Interested members of the public, artists, arts organizations, and community leaders are encouraged to visit the California Arts Council website to learn about future grant opportunities as details become available. Applications for most grants programs are expected to open in fall or winter of 2019.
Yesterday, the California Arts Council announced 1,243 grant awards totaling $20,823,541 in project and operational support for nonprofit organizations and units of government throughout the state of California. Two additional grant programs, providing support for local, regional and statewide arts partnerships, are slated for approval by the Council at its meeting on June 25, increasing the total award amount for the 2018-19 fiscal year to a projected $24,508,541 across more than 1,300 grants. This will be the largest investment in arts and culture made in the last twenty years.
Awarded project designs span the whole of the arts and cultural fields, with funding offered in fourteen unique grant program areas addressing access, equity, and inclusion; community vibrancy; and arts learning and engagement; and aligning with the California Arts Council’s vision of a state strengthened by a spectrum of art and artists.
New artwork, events, classes, workshops, and other opportunities for creative expression funded through these projects will directly benefit our state’s communities, with youth, veterans, returned citizens, and California’s historically marginalized communities key among them. This year’s projected total award amount marks an increase of more than $8.1 million over last year’s investment, the second highest investment in statewide arts programming, surpassed only by the 2000-01 fiscal year.
“Arts and culture are inextricably linked to our humanity,” said Nashormeh Lindo, California Arts Council Chair. “They serve as a universal touchpoint for understanding and addressing our societal issues—dismantling inequity, healing trauma, reframing justice, inspiring truth and shaping futures. Our Council is humbled to support the vital work of these organizations and their passionate efforts to make a better California for us all.”
Lindo continued, “CAC grants are hard-won through a competitive process, and we applaud all those who applied this year. We encourage organizations who were not among the awardees to continue their efforts for a potential award next year, and we welcome the growth of our programs to bring new applicants into the fold.”
The California Arts Council’s grant programs are administered through a multistep, public process. Following an open call for applications, submissions are adjudicated by peer review panels made up of experts from the arts and cultural fields and representative of California’s diverse geography; racial, ethnic, and gender identities; perspectives and knowledge. Based on panel recommendations and availability of funds, the Council voted on grant awards at public meetings on January 30, March 26, and May 22 in San Bernardino, Sacramento and San Pedro, respectively. The final vote for the remaining two grant programs for FY18-19 will take place on June 25 in San Andreas.
Interested members of the public, artists, arts organizations, and community leaders are encouraged to visit the California Arts Council website to learn about future grant opportunities as details become available. Applications for most grants programs are expected to open in fall or winter of 2019.
Notification of grant program guidelines, applications, and technical assistance opportunities will be also published in the California Arts Council’s weekly e-newsletter, ArtBeat. Subscribe at http://arts.ca.gov/news/artbeat.php.
Recent in digital publications:
* Four poems , I Am Not a Silent Poet * Remembering Mom, HerStry
* Three poems, Levure littéraire Upcoming in digital publications:
“Over His Morning Coffee,” Front Porch Review
A homebound writer, poet, and former columnist and associate editor of a regional employment newspaper, my work has been featured widely in print and digital publications including: Ramingo’s Porch, Vita Brevis Literature, Connotation Press,The Bar None Group, Salamander Cove, I Am Not a Silent Poet, The Compass Rose and California Woman. I run The Poet by Day, an info hub for poets and writers and am the founding/managing editor of The BeZine.
“Every pair of eyes facing you has probably experienced something you could not endure.” Lucille Clifton
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Last week PEN America announced the launch of the PEN/Edward Bunker Prize in Fiction. This to honor the legacy of the famed crime fiction author and screenwriter. The PEN/Bunker Prize will celebrate short works in fiction by writers who are currently incarcerated and will be presented for the first time as part of the PEN America’s 2019 Prison Writing Awards.
Public domain photograph of Edward Bunker taken at an unknown California prison.
EDWARD BUNKER, who became a prolific writer while incarcerated, leveraged the power of the writing process to reinvent himself into the iconic storyteller author and screenwriter we know today. Celebrated for conceiving some of the most gripping crime stories of our time, he penned numerous books, collaborated with celebrity A-listers like Quentin Tarantino and Danny Trejo, was a screenwriter on Straight Time (1978), Runaway Train (1985) and Animal Factory (2000), and acted alongside Hollywood elite in films such as The Running Man, Tango & Cash, and Reservoir Dogs. Thirteen years after his death, his legacy and the transformative power of writing continues through his family’s support of the PEN America Prison Writing Program.
