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THE BREATH OF SPIRIT – a response to last Wednesday’s Writing Prompt

spirit3This is Renee Espriu’s response to last Wednesday’s Writing Prompt. 

I use to pray when asking or wanting
was all I thought there was
when I used the energy of my being
as if kinetic magnetic waves
to bring me absolute truth

when now with years of searching
I find that closing my eyes
to breathe quietly within
the mist begins to clear as
though sun rays warm my spirit

the dew drops melt on blades of grass
to find me walking a deserted shore
where the ocean winds touch my hair
and the watery brine is lifted thus
to coat my skin with salty jewels

where words are not labels or script
but the beauty of butterflies laced
with birdsong and seeded with pearls
that transcend time and space
filling my soul with balm and peace

© November 2016 Renee Espriu

Renee is tenacious in her study and work and in getting her poetry out to a variety of publications. The charming illustration is hers: “Image Taken From Morgue File & Digitized by Myself.”

Here’s what she has to say of herself:

c796b9e96120fdf0ce6f8637fa73483cRENEE ESPIRU: I am a daughter, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and seeker of Spiritual Peace and Soul Filled Freedom. I have been to graduate school at Pacific Lutheran University and have a Bachelors Degree in Sociology. I have also been to Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary from which I acquired a Certificate in Theology. I have eclectic beliefs that encompass many faiths and believe Nature to be the basis of everything that is and that everything that is is also a part of Nature.

Due to emergent open heart surgery in 2015 I am now retired and devoting more of my time to writing, which includes the writing of a fiction book and one that is solely poetry. I have a Blog site at reneejustturtleflight where I have been posting my writing since 2011. I have been a guest contributor to The BeZine and participated in The BeZine 2016 100,000 Poets for Change virtual event. I also have a passion for art. I draw and paint.

VISIT “THE POET BY DAY” TOMORROW FOR

THIS WEDNESDAY’S WRITING PROMPT

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The Little Squirrel Who Stopped Traffic

When we left the café parking area the sky was a bit overcast but the late afternoon was delightfully busy with birds, bees and squirrels. It’s baby-season here for squirrels. Well, I guess maybe some of them are in their teens now. My friend was about to turn the car right onto Whipple Avenue, a main drag leading to a freeway. She stopped first to check for through traffic. Less than a half-block up the cars were at a standstill. Why? Finally we glimpsed a tiny squirrel huddled in the middle of the street. Some people left their cars. A quiet crowd gathered but no one beeped a horn. No one shouted. No one cursed in anger. Remarkable! Such uncharacteristic behavior, especially for commute time.

Since there were no cars behind us on the side street, we sat waiting to see what would happen. It appeared everyone was suspended mid-breath until a utility worker stepped out of the crowd and scooped up the poor thing. A large rough and tumble sort of fellow, he was petting it and cooing to it as he walked away, clearly pleased and not at all self-conscious. As drivers returned to their cars and started back down Whipple, I found myself smiling. What a delight: human beings at their kind and courteous best and the power of a wee creature to still our little corner of the world. It was a moment of grace and compassion juxtaposed against the stresses of a fractious presidential campaign and a citizenry anxiously awaiting election outcomes.

This post is dedicated to my neighbor, Jeanette, and her pet squirrel. 

© words, Jamie Dedes; photo Babbage under the CC A 2.0 Generic license

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Anne Stewart’s poetry p f … good resource for poets and poetry lovers

annephotoAnne Stewart’s poetry p f is a wonderful go-to place when you want to expand your reading to include accomplished contemporary (mostly UK) poets. Assuming you meet the membership requirements, it can also be the means to making your own collection/s more visible on the Internet.

“Membership requirements” might seem to imply a certain elitism, but the standard is in my opinion not onerous but reasonable enough to ensure that the poets represented have refined their craft and have a serious interest in and commitment to poetry.

As I write this post, there are some 300 top-notch poets on poetry p f  and their collections might be difficult to find without this resource. I’m not a member, but I do like to make purchases from poetry p f. It’s convenient and, unlike Amazon, the poet pages are uniform and you can count on them to be there. They offer you a sample poem, a photograph and contact information as well as information about the publisher.

There’s an event page, largely London and surrounding areas, with a schedule of readings, workshops and courses. Included is a useful “Favorite” sites page offering resources that will help you connect with other poets. A convenient listing of competitions and calls for submissions makes it easier to target potential markets for your work. The home page features one poet and the poet featured is rotated.

poetry p f offers a rich collection of feature articles and Anne also has poetry cards available for purchase.  Anne welcomes commissions to produce tailor-made Poem Cards for purchases of 100 or more cards.

Since Anne is affiliated with Second Light Network of Women Poets (SLN), I find it convenient to pay my SLN member fees through her site. When I wanted to gift a membership (a great gift for the women poets in your life), I just emailed Anne to let her know I purchased an SLN membership and to whom it was supposed to go.  No dealing with nameless service representatives and policy inconsistencies.

In the May 2010 issue of acumen, a literary journal, Anne was interviewed by William Oxley and explained the “p f'” in the name.

The p f was Monty Python inspired – I thought we poets needed to rage a bit and the People’s Front, Popular or otherwise, seemed to fit the bill.”

