CELEBRATING NATIONAL POETRY MONTH, APRIL 2011 FEATURING POET ROBERT S. KING

Living Above the Frost Line celebrates NATIONAL POETRY MONTH featuring poet  Robert S. King.

There will be more posts about this southern/appalachian poet and more of his poems during the month of April. Your comments are welcome.

Robert has published in hundreds of magazines, including The Kenyon Review, Southern Poetry Review, ELF: Eclectic Literary Forum, Midwest Quarterly, California Quarterly, Chariton Review, Negative Capability, The Hollins Critic, Blue Unicorn, Poem, Louisville Review, En Passant, Xanadu, Chattahoochee Review, The Cape Rock, Amelia, Slant, Sow's Ear, Windless Orchard, Great River Review, Visions Inter national, Writers' Forum, Lullwater Review, Permafrost, Habersham Review, Spoon River Poetry Review,The Bridge, Hellas, Hammers, Poetpourri, Grasslands Review, Lungfish Review, and other literary magazines.

Robert S. King is a native Georgian who grew up in the rural foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. He began writing poetry seriously after he was discharged from the U.S. Navy in 1972. Since then he has published several chapbooks and two full-length titles (see below).

Because poetry has never paid the bills, he has built a rather varied, and sometimes contradictory, résumé. To mention just a few jobs, he has been a Cambodian translator (U.S. Navy), a bookstore manager, a court reporter, an interlibrary loan manager, a technical editor, and a software engineer. He retired in 2010 and has been devoting himself full-time to writing, editing, and publishing poetry.

Robert is currently the Director of FutureCycle Press (www.futurecycle.org) and serves as President of the Georgia Poetry Society (www.georgiapoetrysociety.org).  Additionally, he is a member of  the Georgia Writers Association and the North Carolina Writers Network.

His chapbook titles are When Stars Fall Down as Snow (Garland Press, 1976), Dream of the Electric Eel (Wolfsong Publications, 1982), and Traveller’s Tale (Whistle Press, 1998).

Two full-length titles, The Hunted River and The Gravedigger’s Roots, were published by Shared Roads Press in 2009. 

From The Hunted River:

Regret

We are always dreaming our way back,

looking behind us to see the road

rolling up like a sleeping bag,

how the trees bend over it

as if they were trying to cover up where we’ve been.

Suddenly we feel our pulse rise like a flame,

the dust a red fire behind us.

The past burns slowly.

Its face is red.

Its gown is ash.

Cinders float from our backs and seem like travellers,

seem more than gray husks so slowly falling down.

--first published in The Habersham Review

Also from The Hunted River:

Motions

Tonight our silences walk together

in a cold slow motion

on the same abandoned road

where cricket mantras have replaced

ice clicks under logging wheels.

We go through the motions

toward thinner darkness,

our footprints deep in the road

our walks wear down.

Our feet obey the eyes navigating

a tunnel of trees bent over

a trail of ruts and holes

that could break a leg,

though we now know how to avoid a void,

we who once tried to fill the rifts

with laughing children,

with magic acts,

with house plans drawn in the dark.

Now ahead comes that distant window,

its warm hands of light

leaking out of the blinds

to touch our arrival.

But too like the cold we've come from,

a draft we name and drag in

to haunt the house,

an old wind to blow us further apart,

were we not both moths afloat

on yellow ropes of ghostlight.

We prefer to drift apart in place,

or orbit in the dark and comfort

of familiar pain, where ages hence

we may not remember our names, our lives,

if we ever truly had them,

only see how the light from our eyes ties together,

showing the way home somehow once again.

--first published by Neonbeam (U.K.)

Institute for Continuing Learning at Young Harris College

This morning I was fortunate to walk on the grounds of Young Harris College with fellow Institute For Continuing Learning instructors. It is a beautiful this time of year and one of my all time favorite places. Thanks to all who signed up for my POETRY WORKSHOP. It filled. Registration is behind us. I'll be in touch with instructions for the first class as soon as I receive the membership list.

INFORMATION FOR POETS -NATIONAL POETRY MONTH posted by Ellen Bass

APRIL IS NATIONAL POETRY MONTH.