In addition to a cash prize, each recipient will be paired with a writing mentor and given a clear Swintec typewriter—the only typewriter allowed in U.S. prisons, and the one used by Edward Bunker when he first began to write.
“Eddie Bunker’s inspirational legacy is threaded through the hundreds of submissions that pour into PEN America’s Prison Writing Awards each year,” said Caits Meissner, PEN America Prison and Justice Writing Program manager. “Like Eddie, our writers use the written word to expose the painful aspects of incarceration, as well as offer up moments of triumphant humanity that shine light into dark spaces. Thirteen years after his passing, we’re incredibly grateful for the opportunity to continue Eddie’s legacy of transformative writing with his family’s generous support of our program.”
“The Bunker prize is a perfect match for what PEN America is doing with the Prison and Justice Program—reaching out to prisoners who have turned to writing as a salvation, and hopefully a future. I wanted to bring hope and inspiration to those important voices out there that have value and need to be heard. And just as importantly, because our son, Brendan Bunker, sees this as one more way to keep his father and his work immortalized,” said Jennifer Steele, wife of Eddie Bunker.
PEN America’s Prison Writing Program, founded in 1971 in the wake of the Attica riots, advances the restorative, rehabilitative, and transformative possibilities of writing, and has offered many thousands of incarcerated writers free writing resources, skilled mentors, and audiences for their work. A hallmark of the program is the PEN America Prison Writing Awards, which recognizes works by incarcerated writers inpoetry, fiction, drama, nonfiction, and memoir.
The crowded living quarters of San Quentin Prison in California, in January 2006. As a result of overcrowding in the California state prison system, the United States Supreme Court ordered California to reduce its prison population (the second largest in the nation, after Texas). Public domain photograph
Every year hundreds of imprisoned writers from around the country submit poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and dramatic works to the Prison Writing Awards, one of the few outlets of free expression for the country’s incarcerated population.
This month, the first print anthology of award-winning works from the Prison Writing Awards will be published. And, yesterday, September 13, PEN America presented Break Out: Voices from the Inside at the Brooklyn Book Festival, featuring readings and artistic interpretations of works by incarcerated writers, staged by prominent authors on the outside. This is part of a series of events centered on mass incarceration and writers in prison. For more information visit the events calendar.
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PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect open expression in the United States and worldwide. It champions the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Its mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible.
Poet and writer, I was once columnist and associate editor of a regional employment publication. Currently I run this site, The Poet by Day, an information hub for poets and writers. I am the managing editor of The BeZine published by The Bardo Group Beguines (originally The Bardo Group), a virtual arts collective I founded. I am a weekly contributor to Beguine Again, a site showcasing spiritual writers.
My work is featured in a variety of publications and on sites, including: Levure littéraure, Ramingo’s Porch, Vita Brevis Literature,Compass Rose, Connotation Press, The Bar None Group, Salamander Cove, Second Light, I Am Not a Silent Poet, Meta / Phor(e) /Play, and California Woman.
Thank you for sharing your love of words. Comments will appear after moderation.
POETRY FOUNDATION accepts submissions year round for its Poetry Magazine. Details HERE.
PARIS REVIEW accepts submissions – including unsolicited submissions – year round. Details HERE.
THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS, an anthology of Wishing Up Press, invites submissions of poetry, fiction, memoir, creative non-fiction exploring – you got it! – “the kindness of strangers.” The submission deadline is September 1, 2016. Details HERE.
POLYCHROME INK celebrates diversity in literature and is interested in submissions from underrepresented voices writing poetry, fiction and non-fiction. Deadline for the next issue is July 1, 2016, however, the publication does have a “rolling submission policy” … in other words, you may submit year-round. Details are HERE.
MOREL SOUTH&WEST is a regional publication of Ontario currently accepting poetry, fiction, essays and articles on Southwestern Ontario. Poetry submissions are welcome through June 19 for publication in July 2016. Details HERE.
FISSURE is open year-round and offers opportunities to young LGBTQ+ and allies. Submission guidelines are HERE.
