What to Wear During an Orange Alert

This blog is dedicated to reviews of music and literature (poetry included) and I check in on it from time to time. Thought you might like a blog that covers a little more than just Poetry 100% of the time. It’s a great read and you can always offer suggestions for items you’d like to see. Check them out at:

http://wearduringorangealert.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading, please stop by tomorrow for another living poet.

Poetry Tips: Dare to Spread Out

I’ll be the first to admit that I am not good at this above tip and that is to take your poem all over the page. You’ve seen those poets who are able to move lines way back and forth across the page, or create descending ladders of words that form a poem. So often we either use the typical “boring” left-justification setting, or maybe we’ll be a little more creative and use “centered” justification. Why not break out of the mold completely and just take a poem all over the place? You can even try it with an existing poem you have, just whip it all over the page and see what happens. The few poems I’ve tried this method with were a tad too short for the way I wanted it to turn out, but I’m working on it. I dare you to try it, too!

Please don’t forget my post on February 15th requesting answers to five questions to be utilized as poetry tips in the future!

May the muse be with you during your writing and all creative endeavors, I will see you tomorrow for another featured poetry blog…

Threepenny Review Open Submissions

Definitely check out the link below for more guidelines regarding poetry submissions. In the meantime, you should know that they pay $200.00 per poem, yes, that’s right, $200.00! I stumbled upon an ad for them in the magazine POETRY and then looked them up on-line. No simultaneous submissions, be sure to include a self-addressed, stamped envelope, and don’t forget to familiarize yourself with their journal before submitting.

All submissions should be sent to:
The Editors
The Threepenny Review
PO Box 9131
Berkeley, CA 94709

http://www.threepennyreview.com/submissions.html

I wish you luck and continued creation of imaginative and wonderful poems! I also hope you will stop by tomorrow for more Poetry Tips…

Poems Found by Poet Hound

http://poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=179790
Susan Mitchell’s “Bus Trip” needs only one word: Beautiful

http://www.poolpoetry.com/hamby%202007.html
Barbara Hamby’s “Mambo Cadillac” also needs only one word: Fantastic

Thanks for checking out the links, please stop in tomorrow for another open submissions…

Oh my!

You know, I never thought this was possible. I am fresh out of dead poets at my local library this week. Or, at least, when I was able to spare enough time to GO to the library I ended up picking a stack of exclusively living poets. Not that it’s a bad thing but it means today’s feature is about you reading my ramble about not having any dead poets today. So if there are any dead poets you’d like to see, please leave their names in the comments section and I will go to a different library and start searching there. Thanks, and I’ll see you tomorrow for poems found on the world wide web.

Anthology Site

Anthology.org is based in Arizona, specifically Phoenix, and I wish more cities/towns were able to create a similar site and have these kinds of events. Poetry slams, reading series, and people come together in Scottsdale, or downtown Phoenix and there is even a Slam Team. Seriously, check this site out for inspiration whether you’re anywhere near Phoenix or not, this is just plain awe-inspiring… If I had the energy I would try to get all these kinds of events going in my own town.

http://www.anthology.org/

Thanks for stopping in, please stop by tomorrow…

Maxine Kumin

Maxine Kumin is a prolific writer who covers several genres in addition to poetry including novels, short stories, essays, and memoir. Born in Philadelphia, PA in 1925 Maxine has received numerous awards for her work including the Ruth Lily Prize for her poetry. I picked up her book, Jack and Other New Poems at my local library and thought that you, too, may have been under a rock and not read her yet either.
The link below can lead you to her poem about her horse, Jack, that is also mentioned in the title. What I like about this book of poems is that she covers a wide range of subjects such as pets and war. Luckily, the change of subjects doesn’t come as a shocker nor does it leave you feeling confused about the arrangement of the poems. Everything seems to come very naturally. If you have a sense of humor, I highly recommend the poem “Leech Spit.” Also, the poem “The Apparition” is a wonderful ode to a pet who has passed. Lines such as “That night the old dog works/his way back up and out/gasping, salted with dirt/….I swear I recognize:/some flap of ear or fur/swims out of nothingness…” I think we all visualize loved ones appearing before us after they’ve passed and pets are no exception. This poem is tender and heartening. She even addresses Siamese twins Cheng and Eng and compares them to relatives of her own. What I enjoy is how clever Maxine Kumin is. There are fresh view points on the subjects she writes about and I hope that you will find her clever as well. Please pause and read her work when you happen upon it.

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/94


Thanks for dropping in, please stop by tomorrow for another poetry web-site…