midnight paregoric (side effects from a nickel slick nigger serum)

('this thisness' redux)

...

BRRRRIKCtikkktiklikttickkcc...
the sound my blackness makes
fading in and out the shadows
and the i-have-a-dreamcicle
incense smoke separating us
brrrrrkkkktickticktaktickkkkkkk,
i lick you/the bootblack of my tongue
leaving a slender streak of oil-slick
slob on your cheek/the globules
of a literary gawlo practitioner.
bbbbrrrkkkktkkttckcktttckkkk
so electric my eclectic shadow
passing its solids through you;
african + cosmic in your nasal
cavity, the cave wall for my
disembodied canon/etching shades
of hatshepsut & franz fanon
on 3rd eye-lid insides,
i kid you not...
brrrrrbbbrrrkkkktkkkbbbrrrrrrttttit
i come from a long line of long lines
the day you can see me
i could kiss you, but brrkktktkktkkkick
nothin' but static/your heels brrklckclicking
like shards of flint for good-witch
glinda to send harlequin bush-babies
to cover you in kansas
bbrrrrcktkckckttkcikcktaackktickkak...
but all there is is this crepuscule on
canvas, this rainbowed excrement & this
  - thisness.


(see your doctor immediately
if ochered inflections persist
longer than 4 hours)

i want to be a pilot!

Yves Saint Laurent Collection Homme Printemps/Eté 2010 - Film.

Yves Saint Laurent Collection Homme Printemps/Eté 2010 - Film. from official ysl on Vimeo.

god, how i love art films...

well, vimeo's removed two of my favorite short films, 'death to the tinman' and 'jettison your loved ones' ... but this one still remains:


spike jonze's upcoming short "i'm here"...

Absolute Robot from funny you should ask on Vimeo.

two dope boys in a cadillac -

one from rome... the other from stax... what funky is!
as a writer and artist, i cant help but be deeply intrigued by the creativity of these songs...
Adriano Celentano mustabeen on LSD.
Brotha Ike was proly high on ham sandwiches (laced with lsd)... ...whatever the case, i want summa it!
 i've never been high, but i think i've been missing out.

(is 'the green movement' the closest thing we have to having a 'counter-culture'? does what's left of true hip-hop and punk rock still count as subversive cultures? is 'american gothic' a republican subdivision?)

where have all the bellbottoms gone?
(and if you say old navy, ima smack the shit outta you!) 

contests/submissions/etc

Willow Books Legacy Chapbook Series 

and Integral Music Chapbook Series

Postmark Deadline: March 1, 2010

Reading Fee: $15 per entry

The Legacy Chapbook Series is designed to showcase and further enhance the legacy of writers of African descent. The length of the submission should total no more than 28 pages.

Note: to kick-off the Legacy Chapbook Series, Willow Books will be publishing National Book Award Finalist Carolyn Rogers in the month of April.

The Integral Music Chapbook Series, which is named after the poet Ed Roberson, will feature innovative poems that push boundaries through musicality and word play. We encourage risk-takers to submit their work to this series. The length of the submission should total no more than 25 pages.

Both chapbooks will be perfect bound with an ISBN. The selected authors will receive 10 copies. Willow Books, the poetry division of Aquarius Press, agrees to make the chapbook available to readings, conferences, bookstores and any other venue where the poet has a scheduled reading.

Poets, please make sure that your cover sheet includes:

• The title, your name and contact information (address, phone number and email address). This is an open submission process.

• An acknowledgments page listing previously published poems.

• A brief bio (no more than 50 words).

• State which series you would like to enter.

There is a reading fee of $15 for each manuscript submitted. Multiple submissions are accepted, as long as each submission is accompanied by a separate $15 reading fee. Manuscripts submitted during this open reading period may not be revised nor re-submitted. Please include the $15 reading fee (PayPal, check or money order), payable to Aquarius Press. We also accept credit card payments (leave name, card type, number and expiration date at 877-979-3639) . ($25 fee for returned checks and/or declined credit cards.) Include a self-addressed postcard for acknowledgment of receipt of your manuscript and #10 SASE for notification. Manuscripts will not be returned.

We reserve the right to not make selections for this year if the editors decide that there are no manuscripts meeting our editorial standards.

Manuscripts must be postmarked by March 1st, 2010. Send two copies of your manuscript, with cover sheets, to:

Aquarius Press

(Include the name of the Series that you are entering here)

