Juked Open Submissions: Hurry!

I copy and pasted directly from the link below, you submissions are due July 1st so HURRY!

"We are now reading for Juked #6. Here are the guidelines:
We are looking for works of fiction and creative non-fiction running at least 2,000 words long. (Poetry for the print issue will be selected from our regular submissions.) If you have something that is 1,999 words long, or close to that, or if you have a series of connecting short-shorts, or something else that is unconventional or otherwise special in its own way, write us and we'll see what we can do.
To submit, send an attachment (we prefer .RTF, but .DOC is okay too) to print@juked.com.
Indicate in the subject field: Print Submission: (genre) by (your name). This is very important; if it goes to the regular address, and without the right subject heading, it will not be read as a submission for the print issue.
Simultaneous submissions are encouraged, but please e-mail us and let us know if your submission has been picked up elsewhere.
The deadline for issue #6 submissions is July 1st.
Any questions, just write us."


http://juked.com/print/

Gloom Cupboard Chabook Contest

Hot off the Press From Richard, the Editor:

"Great Poetry SwindleTo celebrate our first birthday on August 31st we have decided to bypass the carrot cake and absinthe shots in favour of a Chapbook contest, giving you the perfect birthday present. Working with our good friends at erbacce press the winner of the contest shall get their manuscript published in the standard A5 forty page chapbook format, the winner will receive 20 copies of the chapbook and we at Gloom Cupboard will help to promote it. To enter the contest all you need to do is send us an initial manuscript of 20 poems via email either attached as a word document or pasted in the body of the email. The deadline for submissions is August 1st 2008. Title the email ‘GC Chapbook Contest’."

http://gloomcupboard.com


Thanks for dropping in, please stop by tomorrow for another Open Sumbissions!
That’s correct, a double dose this week. I found a place to submit but you better hurry, check in tomorrow!

Poems Found by Poet Hound

http://www.versedaily.org/2008/therescue.shtml
Wayne Miller’s “The Rescue”

http://juked.com/2008/06/beefjerky.asp
Stephen Priest’s “Ode to Beef Jerky” (the title alone should pique your interest)

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

Lilliput Review #161

Don Wentworth sent me a couple of his Lilliput Review issues for participating in listing a book I viewed as one of the almost-perfect books of poems and I was delighted to find issue #161 of collective poems, and #162 of poems all by David Chorlton titled A Venetion Sequence. Both were enjoyable reads.

The entire issue of #161 is filled with little gems and for those who are unfamiliar, Lilliput Review publishes poems that are ten lines or less.
Today I would like to review #161 with permission granted to feature some of the poems thanks to Don and the poets:

This issue has many references to Spring, and this particular one line poem made me laugh in spite of its note of despair:

“O Spring! stick a pitchfork in my heart!” by W. T. Ranney of Ithaca, New York.


Then there is this poem by Peggy Heinrich of Santa Cruz, CA:

As a child
I wondered
what kept the moon in the sky
now that I know
I am no happier.

--Isn’t that a beautiful and sad poem? It reminds me of childhood when you believed the moon was full of magic (and who is to say it isn’t?) but then as you grow up it loses its mysteriousness. The moon is held by gravity, a giant rock that merely reflects the sun rather than producing its own light. That may not be what she meant by the poem but of course that’s what sprang to my mind when I read it. How about you? Any other things come to mind?


And finally, the third poem I’d like to feature by Charlie Mehrhoff of Oakland, ME:

Nothing Less

There is no point of origin,
just consider how limiting that would be.

When and where
the pen
comes down upon the page
should not be metaphorical of some point,
it should represent the brush stroke
of all creation.

Strung across twilight.

Intoxicated with belief in its own existence.

Heartbeat within a cradle of bones.

The edge falling off of itself.

Peaks bursting through the floorboards of heaven.

An excuse to be!


--I almost have to read it twice to absorb it because it takes an extra moment to sink in. Really a marvelous poem about something difficult to describe: the purpose of existence without a known beginning. My favorite lines are “Heartbeat within a cradle of bones.” And “The edge falling off of itself.” The lines are hard to picture yet they are understandable. Poets who can craft lines like that I’ll admit I am jealous of.