IF YOU LOVE POETRY, 

BUY A BOOK BY A LIVING POET. 

(posted by Ellen Bass)

(photo by Poet Nancy Simpson, author of  Living Above the Frost Line)

Buying books makes it possible for publishers to keep publishing poetry and for bookstores to carry poetry. As Gandhi said, "Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it." Consider making a commitment to buy one poetry book a month this year. At the end of the year, you won't notice that you're any poorer and you'll have made a meaningful contribution to poetry.

Poetry books make terrific presents. Many people who don't think they like poetry find that they love certain poems and whole books of poems once they're introduced to them.

Of course I'd be delighted if you buy my books. You can order Mules of Love and The Human Line directly from my website at www.ellenbass.com which connects to Bookshop Santa Cruz, our local independent bookstore. Or buy The Book of Men, just out by Dorianne Laux, with whom I'll be teaching at Esalen this summer. Or, you can buy both my books--The Human Line and Mules of Love along with The Poet's Companion by Dorianne Laux and Kim Addonizio for a special deal right now--$32.95.

You might also subscribe to a poetry journal or two. This month would be a great time to get a subscription to American Poetry Review. I'm featured on the cover with ten poems as a special supplement and also inside is a long, gorgeous poem by Joe Millar, also teaching at Esalen in July. 

THE AMERICAN POETRY REVIEW

March/April 2011

www.aprweb.org

Vol. 40 No. 2  $4.50

Ellen Bass * Joseph Millar * Kate Northrop * Fred Brandfon * Bianca Tarozzi * William Heyen * Afaa Michael Weaver * Gordon Marino * Sophie Cabot Black * Jack DeWitt * James McCorkle * Lucien Stryk * Nikola Madzirov and more.

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FLORENCE HOWE: A LIFE IN MOTION: A MEMOIR 

Book talk, signing, Q&A

Wednesday, April 13th at 7:30

Bookshop Santa Cruz, Pacific Avenue

Dear Friends,

Please don't miss this opportunity to meet Florence Howe! Florence is my mentor and literary mother. She was my teacher at Goucher College and together we co-edited No More Masks! the first major anthology of poems by women, published by Doubleday in 1973.

Florence changed the course of my life. She taught me to teach the way I do and she introduced me to the world of poetry, opening the door for my first book to be published.

She's the founder of The Feminist Press, the oldest publisher of women's books--just celebrating their 40th anniversary. The Feminist Press has rescued extremely important women's literature from oblivion--beginning with writers like Zora Neal Hurston and "Life in the Iron Mills" by Rebecca Harding Davis  and continuing through to this century with major volumes of work from women writers throughout India and Africa--writing we'd never have access to (and quite possibly no one would have a chance to read) were it not for the work of the Feminist Press.

In addition, she was probably the single most influential woman in creating the field of Women's Studies in colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad.

She's a powerhouse, a visionary, a firestorm, a woman of prodigious energy, passion, and generosity. And at 82 she's still going strong! Florence lives in New York, so she's not out our way often. This is a very special opportunity to meet her, listen to her, and buy her memoir. I'm proud to be among her literary daughters and I'll be introducing her.

Hope to see you there,

Ellen

P.S. Please share this widely with anyone you think would enjoy this evening--feminists, writers, peace activists, humans!

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JANET GOLDSTEIN, NEW YORK PUBLISHING STRATEGIST

OFFERING WORKSHOP IN SANTA CRUZ.

May 21-22, 2011  

Laura Davis is bringing Janet Goldstein to Santa Cruz for this special event. Janet Goldstein was Ellen and Laura's editor extraordinaire (at HarperCollins) for their book, The Courage to Heal.

Theme of Workshop:  New World of Publishing: Today's Rules for Developing Ideas and Finding Your Audience. Whether your heart is set on the literary-agent-to-publisher path, self-publishing, or whether you’re considering a blog or other strategy to launch your work and ideas, this workshop promises to give you the direction and inspiration you need.