PO Box 23096

Detroit, Michigan 48223

2010 Cave Canem Poetry Prize Guidelines
Award: Winner receives $1,000, publication by The University of Georgia Press 
in fall 2011, 15 copies of the book and a feature reading.
Final Judge: Elizabeth Alexander. (Judge reserves the right not to select a winner or honorable
mentions.)
Eligibility: African American writers who have not had a full‐length book of poetry published by
a professional press. Authors of chapbooks and self‐published books with a maximum print run of
500 may apply. Simultaneous submission to other book awards should be noted: immediate notice
upon winning such an award is required. Winner agrees to be in the United States at her or his own
expense when the book is published in order to participate in promotional reading(s).
Deadline: Reading period opens March 15, 2010. Manuscripts must be postmarked no later than
April 30, 2010. Manuscripts received after May 8, 2010, 5 pm, will not be considered, regardless of
postmark date. To be notified that your manuscript has been received, enclose a stamped, selfaddressed
postcard. Winner announced in September 2010.
Entry Fee: $15. Enclose check with submission, made payable to Cave Canem Foundation. Entry fees
are non‐refundable.
Direct packet to:
Cave Canem Foundation
Cave Canem Poetry Prize
20 Jay Street, Suite 310‐A
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Submission
�� Send two copies of a single manuscript. One manuscript per poet allowed.
�� Enclose a stamped, self‐addressed envelope to receive notification of results.
�� Author’s name should not appear on any pages within the manuscript. Copy One must include a
title page with the author’s brief bio (200 words, maximum) and contact information: name, postal
address, e‐mail address and telephone number. Copy Two must include a cover sheet with the title
only.
�� Manuscript must include a table of contents and list of acknowledgments of previously published
poems.
�� Manuscript must be single sided with a font size of 11 or 12, paginated, and 50‐75 pages in length,
inclusive of title page, table of contents and acknowledgments. A poem may be multiple pages, but
no more than one poem per page is permitted.
�� Manuscript must be unbound. Use a binder clip—do not staple or fold. Do not include illustrations
or images of any kind.
�� Manuscripts not adhering to submission guidelines will be discarded without notice to sender.
�� Due to the volume of submissions, manuscripts will not be returned. Post‐submission revisions or
corrections are not permitted.

2010 BARROW STREET PRESS BOOK CONTEST

The Barrow Street Press Book Contest award will be given for the best

previously unpublished manuscript of poetry in English. The winner will

receive book publication by Barrow Street Press, and $1000.00.

Judge: Mary Ruefle*

Deadline: June 30, 2010

Fee: $25.00

If entrants would like to receive a copy of the winning book, please include a book mailer with

$2.75 postage. Thank you.

*manuscripts by current and past students of Mary Ruefle will not be considered

GUIDELINES*

*(note – send to Rhode Island Barrow Street address, not New York City)

1) Submit a 50 - 70 page unpublished manuscript of original poetry in English. Include

acknowledgement page for published poems.

2) The manuscript should be typed, single-spaced, on one side of the page

only, on white 8 ½" x 11" paper. Clear photocopies are acceptable. Please

do not send your only copy, as manuscripts cannot be returned. If the manuscript is

illegible or not a clear copy in any way, it will not be considered and your check will be

returned.

3) Include two (2) title pages. The author's name, address, and telephone number should

appear on the first title page only, and should not appear elsewhere in the manuscript.

The second title page should just contain the title and nothing else.

4) Include SASE for notification of contest results.

5) Please include a check for $25.00, payable to Barrow Street.

6) Send entries to: **(note – send to Rhode Island Barrow Street address, not New York

City)

Barrow Street

PO Box 1558

Kingston, RI 02881

Our best wishes,

The Editors

www.barrowstreet.org

Black Infinity: 

Adele V. Holden Prize for New African-American Poets

CityLit Project announces the first Black Infinity Poetry Prize in honor of Adele V.

Holden, born on Maryland’s segregated Eastern Shore, educated at Johns Hopkins

under Elliott Coleman, devoted high school English teacher. Through her art,

career, and life, Ms. Holden promoted equal rights while shaping the minds of

young people. Prize recognizes African-American poets under 40 not previously

published in book-length form. Send $15 entry fee, SASE for notification of

winner, and a manuscript not more than 30 pages with coversheet to Black Infinity,

CityLit Project, 120 S. Curley Street, Baltimore, MD 21224. Must be postmarked

before February 1, 2010. Winner receives publication, small honorarium, 25 copies.

Reginald Harris will judge. Guidelines at www.citylitproject.org.

Submission Guidelines

1. This chapbook competition is open to any African-American writer who has not

had either a chapbook or full-length book of poetry published by a professional

press. CityLit Project staff, interns, board members, and their immediate family

are ineligible.

2. Contestants must be under the age of forty at the time they submit the

manuscript to the competition.

3. Send one (1) copy of a single manuscript, one (1) submission per poet.

Manuscripts must be typed and available in electronic format. Submit no fewer

than sixteen (16) and no more than thirty (30) pages of poetry. All poems must

be original (translations are not accepted).

4. Manuscripts must be unbound. Use binder or paper clips (no staples).

5. Include on separate pages

a. A cover sheet listing poet’s name, date of birth, mailing, contact

telephone number, email address, and collection title. Author’s name

should not appear on any pages within the manuscript.

b. List of acknowledgments of previously published poems (if applicable).

c. Brief one paragraph brief bio not to exceed 200 words.

d. Separate page with title of collection only (to be forwarded to the final

judge).

6. Manuscripts will not be returned; after the winner has been selected, all other

manuscripts will be recycled. Please do not send your only copy.

7. Simultaneous submission to other awards should be noted. Immediate notice

upon winning an award is required.

8. Enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard so that we may acknowledge receipt

of your material, and a stamped, self-addressed envelope to receive an

announcement of the prize winner.

9. Entry Fee: $15 (made payable to CityLit Project) along with submission to:

Black Infinity Prize

c/o CityLit Project

120 S. Curley Street

Baltimore, MD 21224

FINALIST MANUSCRIPTS WILL BE JUDGED ANONYMOUSLY.

Postmark Deadline: February 1, 2010.

Notification: Winner will be notified in May 2010, with the winning chapbook

published in Fall 2010.

Prize Winner: The winner of the Black Infinity: Adele V. Holden Prize for New

African-American Poets receives $250, publication by CityLit Press, and 25 copies of

the winning chapbook.

Prize Honoree: Adele V. Holden (1919-2005)

Through her art, career, and life, Adele V. Holden promoted equal rights while shaping

the minds of young people.

