Poetry Tips: Summer Procrastination Poems

Summer is almost over and surely some laziness has hit as a result of vacation destinations, travel, summer reading, fun events, all things that make it hard to get back to the grind-stone. Why not commemorate summer fun with some procrastination poems? Make your excuses for not getting that report turned, for not getting your car washed in lieu going for a swim at the lake, for not tending the garden so you could attend the BBQ at your neighbor’s. Turn those lazy moments into a poem or two before getting back to the grind-stone for fall.

Thanks for clicking in! Please drop in around mid-morning on Sunday for the next Sunday Search

Umbrella Open Submissions

Be sure to check out their web-site and read the poems before submitting between 1-10 of your own to the e-mail address: umbrellajournal (AT) gmail (DOT) com and the dead-line is August 10th! Please also read the formatting guidelines for the e-mail submission as well.

http://www.umbrellajournal.com/submit.html

Good luck to all who submit, please stop by tomorrow for more Poetry Tips…

Poems Found by Poet Hound

http://www.versedaily.org/2008/stripgrief.shtml
Ruth Stone’s “Mobius Strip of Grief”

http://juked.com/2008/07/gorillacostume.asp
Arlene Ang’s “I’m Not Supposed to Wear This Gorilla Costume”

Thanks for dropping in and reading! See you tomorrow for more Open Submissions...

Blossom Bones Blog

This blog is fun in that it has random aspects with lots of personality along with up-dates on the Blossombones journal. I love the post asking “have you ever been so stressed out that you crocheted a series of small gnomes?” Can’t say that I have! But thanks for the laughs! Check it all out at:

http://blossombonesblog.blogspot.com/

Thanks for clicking in, please stop in Wednesday for Poems Found by Poet Hound (yep, ran out of time and books to review for Tuesday again, sorry folks…)

Sunday Search Edition 1

Well, now that I’m back for the weekends, kind of, I would like to take an idea off the newspapers of our country and give you a “puzzle” of sorts to work on for the week. Answers to be revealed the following Sunday with a new Sunday Search. I’ll include general poetry related items and sometimes a question for regular readers to try and answer since they know my style best. Here’s our first edition and please don’t be afraid to comment “yay” or “nay” on this idea for the blog.


Sunday Search Edition 1:

1. Who wrote the popular poetry book Blessing The Boats?

2. Unscramble the letters to reveal the poet: LAZBITHEE SIHOPB

3. Which poet is known to be a recluse yet sells out on tickets for public readings?

4. Which poet has had over a million readers on his blog?

5. For regular readers: Which poet has had two separate interviews on this blog?

Good luck and you’ll learn the answers next Sunday along with a new set of questions perhaps if this strikes a positive vote…

Technical Difficulties

For some reason I cannot access my blog through my computer. I have to go through my husband's. So we'll see how this works out. If you don't see a post until evening it is because I've had to go through my husband's computer. Sorry for the inconvenience. I've tried re-booting and have no idea what is causing the problem.

Poetry Tips: Poetic Post-Card Swap

Talia Reed’s comment last week about a willingness to swap poetic post-cards now has me wondering if others of you would be so willing to swap with me or each other! So if any of you are interested and have made/will make any poetic post-cards (see last week’s Poetry Tips for reference) then post your e-mail address in the comments section as a way for others to contact you about swapping. I’ll e-mail everyone who posts their e-mail as well and offer up a poem of mine that has been a favorite for those who have received it so far among my family and friends—a cheerful poem titled “Dandelion.” If I am able to, I’ll take a snapshot of the poetic post-cards received and upload it in place of the larger Poet Hound picture that comes at the ends of the posts. Let the Poetic Post-Card Swap begin!

Thanks for dropping in, please stop by on Sunday for the first edition of a new feature titled Sunday Search, where there are poetic puzzles/questions to solve with answers provided the following Sunday along with new puzzles and questions. Let me know what you think of the new feature!

