One of my entries into the Senior Poet Laureate contest this year was the second place finisher in Missouri. I have just seen the online version of Golden Words with the National winner and the regional or state winners.
Coming Out, One of my three entries this year was the Silver Laureate or second place in Missouri. Last year, my poem Channeling Sylvia was an honorable mention.
Actually, Coming Out was written during a post card poetry exchange with Ivy Alvarez last October.
All of this years winning entries including Coming Out can be seen in the online version of the book Golden words. Simply fallow the clicks to the regional and state listings and it is under Silver Poet Laureate.
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Friday, October 28, 2005
Another View
1000 Black Lines mentioned the Poets and Writers article titled That Glittering Possibility in a recent post. This is the same P& W piece I blogged on back on the 20th.
Black Lines was disturbed because almost all the 18 debut poets who had been published were teachers. He lamented that he was not one and that perhaps what his 60+ page manuscript needed was not a cover letter but a resume and a list of name dropping connections.
I thought about the article. It was the same one I read and while I didn't count the number of teachers by profession, I did note that most all of them spent years and countless contests to finally achieve publication. Leslie Bumstead for example - 3 years. Victoria Chang between 30 and 45 contests. K.E. Duffin spent 6 years in pursuit of a publisher... more then half the 11 years he spent writing the book. Sarah Gridley 4 years - two years shorter than it took to write the book. Laura Sims entered 20 contests. Mark Sullivan between 75 and 100 contests.
If teaching and connections played a role in getting the manuscripts of these people into print, it certainly did not save them from years pursuit and enormous numbers of entries.
I just thought since the two of us read the same article and saw two different things, it was worth another perspective.
Poetry Publication
Black Lines was disturbed because almost all the 18 debut poets who had been published were teachers. He lamented that he was not one and that perhaps what his 60+ page manuscript needed was not a cover letter but a resume and a list of name dropping connections.
I thought about the article. It was the same one I read and while I didn't count the number of teachers by profession, I did note that most all of them spent years and countless contests to finally achieve publication. Leslie Bumstead for example - 3 years. Victoria Chang between 30 and 45 contests. K.E. Duffin spent 6 years in pursuit of a publisher... more then half the 11 years he spent writing the book. Sarah Gridley 4 years - two years shorter than it took to write the book. Laura Sims entered 20 contests. Mark Sullivan between 75 and 100 contests.
If teaching and connections played a role in getting the manuscripts of these people into print, it certainly did not save them from years pursuit and enormous numbers of entries.
I just thought since the two of us read the same article and saw two different things, it was worth another perspective.
Poetry Publication
Food Chain Lesson 101
Ok, lets get this straight.
Someone in the administration outed Velarie Plume a classified agent of the CIA to the press. Velarie is the wife of former ambassador Joseph Wilson. Wislon had been dispatched to Niger to check out a claim that Iraq was buying "yellow care" (material necessary to construct nuclear weapons - not a dessert)from them. Wilson had countered the notion by the Bush Administration that Iraq was amassing weapons of mass destruction (WMDs)- a claim that Bush and Cheney used to make their justification for going to war with Iraq. The outing was believed to be in retaliation to Wilson's challenge of misinformation.
So Libby, Carl Rove and others within the administration were the focus of an attempt to learn who breached her classified identity. Libby is indicted for lying and obstruction of justice (hum... remember Watergate?) So, who was Libby lying to protect?
Libby Cheney Iraq Rove Bush Plame
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Sylvia's Birthday
Vice President for Torture
Vice President for Torture
I felt this editorial by the Washington Post was meritorious of recommending to everyone. It amazes how embolden the Bush administration has become. I urge you to read this editorial and pass it along to your friends.
Torture Cheney
I felt this editorial by the Washington Post was meritorious of recommending to everyone. It amazes how embolden the Bush administration has become. I urge you to read this editorial and pass it along to your friends.
