From Category:
Luminarium
Full texts of medieval, Renaissance and 17th-century poetry and verse-dramas, with scholarly commentary. Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare, Bacon, Donne, Milton...
Lyn Lifshin: “A Wet Cold Winter to Come”
A haunting sequence of 9/11 poems. Part of the Political Anthology now online at The Pedestal Magazine.
Lyrical Passion Poetry E-Zine
Literary webzine with a specialized focus on Japanese short form poetry. Several contests throughout the year offer modest prizes for haiku, senryu, free verse, and flash fiction.
Lyttle Lytton Contest
This website collects and publishes the worst first sentences of imaginary novels (and some equally bad quotes from real ones).
M-Moments
By Lind Grant-Oyeye
Silvery hair, bones thinned in-out, of life the silver screen speaks.
Letter M, embossed in audacious colors. It had begun long before her time...
time when clay pots were sanded out to shimmer.
It starts by falling—falling in love. Minute carts tenderly packed
full of moments, full of memories delicately loosely tied together.
It flows with fantasies of prized certificates, a desire for a stamp—the majestic seal of approval.
It flows to the stage of self-journey through dark subways, tunnels to the unfamiliar...
untested promise lands. She heard some had swam bellied-up in wavy pools,
Chillin' to the historic tempest.
Others swim to "bien venue" cat-calls, to honeymoons filled with French kisses,
flowers and fresh caresses, beauty and beautiful feet planted on cozy carpets,
romance lasting into wintery and the hurricane hugging days.
On strange lands were some feet planted. They kissed strangers
and slept with enemies—red juices pressed against their lips,
with the firm force of a heavyweight boxer's strength, kissing Judas' doppelganger
to the sweet sound of the language from Babel, spoken with a lover's passion.
Faint memories show M in the alphabet song, is for Migration, for marriage.
M. Miriam Herrera
See Ms. Herrera's website for mystical, earthy poems from Kaddish for Columbus and Witch Wife.
Mad to Live
A pregnant woman develops a craving for bugs. A couple bond over the failure of their wife-swapping party. A father consoles his child over the dinosaurs' extinction, while wishing his own parents had allowed him to believe in heaven. These are some of the seeds from which spring Randall Brown's quirky, brilliant, heart-rending short-short stories. This collection won the 2007-08 Flume Press Fiction Chapbook Competition. Their book design is also a standout.
Madhouse Media Publishing
Madhouse Media Publishing is a self-publishing services company based in New South Wales, Australia. Their offerings include editing, book and cover design, print/e-book conversion, and marketing assistance. Visit their blog for how-to articles for indie authors. Their Ebook Revolution Podcast features author interviews about craft and career topics.
Madras Press
Independent small press based in Brookline, MA publishes longer short stories and novellas as stand-alone paperbacks. Proceeds from each book are donated to a charity of the author's choice. Authors in their catalog include Aimee Bender and Trinie Dalton.
MagCloud
Self-publish your own magazine through MagCloud. Simply upload a PDF of your issue and MagCloud will handle printing, mailing, and subscription management. Small press runs are no problem here. Participation is limited while the site is still in beta-testing.
MagCloud
Self-publish your own magazine through MagCloud. Simply upload a PDF of your issue and MagCloud will handle printing, mailing, and subscription management. Small press runs are no problem here. Participation is limited while the site is still in beta-testing.
Magic Dragon
Published since 2005 by the nonprofit Association for Encouragement of Children's Creativity, Magic Dragon is a quarterly magazine featuring art and creative writing by children aged 12 and under.
Maine
Offbeat offerings in this winner of the Slope Editions Book Prize include "Hair Club for Corpses" and a sestina in which every line ends with "Bob". Winter can switch from serious to humorous and back again in a blink: "Everyone's losing at something./ It just matters more to some people, for example, Orpheus/ or Ty Cobb."
Make a Living Writing
Freelance writer Carol Tice's blog offers field-tested tips on how to market yourself and increase your earnings. Other services include an e-newsletter and mentoring consultations.
MAKE: A Chicago Literary Magazine
Contributors have included Joyelle McSweeney, Eula Biss, Gabriel Gudding, and Joe Meno. See website for upcoming themed issues. Editors say, "Chicago is a storyteller's city, and MAKE is the story's magazine. Chock full of fiction, poetry, essays, art, and reviews, MAKE is substantial in both feel and scope. MAKE expands on the Chicago tradition to entertain and to inform."
