Monday, December 31, 2012
Happy New Year from London Review Bookshop
Sunday, December 30, 2012
A New Year Poem ... by Reznikoff
Te Deum |
||
| by Charles Reznikoff | ||
Not because of victories
I sing,
having none,
but for the common sunshine,
the breeze,
the largess of the spring.
Not for victory
but for the day's work done
as well as I was able;
not for a seat upon the dais
but at the common table.
| ||
Poets, put up your dukes!
'Yugen is a great reminder that little magazines and anthologies are not domesticated spaces housing a big, happy family of poets; they are also boxing rings in which poets and writers duke it out for various belts, both public and canonical.'
from JB at MIMEO MIMEO
from GUNCOTTON, the blog of online mag CORDITE
Image by Juno Gemes
It’s summertime in Australia. Weekends officially begin on Thursday mornings. Your fridge will now gestate one bottle of Pinot Grigio, Blaufränkisch (or similar) per week until March.
All public holidays go off in one seasonal barrage.
We’re going to keep it simple.
There’s no theme for issue 42 of Cordite Poetry Review. Poetry will be guest-edited by Gig Ryan. If you’re unsure who she is, please read this superb review of her oeuvre. Straight to the pool room.
The previous NO THEME! issue with poetry guest-edited by Alan Wearne was a rave success. We’re doing it again for 2013. And the year after that.
So gussy up your three best Patricia Mae Andrzejewskis (aka: Pat Benatar) and hit us with your best shot(s). Submissions close at 11.59pm Melbourne time on 14 February, 2013.
Gertrude Stein by Francis Picabia
A wealth of Gertrude Stein photos HERE This portrait by Picabia.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Tony Greig RIP
TRIBUTES are pouring in for former England captain and respected commentator Tony Greig, who died today aged 66.
Australian bowling legend Dennis Lillee, who along with Greig was one of the main players in the evolution of World Series Cricket, described the South African-born all-rounder as a tough opponent with a determination to win.
“He had a take-no-prisoners attitude which helped him lead England with flare and toughness," Lillee said.
Read on HERE.
26 Beatnik Slang Words and Phrases We Should All Start Using - by Adrienne Crezo
Getty Images
Plenty of phrases from the first self-described hipster generation have lasted into modern conversation: people still get bent out of shape, annoying people bug us and muscular guys are still built, just to scan the b-words. Here are 26 words and phrases that don’t get much use today, but are worth sneaking into conversation.
1. A shape in a drape
A well-dressed person. “Usually she just wears jeans, but she sure is a shape in a drape in that dress.”
2. Bright disease
To know too much. “He has bright disease. Make sure he doesn’t rat us out.”
3. Claws sharp
Being well-informed on a number of subjects. “Reading Mental Floss keeps your claws sharp.”
4. Dixie fried
Drunk. “It’s Friday and the eagle flies tonight. Let’s go get dixie fried.”
5. Everything plus
Better than good-looking. “He wasn’t just built, he was everything plus.”
6. Focus your audio
Listen carefully. “Shut your trap and focus your audio. This is important.”
7. Gin mill cowboy
A bar regular. (A gin mill is a bar.) “Cliff Clavin was the _flossiest gin mill cowboy of all time.”
8. Hanging paper
Paying with forged checks. “I hope that chick who stole my purse last week goes to jail for hanging paper.”
9. Interviewing your brains
Thinking. “I can see you’re interviewing your brains, so I’ll leave you alone.”
10. Jungled up
Having a place to live, or specific living arrangements. “All I know is that he’s jungled up with that guy he met at the gin mill last month.”
11. Know your groceries
To be aware, or to do things well. (Similar to Douglas Adams’ “know where your towel is.”) “You can’t give a TED Talk on something unless you really know your groceries.”
12. Lead sled
A car, specifically one that would now be considered a classic model. “His parents gave him their old lead sled for his sixteenth birthday.”
13. Mason-Dixon line
Anywhere out of bounds, especially regarding personal space. “Keep your hands above the Mason-Dixon line, thanks.”
14. Noodle it out
Think it through. “You don’t have to make a decision right now. Noodle it out and call me back.”
15. Off the cob
Corny. “Okay, some of this old Beat slang is kinda off the cob.”
16. Pearl diver
A person who washes dishes. “I’m just a pearl diver at a greasy spoon, but it’s a job.”
17. Quail hunting
Picking up chicks. “I’m going quail hunting and you’re my wingman.”