JSTOR (pronounced Jay-stor) has been around a long time. JSTOR Daily – “where news meets scholarly match” is relatively new. It is a paying venue, “an online magazine that offers a fresh way for people to understand and contextualize their world. It features topical essays that draw connections between current affairs, historical scholarship, and other content that’s housed on JSTOR, a digital library of scholarly journals, books, and primary sources. In addition to weekly feature articles, the magazine publishes daily blog posts that provide the backstory to complex issues of the day in a variety of subject areas, interviews with and profiles of scholars and their work, and much more. The magazine makes the content on JSTOR, which most people access via university libraries or other institutions, freely available to the general reader by highlighting timely or otherwise compelling content, and providing free links to that content.” Further details and submission guidelines are HERE.
MSLEXIA (Newcastle) sponsors annual contests and the Children’s Novel Competition is open for submissions though September 19, 2016. Details HERE.
JOURNAL OF NEW JERSEY POETS is accepting poetry submissions from New Jersey poets through October 1, 2016. Details HERE.
THE BeZINE theme for July 2016 is “Faith: In Things Seen and Unseen.” Poems, essays, short-stories (up to 1,200 words), flash fiction, feature articles (up t0 1,200 words), photography, art or video – as long as it can be loaded into a post – are acceptable for consideration. Deadline is July 10. Details HERE.
SEVEN BY TWENTY, a journal of twitter literature, reports that its submission que is empty and invites submissions. Details HERE.
CONTESTS/COMPETITIONS
Opportunity Knocks
BATTERED MOONS POETRY COMPETITON is open to U.K. residents and is part of the Poetry Swindon Festival. Deadline is 30 June 2016. Details HERE.
BLACK BOX POETRY PRIZE for poetry collections is accepting submission through the 30th of this month. It is sponsored by Rescue Press. Details HERE.
BARROW STREET PRESS book contest deadline for a previously unpublished book of poetry in English is June 30. Details HERE.
EVENTS/FESTIVALS
Tuesday, September 15, 7:00 PM U.S. POET LAUREATE INAUGURAL READING, Washington, D.C. 21st Poet Laureate Consultant Juan Felipe Herrera will kick off Hispanic Heritage Month with his inaugural reading. This event is free and open to the public. Co-sponsored by the Library of Congress Hispanic Division.Location: Coolidge Auditorium, Thomas Jefferson Building (ground floor) Contact: (202) 707-5394
Monday, June 13, 8:30 AM–5:00 PM FROM THE BLACK ARTS MOVEMENT TO CAVE CANEM, Washington, D.C. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Black Arts Movement and the 20th anniversary of Cave Canem, a day-long symposium featuring two panels and a Master Class in children’s literature. This event is co-sponsored by the Folger Shakespeare Library’s O.B. Hardison Poetry Series, PEN/Faulkner Foundation, Contact: (202) 707-5394
GRASSINGTON FESTIVAL, 15 Days of Music and Arts in the Yorkshire Dales (looks like there are about three or four poetry events) from 17th June – 2nd July. Details HERE.
100,000 POETS FOR CHANGE events will take place around the world on Saturday, September 24, 2016. To find an event in your area or to sign-up to organize an event in your area visit 100tpc. On this global day of unity and consciousness raising, literary and other artists and friends around the world will come together in cities, hometowns and even private homes to encourage peace, sustainability and social justice.
The BeZine will host a virtual 100TPC event that day offering you the opportunity to participate electronically no matter where in the world you live and even if you are homebound. Our Contributing Editor, American-Isreali poet Michael Dickel (Fragments of Michael Dickel), is master of ceremonies.
THE LAST GOOD COUNTRY “tells the ambiguous origins of Ernest Hemingway and his transformation into one of the greatest writers/icons the world has ever known. After returning from WWI in Milan, shaken by injury, and shut out by the woman he loved, Hemingway travels to the Upper Peninsula to discover what kind of man he is meant to be. These events would eventually become the inspiration for his Nick Adams tales.”
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.
The Poetry Foundation is pleased to announce a $1.2 million gift from the Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Memorial Fund to support the work of aspiring young poets. The Memorial Fund has awarded the prestigious “Dorothy Prizes” to young poets since 2004, and the Poetry Foundation has offered the Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowships to young poets since 1989. With this new endowment, the current $15,000 Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship prize will nearly double, thereby giving five young poets a more auspicious start to their careers. The newly enhanced prize will be named the Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellowships, honoring two extraordinary women and their commitment to poetry. The first of these new fellowships will be announced and awarded in 2014.
