What feeds our imagination: the lives of others or our own lives? My impulse is to say a healthy dollop of each, but it is always interesting to see what someone else has to say. Poet Nikki Giovanni says,
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.”
In contrast the Dominica-born British novelist Jean Rhys wrote five stunning novels milked from her own life. Autobiographic elements are even in Wide Sargasso Sea, Rhys’ post-colonial drama in which travesties of racial inequality, patriarchy, displacement and assimilation are themes. This book, a much-lauded prequel to Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, evolved from Rhys’ dissatisfaction with Brontë’s treatment of Antoinette Cosway, from Rhys’ own life experience of rejection and emotional turmoil, and from her observation of and distress with how the people of Dominica were viewed and treated by colonizers. The book is her (re)vision of Antoinette Cosway, a Creole heiress, married for her money to an unnamed English gentleman who changed her name and pronounced her mad. Antoinette does not fit in with the Europeans or the Jamaicans. In her own life Jean Rhys never felt that she fit in.
Jean Rhys was an astute self-observer, scrupulously honest. She worked hard to avoid both self-pity and self-aggrandizement or congratulation. If you’ve read her work you know she largely succeeded.
In one of Rhys journals she imagines herself in court:
It is in myself.
What is?
All. Good evil, love, hate, life, death, beauty, ugliness.
And in everyone?
I do not know everyone. I only know myself.
And others?
I do not know them. I see them as trees walking.
Counsel for the Prosecution: There you are! Didn’t take long, did it?
Clearly Jean Rhys felt her own life was what she knew best, the podium from which she could speak. She did what she felt called to do, what was natural for her. By being careful and conscious she avoided the pitfalls of self-pity and self-aggrandizement. Certainly to one degree or another writing is therapy. Most of us agree on that. At its best, however, it doesn’t read that way.
REVIEWS EDITOR: Poetry London seeks a freelance Reviews Editor to join its editorial team. Applications are open now. Deadline: 30th of August.Details HERE.
VOLUNTEER: PEN Center USA is accepting volunteer applications! “Volunteering at the Center is a great way to get involved with your local literary community. Rewarding opportunities to assist in PEN Center USA programming and events are available year-round. In some cases, training may be required.” Details HERE.
ARTISTS-AT-RISK PROJECT DIRECTOR: PEN America seeks a creative, visionary, and highly organized Project Director for a critical role in launching a new support system for artists at risk worldwide. This innovative initiative, conceived in consultation with a global network of partners and implemented with the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, is aimed at strengthening and expanding the web of services available to assist members of the creative community who face threats in retaliation for the exercise of cultural expression. MORE
ARTISTS-AT-RISK PROJECT MANAGER/COORDINATOR: PEN America seeks a talented, energetic, and highly organized Project Manager/Coordinator for a critical role in launching a new support system for artists at risk. This innovative initiative, conceived in consultation with a global network of partners and implemented with the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, is aimed at strengthening and expanding the web of services available to assist members of the creative community who face threats in retaliation for the exercise of cultural expression. MORE
CALLS FOR SUBMISSIONS
Opportunity Knocks
BLUELINE “seeks poems, stories and essays about the Adirondacks and regions similar in geography and spirit, focusing on nature’s shaping influence. We also welcome creative nonfiction that interprets the literature or culture of the region, including northern New York, New England and Eastern Canada.
“Blueline always publishes both new and established writers. You’ll catch our attention if your writing is vigorous, interesting and polished. We’re not interested in effusive descriptions of scenery. We are looking for realistic approaches to the environment: the literature we publish expresses imagination, reflection, and insight about the natural world.
“The submission period is July through November. Decision are made mid-February. Payment is made in copies. Simultaneous submissions accepted if identified as such: notify the editors immediately if a simultaneous submission is placed elsewhere. No previously published works.” Details HERE.
URBAN FARMHOUSE is “looking for book-length manuscripts meeting the following general guidelines: Crossroads Poetry Series: minimum 50-60 pages of poetry,single spaced, and one poem per page. Fiction: minimum 150 pages of prose, 12 pt font, double-spaced. Novellas: 60-145 pages of prose, 12 pt font, double-spaced. Cities of the Straits Chapbook Series: 20-40 pages of poetry or fiction. 12 pt font, double-spaced. Submissions open from April to August annually. All manuscripts chosen for publication will receive a book contract and 8% royalties on all print copies sold.” Details HERE.
SEDIMENTS LITERARY-ARTS JOURNAL “accepts poetry, short stories, and art. Accepted work for the quarterly issue will be published to the homepage every Sunday at 11AM. Now – August 31: Submit to Themed Issue “Happy Holidays!” Upcoming Dates: September: Issue Eight Release October 1 – 31: Submit to Issue Nine December: Themed Issue “Happy Holidays!” Release. Details HERE.