18. Red onion
A hole in the wall; a really crappy bar. “I thought we were going somewhere nice but he just took me to the red onion on the corner.”
19. Slated for crashville
Out of control. “That girl’s been in college for five minutes and is already slated for crashville.”
20. Threw babies out of the balcony
A big success; interchangeable with “went down a storm.” “I was afraid the party would suck, but it threw babies out of the balcony.”
21. Used-to-be
An ex, a person you used to date. “I ran into my used-to-be in Kroger’s and I looked terrible.”
22. Varicose alley
The runway in a strip club. “Stay in school or you’ll be strutting varicose alley, girls.”
23. Ways like a mowing machine
An agricultural metaphor for impressive sexual technique, from the song “She’s a Hum Dinger” by Buddy Jones. “She’s long, she’s tall / She’s a handsome queen / She’s got ways like a mowing machine.” (Let us know if any of you ever successfully pull this one off in conversation.)
24. X-ray eyes
To understand something, to see through confusion. “That guy is so smart. He’s got x-ray eyes.”
25. Yard
A thousand dollars. “Yeah, it’s nice, but rent is half a yard a week. Let’s jungle up somewhere else.”
26. Zonk on the head
A bad thing. “It stormed all night and we lost power, but the real zonk on the head was when hail broke the bedroom window.”
These were collected from Straight From the Fridge, Dad: A Dictionary of Hipster Slang by Max Décharné and A Historical Dictionary of American Slang. The first is exceptional in its completeness and worth purchasing if you love dictionaries, and the second is free online and easily searchable. Try them both!
-- brought to you by mental_floss!
Read the full text here: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/141912#ixzz2GPxj8Rjf
Cafe Poetry Workshops are now Pay As You Feel!
Come and write! Saturday mornings in Perth city. BOOK NOW for 19 January
Leap or tiptoe out of your poetic comfort zone in a supportive group environment. Express yourself. Generate ideas. Learn more about what poetry can do. If you’re already writing poetry, try something new. If you’re not — time to start! Every workshop is different. Book online for discounted fees. proximitypoetry.com/When? 10am-12 on Saturdays 19 Jan, 23 Feb, 23 Mar, 13 Apr 2013
Where? State Library Cafe, Perth Cultural Centre
Jackson (aka Janet Jackson) is a much-published poet, an experienced poetry teacher, and the founder of Perth Poetry Club. In 2013 Mulla Mulla Press will publish her second collection. Her other publications include a micro-collection forthcoming from Fremantle Press and her online collected works at Proximity proximitypoetry.com
Pay As You Feel
What this means: If you are able to pay, please pay an amount you think is fair and that you can afford. If you are not able to pay please come anyway. Please book in advance, because the cafe need to know numbers.Contact Jackson: 0406 624 578, lostpoetjj@gmail.com,
Friday, December 28, 2012
Call for 'Revival' submissions
Revival Literary Journal is calling for submissions from local, national
and international poets and writers for issue 25 which will be published in
Limerick, February 2013.
The deadline for submissions is:
Thursday 31st January 2013
The deadline for submissions is:
Thursday 31st January 2013
Prose/Reviews send to:
limerickwriterscentre@gmail.com
Snail mail: The Editor, Revival, Moravia, Glenmore Ave., Roxboro Rd., Limerick.
Submission Guidelines:
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Poet-to-Poet Critical Response
Some people have a great way of showing their appreciation for a poet's work After reading Anaesthetics in 2012 Australian Best Poems (Black Inc), baking mother & keen poet Natasha Adams immediately recognised me in this image from thebiscuitblog.com
You'll appreciate her sense of humour if you have read the poem. Thanks, Tash - I applaud your wit and biscuit taste :-)
New Chapbook out on NYE - by Michael Farrell
Everywhere
On the last day of 2012, Black Rider Press will publish Michael Farrell's new chapbook 'enjambment sisters present'.
This is the fourth instalment of the Black Rider presents Lyrics series. This chapbook will be offered as a FREE ebook download.
"Farrell’s 'enjambment sisters' present is a brilliant plaything, it is lithe and agile, it turns and twists and jumps across the room, finally falling in a writhing heap on the rug. It contains all the joys and “sounds [of] the nest”. Reading it will put the melody in you." - Matthew Hall
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Now the MUDLARK sings
New and On View: Mudlark Poster No. 107 (2012)
Karen Donovan
Nine Pictographs and a Slight Correlation to a Lyric by Elvis
Karen Donovan has had poems most recently in Conjunctions and Blackbird. Her collection of poems called Fugitive Red, published by the University of Massachusetts Press in 1999, won the Juniper Prize. From 1985 to 2005, she co-edited Paragraph, a journal of short prose published by Oat City Press. She works as a writer for a nonprofit educational organization in Providence, Rhode Island.