Born on the racially segregated Eastern Shore in 1919, Adele grew up in Pocomoke

City, Maryland, during the Great Depression, a time when the state’s final lynchings

were taking place in nearby towns. She attended Morgan State College and Johns

Hopkins University, where she was an early student of Writing Seminars founder Elliott

Coleman. Adele dedicated her energy to educating young people as a devoted English

teacher at Dunbar High School and the Community College of Baltimore. She

published a collection of poetry in 1961, and forty years later her second book, the

memoir Down on the Shore: The Family and Place that Forged a Poet’s Voice.

Adele and her editor criss-crossed the region promoting the widely-praised book,

forming a relationship that lasted until her death in 2005. She willed the car in which

they traveled—an otherwise barely-used black Infiniti—to that editor, who donated it to

CityLit Project to establish a prize in her honor. While Black Infinity references that car,

it also represents Adele V. Holden’s belief in young people, poetry, education, and

equal rights for all.

2010 Prize Final Judge: Reginald Harris

Reginald Harris is recipient of Individual Artist Awards for both poetry and fiction from

the Maryland State Arts Council. His first book, 10 Tongues: Poems (Three Conditions

Press, 2001) was finalist for a Lambda Literary Award and the ForeWord Book of the

Year. A graduate fellow of the Cave Canem: African American Poetry Workshop /

Retreat, his poetry, fiction, book reviews, and articles have appeared in various journals,

reference works, and websites, including 5 AM, African-American Review, Beltway,

Black Issues Book Review, Gargoyle, smartish pace, Sou’wester; and the Best Gay

Poetry 2008, Bum Rush the Page, Role Call, The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South,

and Voices Rising: Celebrating 20 Years of Black Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and

Transgender Writing anthologies. He serves as Manager of Help Desk and Training for

the Systems Department for the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore.

Prize Sponsor: CityLit Project

CityLit Project nurtures the culture of literature in Baltimore and throughout Maryland.

CityLit builds and connects a community of avid readers and writers through public

events, workshops, web resources, and publishing. Its signature event—CityLit

Festival—was selected “Best of Baltimore” by Baltimore magazine in 2005 and 2009,

and is now a “can’t miss event on the city’s cultural scene.”

THE 2010 IOWA REVIEW AWARDS
Poetry, Fiction, and Nonfiction
Brenda Hillman, Michael Cunningham, and Jo Ann Beard, judges

$1,000 to each winner
$500 to runners-up
Plus publication in our December 2010 issue

Submit during January 2010

• Submit up to 20 pages of prose (double-spaced) or 10 pages of poetry (double or single; one poem or several). Work must be previously unpublished. Simultaneous submissions are fine assuming you inform us of acceptance elsewhere.
• Manuscripts must include a cover page listing your name, address, e-mail address and/or telephone number, and the title of each work, but your name should not appear on the manuscript itself.
• Enclose a $20 entry fee (checks payable to The Iowa Review). All entrants receive a yearlong subscription to the magazine.
• Label your envelope as a contest entry, for example: "Contest: Fiction." One entry per envelope.
• Postmark submissions between January 1 and January 31, 2010.
• Enclose a #10 SASE for final word on your work. Enclose a SAS postcard if you wish confirmation of our receipt of your entry.
• No electronic submissions.
  

The Iowa Review
308 EPB
Iowa City, IA 52242

Milk Money
http://www.milkmone ymag.com/

Entry Deadline: Feb. 15, 2009 for the next issue
Milk Money, Volume Seven: Vile Pile
They say print is dead. But who are “they” to say such a thing? The editors of Milk Money Magazine in Cincinnati, Ohio think otherwise, and they can back it up with the very real existence of their mechanical duplicator. It’s not alive – it’s a machine – but the quarterly literary magazines it mass-produces are evidence of a very alive scene for printed works of fiction, prose, and poetry from national and international writers.
Milk Money is accepting submissions for its latest edition, Volume Seven: Vile Pile. They are looking for exceptional works of literary and experimental fiction and poetry. Works should be no more than 5,000 words whether it's fiction or poetry. Please only submit one short story per issue, but feel free to submit several works of poetry. We accept submissions year round, but the deadline for our next issue is February 15th.
If a work has been published outside of the United States or published in an online-only journal, Milk Money will consider it; please specify in the body of your e-mail if this is the case when you are submitting. All other previously published material will not be considered.
Milk Money only accepts work submitted via e-mail at (replace (at) with @). Please attach your work in the form of .doc, .rtf or .txt files. Any submissions received otherwise cannot be considered for the magazine. Please do not paste the text in the body of your e-mail. A formal cover letter is not necessary. However, we do like to read a little bit about our contributors so please include a short bio in your e-mail.
Visit www.milkmoneymag. com for previous issues and more information regarding submissions.

The Prairie Schooner Book Prize Series welcomes manuscripts in poetry and fiction from all living writers, including non-US citizens, writing in English. Both unpublished and published writers are welcome to submit manuscripts. Writers may enter both contests. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but we ask that you notify us immediately if your manuscript is accepted for publication somewhere else.

Winners will receive $3000 and publication through the University of Nebraska Press.

Manuscripts should be mailed with a postmark between January 15th and March 15th, 2010 to:
Prairie Schooner Prize Series
Attn: Fiction or Poetry
201 Andrews Hall
PO Box 880334
Lincoln NE 68588-0334

Any questions, please send an email to Managing Editor James Engelhardt at jengelhardt2( at)unl.edu or Prize Book Series Coordinator Cody Lumpkin at (replace (at) with @).

