|
|
 |
Award-Winning Poems: Summer 2009
Send this page to a friend
We'll donate 15 cents to literacy
Welcome to our Summer 2009 selection of award-winning poems. These quarterly specials are included with your free Winning Writers Newsletter subscription. We'll release our next regular newsletter on June 15.
Lost one of our newsletters? Formatting appears odd? Not to worry. All our recent newsletters are posted online at http://www.winningwriters.com/news
New! Stay on top of late-breaking contest news, useful resources and interesting publishers. Subscribe to our free RSS feed. Unfamiliar with RSS feeds? Google homepage makes it easy to work with them.
______________________
FEATURED SPONSOR'S MESSAGE
Closing This Month
2009 Autumn House Poetry Prize and Autumn House Fiction Prize
Postmark Deadline: June 30
The winners will receive book publication, a $1,000 advance against royalties, and a $1,500 travel grant to participate in the 2009 Autumn House Master Authors Series in Pittsburgh. All finalists will be considered for publication. Final judge for the Poetry Prize is Alicia Ostriker. Final judge for the Fiction Prize is Sharon Dilworth (bio, interview).
All full-length collections of poetry 50-80 pages are eligible. Fiction submissions should be approximately 200-300 pages. All fiction sub-genres (short stories, short-shorts, novellas, or any combination of sub-genres) are eligible. Include a stamped, self-addressed envelope (SASE) for contest results. Autumn House Press assumes no responsibility for lost or damaged manuscripts. All entries must be clearly marked "Poetry Prize" or "Fiction Prize" on the outside envelope. $25 entry fee (check or money order) must be enclosed. Send manuscript and fee to:
Autumn House Press
P.O. Box 60100
Pittsburgh, PA 15211
Click for the complete guidelines. Please note: Manuscripts will not be returned, so please keep a copy.
Please enjoy this selection from Patricia Jabbeh Wesley's The River is Rising, published by Autumn House Press.
Stories
by Patricia Jabbeh Wesley
Someone will tell my story when I'm gone.
Someone will come into my house and look
at all these boxes on top of each other,
and all these papers I have wanted
to write something on.
The stories I carry around like a pregnant woman
who cannot say when she got pregnant—
They will be spilled all over
in invisible tidbits. People will say how
she was this and how she was that,
but no one will know all the stories I carry around
like a garbage truck.
The stories that coil like an earthworm
after the rain. The sight of an earthworm—
something not only children will scream at.
Maybe someone will write them for me—
The stories about my brother, Toh,
Crashing my father's yellow taxi
with my father seated right there beside him.
The taxi wanting to protect Toh from
my father's anger—the taxi that was meant
to set Toh on that career track at last.
Pa, always wanting to turn little people's
dreams into his own. Carving our lives
as though we were some pieces of wood
or wood dust on his carving table.
And the other stories, the ones about
me beating up that boy just because
he called me Marie Biscuit
All the other neighborhood children
standing there while we still lived on the Bye Pass.
Me, beating up a boy, and Pa,
laughing and clapping when he heard
how his daughter had gone and beat up a strong boy.
One woman that will beat up the boys,
Pa said, laughing and walking to his room,
looking like a small child coming home
with his first prize trophy. But yet, there
are the other stories nobody will ever know.
From The River is Rising, copyright 2007 by Patricia Jabbeh Wesley, reprinted by permission of Autumn House Press.
_______________________________________________
______________________
RECENT HONORS FOR OUR NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBERS
Congratulations to Jéanpaul Ferro. His new poetry collection, Essendo Morti – Being Dead, has just been released by Goldfish Press. This book "is about personal loss and the chaos that we all face living in our post-9/11 world." Several of the poems have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and many of the pieces have been featured in Columbia Review, Emerson Review, Connecticut Review, Contemporary American Voices, BlazeVox, The Providence Journal, Pedestal Magazine, Identity Theory and many others. Visit his website at www.jeanpaulferro.com. He has kindly permitted us to reprint a poem from the book below.
Congratulations to John B. Lee. The Brantford, Ontario poet laureate's chapbook One Leaf in the Breath of the World won first prize in the Golden Grassroots Chapbook Award Competition. This contest for Canadian citizens offers C$50 and publication. The most recent deadline was April 30.
Congratulations to Brian Donaghy. He won first prize for poetry in the MCCC Writers' Club Annual Fiction and Poetry Contest. This contest sponsored by Montgomery County Community College in Pennsylvania is open to students, faculty, alumni and community residents, with a top prize of $100 in each genre. The most recent deadline was March 11. Brian's wife Jacquie Donaghy was the fiction winner.