Spread the word. Far and wide,
William Slaughter
MUDLARK
An Electronic Journal of Poetry & Poetics
Never in and never out of print...
E-mail: mudlark@unf.edu
URL: http://www.unf.edu/mudlark
Karen Donovan
Nine Pictographs and a Slight Correlation to a Lyric by Elvis
Karen Donovan has had poems most recently in Conjunctions and Blackbird. Her collection of poems called Fugitive Red, published by the University of Massachusetts Press in 1999, won the Juniper Prize. From 1985 to 2005, she co-edited Paragraph, a journal of short prose published by Oat City Press. She works as a writer for a nonprofit educational organization in Providence, Rhode Island.
Spread the word. Far and wide,
William Slaughter
MUDLARK
An Electronic Journal of Poetry & Poetics
Never in and never out of print...
E-mail: mudlark@unf.edu
URL: http://www.unf.edu/mudlark
Poet appeals 7 year ban
In the appeal, he requested the court to release him from the reconciliation terms between him and his brothers, claiming that his brothers had taken advantage of the reconciliation to discredit his mental and psychological conditions. According to the poet, he has several medical reports issued by psychiatric hospitals that confirm he is not mentally ill.
The poet mentioned in his appeal a number of popular TV channels that hosted him or aired some of his poems during the last five years.
The case dates back to a lawsuit filed by the poet's brothers, who sought the help of the district court in Jeddah to stop him from writing or reciting poetry. They said their poetry-loving brother was an embarrassment for the family and the tribe, and his lyrics had made them the laughingstock of their tribe.
The judge banned the poet from reciting for seven years. He also referred the poet and his brothers to a reconciliation committee for an amicable solution to the row, where the family came to terms with the poems and the poet.
***
Andrew: How does your family approach your writing - with pride or scorn? I find the more I am published, the more my relatives appreciate my work. Is this universal?
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Quote of the Day
“[T]he premeditation of death is also the premeditation of liberty. He who has learned to die has also unlearned to serve.” - Montaigne
'Christmas Mail' - BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE
When we began this column in 2005, I determined not to include any of my own poems because I wanted to introduce our readers to the work of as many of the other American poets as I could. But from time to time someone has requested that I publish one of my own. So here’s a seasonal poem, for those who’ve asked.
Christmas Mail
- Ted Kooser
Christmas Mail
Cards in each mailbox,
angel, manger, star and lamb,
as the rural carrier,
driving the snowy roads,
hears from her bundles
the plaintive bleating of sheep,
the shuffle of sandals,
the clopping of camels.
At stop after stop,
she opens the little tin door
and places deep in the shadows
the shepherds and wise men,
the donkeys lank and weary,
the cow who chews and muses.
And from her Styrofoam cup,
white as a star and perched
on the dashboard, leading her
ever into the distance,
there is a hint of hazelnut,
and then a touch of myrrh.
- Ted Kooser
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetrymagazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2012 by Ted Kooser, whose most recent book of poems is Together,Brooding Heron Press, 2012. Poem reprinted by permission of Ted Kooser. Introduction copyright © 2012 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.
Monday, December 24, 2012
'Silent Night' - by David Brooks
Christmas Eve, and the dogs are exchanging
seasons greetings over the backblocks,
the smell of a barbeque over the fence
filling the air with sacrifice,
the ritual about to commence,
the festival of gluttony and slaughter,
cooks stuffing their turkeys,
children clustering about the Christmas tree
like ants at sugar water.
All day the lists and anxiety,
the rudeness at the checkouts,
the anger in the parking lots,
the loneliness in the shuttered houses,
the ragged nativities on the lawns,
police busy and the highways choked,
suicides preparing their Stilnox,
paramedics restocking their ambulances
with ampoules of adrenalin and morphine.
Christmas Eve, and the long-distance phone-calls,
the Bloody Marys, the Glűhwein, the priests
and the ministers sharpening their prayers, hosts
scraping and salting their grill-plates,
checking their bar fridge, their prawns on ice,
the Queen delivering her annual message,
pleading for peace and family,
regretting that her husband, in hospital for a stent,
won't be presiding over this year's hunt.
Christmas Eve, and all through the house
the tension, the expectation, the wonder.
Soon the children will be fed.
