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“THE BeZINE” – CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR MARCH 2019 ISSUE, WAGING PEACE

“Kindness has no religion. Religions are like narrow tracks but kindness is like an open sky.” Nonviolence: The Transforming PowerAmit Ray



THE BeZINE Be Inspired. Be Creative. Be Peace. Be.

Opportunity Knocks

Submissions deadline for the March issue – themed Waging the Peace – is March 10  at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard.

Please send text in the body of the email not as an attachment. Send photographs or illustrations as attachments. No google docs or Dropbox or other such. No rich text.

Send submissions to bardogroup@gmail.com.

Publication is March 15th. Poetry, essays, fiction and creative nonfiction, art and photography, music (videos or essays), and whatever lends itself to online presentation is welcome for consideration.

No demographic restrictions.

Please read at least one issue.

We DO NOT publish anything that promotes hate, divisiveness or violence or that is scornful or in any way dismissive of “other” peoples. 

The BeZine is an entirely volunteer effort, a mission. It is not a paying market but neither does it charge submission or subscription fees.

Previously published work may be submitted IF you hold the copyright. Submissions from beginning and emerging artists as well as pro are encouraged and we have a special interest in getting more submissions of short stores, feature articles, music videos and art for consideration. 


ABOUT

Testimonials

Disclosure

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Twitter

Poet and writer, I was once columnist and associate editor of a regional employment publication. I currently 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 PorchVita Brevis Literature,Compass Rose, Connotation PressThe Bar None GroupSalamander CoveSecond LightI Am Not a Silent PoetMeta / Phor(e) /Play, and California Woman. My poetry was recently read by Northern California actor Richard Lingua for Poetry Woodshed, Belfast Community Radio. I was featured in a lengthy interview on the Creative Nexus Radio Show where I was dubbed “Poetry Champion.”


The BeZine: Waging the Peace, An Interfaith Exploration featuring Fr. Daniel Sormani, Rev. Benjamin Meyers, and the Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi among others

“What if our religion was each other. If our practice was our life. If prayer, our words. What if the temple was the Earth. If forests were our church. If holy water–the rivers, lakes, and ocean. What if meditation was our relationships. If the teacher was life. If wisdom was self-knowledge. If love was the center of our being.” Ganga White, teacher and exponent of Yoga and founder of White Lotus, a Yoga center and retreat house in Santa Barbara, CA

“Every pair of eyes facing you has probably experienced something you could not endure.” Lucille Clifton

The BeZine, December 2018, Vol. 5, Issue 4, “A Life of the Spirit”

“Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground. Let their spirit ignite a fire within you to leave this world better than when you found it…”  The Art of Living, Wilfred Peterson

December 15, 2018

A Life of the Spirit is a many-faceted jewel. Some of our contributors interpreted the theme for this month as Spirit (Being, the Ineffable, the Divine) and others more as spirited, strong. Some find Spirit and courage in the great love of their life or in their art, in their religion or spiritual practice. Others find it in an inspiring parent or grandparent.  You will see that nature plays a role for nearly everyone.

I don’t think I’ve ever used as many hankies in pulling together an issue of The BeZine as I have with this issue.  Contributors this quarter speak intimately from both joy and heartbreak, which is perhaps not surprising given the theme.

©2018 Naomi Baltuck, Chris Spengler, and Allison Cox

Our contributors have also rallied their spirits to speak out against gun violence and to speak up for the LGBTQ community. Violence and cruelty are not an absence of Spirit but a lack of awareness.

c 2018, Anjum Wasim Dar

My country – America – has a gun violence history that is notorious but firearms are ubiquitous on this Earth and complicit in wars and conflicts, hate crimes, terrorism, suicide and accidental shootings. Death by fire arms is grotesquely common in South American countries, Jamaica, and Swaziland.