RECENT PUBLICATION CREDITS FOR OUR SUBSCRIBERS
Judy Juanita recently placed poems in several publications. "Bruno was from Brazil" appeared in Good News, 2009, and in Asili: The Journal of Multicultural Heartspeak. (Read this poem and our critique here.) "ballad for sarah palin's babymommadrama" was published in the May 12 issue of The New Verse News. "canoe", "a place called California", "in sickness and in health", "I keep seeing Jesus", "bling" and "the little girl" also appeared in Asili. In addition, her short story, "I first saw LeRoi Jones in the flesh", appeared in the Summer 2008 issue of The November 3rd Club.
Marianna Busching has had two poems accepted for publication: "The Lion", by The Pegasus Review, and "Easter", by Bible Advocate Press.
Nikhil Parekh was interviewed about his poetry on the Lulu.com blog. Lulu is one of the leading self-publishing companies, and also runs online writers' forums.
Nicole Nicholson released her limited-edition chapbook word., her second collection, which is influenced by the rhythms of performance poetry. word. has a print run of only 20 copies and can be ordered from her website. Nicholson has been performing material from word. at open mics and other recent performances, including the February and March 2009 editions of Poetry Super Highway's Worldwide Open Reading. She performed "Fables" during March's broadcast and "Off" during February's broadcast. She kindly shares "Fables" below.
_______________________________________________
______________________
Closing This Month
Margaret Reid Poetry Contest for Traditional Verse
Postmark Deadline: June 30
Now in its sixth year, this contest seeks poetry in traditional verse forms such as sonnets and free verse. Both published and unpublished poems are welcome. Prizes of $2,000, $1,000, $500 and $250 will be awarded, plus five High Distinction awards of $200 each and six Most Highly Commended Awards of $100 each. The entry fee is $7 for every 25 lines you submit. Submit online or by mail. Early submission encouraged. This contest is sponsored by Tom Howard Books and assisted by Winning Writers. Judges: John H. Reid and Dee C. Konrad. See the complete guidelines and past winners.
Tom Howard/John H. Reid Poetry Contest
Postmark Deadline: September 30
Now in its seventh year, this contest seeks poems in any style, theme or genre. Both published and unpublished poems are welcome. Prizes of $2,000, $1,000, $500 and $250 will be awarded, plus five High Distinction awards of $200 each and six Most Highly Commended Awards of $100 each. The entry fee is $7 for every 25 lines you submit. Submit online or by mail. Early submission encouraged. This contest is sponsored by Tom Howard Books and assisted by Winning Writers. Judges: John H. Reid and Dee C. Konrad. See the complete guidelines and past winners.
_______________________________________________
______________________
ALASKA
by Harry Bauld
Winner of the Winter 2008 New Millennium Writings Award
Postmark Deadline: June 17 (usually extended to July 31)
This prestigious twice-yearly award offers prizes of $1,000 apiece for poetry, fiction, short-shorts, and creative nonfiction, plus publication in a handsomely produced literary journal. Bauld's winning poem, in the sestina form, recounts the sacred adventure of catching a salmon with his bare hands.
ALIEN WEDDING and THE FAT CAT
by Mary Crockett Hill
Winner of the 2008 Autumn House Poetry Prize
Postmark Deadline: June 30
This open poetry manuscript prize offers publication, a $1,000 advance against royalties, and a $1,500 travel grant for a reading in Pittsburgh. Hill's manuscript A Theory of Everything won the 2008 award. In these poems, lunatics, aliens and fairy-tale monsters hover on the periphery of our middle-class existence, while we ponder whether the thrill of contact is worth the disruption.
WHAT MY FATHER LEFT BEHIND
by Chris Forhan
Winner of the 2008 Barrow Street Press Book Contest
Postmark Deadline: June 30
This competitive $1,000 award for poetry manuscripts is sponsored by a well-regarded literary journal that is friendly to experimental work. In this poem from Forhan's prizewinning Black Leapt In, he writes tenderly of the objects that retain the presence of his late father, who himself has transcended such attachments.
We are gathering a growing library of award-winning poems in Poetry Contest Insider, over 125 to date. Enjoy a wide range of today's best work. Sign up for a free trial.
_______________________________________________
______________________
2004 WAR POETRY CONTEST—HONORABLE MENTION
THE BULLET'S TALE
by Scott Ennis
As I cooled I awoke
and felt the heat
and smelled the smoke
which never really seemed to clear away.
I was rolled into a machine
with a million of my brothers,
all the same, exactly like the others
with the name .223 stamped firmly on my back,
then quickly packed
into a cardboard box.
For months I waited,
rattling against my comrades
in the dark, hearing nothing.
Then a jet engine roar.
Then yelling and explosions.