Soon they will be put to bed.
Soon the carols will begin
for a world redeemed of sin:
Silent night, crystal night…
Soon the tables will be set.
Soon the ovens will be lit.
‘Unto us
a child is born,
unto us a Son is given’,
and from the squalor of the feedlots,
the horror of the holding yards,
the abject terror of the abbatoirs,
under mute, indifferent stars,
unthought, unvoiced, ungiven,
the cows, the sheep, the geese look on.
- David Brooks
author of these UQP titles currently available: The Conversation (novel), and The Balcony (love poems), The Fern Tattoo (novel),The Umbrella Club (novel) and The Sons of Clovis (literary criticism) are available from good bookshops or on-line from UQP.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Wise words from Carlos Santana
- Carlos Santana
The old Concrete Poetry has grown legs!
CyberSpace is not simply htmlizing, is what we here at About Poetry believe, nor is it simply a community-enforcement squad’s redefinition of friends and lovers fleshless. We see a poem on a screen as a poem, a connector of linguistic holistic hooliganisms, a shameless shaman sham’n’truth shake.Concrete poetry, “shaped” poems, visual poetry (or, as we like to call it, “VisPo”... they are all forms of poetry in which the visual element is part of the poem’s art, the typographical arrangement of letters and words on the page (or as here, on the screen) is as much a part of the poem’s essence as the more traditional poetic techniques like prosody, meter, image, etc. Concrete poetry/VisPo is an important tributary in the modern-day River Po, and we’ve gathered a few glassfuls for your delectation.
- “SnakeShapePoema,” by Rinaldo Rasa
- “Subject: skyscraper-no” & “Don’t Get Me Started,” by Alan Sondheim
- “A Scrolly,” anonymous self-propelled moving image poem
- “comet,” by Tree Riesener
- “Rain Song,” by Ruth Nott
- “The Bird” and “The Quill,” by Ernesto Santiago
Friday, December 21, 2012
Prominent West Australian artist Robert Juniper has died aged 83.
Robert Juniper AM, WA State Living Treasure
Photo by Damien Smith
His works are held in numerous collections in Australia, including the Australian National Gallery and Parliament House in Canberra.
In 2011, Juniper was made a member of the Order of Australia for services to the visual arts.
Juniper continued to paint every day in his early 80's and has been an inspiration and mentor to many Australian artists.
Former director of the West Australian Art Gallery, Alan Dodge, has told the ABC's Mornings program, Juniper has left a major legacy to the art world.
"He brought some very strong English and European influences in his work to Western Australia," he said. "He also trained a number of artists who went on to have careers of their own."
Gary Dufour, also from the gallery, says Juniper was a tireless advocate for the art world.
"I can think of really no time that someone needed something that Bob wasn't the person who'd say 'sure I'll do that for you'," he said.
"So he was always giving to the community both as a person but also doing posters, helping with sets for plays, all of that stuff."
Friend and former student, Leon Pericles, says Juniper was an inspiration to younger artists.
"He stands out as sort of a beacon in the Australian scene," he said.
"He's probably the most approachable of these great artists; he's a person with enormous generosity.
"In everybody's opinion he's a tribal elder to us younger artists."
More information on the Artist at http://www.robertjuniper.com/
'Fire and Ice' by Robert Frost
Fire and Ice
by Robert Frost
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
| Today's poem is in the public domain. |
About this poem:
"Fire and Ice" was first published in Harper's Magazine in 1920. Despite popular speculation, NASA reports that the world will not, in fact, end today.
|
Thursday, December 20, 2012
2013 Poetry Desk Calendar- from the Academy of American Poets
| from http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23215 |
| A desk calendar and poetry anthology in one, the
2013 Alhambra Poetry Calendar provides a poem for each day of the year.
Meant for your desktop or bedside table, the
calendar showcases work by many celebrated contemporary and historical poets,
including Rae Armantrout, Mary Jo Bang, Aphra Behn, Charles Bernstein, Linda
Bierds, Emily Dickinson, Stephen Dunn, Kimiko Hahn, Brenda Hillman, Edward
Hirsch, Jane Hirshfield, Paul Muldoon, Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Pinsky, Ravi Shankar,
Mark Twain, among others.
About the collection, Rosanna Warren writes: "The Poetry
Calendar is rich in surprises, non sequiturs, occult associations across
centuries. Most of all, it is guided by an eclectic but uncompromising sense
of excellence. It is a pleasure to turn each page and to see what the next
day brings in the paced contemplative exercise of the new poem.