Gun-suicides: I’ve taken the liberty of including a poem about my big sister, Teresa Margaret, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. She was twenty-seven. I was fourteen. Fifty-four years later, the trauma remains. The questions remain: Why? Where did the gun come from? Who taught her how to use it?

“Although the USA ranked fourth in the world with 12,400 firearm-related homicides, that figure pales in comparison with its 23,800 gun suicides. None of the other 194 nations and territories  [ … ] came close; India ranked second at 13,400.” USA Today HERE

Easy access to firearms is cited by experts as one reason for the prevalence of their use in suicide. Another may be that guns offer an effective means of suicide.

Since there is history, culture, identity, and ethic involved in gun ownership and use, attempts at doing away with guns are not feasible at this time. Complicated core issues need to be defined and addressed first. Will we ever come to a unified place where we agree that murder and torture are not options?  How then would Spirit play in the garden of material life?

Thanks to The Bardo Group Bequines team and to our guest writers for helping us put together an issue that is honest, artful, and inspiring, one that walks “with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground.”

As you read, we hope that you will leave your “Likes” and comments behind to let each contributor know they were read and appreciated and to enrich the experience for others.

In the spirit of love (respect) and community,
and on behalf of The Bardo Group Bequines,
Jamie Dedes
Founding and Managing Editor

TABLE OF CONTENTS


How to read this issue of THE BeZINE:You can read each piece individually by clicking the links in the Table of Contents.
To learn more about our guests contributors, please link HERE.
To learn more about our core team members, please link HERE.


BeAttitudes

A Murmur, John Anstie

Your Freedom Eyes, Linda Chown

Julia Vinograd Slipped Into My Writing, Michael Dickel

Feathers of Grass, Joe Hesch

Whelm, Tricia Knoll

Making White Flags, P.A. Levy

Hope Springs Eternal, Tamam Tracy Moncur

Spirit Speaks, Corina Ravenscraft

A Gift of Courage, Anjum Wasim Dar

Poems

Standing Out in the Straight …, Linda Chown

Stone Love, P.A. Levy

Landing, P.C. Moorehead

Illuminating, P.C. Moorehead

Dense Flesh, P.C. Moorehead

Songbird, Jason A. Muckley

Princess of the Sea, Jason A. Muckley

Four Haiku, Jason A. Muckley

Log Cabin Quilt, Anne Myers

Lit Up With Your Warmth, Scott Thomas Outlar

Catching Leaves and Picking Clover, Scott Thomas Outlar

High Tide Hallelujah, Scott Thomas Outler

The Spirit of Us, poem by Deborah Setiyawait, photography by Carl Scharwath

The Star, Clarissa Simmens

my decision is not new, since …, Anjum Wasim Dar

for those who don’t know the chocolate, Amirah Al Wassif

the poetry is …, Amirah Al Wassif

Windows of Madrid, Amirah Al Wassif

Social Justice for LGBTQ

Telling Tales Under the Rainbow, Naomi Baltuck, Alison Cox, Chris Spengler

Gravy, Chris Spengler

Gun Violence

GunShot, Gary W. Bowers

A Girl in a Box, Jamie Dedes

A Poem for the Tree of Life Synagogue, Michael Dickel

Silencing the Thunder, Joe Hesch

Snow Angels, Joe Hesch

CONNECT WITH US

The BeZine: Be Inspired, Be Creative, Be Peace, Be (the subscription feature is below and to your left.)

Daily Spiritual Practice: Beguine Again, a community of Like-Minded People

Facebook, The Bardo Group Beguines

Twitter, The Bardo Group Beguines

SUBMISSIONS:

Read Info/Missions StatementSubmission Guidelines, and at least one issue before you submit. Updates on Calls for Submissions and other activities are posted every Sunday in Sunday Announcements on The Poet by Day.

The BeZine: Guidelines and Calls for Submissions to the December Issue

The BeZine is published quarterly: March, June, September and December on the fifteenth of the month.  We suggest that you read our Intro and Mission Statement and at least one back issue of The BeZine before submitting work for possible publication.

