dumbfoundry

'...When I called time, and the women began to put down their pens, I had to urge them to read, Once one or two had read, the rest were willing to follow. We heard stories of rape, of incest, a child’s death, birth in shackles, remembrances of childhood homes, roads not taken. A woman began to cry and another brought a large prison-sized roll of toilet paper to the table. The Spanish woman, Magdelena, read her work in Spanish, and the woman next to her translated.'

Tune your web browser to My Vocabulary this Sunday afternoon from 4-6pm PST and get two amazingly talented Lauras for the price of none.

In the first hour, hear a reading that Laura Moriarty gave at UCSD this Spring. In the second hour, hear a brand new, freshly-recorded audioblogger reading by Laura Carter. Of course there will be some great music to enjoy between poems.

So come on by and enjoy a great show. Just point your computer to http://scw.ucsd.edu/ and choose your connection speed.

Drinking your heavy water like an eager postman, we're My Vocabulary.

My Vocabulary: Poems and Music
Hosted by Matthew Shindell and James Meetze
Music by Michel Cazary
Sundays 4-6 pm (PST) on KSDT (http://scw.ucsd.edu/)

The British Council is now accepting submissions for New Writing 14, to be edited by Lavinia Greenlaw and Helon Habila. Writers from, or resident in, the UK and the Commonwealth are encouraged to submit short stories, poetry, literary essays, memoirs, biography and fiction. This could be an extract from a work in progress. The deadline for submissions is 30 June 2005.

Presentation:
The Department of Culture of the Vinarós Town Council and Hermeneia (a research group into Literary Studies and Digital Technology at the UOC) have set out to foster the creation of digital literature, its recognition and its dissemination. This is why we have decided to award, jointly, the 1st International Prize "Ciutat de Vinaròs" on Digital Literature. The competition is open to all writers who use digital technology to a significant extent in the creation of their work.

Criteria:
The jury will assess the works submitted according to the following criteria:
Works that explore and use the possibilities of the computer as a space for creation.
Literary quality, seen as the renovation of poetic and narrative techniques through new means of creation.
Quality and accessibility of the interface design.
In the case of digital poetry, texts submitted may comprise a single piece of work or a compilation of poetry.
The jury will also take into account works that experiment with the Internet as a medium for literary creation.
Works entered for these prizes must be unpublished and written in one of the following languages: English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish or Catalan.

Prize money:
The prize money is as follows:
-NARRATIVE CATEGORY: € 2,500
-POETRY CATEGORY: € 2,500
-SPECIAL "VICENT FERRER ROMERO" MENTION: € 1,000

Jane Carr: In the book [Jane: A Murder], you re-examine, and revive the life and death of your aunt, talk about her death in the midst of a notorious killing spree. What drove you to write the collection now? Does it indicate a development in your relationship to Jane's memory, or to your relationship with yourself?

Maggie Nelson: The short answer is that I've been working on it a long time, because actually the first four pieces in the book were written when I was 22. And I had been doing a bunch of different kinds of writing and a lot of it was circulating around these dreams, or hauntings about being shot. Honestly, it sounds disingenuous, but I literally didn't really know that I was writing about my aunt for a long time. It just didn't really quite occur to me. And then when it did, and I realized, then I started doing the research. And I wasn't really writing a lot during the research, I was just researching. I guess you could say I've been working on it, in and out, all through my adult life. And then it was in the past couple of years that I gathered enough that it really made sense to sit down and dig it out.

The 2005 Dublin Writers Festival will run from Thursday 16 to Sunday 19 June 2005, and will feature some 40 Irish and international poets and writers in four days of readings, talks and panel discussions.

Reclusive writer Harper Lee has made a rare public appearance.

The author of "To Kill a Mockingbird" was honored Thursday by the Los Angeles Public Library. Lee won the Pulitzer Prize for her only book, a 1960 coming-of-age story that explores racial prejudice in the South.