Make a resolution to read a poem every day with this beautiful desktop
anthology.
|
Andrew: I don't usually put ads up on Hi Spirits - but this is an exception.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Poetry Prize: Let yr lowlife win you high praise!
Regime de Vivre Poetry Prize 2013
Regime Books, an independent publisher based in Perth’s William Street arts district, has announced a new poetry prize for work that tackles the dark underside of life.
Whether it is life on the streets, alcohol, drugs, sex or crime, there has for hundreds of years been a profound attraction for writers to the seedier elements of existence.
The Regime de Vivre Poetry Prize 2013 will be for poetry that is bold enough to fearlessly tackle these themes. The most fascinating poetry sometimes comes from the darkest places; from Baudelaire to Bukowski, the list of writers inspired by this side of life is almost endless.
The prize will be awarded to the poem that best embodies the spirit of the prize itself.
We wanted to set the poets of the world an interesting challenge. Regime Books has distributed the following clues, which if properly pursued will reveal everything poets will need to know about the prize.
The title of the prize is named after a seventeenth century poem of sleaze and debauchery; and a maxim attributed by Samuel Beckett to Sébastien Chamfort, but which may be a fragment from Blaise Pascal: ‘Que le coeur de l’homme est creux et plein d’ordure’.
In addition to a warm inner glow (or a sense of existential emptiness, as the case may be), the winner shall be awarded US$200 and be published in the third edition of Regime Magazine, to be released by Regime Books in 2013. Two runners-up will be awarded US$50, and also published.
Regime Books is promoting the prize in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Deadline for entries is strictly Midnight EST, 31 March 2013. The winners will be announced by 30 April 2013.
Entries will only be accepted online at: regime.submittable.com.
More information at regimebooks.com.au.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Poem 'Being born' by Peter Ciccariello
- for Abbey
she was the color of a thunder cloud covering the sun
red and blue and white and gray
it was the blue that alarmed me
and how her little body didn’t move
flaccid as a rag stuffed doll
as if I expected her to dance or speak to me
the braided cord soaked in blood and mucus
trailing down my leg then up and between her mother’s legs
where she had just come from
living in darkness and water
for months and eternity
I held her firmly
wrapping her in a silver thermo blanket
as if she had just walked in space
or been discovered beneath an avalanche
and she had as much
shooting out of her mother like that
without as much as a push or a shove
into this cold metallic world
The back of the ambulance was a space ship
the crackling voices
the wide black window speckled with silver stars
the circling red and white lights
making her even more blue than before
she’s not breathing I said
more to myself than anyone else
she’s blue and she’s not breathing
I placed my giant thumb in her little fist
and touched a massive finger to her miniature lips
she shook all over all at once
like a dog shedding the rain from it’s fur
opening that tiny mouth
screaming and breathing for the first time
that single burning gulp of air
filling the space that was now hers
making it all very clear to us that she was here
Peter Ciccariello - artist, visual poet, flaneur & accidental fabulator · http://invisiblenotes.blogspot.com/ is a USA creative whirlwind who has fascinated me with his artwork for a couple of decades. I have known his poetry less - but as you can see by the above, he's not a 'part time' poet but a full time rennaisance man.
Here are a couple more links for more information and examples of his wonderful artwork.
Poetry and writing - http://poemsfromprovidence.
You can find Peter's art and writing updates on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/
Portrait by Didi Menendez, artist to the poets of USA
she was the color of a thunder cloud covering the sun
red and blue and white and gray
it was the blue that alarmed me
and how her little body didn’t move
flaccid as a rag stuffed doll
as if I expected her to dance or speak to me
the braided cord soaked in blood and mucus
trailing down my leg then up and between her mother’s legs
where she had just come from
living in darkness and water
for months and eternity
I held her firmly
wrapping her in a silver thermo blanket
as if she had just walked in space
or been discovered beneath an avalanche
and she had as much
shooting out of her mother like that
without as much as a push or a shove
into this cold metallic world
The back of the ambulance was a space ship
the crackling voices
the wide black window speckled with silver stars
the circling red and white lights
making her even more blue than before
she’s not breathing I said
more to myself than anyone else
she’s blue and she’s not breathing
I placed my giant thumb in her little fist
and touched a massive finger to her miniature lips
she shook all over all at once
like a dog shedding the rain from it’s fur
opening that tiny mouth
screaming and breathing for the first time
that single burning gulp of air
filling the space that was now hers
making it all very clear to us that she was here
Peter Ciccariello - artist, visual poet, flaneur & accidental fabulator · http://invisiblenotes.blogspot.com/ is a USA creative whirlwind who has fascinated me with his artwork for a couple of decades. I have known his poetry less - but as you can see by the above, he's not a 'part time' poet but a full time rennaisance man.