My box was suddenly cracked harshly open
and I fell upon a foreign dusty ground.
I lay there, one round.
I saw the hand of Private First Class Galloway
pick me up, trembling slightly,
wild terror on his face.
Mingled with sweat and resignation,
breathing heavy
with his back against a wall,
he jammed me in his magazine.
He tapped the magazine
once against his Kevlar helmet
and I felt my self slide back,
seated properly
against some mechanism.
The magazine was then forced,
coated with sand and oil,
grating into his weapon.
I felt the bolt release
and kick me forward
locked and loaded,
and I stared straight up the barrel,
past the spiral rifling
and the flower-like flash suppressor
at the hot blue sky.
As PFC Galloway lowered his rifle,
my fate,
I saw in sequence:
a cloud,
a roof,
a wall,
a road,
a man.
Something exploded inside me
and I felt the rush
of the gun barrel
with a heated urgency.
The nameless lieutenant held
a Kalashnikov with a cracked stock,
bound by duct tape.
I rose in my trajectory
above his face
and saw his men fanned out behind him.
One wounded and grimacing in pain.
One desperately pulling at a jammed rifle.
One who looked like his cousin or brother.
Then I fell into his chest.
I tumbled through his gut
and all I saw was red blood
and all I heard was
the ripping sounds of fabric,
and the ripping sounds of flesh,
and the ripping sounds of organs, soft and subtle.
Then there was a dull thud
as I lodged firmly in the bone of his pelvis.
The battle noises eventually subsided
and I briefly heard women wailing,
then shovels full of dirt
thumping against a hollow chest.
It was dark and stank
of rotting flesh
for many months,
and then it was just dark.
It has now been a hundred years.
I never heard who won the war.
I just sleep here,
nestled in the pelvic bone
of one of the war's casualties.
I often think
about that cloud I saw
in that blue sky
beyond the rifling
and the flower-like flash suppressor.
Copyright 2004 Scott Ennis
This poem won an Honorable Mention in the 2004 War Poetry Contest sponsored by Winning Writers. Author Scott Ennis received a $50 award. See the judge's comments on the winning poems from this contest.
_______________________________________________
______________________
SPONSORS' MESSAGES
The Colrain Poetry Manuscript Conference
Next conferences: July 10-13; August 14-17
The Colrain Poetry Manuscript Conference provides the faculty, connections, and method necessary to set poets with a completed manuscript or manuscript-in-process on a path towards publication. Includes workshops, consultations with press editors, evening poetry readings, editorial panel Q&A, group critique of selected poems, and an after-conference strategy session.
The cost of the conference is $995 and includes tuition, pre-conference materials, lodging and meals. The July and August conferences will be held at the Round House in Colrain, Massachusetts. Truly magical both inside and out, the Round House is a four-story building of 14 sides with over a dozen decks, sparkled by stained glass windows and a domed center with a cupola on top. Attendance is limited. For an application and complete guidelines, please visit www.colrainpoetry.com. You may also call 978-897-0054, email conferences@colrainpoetry.com or write to Colrain Poetry Manuscript Conference, Concord Poetry Center, 40 Stow Street, Concord, MA 01742-2418.
Success Stories from Our Attendees
- Jamie Ross, whose book Bringing in the Name has won the 2008 Four Way Books Intro Prize, attended Colrain with the manuscript in November 2006.
"To say you (Joan) and Fred and the Colrain conference were formative in this whole deal would be an understatement! I met Martha there, too—though you never could have told me at the time that I'd even be sending the collection to Four Way."
- Kathleen Sheeder Bonanno, a June 2007 attendee, has won the Beatrice Hawley Prize from Alice James Books and her book Slamming Open the Door was published in April.
"There is no question in my mind that had I not attended the Colrain Manuscript Conference and received the kind of encouragement and judicious advice that I did there, I would not have won the Beatrice Hawley Award—would not have revised my manuscript the way I did, or even had the confidence to send it out."
- Kristin Bock, a first conference attendee (March 2006), will have her manuscript from the conference, Cloisters, published by Tupelo Press in 2008.
"I'm so grateful to the Colrain conference! What struck me most about the Colrain experience was the kindness and generosity of the attendees, the workshop leaders, and the editors. Everyone worked hard, taking the time to provide thoughtful and detailed feedback on each other's work. The editors gave individual attention to each and every poet, answering all of our burning questions about our manuscripts and the often cryptic world of publishing. A heartfelt thanks to all!!"
- Lauren Rusk, also a first conference attendee, signed a book contract with Plain View Press for publication of her manuscript from the conference, Pictures in the Firestorm.
