Subscriber News: March 2014
Recent Honors
Congratulations to Ruth Hill. Her poem "The Difficulties" won an honorable mention in the 2013 Poets for Human Rights contest. She kindly shares it with us here. Her poem "The Doorman Said" won third prize in the 2013 Inland Empire California Writers Club contest. Recent publications include the poems "Cast in Bronze", "Cedar Cliffs", and "Lawn Spinners" in the annual anthology from Silver Bow Publishing (New Westminster, Canada); "Dappled" and "The Light at the Top of the World" in the Slants of Light anthology from the Paragram Poetry Competition (UK); "Felicia" at From an Upper Floor, the blog of writer Veronica Hallissey; and "Searching for Self" in the February 2014 newsletter of Voices Israel Group of Poets in English. Her poem "Round Round Rodin" is forthcoming in the Storm Cycle anthology from Kind of a Hurricane Press, and "The Paddle Dancer" in Issue #2 (theme: "Ars Erotica") of Perfume River Poetry Review.
Congratulations to John Kolyav. His poem "Flames of no Masks" was a runner-up in the "What's Your Place?" Poetry Competition from Holland Park Press. Read his poem and the other prizewinners on their website. This London-based publisher specializes in bringing the work of Dutch authors to the English-language market. Their annual contest, with a different theme each year, gives 100 pounds apiece for the best poem in English and Dutch; the most recent submission period was June 1-December 31. The 2013 contest received 456 entries.
Congratulations to Rick Lupert. He will be receiving the Distinguished Service Award from Beyond Baroque at their annual awards dinner on Sunday, April 6, at the Church in Ocean Park. Beyond Baroque has been a centerpiece of the Los Angeles literary arts scene for nearly 50 years. Rick and fellow honoree Bill Mohr will be giving a free poetry reading at Beyond Baroque, 681 Venice Blvd., Venice, California, at 2:00 PM on Saturday, April 5. In other news, Rick's new poetry collection The Gettysburg Undress is forthcoming from RothCo Press. This Los Angeles-based press will also be re-releasing his other poetry books in e-book editions. Check out the Tumblr blog Cat and Banana for his new comic strip co-created with poet Brendan Constantine.
Congratulations to Maureen Sherbondy. Her full-length poetry collection Beyond Fairy Tales: Poems in Concrete and Flesh will be published in May by Main Street Rag. She kindly shares a sample poem here. Novelist Barbara Claypole White says of this collection, "With humor and raw, dark beauty, Maureen Sherbondy shows us a world of broken, aging survivors. Her characters dance on the edge of loneliness and longing; they inhabit lost dreams where happily-ever-afters have twisted into financial, emotional, and physical hardship. And yet, one word rises out of this haunting, unforgettable collection of poems: acceptance." Visit Maureen's website to discover her other poetry and fiction books.
Congratulations to Terri Kirby Erickson. Her fourth poetry collection, A Lake of Light and Clouds, will be released in April by Press 53. She kindly shares a sample poem here. Her book launch gala, which is also a fundraiser for the Novant Health Derrick L. Davis Simstein Fund for cancer patients in financial distress, will take place on Thursday, April 3, from 7-9 PM, at the Broyhill Historic Events Center, 3540 Clemmons Road, Clemmons, NC. The free event will feature live music, food and drink, and an art exhibit. Visit her website to learn more about her writing.
Recent Publications
Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé was a featured author in the online journal Pirene's Fountain. The article and accompanying interview by Lark Vernon Timmons showcased Desmond's poetry, ceramics art, and avant-garde publishing ventures. He was also interviewed in February 2014 at Kitaab, a site whose mission is "to curate and critique Asia+n writing in English".
Helene Pilibosian's latest poetry collection, A New Orchid Myth, is now available from CreateSpace. This fantasy tale in verse portrays visitors from another planet who bring optimism and ecological renewal to humanity. Helene is a widely published chronicler of the Armenian-American experience.
J.M. Northrup's debut novel, Fears of Darkness, is now available in paperback and e-book editions from Amazon.com. From the book blurb: "Rudely awakened by a deadly home invasion, Dakota is thrust into a country at war. Realizing her home is compromised, Dakota is forced to make a long trek from the city of Minneapolis to the Wasatch-Uinta Mountains in order to survive. As Dakota tries to figure out what is happening in America, she learns to adapt to a world void of the society and technology that had been the foundation of her life."
David Kherdian was interviewed in The Armenian Weekly about his new book David of Sassoun, a poetic retelling of an Armenian folk epic.
Aliyah Jacobs's e-book The Gift of Life: A Biblical Perspective of Menstruation for Women is available from Amazon.com, under her pen name Aliyah bat Yisrael. The book examines the Hebrew laws on this topic as applied to women who are believers in Yeshua, interpreted to empower the women of God to rise up and realize their full worth and identity in their Messiah. Aliyah also has two poems appearing in the "Power" issue of the online journal When Women Waken.
Elizabeth Wright's book Belle Tout: The Little Lighthouse That Moved, a history of an East Sussex landmark, has been listed in Amazon.com's 100 Top Sellers in the "Monuments" category since its publication in October 2013, at one point reaching the number-five spot. She recently placed three articles on the social and travel website B-C-ing-U.com: one about the unique handmade Sussex trug baskets, the second about "Hopping Holidays", and the third about the Long Man of Wilmington, a mysterious naked figure cut into the Sussex downland hillside. Her feature on Sussex shepherds' crooks appeared in the online magazine Aspect County.
Lesléa Newman's novel-in-verse October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard (Candlewick Press, 2012) will be performed in a staged reading with musical accompaniment at Haydenville Congregational Church, 143 Main Street, Haydenville, MA, at 7 PM on Friday, April 4. From the press release: "Matthew Shepard was a gay college student attending the University of Wyoming in 1998 when he was kidnapped from a bar, beaten, robbed, tied to a fence, and left to die. October Mourning explores the impact of this hate crime in a cycle of 68 poems told from various points of view including the fence to which Matthew Shepard was tied, the stars that watched over him, and a deer that kept him company through the night."
Published: March 10, 2014