Here are a couple more links for more information and examples of his wonderful artwork.
Poetry and writing - http://poemsfromprovidence.
You can find Peter's art and writing updates on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/
Portrait by Didi Menendez, artist to the poets of USA
Monday, December 17, 2012
The W B Yeats Poetry Prize for Australians is accepting entries for the 2012 Prize.
Closing date is 31 December 2012.
First Prize AU$500
Runner up Prize AU$75
Commendation Certificates
The Poetry Prize is open to residents of Australia and New Zealand for previously unpublished poem. Entries will be judged by Earl Livings & Catherine Bateson.
RULES
Entries to be typed on one side of paper
NO identification of author on the poem
Name, address and contact details on a separate page please
50 line maximum limit
Open style
Entries may be submitted online: in a Word doc 1997 -2003 or pdf document.
Payments via paypal can be made on the website or by standard mail.
Entry fee is AU$7. 50 first entry
AU$5. each per extra poems
Cheques/Postal Orders to be made payable to: “The W B Yeats Poetry Prize”
Posted entries will only be returned where a stamped addressed envelope is provided
Post entries to:
W B Yeats Poetry Prize
6 Samuel Close
Berwick VIC 3806
The W B Yeats Poetry Prize reserves the right to publish the Winning and Commended poems in a printed report and on their website.
Copyright remains with poet.
For more information: http://www.wbyeatspoetryprize.com/
Thanks to Australian Poetry for this information.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Millie Dreaming
Behind Philip Levine reading his Last Shift poem
behind television singing and mumbling in American accents in the next room
behind crickets by the thousand clicking out their mating call
at least I guess that's what's behind their summer song
behind a fluttering moth circling the hot globe in my desk lamp
behind the quiet humming of my computer's tower
my dog Millie growing older every day and now eleven years and arthritic
snores in her nightly narratives of secret desires
my study's worn carpet now a country paddock
the well-worn scent of my sandals the musk of rabbit on the run
behind always behind Millie running red tongue flying in the wind
Yusef Komunyakaa's "Rock Me, Mercy." On NPR ...
We leave you tonight with a poem by Yusef Komunyakaa. He wrote it last night after hearing about the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary. And we asked him to read it for us tonight. It's called "Rock Me, Mercy."
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
RAZ: The poet Yusef Komunyakaa reading his poem "Rock Me, Mercy." Copyright © 2012 National Public Radio.
YUSEF KOMUNYAKAA: (Reading) The river stones are listening because we have something to say. The trees lean closer today. The singing in the electrical woods has gone down. It looks like rain, because it is too warm to snow. Guardian angels, wherever you're hiding, we know you can't be everywhere at once. Have you corralled all the pretty wild horses? The memory of ants asleep and day lilies, roses, holly and larkspur? The magpies gaze at us, still waiting. River stones are listening. But all we can say now is mercy, please rock me.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.
Welcome, new haiku journal, BONES
Bones no. 1 is out.
Visit http://www.bonesjournal.com/
Please do check the submissions if you'd like to submit any short verse in 2013.
Infirmation from Alan Summers. Thanks.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Janice M Bostok Award results
Congratulations to André Surridge for taking out the inaugural first prize of $A350 with ‘evening breeze’ – from which the anthology from the contest takes its title. We also congratulate the runner-up, Sandra Simpson and, Chen-ou Liu for taking third prize.
First Prize: André Surridge
evening breeze
a flag releases
its stars
a flag releases
its stars
Second Prize: Sandra Simpson
hoar frost the click of a safety being released
Third Prize: Chen-ou Liu
snowy dawn
bits of yesterday
cling to today
bits of yesterday
cling to today
Judging the contest was a challenge, but a most enjoyable one. The number of Honourable Mentions attests to the overall high standard of entries.
Honourable Mentions
Jan Dobb
cumulus clouds
in the shallows an egret
fluffs twice
in the shallows an egret
fluffs twice
Quendryth Young
hoeing –
his old bones angled
above the earth
his old bones angled
above the earth
Steven Carter
foreclosure
sky among leaves among
sky
sky among leaves among
sky
Mark Miller
thinning mist –
the skittering
of bird notes
the skittering
of bird notes
Margaret Beverland
clouds
going nowhere … the sailboat
tacks again
going nowhere … the sailboat
tacks again
The high standard is likewise reflected in the pages of finalists that make up the anthology collection. Our heartfelt thanks go to all who participated to make this contest so successful and, a fitting memorial to Janice. Paper Wasp is indebted to the judges led by Jim Kacian and Cynthia Rowe.