Torture Cheney
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
The Rise and Fall
Still, as a heart between beats
One side of the fullest measure
The other side of the empty pit
I count the number of empty
Mock reason till I cry
Tears soaked in dysphoria
Pensive head in hand
Neuropathy rattles inside
The disconnect pulls
Chicken plucked from the bone
Gray matter- real, proven
According to Einstein
But dead like the soon to be night
Dying embers
Huff- they glow
But alone they show no will
No gasping- no desire
Numb, black tarnishing gray
A shadow circles overhead
Am I keeping him up
Or is this my wake
Night becomes the insulation
It is all there is to swallow
It claws at the insides
The night belongs to no one
But me- a poison apple
Polished black hematite
Even the circling shadow
Has lost faith
Surrendering me to dystopia
The desire for another-
Treasonous to the night
A verdict read in silence
Bailiff touches my shoulder
Reminding me the night is long
It may never comply
And end at all-
But provide eternal company
Through this solitary screaming purgatory
Empty to touch
Empty to warmth
Empty to breath
Empty to the rise and fall of love
Poetry
One side of the fullest measure
The other side of the empty pit
I count the number of empty
Mock reason till I cry
Tears soaked in dysphoria
Pensive head in hand
Neuropathy rattles inside
The disconnect pulls
Chicken plucked from the bone
Gray matter- real, proven
According to Einstein
But dead like the soon to be night
Dying embers
Huff- they glow
But alone they show no will
No gasping- no desire
Numb, black tarnishing gray
A shadow circles overhead
Am I keeping him up
Or is this my wake
Night becomes the insulation
It is all there is to swallow
It claws at the insides
The night belongs to no one
But me- a poison apple
Polished black hematite
Even the circling shadow
Has lost faith
Surrendering me to dystopia
The desire for another-
Treasonous to the night
A verdict read in silence
Bailiff touches my shoulder
Reminding me the night is long
It may never comply
And end at all-
But provide eternal company
Through this solitary screaming purgatory
Empty to touch
Empty to warmth
Empty to breath
Empty to the rise and fall of love
Poetry
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Cheney cited as source in CIA leak investigation
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Cheney cited as source in CIA leak investigation
Now see, this comes as no surprise to me at all. In fact - I'd be shocked if Bush and Cheney had not discussed this originally.
Cheney Rove Libby
Now see, this comes as no surprise to me at all. In fact - I'd be shocked if Bush and Cheney had not discussed this originally.
Cheney Rove Libby
The Jury Is Out
I had to report for jury duty this morning but I have been released. We were told it was a criminal trial and at the last minute there was an accepted plea change. I doubt that I would have actually been seated - there are just too many reasons for me to be stricken.
I write up a storm last night. Wrote and read way into the night. Anyone read any of Elizabeth Elliott's poems? I was into "Burn All Night" last night and it is a wonderful mixture of sublime and intensely powerful imagery. I highly recommend it.
Among my favorite:
Superiority of A Fly - Small Forks In The Wrong Drawer - Six Miles Nearer Heaven - Resist Me Death - and of course the title poem Burn All Night.
I write up a storm last night. Wrote and read way into the night. Anyone read any of Elizabeth Elliott's poems? I was into "Burn All Night" last night and it is a wonderful mixture of sublime and intensely powerful imagery. I highly recommend it.
Among my favorite:
Superiority of A Fly - Small Forks In The Wrong Drawer - Six Miles Nearer Heaven - Resist Me Death - and of course the title poem Burn All Night.
Monday, October 24, 2005
Monday Thoughts To Munch On
Yes folks - (Supermodel) KATE MOSS is writing poetry to help her through her rehab for cocaine abuse. Then, we are told she reads the lines over the phone to her lover Pete Doherty. Her family is pleased she has had something to focus on while she recovers. A friend told Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper: 'She's found writing her thoughts down in verse very calming' - and I'm thinking she might have found poetry a better diversion than cocaine to start with.
See, I'm thinking that Carl Rove and Scooter Libby may want to keep the poetry thing in mind. I'm sure they are feeling just a little up tight this week as Special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald has just launched his own brand-new Web site. [click here]
I'd say that the odds are good that one or both may well find themselves under indictment this week in the Valarie Plame matter.
I would think poetry might well help them through the long and very public legal battle to save their hides. Then of course when they are finally found guilty - perhaps it will ease the days in prison. At least till the president pardons them.
And just in case you are one of those who thinks that the Patriots Act needs to be renewed as is... read this and think again.
Oh... and Judith Miller - NY Times poster child is in deep do-do. Yes, even among her own this reporter is about as popular as a hometown prophet. Now I don't know that I'd go so far to say fire her- I think they could move her to another department and let her write obits.
judith miller Libby Kate Moss Patrick Fitzgerald Valarie Plame poetry
See, I'm thinking that Carl Rove and Scooter Libby may want to keep the poetry thing in mind. I'm sure they are feeling just a little up tight this week as Special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald has just launched his own brand-new Web site. [click here]
I'd say that the odds are good that one or both may well find themselves under indictment this week in the Valarie Plame matter.
I would think poetry might well help them through the long and very public legal battle to save their hides. Then of course when they are finally found guilty - perhaps it will ease the days in prison. At least till the president pardons them.
