,000 to support a mid-career writer. The winner of the prize is announced by a panel of authors during the Brooklyn Book Festival every other year in September.

The festival includes themed readings, panel discussions, vendors, and author signings.

Brooklyn Book Festival Sunday, September 18, 2016
Brooklyn Book Festival Children’s Day Saturday, September 17, 2016
Bookend Events September 12 – 18, 2016

Details HERE

INTERNSHIPS

Opportunity Knocks

YES! MAGAZINE has three internships open at this time: 1.) Reporting and Editing; 2.) Media and Outreach; 3.) Education Outreach Intern

RANT

So TIRED of “Amazing” … I wonder why people – writers! – can’t find another word …. astonishing, astounding, surprising, stunning, staggering, shocking, startling, stupefying, breathtaking; awesome, awe-inspiring, sensational, remarkable, spectacular, stupendous, phenomenal, extraordinary, incredible, unbelievable, mind-blowing, jaw-dropping; wondrous …. supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! ….okay, just kidding on that last …. And if you are surprised that with my dyslexia I could spell that one, I can’t. Did a copy and paste. I love technology. J.D.

TIDBIT

Steve Garside responds to Dr. Aprilia Zank’s photography.  Look for poetry by the multi-talented Dr. Aprilia Zank is the June issue of The BeZine.

THE POET BY DAY SUNDAY POESY

Submit your event, book launch and other announcements at least fourteen days in advance to thepoetbyday@gmail.com. Publication is subject to editorial discretion.

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“BROKEN HOMES,” Single Moms, Remarkable Sons …. Gil Scott-Heron, jazz poet

Gill Scott-Heron (1949-2011), American jazz poet, spoken-word poet, muscian and author
Gill Scott-Heron (1949-2011), American jazz poet, spoken-word poet, musician and author

All I really want to say
Is that the problems come and go
But the sunshine seems to stay

Gil Scott-Heron died around this time in 2011. He’d started out fiery and angry. Some will remember his forceful The Revolution Will Be Televised and other such works. He was always an artist of political integrity. It showed in actions such as refusing to perform in Tel Aviv because “we do not like wars.”  Over time his style mellowed, but his ideals remained.

Gil Scott-Heron is considered by many to be the grandfather of rap and the father of political rap.  Famously, he didn’t accept those titles; he was critical of young rappers, felt they needed to study more, to promote change and not perpetuate the status-quo.  He is quoted in ChickenBones: A Journal as saying …

They need to study music. I played in several bands before I began my career as a poet. There’s a big difference between putting words over some music, and blending those same words into the music. There’s not a lot of humor. They use a lot of slang and colloquialisms, and you don’t really see inside the person. Instead, you just get a lot of posturing.”

In the poem shared today (sent to me by my son on Mother’s Day, 2011) it’s interesting to see what Heron does with his personal experience.  I like that there’s nothing of the victim mentality in this piece. I like the way he talks of dealing with life as it is. I appreciate that he points out that single-parent homes are not always the result of abandonment but are often made so due to parents who were lost in war or in jobs as police officers, firefighters or pilots.

They lost their lives, but not what their lives stood for.” 

On Coming From a Broken Home (video below) is a good example of how art can explain, validate and give us new perspectives … perhaps even encourage us to talk with one another. The piece is from Gil Scott-Heron’s last studio album, I’m New Here. It came out in 2010 not long before he died.

As always if you are viewing this post from an email, you will have to click on the link to this site to see and hear the piece.

header photograph/Heron at the WOMARD festival in Bristol England, 1988 by Robman94 under CC BY SA 2.0 license.

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Slam Poet Taylor Mali on what teachers make … “They make a difference!”

Taylor McDowell Mali (b. 1965) is an American slam poet, humorist, teacher, and voiceover artist.
Taylor McDowell Mali (b. 1965) is an American slam poet, humorist, teacher, and voiceover artist.

Taylor Mali’s career in poetry evolved out of the slam poetry movement. He is a native New Yorker and taught school for nine years at Browning School for Boys (Manhattan) and Cape Cod Academy (Massachusetts). Currently, he travels the world facilitating workshops for teachers and students. He is a dedicated supporter of teachers and he says that through his New Teacher Project he hopes to attract 1,000 people into education through “poetry, persuasion, and perseverance.”

What follows is a video of Taylor Mali performing his poem, What Teachers Make? (You’ll note Billy Collins sitting side-stage.)

If you are viewing this post from an email, you will have to link through to the site to watch the video. You can read the text of the poem HERE.

portrait: Taylor Mali at the international school in Stockholm.by Emil Brikha under CC BY-2.0 license

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CELEBRATING AMERICAN SHE-POETS (17): NIKKI GIOVANNI, Quilting the Black-eyed Pea

Nikki Giovanni (1943), American poet, writer, activist and educator
Nikki Giovanni (1943), American poet, writer, activist and educator

Everyone deserves Sanctuary a place to go where you are
safe
Art offers Sanctuary to everyone willing
to open their hearts as well as their lives”
excerpt for Art Sanctuary in Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea, poems and not quite poems

Nikki Giovanni is lauded as iconic, luminous, adventuresome and courageous.  She is all of these, but I think what I like most about her is that she is straight-forward, practical and compassionate. These characteristics are the underpinning that make her a rather extraordinary poet, a powerful combination of visceral and intellectual.

There is always something to do. There are hungry people to feed, naked people to clothe, sick people to comfort and make well. And while I don’t expect you to save the world I do think it’s not asking too much for you to love those with whom you sleep, share the happiness of those whom you call friend, engage those among you who are visionary and remove from your life those who offer you depression, despair and disrespect.”

Nikki Giovanni first came to note in the late ’60s and early ’70s as part of the Civil Rights, Black Arts and Black Power movements. The strength of her voice punctuated our poetic and political world and she has written, taught and advocated for uncommon good sense ever since. As with all of us, she has many roles in life including daughter, mother, friend and lung cancer survivor. It is clear in her work that she values family and community and supports and encourages these values in others.

Ms. Giovanni was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. She earned her undergraduate degree in history with honors at Fisk University and did her graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University. Her knowledge of history richly informs her perspectives in poetry, essay and talk. She taught at several universities including Virginia Tech and was at Virginia Tech for the shooting by Seung-Hui Cho in 2007 when he murdered thirty-seven people.  Cho was a student in her poetry class. She sensed something was amiss with him and asked the authorities to remove him from her class.  After the shooting, she spoke at the convocation.

We know we did nothing to deserve it. But neither does a child in Africa dying of AIDS. Neither do the invisible children walking the night awake to avoid being captured by a rogue army. Neither does the baby elephant watching his community being devastated for ivory. Neither does the Mexican child looking for fresh water….We are Virginia Tech….We will prevail.”

This video is the first of two in this post. If you are reading from an email subscription, you will have to link through to the site to view the videos.

Ms Giovanni’s early writing was a response to the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., John and Robert Kennedy, and Medgar Evans.  Her first book (1968) Black Feeling, Black Talk/Black Judgement is considered by some to be the one of the most important books on the black-rights movement.  Younger people reading it will want to research the history of the era to put the book in context.

Ms. Giovanni has written some twenty-one books of poetry as well as autobiography and children’s books. She’s edited anthologies and collaborated on books with James Baldwin and Margaret Walker. She’s won countless awards for both her work and her activism. The following video is a reading of Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea (We’re Going to Mars).

I want to be clear about this. If you wrote from experience, you’d get maybe one book, maybe three poems. Writers write from empathy.”

portrait ~ Brett Weinstein under CC BY-SA 2.0