Copies of the anthology, evening breeze, can be purchased for $10 each or $25 for three copies. Overseas orders will be charged at the same/equivalent $Australian rate with the addition of postage. For orders please contact:
jacquimurray@bigpond.com
jacquimurray@bigpond.com
Friday, December 14, 2012
Guy Grey-Smith Life Force - Melbourne Book Launch
UWA Publishing is pleased to invite you to celebrate the Melbourne launch of
Guy Grey-Smith: Life Force by Andrew Gaynor
3:00PM - 4:30PM, Saturday 15 December 2012
Venue: NGV Shop, The Ian Potter Centre: National Gallery of Victoria,
Federation Square, Melbourne VIC.
Global Romanticism Conference
presents its second biennial conference
Global Romanticism
to take place at the University of Sydney
from Wednesday to Friday, 3-5 July 2013
KEYNOTES:
Alan Bewell (Toronto), Paul Giles (Sydney), Peter Kitson (Dundee), Liam McIlvanney (Otago)
MUCH of the recent scholarly activity in the area of Romantic studies has concentrated on ‘the four nations’: England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. The second biennial conference of the antipodean Romantic Studies Association of Australasia would like to turn that on its head and to ask, again, about British Romanticism’s engagement with the rest of the world, and about the rest of the world’s engagement with British Romanticism. In the past twenty years, scholars like those who have agreed to share their thoughts and findings in keynote lectures at this conference have established the fact that Romanticism and the Romantic period need to be understood in global terms. Far from being a merely national or even European phenomenon, Romanticism – or the cluster of ideas and cultural forms and the structures of feeling associated with Romanticism – is shot through with the experience and imagination of the Americas, including the recently United States with whom Britain was briefly at war; of Africa, north, south, and central; of Russia and the Ottoman empire; of Persia, India, China and the far east; of the penal colony of New South Wales and beyond that the Pacific and its islands. Again, as with our first biennial conference on Romanticism and the Tyranny of Distance, we are inviting scholars from all over the globe to use the historical distance of the twenty first century and the geographical and cultural distance of the Great South Land to reconceptualise and remap the geographical and cultural field of Romantic studies.
We encourage submissions covering the fullest possible range of meanings of ‘global Romanticism’ – including but not limited to -
Romantic exploration, real and imagined: ‘We were the first, that ever burst, into that silent sea’
Romantic places, real and imagined: imaging the exotic and the remote in art and literature
Romantic cosmopolitanism
Romanticism, empire, and informal empire
The globe writes back: Romantic correspondence
The globe writes back: the global interpretation of British Romanticism, then and since
The world as subject: colonialism
The world as specimen: colonies of knowledge
The world as convert: missionary activity
The world as convict: penal colonies
Expanding the canon: foreign literature in translation
Trading goods: company ships, country ships, and pirates
Trading places: transportation, migration, settlement, and repatriation
Trading forms: the global circulation of literature, music and art
Trading people: slavery and the slave trade
‘Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red’: Romanticism and race
Scholars interested in proposing 20-minute papers, or full panels of three speakers and a chair, should submit abstracts of between 250 and 400 words and a 150-word bio by 28 February 2013 through the RSAA’s website http://rsaa.net.au/. For further enquiries, please contact Will Christie (william.christie@sydney.edu.au) or Angie Dunstan (angela.dunstan@sydney.edu.au).
Thursday, December 13, 2012
The Tom Collins Poetry Prize 2012 - LAST DAYS TO ENTER
The Tom Collins Poetry Prize is an annual competition inaugurated by FAWWA in 1975 in memory of Australian author Joseph Furphy (1843 - 1912) who wrote as Tom Collins.
Opening Date: September 1st 2012 Closing Date: December 15th 2012 (Entries must be postmarked by this date to be accepted.)
Winners Announced: late February 2013
Number of Lines: Maximum 60 lines per poem.
Prizes: First $1000, Second $400, 4 x Highly Commended $150, 4 x Commended (certificate only)
Entry Fee: $10 for one poem, $15 for two, $20 for three (maximum of three poems per author). Payable by Cheque or Money Order (payable to FAWWA) or by Visa or MasterCard
Opening Date: September 1st 2012 Closing Date: December 15th 2012 (Entries must be postmarked by this date to be accepted.)