The MDN [Mainichi Daily News] awaits your new, unpublished haiku, which are not restricted to any style, but should preferably contain a seasonal element.

Send entries to:"Haiku Column," Editorial Dept., Mainichi Daily News, 1-1-1 Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8051, Japan or by E-mail.

Please remember to include your airmail postal address!

Nnorom Azuonye: 'I contacted Kola Boof, or the woman believed to be Kola Boof and requested to see some of her poems for inclusion in the January 2003 issue of Sentinel Poetry (online) magazine monthly of which I am editor. She replied and promised to send some poems the following week and alerted me on a feature appearing the next day in New York Times. She sounded kind of excited about the feature titled "Mystery Enshrouds Kola Book [sic], Writer and Internet Persona." By Julie Salamon.

'When I read the article, I found that it was not exactly flattering, but rather raised questions about her credibility as a person if not as a writer, and demonstrated how many were drawn to her initially on the basis of information found on the Internet and the outrage that always exists when it is learnt that a person has received a religious death sentence but soon pulled away and made efforts to dissociate themselves with her - except for a handful of university professors. Salamon certainly tried to show through her reported consultations or research that Boof's might be a phantom Fatwa - a publicity ploy…but can she write?

'I said to myself, this is the time to interview Kola Boof whether she is the genuine article or the finest spoof of our time I wanted to get her story on record. This interview was conducted entirely by e-mail with the hope that at the end of it, there might be a possibility to create a kind of consistency in her so far profoundly inconsistent story. All I can hope for is that Kola Boof will be honest with me and that you can make up your own mind about her and her work.'

The closing date for nomination of entries is 5pm Thursday 2 June 2005.

The Queensland Premier's Literary Awards were inaugurated by Premier Peter Beattie in 1999 and have grown to become a leading literary awards program in Australia. The Awards offer established and aspiring authors the opportunity to gain recognition in the literary industry as well as providing financial assistance to support the development of high quality writing.

In 2005 entries are sought for the following prizes:
Fiction Book Award- $25,000
Emerging Queensland Author - Manuscript Award - $20,000
Unpublished Indigenous Writer - The David Unaipon Award - $15,000
Literary or Media Work Advancing Public Debate - the Harry Williams Award - $15,000
History Book Award - $15,000
Non-Fiction Book Award- $15,000
Children's Book Award - $15,000
Young Adult Book Award - $15,000
Film Script - the Pacific Film & Television Commission Award- $15,000
Television Script - QUT Creative Industries Award - $15,000
Drama Script (Stage) Award- $15,000
Science Writers Award - $15,000
Poetry Collection - Arts Queensland Judith Wright Calanthe Award - $15,000
Australian Short Story Collection - Arts Queensland Steele Rudd Award- $15,000
'New' Encouragement and Development Prize* with a value of $10,000
* Please note: Entrants cannot directly enter this category. This is only available to young emerging Queensland authors.

Express Media's patron John Marsden has launched a new creative writing competition for Australian writers under 25, which will include a $500 cash prize and publication in Voiceworks magazine for the best poem. Prizes will also be offered to the runners-up. Full details can be found at Express Media's website at www.expressmedia.org.au

Volume 2, The Emotional Rescue Series: Happy Circumstances

CALL AVAILABLE END OF MAY, OPEN UNTIL END OF JULY.

Think ahead: We find ourselves happily situated in many ways, BDD is looking for work that explores circumstance, fortune, chance, and opportunity.

The scourge of the poetry world is sipping black tea and nibbling almond cookies in the Tower of Cosmic Reflections on a drizzly Monday afternoon. The name of the teahouse may be grandiose but the scourge himself is anything but: Alan Cordle is a 36-year-old research librarian at Portland Community College who has wispy blond hair and pudgy cheeks. He drives a 1994 Honda Accord, likes to hike, and brews his own beer. "These cookies are great," he says with his mouth full. The man is harmlessness in blue slacks.

