Subscriber News: May 2016
Recent Honors
Congratulations to Terry Barr. His essay collection Don't Date Baptists: And Other Warnings from my Alabama Mother was published by Red Dirt Press, an imprint of Red Truck Review, in February. This book recounts stories from his early years in Bessemer, AL, in the 1960s-70s, as he struggled to understand the dividing lines of race, class, religion, and neighborhood anxiety.
Congratulations to James K. Zimmerman. His poetry chapbook Family Cookout won the 2015 Jessie Bryce Niles Chapbook Award from the Comstock Review and will be published this month. He kindly shares the title poem here. This contest awards $1,000, publication, and 50 copies; the most recent submission period was August 1-October 31.
Congratulations to Charlie Bondhus. The first of his two published poetry collections, How the Boy Might See It, was reissued in a revised edition in October 2015 by Jane's Boy Press. In a review in Lambda Literary, Dean Kostos says of this book: "Without self-pity, the poet walks the edge between Eros and Thanatos, acknowledging their shared contour."
Congratulations to John Reinhart. His debut poetry chapbook, encircled, was published this spring by Prolific Press. His poems have recently appeared in Star*Line (#39.1), 50 Haikus (Vol. 1, #9), Spaceports & Spidersilk (April 2016), Liminoid (#4), Songs of Eretz Poetry Review, Scifaikuest (Feb. 2016), and On the Verge.
Congratulations to Judith Berman. Her poetry collection Aleph, broken: Poems from my diaspora will be published in June by Broadstone Books and is now available at a pre-order discount. From the publisher's website: "The broken Aleph—first letter of the Hebrew alphabet—represents the chasm between the author, a secular Jew, and her cultural and religious heritage. The poems in this collection explore her efforts to repair that breach and to find her footing in the world, negotiating the path of history and tradition while fully alive to the present." Poet Diane Wakoski says of this collection: "Judith Kerman writes with substance, a wholesome acceptance of an imperfect world, oneself included. Her poems are an admirable reality-check for all of us."
Congratulations to J.C. Todd. Her artist book FUBAR, a collaboration with visual artist MaryAnn L. Miller, was published in 2016 by Lucia Press in a limited edition of 20 copies; email the publisher for purchasing information. From the publisher's website: "[Todd's] poem is one of a suite of sonnets written from the point of view of a female Air Force physician deployed to Iraq. FUBAR is printed on Rives BFK paper in a modified orihon (accordion) format that allows the poem to be read as the viewer moves around the piece, creating a physical interaction." In other news, Todd's poem "The Morning After" received a commendation in the 2016 Hippocrates Prize for Poetry and Medicine. The most recent deadline for this contest, with a top award of 5,000 pounds, was January 31. Her poem "What's Left" was longlisted for the 2015 National Poetry Competition from the Poetry Society (UK). The most recent deadline for this award of 5,000 pounds was October 31. Todd's poem "Her Garden" was published in the anthology The Doll Collection (Terrapin Books, 2016). She writes, "Thank you for the many years of Winning Writers, its tips and lists of opportunities. A faithful service to the writing community."
Recent Publications
Wendy Waters was interviewed at the blog Grits, Hugs, and Sweet Tea about her novel Catch the Moon, Mary (Linen Press, 2015), a paranormal romance about an abused girl and the fallen angel who turns her into an opera diva. The book draws on Waters's background as a composer, lyricist, librettist, and volunteer music teacher for homeless youth.
Elizabeth Kirschner's memoir Waking the Bones, winner of the nonfiction category in the 2015 Winning Writers North Street Book Prize, was favorably reviewed in April at Coal Hill Review, a journal published by Autumn House Press. Reviewer Christine Stroud writes: "Kirschner unravels the snarled strings of her life, weaving connections between her childhood traumas, her adult mental illness, and the redemptive power of self-reliance... [Her] language is alight with sensory detail and a feeling of constant, fluttering movement."
Tom Taylor a/k/a The Poet Spiel has a solo exhibition of his new artwork, "Drawing Conclusions", at Kadoya Gallery, 119 Central Plaza, Pueblo, Colorado, through May 18. Visit their website for the gallery schedule and images from the show. Find out more about Spiel's writing and artwork here. A special hardcover career catalogue titled A Lifetime Drawing Conclusions: American Artist & Author, Tom Taylor aka The Poet Spiel aka Thoss W Taylor is being published for this exhibition: a heavily illustrated collection of this artist's images, representing seven decades of his diverse career. It will be available for purchase at Kadoya Gallery or at Zulu.
Rick Lupert's spoken-word album Rick Lupert Live and Dead is available for download at Poetry Super Highway. It features 25 tracks of poetry including 15 studio recordings (mixed with acoustic and electronic music), 8 rare live tracks recorded in front of audiences who were also live, a "Fake Live Track" (to appeal to your 70's and 80's laugh track sensibility) and an afterthought. Rick will be reading his poetry with Dennis Cruz and Anna Urenna at Gus Harper Art, 11306 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, on Saturday, May 28, at 7:30 p.m. He will also be the featured reader in the weekly poetry and open mic series at Cafe International, 508 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA, on Friday, July 15, at 7:30 p.m.
Tricia McCallum's poem "Funeral Sandwiches" was featured at Poetry Breakfast on April 16. Her poem "How Things Happen" was featured on their site on April 29. "Castoffs" and "Parallax" were featured there on May 5.
Ruth Hill's poem "Questions without Answers" will be published in Perfume River Poetry Review #4. This is the fourth year in a row she has been selected for this anthology by editor Vuong Quoc Vu. "Spirit of Iron, Heart of Gold", "Horses", and "Godsong" were published online in January at The Society of Classical Poets. Ruth has five other poems in their archives. "Beach Wandering" was published in Lucidity Poetry Journal (Spring 2016). "Slough Straw", "Land of Long Shadows", and "Spring Bulb" were published in the Royal City Literary Arts Society e-zine in January, February, and March respectively. "Aloft" and "Faith Wraith" were included in Voices Israel 2016 Newsletters for March and April. "Gangly" will be published this spring in City Works Journal, a publication of San Diego City College. She is still waiting for her first book, and still a fan of Winning Writers.
Published: May 9, 2016