For information and a complete set of guidelines, please see our website http://prairieschooner.unl.edu/ prizes/index. html

2010 Intro Prize in Poetry/fourwaybooks

Judge: Alan Shapiro

Submission Dates: January 1 - March 31, 2010
electronic or mail submissions accepted

Awarding publication of a book-length collection and $1000.00

Open to any poet writing in English who has not previously published a book-length poetry collection

For Complete Guidelines please visit:
www.fourwaybooks. com

Four Way Books
P.O. Box 535 Village Station
New York, New York 10014

The American Poetry Journal Book Prize
Guidelines and Information for 2010
http://home. comcast.net/ ~jpdancingbear/ dhpcontests. html

The postmark deadline for entries to the 2010 The American Poetry Journal Book Prize is February 28, 2010. To enter, submit 50-65 paginated pages of poetry, table of contents, acknowledgments, bio, email address for results (No SASEs; manuscripts will be recycled), and a $25.00 non-refundable fee for each manuscript entered. The winner will receive $1000, publication, and 20 copies. All entries will be considered for publication. All styles are welcome. Multiple submissions are acceptable. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but if your manuscript is accepted for publication elsewhere you must notify The American Poetry Journal and/or Dream Horse Press immediately. Fees are non-refundable. Judging will be anonymous; writers' names should not appear anywhere on the manuscript. Please include your name and biographical information in a separate cover letter. Please be sure to include your email address. The winner is chosen by the editor of The American Poetry Journal, J.P. Dancing Bear. Close friends, students (former or present), and relatives of the the editor are NOT eligible for the contest; their entry fees will be refunded.

The American Poetry Journal Book Prize entries may be sent, following the guidelines above, to:

The American Poetry Journal book prize
P. O. Box 2080
Aptos, California 95001-2080

Please make checks payable to: Dream Horse Press.
Or, you can now submit your manuscript in email, save on postage, paper, and envelopes

by paying online at
http://home. comcast.net/ ~jpdancingbear/ dhpcontests. html

Poetry Chapbook Contest/swan scythe press

Swan Scythe Press, founded by poet Sandra McPherson, and now under the management of poet James DenBoer, announces its 2010 Poetry Chapbook contest. Submissions will be accepted between January 15, 2010 - June 1, 2010. Any poet writing in English is eligible to submit. Winner will receive publication and 25 copies of perfect-bound chapbook. For details see: www.swanscythe. com

We require submissions in the following format:

*Title page with author’s name, address, phone number, and email address
*Another title page without any identifying information; book title only
*Table of contents
*Acknowledgments page (optional)
*20 to 36 pages of poems
*All pages must be numbered
*Submit ms. bound only by a binder clip

Please include with your manuscript:

*Reading fee check for $15 made out to Paperwork (not to Swan Scythe Press);
“Paperwork” is James DenBoer’s business checking account
*Stamped SASE for announcement of winner(s)
*No SASE for mss, which will be recycled

Send your manuscript to:

James DenBoer, Managing Editor,
Swan Scythe Press
515 P Street, Apartment 804,
Sacramento CA 95814.
Email: yahoo.com> (replace (at) with @) if you have further questions.

Swan Scythe Press began publishing in 2000, and over the last decade has published 26 chapbooks. Its authors have won many national and local grants, awards and fellowships, and have distinguished themselves as artists and educators throughout the U.S. and in foreign countries. Now launching its second decade under the direction of James DenBoer, Swan Scythe Press is committed to discovering and publishing the best new poets in America today, and to featuring poets of diverse ethnicities/ races, ages, sexual preferences, and genders -- though our emphasis is on the quality of the writing, not on any particular demographic.

Tidal Basin Review

Reading Period & Submission Guidelines
Tidal Basin Review seeks to publish high-quality, well-crafted literature for our electronic debut! Our vision is to amplify the voice of the human experience through art that is intimate, engaging, and audacious. We do not seek shock value art, but rather work that broadens the artistic landscape.

Reading Period Inaugural Spring E-Issue:
January 1, 2010 – February 28, 2010

Submission Guidelines(for Inaugural Spring E-Issue Only) Please send submissions of 3-5 poems totaling no more than 5 pages, one (1) short story, one (1) stand alone novel chapter or creative non-fiction piece of no more than 2,500 words, in an email attachment in doc., rtf, or .pdf format to (replace (at) with @)
for poetry submissions and (replace (at) @)
for fiction and non-fiction submission.

Please send work, in English, which has not been previously published. Publication rights revert to the author upon publication. We accept simultaneous submissions, however, please inform us immediately upon acceptance of your work elsewhere. Be sure to include a brief cover letter which includes your name, mailing address, email address, and phone number, as well as a brief bio with a maximum of 60 words.
Best of luck from the Basin

bluelightpress
Extended to February 20, 2010:

The editors of Blue Light Press warmly invite you to submit a manuscript to our 2010 Blue Light Book Award Competition. Contest rules and previous winners are listed below. Please share this E-mail with other poets, and if you teach writing, please let your students know about our contest. If you have received this from a friend and want to be on our E-mail list, please send an E-mail to aol.com> (replace (at) with @).
and let us know.