David Lehman, Denise Duhamel, Nick Carbó and David Trinidad will be our guest workshop organizers and speakers.

For this to be a successful event, we must have at least 50 poets attending.

For me, poetry is best before bed, perhaps because the best of it makes the kind of dreamlike connections my body is preparing for, though I never see coming. And – who knows? – maybe poetry makes my mind supple enough to dream well.

Judge to be announced. A prize of $1,000 plus book publication by Kore Press will be given for a book-length poetry manuscript. Postmark deadline: June 2, 2005

The Melbourne Poets Union (MPU) is publishing a chapbook of poems related to football—any kind of football, related to football in any way. Edited by Garth Madsen & Phil Ilton. To be published in September. We're currently receiving submissions—you do need to be financial member of MPU.

Submission deadline is 31 May—so if you're a member get your poems in. If you're not a member, you may consider joining. More details on membership on website: http://home.vicnet.net.au/~mpuinc

And here's more details on the chapbook:

Score High Marks! It's points plus to be in Kickers and Knockers: The MPU Chapbook on Football, ed. by Phil Ilton & Garth Madsen

Your poem(s) could love it, hate it, be related to football in any way. Any footy. Aussie Rules, Soccer, Rugby League/Union, Gridiron, Gaelic Football.

Not sure you can write on football? Then take a punt; only a dropkick would drop the ball and pass this opportunity.

We've received Grand Final poems. We'd love to receive some more.

Don't miss the siren. So you're not behind, make it your goal to get your submission in by 31 May.

Address for submissions on website: http://home.vicnet.net.au/~mpuinc

2005 Winners Announced

Gwyneth Lewis, Wales' new National Poet, announced the winners of the 2005 Cardiff International Poetry Competition at a ceremony during Academi's recent BayLit Festival. She said 'The winners brought their visions into sharp rhythmic, metaphorical or imaginative focus. Congratulations to the top three.'

The winner, Canadian poet Linda Rogers, flew in to Cardiff to accept the £5,000 winner's cheque in person. Her winning poem, 'He Saw the Pale', is a deeply human poem about the 2004 Tsunami tragedy. Second prize went to Robert Butler from Kent for his poem 'A Sumerian Tablet', which explores the span of writing across history. Third prize went to Gareth Jones for 'Unreel', which uses the idea of a split cassette reel to represent unheard voices.

Russell Collier, a native of the Rhondda who now lives and works in the capital, won the special Cardiff Prize of £800 for a poem about the city. His 'Bob In Cardiff' evocatively mingles music with the sights of Cardiff at night.

A Stomp is the Welsh equivalent of the Poetry Slam and Eirug Wyn was the original Stompmaster. Among the poets taking part are Twm Morys, Nia M(tm)n, Karen Owen, Myrddin ap Dafydd, Pod, Prysor, Cynan Jones, Andrea Parry, Rocet, Mei Mac and more... with Ifan Prys as stompmaster.

M.Y. It's almost a paradox, giving up poetry & poetic formats to produce poetry. Did you have a vision of what you wanted, where you wanted to go? & how did you know when you got there, when you reached that point where you could say "this is truly my own"?

J-P.K. So far I have known exactly where I have wanted to go, not necessarily how, but I have had a vision of direction and goal. But of course there happened unexpected things. I have found very interesting things before I have reached my goal, things which have changed my course and interest to somewhere else. Also, there is no system or formulae to say when I have done it, it is still a very intuitional thing, it is feeling, and usually very powerful. Many plans I have made have been disasters (I think), but still I have found something which has been very useful somewhere else. Although I use the computer to make choices, I still need (and want) to decide most things, including when texts/images are ready to go.

Poets based in the Yorkshire region who have workshop experience and have already published their first collection or are in the process of doing so, are invited to apply for this lively four week residency.

Deadline: Friday, 13th May 2005

East-side Educational Trust (an award winning arts and education charity based in London) is looking for Performance Poets and Creative Writers to run workshops for young people.

