Poetry Tips: Secrets

The news these days seems to be focused on Wiki Leaks, the organization that releases documents that are shielded from public view for various reasons from governmental agencies. These days it seems harder and harder to keep a secret thanks to breaches through the internet. This week I am inspired to pretend I am releasing secrets via poems and perhaps you would like to join in? Imagine spilling secrets about yourself, friends, family, just make sure no one actually get a hold of them if they are very sensitive in detail. Does writing the poem feel like a relief of unburdening yourself of these secrets?

Good luck to all who try it, please check in again next week…

Alaska Quarterly Review

You may send up to 20 pages of contemporary poetry “in traditional and experimental styles.”

The rest I have copy and pasted from their site:
Please include the following contact information in your cover letter and/or on your manuscript: mailing address, phone number, and email address if available. All manuscripts must be typed and accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE). Unless a SASE is enclosed with your submission, you will not hear from us unless we are interested in publishing your manuscript. We try to reply within 6 to 16 weeks.
All general correspondence should be addressed to The Editors. Please address submissions to the section editor (e.g. Fiction Editor, Poetry Editor, Non-Fiction Editor, or Drama Editor) at the following address:

Alaska Quarterly Review
University of Alaska Anchorage
3211 Providence Drive (ESH 208)
Anchorage, AK 99508
Important notes:
(1) Unsolicited manuscripts are read between August 15 and May 15.
(2) Although we respond to e-mail queries, we cannot review electronic submissions.
(3) We review simultaneous submissions and request that they be identified as such in the cover letter.


For further details please go to:
http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/aqr/guidelines.cfm

Good luck to all who submit, please drop in tomorrow for more Poetry Tips…

Poems Found by Poet Hound

http://www.juked.com/2010/12/streetpocketpark.asp
“Street Pocket Park” by Nolan Chessman

http://www.sundresspublications.com/wickedalice/steinberg30.html
“Bachelorette” by Nicole Steinberg

Thanks for clicking in, please stop by tomorrow for more Open Submissions…

John Bennett's Battle Scars

Editor Henry Denander of Kamini Press, based in Stockholm Sweden, sent me the press’ latest publication by John Bennett, a beautiful chapbook titled Battle Scars. While the cover features a beautiful abstract watercolor on the cover the poems themselves are my favorite kind: Straightforward and biting. John Bennett was born in 1938 in Brooklyn, New York, founded the Vagabond Press which published notables such as Charles Bukowski, Anne Menebroker, and many others, while John Bennett himself has published 39 books not including poems published in various anthologies. At age 72, Mr. Bennett is still writing and has his own web-site which I have included the link to at the end of this feature. Mr. Bennett now resides in Ellensburg, Washington, where he continues to write and publish as well as correspond with many other poets and sends his works via an e-mail list which you may sign up for after visiting his web-site.

Battle Scars, as I said, is straightforward with a bite that can be fierce, comical, or gentle. I am happy to share several of the poems with you:


Hospitality

I tell
people I’m
not one
of them &
they laugh
& say
have a
beer.

This poem has me saying aloud “Isn’t that the truth?” How often we find ourselves dismayed or disgusted by others’ behavior only to end up finding ourselves displaying that exact same behavior later, even amongst the same people who we initially were appalled by. I also think of this poem as being one that could apply to a mental health hospital as a result of the title since many people who need psychiatric help deny that they do. I imagine the residents of the institution laughing at the newest member when the new member announces that he or she doesn’t belong there. The poem can be taken at face value or to a deeper level depending on the reader and their own experiences.



Mirrors

After a
certain age
all mirrors are
good for is
checking for
skin cancer &
the nicotine
stain in
your mustache.

This poem makes me grin. It’s another poke at old age while including the humor in aging not-so-gracefully. Also, I hate mirrors so I like this poem all the more.



72nd Birthday

Sitting on
the hill at
sunrise with
my coffee &
cigarettes
thinking
fond thoughts
of all those who
hate my guts.

This poem is my favorite of the whole collection. I laughed aloud and then read aloud this poem to my husband. Just the idea of thinking fondly of the people who hate your guts is something I enjoy very much. The poet is rebellious and undaunted, the best way to be I say.



Ego Like Indelible Ink

Anyone who
tells you he’s
banished his
ego is
lying.

I mean,
there he
stands with
his motor mouth
running a
mile a
minute.

This poem had me saying “YES, yes!” aloud. Often the person who is announcing that they don’t want to bring attention to themselves is in some way actually announcing “pay attention to me!” This behavior is annoying at the very least and I love that Mr. Bennett wrote a straightforward and simple poem of the subject. Really, the rest of us could probably write prose for pages on this subject but Mr. Bennett is succinct and brilliant with his choice of words which captures the scenario perfectly with humor in the last stanza. Bravo Mr. Bennett!


I hope you enjoyed these short, straightforward poems as much as I do. The chapbook itself is also of high quality, spare and beautiful like the poetry inside. Each edition is also signed by Mr. Bennett himself in a limited print run of 125 copies so I urge you to act fast if you would like a copy for yourself.
To obtain a copy of Battle Scars by John Bennett for yourself, a mere $9.00 including international shipping or $18.00 including international shipping for the Limited Edition with artwork included, please go to Kamini Press’ site:

http://kaminipress.com/



To learn more about Mr. Bennett visit his website at:


http://www.hcolompress.com/


Thanks always for reading, please click in tomorrow for more Poems Found by Poet Hound…

Belinda Subraman Presents/Gypsy Art Show Blog

Her introduction says it all, she features poets, musicians, artists, and writers with features and book reviews and so on. It’s a riveting site, full of visual appeal and great reads and insights, please check it out at:

http://belindasubramanpresents.blogspot.com/

Thanks for clicking in, please stop in tomorrow…