"The most useful parts of the conference for me were doing the thought-provoking and instructive pre-conference assignments, hearing the editors speak on the panel about their motivations and daily realities, and receiving your insightful feedback on the parts of my manuscript we discussed in the workshop. Our time together remains vividly in my mind."
- Diana Adams, another first conference attendee, had her manuscript, Cave Vitae, accepted for publication by Plain View Press.
"At the conference I learned to think of a book of poems as a larger poem, and using Fred Marchant's and Jeffrey Levine's experienced advice was able to completely reconstruct my book, giving it a new life, synchonized and more coherent."
- Allegra Wong, second conference attendee (August 2006), has had her manuscript, A Pure Bead, solicited for publication by conference editor Joan Houlihan (Del Sol Press). A Pure Bead was published in 2007.
"My consultation with Dennis Maloney, White Pine Press, was helpful in several specific ways. Poets Joan Houlihan, Teresa Cader, and Fred Marchant are dedicated and dynamic workshop leaders. The workshops showed us what an editor is seeking. I know so much more about the publishing world."
- Anne Shaw, first conference attendee (March 2006), has had her manuscript, Undertow, selected as winner of the 2007 Lexi Rudnitsky Poetry Prize, to be published by Persea Books in December 2007.
"I wanted to share my big news with both of you: I won the Persea Books contest! My ms Undertow is finally going to be published... I can't believe it. I am still in shock. I also want to thank both of you for the Colrain conference. I think it helped a lot in terms of making contacts, and getting me to think about the order of the book. When I went home I re-ordered and re-titled the ms, and I think that helped. The meeting with Martha Rhodes was very, very helpful too. At any rate, thank you both."
- Suellen Wedmore, third conference attendee (November 2006), has won the Grayson Books Chapbook Contest.
"I just wanted to thank you again for the support and advice you offered at the Colrain Poetry Manuscript workshop. One thing I learned/deduced while I was there was that my manuscript was perhaps really two chapbooks—so I began sending out chapbooks instead of a full manuscript. And just last night I learned that I won the Grayson Press Chapbook prize with a book built around my war poems. Chalk one up for Colrain! And thanks again!"
- Charles Boyer, another first conference attendee, had his manuscript The Mockingbird Puzzle accepted for publication by Finishing Line Press.
"I've had some good news. I had a chapbook accepted at Finishing Line Press, a Kentucky literary press. It should be coming out sometime in June. Thanks to all of you for your advice and encouragement with the poems!"
Click for more Colrain Publication News
 Deadline Extended!
The Christian Publishers Poetry Prize 2009
Postmark Deadline: June 15
Total prizes: $1,200. Entry fee: $10 per poem. Enter up to 10 poems.
If you're a Christian who writes rhyming poetry on Christian topics, this contest is for you. We offer two categories, both requiring rhyming poetry. Classical Christian Poetry accepts entries that are 28 lines in length or less, and are written in the style of famous Christian poets such as Fanny Crosby and Charles Wesley. Rhyming Poetry accepts other rhyming poetry that is not quite so strictly structured. This contest is open to poets of Christian faith, and sponsored by Utmost Christian Writers Foundation, a non-profit association for the support and encouragement of Christian poets. Click for the complete guidelines.
Please enjoy "In Passing" by Temple Cone, 2008 winner in the Rhyming Poetry category:
In Passing
by Temple Cone
Every hour's its own season, I wrote once,
Wishing, of course, that the best hours could last
Long as bayside summers or those Christmas
Holidays we remember from years past.
But the proof of happiness is that it's brief.
We mix cakes with salt, listen to sad songs,
Squeeze a bit of lemon into our tea,
For no tongue can savor sweetness too long.
Yet some mornings, once May gives way to heat,
We notice hints of gold along the leaves,
Or sense, when winter's hold seems complete,
Blossoms lodged in icicles under eaves.
So yes, parting's hell, but it's also heaven,
And makes farewell a prayer we believe in.
Closing This Month
2009 Omnidawn Poetry Contest Judged by Ann Lauterbach
Postmark Deadline: June 30
The 2009 Omnidawn Poetry Contest, judged by Ann Lauterbach, is Omnidawn Publishing's second annual contest for a first or second full-length collection of poems by a poet writing in English. (If you have two or more books published or accepted for publication, you are not eligible, although chapbooks do not count for this purpose.)
The recommended length of manuscript entries is 40 to 70 pages. Simultaneous submissions and multiple submissions are acceptable. The prize includes $2,000, Fall 2010 Publication by Omnidawn, and 100 complimentary copies of the book. The entry fee of $25 entitles you to one free Omnidawn title of your choice, if you send a Priority Mail self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE).
