The Esoterics perform Naturalia next weekend

Deirdre Lockwood, one of our own, sent me this news today; I'm happy to pass it along:

I just wanted to let you know that things worked out wonderfully in the collaboration with Christina Whitten Thomas, the composer you connected me with--thanks again so much for passing on my name to her. The Esoterics, a Seattle choir, are performing Christina's piece (setting a poem I wrote for the project), as well as many other incredible musical settings of poems about nature (including poems by Emily Dickinson and A.R. Ammons, plus many other poems in Icelandic, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, and Russian!) in two shows in Seattle next weekend, in case you or any of the other poets are interested (I'll be out of town for a wedding but Christina will be there). Here's the info: http://theesoterics.org/Concerts/NATURALIA.aspx  I went to the first show last night and it was really wonderful.

Dead Letters: Written Accounts of Mortality

Just a quick reminder to former students, friends, and others who've expressed interest, my next reading class, Dead Letters: Written Accounts of Mortality, begins Saturday, October 8 at Hugo House and runs six weeks.

 

For those who would like a detailed reading list (to preview or, if you've already signed up, to get started), I have a course page here: http://encke.org/dead-letters-written-accounts-of-mortality/ 

Please pass this information along to friends and let me know if you have any questions.

Jeff

Call for submissions: Kweli

Finally a smart and well curated literary space for writers of color that encourages experimentation. A place to commune. A place to read new contemporary voices that deserve our attention. Bravo! Angie Cruz, author of Soledad and Let It Rain Coffee, a finalist for the Impac Dublin Award in 2007. Kweli has featured the prose of Jeffery Renard Allen, Angie Cruz, Victor LaValle and Nelly Rosario, . . . the poetry of Santee Frazier, Lorna Goodison and John Murillo, . . . and photo essays by Thomas Sayers Ellis, Rachel Eliza Griffiths and Emily Raboteau.

Upcoming issues will feature Jennine Capo Crucet, Camille Dungy, Amaud Johnson and Aaron Michael Morales.

Add your voice. Share your visions. Join us.

* * *

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Our next reading period: July 16, 2011 to September 16, 2011

Submit your work to:

http://kwelijournal.submishmas/​h.com/

Visit http://www.kwelijournal.org/ for details.

Payment is upon publication.

Sep 16 reading at Elliott Bay Books: Arlene Kim and Anne Overstreet

From Arlene:

You—yes, you!—are invited to my book launch at Elliott Bay Books (1521 10th Ave, Seattle—in Cap Hill) on Sep 16, Fri, 7:00pm. I'll be reading from my new collection of poems, What have you done to our ears to make us hear echoes?, along with friend/fellow poet Anne Overstreet, who also has a book of poetry just out, Delicate Machinery Suspended. (Psst: secret little handmade goodies for anyone who buys a book at the reading.)

<!--Event details: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=224539664265163

<!--Elliott Bay Books event info :http://www.elliottbaybook.com/node/events/sep11/kim

<!--About me, the book: http://tinyurl.com/AKbioAmazon

Writing classes for women

Fall 2011 - "Poeming the Silence," Thursdays Oct 13 - Nov 17, 10 am - noon. Greenwood Senior Center, Contact Center.

My Tues night class is now open for new members, 7-9 pm. Contact me directly.

Call for submissions: [out of nothing]

(this one I kinda dig...JE)

[out of nothing], an electronic publication interested in new works in image, sound, text, and the intersections between these media, is now open to submissions for its sixth issue: "in the mirror, a sleep, a spectral nothing."

Please submit your textual, aural, visual, poly/ambi-medial work to us at <shelling.peanuts(at)gmail.com> [replace (at) with @].

Deadline: October 31, 2011
Complete submissions guidelines are available at: http://www.outofnothing.org/mirror/

Prospective contributors would be well-advised to consult our earlier publications at http://www.outofnothing.org/ as a guide to the type of work we're interested in: to supplement this understanding and ideally stimulate your thinking about a new piece made particularly to address the issues that consume, or rather, are consumed by us, we offer the following potential topics:
> the vacuum
> salvage / remainders
> imaginary spaces possessed of imaginary dimensions
> darkness / lightlessness
> reduced or infinitesimal means
> the exponential
> self-abnegating symbols
> the blank
> obliteration
> the inconsequential
> refusal
> the contentless / general contentlessness
> the generic and / or undifferentiated and / or the contra-original
> adhesive agents in search of clients to bind
> none of the above or below

Electronic submissions only. Please allow 3 - 6 months response time.
Eds., [out of nothing]

