George Bilgere's Haywire

This month's poetry book for discussion is Haywire, the 2006 May Swenson Award-winning manuscript, by George Bilgere. Group member Ann C. Putnam selected this book based on a recommendation by poet Michael Meyerhofer. Garrison Keillor has read work from this collection on his show "The Writer's Almanac." For more info on Bilgere visit http://www.georgebilgere.com/.
 
If you've read Haywire and would like to add your thoughts on the book, please post a comment.

Bennington Girls Reading

Fellow Bennington College alum Jules Nyquist and I will be reading tonight at the Flying Squirrel Community Center, 285 Clarissa St., Rochester, NY.

Clarinda Harriss Prize Winner Announced

Katherine Bogden's manuscript "Every Bit of It" has been selected by Thomas Lux for the 2012 Harriss Poetry Prize offered by CityLit Press. Bogden is an editor at Ugly Duckling Presse. The chapbook will be published this spring.

Big Pencil Press Prize Winner Announced

Bethany Reid's manuscript What Saves Us has been chosen by Dorianne Laux for publication by Big Pencil Press. In addition to publication and prize money, the recipient receives a two-week residency at the Gell Center in the Finger Lakes located in central New York.

February Readers Group Selection

On Saturday, my monthly poetry readers group discussed James Allen Hall's Now You're the Enemy (University of Arkansas Press, 2008). It proved to be one of the most lively discussions we've had in a long time as we analyzed Hall's craft and subject matter. All agreed that Hall's poetry is accomplished (and I don't say this simply because he is a fellow alumnus of Bennington College) though, for various reasons, some of us thought the subject matter to be more than a little uncomfortable.

Among the discussion topics resurrected was the fictional "I" vs. the autobiographical "I." For me, this brought to mind a panel at AWP a few years back where Liam Rector and Timothy Liu debated whether or not there even could be a fictional "I."

I have opened my own poetry readings by stating, "This work is fictionalized truth. I'll let you decide what is fiction and what is truth."

Ultimately, we did not settle firmly on which elements of Hall's narratives were completely true and we mostly agreed that it did not matter; the poems worked without having a black and white timeline in front of us.

To read more about Now You're the Enemy, check out the following site: http://howapoemhappens.blogspot.com/2010/05/james-allen-hall.html.

Elixir Press Book Award Announced

The Judge's Prize, which was chosen by Teresa Leo, is Little Oblivion by Susan Allspaw, Aurora, CO. The Editor's Prize is Quelled Communiqués by Chloe Joan Lopez, Colchester, VT. Congratulations to the winners.

2012 Fence Modern Poets Series Winners Announced

Fence Books has announced two winners of the 2012 Fence Modern Poets Series prize. The winning books will come out in the fall of 2012. They are Eyelid Lick, by Donald Dunbar of Portland, Oregon and In the Laurels, Caught, by Lee Ann Brown of New York City and Marshall, North Carolina. Congratulations to both.

Richard Snyder Poetry Prize Winner Announced

Gabriel Spera's manuscript The Rigid Body was chosen by Natasha Tretheway for publication by Ashland Poetry Press later this year.

Manuscripts are now being accepted for the 2012 Snyder Prize. Contact me soonest if you would like your manuscript prepped for this and other spring poetry book/chap book competitions.

Poetry Book Group Discussion Today

Today, my monthly poetry book group will be discussing Steve Huff's More Daring Escapes (Red Hen Press, 2008). His poems on the subject of the working life are reminiscent of Jim Daniels' work though Huff's poetry, while equally as gritty, has more poetic fluidity than Daniels' jabs and punches. One can argue the efficacy of "How the Poem Means" vis a vis each of these poets' styles though I am inclined to consider each equally compelling. Huff's work comes more as a reflection of a middle-aged man than Daniels' fresh-out-of-the-factory youthful perspective.

To read a review of Huff's book (not mine, however) visit: http://whatistheverd.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/book-review-more-daring-escapes-by-steven-huff/.

2011 Black Lawrence Press Chapbook Contest Winner Announced

Nick McRae's manuscript, Mountain Redemption, has been chosen as the winner of the Black Lawrence Press 2011 Black River Chapbook Competition. McRae currently teaches creative writing at Ohio State University. Finalists and semi-finalists are listed below.

Poetry Finalists

Bone Letters – Peter Schwartz & Nicelle Davis
Farmstead of the Burning Field – Duncan Campbell
Mountain Redemption – Nick McRae
not meant for you Dear Love – Brian Clements

Poetry Semi-Finalists

Annunciation – Barbara Tomash
Malice Aforethought – Jon Flieger
Proximity – Jan Freeman
Sludge – Vivian Prescott
The War Reporter – Dan O’Brien

Poem Published in Ruminate

With the new year comes a new publication to announce. My poem "Smoke and Cloud" appears in Ruminate Issue 22: Up in the Air http://www.ruminatemagazine.com/issue-22-up-in-the-air/. Ruminate's tag line is "Chewing on life, faith and art." This is an appropriate venue for my most recent work since my writing leans in a more spiritual direction. This work is also less narrative than most of my published poems.

Please check out the web site and let me know what you think. Purchasing a copy of Issue 22 will also be appreciated, by the magazine and me.