ARTEMISpoetry(Demographic restrictions.) Issue 17, November 2016 (& Issue 18, May 2017) Editors for Issue 17 are: General & Artwork – Dilys Wood and June Hall; Poetry – Wendy French. Readers’ Letters are invited. Comments on the journal’s content or anything you would like to see discussed in relation to women’s writing. (max 100 words). All submissions: submit paper copy initially to Dilys Wood, 3 Springfield Close, East Preston, West Sussex, BN16 2SZ. Please write “ARTEMISpoetry” on your envelope. (Enquiries only: e-mail Administrator editor@poetrypf.co.uk) Poems: Issue 17 deadline – 31st August 2016. Poems by women of any age.
Poems should be typed, or if written, then very neatly. Each poem should commence on a new page, headed “Submission for ARTEMISpoetry“. Please SEND TWO COPIES. Do include your name with each poem and include your name and full contact details in your submission. Long poems are considered. Submit up to 4 poems to a maximum of 200 lines in all. Contributors whose poetry is accepted will be notified by 31st October 2016. Further details HERE.
Note: If you feel intimidated by submittable or other electronic submissions managers used by publishers, ARTEMISpoetry accepts neat handwritten material and is one of an ever decreasing number of publications that will accept snail-mail submissions. For some people, this removes a barrier to entry. If you are one such and female, take adavantage. Nothing ever happens if you don’t try.
THE BeZINE is accepting email submissions (bardogroup@gmail.com) for the August issue through August 10. The theme is: Hope: Great Expections and Quiet Desires. We seek poetry, essay, flash fiction, videos, and photography. Also consider are editorials (500 – 740 words) on current issues or trends for our new BeAttitude section. Submission guidelines HERE. ‘
EVENTS
HEADS-UP TALLAHASSEE: Poetry Reading with Michael Rothenberg, Terri Carrion, El Habib Louai, Geoff Bouvier and friends. Thursday, July 28 at The Black Dog on the Square at 567 Industrial Dr, Tallahassee, Florida, 32301 starting at 7:00pm. It’s going to be great!
TRANSATLANTIC POETRY on Air (Google Hangouts), an iniiative by poet Robert Peake, next poetry reading is August 14th at 8 pm BST/3pm EDT/12 pm PDT with Vahni Capildeo and Tyehimba Jess. Read on … a link to the site and more detail is under Kudos.
KUDOS
ROBERT PEAK‘s fabulous Transatlantic Poetry Series is now in its third year. Peake is an British-American poet living near London. His latest collection The Knowledge is available from Nine Arches Press. Transatlantic Poetry is “a platform that openly encourages participation from individuals and organisations with a strong commitment to the support of poetry globally.” You can hear poets reading their work and discussing poetry at Google Hangouts on pre-scheduled dates. You are able to ask questions. Link HERE for more information. Be there or be square – really! An archive of all past event videos is available. Bravo, Robert!
ARTEMISpoetry editor for the November issue: Wendy French recently completed a Poet Residency at the University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre. Her resulting book, Thinks Itself a Hawk, is published by Hippocrates Poetry Press (2016). French also ran creative word groups for patients and carers. She is one of six poets included in a showcase anthology from Avalanche Books.
MICHAEL ROTHENBERG announced this week that the hard copy proof of his new book of poems, Drawing The Shade, arrived today from Dos Madres Press. “We’re almost there.”
MYRA SCHNEIDER‘s thirteenth collection, Persephone in Finsbury Park (Second Light Press, 2016), is available at poet Anne Stewart’s p f poetry site.
TIDBIT
Literature & Medicine
If you are viewing The Sunday Poesy from email, you’ll likely have to link through to view this video.
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.
c The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development Interfaith Eco Poetry Slam صدى المناظرة الشعرية بين الاديان האקו-פואטרי סלאם הבין דתי
The ICSD staff and participants from around Jerusalem gathered in Tmol Shilshom to perform and speak about faith and ecology through the art of poetry on June 30. Michael Deckel discussed the human relationship with God and how we want a connection but cannot have one without striving to create meaning in the world.
Even lizards hide from this scorched heat.
Tristram’s grackles pant in the shade of skeletal acacia.
Fan-tail ravens float on rising currents like vultures.
David hid from Saul in the strongholds of En Gedi;
along the wadi now named for him, waterfalls
drop warm water onto maidenhair ferns into tepid pools.
Any stippled shade provides shelter from the scathing sun
when hiding from midday heat or close pursuit:
Tristram and Iseult, David, seek shade, ferns, sparkling droplets.
