AN ANNOUNCEMENT FROM 100TPC COFOUNDER, MICHAEL ROTHENBERG: “On September 24, 2016 poets, musicians and artists around the world will be organizing poetry readings, parades, gallery exhibitions, music and dance performances focused on issues of peace, justice, and sustainability. This important annual global act of solidarity is the core activity of 100 Thousand Poets for Change, a non-profit organization.
100 Thousand Poets for Change offers an opportunity for a peaceful global discussion of issues such as war, global warming, poverty, racism, gender inequality, homelessness, gun violence, police brutality, lack of affordable medical care, censorship, and animal cruelty. Individual organizers are free to choose the specific topic and focus of their local event. If you are interested in participating in this global action please post sign up HERE.”
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THE BARDO GROUP BEGUINES will host a virtual 100TPC event on September 24 with American-Israeli poet, Michael Dickel (Fragments of Michael Dickel) as Master of Ceremonies. Between Michael and me the event will run from morning in Israel to midnight in California. You can share your work through Mr. Linky (instruction will be provided) or in the comments section of the blog post that day at The BeZinewhere you can also enjoy the work of other artist activists.
Work may include anything on topic: poetry, essay, short fiction, video (music, mime, dance, dramatic monolgue), art and photography and so forth. The topic we’ve chosen this year – selected by Rev. Terri Stewart (Beguine Again founder) – and supported by our core team of poets, writers, story-tellers, artists and photographers, musicians and clerics is ENVIRONMENT and ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE.
This event is open to everyone wherever you are in the world and makes possible participation even if there is no street event happening in your area or if you are homebound. We hope you’ll join us. Soon after the event, we’ll collect everything into one commemorative page. This is tradition. Commenorative pages from prior years can be accessed at The BeZine through its blog roll. All work will be also be archived at Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
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we, the nobodies, the little people
whipped by the whims of the power mongers,
nailing us to a cross of narcissism and greed,
tossing us on the trash heap of history
we, the wounded and noble nameless,
with all our bone, blood, heart and soul
do declare unequivocally— we find no redemption in chaos, no joy in parting seas of blood, no grace in killing one another
we now turn, not our cheeks, but our backs,
leaving the bullies to their naked delusion,
their rudimentary souls; relinquishing
the swords they hand us, we put our muscle
to the plow and reclaim our birthright
to all that is sane and good
Poetry is as necessary to life as water. With it we take our stand, raise the collective conscience, show a proper respect for intuition and instinct. Poetry uncobbles our hopes and dreams and anchors our power.
In the April issue of The Woven Tale PressAssociate Editor and Poet Michael Dickel• offers some background on 100,000 Poets for Change (100TPC) and activist poets and poetry. I have the honor to be among several of those poets featured including: 100TPC co-founder, Michael Rothenberg and St. Louis, Missouri Poet Laureate, Michael Castro. The edition includes not only outstanding poets and writers but some truly stellar artists. The Woven Tale Press is “the eclectic culling of the creative web.” View HERE
This is a very special event my friend Michael Dickel, Ph.D. has designed in concert with Adeena Karasick, Ph.D. You’ve read some of Michael’s work in The Poet by Day and some in The BeZine, where he is Contributing Editor. Link HERE for an interview with Michael. J.D.
July 3-18 2016 Travel Israel—write poetry! Immerse yourself in a spectral past and resonant present with renowned poets and performers Adeena Karasick and Michael Dickel.
Write! Tour! Perform! Listen! Learn! Feast! Through the labyrinths of the old city of Jerusalem, mystical mountains of Tzfat, Bedouin villages, caves and waterfalls, The Dead Sea, Galilee, Masada at sunset, or on a camel through the Sinai, write through the specters of the past into a resonant present with tour leaders and renowned authors, performers and essayists, Adeena Karasick and Michael Dickel.
Adeena Karasick, Ph.D. is a New York based poet, performer, cultural theorist and media artist and the author of seven books of poetry and poetics.
Writing at the intersection of post-Language Conceptualism and neo-Fluxus performatics, Adeena’s urban, Jewish feminist mashups have been described as “electricity in language” (Nicole Brossard), “proto-ecstatic jet-propulsive word torsion” (George Quasha), noted for their “cross-fertilization of punning and knowing, theatre and theory” (Charles Bernstein) “a twined virtuosity of mind and ear which leaves the reader deliciously lost in Karasick’s signature ‘syllabic labyrinth’” (Craig Dworkin).