“The Poetry Foundation is thrilled to begin this important fellowship program with a poetry organization that shares our dedication to and support of promising young poets,” said John Barr, president of the Poetry Foundation. “Some of our most noted poets writing today are Lilly Fellowship recipients who have benefited from being given the time to work and the confidence that this prize engenders.”
The Dorothy Prizes—officially the Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Annual Poetry Prizes—were established by Dorothy’s husband, Marvin Rosenberg, playwright and acclaimed Shakespeare scholar, in memory of his wife, herself a published poet. Over the past nine years more than 350 prizes, ranging from to $1,000 to $10,000, have been awarded to fine young writers under the age of 40. Entries for this year’s upcoming contest are due on or before October 5.
“Now it is time for the balance of Marvin’s bequest to be deployed in a long-lasting way for the benefit of young poets,” said Barr Rosenberg, Marvin and Dorothy’s son and trustee of the Memorial Fund. “We are delighted to make this gift on Marvin’s behalf to the Poetry Foundation, so that the funds can continue to be dedicated to Marvin’s long-held dream of giving encouragement and substantial financial support to promising young writers. This is exactly what Marvin would have wished.”
“This gift adds another dimension to Ruth Lilly’s legacy of encouraging young writers at a crucial time in their careers,” said Don Share, editor of Poetry magazine. “It will provide more support for each poet and help to sustain a more diverse spectrum of writers.”
The Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowships have encouraged the further writing and study of poetry among such esteemed poets and Fellowship recipients as Katherine Larson, Roger Reeves and Christian Wiman. The first Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship winner, Saskia Hamilton, has gone on to author several books of poetry and was named a Guggenheim Fellow in 2009. She now edits the journal Literary Imagination.
The success of the Dorothy Prizes can be seen in the consistently high quality of the lyric poetry submitted. Names of honorees, their winning work and a selection of Dorothy’s own poems can be viewed online. This year’s contest will be the last administered by the Rosenbergs, but they hope that the Dorothy Prizes may continue to flourish in the future. Individuals or organizations interested in taking over the administration of the Dorothy Prizes in 2014 are invited to be in contact with proposals via the Dorothy Prizes website.
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About the Poetry Foundation
The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, is an independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture. It exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience. The Poetry Foundation seeks to be a leader in shaping a receptive climate for poetry by developing new audiences, creating new avenues for delivery, and encouraging new kinds of poetry through innovative literary prizes and programs. For more information, please visit poetryfoundation.org.
About Poetry Magazine
Founded in Chicago by Harriet Monroe in 1912, Poetry is the oldest monthly devoted to verse in the English-speaking world. Monroe’s “Open Door” policy, set forth in Volume 1 of the magazine, remains the most succinct statement of Poetry’s mission: to print the best poetry written today, in whatever style, genre or approach. The magazine established its reputation early by publishing the first important poems of T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Marianne Moore, Wallace Stevens, H.D., William Carlos Williams, Carl Sandburg and other now-classic authors. In succeeding decades it has presented—often for the first time—works by virtually every major contemporary poet.
– Poetry Foundation
Photo credit ~ Photographer unknown. The Muses Sarcophagus, which depicts the nine muses and their attributes. It was carved in marble around the first haf of the second century and by the Via Ostiense. The photograph is in the public domain. The sarcophagus in house at the Louvre Museum in the Department of Greek, Etruscan and Roman antiquities, Denon wing, ground floor, room 25
Thank you for sharing your love of words. Comments will appear after moderation.
“Arts and culture are inextricably linked to our humanity,” said Nashormeh Lindo, California Arts Council Chair. “They serve as a universal touchpoint for understanding and addressing our societal issues—dismantling inequity, healing trauma, reframing justice, inspiring truth and shaping futures. Our Council is humbled to support the vital work of these organizations and their passionate efforts to make a better California for us all.”
A homebound writer, poet, and former columnist and associate editor of a regional employment newspaper, my work has been featured widely in print and digital publications including: Ramingo’s Porch, Vita Brevis Literature, Connotation Press, The Bar None Group, Salamander Cove, I Am Not a Silent Poet, The Compass Rose and California Woman. I run The Poet by Day, an info hub for poets and writers and am the founding/managing editor of The BeZine.
Jamie Dedes' THE POET BY DAY Webzine 