Winners Announced: late February 2013
Number of Lines: Maximum 60 lines per poem.
Prizes: First $1000, Second $400, 4 x Highly Commended $150, 4 x Commended (certificate only)
Entry Fee: $10 for one poem, $15 for two, $20 for three (maximum of three poems per author). Payable by Cheque or Money Order (payable to FAWWA) or by Visa or MasterCard
- All work must be previously unpublished. Work broadcast, or performed, are classified as published.
- The Fellowship of Australian Writers (WA) reserves the right to publish the winning, second place and highly commended entries in its publications. Results will be published in FAWWA publications.
- Non-award-winning manuscripts are destroyed after the competition and will not be returned. Ensure you keep a copy.
- A pen name must be used and CHANGED for each poem. The real name of the author must not appear on the manuscript.
- Each poem must have a cover page with only the following information; Competition, Title of Poem, Pen Name.
- A COMPLETED entry form must be enclosed. Ensure all sections are filled out and the entry form is signed. Entry fee of $10 per poem should be paid by cheque or money order made payable to FAWWA, or by Visaor MasterCard. Credit card payments. Sending of cash is at competitor’s own risk.
- The judge’s decision is final. Competitors must not communicate with the judge before or during the com-petition. All unsuccessful entries will be shredded after the competition
- If a list of prize winners is required, please send a stamped, self-addressed envelope with your entry or provide your email address on the entry form.
- Send entries to: Competition Secretary, Entry for TCPP, PO Box 6180 Swanbourne WA 6910
Note: It is the competitor’s responsibility to ensure entries comply with all the terms and conditions of entry.If any entry is excluded due to non-compliance of these terms and conditions, the competitor will not be notified nor will the entry fee be refunded.
FELLOWSHIP NEWS November 2012 6
Name:
Address:
Home Ph: ( )
Address:
Home Ph: ( )
Work Ph: ( )
State: Postcode: Mob:
TOM COLLINS POETRY PRIZE 2012
Entry Form
Please ensure ALL fields are completed. Entrants MUST DATE and SIGN the entry form.
Entry Form
Please ensure ALL fields are completed. Entrants MUST DATE and SIGN the entry form.
Email_________________________
Entry Fee: Payment for ___ entries @ $10 for one $15 for two $20 for three = TOTAL AU$ ________
PleasefindenclosedaCheque/
Entry Fee: Payment for ___ entries @ $10 for one $15 for two $20 for three = TOTAL AU$ ________
PleasefindenclosedaCheque/
Credit Card Number:
Expiry Date:
Title of Entry 1: Pen Name 1:
Title of Entry 2: Pen Name 2:
Title of Entry 3: Pen Name 3:
Title of Entry 1: Pen Name 1:
Title of Entry 2: Pen Name 2:
Title of Entry 3: Pen Name 3:
__________
Name on Card: ______________________________
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Where did you hear about the Tom Collins Poetry Prize? SSAE enclosed for results {please circle}: Yes/No
I agree to the terms and conditions of entry.
Signed: ______________________________ Date: ______________________________
For Electronic funds transfer:
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA)
Signed: ______________________________ Date: ______________________________
For Electronic funds transfer:
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA)
BSB number: Account number: Reference:
066104
10169034
Insert your own name and what payment is for. Please mention payment on your entry form
10169034
Insert your own name and what payment is for. Please mention payment on your entry form
Fellowship of Australian Writers WA Inc PO Box 6180 Swanbourne WA 6910www.fawwa.org.au admin@fawwa.org.au (08) 9384 4771
Monday, December 10, 2012
'Sancta' - by Andrew Grace (Ahsahta Press)
Andrew Grace’s 3rd book of poems, Sancta, was recently published by Ahsahta Press. His poems have appeared in Boston Review, Denver Quarterly and Ninth Letter and are forthcoming in Nimrod, Beloit Poetry Journal and Tusculum Review. He is a PhD candidate in creative writing at the University of Cincinnati.
More on this and a whole lot more at http://www.networkedblogs.com/blog/rob_mclennans_blog?request_id=196095250519374_641936883
cover of Sancta
EP Auf Deutsch - from Nomadics blog / Pierre Joris
***
Andrew: There is always something interesting happening at Pierre Joris's blog http://www.pierrejoris.com/blog/
Saturday 15th December, Perth Poetry Club, Don't miss Amanda Joy and Annie Otness
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