Making Certain It Goes On
No modern poet captured the essence of a place as well as 20th-century master Richard Hugo, whose tightly paced free verse reveals the dignity of America's forgotten towns.
Making Manuscripts: An Irregularly Braided Conversation
In this interview from the Spring 2021 issue of DMQ Review, poets Lisa Gluskin Stonestreet (Morse Poetry Prize winner for Tulips, Water, Ash) and Annie Kim (Word Works Washington Prize winner for Eros, Unbroken) share their manuscript craft tips and intuitive strategies for discovering how poems speak to one another.
Mannheim
By Erika Dreifus
I did not cry the first time I went to Mannheim,
when my father and I studied the nameplates
listing the residents of the building on Ifflenstrasse
where his mother had been born, and grown up.
The building she left one April day in 1938, just in time,
and had never re-entered.
I did not cry even when the current second-floor residents
invited us in, and I stood in the high-ceilinged rooms
where my great-grandparents had withstood the Kristallnacht.
In the photos my father snapped
to show my grandmother, back in Brooklyn,
I am smiling.
I did not cry the second time I went to Mannheim,
when my father and mother and sister and I toured the city,
armed with Grandma's handwritten maps,
and visited the shiny blue synagogue.
From the hotel we telephoned Brooklyn
before driving away on the Autobahn.
The third time, the train from Stuttgart stopped.
I descended to the platform.
And the signs read,
Mannheim.
This time my grandmother was gone.
Not just from Germany.
But back in New York her namesake had just arrived.
I blinked a few times. Bit my lip.
Stared at the sign, and swallowed.
Then I walked, fast, through sunbaked streets,
straight to the department store
where I bought the baby a sweater
and tiny socks
before I hurried back to the train station.
Manoleria
By Daniel Khalastchi. Winner of the Tupelo Press/Crazyhorse First Book Prize, this collection is a memorable addition to the literature of horror poetry, as well as the poetry of political witness. The narrator of these poems obediently submits to an endless sequence of bizarre procedures that are part surgical invasion, part public spectacle of punishment. Like someone brainwashed or anesthetized, he is quite clear about what is physically happening but has numbed out the normal reactions of fear, anger, or confusion. There is no narrative movement toward freedom or enlightenment, but a strange kind of beauty arises from the speaker's attention to detail.
Manuscript Tips
Literary contest judges read hundreds of manuscripts each year. A professional-looking submission makes your work look good. By contrast, a surprising number of contestants ignore the rules, spoiling their chances. Here are formatting tips from Jendi Reiter, editor of Literary Contest Insider and final judge of the Winning Writers contests.
FONTS AND PAPER
Manuscripts should be typed or printed on white 8.5x11" paper. Use a common, legible font such as Courier New or Times New Roman. A good type size is 12-point. If a different size is needed to fit within a contest's page limit, don't go lower than 11-point or higher than 13-point. Legibility will suffer and the judge will think you're playing games.
Most contests expect poetry to be single-spaced. If double-spacing is preferred, the rules will say so. Fancy paper and flowery fonts are a waste of time and money, and can annoy judges who find them hard to read. Gimmicks suggest you are an amateur.
FRONT MATTER
The term "front matter" refers to the cover page, title page, table of contents, and the acknowledgments page where you list the publication credits for poems in the manuscript. Some contests will specify whether the page limit includes the pages devoted to front matter. When in doubt, assume that it does.
COVER PAGES [sample] AND TITLE PAGES [sample]
The cover page should contain the following information, centered on the page:
Author's name
Author's address, phone number, and email address
You can put "Copyright 2015 Your Name" in the lower left-hand corner. This is not required. Your work enjoys basic copyright protection at creation.
Underline the title. Both the title and the author's name should be in a larger font than you would use for text in the manuscript. A good size is 24-point type for the title, and 18-point type for your name.
Often, a contest will ask you to submit a manuscript with both a cover page and a title page. This conceals the author's identity from the judges until they've chosen a winner. The cover page, which has your name and address, is filed by the contest coordinator. The title page stays with the manuscript. This page has just the manuscript title on it. You can also put "Copyright 2005" but leave out your name.