BLUE LIGHT PRESS
Announces
THE 2010 BLUE LIGHT BOOK AWARD

Guidelines:
1. Blue Light Press is dedicated to the publication of poetry that is imagistic, inventive, emotionally honest, and pushes the language to a deeper level of insight. We are a collective of poets, and our books are artistically designed. 
2. Please note our new address. To enter, send a manuscript of 50 to 80 pages of poetry, typed or printed with a laser or inkjet printer, to:  
Diane Frank, Chief Editor
Blue Light Press
1563 - 45th Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94122
3. Submit your manuscript between September 1, 2009 and February 15, 2010. Extended to February 20, 2010
4. Include a reading fee of $20.00 - check payable to Blue Light Press.
5. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope for results. We must have a SASE to correspond with you. No manuscript will be returned without a SASE.
6. Please do not send manuscripts by registered or certified mail, as this requires a trip to the post office. If you want confirmation of receipt, include a postcard with your manuscript. We are not strict about deadlines – if your manuscript comes a few days late, we will still read it.
7. The winner will be announced in June, 2010. The winning book will go into production in September or October of 2010, depending on our production schedule.
8. Winner will receive 10 copies of the book and a 30% royalty on book sales thereafter. The book will be distributed by Ingram, Amazon.com, any bookstore you suggest, and published in cooperation with our partner, 1st World Library.
9. If you win the contest, you will need to give us your manuscript on disk. Acceptable formats:
IBM - MSWord or RTF (Rich Test Format).
Macintosh - Clarisworks, Quark Express, Word, or RTF (Rich Test Format).

Books by Blue Light Press:

Recent books include poets Rustin Larson, Nancy Berg, Alice Rogoff, Stewart Florsheim, Diane Frank, Andrena Zawinski, Barry and Steve Benson, Michelle Demers, Stephen Schneider, Suzanne Niedermeyer, Christopher Buckley, Leah Shelleda, Nancy Tupper-Ling, Kevin Zepper, and Ken McCullough. In 2010, look for books by Tony Krunk, Paul Fisher, Mary Kay Rummel, Scott Caputo, and our new anthology. 

Tom Howard/John H. Reid Poetry Contest
www.winningwriters.com/tompoetry

Eighth year. Ten cash prizes totaling $5,550. Top prize $3,000. Submit poems in any style or genre. Both published and unpublished work accepted. Winning entries published online. Entry fee is $7 for every 25 lines, payable to Winning Writers. Postmark deadline: September 30. Judges: J.H. Reid, D.C. Konrad. Submit online or mail to Winning Writers, Attn: Tom Howard Poetry Contest, 351 Pleasant Street, PMB 222, Northampton, MA 01060. Winning Writers is one of the "101 Best Websites for Writers" (Writer's Digest, 2005-2009). More information: www.winningwriters. com/tompoetry

Diverse Voices Quarterly 

- http://www.diversev oicesquarterly. com
is a new online literary journal looking for submissions from all walks of life.

Our second issue is available for download here:
http://www.diversev oicesquarterly. com/2009/ second-issue- available- now

Deadline for submissions is 02/15/10.

Submission guidelines are:
Poetry:
3-5 poems, 40 lines MAX. Please send in one file, separated by a page break between poems.
Short stories:
3,000 words MAX. You may submit up to two short shorts that add up to 1,000 words. If sending two shorts, please send two separate files.
Personal essays/creative nonfiction:
3,000 words MAX. Send only one essay at a time.
Artwork is especially requested. We accept in .jpg or .png format. Send only two high-quality images at a time.
–Simultaneous submissions are accepted but multiple submissions are not, unless you wish to send in artwork at the same time. Please query first.

–We will not read any material previously published online; this includes works published in other online journals or from any message board or blogs.
–While we will read submissions from everyone, the work MUST BE in English.
–Be sure to include your last name and type of submission in the subject line (Example: Kaling – Short Story Submission).
–Include a cover letter, a short bio, and your complete contact information in the body of the e-mail.
–Only attachments are accepted, either as MS Word (.doc or .rtf) or WordPerfect (.wpd) files. Pasted-in submissions WILL BE deleted.
–Send your submissions to: (replace (at) with @).

 Noemi Book Award for Poetry
http://www.noemipre ss.org/contest. html

Guidelines for Submissions
Send 48-70 pp. of poetry, along with a $25 entry fee (check or money order) made out to Noemi Press, via U.S. Postal Service, to the following address:
Noemi Book Award for Poetry
P.O. Box 1330
Mesilla Park, NM 88047
Include two title pages: one with title, acknowledgments (if applicable), name, and contact information; one with title alone. Your name must not appear anywhere in the manuscript. Current and former students, close friends, and relatives of the Noemi Press editors are not eligible to enter.
Please use a binder clip to fasten your manuscript.
Enclose an SASE for notification of winners. Manuscripts will not be returned. Revisions of entries cannot be accepted.
Poems that have been previously published individually are eligible, but manuscripts must not have been previously published as a whole. Do not submit poems that appear in a full-length book already published or under contract for publication. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable under the condition that you notify us in the event your manuscript is accepted elsewhere.
All entries must be postmarked on or before March 15, 2010.

Naugatuck River Review
a journal of narrative poetry, welcomes submissions for
the Summer 2010 issue.

Submission guidelines:

The winter submission period is an open (no fee) submission and is from January
1 – March 1st at midnight.
We accept electronic submissions only through our ONLINE SUBMISSION MANAGER at
http://naugatuckriv erreviewsubmissi ons.com/

Contributors will be rewarded with a copy of the journal. We are not in a
position to pay you otherwise, but hope the journal is worth much more than the
cost of its paper.

During the submission period ONLY please submit no more than 3 unpublished
NARRATIVE poems of no more than 50 lines through the online submission manager.
Please remove your name from your file, as the poetry is read blind by our
editorial staff. Questions? Feel free to email us at
aol.com> (replace (at) with @).

