on poetry

“There are things which some people never attempt during their whole lives, but one of these is not poetry. Poetry attacks all human beings sooner or later, and, like the measles, is mild or violent according to the age of the sufferer.”
Samuel Langhorne Clemens / Mark Twain
(November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910)
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nothing’s changed but…

When the Boynton Blog launched, in 2010, its purpose was to serve as the voice and website of the Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest, then in its fifth year. That it has done and continues to do, sharing details about past, current and upcoming events, and standing as an electronic record of this vibrant all-ages contest in Whatcom County, Washington.

But posting almost every day (1575 posts to date), a blogger’s interests can roam far and wide. With poetry as the central theme, and the Cascadia region as the geographical hub, the blog’s topics have become increasingly eclectic.

So, today, the Boynton Blog’s address has changed. Instead of boyntonpoetrycontest.wordpress.com, the URL is thepoetrydepartment.wordpress.com — an address that honors an audience of readers interested in poetry, wherever they may be.

But nothing else has changed. If you are a subscriber (thank you!), you will be automatically redirected to the new address. If you are not yet a subscriber, this would be a great time to sign up.

We will continue to post Contest information as it becomes available (and you can find more on the Sue Boynton Poetry Contest Facebook page) and, as always, we appreciate your visits, your attention and your comments.

give words!

Whether you’re shopping for a poet, a poetry lover or someone who doesn’t think about poetry very much, there are plenty of wonderfully poetic ways to give gifts this holiday season. So if you plan to shop, put your money where your heart is.

Here are a few ideas to get you started…

• Visit the websites of individual poets and use the links they provide to buy their books.
• There is a lot of wonderful poetry swag on Etsy stores, including cards and art from Egress Studio and Emily Dickinson tights.
• Of course, visit the poetry section in your local independent bookstore.
• Give a gift subscription to a poetry journal (see links in sidebar for ideas or browse the list at Poets & Writers).
• Buy a ticket or a season pass to a poetry event, such as Seattle Arts & Lectures.
• Make a donation in a friend’s name to a poetry project on Kickstarter (for example, Save The Capilano Review), Indiegogo or other crowdfunding sites.
• Make a donation in a friend’s name to a poetry nonprofit, such as the University of Arizona Poetry Center, Poets House, Hugo House, Skagit River Poetry Foundation or Kahini.
• Give a player preloaded with poems or audio books from poets.org, Open Culture or PennSound.
• Give an hour or two of your time (babysitting, grocery shopping, cleaning, etc.) to allow your poet-friend to write undisturbed. (Make a gift certificate… or print one, free.)
• Gift wrap The Poet Tarot Deck and Guidebook from Two Sylvias Press.
• Give a 2015 poetry calendar. For example, Argos Poetry Calendar, Dylan Thomas 2015 calendar, Hafiz 2015 calendar, Haiku: Japanese Art and Poetry 2015 Wall Calendar, Poetry Of Rumi wall calendar, Texas Poetry Calendar or Wisconsin Poets’ Calendar. (Or make your own!)
• Give a gift of a poetry conference, workshop or retreat (see Shaw Guides, for a start).
• Select from the broadsides, books, apparel and audio recordings offered by the Poetry Center of Chicago.
• Everybody loves Magnetic Poetry Kits, Haikubes and Love Haikubes.
• Restock the cupboard with poetry mugs.
• Give your poet a manual typewriter (check your local computer/office machine repair shop; they might have a bunch of them hanging around).
• For something really special, have the artists at Comma Workshop turn your poem into a quilt.
• For something really, really special, wrap up a poem of your own.

We aren’t suggesting you should a) shop or b) spend a bunch of money. But if you DO give holiday (or other) gifts, we hope this little list might launch your creativity. (We’d love to hear your other ideas. Leave a comment!)
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Banned Book Socks

Gratitude

Have an abundant and appreciative Thanksgiving!

what to do on Saturday

After the Thursday leftovers are put away, and after the Black Friday mall frenzy, there’s Small Business Saturday on November 29, 2014. Now in its fourth official year, SBS encourages shoppers to do their buying from local and independent vendors.

Throughout Washington (actually, throughout the U.S.), authors will make appearances to lead discussions, recommend and sign books and even act as cashiers at independent bookstores. Here are some you can visit (some authors visit multiple stores, so please verify times and other specifics with the bookstore):