Please be mindful that our core team (The Bardo Group Beguines), guest contributors, and readers represent the world’s diversity. Nonviolence, respect and inclusion are core values.

All work must be submitted in English and properly edited for publication. Submissions in languages other than English are acceptable and encouraged but they do need to be accompanied by an English translation.

Please send submissions to bardogroup@gmail.com and put “submission” in the subject line.  If you were referred by one of our core team please put his or her name in the subject line along with “submission.” Please include a brief bio. If you have published the work submitted on your own website, blog, YouTube channel or other online venue you may send a link. Response time can be up to three months. Responses are generally sent out after deadline.

PLEASE NOTE: We apply the same standards with regard to content, quality, submission guidelines and reading policy that all high-caliber literary magazines do with the exception that we will consider work that is already published. The copyright, however, must be yours.


DEADLINE: The 10th of month prior to publication, however ~

The deadline for the December issue has been extended from November 10 to November 30. 

THEMES remaining for 2018:

DecemberA Life of the Spirit; subtheme – Gun violence/history/issues.


THEMES for 2019:

  • March: Waging the Peace
  • June: Toward a Sustainable Earth
  • September: Social Justice, 100,000 Poets (and Friends) for Change
  • December: A Life of the Spirit

NOTE: We encourage work that doesn’t just define or highlight a problem but offers solutions, especially when those solutions are already in place somewhere in the world and proving productive.


COPYRIGHT: You retain your copyright for work published in The BeZine. If you are doing multiple submissions, please let us know that you have submitted the work to other publications and advise us immediately if the work is accepted elsewhere. From our perspective this does not preclude publication in The BeZine but we need to know if another publisher has contracted for first-time or exclusive rights.

We regret that we are unable to offer payment or editorial feedback. While we don’t offer payment, we also don’t charge for submissions or subscriptions. The BeZine is a volunteer effort and a peace and justice mission.

All creative arts that lend themselves to online publication are acceptable for consideration: visual arts, literature and poetry, and music and film (video). Please, no more than one submission a quarter.  While many have the impression that we are primarily or exclusively a poetry publication, we are not restricted to poetry. Other forms of writing and art are welcome and encouraged. 

FICTION/NONFICTION/ESSAY: Should you have anything to submit for consideration that is over 1,000 words, please forward a one-paragraph summary description for our initial evaluation.

POETRY: Please don’t bomb us with work. Restrict your submissions to three at a time every three months.  Be selective. Send us your best. No odd layouts please.

VIDEO: One video at a time.

PHOTOGRAPHS and ILLUSTRATIONS: If you include these with your poems, fictions and features, then you must include the source with url and licensing information. We do not accept work that is not properly – respectfully – identified and credited.

BOOK REVIEWS: Starting in 2019, we welcome book reviews but please query first.

READING SCHEDULE: While we read all year, we don’t respond until we have all submissions in for a specific issue; i.e., after the 10th of the month before publication.

THE BeZINE blog: We are interested in seasonal work, especially work that celebrates holy days, historic moments, national or regional festivals and so forth that are entertaining but also provide readers with information, insight and education. Regional, artistic and cultural history and science (especially as it applies to environment, environmental justice, and sustainable agriculture) are welcome. Art work, music videos, and drama (videos or short scripts) are enthusiastically encouraged as well as poetry and prose.

BEST PRACTICES: We have a strong interest in learning about peace, sustainability and social justice initiatives that are working no matter where in the world.  These are considered for both blog and Zine.

Send your work to bardogroup@gmail.com. Only work submitted to this email are considered for publication.

We look forward to hearing from you.  Thank you!