Astounding Beauty Ruffian Press: Chapbook Contest

http://home.earthlink.net/~astoundingbeautyruffianpress/

The prize for our 2011 poetry chapbook contest is:

$10,000 and publication of the winning manuscript

Unprecedented in the history of chapbook competitions, our cash award for the winning manuscript in 2011 is $10,000. In 2012, our cash prize will revert to $1,000. If we are ever able to scrape together another $10,000, our plan is to offer that amount as a prize once again. : )

Astounding Beauty Ruffian Press 2011 Poetry Award

for a chapbook-length manuscript

May 1 - August 31, 2011 (postmark date)

Please submit:

10-20 pages of original poetry not already published, or committed to be published, as a collection

by a single author

English only, no translations

no more than one poem per page (however, a single poem may be longer than one page), typed in 12 pt. plain font

no artwork

include a table of contents

please number pages

one title page with poet's name, address, telephone number, email, and title of
manuscript and a second title page with title only

biographical page (ONLY because we are interested in you as a person)

acknowledgements page

$20 entry fee, checks made payable to Astounding Beauty Ruffian Press and drawn on a U.S. bank - if you live outside the United States, please send the entry fee in the form of a cashier's check or money order

absolutely no paper clips, spring clips, staples, plastic covers, or folders -
we would rather not have to bother with these things, so don't waste your
supplies

Do not include a SASE - winner will be announced on our website in the fall of 2011.

Manuscripts will be recycled.

Send by regular, first-class mail only:

Astounding Beauty Ruffian Press
Poetry Award
2155 Elk Creek Rd.
Stuart, Virginia 24171

***Authors may submit as many manuscripts as they like, but each must be accompanied by a check or money order for the $20 reading fee.

Voices in Space (VIS)

Voices in Space (VIS) is a free literary forum on which writers and poets—no matter how experienced— may post their work and get feedback from a wide array of impartial critics, i.e., the community of users.  Authors also have the ability to workshop their writing on the site, track the evolution of their writing, and gauge how changes to a work are received by their audience. 

VIS’s mission is to provide writers of all levels exposure for their work while attracting the constrictive criticism they need to hone their craft.  To learn more, please take a moment to browse the site, www.voicesinspace.com, or visit our “How We Work” page, www.voicesinspace.com/how_we_work.

Happy versing!

-The VIS Team

Two readings: Patricia Killelea (August 9 and 13)

Patricia Killelea will read poems from Other Suns at The Elliot Bay Book Company (1521 Tenth Avenue Seattle) on Tuesday, August 9 @ 7 p.m. and for the Poets West Reading Series (Green Lake Branch Seattle Public Library, 7364 E Greenlake Dr. N, Seattle) on Saturday, August 13 at 4 p.m. Other Suns is her first poetry collection. Find out more at http://www.patriciakillelea.com/

Engaging Diverse Youth in Creative Programming

Time	Wednesday, August 17 · 12:00pm - 4:00pm
Location	Beacon Hill Library (Free parking. Served by Metro Buses 36, 38, & 60 & the Beacon Hill Light Rail Station) 2821 Beacon Ave S. Seattle, Washington
Created By	The Cross Cultural Health Care Program
More Info	The Cross Cultural Health Care Program, the Office of Minority Health, and Within Reach are pleased to announce the second event in the 2011 Can You Hear Me? Speaker Series. Need inspiration and support for your work? New to the field? Come get some great ideas and meet new colleagues! Panelists will include individuals in creative youth programming focusing on the arts, health care, mental health, and community wellness. We will discuss projects involving diverse youth, outreach ideas, how to stay alive in a hard economy, and more! 12:15 – 1:00 pm – Optional brown bag & networking. Bring lunch. We’ll provide drinks & dessert. 1:00 – 4:00 pm – Panel discussion. Free and open to the public! Limited Seating. RSVP to Nimisha: ccprograms@xculture.org | 206.860.0329 For accommodations, please inquire prior to the event.

Book contest: Philip Levine Book Contest

Philip Levine Prize for Poetry

A prize of $2,000, publication by Anhinga Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Poet Denise Duhamel will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 100 pages with a $25 entry fee by September 30, 2011. Visit the Web site for complete guidelines.

California State University
Philip Levine Prize in Poetry
English Department
5245 North Backer Avenue
Mail Stop PB 98
Fresno, CA 93740

(559) 278-1569.
Connie Hales, Award Coordinator
<connieh(at)csufresno.edu> or Cindy Wathen <ciwathen(at)csufresno.edu>
(Replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail)
http://www.csufresno.edu/english/mfa/levine/index.shtml

Book contest for writers over 60 years of age: Off the Grid Press

Off the Grid Press announces its first annual manuscript contest for poets over sixty -- final judge, Carl Dennis. The winner will receive $1,000 and publication.