Issue #161 is a collection that flows smoothly and many of the poems are insightful which is hard to achieve in such small doses sometimes. The poets featured are excellent in that capacity. “Simply Read a Book” is a good example, by Edward Coletti which essentially tells you to take time for yourself, everything will still be there when you return.

If you get a chance to see this issue, please do. Otherwise Mr. Wentworth also features poems from back issues on his blog:
http://lilliputreview.blogspot.com/
and if you are so inclined to request a subscription to the journal, then you should click here:
http://lilliputreview.googlepages.com/home

Thanks for reading, please stop by tomorrow for more found poems…

Falling Off the Mountain Blog

This blog is produced by a gentleman in Massachusetts and specializes in one-line poems! For any of you who haven’t tried it yet and need some inspiration, or for anyone who has tried it, take a look by clicking the link below, and here is what Grant Hackett had to say about his blog and one-lined poems:

“About one line poems: There’s not a simple answer or story about how I came to one line poems. I have written 3 line poems almost exclusively for many years. The move to one line poems happened more or less spontaneously about eight months ago. What nailed it into place for me was the discovery of the double colon. De novo. Finding this device propelled me into period of complete focus on the one line form. There wasn’t a particular outside influence. It just happened. After writing these poems for several months, I decided to start a blog (Falling Off the Mountain) to both put these poems “out there”, and to gather and list whatever information I could about other one line poets and their poems. That’s the story, in very brief form.

The blog began on May 1 of this year. Response to it has been limited but positive. I’ve had one one-line poem posted at Poetry Friends. Other than that, I haven’t sought publication for these pieces either online or in print. I’ll continue to pursue the blog experiment and see where that leads. Don Wentworth at the Lilliput Review has read the blog and liked it enough to link to it. This is good.”


http://fallingoffthemountain.blogspot.com/


Also: Don Wentworth of Lilliput Review discovered this fabulous article and sent the link to me in case I wanted to use it for this blog and I do! Thanks Don, and for all of you out there, check out some sound advice on the Do’s and Don’ts of Poetry by clicking the link below:

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/poetry/article4104714.ece

Thanks as always for dropping in, please stop by tomorrow for another featured poet…

Poetry TIps Burn-Out I ask You Round 2

I haven’t acquired enough responses to post the answers one at a time so I’m posting these questions again in hopes that more folks will reply to these:

When/how do you know you are starting to feel burnt-out?


How do you navigate around obstacles which crowd out your abilities to focus on poetry in the day-to day?


How do you combat poetic burn-out specifically?



Finally, how do you know when you’ve conquered burn-out?


I will feature these questions one at a time each Friday once I get a satisfactory number of responses (at least five people) so I hope you will all take the time to e-mail me your answers at poethoundblogspot@yahoo.com and please type the words Burn Out in your subject line so that I know you aren’t Spam. Thank you!

Thanks always for dropping in and participating, I look forward to meeting again Monday for another featured site…

Comstock Review Open Submissions

I copied and pasted this from an e-mail I received, hurry, the deadline is approaching!

The Comstock Review's Muriel Craft Bailey Memorial AwardANNUAL POETRY CONTEST 2008 is now accepting submissions. DEADLINE: Postmark by July 1, 2008Final Judge: Marie Howe; Initial Screening by EditorsFirst Prize - $1 ,0002nd Prize -$250; 3rd Prize - $100;Honorable Mentions - SubscriptionsEntry fee $4 per poemPlease follow the complete rules available here: http://www.comstockreview.org/annualcontest.htmlSpecial offer: Contest entrants are welcome to order a one year subscription (2 issues) at the discounted price of $15, including postage and handling inside USA. Canada and Mexico include $3.00 extra for postage. Other countries $6.00 extra. Please include this in the same check as your entry fee.Send contest submissions to: CWG Poetry Contest 2008, 4956 St. John Dr. Syracuse, NY 13215

Guidelines, available at: http://www.comstockreview.org/guidelines.html
, offer many further explanations of the rules and editor preferences.