For more info or to register: http://www.GetPublishedSantaCruz.com

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LAURA DAVIS AND HER WRITER’S JOURNEY STUDENTS INVITE YOU TO A WORKSHOP AT THEIR WRITER’S JOURNEY SPRING SALON.

Friday, April 29th, 6:30, Live Oak Grange, 1900 17th Avenue, Santa Cruz.

Please attend this free event celebrating the written word! Experienced and emerging writers will perform their stories, celebrating the diversity and richness of the human experience.

Dinner and dessert will be available for sale  

For Event details:  http://www.lauradavis.net/salon

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FREE TELECALL: AM I READY TO MOVE FROM WRITING TO PUBLISHING? HOSTED BY LAURA DAVIS AND JANET GOLDSTEIN

April 12, 4pm PT (7pm ET).

This content-rich call with Laura Davis and Janet Goldstein will teach you about the all-important distinctions between “writing” and “publishing,” offer 5 lessons that can open the doors to your publishing success; give case studies of “regular” authors who successfully applied these lessons to their own work; guide you in an exercise to determine where you are on the writing-publishing continuum; and provide open time for Questions and Answers as well as information about their upcoming publishing workshop.

Once you sign up, you will receive a link to download the call if you can’t listen live.

http://www.Getpublishedsantacruz.com/call

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: THE BELLEVUE LITERARY REVEW PRIZES FOR FICTION, NON-FICTION AND POETRY

Deadline: July 1, 2011

$1000 Goldenberg Prize for Fiction  (Judged by Francine Prose)

$1000 Burns Archive Prize for Nonfiction  (Judged by Susan Orlean)

$1000 Marica and Jan Vilcek Prize for Poetry  (Judged by Cornelius Eady)

The Bellevue Literary Review Prizes recognize exceptional writing about health, healing, illness, the mind, and the body. Winners will be included in the Spring 2012 issue of the journal.

For complete guidelines, please visit www.BLReview.org

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: LaCHANCE SEEKING TRUE STORIES ABOUT BREAST CANCER FOR ANTHOLOGY SERIES. 

Seeking true, first-hand stories of literary merit for Volume 2 of Voices of Breast Cancer anthology. If you or someone you know has had breast cancer and wish to share your heartfelt, inspiring, true story of facing this life-defining challenge, please visit www.lachancepublishing.com for additional details and submission guidelines.

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS; SMALL, INDEPENDENT PRESS SEEKING POEMS FOR ANTHOLOGY THAT CELEBRATES TRAILER PARK LIFE

Poems of growing up in, living in, leaving, or otherwise responding to the trailer park for an as-yet-untitled anthology. For submissions and full guidelines, e-mail parkanthology@gmail.com.

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: THE WIDOW’S HANDBOOK SEEKING POEMS AND SHORT PERSONAL ESSAYS  

Deadline: June 30, 2011

Seeking pieces no longer than 500 words about experiences related to bereavement; mourning rituals, coping strategies, support systems (or lack thereof), evolving social life (isolation, work, friends, dating), re-building (including but not limited to finding new love or focus). Payment: contributor’s copies. Send with SASE for reply to: The Widow’s Handbook, 1427 Commonwealth Ave. #401, Brighton, MA 02135.

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF NURSING SEEKS POEMS AND VISUAL ART RELATED TO HEALTH OR HEALTH CARE

$150 honorarium paid upon publication.

Sponsored by their Art of Nursing Department. Authors need not be health care professionals. Original perspectives and clear, unsentimental writing are preferred. Query, Art of Nursing coordinator: sylvia.foley@wolterskluwer.com.

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: CAVE WALL, A LITERARY JOURNAL OF POETRY AND ART 

Deadline, April 30, 2011. 

Recent contributors include Sandra Beasley, Robert Bly, Kelly Cherry, Carl Phillips, Natasha Trethewey, and Robert Wrigley. 

For guidelines, send SASE to Cave Wall Press LLC, P.O. Box 29546, Greensboro, NC 27429-9546. Or visit: www.cavewallpress.com.

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TATTOO HIGHWAY, AN ONLINE JOURNAL OF PROSE, POETRY AND ART, SEEKS WORK FOR THEIR CRITTERS ISSUE. 