TABLE OF CONTENTS [sample]
The table of contents should use the same font and size as the poems. It should list the poem titles on the left of the page, with a line of dots matching each poem to the number of the page where it starts. For untitled poems, put the first line or first few words instead of a title. If your manuscript is divided into sections, the table of contents should also list the page where each new section begins. Most word-processing programs will generate a table of contents for you, or you can do it by hand. Always include a table of contents, even when the rules don't request one.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS [sample]
Place your acknowledgments page after the table of contents or at the end of the manuscript. Set it in the same font and size as your poems. Some contests prefer you to submit this page as a separate sheet. Others may ask you to omit it. This page lists the poems in your manuscript that have been published and where they appeared. It's not necessary to list the dates or issue numbers of the poetry magazines that published your work, but you may do so if you have room.
You can include your manuscript title on the acknowledgments page, but leave out your name and address.
TEXT [sample]
Put each poem on its own page. Placement on the page (centered, left-justified, or scattered around) depends on the style of your work. I prefer left-justified over centered, since that's the way most poems are printed in books and magazines. Number every page. Your word-processing program will do this automatically if you activate its page-numbering function.
COVER LETTER [sample]
Your cover letter should use a common, legible font such as Courier New or Times New Roman. I suggest the 12-point size. Standard white paper is fine.
State the following at a minimum: "Enclosed is my manuscript, [title], which I am submitting to the [name of contest]. I have enclosed the entry fee and a SASE for your response."
You can also include the names of magazines where your work has appeared and books that you've had published.
Some contests prefer that you complete their entry form rather than submit a cover letter.
WHAT'S A SASE?
A SASE is a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope. (British contests call it a SAE.) Use an ordinary letter-sized envelope for notification of winners, or a 10x13" envelope with adequate return postage if the contest guidelines say that manuscripts will be returned.
We suggest buying a small postal scale at an office supply store such as Office Depot. You'll save money by not putting too much postage on your packages. Current US postal rates are available at http://www.usps.com/.
Good luck!
Manuscript Wish List
Manuscript Wish List is an online database of agents and editors, with information on what they're currently seeking. The site also has a podcast and blog with craft articles.
Maple Tree Literary Supplement
The Maple Tree Literary Supplement, a thrice-yearly online journal, provides a platform for dialogue or interviews on any topic between and amongst Canadian writers, while featuring their work and reporting on literary events, landmarks or festivals in Canada and around the world—with an emphasis on their Canadian composition. The journal accepts submissions of unpublished poetry, short fiction, general-interest nonfiction and personal essays, excerpts from dramatic works, and author interviews. This is a paying market.
Maps of War
Visual history of war, religion, and government. Animated maps show the rise and fall of empires over the centuries.
Maralys Wills
Writing instructor, speaker, and memoirist Maralys Wills is the author of 12 books, including the writers' manual 'Damn the Rejections, Full Speed Ahead'. Visit her website and blog for writing advice and pithy anecdotes about juggling work and family life.
Marc J. Frazier Poetry
Marc Frazier is the author of the poetry collections Each Thing Touches (Glass Lyre Press, 2015) and The Way Here (Aldrich Press), and the chapbooks After and The Gods of the Grand Resort, both from Finishing Line Press. Cyrus Cassells calls Each Thing Touches "rich with striking and dynamic questions...refreshingly human, urgent, and disarming." Frazier has had several residencies at the Ragdale Foundation in Lake Forest, Illinois and received an Illinois Arts Council award in poetry. Visit his website to find out about his workshops.
Marie Osmond Performs Dadaist Poetry
In this charming and peculiar video clip, rediscovered at the Lambda Literary website, television personality Marie Osmond reenacts the origins of Dadaism with Hugo Ball's "sound poem".
Marine Corps Heritage Foundation (The)
The Marine Corps Heritage Foundation sponsors several free awards for books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction by veterans and/or about Marine Corps history and life.
Marry Me and Praise for Wyatt
Marry Me
My friend Susi and her boyfriend
were in the bleachers when someone
launched a home run.
Fireworks burst
like a corsage over their heads.
That's when she said Robert
leaned over and proposed.
The whole ballpark was cheering.
What did you say? I asked.
"I couldn't hear over the crowd
a word he was saying.
But the cheering got me excited
and I stood up jumping like crazy
and my boyfriend thought I
had said yes. He threw his arms
around me and five years later
we have a gaggle of children."