And just in case you are one of those who thinks that the Patriots Act needs to be renewed as is... read this and think again.
Oh... and Judith Miller - NY Times poster child is in deep do-do. Yes, even among her own this reporter is about as popular as a hometown prophet. Now I don't know that I'd go so far to say fire her- I think they could move her to another department and let her write obits.
judith miller Libby Kate Moss Patrick Fitzgerald Valarie Plame poetry
Sunday, October 23, 2005
How Much Is the Bloggy in the Server?
My blog is worth $10,726.26.
How much is your blog worth?
Saw this on Christine Hamm's blogsite so of course I had to see what Stick Poet looked like when put to the test.
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Wear sunglasses to the post office...
Quiet Saturday morning- sometimes quiet is good. Sometimes the silence echoes reverberate empty.
I generally never want the weekends to end, but sometimes I wish they would hurry along into another phase. It's a contradiction I know.
The picture with this post was taken a few weeks back - it is a courtyard behind a bank in downtown Kansas City. I took it on a lunch stroll. I think of it as water art.
Finished reading a novel last night. I've produced some small written pieces this week that I am happy with and they really did for the most part come without feeling like I had to squeeze them from a near empty tube of words.
Best quote I saw this week was advice from Dana Goodyear - one of the 18 debut poets of 2005 that were featured in Poets & Writers.
"Wear sunglasses to the post office. In other words, try to protect yourself from other people's disbelief."
Friday, October 21, 2005
Washing Your Back
I squeezed water
To a fine trickle
That splashed
And breathed
Bubbles
The
Long
Sleek
Contour
Of your
Back
Till
It
Hit
Water
And carried a touch of your fragrance to the ocean
To a fine trickle
That splashed
And breathed
Bubbles
The
Long
Sleek
Contour
Of your
Back
Till
It
Hit
Water
And carried a touch of your fragrance to the ocean
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Can Just Anyone Be One?
Should there be a test? Would it have both an oral and written portion?
Could there be a learners permit? Would we have to re-test every so often?
What would the punishment be for poeting without a license? Should bad poets have to register with the state and be prohibited from living a certain distance from academia?
The Payoff of Hard Work
New Poets & Writers magazine arrived yesterday... I saw where Victoria Chang (who formerly had a blog I would read frequently) made a list of 18 debut poets who made their mark in 2005. Very nice piece on her and her work.
Interesting factoids from the writeup on her:
She spent 10 years writing the book CIRCLE.
She entered some 30 to 45 contests.
She won the Crab Orchard Series in Poetry Open Competition Award.
Influences were listed at Rainer Maria Rilkem, Elizabeth Bishop, Sylvia Plath, Larry Levis and Brigit Pegeen Kelly.
One thing that really struck me was the amount of time each of these poets spent in writing their respective books. The longest being 11 years - but the average seemed to be just under six and a half years.
Anyway it was a really nice article and I would imagine she must be quite honored by making this list in addition to the previous honors bestowed upon her for the book.
Interesting factoids from the writeup on her:
She spent 10 years writing the book CIRCLE.
She entered some 30 to 45 contests.
She won the Crab Orchard Series in Poetry Open Competition Award.
Influences were listed at Rainer Maria Rilkem, Elizabeth Bishop, Sylvia Plath, Larry Levis and Brigit Pegeen Kelly.
One thing that really struck me was the amount of time each of these poets spent in writing their respective books. The longest being 11 years - but the average seemed to be just under six and a half years.
Anyway it was a really nice article and I would imagine she must be quite honored by making this list in addition to the previous honors bestowed upon her for the book.
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Potpourri Wednesday Again
Hello to Bergen, Norway!
~0~
Magnetic Poetry Sparks Creativity - and Smiles - with Gifts for Everyone on Your List.
~0~
Ivy spills the goods on the BLURB. Thinking I need a Miss Blinda Blurb to pose on my chapbook.
~0~
This is where I am tapping my foot waiting for a slightly overdue response to a submission. I say slightly overdue because they have had this group of poems longer than usual. Can't you just feel the impatience?
~0~
The Maine Arts Commission is accepting nominations for Maine's next Poet Laureate.
~0~
In David Citino's poem "And So" he wrote "And so you called, weeping, to tell me this because you know of the compulsion we share to write." Citino, an English professor and Ohio State University's poet laureate, had died from complications related to multiple sclerosis. Citino was 58.
~0~
Magnetic Poetry Sparks Creativity - and Smiles - with Gifts for Everyone on Your List.
~0~
Ivy spills the goods on the BLURB. Thinking I need a Miss Blinda Blurb to pose on my chapbook.
