My front yard by the driveway on the last day of autumn 2005.  

The last day of autumn 2005 ... 

Here's William Shakespeare's signature on his last will and testament. How does yours compare?

Which Romantic Poet would you be?

Here's a good game to play ... Who knows how accurate it is! But it is fun. I turned out to be Coleridge - which is true in part.

It's at:http://quizilla.com/users/maud/quizzes/

If it doesn't work, please tell me.

Write Stuff Competition

COMPETITION DETAILS

* The Write Stuff Poetry Competition (judge: Stephen Edgar)
This section is for a poem up to 200 lines in length. First prize: $700; second prize: $200 (Australian dollars) The judge for the poetry competition this year is Stephen Edgar, recipient of the inaugural Australian Book Review poetry prize.

* The Write Stuff Short Story Competition (judge: Giles Hugo)
This section is for a short story of 5,000 to 10,000 words (i.e no fewer than 5,000 and no more than 10,000 words). First prize: $700; second prize: $200 (Australian dollars) The judge. Giles Hugo, is a journalist, writer, co-editor of The Write Stuff.

The deadline for both competitions is 30 June 2005 and entries must be postmarked 30/06/2005 or earlier.

Conditions of entry as well as entry forms are at:
http://www.the-write stuff.com.au/competitions/
and can also be downloaded in WORD or PDF format from the web site.

Results will be announced in August on The Write Stuff web site. All entries are judged anonymously; we do not employ students to screen entries, and our competition processes are modelled on best practice.

Telling them Wedding words

Many times people have asked me for poems to use at a wedding ... Well, here's a new book of contemporary poems for just that purpose: Proposing on the Brooklyn Bridge: Poems About Marriage, Ed. Ginny Lowe Connors.On Amazon you can take a look at the Table of Contents:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0967555469/102-1652112-9399336?v=glance

The book is categorized into seven thematic sections: Beginnings, Ourselves and Others, Together, Apart, Endings, The Shape of a Marriage, and Looking Back. It includes poetry by Richard Wilbur, Jane Hirshfield, Wendell Berry, Sharon Olds, Stephen Dunn, Marge Piercy, and Donald Hall. And notably, as Stanley Kunitz is celebrating his 100th birthday soon, the anthology ends with Kunitz's "Touch Me."

The grave of William Carlos Williams, from the blog of Ron Silliman at http://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/ . A very static image for such a 'lively' poet and writer. It saddens me to see its cold austerity. 

cat snap

Cat
in and
out the door

rolls
on the
sun dappled floor

joy
in her
furry full belly

scratches
my shoe
as I pass ...

John
Lee Hooker
in the corner -

young
cat, old
cat - crosscut culture

'one
more and
one more time

shake
it babe
one more time'

Ghost Tantras by McClure

Ah, I endeavoured to present a couple of Ghost Tantras by Michael McClure for your amazement - but they wouldn't hold format, so here is the site address to go to and enjoy:

http://www.thing.net/~grist/l&d/mcclure/mccluret.htm

Lots more to read also at his Home page. Enjoy.

Oz History

Australian history is almost always picturesque; indeed, it is also so curious and strange, that it is itself the chiefest novelty the country has to offer and so it pushes the other novelties into second and third place. It does not read like history, but like the most beautiful lies; and all of a fresh new sort, no mouldy old stale ones. It is full of surprises and adventures, the incongruities, and contradictions, and incredibilities; but they are all true, they all happened.

Mark Twain, More Tramps Abroad, London, 1897

Stanley Kunitz, 100 not out

Well, I am speaking a little prematurely, but American poet Stanley Kunitz will turn 100 years old July 29 this year. & he's just had a new collection out, The Wild Braid.

Here's what he said in a recent interview: "I know that it's not my choice, so I simply do the best I can with this self, which is quite frail at the moment but is still at my command."

Related links, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050511/ap_en_
ot/books_kunitz_centennial/nc:785 http://www.poetshouse.org/ http://www.poetshouse.org/progcoming.htm#stanley

After Novel Snap

Possibly you've seen them in shopping centres,
talking to themselves, or so you've thought,

but they are novelists
at the end of a long journey
chatting to their characters.

You're right to be sceptical -
after all you can't see who they are talking to -
you'll see them later when you read
the tale or it is turned into a mini series.

By then they may be on the best sellers list
at the bookshop along with a news item
how the novelist, so well-respected and of
good family, was taken away from
a shopping centre recently and incarcerated -
a complete breakdown, talking to everyone
and no one, including watermelons and celery .

Poets on the other hand . they turn up
at the checkout with empty baskets
and are amazed no one can see their items.

Snaps address

Every Wednesday the poets of poetryertc write a 'snapshot' poem - about where they are, what the weather's like, the scene outside the window, the inner scene and how they see it, or whatever. There's a whole bunch of light and tight (& at times, not so light) poems at http://www.geocities.com/poetryetcetera/

Philip Whalen memoir

A delightful drawing and little memoir about one of my favourite USA poets, Philip Whalen - http://www.poltroonpress.com/whalen3.html

Newcastle Poetry Prize

Total prize money $12 000 (Australian). Closing date 29th July 2005. Entry forms and info: http://www.hwcentre.com