SONG FOR ISHTAR
—Denise Levertov
The moon is a sow
and grunts in my throat
Her great shining shines through me
so the mud of my hollow gleams
and breaks in silver bubbles
She is a sow
and I a pig and a poet
When she opens her white
lips to devour me I bite back
and laughter rocks the moon
In the black of desire
we rock and grunt, grunt and
shine
_______________________
Today is National Pig Day in the Year of the Pig. Life is good.
Getting your work out there, Part Deux:
•••Today (3/1) [sorry, I just got this this morning] is the deadline for Green Mountains Review, which is seeking poems, stories, and essays for its 20th anniversary double-issue on Literature of the American Apocalypse. Send literature, darkly comic or deadly serious, that centers on American dread, inspired by everything from the current Administration's war on terror and war on privacy, to continuing threats of environmental degradation, nuclear annihilation, world-ravaging disease, corruptions of culture and language, takeover by clones and computers, natural disasters that some say are caused by global warming and others say are acts of an angry god, or whatever else can be imagined by an end-of-days mind. They will read submissions for this special issue, with a projected publication date of June 2007. Send to Green Mountains Review, Apocalypse Issue, Johnson State College, Johnson, VT, 05656.
•••Persimmon Tree, an independent online magazine associated with Mills College, welcomes submissions from women over 60 [not that we know any…]. Persimmon Tree is looking for submissions that reveal the complexity and richness of older women’s experience. It seeks to break down stereotypes about aging, and show the creativity and diversity that exists. Poetry submissions are limited to six poems. Submissions may be sent any time during the year. The magazine comes out quarterly—March 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15. They will respond within twelve weeks. Multiple submissions are accepted. Please send submissions as an attachment to: Submissions@persimmontree.org. Include in your email a brief biographical statement. The attached document must be saved in MS Word or a compatible program. We will respond to you online. Fiction and nonfiction submissions should be double-spaced, with 12 point type and numbered pages. At the top of the first page, please type author’s name, address, telephone, and email address.
•••Bridges: A Jewish Feminist Journal, published by Indiana University Press and edited by an independent group of women (currently: Clare Kinberg, Faith Jones, Carolivia Herron, Yosefa Raz, and Simone Yehuda), is committed to integrating the traditional Jewish values of justice and repair of the world, with insights honed by the feminist movement. Bridges' unique contribution comes from our firm footing in the feminist, lesbian, Jewish and progressive worlds, our commitment to culture and activism, and our format which permits publication of poetry, fiction, reviews, artwork and in-depth pieces that cannot be published elsewhere. Bridges reaches out to all communities engaged in the enduring labor of love and desire for a livable society. Every issue of Bridges includes Yiddish and Hebrew writing with English translations. Please visit our website (www.bridgesjournal.org) for more information, to subscribe and to order back issues. Editorial inquiries and submissions should be sent to: Bridges: A Jewish Feminist Journal, 4860 Washtenaw Ave #I-165, Ann Arbor, MI 48108 or Clare@bridgesjournal.org
Next Monday in poetry:
•••Monday (3/5), 7:30 PM: The Other Voice Poetry Series in Davis presents Heather Hutcheson and Melanie Sievers reading their poetry at The Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis, 27074 Patwin Road, Davis. There will be an open reading following the poets. This is a free event. Call 530-750-3514 for details.
Heather Hutcheson earned a BA in English from the University of California, Davis and an MA in Creative Writing from California State University, Sacramento. Her master’s project was a book-length collection of poetry, Risk Poetry. She teaches creative writing workshops for families, and, for nine years, she volunteered as the Managing Editor of Poetry Now, a monthly poetry publication from the Sacramento Poetry Center.
Melanie Sievers teaches English at Lodi Middle School, and is a former member of the Board of Directors of Sacramento Poetry Center. Her publications include Poetry Now, One Dog Press, and Jewel of the Valley: A California Anthology from Blue Moon Press.
•••Also next Monday (3/5), 7:30 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center presents storytelling from Angela James. HQ for the Arts, 25th & R Sts., Sacramento. Free; open mic.
Today is a biggie:
•••Thursday (3/1), 8 PM: Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sac. Open mic before/after, free. Info: 916-441-3931.
•••Thursday (3/1) is the first session of "The Universe and Other Words" writing workshop at Cache Creek Nature Preserve. It will meet on Thursdays from 10 AM-12 PM, from March 1-April 19. [I don't know if there are still slots; check with Rae Gouirand, Writer-in-Residence, at rae_gouirand@yahoo.com].
•••Thursday (3/1) is also the deadline for Poets Corner Press's Annual Chapbook Poetry Contest. Camille Norton, winner of the National Poetry Series Contest, will judge. The First Place Award of $500 will be announced June 1, 2007. Send your manuscript of 24 text pages of poetry with $20 reading fee, check or money order made out to:
Poets Corner Press
8049 Thornton Rd.
Stockton CA 95209
Further info: http://www.poetscornerpress.com/Competition.html#poet
•••Thursday (3/1) is the deadline for VYPER, the journal of poetry from people 13-19. Send poems, photos, art to kathykieth@hotmail.com, or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726.
•••Also Thursday (3/1), 7:30 PM at University of the Pacific in Stockton, in Wendall Phillips (WPC) 140: Marilyn Chin, a figure whose work has helped define Asian American poetry, will be reading. Take I-5 South, get off at the Alpine exit and take a left on Alpine all the way to Pershing, where you go straight across and into the back entrance of UOP. Go past the stadiums and into a parking lot that is straight ahead of you. Then walk through the parking lot and Wendall Phillips will be a brick buidling on your left. Reception and book signing will follow.
And today, Robert Trail Spence Lowell IV would've been 90 years old.
HISTORY
—Robert Lowell
History has to live with what was here,
clutching and close to fumbling all we had—
it is so dull and gruesome how we die,
unlike writing, life never finishes.
Abel was finished; death is not remote,
a flash-in-the-pan electrifies the skeptic,
his cows crowding like skulls against high-voltage wire,
his baby crying all night like a new machine.
As in our Bibles, white-faced, predatory,
the beautiful, mist-drunken hunter's moon ascends—
a child could give it a face: two holes, two holes,
my eyes, my mouth, between them a skull's no-nose—
O there's a terrifying innocence in my face
drenched with the silver salvage of the mornfrost.
_______________________
—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.)