Deadline: June 10, 2011

Dogs, cats, all creatures real and imaginary. Our tastes are eclectic. We like fresh, vivid language, intelligence, originality, authenticity, and humor. Guidelines on Web site; please read back issues before submitting. www.tattoohighway.org.

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: THE ANNA DAVIDSON ROSENBERG POETRY AWARD ON JEWISH EXPERIENCE 

Deadline: April 10, 2011

Award: $3000

Submit in quadruplicate hard copy, up to three poems of no more than 10 pages and one application coversheet. No entry fee. Poems judged anonymously. Personal data on cover sheet only.  For complete guidelines, contact (510) 649-2482 or e-mail cjs@gtu.edu. Web site: www.gtu.edu/centersandaffiliates/jewishstudies. Submission address: Heidi Feldman, Program Coordinator, Richard S. Dinner Center for Jewish Studies, Graduate Theological Union, 2400 Ridge Road, Berkeley, CA 94709.

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: BLUE LIGHT PRESS ACCEPTING MANUSCRIPTS FOR THEIR 2011 POETRY PRIZE AND CHAPBOOK CONTEST.  

Deadline:  June 15, 2011

To enter, send 10 to 24 pages of poetry, reading fee of $10.00, and SASE to:  Blue Light Press Poetry Prize, 1563 - 45th Ave., San Francisco, CA 94122.  

For guidelines, E-mail:  bluelightpress@aol.com.  www.bluelightpress.com.

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS : BECOMING: ANTHOLOGY OF WOMEN'S STORIES,  REQUESTS PROSE FOR THE ONLINE JOURNAL,  SHARK REEF   

Guidelines: http://sharkreef.org/  

Please direct any questions to Lorna Reese, editor@sharkreef.org.

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: SOFT SKULL PRESS PUBLISHES FICTION/ NON FICTION/MEMOIR/GRAPHICS

Their recent acceptance of Love, InshAllah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women, is an example of what submission material they may be interested in. They are looking for stories where the narrator identifies as an American Muslim at the time the story is taking place.  It does not have to be set in the United States. Also, they are looking specifically for love stories related to dating/courtship and the search for

love.

For guidelines: http://www.softskull.com/submission_guidelines.php.

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: APERÇUS QUARTERLY NOW ACCEPTING POETRY, FICTION, CREATIVE NON-FICTION

Deadline: May 1, 2011

For submission guidelines: www.apercusquarterly.com  

For questions, li.henley@hotmail.com

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: GOOD DEEDS THAT TURN ON US AND THE SENSE WE MAKE OF THEM

Deadline: April 15, 2011

We invite writers to explore through poetry, fiction, memoir and creative non-fiction acts of generosity that have had unintended consequences and the sense, over time, we have made of them.

Electronic submissions only.  Word or RTF. Prose, 5,000 words. Poetry, 5 poems.

Submit manuscripts electronically:  deeds@universaltable.org

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:  SCREAM ON-LINE SEEKING POETRY AND PROSE POEMS

Deadline: June 1, 2011

They are looking for poems talking about what you think about heaven or hell; not necessarily religious. Previously published okay.  

Scream is an online arts/culture/literature journal. A link to the most recent issue: http://www.thescreamonline.com/

Please send the poems as attachments to their facebook address or e-mail   jzguzlowski@gmail.com

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: SPECIAL ANTHOLOGY FOR JAPAN SPONSORED BY PIRENE’S FOUNTAIN

Deadline: October, 2011

Pirene’s Fountain is collecting an anthology of poems, flash fiction, essays, and black & white illustrations. Send us what you like, but please keep in mind: the shorter the piece, the more we can get in. Poems no longer than two pages, flash fiction, one page, essays and short stories no longer than five pages.   

This is primarily a fund raising project. If you are sending us a written piece published previously in a book, journal or anthology, please make sure you have permission. We will not consider any work for which written permission from the publisher has not been granted.