Here are the guidelines:
1. Submissions deadline: Aug. 31, 2011. The competition is open only to poets over 60 years of age.
2. Manuscript must be typed, paginated, and 50–70 pages in length (single spaced). We accept do not accept double sided manuscripts.
3. Individual poems from the manuscript may have been previously published in magazines, anthologies, or chapbooks of less than 25 pages, but the collection as a whole must be unpublished. Translations and self-published books are not eligible. No multi-authored collections, please.
4. Manuscripts must have a table of contents and include a list of acknowledgments for poems previously published. Your name, address, phone number, and email should appear on the title page of your manuscript. MANUSCRIPTS CANNOT BE RETURNED. Please do not send us your only copy.
5. No illustrations, photographs or images should be included.
6. Send one copy of your manuscript submission with two copies of the title page. On the second title page print only the book's title, no name or contact information. Use only binder clips. No staples, folders, or printer-bound copies.
7. For notification of winner, include a business-sized SASE. If you wish acknowledgment of the receipt of your manuscript, include a stamped addressed postcard.
8. Entry fee for the Off The Grid Press Competition is $25. Checks or money orders should be made payable to Off The Grid Press.
9. Manuscripts should be submitted by mail. Mail entries to: Off The Grid Press, 24 Quincy St., Somerville, MA 02143
10. If, in our judgment, no submission is worthy of publication, the press reserves the right to publish no book and return the entry fees.

Poetry chapbook contest: Caketrain

2011 Caketrain Chapbook Competition is open now through October 1. The genre is poetry and the final judge is Rosmarie Waldrop. Full guidelines are posted at www.caketrain.org/competitions

Caketrain Journal and Press
Box 82588, Pittsburgh, PA 15218
http://www.caketrain.org/

Call for submissions: anthology of stories inspired by beer

Yeast of Eden, an anthology of stories inspired by beer, is requesting submissions.

1,000 to 7,000 words, fiction or nonfiction. September 1, 2011 deadline.

Visit http://www.beeranthology.com/ for more information.

Cheers!

Call for poetry: iO

iO: A Journal of New American Poetry invites submissions of high-quality poetry across a wide range of styles. Our first issue features work by Franz Wright, Joe Hall, Susan Tichy, Kara Candito, and more. Check us out at: http://iopoetry.org/ or on facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/IO-A-Journal-of-New-American-Poetry/123629071048251.

iO is a quarterly electronic journal which seeks to publish newer, up-and-coming poets alongside established American voices in each issue. We invite you look over the submission guidelines and to send 3-5 poems through our submission manager here: http://iopoetry.submishmash.com/Submit

We read year-round. Be sure to include all submissions as a single document.

Call for submissions: Interrobang?!

Interrobang?! Magazine (http://interrobangzine.com/) is a web and print 'zine for the arts based dually in Providence, RI and New Orleans, LA. Our goal is to provide a formal venue for voices of all kinds, whether it be poetry, fiction, creative essays, photography, fine art, or experimental music and video. Don't be shy: we want your stories, your pictures, your music, your oddball esoterica. The interrobang symbol is meant to denote surprise, querying excitement or shocked disbelief; our publication seeks art that provokes this reaction, that astonishes, challenges and compels with its beauty or daring.

Submissions may be sent online at http://interrobangzine.submishmash.com/
Please submit each piece separately so that it may be individually evaluated. See http://www.interrobangzine.com/about/submit/ for further details.

Call for submissions: Printer's Devil Review

Printer's Devil Review (ISSN 2160-2948) is an independent, open access journal of literary and visual art. We provide emerging writers and artists with access to publication and inquisitive readers with new voices and visions.

We're currently seeking submissions of fiction (2,000 to 9,000 words), poetry, nonfiction, and visual art. Our reading period for Fall 2011 began May 1 and ends August 1.

You can find full guidelines for each section and access our online submission system at http://pdrjournal.org/submit

Call for submissions: Switchback

SWITCHBACK is now accepting submissions for issue 15.