Adeena teaches Literature and Critical Theory for the Humanities and Media Studies Dept. at The Pratt Institute and is co-founding Director of KlezKanada Poetry Festival and Retreat. The “Adeena Karasick Archive” has just been established at Special Collections, Simon Fraser University.
Michael Dickel, Ph.D.is a writer, photographer and artist, is chair of the Israel Association of Writers in English. He received top awards in the 2008 and 2009 Reuben Rose Poetry Competitions, co-edited Voices Israel Volume 36 (2010) and was managing editor of arc–23 (2014) and arc–24 (2015).
Michael’s poetry, prose, and photographs have appeared in small-press literary journals, anthologies, art books,and online. His latest book of poems, War Surrounds Us, came out in July 2015.
Michael holds degrees in psychology, creative writing, and literature. He taught college and university writing courses in the United States and Israel for nearly twenty-five years. He directed the Student Writing Center at the University of Minnesota and the Macalester Academic Excellence Center at Macalester College (St. Paul, MN).
Michael has published articles, presented conference papers, and led workshops on writing and the teaching of academic writing. He lives in Jerusalem, Israel, where he writes and occasionally teaches.
“Mohammed al-Ajami Pardoned by Qatari Emir. It seems that the Government of Qatar has finally listened to the concerns of the United Nations and international community,” says ADHRB’s Executive Director, Husain Abdulla, “The Emir’s decision to pardon Mohammed al-Ajami is not only a victory for free expression over the forces of censorship and repression in Qatar, it is also a testament to the power of public, international pressure to improve human rights everywhere.” Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain
You can register your book with Publishers Weekly and submit it for review via its BookLife platform HERE.
Writer’s Digest Deadline for WD Self-Published Book Awards: April 1, 2016 … “here’s your chance to enter the premier self-published competition exclusively for self-published books. Writer’s Digest hosts the 24th annual self-published competition–the Annual Self-Published Book Awards. This self-published competition, co-sponsored by Book Marketing Works, LLC spotlights today’s self-published works and honors self-published authors.” Details HERE
Information on other self-published book awards is offer by The Book Designer HERE.
EVENTS:
April 16, 7-9 pm.
LITERARY PUB OR PERISH
Stickyz Rock N’ Roll Chicken Shack
107 River Market Avenue
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
Join Sharon Frye, Ayara Stein, Silva Zanoyan Merjanian, RJ Looney, Donnie Lamon, MH Clay and Justin Booth. You’ll find the bios of presenters HERE.
MARCH 21, 6-7pm in HumSS G27, University of Reading Whiteknights Campus. Poet, playwright, director, producer and teacher Mojisola Adebayo will give a talk on and reading from her work, Mojisola Adebayo: Plays One (Oberon Books, 2012), on Monday 21 March, Mojisola will discuss her work with the Department’s expert on black British theatre, Nicola Abram. No charge and no reservation needed.
Mojisola Adebayo: Plays One includes the plays Moj of the Antarctic, Desert Boy, Matt Henson: North Star and Muhammad Ali and Me
Moj of the Antarctic is inspired by the true story of an African American woman who cross-dresses as a white man to escape slavery; taken on a fantastical odyssey to Antarctica.
Desert Boy, a time-travelling a capella musical, offers a sharp twist on the subject of knife crime, black youth and absent fathers.
Matt Henson, North Star is a biographical tale of Arctic betrayal, mixed with Greenlandic folk tales; all about love, climate and change.
Muhammad Ali and Me is a lyrical coming of age story, following the parallel struggles of a gay girl child growing up in foster care and the black Muslim boxing hero’s fight against racism and the Vietnam war.
APRIL 15: Special Poetry Issue of The BeZine. April, National Poetry Month in the United States, is celebrated as an international event at The BeZine. This year Contributing Editor Michael Dickel hosts and The Woven Tale Press is a partner. Poets featured include: Michael Rothenberg, Myra Schneider, Carolyn O’Connell, Terri Muuss, Dilys Wood, Liliana Negoi, Michael Dickel, Jamie Dedes, Imen Benyoub, Natasha Head and Aprilia Zank.
Notes: The Woven Tale Press offers a copy of their first Press Selected Works for free; and National Poetry Month is sponsored by the American Academy of Poets. Link HERE for activities in which you may join and to send for a free poster.
