what would e e cummings say?

Whatever you may think of Calvin Klein, Jake Gyllenhaal, or fragrance advertising, it’s a rare convergence when what they have in common is the E.E. Cummings poem [i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]. Read the story and watch the video: Vanity Fair.

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Dear Rain*

2017 Merit Award
By Sterling C.H. Bemment, 3rd Grade

Dear Rain,
You probably
don’t
remember me
The vast
Ocean
of sand
that is scorching hot
I would trade
all the animals
and all the plants
just for you
to visit me
And quench my thirst
And stop me longing for you
From, the Desert

. . . . .
*Copyright 2017 by Sterling C.H. Bemment. Broadside illustrated by Mat Hudson.

happening now!

The Vancouver Writers Fest is happening now and continuing through Sunday, October 22, 2017, in Vancouver, BC.

next time you’re in Santa Fe

…be sure to visit the brand new Haiku Pathway at Santa Fe Community College. The stoneware haiku were created and installed by Christy Hengst with haiku curated by Miriam Sagan. Funding was provided by the Witter-Bynner Foundation, the SFCC Foundation, New Mexico Literary Arts, Art on Campus, and the SFCC English Department.

Thanks to Michael Dylan Welch for the heads up.

on poetry

“I’m a firm believer that language and how we use language determines how we act, and how we act then determines our lives and other people’s lives.”
Ntozake Shange
(b. October 18, 1948)

. . . . .
photo: Adger Cowans

Peace Arts Workshops

 
 
Set aside some time on Tuesday, October 24, and Wednesday, October 25, 2017, and participate in one, two, or all three Peace Arts Workshops offered by the Whatcom Peace & Justice Center (WPJC).
 
Transform Your Writing
with poet Betty Scott and songwriter-musician J.P. Falcon Grady
10:00am-Noon, Tuesday, October 24

This workshop will help you explore how the world of peace and justice can be realized through writing. Participants will transform the thought, emotion and images of a free write into a fixed form, perhaps a horoscope, a sonnet, a pantoum, or a revised chorus from a favorite song. Through writing, discussion, and performance examples, participants will look for the gifts that structure and re-visioning provide, then partner with musician J.P. Falcon Grady to enhance their writing with chords and rhythms.

Peace Collage Workshop
with Nancy Canyon
2:00-4:00pm, Tuesday, October 24

Spend the afternoon with Nancy Canyon, author and artist, creating a 6 x 8 inch Peace Collage. Let go of the thinking mind. We’ll work from a space of non-judgment, collecting magazine images that describe the complexities of the concept of peace. The process will feel leisurely and meditative as we cut and move pieces around the matt board, arranging colors and shapes in engaging composition. At the end of class, we’ll share our collages. Magazines and matt board will be provided. Please bring scissors and glue sticks and additional magazines, if you can.

Writing for Peace and Resistance
with Abbe Rolnick
​4:30-6:30pm, Wednesday, October 25

Interactive workshop that highlights storytelling using both fiction and non-fiction techniques to present ideas of justice, resistance, and peace. Core principles of authenticity — original thinking, transformed into meaningful essays or stories.

All three workshops will be held at WPJC, 1220 Bay Street in downtown Bellingham. To register, visit the WPJC Peace Arts Workshops page.

congratulations, winners!

Congratulations to the winners of the Washington State Book Awards:

• Poetry – My, My, My, My, My by Tara Hardy (Seattle)
• Biography/memoir – An Earlier Life by Brenda Miller (Bellingham)
• Fiction – Daredevils by Shawn Vestal (Spokane)
• History/general nonfiction – Eruption: The Untold Story of Mount St. Helens by Steve Olson (Seattle)
• Picture book – Thunder Boy Jr. by Sherman Alexie (Seattle), illustrated by Yuyi Morales
• Young readers (ages 6 to 8) – Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea by Ben Clanton (Tacoma)
• Middle readers (ages 9 to 12) – Some Kind of Courage by Dan Gemeinhart (Cashmere)
• Young adults (ages 13 to 18) – Useless Bay by M.J. Beaufrand (Seattle)

See the complete list of finalists here.