Multiple submissions are discouraged, but simultaneous submissions are fine, as
long as you inform us right away if your poem is accepted elsewhere. Publishing
rights revert to the author after the initial publication period. We prefer
work that has not been previously published.

2010 Omnidawn Poetry Chapbook Contest
Judged by Elizabeth Robinson

is Omnidawn Publishing's first annual
chapbook contest
open to all poets writing in English.

Prize includes $1,000.,
Fall 2010 publication by Omnidawn &
100 complimentary copies of the chapbook.

The entry fee of $15 entitles you to a copy of
the winning chapbook if you send an SASE.

Submission period: 1/1/10 - 2/28/10.
Accepting both electronic
and postal submissions.

For details visit
www.omnidawn. com/contest

PALABRA:  
A Magazine of Chicano and Latino Literary Art

invites Chicano & Latino writers to submit short stories, flash fiction, poetry, standalone novel excerpts and short plays that explore new avenues of Chicano & Latino writing. Innovative/cross- genre/hybrid work is welcome. Especially interested in work that is fresh and takes literary risks.

Fiction and novel excerpts to 4000 words, flash fiction 3 maximum of up to 750 words each, poems 5 maximum of any length and style, plays to 15 pp. Work can be in English, Spanish, Spanglish or any combination thereof. Simultaneous submissions are okay. There is some pay. Submissions are accepted from September 1 through May 31.

Detailed guidelines and information are available on the website: www.palabralitmag. com.
Submit via USPS only to PALABRA, P.O. Box 86146, Los Angeles, CA 90086-0146. Include SASE. Manuscripts will not be returned.


PALABRA A Magazine of Chicano & Latino Literary Art

P. O. Box 86146
Los Angeles, CA 90086-0146

www.palabralitmag. com

New Madrid Summer 2010 Issue

www.newmadridjournal.org

The editors of New Madrid, Journal of Contemporary Literature invite well-crafted, compelling submissions of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction for the Summer 2010 issue. Quality is the determining factor for acceptance in New Madrid. There is no special theme for the Summer issue—the subject matter is open. We will consider work submitted between January 15 and March 15, 2010. For detailed guidelines and to access our Submission Manager, visit www.newmadridjournal.org.

 BELLDAY POETRY PRIZE
$2,000 PRIZE TO WINNING POET
http://www.belldayb ooks.com/ contest.html
Submission Deadline: March 15, 2010

CONTEST FINAL JUDGE: Lucia Perillio
Lucia Perillo has published five books of poetry, including Dangerous Life (1989), The Body Mutinies (1996), The Oldest Map with the Name America(1999) , Luck is Luck (2005) and Inseminating the Elephant (2009). She has also published one book of essays, I've Heard the Vultures Singing (2005). She has taught at four universities and was awarded a MacArthur Foundation fellowship.

Bellday Books will publish the winning book and award $2,000 and 25 copies of the book to the winning author.

Contest Rules:

• Submit a manuscript of 60-90 pages of original poetry in any style in English. The manuscript must not have been published in book or chapbook, but may contain poems that have appeared in print or on the Internet. Entries may consist of individual poems, a book-length poem or any combination of long or short poems.

• Submitted manuscript must contain 2 title pages: Name and contact information should appear on first title page only. Name should not appear anywhere else in the manuscript. Include a table of contents page, but do not send an acknowledgements page.

• Manuscript must be typed single-spaced, paginated and bound with a spring clip.

• Enclose an SASE for announcement of the winner. Manuscript cannot be returned.

• Postmark deadline: March 15, 2010.

• Include a check or money order for $25 reading fee, payable to BELLDAY BOOKS.

• Bellday Books reserves the right not to select an award winner, in which case all reading fees will be refunded.
CONTEST MAILING ADDRESS:
Bellday Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 3687
Pittsburgh, PA 15230

Potomac Review's biennial Poetry Contest

Winning poet receives $1,000 and publication. Second place takes home $250 and publication. All entries will be considered for publication and given a one year subscription. Published poems will appear in our Best American Series recognized journal, next to Elizabeth Spires, David Wagoner, and other great poets we've published.
Finalists will be announced two weeks after our Feb. 1st deadline. For more info, see our guidelines or read below.
Send up to 3 poems (up to 6 pages) along with $20 reading fee payable to Montgomery College/Potomac Review. All entrants will receive a one-year (2 issues) subscription to the Potomac Review.

Put author's name and address on the cover letter only. Include a cover letter (including contact info and names of poems), and a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) for contest results. Entries will not be returned.
All poems must be typed and previously unpublished; no name or address should appear on the poems themselves.
Online submissions are accepted at <http://www.potomacr eview.org/ prsp/>by submitting under the genre "contest," although your entry fee will still have to be received through the mail.
Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but please note this in your cover letter and notify us immediately of acceptance elsewhere.

Contest deadline is February 1, 2010.
Winners announced February 15, 2010.
The winning poem will appear in the upcoming issue of Potomac Review.

The second place poem will be published on the Potomac Review website. Semifinalists will be listed on the website and considered for online and print publication.

backgrounds, banners, etc...

a blues for sepia

- for 'medicine for melancholy'

we watch theatrics with muted vision
our brown limbs weaving in weaving out
breathing in each other's brown brown.

dark skins in soft discussion
without us/claiming love/absorbing love
radiating a claimed love observed.

maybe i'm high. or maybe its the heat.
or the ancestral ashes rising up
from the ocher colored camel uterus

center-stage upon our mantle.
or the unopened mail calling
subconsciously to us from the void...

all i know is
this poem makes as much sense
as this netflix does.

i'm wanting breakfast
i pray for haiti
i hold you/and hope for sleep.