Omnidawn's First/Second Book Prize Winner Announced

C.D. Wright has chosen fault tree by Kathryn L. Pringle as the winner for Omnidawn Publishing's First/Second Poetry Prize. The finalists of the 2011 First/Second Book Competition (in alphabetical order by last name) are: Jill Darling, Mount Clemens, Michigan; Leora Fridman, Florence, Massachusetts; Eryn Green, Denver, Colorado; Jane Gregory, Berkeley, California; and Soham Patel, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

I will be posting announcements of contest winners on this blog so check back frequently.

Reading at Greenwood Books

I will be reading at 7:00 pm Friday, December 2 at Greenwood Books, 123 East Ave., Rochester, NY. This is part of the ongoing monthly First Friday series of events held in the arts district. I hope you'll come out to support this independent bookseller.

Can Physicists Be Funny?

I've caught a few episodes of "Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman" on the Science Channel and found a fellow "Stanek." While I have no reason to believe there is a direct familial connection, I do know that some of my grandparents' relatives ended up in Chicago, which is home town to particle physicist Bob Stanek. Imagine my delight in finding out that not only is Bob a physicist, he also believes in having a sense of humor, contrary to what Dr. Sheldon Cooper of "The Big Bang Theory" may think. I encourage you to check out the Wall Street Journal article explaining the connection between science and humor. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122048206487796841.html?mod=hpp_us_pageone

Fall is here and I'm back...

It's good to be back at my desk after a couple of weeks of medical leave. Thanks to all for your prayers and well wishes.

It's the height of the fall reading period and if you are already in my queue, you will definitely have your submissions in hand well before the deadlines begin. If you did not queue up, many journals and presses will be reading through spring and there are always those that read year-round.

On a humerous note, it seems our military has decided that my web site is considered "entertainment" and therefore is not accessible to our troops overseas. I'm not certain I would catagorize poetry submission preparation along with Hulu or Netflix...

My poem "A Walking Tour of Central Europe on American Soil" appears in the I-90 Manifesto edition of Redactions: Poetry and Poetics, guest-edited by Sean Thomas Dougherty. http://www.redactions.com/

Poet Michael Meyerhofer will be in Rochester next week courtesy of Palettes & Quills, Poetic Effect, the Arts Minor Program at St. John Fisher College and Just Poets. If you're in the area, he will be reading at the Golisano Gateway on Fisher's campus Thursday, October 13 at 7:30 pm. Meyerhofer's books include Blue Collar Eulogies and Pure Elysium, which won the Palettes & Quills Chapbook Contest judged by Dorianne Laux. I hope to see you there. http://palettesnquills.com/

NYFA Grant Award Winners

This spring, I was privileged to serve as a panelist for the New York State Foundation for the Arts in the poetry category. It was exciting to read the work of so many talented poets. Below is the list of poets who were awarded grants:

Desirée Alvarez (New York)
Ari Banias (Kings) – Gregory Millard Fellow
Jose Beduya (Tompkins)
Cara Benson (Rensselaer)
Michael Burkard (Onondaga)
Ken Chen (Kings)
Barbara Cole (Erie)
Susan Deer Cloud (Broome)
Robert Fitterman (New York)
Tonya Foster (Kings)
Rigoberto Gonzalez (Queens)
James Hall (St. Lawrence)
Brenda Iijima (Kings)
Garrett Kalleberg (Suffolk)
Amy Lawless (Kings)
Ricardo Maldonado (New York)
Ryan Murphy (Dutchess)
Jacob Rakovan (Monroe)
Wendy Walters (Kings)

The other panelists were:

Jennifer Hayashida (Kings)
Anna Moschovakis (Delaware)
Willie Perdomo (New York)
Paige Taggart (Kings)

I hope you will check out the work of these fine poets.

Tupelo Press announces First/Second Book Award Winner

Lantern Puzzle byYe Chun of Columbus, MO has been selected as the 2011 First/Second Book Prize Winner at Tupelo Press. DA Powell was the final judge. For more information and a list of finalists visit www.tupelopress.org.

ABG Show at the Williams Gallery

The Artist Breakfast Group which, although "breakfast" is part of its name does not actually have breakfast at its early morning meetings, has an art show opening Friday, June 24 at the Williams Gallery located at the First Unitarian Church, 220 Winton Rd., Rochester, NY. The show will run until August 22, 2011. Poets will be reading (myself included) at the opening which runs from 5:00 - 8:00 pm and refreshments will be served. I hope to see you there. http://artistsbreakfastgroup.com/ABG/events.html

New Publication Opportunity

Architrave Press, founded by Jennifer Tappenden, is a new venture committed to "bridging the gap between intelligent poems and artful readers." This is a unique publishing opportunity for your poems, under 33 lines per poem. For more information visit http://architrave.submishmash.com/Submit.

Reading at Books, Etc.

I will be reading with David Michael Nixon Sunday, May 15 at Books, Etc., 78 W. Main St., Macedon, NY. The reading begins at 4:00 PM.

A bit about David: He is a mainstay in poetry in the Rochester area. I first encountered David at the Genesee Reading Series several years ago when Writers & Books was located in its temporary space on East Avenue while its University Avenue home was being renovated. His powerful short poems and distinctive reading style made quite an impression on me. David has served as a president of Just Poets and is a member of the Golden Links Folk Singing group.

I hope to see you at our reading on the 15th.