On behalf of The Bardo Group Beguines and in the spirit of loving community,

Jamie Dedes,
Founding and Managing Editor
The BeZine

“The BeZine” and related activities/opportunities – news and updates

“This is the power of gathering: it inspires us, delightfully, to be more hopeful, more joyful, more thoughtful – in a word, more alive.” Alice Waters, chef, author, food activist, and founder and owner of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California



The header to this post is our new banner for the 2019 The BeZine 100,000 Poets and Others for Change. It was designed by Team Member Corina Ravenscraft (Dragon Dreams). I appreciate the color and the flowers, which to me imply hope. So onward we go.

We use the banner as a header for our discussion page on Facebook (a gathering place of sorts) which you are encouraged to join. Our goal there is not about sharing poetry or regurgitating the news. It’s largely about “best practices.”

2018/2019 NEWS & GUIDELINES FOR POSTING ON THE DISCUSSION PAGE: We’re especially interested in filling a gap by collecting info on practical initiatives – ideas for taking action – from anywhere in the world, “best practices” so to speak that foster peace, sustainability and social justice, especially those that might be picked up and implemented elsewhere. Examples from the past include the churches that open their parking lots at night to the homeless, the barber who uses his days off to give homeless people haircuts or the group that put out clothing for people to take if needed.

Rev. Terri Stewart

FOR WRITE-UPS ON SPIRITUAL PRACTICE for Beguine Again, sister site to the Zine,  message Terri Stewart on Facebook. We also have a FB page – The Bardo Group Beguines -where we provide Zine info, inspiration, notice of spiritual events of interest to seekers and links to work posted on beguineagain.com founded and managed by Terri.

PLEASE DO NOT POST POETRY ON THE DISCUSSION PAGE. There are plenty of poetry groups on FB. We’re unique and doing something different but we do offer other opportunities to share your poetry and creative work.

SUBMISSIONS to The BeZine of poetry, essays, short stories, creative nonfiction, music videos, and artwork for The BeZine – journal or blog – are considered via email only: bardogroup@gmail.com.

The BeZine is published quarterly. Here are the schedule, themes, submission deadlines and publication dates for the rest of this year and 2019.

December 2018 issue, Deadline November 10th, Theme: A Life of the Spirit

March 2019 issue, Deadline February 10th. Theme: Peace.

June 2019 issue, Deadline May 10th. Theme: Sustainability

September 2019 issue, Deadline August 10th, Theme: Human Rights/Social Justice

December 2019 issue: Deadline November 10th. Theme: A Life of the Spirit

SEPTEMBER 28, 2019, 100,000 POETS AND OTHERS FOR CHANGE, GLOBAL, 2019 and THE BeZINE 100,000 POETS AND OTHERS FOR CHANGE VIRTUAL EVENT

Michael Dickel

Facebook message me or email me at thepoetbyday@gmail.com if you have poetry news or essays on poetry to be considered for The Poet by Day. For submissions (poetry and short fiction or creative nonfiction) for consideration by Michael Dickel for Meta/Phor(e)/Play  you can message Michael Dickel on Facebook or contact him through his blog.

The Bardo Group Begines is a twelve-member core team of poets and writers, artists and musicians, philosophers and clerics providing comfort, inspiration and information via thebezine.com and beguineagain.com.  

The BeZine is an entirely volunteer effort and a peace and justice mission.

For those who are interested, our freshly updated submission guidelines are HERE.

– Jamie Dedes, Managing Editor, The BeZine


ALERT

We are leaving 100TPC Virtual up through end-of-day October 6th (tomorrow) so that those who weren’t able to share their work – or even fave pieces on theme (Peace, Sustainability, Social Justice) by other authors – still have time to do so. Instructions in the post explain how to share your poems or other art … check it out


REMINDER

The Poet by Day

WEDNESDAY WRITING PROMPT

Response deadline is Monday, October 8, at 8 p.m. Pacific. Poems on theme are published on this site on Tuesday, the October 8. Details HERE.


ABOUT

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 PorchVita Brevis Literature,Compass Rose, Connotation PressThe Bar None GroupSalamander CoveSecond LightI Am Not a Silent PoetMeta / Phor(e) /Play, and California Woman.