Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize

Beginner's Mind Publishing has made its first nomination for the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize. The Academy of American Poets oversees the award annually for a poetry collection by a living U.S. poet.

It was a pleasure to nominate PHANTOM OF THE APPLE by John Kay, Beginner's Mind Publishing, 2010.

The following poem from PHANTOM OF THE APPLE first appeared in 5 AM:

Who's Who of the Dead

I see that I made it into the
Who's Who of the Dead

and there's a picture of me,
wide-eyed, looking stern, as if

I have a serious beef with life,
on page 727 of the fifth volume.

I'm the first of my family, and
I didn't get in because I knew

somebody. I jumped the fence
and ran like hell from one yard

to another, and the doctors
could never catch me.


Good luck to John Kay and Beginner's Mind Publishing.

Easter Sunday, 2011

Reading the "Daily Prayer of Father Parfeny of Kiev" on Martin Turner's Weblog, I realized I don't think of prayer as between self and God. I found myself editing "Grant me that purity of spirit...which makes us worthy of Thy Love" to Grant me that purity of spirit...which makes us worthy of Love." Without the Thees and Thous, the prayer seemed to evolve into a generalized prayer of being, focused on Good.

THE SOUTHERN POETRY ANTHOLOGY

* Laura Treacy Bentley
* Maggie Anderson

Laura Treacy Bentley has two poems in THE SOUTHERN POETRY ANTHOLOGY, Volume III: Contemporary Appalachia. "Closet Appalachians" appeared originally in the #2 issue of 10x3 plus. "Gas Stations" was first published in Pudding Magazine.

Years ago, I wrote a grant for the Pennsylvania Council of the Humanities to cover a community program featuring Maggie Anderson. Maggie's presentation culminated with an evening poetry reading in a local church in southwestern Pennsylvania, and poems such as "House and Graveyard, Rowlesburg, West Virginia, 1935" really resonated with the residents. At the time, the community newspaper reprinted "Spitting in the Leaves" and I was glad to see it published again in this anthology.

Other writers with West Virginia connections included in THE SOUTHERN POETRY ANTHOLOGY are Casie Fedukovich, Harry Gieg, Chris Green, Larry Grimes, Ron Houchin, Donna J. Long, Jeff Mann, and Elizabeth Savage.

This is a really rich and wide ranging anthology and I hope it will find a readership that extends well beyond the Appalachian region.

Tomas de Faoite to Sue Ann Simar, Correspondence

sue all time is limited, compressed,
when I look on my life there is none of it left,
it is all just another day, another again,
i seek no solace and nothing can shed
its essence, or justify its value,
i have no interest in truth or credo,
i can't lean my arms on a pew anymore
and look to the ceiling and see the hand
of michelangelo in the stretching out
of fresco, cracking, peeling off
the world that is turning out of tune and time

and all your artworks, the house top heavy,
and all those pictures probably still in wraps,
looking towards each other, and your husband
the fisherman, knowing where the river opens,
casting from the shade into sunlight; his feet
in the undergrowth, up to his waist in reeds
and salamanders. let him cast and cast again,
and do not be downcast about it
if nothing bites on the dullest of days

Saturday, May 23, 2009

BEAST BOOK - Michael Gessner

I had the privilege of writing one of the back cover liner notes for this book of poems, and of course, I read the book in its entirety before doing so. It's now several months later and I keep returning to this book again and again. This book is so multi-layered that I've been savoring one poem at a time, line by line, word by word.

Today it's the short poem "Matching." Snow is falling throughout West Virginia and the poem matches my mood perfectly:

"...a world
brighter than my own
floats to mind,

and I have stepped outside
the self & into another
zone occupied
with foreign sensations only"

There's plenty of grit in this book--gristle and grind and "fat in a pot." But it's needful to find the little poem, the small that makes you larger.

The book design by Geoffrey Gatza and publishing details by BlazeVOX contribute to the cohesive effect of the book. I really hope this book finds the readers that it deserves.

Mindfulness - a statement from artist Cristine Cambrea

As a visionary artist, I use my inner emotion and intuition to guide me. I do not work in the traditional process that incorporates sketching and planning. After that first line, shape, or color makes its way to the canvas, I get lost in non-thought. It is my time to meditate--and when my time with the canvas is complete, I have a creation that in some way represents my dreams and life experience. This may not be understood for quite some time, but from experience, I now trust in my process and can dissect it when I am ready.

My painting process is very expedient. I quickly make a decision as to what colors I am going to use. Ultimately when I paint, I am preparing the canvas for my drawing. When I feel like there are enough options to work with, I am done painting. At times, the painting can take as little as ten minutes to complete. After the canvas is prepared, I study it in the four directions, deciding which direction it will go. I would say that this is when I am most attentive in my creative process and snap out of dream world to make a decision--which way is up? Sometimes I see it in multiple directions and this has lead to the "Flipped" series. Once the direction has been determined, I then bring the piece to life with my ink drawing. The shapes formed by the paints dictate what I draw as do the negative spaces. I often see faces throughout the piece--but this "seeing" is not limited to art, it includes my every day seeing as well.

My hope is that my work will be a tool of this special kind of seeing for people. Not taking an object simply at face value. Everything we see is more interesting and complicated than the title we attach to it. You can look at a tree OR you can SEE the tree in its individuality. Trees are very much like people in the way that their environment and experiences with it make up the tree. A harsh winter, a bird pecking at the surface, or an animal digging a hole inside to live in, a kid climbing it--all of the experiences the tree has had have changed that tree just like what we have gone through in our lives has altered and changed us and not just physically but emotionally and energetically as well.

Statement from Cristine Cambrea, cover artist #5 issue of 10x3 plus poetry journal, "Mindfulness"

PUSHCART PRIZE NOMINATIONS - XXXVI

The following poets and poems have been nominated by 10x3 plus for 2010:

Michael Gessner, "HOODOOS"

Michael Gessner, "PARTHENOGENESIS"

Mary Christine Delea, "Occupants"

Lamont Palmer, "Politician in a Boat"

Michael Bazzett, "Rooms and Days"

Sonja James, "Passing Storm at Woods Hole"


PUSHCART PRIZE selections for edition XXXVI will be announced in April, 2011.
Good luck to these poets and poems.