....


i really shouldnt slander 'medicine for melancholy', i really did enjoy it... it grew on me... is still growing on me. there is social commentary made throughout it, but the focal point steadily remains on the couple at hand and how they deal (or choose not to deal) with the development of their relationship. or non-relationship. everyone has been there... you dig someone, you go out, you wonder if there's anything there and if it will work. or how long it will work before it sours...
subconsciously, i think we all look forward to our relationships souring - i think thats a direct reflection on societal expectations between people. its not even a sign of maturity levels, its just the standard coping mechanism we employ because we secretly go into new relationships cursed with a deeply rooted pessimism. this is 'love' in the 21st century.
(dont sweat it, im not giving any of the movie away... i've kinda rambled away from it)

((rambling back))

the movie was cool... much better than 'avatar'.

coil review!

ambsr. raymond joseph/rachel maddow on pat robertson

i was avoiding pat robertson's comments all day - he's always maintained a high position on ignorance, so i knew whatever his comments had been where invalid by his very nature. you cant dismiss the attitudes of stupidity, thats not how progress is gained, but i do choose to ignore him as a person/as someone i expect the worst of and therefore hold his every opinion in extreme low regards.

but crys was wanting to know and i overheard pat spilling from her laptop... he's an idiot.

and because we had missed keith olberman and racahel maddow's reactions, she looked up their responses on youtube - this video is a short clip from haitian ambassador Raymond Joseph responding to pat's "insider-intel"



5/3 bank has a haitian relief fund... i'm sure there are tons of others online: PLEASE, DONATE DIRECTLY TO THE ORGANIZATIONS YOU TRUST BECAUSE BULLSHITTERS LOVE A HUMAN CRISIS!

a rejection-letter reactionary

when i was younger

in my younger anger

you would have liked me

as a poet. i was predictable.

black anger is easier

on the ears of white critics.

white critics in secret

hold their own equations

sacred. love the easy

black answer as bombast.

they use kid gloves

for our hard edges

have us expecting kid gloves

as kindness. handle us.

fondle us. favor us

the fondue as feast:

black anger as ladyfinger

literature in hotsauce packets.

my words would have killed

you in your sleep. you would have

loved me. so tasty.

today, i write of souse

and sun-ra typing africa

into affection. been told

by white critics i'm not black

enough to write of black things

that i have to give more haftas

and let the slang swang

if i'm to hang with them. "this

is who's idea of africa america?

where's the obligatory outbursts?

the curse words? the woe's

me to be me? this isnt

authentic... this is heresy!"

but i too is a literature racist,

hate homer with a passion...

have no patience for hemingway;

was herodotus a writer?

you like it like this dont you,

you perve? to hit a nerve

is an easy energy.

you cop-out if i achebe you,

the unsaid syllables stewing

in your head... you hate me

as hard to hit refusing to write

poems-for-a-pegboard.

well... i'm in love with

a whole 'nother language.

my blackness is new belief

not grief-stricken. chicken

is most fit for sacrifice...

beans and rice are the lots

thrown in a soapstone dish,

divination devices to cure

the arthritic augur... there

is no time to steep anger

in sugar-substitutes

being niggardly with

my action words...

i rattle within.
i rattle without.


- this is all freestyled and i'm real sleepy, so ima end this here for now/nap for a minute then eat a hearty breakfast of veggie-bacon and biscuits...

okay, i'm back - a day later... 


yes, unconvention
is contentious;
rainbows do not fall to earth
they are up from some dirt
(like a pyramid)

the new black word 
is a rare ruin avoiding
the pitfalls of dysfunctional
blueprints certified "the standard©"
- stereotypes on steroids.
my old-man anger avoids
all of this... there is no black-mack
in abstract in my blues...
not the ruse-as-usual
to my meandering monologues
no concrete-concierge/no 
shuffling with silver trays
in log cabins for copper coins...


this is from the groins of the gods,
my vascular voice - the black tongue
is a bright catheter for dark covenants;
like a shaman, i shake the shit 
out of pen tips and keyboards
clasping the cosmic; word balloons
collapse into themselves
at speed of night/what i write
going supernova in my hands


becoming black whole
in my nappy head.

:P

urban stele #3

my orisha took me for a walk/led me
by the tongue - a long leash of ambient
etymology/a nubian nucleosynthesis.

this is how we get down,
a tether of speech and asemic languages;
eldest africa in the aeriform:

two dope boys in a cataract speaking
isangamo slang in spatial poetry, where
shared voices flare in asymmetric spaces.

my orisha took me for a walk/talked
of eddie hazel of houngans of octavia,
of blount of waymon of bearden

of other hyperbolic mysticisms;
2 sesquipedalic spell casters 
                 - servants unto each other.

great visual inspiration for writers

this is a great little film

- 100% ALL DIGITAL, NO FILM WAS INJURED 

IN THE MAKING OF THIS MOVIE!

the visuals are simply stunning... especially around the 7 and 10 minute marks...

(the entire movie is roughly 12 minutes long)

check it out and be amazed!

NOTHING IN THIS MOVIE IS REAL... its all computer generated.


