Poetry Tips: Contests That Require Payment

This tip is really more a matter of opinion than one of expertise. I’ve seen plenty of contests for poets to enter and some require payment while others do not. Some are large, big-name presses, others are small presses.

My tip to you is that if you decide to enter a contest that requires payment your odds may improve if you keep in mind the following:
1) Know the press. If you know what kind of work they tend to publish you will know if the poems or collection you are submitting are a good fit

2) Have a track record of publication. Even if it’s a small track record of 2 or 3 poems, or one or two collections you will have tested your ability to publish and even if the editors aren’t looking to see how many poems or collections you’ve published you will know you have tested the battlefield of poetry submissions and won on occasion.

3) Read and review the guidelines thoroughly. This may seem obvious but it pays to read closely what is involved in the contest. You may only receive a couple of copies of your winning poem/chapbook and is it worth the price you paid to enter? You may also be facing a very small print run, is that worth the contest fee to you? Did you follow all the guidelines so that the editor won’t be forced to reject your submission? If you win the contest, are there any additional expectations you must fulfill such as reading to an audience? Are you willing to fulfill those obligations?


Good luck to all of you who enter contests and please drop in again next week…

The American Poetry Review Open Submissions

You will need to snail mail three to five poems and include a self-addressed, stamped envelope for your submission. If you are submitting prose, please double-space the manuscript. You must include all contact information, including an e-mail address, for your poetry.

You may snail mail your manuscript to:
The Editors
APR
1700 Sansom Street, Suite 800
Philadelphia, PA 19103

For further details, go to:
https://www.aprweb.org/about


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

Poems Found by Poet Hound

https://sites.google.com/site/rhpissue41/marian-haddad
Marian Haddad’s “In a Desert Courtyard”


https://sites.google.com/site/rhpissue41/ldt4
Larry Thomas’ “Sorrow”


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

Misti Rainwater-Lites' Amethyst Miraculous

Misti Rainwater-Lites’ collection, Amethyst Miraculous, is bawdy, brash, and brassy. Published by Alternating Current's Propaganda Press, it’s like sneaking into a dirty movie when you’re 13 and knowing your parents will kill you if they find out. It’s a collection that may make some people blush and I’ve plucked out the tamer poems so as to avoid a necessary “parental discretion is advised” warning:


Tarot Spread Reveals
the tainted tuna will kill you

while you sleep
dreaming of horny mermaids

the empty pocket blues
will lead you to Thailand
and food you cannot pronounce

your uncle is thinking
of hitting you up for a loan

your grandma is thinking
of stealing your motorcycle

your mama is thinking of
running off to Vancouver

your boyfriend is thinking
of another chick’s ass

your dolphin won’t stay
in your pool forever

a hot bubble bath
can only help
your situation


Really, I just love the little bits about the family members and boyfriend because I find them hilarious. I would love a tarot reading like this, I might actually attempt one if I can get readings such as the ones above. Also, what woman wouldn’t want to soak in a hot bubble bath after all those readings?



Fortune Fish Flopping

I read his ex-girlfriend’s blog for company,
some kind of pathetic commiseration.
I only met the chick once.
I’m better looking but she’s better
at functioning in Big Girl World.
And her hair is obedient.
That’s always a killer.

I look for signs in the Western Sky.
All I see are birds flying into candy melt sun.
The clouds give no clues. They mock me
for being stuck in cow pasture
with Pink on the radio.
I don’t care for Pink.

The red fortune fish flops
in my palm.
This means he is thinking about me
but isn’t going to do anything about it.
Meanwhile the pizza rolls are burning
and the cockroaches
need killing.

I like this poem because it’s like viewing a stream-of-consciousness web of thought. As the poet describes “his ex-girlfriend” we find out at the bottom that she has forgotten the pizza rolls and that there is an infestation of cockroaches jolting her back to reality. It’s like any daily moment we are staring off into space thinking and then the external world comes rushing in.


To purchase a copy of Amethyst Miraculous by Misti Rainwater-Lites for yourself, visit the Propaganda Press link below, where for $5.00 (not including shipping and handling) you can have a copy for yourself:
http://alt-current.com/pp/pp_item.html#amethyst_miraculous


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

Seven Kitchens Press Blog

This small press is churning out beautiful chapbooks and generating news below:

http://sevenkitchenspress.wordpress.com/

Also, check out March 31st’s entry at Fiddler Crab Review where they interview Ron Mohring, the editor at Seven Kitchens Press about the work he does by going here:

http://fiddlercrabreview.blogspot.com/

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

Poetry Tips: Good Luck or Bad Luck

For me, Friday the 13th is always filled with good luck but many people are superstitious and believe Friday the 13th to be bad luck. Which group do you fall in? This week is all about “luck.”

For inspiration and insight, check out:
http://urbanlegends.about.com/cs/historical/a/friday_the_13th.htm

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080761/


Have fun and please drop in again next week…

Sugar House Review Open Submissions

Open year round, thank goodness, but please only send once or twice during an entire year’s time. You may send up to 5 poems up to 15 pages in total length, via e-mail. You must include a short bio, 1-4 sentences, and include your contact information.

Check out the editors’ bios on the website to get an idea of the style of writer’s bios they are looking for. Please also try to read some samples of what they publish:

http://sugarhousereview.com/submit.html

Once you’ve read through the submissions page and looked over the editor’s bios and some sample poems and you are convinced your poems fit their aesthetic, send an e-mail to:

editorsATsugarhousereviewDOTcom
**Be sure to put your last name and the word “submission” in the subject line, and while your bio can be copy-and-pasted to the e-mail, do attach your poems as a word document or an rtf.