The prize-winning book will be produced, distributed, and advertised to full Omnidawn standards. As with other Omnidawn books, we will encourage the winning poet to participate in the design of the book, including choice of typefaces, cover artwork and design, with all stages subject to the approval of the winning poet. All costs, including production, distribution and advertising, will be fully paid for by Omnidawn. Omnidawn abides by the CLMP Code of Ethics.
The winner of last year's contest, judged by Marjorie Welish, is Michelle Taransky for her manuscript, Barn Burned, Then, to be published this September.
For the complete guidelines for this year's contest, visit
www.omnidawn.com/contest/contest_guidelines.htm
For information on last year's contest and winner, visit
www.omnidawn.com/contest/contest_2008.htm
For other information about Omnidawn, including a list of Omnidawn titles, subscription to our mailing list, and more, visit www.omnidawn.com
 Submit Your Poetry Manuscript to Steel Toe Books: June Submission Period
Submissions must be received by June 30
Steel Toe Books will select its next two titles through a contest judged by Denise Duhamel. In addition to a judge's choice, there will be an editor's choice made by Tom Hunley. Both authors will receive $500 and a publication contract. All entrants will receive copies of the two winning books. Past and present students of the judge and editor are not eligible. To submit, please send the following:
- a check or money order for $24 payable to Steel Toe Books
- your manuscript (48-80 pages long)
- an acknowledgements page
- two cover pages, one with your name and contact information, one without
Please do not send a SASE for notification. Upon selecting a new title, we will make an announcement on the News page of our website. Manuscripts will not be returned. Please keep a copy for yourself.
Mail your submission to:
Steel Toe Books
c/o Tom C. Hunley
Department of English
Western Kentucky University
1906 College Heights Boulevard, No. 11086
Bowling Green, KY 42101-1086
Check out our website: www.steeltoebooks.com
Houston Writers Guild Announces its Fall 2009 Contests
Postmark Deadline: July 30
The Houston Writers Guild, formerly the Fort Bend Writers Guild, announces its Fall 2009 Writers Contests. We will award $500 for the best novel in any genre, plus additional prizes in the categories of short story, personal essay, poetry, and a lifetime achievement award for published authors. The novel contest is open to all unpublished and not under contract novelists & screenwriters anywhere in the world. See the complete guidelines for all contests and the entry blank. Non-members may enter any contest, but members enjoy a discount on the entry fee for the novel contest.
Don't miss our 2009 Fall Writers Workshop with renowned mystery author David Liss. Join us on Saturday, September 12 at the Holiday Inn Southwest in Houston. Register before July 30 to enjoy the discounted rate of $45 for members and $55 for non-members. See details and register today.
Please enjoy "Simple Treasures" by Rodney Walther, the first-place poetry entry in the Houston Writers Guild Spring 2009 Contest:
Simple Treasures
by Rodney Walther
I treasure the jagged rock,
gravel, selected from the scene,
that rent her perfect face
and rained a curtain of blood.
I treasure the mangled frame,
metal, bent to concave shape,
that saved her perfect body
and stayed the breaking of bones.
I treasure the mirrored scar,
crescent, carved along my brow,
that reminds this imperfect man
of the mercy and irony of God.
Dream Quest One Poetry and Writing Contest
Postmark Deadline: July 31
This writing contest is open to anyone who loves to express their innermost thoughts and feelings in poetry or to write a short story that's worth telling everyone! We're accepting poems, 30 lines or fewer on any subject, and short stories, 5 pages maximum on any theme (single- or double-line spacing). Multiple entries welcome.
Prizes
Short Story First Prize: $500, 2nd: $250, 3rd: $100
Poetry First Prize: $250, 2nd: $125, 3rd: $50
Entry fees
$10 per story
$5 per poem
How to Enter
Send your work with a cover page that lists the title(s) of your poem(s)/story(ies), name, address, phone number, and email address, along with a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) for entry confirmation. Make your entry fee payable to "DREAMQUESTONE.COM" and mail to Dream Quest One Poetry & Writing Contest, P.O. Box 3141, Chicago, IL 60654. Electronic entries accepted via PayPal. Visit www.dreamquestone.com for details and to enter.
Please enjoy this poem by Barbara Peabody of Tucson, Arizona, second-prize winner for poetry in our Winter 2008-2009 contest:
Just in Case
by Barbara Peabody
I bought two hats
In case
One blew off
I took two apples
Just in case
I bought two parrots
In case
One flew away
I made two keys
In case
I lost one
I made two friends
Just in case
I worshipped two gods
In case
One failed me
I revered two saints
Just in case
I loved two men
In case
One left me
I wanted two children
Just in case.