Praise for Wyatt
As a bachelor the only thing I could cook
was the smoke alarms.
You steam vegetables in woks,
flip crepes deftly, paddle creams and butters,
and aren't afraid to try new recipes
whether from Beijing or Tuscany.
Your skills at laying cables,
editing audio tracks, playing drums
and writing impromptu songs
at jamming sessions makes me think
that everything comes easily to you.
I admire your confidence
but I love your kindness more,
and I pray for your good health,
for a cure of your diabetes.
You don't remember receiving
your first injections, 18 months old,
or your tiny fingers bleeding
four times a day...your cries
needles through my heart.
Copyright 2010 by Bob Bradshaw
Critique by Tracy Koretsky
If you are a frequent reader of the type of literary e-zines included in the Best of the Net Anthology, you have probably encountered the work of the much-published Bob Bradshaw. His talent for the refreshingly apt and original metaphor, coupled with his charmingly self-deprecating humor, give Bradshaw's deceptively simple poems a distinctive voice popular with editors. So when I received a letter from him containing poems that, he said, had been rejected numerous times, I became deeply curious as to why. Little did I know his poems would lead me to question the very nature of poetry itself.
You see, Bradshaw favors poems that tell stories, usually of the head-scratching variety. The reader is left thinking, "Well, who would have seen that coming?" or, "Isn't that just amazing?" The narrative poem is often accessible, which explains why it is so frequently enjoyed, but it is problematic too. What makes a story a story and a poem, a poem? Indeed, what, in fact, is a poem?
Consider for a moment that the Latin origin of the word "verse" means to turn. The word "story", on the other hand, comes from the word "history"—a series of events. In fiction, one event generally causes another, or is, at least, related in some way. Furthermore, story—as opposed to history—has a beginning, middle, and end, though, as any first course in writing will teach, they do not necessarily have to be presented in that order. Nevertheless, causation is the logic of plot, and therefore of story.
Not so for poetry. Poems "verse"; they turn, sometimes several times. They may leap from the logic of the story to a metaphor bringing in a wholly new idea or image. They may leap to another level of meaning, suddenly more universal or personal, serious or surreal. The address—that is, to whom the poem is speaking—might redirect. Even something as subtle as an alteration of verb tense can affect a turn.
Sometimes poems open as if they have windows within them, bringing in another context or reality and then rebounding to the original one. Often the turn comes at the end, so that the reader lands in a new place, not one hinted at by the original story or subject or theme. Making this leap is the work of reading poetry, its surprise and delight.
It is this quality that, in my opinion, "Marry Me" lacks. Here Bradshaw has put forth a story in its chronological order. The single metaphor: "Fireworks burst/like a corsage", while not the freshest in Bradshaw's oeuvre, is wonderfully resonant in its context, but does not really constitute what I mean by a "turn" in that it does not depart from that context.
Reworking the poem to end with the metaphor might be one way of building a turn. In this case the poem would transit from the literal to the metaphorical. In so doing, the poem would move from the drama to the setting, landing the reader in a new location in the end. This would require rethinking the order of the story's plot, which in any case might be a good idea here. Beginning with "The whole ballpark was cheering," for example, would bring the reader immediately into an active scene. Another strategy might be to begin with Susi and her gaggle of offspring and move chronologically backwards. Every story has multiple points of entry; it is always valuable to investigate several.
Actually, our second piece, "Praise for Wyatt", provides an excellent example of the concept of turning a poem. In line 12, Bradshaw moves from "you" to "I", taking the poem in a more personal direction. In line 15, there is a sudden change of tone. More significantly, though, the poem moves from the present to the past in its final stanza. We come to understand that the narrator has known the subject all his life, that Wyatt is, in fact, most likely a son. This shines a whole new light on everything we have read so far, complicating and enriching it.
But "Praise for Wyatt", because it is not based upon a plotted story like the one in "Marry Me", is not strengthened by the logic such a story provides. This is another difference between poems and stories: the ways in which they unify. Poems can be brought together through music or other formal or structural elements. For example, Bradshaw could rework "Praise for Wyatt" as a litany, perhaps by repeating the phrase "I admire", or even more subtly, by creating parallel grammatical structures in his second through fourth sentences.