~0~
This is where I am tapping my foot waiting for a slightly overdue response to a submission. I say slightly overdue because they have had this group of poems longer than usual. Can't you just feel the impatience?
~0~
The Maine Arts Commission is accepting nominations for Maine's next Poet Laureate.
~0~
In David Citino's poem "And So" he wrote "And so you called, weeping, to tell me this because you know of the compulsion we share to write." Citino, an English professor and Ohio State University's poet laureate, had died from complications related to multiple sclerosis. Citino was 58.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Hello Quincy!
Just saying hello to Quincy, Massachusetts - a random place from stick poets hits stats. Evidently someone in Quincy visited stick poet this week.
Outside the continental U.S. was a hit from Richmond Hill in Ontario - Canada.
Wahoo!
You all com back now... (I know... a Yankee just can't do that right)
Outside the continental U.S. was a hit from Richmond Hill in Ontario - Canada.
Wahoo!
You all com back now... (I know... a Yankee just can't do that right)
The prompt: And his tongue was...
Monday, October 17, 2005
In the News...
Poets and suicide are making the news again. This time - BBC news is reporting about a project by an arts organization for the Highlands and Islands, HI-Arts, which is running a program of workshops and readings in schools in which young men are encouraged to talk about their emotions. This to offset a suicide level in the Highlands and Islands that has been above the national average.
But not everyone is happy. Mary Scanlon, MPS - Scottish Conservatives thinks the idea of someone writing about suicide is insensitive to the many families who are fighting to cope with their grief. She thinks it romanticises suicide - thus making it more of an option. "The more suicide is talked about the more likely people are to consider it as course of action."
No so says suicidal behavior expert Rory O'Connor who thinks anything that encouraged people to talk should be applauded.
poetry suicide
But not everyone is happy. Mary Scanlon, MPS - Scottish Conservatives thinks the idea of someone writing about suicide is insensitive to the many families who are fighting to cope with their grief. She thinks it romanticises suicide - thus making it more of an option. "The more suicide is talked about the more likely people are to consider it as course of action."
No so says suicidal behavior expert Rory O'Connor who thinks anything that encouraged people to talk should be applauded.
poetry suicide
OPEN MIC - MONDAY OCTOBER 24 at WRITERS PLACE
The monthly OPEN MICROPHONE hosted by Sharon Eiker (local poet, story writer, artist, performance artist, and sculptor) will be held Monday, October 24, 2005 starting at 8pm.
This is one of Kansas City's longest running open mic venues. Writers of short prose and poetry, as well as musicians and performance artists, are welcome. You can share your work, or simply listen to others share theirs.
Writers Place is located at 3607 Pennsylvania - Kansas City, MO 64011.
This is one of Kansas City's longest running open mic venues. Writers of short prose and poetry, as well as musicians and performance artists, are welcome. You can share your work, or simply listen to others share theirs.
Writers Place is located at 3607 Pennsylvania - Kansas City, MO 64011.
TWO EVENTS at THE WRITERS PLACE in KC
TWO EVENTS AT THE WRITERS PLACE THIS WEEK -
On Friday, October 21, 2005, at 7:00pm
Chance of a Ghost: An Anthology of Contemporary Ghost Poems will be hosted by Gloria Vando and Phil Miller and celebrate the publication of Helicon Nine's most recent offering edited by Gloria and Phil. A collection of works from 181 poets across the United States and around the world.
You will hear readings from various poets represented in the book, have the chance to meet and greet the literati of Kansas City, and obtain your own signed copy of the book at $14.95 each (a bargain)!
On Sunday, October 23, 2005 at 1:00pm
Phil Miller will host a Small Presses Reading honoring numerous local small presses and featuring the writers whose works have appeared in them. Come and share in this unique venue.
Recommended donations at the door are: $2 for members, $3 for non-members, and $1 for students.
On Friday, October 21, 2005, at 7:00pm
Chance of a Ghost: An Anthology of Contemporary Ghost Poems will be hosted by Gloria Vando and Phil Miller and celebrate the publication of Helicon Nine's most recent offering edited by Gloria and Phil. A collection of works from 181 poets across the United States and around the world.
You will hear readings from various poets represented in the book, have the chance to meet and greet the literati of Kansas City, and obtain your own signed copy of the book at $14.95 each (a bargain)!
On Sunday, October 23, 2005 at 1:00pm
Phil Miller will host a Small Presses Reading honoring numerous local small presses and featuring the writers whose works have appeared in them. Come and share in this unique venue.
Recommended donations at the door are: $2 for members, $3 for non-members, and $1 for students.
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