Sand

Tom Myers

SONNETS OF THE SEA
—Tom Myers, Modesto

a young boy
bends forward
shaved head bowed
smooth brown face
eyes closed
folded hands rest
on crossed legs
short-sleeved robe
tucked underneath

bathed in light
a sea shell lies
before him
his breath slows
drops off
a feather falling
he bends closer
and listens
listens to
sonnets of the sea
ebb and flow of tides
songs of salt, sand
and silence

_________________

Thanks, Tom! Tom Myers is one of the many fine poets who live in Modesto. He has taught elementary school for 31 years, and four to six weeks each year in his classes are devoted to appreciation and writing of poetry. Many of his third-grade students have been published in Snakelets, the Rattlesnake Press journal of poetry from kids 0-12 years old [next deadline is May 1!]. Tom belongs to a Modesto writing group that meets monthly, and his poems have been published in Modesto Poets Corner, Rattlesnake Review, Quercus Review and hardpan. He loves the outdoors—camping, hiking, and wildlife viewing, and he says early morning walks with his dog are a favorite activity. Tom also enjoys cooking AND eating. He is married, with three daughters.

Modesto produces at least two fine poetry journals: Song of the San Joaquin, and hardpan. This Saturday (4/21), from 4-5 PM, The Central California Art Association and the Mistlin Art Gallery will hold a poetry reading at the Gallery, 1015 J St., Downtown Modesto. This reading will be a celebration of the third edition of hardpan, a journal of poetry that is published in Modesto by Lost Cow Press. Editors (and rattlechappers) debee loyd & Karen Baker will be introducing contributors to read their work from this uniquely regional poetry journal. The public is welcome; a modest donation to the gallery will be accepted. Info: Gordon Preston at 209-523-8916.

__________________

Cache Creek Workshop:

Ray Gourirand, Writer-in-Residence at Cache Creek Nature Preserve writes: SUSTAINABILITY AND INSPIRATION at Cache Creek Nature Preserve: I find myself thinking increasingly about what it means for an artist to teach in the long term, and what might be gained by connecting one’s solo practice directly to group exchange at the genesis of creative work. What I want to know is how inspiration can be lived (and shared) more sustainably. We’ll use this workshop to figure some of it out by way of organic discussions and exercises that derive from the creative practice of participants. While we’ll center this as a writing workshop (there will be readings and exercises, though that may not be all there will be), it’ll be open to anyone who practices a creative art, and responses to the workshop can take any creative form. The details of the workshop will depend on the real inspirations of participants, which means that we might end up focusing on anything else as much as we focus on sustainability as a concept. This workshop will run for twelve weeks beginning May 3rd, from 10 AM – noon, at Cache Creek Nature Preserve in northwest Woodland, and is offered free to the public thanks to the support of CCNP and the Teichert Foundation. To register, email me directly with your name, email address, and phone number (if you need directions, just ask when you email me to register).

And don't forget the Cache Creek celebration this weekend: A Day in April, 12-3 PM: a creative retreat at Cache Creek Nature Preserve, open to everyone in honor of Earth Day. See yesterday's post for details.


Some prizes dangling out in front of us:

•••Nimrod/Harden Awards Competition deadline is April 30. Enter the Nimrod/Hardman Awards competition for two annual awards given by Nimrod International Journal. The Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction and The Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry offer first prizes of $2,000 and second prizes of $1,000, along with publication of the winning stories and poems, and a trip to Tulsa to receive the awards and take part in our annual writing workshop. Past winners include Sue Monk Kidd, Kate Small, Diane Glancy, Steve Lautermilch, Ellen Bass, Thomas Gough, Ruth Schwartz, and Sarah Flygare. Past judges for the Awards include Marvin Bell, Mark Doty, Janette Turner Hospital, Stanley Kunitz, W. S. Merwin, Pattiann Rogers, William Stafford, Ron Carlson, Edward Hirsch, and John Edgar Wideman. Contact us if you have any questions, or visit our website— www.utulsa.edu/nimrod —to learn more about Nimrod.

•••15th Annual Writer’s Digest Int’l Self-Published Book Awards deadline is May 1. Win $3,000 in cash, gain national exposure for your book, and catch the attention of prospective editors and publishers. Writer's Digest is searching for the best self-published books of the past few years. Whether you're a professional writer, part-time freelancer, or a self-starting student, here's your chance to enter the only competition exclusively for self-published books. Categories include:

* Mainstream/Literary Fiction
* Genre Fiction
* Nonfiction
* Inspirational (Spiritual, New Age)
* Life Stories (Biographies, Autobiographies, Family Histories, Memoirs)
* Children's Picture books
* Middle-Grade/Young Adult books
* Reference Books (Directories, Encyclopedias, Guide Books)
* Poetry