Open City's 2009 RRofihe Trophy Short Story Contest
Postmark Deadline: October 15
6th year! The RRofihe Trophy for an unpublished short story! Limit: 5,000 words. Winner receives: $500, trophy, and publication in Open City magazine. Judge: Rick Rofihe.
Guidelines:
- Stories should be typed, double-spaced, on 8 1/2" x 11" paper with the author's name and contact information on the first page and name and story title on the upper right corner of the remaining pages
- Limit one submission per author
- Author must not have been previously published in Open City
- Mail submissions to RRofihe, 270 Lafayette Street, Suite 1412, New York, NY 10012
- Enclose a self-addressed stamped business envelope (SASE) to receive names of winner and honorable mentions
- All manuscripts are non-returnable and will be recycled
- Reading fee is $10. Check or money order payable to RRofihe
- See the complete guidelines at http://www.opencity.org/rrofihe.html
Rick Rofihe is the author of Father Must, a collection of short stories published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux. His fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, Grand Street, Open City, Swink, Unsaid, and on epiphanyzine.com. His nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times, The Village Voice, Spy, and The East Hampton Star, and on mrbellersneighborhood.com. A recipient of the Whiting Writers' Award, he has taught writing at Columbia University and the Writer's Voice of the West Side Y. He currently teaches privately in New York, and is the editor of the new online literary journal, anderbo.com.
 Writing Away Retreats and Contest Announcement
Next retreats: October 15-20 and October 21-26
Join Random House author Cicily Janus for Writing Away Retreats. This is a semi-annual retreat for writers with agents, editors and authors in an intimate environment that maximizes feedback and minimizes writing interruption. Visit our website at www.writingawayretreats.com to read about scholarship opportunities and more! Limited number of writers accepted. This is a SMALL retreat, 8-10 writers total accepted. Writing sample required.
Themed Fiction/Essay/Poetry contest running now for full ride to the October retreat. Theme: Burning Down the House. Deadline: July 1. Entry fee: $20.00 includes 10% off retreat if not winner. Submit to creativelivesworkshop@hotmail.com. PayPal invoice for entry fee will be sent upon receipt of entry. Details on site.
Dishes Partial-Tuition Scholarship available for a deeply discounted price to attend. Deadline: June 15. Submit à la Letterman Style, a top-ten list of why you should be the person chosen to do the dishes of other writers/agents/editors. Commitment: 2.5-3 hours a day of kitchen work. Mainly dishes, can be done while others are eating or on own time, but must be done and accounted for. Prize: 60% off full tuition for an October retreat. May pick 5- or 11-day retreat to attend. If first-place winner asks for 5-day retreat, second-place winner will have their pick of the session not signed up for by first-place winner. Entries are free. Most clever entry wins!
Over 40K words of MS critiqued by agents from Sterling Lord, Fairbank, Folio Literary Management and JABberwocky along with editors from Harper, Penguin, Red Hen and more. Choice of 5- or 11-day retreat. Payment plans available and PayPal accepted. All-inclusive with gourmet meals and million-dollar estate lodging in the Rocky Mountains! Stop wasting time at overhyped and packed conferences where connections are missed and make an investment in your career today! Discount for registrants that pay in full and register before July 1. Last day to register, September 15. Couples
welcome. See details.
Anderbo.com's 2009 Poetry Contest
Postmark Deadline: November 1
4th year! For up to six unpublished poems. Winner receives $500 cash plus publication on anderbo.com, "Best New Online Journal". Judged by William Logan. Contest Assistant: Charity Burns.
Guidelines:
- Poems should be typed on 8 1/2" x 11" paper with the poet's name and contact information on the upper right corner of each poem
- Poet must not have been previously published on anderbo.com
- Mail submissions to 270 Lafayette Street, Suite 1412, New York, NY 10012
- Enclose a self-addressed stamped business envelope (SASE) to receive names of winner and honorable mentions
- All entries are non-returnable and will be recycled
- Reading fee is $10. Check or money order payable to RRofihe
- See the complete guidelines at http://www.anderbo.com/anderbo1/anderprize2009.html
William Logan was born in Boston in 1950. He attended Yale, where he studied American history and literature, though he had a long flirtation with game theory. He was a rock critic of no great distinction, though he squandered a good many weekends at the Fillmore East in New York. After taking his MFA at the University of Iowa, he spent a peripatetic six years following his sweetheart to Massachusetts, Virginia, and California. They then spent two years in England, where they held successive Amy Lowell Poetry Traveling Scholarships. He is the author of eight volumes of poetry, most recently Strange Flesh (2008). He has also published five books of poetry criticism, including Our Savage Art (2009). He has twice been a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle award in criticism, which was awarded to The Undiscovered Country (2005). Among his other honors are the Peter I. B. Lavan Younger Poets Award from the Academy of American Poets, the 1988 Citation for Excellence in Reviewing from the National Book Critics Circle, the Allen Tate Prize, the Corrington Medal for Literary Excellence, and the inaugural Randall Jarrell Award in Criticism. He has been called the "most hated man in American poetry" as well as the "best practical critic around". He has been teaching at the University of Florida since shortly before the ozone hole was discovered over Antarctica.