The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

visual inspiration for written words #1

Art Of Facts (Feat. FUTURA) from 13thWitness™ on Vimeo.

would you, could you as an art critic?

arts writer fund

an archeologist is required to help me dig up what i remember about my college art history classes.
the slideshows were beautiful, i remember that... but the accompanying lectures were monotonous enough to make ben stein cringe, curl up into a ball and cry for it to stop!

i'm sure there've been changes in the curriculums since the protozoic age, when i was the knee-deepest
in flunking the hell out my college education... surely, contemporary art now has a prominent focus in the classical arena setting. i mean, andy warhol mighta got some discussion clock time back in '85 (maybe as a footnote) but there was no serious focus on contemporary art in my art history classes. serious art talk pretty much ended with cubism. picasso was as close to "contemporary relevance" as most courses got. i dont remember any mention at all on frida... and basquiat's legacy was in extreme infancy.

there can be inspiration and appreciation while talking about (insert dead european renaissance painter here) but its not been until brother kehinde wiley recently came along to apply those traditional approaches to his contemporary themes. most painters striving to achieve the level of mastery displayed by 'the masters' either mimic or mock those long-gone mentors... there's been much 'adoption' of classic approaches but very little 'adaption'.

and with all things in life, when changes in approach/technique/vision are required it usually begins from the pristine critic asking his jaundiced question.

and apparently, there is a scholarship for that!

is this a natural fit for me? i was already born a cynic... can i hone that into a career making critical conclusions on the state of contemporary art? shit... i'm damn near spent just getting this blog finished!

it's 2010... im an old ass man... maybe its time i take vitamins. supplements to complement my contemporary pessimism.

changes for the new year...

at least as far as my art is concerned. was lazy as hell last year/really neglected my visual art - no shows, no galleries, no exhibitions, no covers, nothing. in 2010 im getting back on the grind including the redesign of my art blog masthead... i love the old one, but ima go with a sleeker image this year.

here are the old and new art banners:

from

to

3 quotes for january

A child cannot be taught by anyone
who despises him, and a child cannot
afford to be fooled.

                               - james baldwin

All water has a perfect memory and
is forever trying to get back to where it was.

                                 - toni morrison

The greatest threat to freedom is
the absence of criticism.

                                 - wole soyinka

a new year's new yeah, yeah, yeahs...

its like 4milliono'clock in the morning and here i still is... turnin' gold into rubbish.
a hundred years ago, i'd still be nursing a new years eve hangover a week later. but ima old man  now.
i bought a six pack of bottled beer, my last official act of 2009... as of january 6, 2010 - i still have FIVE left!

not only am i an old man... i'm pitiful at it.
seriously, tho... im one of those fools who proclaim to look forward to the aging process. i look forward to having my locks go gray all to hell, dragging behind me as i hoveround through-out the house... i watch my grandkids get the fuck outta the way as my father luges, careens and ransacks his own motorized wheelchair through his kitchen... its funny; its just a matter of time before he squashes a hapless toddler/crushes a limb/puts an eye out... its all on the horizon.  god bless the little children...

sigh... such is life.

anyway, planning my monthly facebook and twitter log-in sometime today. i really just caint get into those fads trends... at least myspace allowed me to prominently feature my visual art and graphic design skills; these new social trends are all about 'the daily diary entry'. shit, i dont even read my own diary... i hafta fake mustering the interest in checking the postings of my online acquaintances. where are the social networks for us anti-socialists?

this feigning interest in your daily updates is killing my malaise, seriously... it should be mutual.
if it aint, you need medicines.

blogging is so much better... its really a craft that needs to be re-elevated/re-evaluated.
i run a journal, i write, i subscribe to magazines, i make art that starves me, i have dishes to do... maaaan, i aint got time to twitter! (that'd make a great line for a tshirt... i can see jesse 'the body' ventura saying that line in a predator remake)

...

okay, obviously this is a hodge-podge blog... a menage-a-blog, if you will. a digital dialog undedicated to theme, stream or consciousness. this blog could run for president...  i'm working on the campaign buttons as we speak!

...

these are my resolutions for 2010, you saw it here first:

1. finish those five remaining miller geniune drafts in the fridge before it achieves fermentation-metamorphosis.

2. officially claim a new nba team. after 30 years i stopped being a 76ers fan after iverson left; i'm even less enthused since his return to the team. i abhor all western conference squads with a behemothing vengence; there is bile and vomit and venom in my dislike for the west... i really admired the detroit pistons during their championship runs, but there's been nothing remotely like them since then... cant never ever ever see myself cheering for a celtic either. if necessary, the sixers will win out by default.

3. blog better. starting next time.

4. mesmerize random house into publishing my unpublishable shit.

5. buy a new cd, either genre, old school jazz or underground west coast hip hop. i'd been forced to relinquish the 'hip hop guru' moniker a few years ago... i'd like to earn it back; the industries been in shambles since i stepped down.

6. go vegan! vegetarian! ...vegetarian-ish... eat more vegetables.

7. read more on-paper work. my new gig is at a used bookstore; this should be a piece of cake.

8. start exhibiting my artwork again... 2008 ended on such a great high, followed by winning a prestigious award in '09 based from the work produced in '08. but other than that achievement, i went dormant last year. for 2010, im coming out hard ISWAIRBEFOCHEESE...

9. be more outgoing... (ack, huaaaaarrraaaaccckkk... cack-cack!) ... excuse me, had something in my throat.

10. actually go out and celebrate my birthday (JANUARY 21st!) ... birthdays were always ignored in my household when i was growing up (more a matter of math than indifference; me, mama and 3 sisters have birthdays immediately following christmas - christmas was a birthday-catchall).

11, read my work openly. on a stage. with a microphone. in a bar/club/cafe. with people in it.

at least eight of these resolutions will be abandoned by february. put your money down early and often.