According to Rendon, the festival's objective is to contribute to Colombian cultural democratization, traditionally in the hands of the elite, to build a bridge to diversity and to boost the embrace of the poetic traditions which shape the human profile of our time.

According to the program, the Festival has scheduled 108 days of free access, 86 poetry readings in universities, cultural centers, streets and parks in the city, unions, prisons and for the homeless.

Seven lectures, six talks with the poets, three courses and three poetry workshops, a photo exhibition by Enrique Hernandez de Jesus (Venezuela) on poets from America and an exhibition by Colombian painter Antonio Samudio will be also included.

The festivals of Medellin attract more than 150,000 people annually. In Rendon's opinion, it is tangible proof of the Colombian people's vocation for peace and desire for changes in their country, split by more than 40 years of conflict.

The announcement was made by Mount Holyoke College that its $100 Glascock poetry prize was divided between two Massachusetts undergraduates. Miss Sylvia Plath of Elmwood Road was one of the two winners. Miss Plath, a Wellesley High School graduate, was a senior at Smith College, where she won the Elizabeth Babcock poetry prize and was twice awarded the Ethel Olin Corbin poetry prize.

Recently Approved Limericks:
apostrophe by mino (Limerick #5331)

The apostrophe's often abused:
It gets battered, and bruised, and misused.
On a plural, a blight;
For possessives, just right,
Barring "its", which leaves people confused.

Salary: £13,000 p.a.

Job description:
Arts Council England, in association with the Offenders' Learning & Skills Unit and the Regional Arts Councils, seeks new Writer in Residence:

HMYOI Northallerton
HMP Belmarsh

The Arts Council is committed to an equal opportunity policy.

"Making Ouija Boards is an art, like everything else. I do it exceptionally well. I do it so it feels like hell. I do it so it feels real. I guess you could say I've a call."

SYLVIA PLATH OUIJA BOARD!

Handmade, One-of-a-kind, It's a GAS!

Contact your own Dead Poets Society with this handmade one of a kind SYLVIA PLATH OUIJA BOARD!

Fairy Tale Review is an annual literary journal devoted to contemporary fairy tales. The journal hopes to provide an elegant and innovative venue for both established and emerging authors of poetry and prose. Fairy Tale Review is not devoted to any particular school of writing, but rather to fairy tales as an inspiring art form.

• Gather the following: three dogs; three pens; a waterproof notebook (plus sundry pages of typescript and/or pages torn from other notebooks) with an elastic band around it; Nivea cream; lots of sweets; a bottle of water; a dog's bowl; a swimsuit (in case you take a dip in the sea); a scarf (to sit on and/or use as a towel); spare pair of socks (in case you stumble into a bog); bus timetable (in case you end up far from home); glasses (to read the timetable); a small empty Tupperware container . . .

What is it about writers that drew you to them as a subject?
Marion Ettlinger: I guess it's partly because they were being photographed not because of the way they looked or because of the way they moved; they were being photographed because of their inner life and their intellect, which are invisible to the eye. And here I was, dealing with the outside of them, and that juxtaposition of the inside and outside I felt was an interesting challenge, and I wanted to explore that. I also found that, in general, writers are a pretty intelligent group, and, as a result, they usually have a pretty good sense of humor.

The only remaining reason for me to be a writer is that I love it. And I love it because I love beauty, and because I love my heart to be full of love.

Simply choose the poet(s) you want to adopt from our "Find a Poet" section, which lists nearly 500 poets whose biographies appear on the website.