Good luck to all of you who submit, pleast stop in tomorrow for more Poetry Tips…

Poems Found by Poet Hound

http://blossombones.com/winter_spring2011/tracey_ws2011.html
“This Paper Landscape” by Sara Tracey

http://www.lapetitezine.org/issue_26/megan_pugh_youll_look_sweller.htm
“You’ll Look Sweller” by Megan Pugh


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

Poet Hound Vacation

My husband and I are taking our first real vacation so there will be no posts for the next week or two as a result.

However I will be back refreshed and excited so please return in a week or so and feel free to look through the archives.

So long, farewell, until we meet again...

Autumn House Poetry Contest

If you have a collection of poems and/or a manuscript started, this may be the contest for you! You will need 50-80 pages worth of poems and a $25.00 entry fee to enter, the prize is publication of your collection and $2,500. Include a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope so you can find out your results, include the entry fee by attaching it to your manuscript, and when mailing your manuscript indicate “Poetry Prize” on the envelope so that it will be directed to the correct editor. The deadline is June 30th so polish up your poems and your manuscript before sending to:

Autumn House Press
PO Box 60100
Pittsburgh, PA 15211

There is also an on-line submission link with a way to “donate” the $25.00 entry fee if that is more convenient for you.

Check out details and learn more about Autumn House by using the link below:
http://www.autumnhouse.org/contest-submissions/

Good luck to all who enter…

Poems Found by Poet Hound

http://blossombones.com/winter_spring2011/kirk_ws2011.html
“The Archer in May” by Kathleen Kirk


http://juked.com/2011/03/onwavingatthechevron.asp
“On Waving at the Chevron” by Anya Groner


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

Doug Draime's Rock 'n Roll Jizz

Doug Draime began writing in the “underground” literary movement is Los Angeles in the late 1960’s and now writes from Ashland, Oregon. Published by Alternating Current's Propaganda Press, Doug Draime’s poems are not for the faint of heart, they are made for rockers and rebels, for lovers and dreamers. Straightforward, earthy, and gritty, this collection will make you reach for your own rock ‘n roll collection to play in the background. Below are some poems I’d like to share with you:


for Bo Diddley

a pint of
blackberry
brandy
a pack of
luckies
& a stolen
Zippo.

i sat sipping
from
the
bottle &
smoking
one after
the other
LISTENING

Soaking
it all
in
& everything
moving
inside &
outside of me
as i
propped
myself
up
against
the back of
an
outhouse.

your
pounding
rhythm
of life &
rebellion

blasting
from
the
open door
of
the
“colored”
roadhouse
across the gravel
highway.

Bo Diddley is a Rock ‘N Roll legend, he also lived here in Florida so this poem speaks to me on a couple of levels. I enjoy David’s short, short lines to keep the poem moving and the picture he paints of his younger self listening from across the highway as another form of rebellion since he should not go into the “colored” roadhouse but wants to hear Bo Diddley play.



When I Had Elvis Sideburns

& pegged levi’s
black engineer bots
a pack of smokes
rolled up in the sleeve of my white t-shirt

i was the coolest cat
on the street &
i knew i was
the only 16 year old
in town
who’d read Henry Miller
& On The Road
& listened to Miles Davis
not just rock ‘n roll

i knew i was the coolest cat
in town
i knew by the giggles &
looks of the girls
when i passed by
who would whisper to
each other
about what a hood &
juvenile delinquent
i was
their eyes following me
as i walked by

I love that Doug pokes fun at his teenage self in this poem. A young male strutting around is nothing new but for a grown man to acknowledge his youthful days of trying to be the coolest cat in town is rare. It’s also amusing, so I grinned as I pictured teenage girls giggling over the poet’s choice of clothing and his strutting. Thanks for the smiles and giggling on this end, Doug!




If you enjoyed this short sample, you may purchase a copy of Rock ‘n Roll Jizz by Doug Draime from Propaganda Press for $6.00 (+ $2 US, or $3 out-of-US shipping) on-line at http://alt-current.com

You can also order by mail with check or money order addressed to Angstman Arts and send to:

Alternating Current
PO Box 183
Palo Alto, CA 94302


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

Poet A Day Site

Each and every day a poet is featured here. If you want to add a poet to the roster send an e-mail to:
debATpoetadayDOTcom

Be sure to check it out at:

http://poetaday.com/

Thanks for clicking in, please drop by tomorrow for another featured poet…

Poetry Tips: Spread The Word

This is National Poetry Month, if you haven’t noticed, and quite a few people who love poetry are trying to share their love of it in any way possible.

Obviously, for me, I have this blog. I also have a Facebook page and I also share my love of poetry with family and friends.

So how about you? How do you spread the word?

One way is by sharing a poem you love with someone you love. Often you can just read a poem aloud to the one you love, or if it is long-distance, send the poem via e-mail or regular old-fashioned mail.

Another way is by promoting poetry using your local resources whether it’s starting a web-site or blog, forming a group or creating a project to share with schools or other groups in your community.

What I want to know is how you share poetry and I hope you’ll share the details with me either in the comments section or by e-mail. Either way, clue me in: How do YOU share POETRY?

Thanks always for dropping in, please drop in again next week…

Right Hand Pointing Open Submissions

I received an e-mail (I subscribe and you should too) announcing an upcoming themed issue: The United States
The poems you submit must have one of the states in the title of the poem and the poem itself can be no longer than 20 lines, shorter is preferred. You must also keep the poem to under 100 words.

The deadline is September 2011

Definitely check out the website and the guidelines page at:

https://sites.google.com/site/rhpissue99/


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