Most often though, in free verse narrative poetry, unity is achieved via the extended symbol. In other words, the logic of the piece is created by the development of its central trope. At this point, I would say, "Praise for Wyatt" lacks such a cohering trope, and so reads like prose. Focusing on Wyatt's hands might be one solution; they're already present in the final stanza, and certainly the activities depicted in previous stanzas rely upon them.
Both poems might also be nicely complicated with more abstract titles, offering thematic suggestions to the reader. The point is not to be obtuse, but rather to create some layers of meaning. Because, unlike stories, which are like exciting trolley rides, speeding along on greased rails, poems are like gifts for readers to savor as they unwrap.
Where could poems like "Marry Me" and "Praise for Wyatt" be submitted? The following contests may be of interest:
Oregon State Poetry Association Contests
Postmark Deadline: August 31
Twice-yearly contest from local poetry society offers prizes of $50-$100 in categories including traditional verse, humor, open theme
Naugatuck River Review Narrative Poetry Contest
Entries must be received by September 1
Prizes up to $1,000 for narrative poetry, plus publication for many runners-up, from a new literary journal based in Western Massachusetts
Ibbetson Street Press Poetry Award
Postmark Deadline: September 15
Contest for Massachusetts poets offers $100 and reading at annual poetry festival in Somerville, near Boston; previously published work accepted
Firstwriter.com International Poetry Competition
Entries must be received by October 1
Prizes up to 500 pounds for poems up to 30 lines (published or unpublished), from UK-based writers' resource site
Lucidity Poetry Journal Clarity Awards
Entries must be received by October 31
Twice-yearly free contest offers prizes up to $100 for poems in any form dealing with people and interpersonal relationships, by authors aged 18+
These poems and critique appeared in the August 2010 issue of Winning Writers Newsletter (subscribe free).
Mary: A Literary Quarterly
Submissions of poetry, fiction, and essays are accepted by email. Maximum 5,000 words per piece. Contributors have included Tom Cardamone, Christopher Hennessy, Michael Montlack, and Sarah Sarai.
Massachusetts Poetry Festival
This annual celebration of Massachusetts poets and small presses is held every October. The festival is based in Lowell, Mass., and also includes events around Boston, Worcester, Amherst, and the Berkshires. Videos from the festival are available on their YouTube channel: presenters include Rhina Espaillat, Robert Pinsky, Nick Flynn, and Martin Espada.
Massive Bookshop
An anti-capitalist alternative to the big online booksellers, Massive Bookshop is a place to list your books for sale while supporting social justice. Instead of seeking profits, Massive Bookshop donates whatever is leftover from operating expenses to various mutual aid and community-building projects such as Decarcerate Western Mass.
Masters Review (The)
The Masters Review is an online and print literary journal dedicated to supporting emerging writers. They publish short fiction and nonfiction, craft essays, and interviews with established authors. Ten winners of their annual fiction contest receive cash prizes and publication in an anthology that is mailed to agents, editors, publishers, and authors nationwide. The contest has been judged by prominent writers such as A.M. Homes and Lev Grossman. Contributors to the magazine are also paid. See website for deadlines and rules.
May I Have Several Hours of Your Time?
Writing professor Karen Craigo's poetry books include No More Milk (Sundress Publications, 2016) and Escaped Housewife Tries Hard to Blend In (Hermeneutic Chaos, 2016). In this blog post, she shares strategies for setting boundaries and time management when asked to mentor emerging writers. A very useful read for people on either side of the mentor-student relationship.
Mayfly
Biannual journal of haiku poetry, established in 1986. Mayfly is a paying market. Editors say, "We feel it is the duty of the editors and writers to make careful selection and proper presentation of only the very best, the most evocative, the truly effective haiku. We publish only 14 or 15 haiku per issue, but each haiku is printed on its own page."
Mayweed
By Frannie Lindsay. Winner of the 2009 Word Works Washington Prize, this spare and radiant poetry collection centers on acceptance of loss. Its key figures are a beloved sister who died of cancer, and their late father, a perpetrator of incest.
MC Nuts: William Wordsworth Rap
This YouTube video reinterprets the 19th-century poet's famous "Daffodils" as a hip-hop performance.
McSweeney’s Internet Tendency: Sestinas
Luscious witty sestinas on topics great and small. "Anna Karenina (Or Like, Most of It)" is not to be missed. Submissions are accepted, if they're sestinas (definition and examples).