_______________________________________________
______________________
Watering a Post
by Jéanpaul Ferro
We were all born from the sons of pain,
an L of stars that graced the four corners
of the nighttime sky,
Helen, we called one;
she looked like a finger pointing right back at us,
Robert was another;
he looked like a lost man in the dead of winter,
all of these legends that we made up for ourselves,
so we could all go on believing,
but don't fool yourself: mankind isn't that smart,
we can't even build something without first tearing
something else good down:
we dig a hole in the ground to put a building up,
we leave our beautiful wives for a much better wife,
we die in the millions within our wars, so there can be
peace,
the constellations, the stars, how come they all know?
they are here, and they will be here, long after us;
and they wait in silence every day,
in silence like they did before any of us ever came
into the narrative,
where maybe we should have been left standing only
slightly off-stage.
Copyright 2009 by Jéanpaul Ferro
This poem is reprinted from his new poetry collection, Essendo Morti — Being Dead, which has just been released by Goldfish Press.
______________________
Fables
by Nicole Nicholson
& the reason i'm so peculiar's
cuz i been studyin up on my daddy's technique
& everythin i do is magic these days
—Ntozake Shange
Now you see it—now you don't. These eyes,
scandalous and brown, reverberating the sound
of DNA caught in a time warp; punch buttons,
pull levers—destination: 1976. Now these
eyes, they are my own, but they contain the sparkle
that spins fables or lies—you decide. I'm a storyteller
by nature: so was Dad. His best sellers: the riveting
story of how he found my older brother by the
soft shore of the Pacific Ocean, as if Earth had opened
up, given birth through the sands of Venice Beach,
and then laid the baby out in bright, sparkling daylight
for him to find; the epic tale of how he stared down
a rattlesnake and brought an ax blade down on
its neck while Arizona stood and watched, her
burning single eye sending August fire down from
her clear, azure face; and his poetry painting melted visions
of burning children with their black smoke shadows
frozen on concrete—instant prints of final agony
rendered by atomic Hiroshima flash. I could never
tell what was truth and what was fiction from his
lips. Now, I see faeries in my dreams, hear the
tortured songs of banshees in my ears, and see
a dead poet standing, bowing, and offering his soft lips
to my outstretched hand with my third eye. Or do
I? My dad was a storyteller by nature, and all I have
left of him is this gift. So, what comes from my lips:
fables or lies? You decide. Look into my eyes.
See this sparkle, insane or wise—and you decide.
Copyright 2009 by Nicole Nicholson
The author performed this poem during March's broadcast of Poetry Super Highway's Worldwide Open Reading on Blog Talk Radio.
_______________________________________________
______________________
Alibris Coupon
New, used and out-of-print books, college textbooks and bargains. Order at least $49 of books shipping from Alibris and they'll ship for free.
Office Depot Coupon
Save on paper, toner, binders and all your writing supplies at Office Depot. Free delivery in select areas when you order $50 or more.
Publish Your Book From Your Computer for as Little as $2.00 Each
InstantPublisher.com will take your manuscript over the Internet from any Microsoft Windows-based program. Publish a book in trade quality from 25 to 5,000 copies in about 7-10 working days. Ideal when you want to publish books to give as gifts, sell at events and
readings, or sell from your website. Specify the kind of book you want to print and get an instant price quote. Customers say, "the published book is exactly what I had envisioned. And the cost was so reasonable, I'd recommend InstantPublisher.com to anyone." "I experimented with several different short-run and POD printers during my 90-day adventure from self-published to major book deal, and I have to say that the quality of your books was BY FAR the best. When sending press kits to the media, and anyone we wanted to impress, we'd always send your books, which we affectionately referred to as 'The GOOD books.' "
http://www.instantpublisher.com/default.asp?afcc=1393
_______________________________________________
______________________
Advertise to 25,000 Poets and Writers
Promote your contests, websites, events and publications in this newsletter. Reach over 25,000 poets and writers for $65. Ads may contain up to 250 words, a headline and a graphic image. Find out more and make your reservation here:
http://www.winningwriters.com/advertisers.php
"We can tell by our data readings that Winning Writers is an economical and efficient way to advertise both the Anderbo Poetry Prize and The RRofihe Trophy/Open City Short Story Contest."