APRIL 21: Litquake Celebrates National Poetry Month at Gardenias: A Poets Supper; 1963 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94115; featured poets include Kimberly Grey, D.A. Powell, and Solmaz Sharif. Details HERE.
JULY 3 – 18:W/rites and Rhapsodies: Israel Writing Tour
Write! Tour! Perform! Listen! Learn! Feast! With tour leaders Adeena Karasick and Michael Dickel. Registration deadline: 15 April 2016 Link HEREItinerary. Cost: $3,080, which does not include air fare, more details HERE. Register HERE.
SEPTEMBER 24: is the next Global Event Day for 100,000 Poets for Change (peace, sustainability, social justice). Check out 100TPC.org for details on this initiative, to find events in your area and/or to register an event you’re organizing. Poets Michael Rothenberg and Terri Carrion are founders and hosts.
In honor of 100TPC, The BeZineis focusing on Environment and Environmental Justice this year. Message G Jamie Dedes on Facebook if you want to join our ongoing Facebook discussion group. Our September 15 issue of The BeZine is dedicated to Environmental subjects and hosted by Associate Editor, Priscilla Galasso. On the global event day, September 24, the Zine will sponsor a virtual event with reader participation. Michael Dickel hosts.
OCTOBER 17: Under the leadership of Terri Stewart, Beguine Again founder and managing editor, will host a 100,000 Beguines for Peace event. This interfaith effort will focus on spiritual topics. Details to come from Terri in months ahead. Beguine Again and The BeZine are sister sites and The Bardo Group Beguines support and often contribute to both sites. Terri Stewart is a Methodist Minister. Her popular Daily Practice posts on Beguine Again feature poetry, art and music to address timely topics in a conscious and prayerful manner.
OCTOBER 20-23:The 30th Annual Dodge Poetry Festival, the largest poetry festival in the United States will be held in Newark, New Jersey. Details HERE. Readings from past festivals are archived on YouTube HERE.
SAN FRANCISCO JAPAN TOWN 2016, 110th Anniversary: This is one of the only three remaining Japan towns in the United States. Events are scheduled throughout the year to celebrate culture and history. Of special interest are photographic displays, a book launch, a concert and performing arts nights. Details HERE.
THE POET BY DAY
TESTIMONY:
“Here be inspiration. There are blogs and there are blogs. There is writing; there is poetry; there is art; there is human endeavour and there is ‘The Poet by Day’. Rarely, if ever, have I come across a web log like this, of such towering integrity. Seldom have I encountered such a willingness to subjugate self for the benefit not only of the art of the written word, but also for the benefit of poets and writers everywhere. Here be a deep well of inspiration.” Poet, essayist and musician: John Anstie (My Poetry Library)
MISSION STATEMENT:
to honor the place of poetry in our lives;
to acknowledge good poets, both established and emerging;
to encourage poetry for social and environmental justice;
to shine a light on women and minority poets and poets just finding their voices in maturity;
to encourage you in your writing and provide helpful information and resources;
to have fun, to laugh, to feel good … and to cry when that’s needed.
we, the nobodies, the little people
In the April issue of The Woven Tale Press Associate Editor and Poet Michael Dickel• offers some background on 
This is a very special event my friend Michael Dickel, Ph.D. has designed in concert with Adeena Karasick, Ph.D. You’ve read some of Michael’s work in The Poet by Day and some in 
Adeena Karasick, Ph.D. is a New York based poet, performer, cultural theorist and media artist and the author of seven books of poetry and poetics.
Michael Dickel, Ph.D.is a writer, photographer and artist, is chair of the Israel Association of Writers in English. He received top awards in the 2008 and 2009 Reuben Rose Poetry Competitions, co-edited Voices Israel Volume 36 (2010) and was managing editor of arc–23 (2014) and arc–24 (2015).
April 16, 7-9 pm.
Mojisola Adebayo: Plays One includes the plays Moj of the Antarctic, Desert Boy, Matt Henson: North Star and Muhammad Ali and Me
SAN FRANCISCO JAPAN TOWN 2016, 110th Anniversary: This is one of the only three remaining Japan towns in the United States. Events are scheduled throughout the year to celebrate culture and history. Of special interest are photographic displays, a book launch, a concert and performing arts nights. Details 
Jamie Dedes' THE POET BY DAY Webzine 