Next Open Reading Period for General Submissions: January 1-March 15, 2009There is no chapbook contest in 2008.

Thanks for dropping in, please stop by tomorrow for more Poetry Tips!

Poems Found by Poet Hound

http://sundress.net/stirring/hughesh.htm
Heather Hugh’s “ask as soft”

http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2008/05/12/080512po_poem_adonis1
Adonis’ “Chair (A Dream)”

Thanks for reading, please stop by tomorrow...

Brian Turner's Here, Bullet

Now I know many of you have heard of this book of poems, Here, Bullet by Alice James Books, and have probably already read it but I just found it in my library and had to share it with all the poetry readers out there. If you haven’t read it, I assure you, it’s a page turner! Brian Turner writes from first hand experience regarding the war in Iraq, and before anyone stops reading because they’re sick of the war, let me assure you once again that it is a page turner in the best sense of the word. These poems don’t gripe or whine, they are raw and suspenseful moments in the life of a soldier. If you have served our country, or even if you haven’t, you will find yourself nodding wide-eyed and disappear into the words of these poems.

Before I begin, let me tell you that you are in luck because some of these poems can be found on the web and I have included a link or two to Fish House below so that you may experience them for yourself. Click on the second link and scroll towards the bottom to find another set of links to his individual poems and read/listen to them and come back to this post.

This link is to an individual poem that I found to be the most central of the collection:
http://fishousepoems.org/archives/brian_turner/2000_lbs_live.shtml
“2000 lbs.”
Listen to Mr. Turner explain and read this poem. This poem captured my every fiber as I read it and then to hear him on this site just made it that much more intense.

The majority of the poems I had marked to discuss are already available as live versions from the Fish House and I urge you to listen to them and hear the poet first hand.

One poem that isn’t available is titled “Hwy 1” which I also dog-eared in the book and will talk about here. He opens with the lines “It begins with the Highway of Death,/ with an untold number of ghosts” and describes the history of this road. “This is the spice road of old, the caravan trail/of camel dust and heat,…” he speaks of the spices that were carried, of the different cultures that passed through. The ending made me gape in horror and it seems a small thing but he speaks of cranes nesting on power lines and then: “…when a sergeant shoots one from the highway/it pauses, as if amazed that death has found it/here, at 7 a.m. on such a beautiful morning,/” and I wonder why amidst so much turmoil and death would a soldier have to shoot a crane? An innocent bystander living out its life posing no threat whatsoever and then this soldier, who could surely have used the bullet to save himself later, shoots a bird in his nest. Why waste that bullet on a crane? I decided to talk about this poem because it drew me up short, I was angry at this poem. Of all things to be happening in the midst of this book with people dying or injured or trying to make sense of the world, why would something so careless occur? Is this particular soldier numbed by death, or so angry with the senselessness that he in turn takes on a senseless act? It is a poem I recommend that you read for yourself and see if you have the same reaction. Mainly, it is a poem that caught me off guard so I thought I’d include it here. If you are able to find a copy of this book you may have the same reaction.

I hope you get a chance to find this book and read it if you haven’t already. In the meantime, you should definitely take advantage of the excellent link below leading to his powerful poems just a click of the mouse away.

http://fishousepoems.org/archives/brian_turner/index.shtml

Thank you for reading, please stop by tomorrow for more Poems Found By Poet Hound…

Factory Hollow Press

Found this via the Press Press Press site, they produce chapbooks and while they do not accept unsolicited submissions I urge you to check them out and support their small press! They are based in Massachusetts and have quite a store of poets so you are sure to find someone you would enjoy reading there. Check it out at:

http://www.factoryhollowpress.com/

Thanks for dropping in, please stop by tomorrow for another featured poet…

Poetry Tips: The Break-Up Poem

This idea came from a friend who just went through a terrible break-up and it was reminded me of the painful break-up I had before my husband came along. You don’t have to have the fresh raw wound to recall the hurt from a bad break-up and there is no competing for the emotion involved in poems that talk about bad break-ups. Pour your hearts out into a poem addressing any of the fools who broke your heart or are breaking your heart. Cathartic, creative, and satisfying with a bowl of ice cream, no?