Blossombones Chapbook Contest

See the web-site for more details, be aware that they are requesting women only to submit. You may submit 10-15 poems and there is a specification to balance previously published and unpublished to 50-50, or fewer previously published poems compared to unpublished. You may send your submissions via e-mail to susan(AT)blossombones(DOT)com and format your subject line to: Name: Chapbook Submission
Deadline is September 15th so polish your collection well!

Be sure to check out the full guidelines using the link below:

http://www.blossombones.com/submit.html

Good luck on your submissions ladies!
Please stop by Monday for another featured site…

Poems Found by Poet Hound

Sorry for the delay! My internet wasn't working this morning before I left for work.

http://saltgrasscontents.blogspot.com/2008/01/alex-lemon.html
Alex Lemon’s “Steel Wool in the Kool-Aid”

http://www.sundress.net/wickedalice/dacus.html
Rachel Dacus’ “The Skirt”

Thanks for dropping in, please stop by tomorrow for another Open Submission

Bolts of Silk Blog

Juliet Wilson posts submitted poems on this on-line journal. She was featured in an open-submissions call but just in case you missed that call, please check out her fabulous site below to get a dose of great poems from poets all over the world.

http://boltsofsilk.blogspot.com/

Thanks for dropping in, please stop by tomorrow for more Poems Found by Poet Hound…

Ten Point Press is A Must See

I just found out from Hosho McCreesh (one of the wonderful poets I’ve had the good fortune to interview and correspond with) that there is a site in Ireland publishing some beautiful broadsides! Not only that, but they feature several of the previous poets I’ve interviewed. Here is Hosho’s response to my inquiry for his publication at Ten Point Press, followed by the link to Ten Point Press:

"Paula,

This is actually a broadside, full-color letterbox format, autographed & suitable-for-framing, on a cold-pressed Italian card(stock)! It's gonna be pretty darn nice... it's just 1 poem, entitled THE BEAUTIFUL FIRE.

10pt Press has already printed the likes of Dan Fante and Tony O'Niell, & this latest round of broadsides will feature Christopher Cunningham, justin.barrett, Brian McGettrick (a fine poet out of Ireland), & …the good news is 10pt Press pays their poets a little bit for each broadside sold...which is terrific!

Thanks much for your interest & for lending help via the HOUND! I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say we really appreciate it!"

--Hosho

http://www.tenpointdesign.com/10ptpress/index.html

Always a pleasure, and I hope all of you will take a moment to look around the site and peruse the broadside offerings, if you’re able, send an e-mail to the press if you would like to purchase a broadside: info (AT) tenpointdesign (DOT) com. Hosho estimates they’re about $5.00 each. Isn’t it fabulous that this press is able to pay their poets a little something for their contributions?

Thanks for reading, please stop in tomorrow for another featured site (ran out of time to make up a featured poet review thanks to my Big Dance Performance gig over the weekend)…

Poetry Tips: Poetic Post-Cards

I’ve seen some presses who are selling post-cards of poems and thought why not make some of my own? So long as you have card stock or something sturdier than a sheet of regular paper, you should be able to cute a sheet of paper down to postcard size. For example, you could find a short poem you’ve written, place it in a word document and copy it four times (use the columns feature to make it easier) and print then cut into fourths, and Ta-Da! You have just made four poetic post-cards to send to family and friends or fans of your poems.

I just made some up myself and ordered .27 cent stamps from http://www.usps.com/ because a small post-card only costs .27 cents to send. Isn’t that marvelous? Have fun, and remember that anyone can read your post cards as they go through the mail so you may drum up some new fans unexpectedly. Again, isn’t that marvelous?

I’ve decided to send some sample bundles to a few family members to get their insight into the idea since it could be used as a holiday gift-giving project. Good luck to those of you who try it out!


Thanks for dropping in, please stop by Monday for another featured site!

Juked Open Submissions Contest: Hurry!