Opportunity knocks:  16 November 2016 is the deadline for the Barnet poetry competition for adults & juniors and Anne Stewart is the judge for the adult category.  Details HERE.

the-janus-hour-fullANNE STEWART is a poet, reviewer, and provider of services to poets and poetry organisations. In 2000, she began working towards a life with poetry at the centre of it, joining the Post-graduate Creative Writing programme at Sheffield Hallam University. In 2003, she was awarded an MA with Distinction and in 2005, was selected as one of the “Ten Hallam Poets” represented in the anthology published by Mews Press (eds. Sean O’Brien, Steven Earnshaw and EA Markham). The anthology attracted high praise from top-calibre poets (Don Paterson, Julia Darling, Helen Dunmore).

In 2008, she won the Bridport Prize for her sonnet, Still Water, Orange, Apple, Tea. Judge, David Harsent, said of it “…what marks it out is the way this emotional commonplace is adapted to language … no line lacked a surprise … I liked its briskness – celebratory, but never cloying – and liked too, the fine-tuning: … a tone of voice that promotes brevity … where the notes in question sing and tease and intrigue … ”

Her first collection, The Janus Hour (Oversteps Books, 2010), “is characterised by a view of the world that is quizzical, appraising, unflinching yet non-judgemental: this is how things look from here, it says; take it or leave it. Her poems address, with the same deft lightness of touch, both uncomfortable truths about our time and the surreal in the everyday, achieving a rare consistency of expression without ever being predictable.” – Jeremy Page, editor, The Frogmore Papers.

© Anne’s photo and book cover art belong to her; the bio is from her site and is also under her copyright

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

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CALLS FOR SUBMISSIONS

Opportunity Knocks

CARBON CULTURE, The Intersection of Technology + Literature + Art “advocates a creative, thoughtful and visually appealing dialogue about our complex relationship to technology. We strive to promote the work of those who employ technology and utilize technological designs and terms in art and literature. Our collection of voices and artistic work explore who we are as human beings in a technological world to create a lasting impression at the intersection of technology, art and literature.” It publishes poetry as well as other literature and art.  Submission guidelines HERE.

THE BAKERY  “is  an online literary journal that features a new poem every morning, publishing the work of emerging and established voices. The Bakery is interested in representing a wide range of voices and is open to all styles. Send poetry that we want to eat, that we want to put on a cake or between two slices of other poems. Make us want to make poem sandwiches, poem brownies, and donuts that we would like to see filled with your poems.” Submission guidelines are HERE.

THE EMMA PRESS (charming!) has two calls-for-submissions open: One  is for poems about British and Irish kings and queens.  Tight deadline –  November 13 – but shared here on the odd chance that some reader has something ready to go. The other is for poems about animals and the deadline December 4th. Details HERE.

WHITE PINE PRESS  is not accepting new submissions except for the possibility of Poetry in Translation.  Send a query letter and a representative sample.  Details HERE.

THE MARIE ALEXANDER POETRY SERIES , an imprint of White Pine Press (above), publishes one or two books a year – single author collections of “prose poetry, flash fiction, short lyric essays and hybrid forms.” Details HERE.

THE BeZINE, a publication of The Bardo Group Begins in the process of pulling together the October issue and will continue to consider submissions until midnight (PDT) on October 12. Submit poetry, essay, nonfiction, creative nonfiction, photography, music videos and art or photography.  The theme for October is Rituals for Peace, Healing, Unity. The Rev. Terri Stewart (Beguine Again and The BeZine) hosts the October issue. Submission guidelines HERE.  Submit to bardogroup@gmail.com

The November issue’s theme is Caritas/Chesed/Metta (in other words, loving kindness). Deadline is the 10th. 

The December issue’s theme is The Healing Power of the Arts.

CONTESTS

Opportunity Knocks

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF STATE POETRY SOCIETIES sponsors fifty poetry contests a year. Details HERE.

CALIFORNIA STATE POETRY SOCIETY sponsors monthly theme poetry contests.  Details HERE. Membership information is HERE.

WHITE PINE PRESS POETRY PRIZE COMPETITION opens for submission of collections on July 1, 2017.  Cash award: $1,000 and publication. There’s a $20 free for entry, reading and processing. Details HERE.

EVENT

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Details on this event (the poets and the sponsoring organizations and topics) are HERE.

Reviews of two of Hélène Cardona’s books , poetry samples and an interview with Hélène are scheduled for November 24 in the Poet by Day’s popular series Celebrating American She-Poets, which will resume then.

KUDOS TO

TIDBITS

FROM WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY: a comprehensive listing of Poetry Terms: Brief Definitions

HEALING STORY ALLIANCE (HSA) “explores and promotes the use of storytelling in healing. Our goal as a special interest group of the National Storytelling Network (NSN) is to build a resource for the use of story in the healing arts and professions.

“We share experiences and skills to increase our own knowledge of stories and how best to use them to inform, nurture, inspire and heal, both organizations and individuals. We strive to reach beyond our storytelling community to engage all those in other service professions who can see the benefit of story as a vehicle for healing.”

Find “guidance and practical applications for storytelling, revealing and reflecting the many facets of healing story in the world today and in the past” on their website.  Thanks to our fave world-class storyteller, Naomi Baltuck (Writing Between the Lines, Life from a Writer’s POV and 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.