We escape, fugitives from kings
into what little shade we find, wade
into green puddles of desert water,
for brief respite, solace,
a bright glimmer sliding down
an eroding rock face.
MICHAEL DICKEL (Fragments of Michael Dickel), a poet, fiction writer, essayist, photographer, digital artist, and educator is a contributing editor for The BeZine, was associate editor and contributing editor of The Woven Tale Press, managing editor of arc-24 (2015) and arc–23 (2014), and co-edited Voices Israel Volume 36 (2010). His latest book of poems is War Surrounds Us. Previous books include Midwest / Mid-East and The World Behind It, Chaos, an eBook from “why vandalism?” that is no longer available online. Dickel is the Chair of the Israel Association of Writers in English.
Dickel’s work was short-listed for the Wisehouse 2016 Poetry Award and has appeared in literary journals, anthologies, art books, and online for over twenty years. His photographs and poems have appeared in: THIS Literary Magazine, Eclectic Flash, Cartier Review,Pirene’s Fountain, Sketchbook, Emerging Visions Visionary Art eZine, Poetry Midwest, Fotógrafos En La Calle (Street Photographers), why vandalism? [1, 2, 3, 4], Poetica Magazine—Reflections on Jewish Thought, Zeek: a Jewish Journal of Thought and Culture and Abramelin: the Journal of Poetry and Magick, among many others (a selection of recent publications can be accessed on the Links page). Two of his poems received first and second place in the 2009 international Reuben Rose Memorial Poetry Competition.
He has also worked with documentary film productions, writing everything from fund-raising proposals to research to treatments and scripts. Working with David Fisher, he wrote a successful proposal for a U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities Bridging Cultures through Film Development Grant.
Michael (Dickel) Dekel, Ph.D., holds degrees in psychology, creative writing, and English literature. He has been teaching college and university for over 25 years—writing and literature courses in the United States and Israel – as well as courses in media and English Education in Israel. He directed the Student Writing Center at the University of Minnesota and the Macalester Academic Excellence Center at Macalester College (St. Paul, MN). He currently lectures at Kibbutzim College (Tel Aviv). Dr. Dickel has published articles, presented conference papers, and led workshops on writing and the teaching of academic writing. He currently lives in Jerusalem, Israel.
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I am disabled but not unable. Thanks to medical technology, fabulous and caring physicians, family support, social support (both online and off) and computer technology, I continue with my chosen career, my chosen causes and a life that is as full and engaging as anyone could hope.
Now, I’ve discovered The Mighty (details in the video below) thanks to my Bardo Group Beguines colleague, Lana Phillips. What a great find!
A wonderful idea, essentially an online support group for people who are dealing with chronic and catastrophic illness and sharing information and resources. The people who visit The Mighty site and/or write for it, share their stories (including stories of parenting). They are women and men who are ill or disabled themselves or who are caring for others who are ill or disabled … or, perhaps both.
We are so fortune in these days that there are support groups available. My own mother lived with cancer over and over again. First breast cancer, which kept reoccurring. Then thyroid, kidney and other cancers. Ultimately she died at 76 of breast and colon cancer. In her day, there were no support groups, no one in her life who could understand the complications: psychological, financial or physical. There was no adult who could observe, understand and intervene. She also suffered from mental illness and was in an almost constant state of stress and trauma.
Unlike my mom, I have the benefit of a support group at the Medical Center for people with interstitial lung diseases who are in pre-transplant (me), transplant and post transplant programs. I also belong to an off-line support group of people with “life-threatening” (read ultimately fatal) illnesses, which is run by the local Buddhist meditation center. Some are – like me – lucky enough to go on for years. I was diagnosed in 1999 with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, which is fatal within five years of diagnosis and for which there is no cure. I’m still here because the diagnosis was wrong. There was no way to know that until time passed and reactions to medical treatments could be observed and evaluated. These proved that the condition is actually Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis. So, as you see, I’m still hanging out. Some of the members of our Buddhist group are not. Over the last seven years we’ve lost nineteen friends. That’s the tough part.
The upside is that our offline support groups provide us safe haven to share information, to be open about our fears and frustrations, and to share our joys. So too The Mighty, where there are a rather remarkable number of conditions addressed from a personal perspective and in a manner that is informed, compassionate and uplifting. Bravo!
WRITING PROMPT
Write a poem, short story or feature article about dealing with chronic catastrophic illness or disability. Directly or indirectly, illness and disability touch all our lives. It’s just part of this package called Life! If you write an article, you might consider submitting it to The Mighty. Submission guidelines are HERE.
What feeds our imagination: the lives of others or our own lives? My impulse is to say a healthy dollop of each, but it is always interesting to see what someone else has to say. Poet Nikki Giovanni says,
Jamie Dedes' THE POET BY DAY Webzine 