•••Call for Submissions: The Virginia Brendemuehl Poetry Prize: Deadline is July 31. $1,000.00 plus publication. Send 1-3 unpublished poems, SASE, and $10.00 entry fee to Virginia Brendemuehl Prize, Rock & Sling, P.O. Box 30865, Spokane, WA 99223. Finalists will also be published; notification September 1. No simultaneous submissions, please. Details at www.rockandsling.org. Info:

Laurie Klein, Consulting Editor
Rock & Sling: A Journal of Literature, Art and Faith
P. O. Box 30865
Spokane, WA 99223
www.rockandsling.org
editors@rockandsling.org

•••Soul-Making Literary Competition, deadline November 30. Cash prize awards [though I don’t see how much…] for:

Creative Non-fiction Prize (up to 3000 words)
Kate Braverman Short Story Prize (up to 5000 words)
Young Adult Poetry Prize Writers grades 9-12 (3 poems, 1 poem per page)
Flash Fiction Prize (three stories, up to 500 words)
Joanna Catherine Scott Novel Excerpt Prize (send 1st 20 pages. Include 1 page synopsis of your novel in progress, not yet published)
Prose Poem Prize (3 prose poems per entry)
Linda Joy Myers Memoir Prize (up to 3000 words)
Tara L. Masih Intercultural Essay Prize (up to 6000 words)
Janice Farrell Poetry Prize (3 poems per entry, 1 poem per page)
Rosalie Fleming Humor Prize (any form, 2500 words or less)

All entries must be typed, titled and category must be indicated on mss. No tear sheets. All prose works must be double-spaced, including page numbers, and paper-clipped. Do not put your name on mss; instead, enclose one 3x5 card typed, labeled or clearly printed with your name, address, phone, fax, e-mail. Entries will not be accepted by e-mail. No mss. will be returned. Please included SASE if you wish to receive contest results. Readings will take place at: Koret Auditorium, San Francisco Main Library, Civic Center.

Mail entries to : The Webhallow House, 1544 Sweetwood Drive, Broadmoor Vlg. CA, 94015-2029
Questions: PenNobHill@aol.com
For more details: www.soulmakingcontest.us

__________________

RECEPTION
—Tom Myers

he rests on tired sofa
saggy brown Naugahyde
covers worn bony springs
Jay Leno show moans on
fuzzy lack and white TV
he glances out window
cars splash slushy snow
headlights disappear
into gray wool, his
gaze crawls back to
Doritos commercial
words words...

he stands up, shuts off TV
walks into dingy kitchen
hum of the refrigerator
drones on and on
he opens icebox door
dim 25-watt bulb flickers
then flutters bright
bare racks stare back
he grabs last beer, gazes
out at falling snow
white shower curtain
seals off city
smothers night

_________________

AFTERMATH
—Tom Myers

the desert storm
rushes through the arroyo
raging water pushes
rush, sticks, and leaves
high on the banks
deposits swirled silt
wispy chiffon scarf

I imagine Aunt Eloise
yellow scarf frames
white powdered face
and smeared red lipstick
from sloppy kisses
sitting in a drunken stupor
words slurred sand
slipping away

later, shallow footprints
line the ditch
elongated pads
think delicate fingers
raccoon's calling card
fleeting
fading

_________________

—Medusa

Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their POETRY, PHOTOS and ART, as well as announcements of Northern California poetry events to kathykieth@hotmail.com (or snail ‘em to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726) for posting on this daily Snake blog. Rights remain with the poets. Previously-published poems are okay for Medusa’s Kitchen, as long as you own the rights. (Please cite publication.)


SnakeWatch: Up-to-the-minute Snake news:

Journals: Rattlesnake Review #13 is available at The Book Collector; next deadline is May 15. The new VYPER #6 (for youth 13-19) will be out this week; next deadline is Nov. 1. Snakelets 10 (for kids 0-12) is available; next deadline is May 1.

Books/broadsides: April’s releases are SnakeRings SpiralChap #7 from D.R. Wagner: Where The Stars Are Kept, and littlesnake broadside #33: Swallowed By This Whale Of Time by Ann Menebroker. Both are now available at The Book Collector. SpiralChaps are $8; broadsides are free. Or contact kathykieth@hotmail.com for ordering information.

Something new: Rattlesnake Interview Series with B.L. Kennedy is also available (free) at The Book Collector (or contact Kathy Kieth). #1 is Ann Menebroker.

Also: check out the Rattlechaps Chapbook Series page on the rattlesnakepress.com website! We've started generating separate pages for each rattlechapper/spiralchapper; scroll down through the list of books we've published and click on the names that are in red. That should lead you to a separate page for each of them, including photos, bios, poems, contact info—and more to come, once we get them all up and running. Sweet!