Deadline is August 1st! Send up to five previously unpublished poems to with SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope) and a $10.00 entry fee by cash or check made payable to Juked. Include a cover sheet with your contact information and send to:

Juked
110 Westridge Dr.
Tallahassee, FL 32304

For more details and to sample the kinds of work they publish, follow the link below:
http://juked.com/prize/

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

Poems Found by Poet Hound

http://www.leftfacingbird.com/LEFT%20FACING%20BIRD/LEFT%20FACING%20BIRD_files/LESLEY%20JENIKE,%20one%20poem.pdf
“Loneliness Theory” by Lesley Jenike

http://www.righthandpointing.com/Issue21/williamhall.html
“Distant Silence” by William Hall

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

Poetry Magazine's July/August Issue

Now this issue is FUN! From the crossword puzzle to Bruce McCall’s glorious illustrations, I am seriously considering buying a second copy just so I can tack the illustrations on the wall. Of course the poems are enjoyable too, but this issue really grabs my attention because of the unexpected extras. My favorite illustration is Bruce McCall’s Poet in Residence in which you see a poet with unkempt hair and in pajamas sitting on the couch with his notebook holding up a mug for a woman who looks like either his mother or perhaps a maid due to the apron. The couch is roped off and a fatherly figure sits in a cushy chair off to the side. On the coffee table is what looks like a pizza and bottle of wine amongst books and empty cans. It is just a hilarious depiction of poets in general and it is well worth the price of the issue just to have it on hand!

So I guess I should let you know which poems I enjoyed even though I could go on for pages about the other fabulous illustrations and how much I wish I knew about poetry in order to fill in the crossword puzzle without cheating and looking at the back pages to find the answers.

Well, one of the poems I quite enjoyed was Dean Young’s “Selected Recent and New Errors.” Also, you’re in luck, there is a podcast on the Poetry Foundation web-site featuring Dean Young! So please click the link below to listen to more about the July/August issue and Dean Young. If I hadn’t listened to the poem, I wouldn’t know that “Tony” is actually Tony Hoagland. Otherwise, I would have assumed that Tony was a teacher in this poem. Dean Young speaks of his errors and the fact that Tony points them out, and then he balloons out to discuss the enormity of errors, the errors that Tony cannot touch or name. “My books are full of mistakes/but not the ones Tony’s always pointing out/as if correct spelling is what could stop the conveyor belt…” These lines have a sense of humor, but he does interchange with seriousness and morbidity. “My errors are even bigger than that./You start taking down the walls of your house,/sooner or later it’ll collapse…/” Then he says what I think most people would think of their occasional critic: “On mornings when I hope you forget my name,/I walk through the high wet weeds/that don’t have names either.” So although Dean Young admits his mistakes in poems, then expands to include other errors but refers back to the critic by wishing his name was forgotten brings the idea that while errors may affect the person who made them, they are made larger and more burdensome by the critic who mentions them. Not a new concept, of course, but the words and lines he uses are fantastic. “I do not remember what I told you/with your ear in my teeth.” I do love those words: “ear in my teeth.” It gives a great visual and think about the critic listening to the poem and the poet sinking in his teeth as a way of literally striking back, retaliation. His ending is wonderful in that it takes such an unusual and unexpected turn: “We have absolutely no proof/god isn’t an insect.” Doesn’t that make you pause and say “huh?” because it had that effect on me! God, the ultimate critic, is then described “Or boring into us like a yellow jacket…” or “an assassin bug squatting over us,/shoving a proboscis right through/our breast plate then sipping.” Sounds rather violent, doesn’t it? The last line I’ll save for you to listen to on the link below, or read in this issue. This entire poem relates to the creator of the piece and the critic’s critique but the language in which it is approached and explained is divine. I hope you’ll listen to the podcast via the link below, you’ll hear other wonderful poems in the issue along with Dean Young’s who is towards the middle of the podcast.

http://poetryfoundation.org/journal/audioitem.html?id=466

This is the only poem I will feature for this issue, the podcast gives you such wonderful insight into the poems that I felt the link will do you much more justice than I would. I hope you pick up the issue because it is not only fun but also inspiring and full of surprises.

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