[ ] Yes, I will be proud to participate in this Adopt-A-Poet campaign and support critically needed upgrades and additions to Poets.org. I have listed below the poet(s) I wish to adopt. Enclosed is my generous contribution in the amount of:

[ ] $30 to adopt one poet
[ ] $50 to adopt two poets
[ ] $70 to adopt three poets
[ ] $100 to adopt five poets

From the Poetry Ireland Newsletter: 'Cost-cutting at An Post [Post Office in Ireland] has seen the demise of a product used by generations of writers but, unfortunately, by too few other people. The International Reply Coupon [IRC] has traditionally been the only feasible way to include postage when submitting work to overseas journals. An Post says reply coupons involved a ‘phenomenal’ administration cost and were relatively little used, so it has stopped issuing them.Instead, people who want to make it easier for others to write back to them are encouraged to use the International Business Reply Service. Unfortunately there is a minimum charge of €127 per year for this service and individual writers would generate too little business to be eligible for it anyhow. This more or less leaves us high and dry when it comes to submitting our work to foreign publications ...'

The Michael Hartnett Poetry Award was established in 2000, is co-funded by Limerick County Council and the Arts Council, and has a value of €6,350.

Launched by distinguished poet Fleur Adcock. Mrs Annie Deeny was a teacher and mother of six children who, although she wrote, never sought to have her work published. This perpetual prize is in her memory to encourage someone in a similar situation to write and to publish. It provides a two-week residency in the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annaghmakerrig plus €250 to cover extra costs. It will be awarded each year to a woman, preferably a mother, who is developing her career as a writer and whose promise will be nurtured by a period of residency at Annaghmakerrig.

It’s finally time to cast your votes for your favorite Blogging Poets to become the first Poet Laureate of the Blogosphere. Nominations began April 1st, 2005 and ended April 30, 2005. The polls are now open ...

Find downloadable .pdfs of Tinfish journal #13 and the work of three Vietnamese poets among other goodies.

Daisy Fried says, 'I also don't have a sense of how many people actually read poems at websites, but the same question could be asked about print journals. I also don't know how much print and cyber audiences overlap. One thing I've noticed, though, is that gender balance at online zines tends to be much better than at some older print journals. How pleasant it is to read poems online instead of on the page depends on your technology, eyesight, the site itself, how old you were when you first arrived in cyberspace, and whether you prefer reading poetry in the tub or at a desk. If I see a poem online I'm really interested in, I print it out and go lie on the couch to read it. Then maybe I buy the book, to bend and crack and mark up. Can't do that to my Dell Notebook, let alone my mammoth old desktop.'

Makata Vol.6 Issue No.5 is now available online featuring the works of our home-grown and international poets. [...]

Poetry

by Angelo Ancheta, Aurora Antonovic, Dianey Rozzane Gomez Benitez, Luis Benítez, Luis Cuauhtemoc Berriozabal, Kris V. Cajipe, Eugenio R. Corpus III, Rodrigo V. Dela Peña Jr., Eoin Dunford, C W Hawes, Misael Paranial, Alexander Martin Remollino and Ella Wagemakers. [...]

Featuring:

A Guest Interview with poet and editor C.E. Laine, by Patricia Gomes;

Poetry by Priscilla Barton, Tara Burns, Jerry Garcia, Taylor Graham, C.E. Laine, George Lober, Peter Magliocco and Jim Moore;

Fiction by Angel Uriel Perales;

Photography by Jill Burhans, Jean-Luc Elias, Mitch Miller, Donnali Peters and William
Spreadbury;

and Lily's Review of this month's offerings.

Maurice Riordan is the new Poetry Editor of Poetry London. He succeeds Pascale Petit who is leaving the magazine after 15 years.

The Dial-A-Poem service, begun, in 1968, was a huge success. Not only did we ourselves get millions of calls, we inspired the creation of dial-for-stock market info and dial for sports-info services, etc. We also foreshadowed by a generation the explosion of 1-900 telephone promotions, not to mention the delivery of the Internet over phone lines. we produced poetry videos, videopaks and films. We formed bands and toured like the rock'n' rollers. We displayed poetry on the surface of ordinary objects, producing silk-screen and lithograph Poem Prints. We established the AIDS Treatment Project in 1984.

NYT article [registration required]