Rick Rofihe, Publisher & Editor-In-Chief, anderbo
"I'm very pleased with the variety of responses we've received, and I very much appreciate the
care you took in adding links and generally improving the copy I sent you."
Mark Schorr, Executive Director, The Robert Frost Foundation
_______________________________________________
______________________
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
ProLiteracy's Advocacy Strategies
ProLiteracy speaks in the national and international arenas on behalf of adults who struggle with reading, writing, and math, and for the people and programs that work with them. But we can't do it alone. We need your support! Join your voice with ours so that policymakers clearly understand the widespread consequences of adult illiteracy.
Advocacy strategies
- Collaborate
- What other organizations in your community have an interest in/need for adult literacy? How can you work together to achieve both organizations' goals?
- Get support from opinion leaders and community celebrities and involve them in your advocacy efforts.
- Articulate the issue
- Show the policymaker why he or she should care about adult literacy.
- Link literacy to other important issues such as employment, skilled workforce, immigration, health care, etc.
- Be prepared
- Have student success stories and statistics at hand that show how your program makes a difference.
- Know how your community's and state's literacy statistics compare to other communities and states.
- Know the arguments against your position and be ready to respond to them.
- Involve adult learners
- They humanize the statistics and are living proof of the effect that literacy programs have on "real people".
Why should you advocate?
- You can make a difference.
- Policymakers need to hear stories from adult education learners, instructors, and supporters.
- It is your right as an American citizen to make your voice heard.
 ProLiteracy supports adults and young people in the U.S. and internationally who are learning to read, write, and do basic math by training instructors, publishing instructional materials, and advocating for resources and public policies that support them.
Support ProLiteracy's vital mission. Click
here to learn more. Click to contribute.
Send this page to a friend and we'll donate 15 cents to ProLiteracy for each friend you refer.
_______________________________________________
______________________
2006 WERGLE FLOMP HUMOR POETRY CONTEST—HONORABLE MENTION
THE DIET SONG OF J. ANNA PRUFROSKI
by Tammi Reynolds
Let us jog then you and I
While the morning is spread against the sky
Like a strawberry Slimfast spilt across a table
Let us run through certain half-deserted streets
While our feets
Lead us to a restless 7-11 and a pint
Of Ben and Jerry's Rocky Road
That leads us to an overwhelming pant size.
Oh, do not ask "what is it?"
Let us go and make our visit.
In the room the women join the function,
Talking of liposuction
The yellow M that rubs its back upon the window panes
The yellow fries that seep their scent through the window panes
Licked my tongue to the corner of my mouth
Grabbed my car keys, made a sudden leap
And seeing that it was a soft October meal-time
Circled once around the drive thru and had to eat.
There will be time
For the French-fried smoke that slides along the street
There will be time, there will be time
To lift the burger from the plate
While eating at McKee Dee's
In the room the women join the function,
Talking of liposuction
In a minute there is time
For diets and workouts that a burger will reverse
For I have known the diets already, known them all
I have fasted evenings, mornings and afternoons
I have measured out my meals in coffee spoons
So where do I begin again
And how do I presume?
During the afternoon I sleep so peacefully
Smoothed by lady fingers
Too tired to work out, I malinger
Stretched here on the floor beside the McKee Dee's
Should I after burgers, fries and icing
Have the strength to force my diet to a crisis?
Though I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed
Though I have seen my waistline grow slightly fatter
I am no waif and this is no great matter
I have seen the moment of my willpower flicker
And I have eaten a whole bag of frozen snickers
And in short, it was great
And would it have been worth it after all?
After the jogs, the shakes, the "Thank-You Thigh Masters"
Among the other various diet disasters
Would it have been worth while
To have pushed the cheesecake away with a smile
To say, "I have lost thirty pounds
And I've come to tell you all. I shall tell you all!"
If one looking me up and down
Should say, "She's not thin at all
That's not thin at all?"
No. I am not a waif, nor was meant to be
But I've tried, Lord and I think I'll do
To drop a pound or swell a few
But give me a break; I'm only five-two
I have seen the models stretched out in magazines
I do not think that they look like me
I have heard them laughing past the sea
With hair dyed blonde and skin tanned brown
But I am more buoyant, and will not drown
Copyright 2006 Tammi Reynolds
Sent as a joke to Pen Pushers Publications under the pen name Maura Gonne, this poem won an Honorable Mention in the 2006 Wergle Flomp humor poetry contest sponsored by Winning Writers. Author Tammi Reynolds received a cash prize of $38. It is a parody of T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock". See the judge's comments on winning poems from this contest.
_______________________________________________
______________________
COMING IN OUR JUNE 15 NEWSLETTER
The Best Free Poetry Contests for June 16-July 31
|
|