Questions should be addressed to: Ami Kaye, Publisher & Managing Editor, Pirene’s Fountain

http://www.pirenesfountain.com/

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EVENT: THE POETIC SPIRIT

THREE DAY CONFERENCE IN CEDARVILLE, CA. (Moduc County’s Surprise Valley)

June 17-19, 2011

For poets and writers who would like to inform their work through field study, be led by internationally known geologist, Eldridge Moores, who will lead field study workshops, readings and reflections.  Please visit the Poetic Spirit website for registration information, detailed bios and suggested reading, go to www.poeticspiritsurprisevalley.blogspot.com or call 530-279-2099

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GOOD NEWS FROM ELLEN’S CURRENT AND FORMER STUDENTS

[If you've been a student of mine and have an announcement to share, please send it to my assistant, Shalom, at victors75@rattlebrain.com for inclusion in the next mailing]

Suzanne Carey, a student in Ellen’s Wednesday class has just been notified that her chapbook entitled George Washington is Dead, has been accepted by Finishing Line Press, an award-winning small press publisher.

Diane Covington, who has been at Esalen retreats with Ellen, had her story, “Finding Gilbert,” accepted in the anthology, Best Women's Travel Writing 2011.

Connie Hanstedt, a current student in Ellen’s Thursday class, had her piece, “Rites of Passage,” accepted by The Sun in their Readers Write section.

Dian O’Reilly, a current student in Ellen’s Thursday class, has had the following recent acceptances. Her story, “Bucolic,” will be published in June-July by The Redwood Coast Review;  "Seattle 1979," flash fiction, was published online in Writing Raw in their March 15 issue; "Summer Vacation," a poem, will appear in *Existere* in their forthcoming Spring/Summer issue. Dian was also just accepted into the Pacific University MFA program where Ellen teaches.

Bob Freedman, a student in Ellen’s Esalen workshop had his poem, "Nature as I Take It,"  published in 5 AM, Issue #32.

Ileana Portillo’s two poems, “Nopal” and La Petite Creperie,” has been accepted by The Farmer General, a literary magazine with a culinary focus.

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Ellen Bass

ellen@ellenbass.com

www.ellenbass.com

RIVERCANE WALK AT JOHN C. CAMPBELL FOLK SCHOOL with a poem by Nancy Simpson

On the banks of Brasstown Creek as it flows through the western North Carolina town of Brasstown (on the grounds of John C. Campbell Folk School) you will find RIVERCANE WALK.  The trail winds among the canebreaks, leading into  an exhibit of Cherokee history and art work.  This is one of my favorite places. I have walked here many times.

Totem of Cherokee Clans

Corn Maiden, Fire Ring

There is an error in the naming of Brasstown. Information here says the community was Aquohee, English translation "Big Place".  In recent years, Cherokee Scholar Bret Riggs PHD of UNC Chapel Hill has discovered an error in translation of two Cherokee words, It-se-yi and unt-se-yi with unt-se-yi meaning "the place where brass is found" and It-se-yi meaning "Green Place."

(photos taken at Brasstown on March 29, 2011 Nancy Simpson)

Green Place

It-se-yi: fresh, green place

stretches from Brasstown Bald Mountain

to Brasstown village in North Carolina,

the old home of Chief Settawiga,

From Brasstown Bald Mountain in Georgia,

Cherokee people walked

to the home of Settawiga,

led by federal troops.

Cherokee People walked

through cold rain and snow,

led by federal troops

on The Trail of Tears.

Through cold rain and snow,

they cried for It-se-yi, not Unt-se-yi

on their Trail of Tears.

Truth was lost in translation.

They cried for It-se-yi, not Unt-se-yi.

The scholar was mistaken,

truth lost in his translation.

It is not the place where there is brass.

The scholar was mistaken

Settawiga taught his people, saying:

“It is not the place where there is brass

that we carry in us as we go.”

Settawiga led his people to Oklahoma

teaching them, saying:

“We carry in us

It-se-yi, Green Place.”

poem by Nancy Simpson

from LIVING ABOVE THE FROST LINE

New and Selected Poems, Carolina Wren Press

MORE CHEROKEE HERITAGE  INFO Click

http://www.cherokeeheritagetrails.org/murphy_places.html