Meanings and A Winter’s Night
MEANINGS by Norman William Kearney
So sweet the rose, that opens in the sun,
How soft the light, when day is almost done.
Gardenias scent wafts gently on the breeze,
And fresh the air across the lapping seas.
The gentle touch, when love is said, and felt,
Sounds, far away, from distant ringing bells.
Sweet kiss of lips, when given in surprise,
A song of birds, on blue and cloudless skies.
Wind blows light, thru' tresses, soft' and fair,
The music plays, and love songs fill the air.
Turn of head, when words are softly spoken,
A promise kept, and never to be broken.
These things there are, and here for all to see,
But only you, mean all of this, to me.
Copyright 2011 by Norman William Kearney
A WINTER'S NIGHT by Norman William Kearney
A winter's day 'tho it be sharp might be a man's delight,
When a hard days work is done, it quickly turn to night.
The sight and sound of rain on roof, or twinkling stars above,
Brings thoughts anew, and fresh, and keen perhaps ideas of love.
The warmth that comes from heart of man might serve to overcome,
A cold and cheerless time, from the weakening of the sun.
And were you there and waiting still, for man's return from toil,
Then I would never feel the cold that comes from winter's chill.
Your presence cheers and fills the heart so that my blood runs full,
And always would I hurry home, for comfort, in the evening's cool.
If only you forever stood and always by my side,
I should feel always tall and strong, from darkness never hide.
From winter there could be no care, and nothing that forbode,
If you were there and kept me warm, and free from life's great load.
Copyright 2011 by Norman William Kearney
Critique by Tracy Koretsky
To preserve special formatting in this critique, we have uploaded the first part of it to Scribd. Just scroll through this window:
Critique of Two Poems by Norman William Kearney
Where could poems like "Meanings" and "A Winter's Night" be submitted? The following contests may be of interest:
Dream Quest One Poetry & Writing Contest
Postmark Deadline: July 31
Twice-yearly contest for emerging writers offers prizes up to $500 for prose, $250 for poetry, plus web publication; previously published work accepted
Poetry Society of Texas Annual Contests
Postmark Deadline: August 15
The Poetry Society of Texas offers a members-only prize of $450 and 99 other prizes ranging from $25 to $400, with various restrictions on theme and genre (some are also members-only); no simultaneous submissions
Helen Schaible Shakespearean/Petrarchan Sonnet Contest
Postmark Deadline: September July 15
Free contest from the Poets' Club of Chicago and the Illinois State Poetry Society offers top prize of $50 for a sonnet
These poems and critique appeared in the July 2011 issue of Winning Writers Newsletter (subscribe free).
Meanjin
Meanjin also gives wide coverage to issues of global concern. It is an imprint of Melbourne University Publishing. The journal's name, pronounced Mee-an-jin, is derived from an Aboriginal word for the finger of land on which central Brisbane sits.
mediabistro.com
Daily corporate strivings and struggles in magazines, newspapers, TV, new media and book publishing.
Meeting Faith: The Forest Journals of a Black Buddhist Nun
In this profound, witty memoir of spiritual transformation, an intense, high-achieving, activist intellectual goes to Thailand to research the unequal status of women in Buddhist religious life, but unexpectedly finds inner peace during her stint as a member of an ascetic order of nuns. The elegantly designed book pairs her current reminiscences with excerpts from her journals, side by side on the page like a Talmudic commentary.
MEHPoeting: The Writings of Matthew E. Henry
Matthew E. Henry is a Pushcart Prize nominated poet and the author of Teaching While Black (Main Street Rag, 2020). He is editor-in-chief of The Weight Journal, an online literary magazine publishing high-quality creative writing by high school students. From his website bio: "His writing shines a black-light on the bed of relationships, race, religion, and everything else you're not supposed to discuss in polite company."
Memorial
By Diana Anhalt
Massive steel slabs, like hostile vegetation,
rise twelve meters high. This monument
of rusting pages thrusts upwards, outwards.
It walls in the trees of Chapultepec Park,
and casts shadows on mourners who come
bearing words for their desaparecidos.
Armed with fistfuls of chalk, a jack knife, a car key,
people punish the pillars with prayers, imprecations:
May they drown in their victims’ blood, Dios santo.