• Auburn – Finally Found Books – Jeanne Matthews, Nicolette Reed, Rebecca Morris
• Bainbridge – Eagle Harbor Book Co. – David Guterson, Lynn Brunelle, Laurie B. Arnold, Susan Wiggs, Carol Cassella, Kristin von Kreisler, Dylan Tomine, Arleen Williams, Wendy Hinman, Jonathan Evison, Barbara Winther, Lance Weller, John Marzluff, Tessa Arlen, Jeannette Franks, Lewis Mandell, Toni Yuly, George Shannon
• Bellevue – University Bookstore – Janet Lee Carey, Justina Chen, William Dietrich, Christina Dudley, Robert Dugoni, Claire Gebben, Kazu Kibuishi, G. Elizabeth Kretchmer, Dan Richards, Dana Sullivan, Laurie Ann Thompson, Samantha Vamos
• Bellingham – Village Books – two book chats, one at 11am and one at 4pm, featuring local authors Laura Kalpakian, Janet Oakley, Clete Barrett Smith, Noble Smith, and Rob Slater
• Burien – Page 2 Books – Carol Hervin, Peyton Marshall, G. H. Prichard, Wendy Wahman, and many others
• Lake Forest Park – Third Place Books – Sherman Alexie will be “bookseller for a day” (10:00am)
• Leavenworth – A Book for All Seasons – Sheila Roberts
• Monroe – Main Street Books – Bernadette Pajer
• Olympia – Orca Books – Nikki McClure, Laura Swan, Eve Rickert, Franklin Veaux
• Port Townsend – The Writer’s Workshoppe Imprint Books – Erica Bauermeister, Richard Jesse Watson, Patrick Jennings, Adrianne Harun
• Poulsbo – Liberty Bay Books – Garth Stein, Lynn Brunelle, Lance Weller, June Cotner, Patrick Jennings, Megan Chance, Kristin Hannah
• Seattle – Book Larder – Ethan Stowell, Makini Howell, Jeanne Sauvage, John Sundstrom, Becky Selengut, Langdon Cook, Jennifer Shea, Shauna James Ahern, Kim O’Donnel, Cynthia Nims, Danielle Kartes, Julie O’Brien
• Seattle – The Elliott Bay Book Company – Robin Oliveira,Jeanne Sauvage, Toni Yuly, Elizabeth Rose Stanton, Sonora Jha, Langdon Cook, Becky Selengut, Martha Silano, Paula Becker, David Lasky, Dana Simpson, Lyanda Lynn Haupt, David Laskin, Marissa Meyer, Karen Finneyfrock, Kevin O’Brien, Deb Caletti, Sherman Alexie
• Seattle – Fantagraphics Books – book launch party for Sub Pop USA: The Subterranean Music Anthology, 1980 -1988
• Seattle – Open Books – Maged Zaher, Don Mee Choi, Ed Skoog, Elizabeth Austen
• Seattle – Queen Anne Book Company – Bernadette Pajer, Bonnie Becker, Shannon Evans, Suzanne Selfors, Carol Cassella , Gail Kretchmer, Joe Guppy, Lynne Brunelle, Brenda Peterson, Sherman Alexie , Lance Weller, Jonathan Evison
• Seattle – Seattle Mystery Bookshop – Urban Waite, Jeanne Matthews
• Seattle – Secret Garden Bookshop – Julie Paschkis, Elizabeth Rose Stanton, Toni Yuli, Jaime Temairik, Kim Baker, Dana Sullivan, and more
• Seattle – University Bookstore – click link to see the complete list and times
• Spokane – Auntie’s Bookstore – local authors
• Sumner – A Good Book Cafe – Mark Teppo, Lorie Ann Grover, Justina Chen, Kimberly Derting
• Tacoma – King’s Books – Creative Colloquy with Erik Hanberg, Joshua Swainston, Karla Stover, William Kupinse, Tiffany Aldrich MacBain, Nick Stokes

In addition to these author appearances, additional bookstores will have special displays of recommended books. For participating independent booksellers in other areas, visit IndieBound …and of course bookstores are not the only vendors that will offer specials and special events on Small Business Saturday, so if you’re shopping, shop independent!

“Holiday delights” include poetry!

The Winter edition of Whatcom Magazine is now available (to Bellingham Herald subscribers and on newsstands) and includes Margaret Bikman’s interview with poets James Bertolino and Anita K. Boyle. In “Two Bellingham poets create their works far from the madding crowd,” Boyle and Bertolino talk about their rural Whatcom County property, including their 2000-volume poetry shed.

“Our Orcas Hours,” from James Bertolino’s latest book, Ravenous Bliss: New and Selected Love Poems (MoonPath Press, 2014), was featured recently on Verse Daily.

all aboard…

We’ve previously mentioned Seattle’s Poetry on Buses project…and here’s a bonus. In addition to 125 poems on Metro’s RapidRide buses, and a new poem every day plus a weekly featured poet on the Poetry on Buses site, the project has also enlivened bus stations throughout King County with images of poets and poems.
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Photo by Katherine Taylor
and thanks to Two Sylvias Press for the heads-up on Facebook!

another poetry walk

Edmands Park, in Newton, Massachusetts, is a 33-acre community-maintained parkland that now has a 14-poem poetry walk. Nature poems, affixed to stones along the trail, were selected from a nationwide contest and the trail was dedicated in early November. Map, poets and download link here.

More poetry walks here.
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Photo by Somchay Xayarath Edwards

on poetry

“A poem, as a manifestation of language and, thus, essentially dialogue, can be a message in a bottle, sent out in the — not always greatly hopeful — belief that somewhere and sometime it could wash up on land, on heartland perhaps. Poems in this sense too are under way: they are making toward something. Toward what? Toward something standing open, occupiable, perhaps toward an addressable Thou, toward an addressable reality.”
Paul Celan
(November 23, 1920 – April 20, 1970)
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an essay on this quote

small poems, big lights

The Baltimore LED Art Billboard project uses billboard advertising space and technology to create a digital art gallery providing tremendous exposure to local artists. An image of artwork — “every form of art from painting, drawing, and illustration, to sculpture, photography, and game design” — is displayed every 30 seconds, 24 hours a day, year round.

The latest addition to the LED Billboard project is a series of nearly 50 haiku from Baltimore-area poets, on display on the LED board near Penn Station.

The LED Baltimore website includes information about the project along with profiles of the artists. Visit LED Baltimore on Facebook, too.