Thanks for dropping in, please stop by tomorrow for another great site! If I have enough answers to my Burn-Out Questions from last Friday I will begin posting them one by one each Friday. I urge you to go back and e-mail answers to add to the participation!

Ibbetson Open Submissions

Send 3 to 5 poems, preferably layered with meaning and rooted in the every-day life, don’t forget the Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope, and include a cover letter before sending it off to:

Ibbeston Street Press
25 School Street
Somerville, MA 02143

For details go to:

http://homepage.mac.com/rconte/home.html


P.S. Gloom Cupboard is looking for features from writers! Not just poems, if you’re intersted please check out their site:
http://gloomcupboard.com

Thanks for stopping by, please drop in tomorrow for more Poetry Tips…

PS Don't forget to participate in Last Week's Poetry TIps regarding questions on Burn-Out!

Poems Found by Poet Hound

http://www.fishousepoems.org/archives/rick_barot/echo.shtml
Rick Barot’s “Echo”

http://www.versedaily.org/2008/eventhedeaddoit.shtml
Sue Owen’s “Even the Dead Do It”

Thanks for dropping in as always, please stop by tomorrow for more open submissions!

June's Poetry Magazine

I have to say so far in my subscription this one has the highest volume of poems that I really enjoyed reading. That’s my personal opinion, of course. You can also click the link below to read several of the poems featured in their magazine, but I will be discussing ones you won’t find on-line. If you are fortunate enough to grab a copy I hope that you will; it is an excellent issue.

I enjoy this particular poem because the majority of us can relate directly: A.E. Stalling’s poem “written on the eve of my 20th high school reunion, which I was not able to attend” dedicated “For the Briarcliff High School class of 1986.” His poem is the essence of what most of us will be/have been thinking in regards to our class reunions. Arranged in couplets, the lines bring back the memories of those once forgotten, of dreams such as “The dreams of roles for which I learned no lines and knew no cues,/Dreams of pop quizzes with no pants on and no shoes...” Then of course memory serves up this wonderful couplet: “We wince at what we used to wear,/Fashion has made ridiculous the high hubris of our hair.” I just love the alliteration of the letter “h” in that couplet, and of course, always a fan of rhyme. Not only is this poem easy to relate to, it is also tongue-in-cheek which increases my fondness of it. If you happen to find this poem I hope you will make a copy of it for future reference if and when you ever panic over reunions of this kind. I will be keeping it nearby for my own use.

This poem I felt was very moving: “Death” by Donald Revell. What I find most interesting about it is his use of the word “green” on a subject in which you typically find the word “black” instead. For example, the following lines:
“Death,” I said, “if your eyes were green/I would eat them.”
Mr. Revell goes on to describe the layers of green in regards to a sunflower’s soul, and ponders what most would ponder in regards to purpose for space and time. However, he uses words that are far more unique than most somber poems. “The soul is forgiveness because it knows forgiveness./And the knowledge is whirligig./Whirligig taught me to live outwardly.” How often do you use the word “whirligig” in a poem? Let alone one about death? He even uses words such as “Shoe shop…pizza parlor…surgical appliances…” Again, words that are rare with the subject title of “Death.” Now, the reason I find it so moving is because he compares towards the middle/end all the events, real and imagined, that a human being has and concludes by including you. He does this by saying “Dear reader, your eyes are now green,/Green as they used to be, before I was born.” The ending was entirely unexpected for me, since he talks about himself but then includes you at the end because he realizes, as the poet, that you have been immersed in his words and thoughts and hopefully transformed by them. This makes the ending personal and moving without leaving you feeling weighted and sad. I appreciate that.

I hope that you will pick up the June issue of Poetry, many wonderful poems in there and of course there are a few available to read by clicking the link below!

http://www.poetrymagazine.org/

Please stop by tomorrow for more Poems Found by Poet Hound…

Sundress Site

Check out this site if you haven’t already, it’s a wonderful place to poke around in. There are links to poems, journals, and a “best of” anthology, all worth the reading. Click the link below and enjoy!

http://www.sundress.net/

Please stop by tomorrow for another featured poet…