• We accept poetry, fiction, nonfiction, critical essays, and art
• Only previously unpublished works
• We accept simultaneous submissions but please notify us immediately
of acceptance elsewhere
• The deadline for submissions is August 31, 2011
• Visual art submissions are accepted on an ongoing basis.
• Contributors to our previous two issues (thirteen and fourteen) will
not be considered

WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS:
Poetry:
• Maximum 3 poems per writer
• Each poem needs to be submitted separately.
• Send written submissions in .doc (preferred), .docx, pdf, or .rtf
format

Prose:
• Maximum 1 story, nonfiction piece, or critical essay per writer
• We prefer prose works to be 2,000-2,500 words, but if you have
something really good that's longer, we will consider it
• Send written submissions in .doc (preferred), .docx, pdf, or .rtf
format

Art:
• Include an explanation of your piece in no more than 100 words
• Send submissions in .gif, .jpg, or .png format with a resolution of
300 dpi or higher

The fifteenth issue will be published in Spring 2012.

Visit http://www.swback.com/ for more information.

SWITCHBACK is a publication of the Master of Fine Arts in Writing
Program of the University of San Francisco, Aaron Shurin, Director.

SWITCHBACK is a forum for the writers of USF's MFA community, including
alumni, students, and faculty, as well as the wider literary community,
in the areas of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and critical essays.



Book contest: Accents Publishing

Go to website to download entry form:
http://www.accents-publishing.com/

Accents Publishing is happy to announce its 2011 International Poetry Book Contest. Two winners will be selected – one by an independent judge, Lisa Williams, and one by the Senior Editor and founder of Accents Publishing, Katerina Stoykova-Klemer. Each winner will have his/her submission published and will receive a $500 cash prize. Additionally, the winners will be invited for a featured reading at a book premiere celebration event. All contest entries will be considered for regular publication with Accents Publishing, as well.

The entry fee is $20.00. Multiple submissions are allowed, as long as each one is accompanied by a separate entry fee and submission form. Winning books may be pre-ordered at the time of submission for $10.00 each.

A complete submission should include the following:
• A completed submission form
• Your manuscript, including
o An acknowledgement page, if necessary
o Two title pages – one with name and contact information, one without
• Your biography or CV
• A check or a confirmation of payment via Paypal covering the $20 entry fee, plus any optional book preorders
Please do not include a SASE, as notification will be made by email only.

We will accept submissions between February 1st and July 31st. Winners will be announced in August. The contest is open to any poet writing in English. Employees of Accents or family members of judges are ineligible to participate. Simultaneous submissions will be accepted, but please notify us immediately if your manuscript is accepted for publication elsewhere.

Manuscripts should conform to the following guidelines:
• 60 to 120 pages of poetry
• Table of contents
• Single spaced
• Numbered pages
• 11 pt font minimum

Your name should not appear anywhere within the manuscript. Please do not send your only copy of your work, as manuscripts will be recycled.

Entries should be mailed to:
Accents Publishing
Attn: Katerina Stoykova-Klemer
P.O. Box 910456
Lexington, KY 40591-0456
Accents Publishing is an independent press for brilliant voices. For more information, or to download the submission form, please visit us at http://www.accents-publishing.com/

Pongo Teen Writing call for volunteers

Pongo Friends,

This is an exciting time for me, when Pongo Teen Writing makes its annual Call for Volunteers for next school year. It's a privilege to get to know some of you better, as wonderfully accomplished, insightful, and creative people who honor Pongo with your commitment.

The Pongo opportunity will train you to help victims of childhood trauma (abuse, violent loss, etc.) to heal through poetry writing. The skills will benefit you in current and future careers in counseling and teaching. Pongo poetry writing is uniquely helpful for distressed individuals, and uniquely nurturing for caregivers.

Pongo volunteers are well trained, and they work in teams under an experienced leader. We have two sites currently, inside juvenile detention and inside the state psychiatric hospital for children. To begin the process for selection as a Pongo volunteer...

1. Please review the Pongo web site, including the volunteer commitment and expectations (You'll write your own poetry!) as described on the following page...

     http://www.pongoteenwriting.org/volunteering.html

2. Carefully consider the volunteer schedule, which includes one of these times...

     * juvenile detention (Tuesdays, 12:00-3:15 pm, mid-Sept to mid-April, in Seattle)

     * the state psychiatric hospital for children (Mondays, 12:00-3:00, Oct-March, in Tacoma)

3. Email your resume and a writing sample (preferably poetry) to richard@pongoteenwriting.org .

4. In your resume or email message, please include all of your experience working with youth. Also, state your availability to volunteer on a Monday or Tuesday afternoon during the coming school year. If you are available both days, state your preference for working with Pongo inside juvenile detention or the psychiatric hospital. Finally, I'd like to hear why you're interested in Pongo and our mission. And I welcome your questions.

Cheers and Best Wishes!

Richard Gold

Pongo Teen Writing Project

http://www.pongoteenwriting.org/