They finger the letters: Pinche gobierno, we don’t need
a monument. What about justice? And give voice
to the slabs: They left me nothing, not even a grave.
No one signs their names. Across the face of a pillar
vertically placed vague outlines of white chalk fade
to ghostly images, come back to haunt us:
Our country has lost its way and God has lost his ears.
Memories of You
By Gregory Ashe
Sitting on the sand,
gazing at the full moon.
The sea lit with the dull reflection of moonlight.
A cool breeze.
The air heavy with ocean salt.
The soft roar of waves crashing on the shore.
I remember that night
long ago
when you and I first kissed on the beach.
We sat in an empty lifeguard stand.
The night still warm from the day's summer heat.
I ran my fingers through your golden-brown hair glowing
in the moonlight.
A magical night.
I remember another night,
much longer ago,
when a different you and I first kissed on the beach.
We walked along the boardwalk.
The winter air cold and clear,
and the moon cast a million diamonds
sparkling on the sea.
I ran my fingers through your jet-black hair shimmering
in the moonlight.
A magical night.
Now I stare at the sea and moonlight
alone,
but still I smile.
For I am not really alone,
because you,
and you
are here with me in my thoughts.
A magical night.
Merlyn’s Pen
The Merlyn's Pen Foundation mentors promising young writers and trains English teachers. Submissions from students in grades 5-12 are accepted for their magazine. The 10+ years of archives include over 1,000 stories, essays and poems. Books, tapes and teacher's guides are available in the store.
Merriam-Webster Ask the Editor Videos
These lively short videos from dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster discuss the origins of words and resolve common questions of grammar and usage. Is "irregardless" a real word? What is the correct plural of "octopus"? How do you use singular "they" grammatically? Now you will know.
Metallic Thud
By Cheryl J. Fish
for the Davids
World Trade Center and Mount St. Helens
"Step by step, breath by breath—no rush, no pain." –Gary Snyder
1.
David Burns, insurance man hears a metallic thud
just after morning coffee, September 11, 2001.
A crushing noise a windy void.
He peers out his north-facing view
sees windows blown out eye-level
windows, no crater.
Shouts to anyone who will listen
shouts to the wind.
Some co-workers flee
to floor 78 express car
Liberty Street in a matter of seconds
before number two's crash.
2.
Column of steam, ash, rises 7,000 feet.
Ice and rock, wind a wild ride.
Cracks merge and become the "bulge."
Volcano souvenir business flourishes.
USGS scientist David Johnston measures the bulge on the north flank.
His observation point Coldwater II six miles northeast of St. Helens peak.
Sightseers press towards the steaming crater for closer view and photos.
3.
Bystanders and students watch as captives plummet from the towers,
missiles of grief. This is not television. Yes, it is.
"Go home," I shout. "Look away." Snails and stomachs and tails.
You know nothing of what's to come. Metallic thud.
Dave Burns and his pal Paul rush onto the waiting Staten Island Ferry
Engine ramps ramps ramps into the blue and black.
Life jackets all around in case of an aerial attack
It's not the engine, no, but a hulking dust cloud,
Time-made matter, a dirge.
4.
A 13,000 foot eruption of ash and steam
harmonic tremor signaling. Hot
seismic chart blot May 12 a 5.0 earthquake
underneath the north flank of St. Helens
triggers a small debris avalanche half a mile down.
Many people come out with cameras and binoculars.
Last chance for Spirit Lake landowners to evacuate.
5.
David Johnston perishes; David Burns survives.
Bones cut the wind.
More towers rise.
Metanoia
By David Holper
The plane ticket,
the train ride, the shuttle
the taxi, even the first step,
onto the gravel, into the dirt,
the dust, your boots whispering
against the dry grass,
these are just dust motes dancing
over the surface: the real journey calls you
deeper into the soul's secret country
where all such journeys
must lead you beyond expectations,
beyond these hazy dreamings,
if you are to finally set right
what you have long known was broken from the beginning.
*Metanoia (Greek, noun): The journey of transforming
your mind, heart, self, or way of life.
Metonymy Press
Based in Montreal, Metonymy Press specializes in queer, feminist, and social justice literature. They seek to promote literary fiction and nonfiction authors with underrepresented perspectives. Their motto: "We want to keep gay book lovers satisfied." See their contact page for submission guidelines.
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