accessorize with poetry

Wondering where the money is in the poetry world? Apparently it’s in accessories. This hand-embroidered clutch is modeled after the first edition of Lunch Poems, the 1964 book of poems by Frank O’Hara. Designed by Olympia Le-Tan and made exclusively for Bookmarc, this piece is one of only sixteen, framed in polished brass, lined with a Liberty print fabric, and priced at $1,500. Jennifer Lawrence carries one.

big poetry prizes

The Academy of American Poets this week announced the winners of the 2018 American Poets Prizes, which are among the most valuable poetry prizes in the United States. This year the organization has awarded over $200,000 to poets at various stages of their careers. See the complete lineup of winners here.

Clover!

It’s Clover time again! Join Mary Gillilan, Norman Green, and Village Books as they welcome contributors to Clover: A Literary Rag, volume 15.

The writers/readers will be: Janet Bergstrom, James Bertolino, Anita K. Boyle, Susan Chase-Foster, Virginia Herrick, Paul Hunter, J.I. Kleinberg, Shannon Laws, Andrew Shattuck McBride, C.J. Prince, Abbe Rolnick, Betty Scott, and Pat Phillips West.

The reading begins at 4:00pm on Sunday, September 2, 2018, in the Readings Gallery at Village Books. It’s free, of course, and copies of Clover will be for sale before and after the reading.

on poetry

“If we’re going to solve the problems of the world, we have to learn how to talk to one another. Poetry is the language at its essence. It’s the bones and the skeleton of the language. It teaches you, if nothing else, how to choose your words.”
Rita Dove
(b. August 28, 1952)

. . . . .
photo by Fred Viebahn

Hologram*

2018 Walk Award
By Mason Cash, grade 3

Projected image
A cool hallucination
Seen but not solid

. . . . .
My name is Mason and I am 8 years old. I go to Beach Elementary on Lummi Island and this is my first published poem.

I came up with the poem, Hologram, by flipping through a dictionary and randomly picking a page. I decided the word I chose would be the title of my poem. I then thought of the characteristics of a hologram and used those to write my haiku.

. . . . .
*Copyright 2018 by Mason Cash. Broadside illustrated by Megan Carroll.

memoir your September

September is Whatcom Memoir Writing Month (WhaMemWriMo) and for the fourth year, Chuckanut Writers and Village Books will offer a series of four memoir workshops. The goal for each writer is 1,666 words a day — 50,000 words (a book’s worth) for the month.

The workshops, taught on successive Thursdays by Cami Ostman, Laura Kalpakian, Nancy Canyon, and Jennifer Wilhoit, can be taken individually or as a series ($25 each or all four for $89). See the full description and registration links on the Village Books WhaMemWriMo page.

Youth Peace Poetry Contest

It’s time again for the Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center Youth Peace Poetry Contest. Young writers ages 4 to 18 are invited to submit their poems on the subject of peace (with themes such as listening, respect, anti-bullying, friendship, etc.). Five winning poets will receive public recognition and have the opportunity to read their poems aloud at the WDRC’s annual Peace Builders Awards Gala.

To read last year’s winning poems and to download a submission form, visit the WDRC Youth Peace Poetry Contest page.

Submission deadline: September 25, 2018

tonight in Bellingham

Greene’s Corner, in Bellingham, will welcome poet Kevin Murphy this evening, Wednesday, August 22, 2018. The mic will be open for musicians in between sets of Kevin’s poetry. Signups begin 6:30, music at 7:00, with emcee JP Falcon Grady.

Kevin Murphy has been performing off-kilter poetry for approximately 39.5 years. A winner of a Bellingham Mayor’s Arts Award in 2017, he likes to think his poetry offers many of the benefits of a round-the-world trip at a fraction of the cost. Come on down. No passport required.

a rain of poetry

Prolific artist Pedro Veneroso has created a poetry experiment: Gogoame. Via his rain-like algorithm, letters “fall” across the screen, responding slightly to the pull of the mouse, in their gathering and separating suggesting words.

You can see Gogoame here, in its non-stop version. Click on the little book to read “About” and click on the letter A, screen left, to write and then share your own poem. You have to have fast eyes, and if they discern Portuguese or Spanish words, that wouldn’t be surprising.

For a more controllable experience, visit designboom, where a 5-minute video can be stopped and restarted as you record words.

On Mornings Like This*

2018 Merit Award
By KJ Vande Bossche

On mornings like this
when pieces
of the sky
are still missing,
I leave you
warm in bed
under sheets
soft as old t-shirts
to look for them.

. . . . .
KJ Vande Bossche (Van-duh Bush-shay) is a wife, mother, writer, teacher, cat-owner and motorcycle rider who lives and works in Bellingham. KJ graduated from WWU decades ago with a degree in English and plays with words on a daily basis.

“On Mornings Like This” was written early on a winter’s morning while sitting quiet and alone on the couch watching the sun come up and sipping that first cup of coffee. Previously published work can be accessed at kjvandebossche.com

. . . . .
*Copyright 2018 by KJ Vande Bossche. Broadside illustrated by Christian Anne Smith.