Lit Youngstown's 2022 Fall Literary Festival!

Registration is now open for this year's Fall Literary Festival hosted by Lit Youngstown. For more information and to take part, please visit lityoungstown.org/fall-literary-festival-2022.

 

Jawbone Poetry Festival - May 6th through 8th in Kent

From our friends at The Jawbone:

Once again as always been, the Jawbone is calling forth poets to gather and sing.  Friday May 6^th through Sunday May 8^th.  Please come!  Bring your ears and your mouth and your heart and bring your words and your songs.  Bring your poems poets.  Again, we gather and sing.

 

Attached is a flyer. Please forward it to the unknown poet who we must reach. And print it and tape it to your back windshield and print some more and nail them to every telephone pole between your place and Topeka.

 

Also, send your poem for the 2022 Jawbone Book!  We will gather our voices in print.  To be included in the printed gathering, please send your poem by April 28.  All poems welcome, prayers and manifestos, too.  Do not include your credentials but do include your name.  Best to attach Word or PDF file.  All mistakes in production are mistakes in production.  The theme in this year's book will the theme in this year's book.

 

Send your poem to 22TheJawbone@gmail.com no later than Thursday April 28.

 

Send questions, comments, advice to one or all of the following:

Robert "RC" Wilson   rcwilsonii@gmail.com

LuAnn Csernotta    luanncsernotta@att.net

David Hassler    dhassle1@kent.edu

Steve Skovensky   sskovensky@gmail.com

 

SPRING. May 6^th 7^th 8^th.  2022.  All welcome.  Come to the river.  Bring everyone.  Includes you.  Every canoe, all wagons, to Kent.   Bring poems.   Follow the singing.

 

Here's the Jawbone schedule:

 

Dedication

                Friday at 4pm – dedication of a Maj Ragain poem & Jessica Damon painting

                               KSU Library, Wick Poetry Corner

Open Reading

                Friday May 6^th  8pm – Last Exit Books

                                124 E Main Street, Kent

Poet's Pie & Coffee

                Saturday May 7^th  11am-2pm – Standing Rock Gallery

                                300 North Water, Kent 11:00-2:00.

Open Reading

                Saturday May 7^th  2pm – John Brown Tannery

                                Along Cuyahoga River, Stow Street, Kent

Open Reading

                Saturday May 7^th  8pm – Last Exit Books

                                124 E Main Street, Kent

Poetry Potluck

                Sunday May 8^th  2pm – Fred Fuller Park

                                Pavilion 5,  Middlebury Road, Kent

 

Sign up for daily poetry in April!

From our friends at the Cuyahoga County Public Library:

Daily poetry delivered to you

In celebration of National Poetry Month in April, we're bringing you READ + WRITE: 30 Days of Poetry. Each day, we'll present the works of Ohio's best poets, highlight poetry books and give you fun writing prompts to spark your own inner poet! Subscribe to get READ + WRITE: 30 Days of Poetry delivered to your inbox daily in April.

Subscribe now

Lakefront Cleveland Poetry Festival begins April 24th

From our friends at Literary Cleveland:

Ohio Poets: Don't miss the virtual Lakefront Cleveland Poetry Festival April 24-May 1 with Literary Cleveland, CSU Poetry Center, and Grieveland. 

Over the course of one week, you will work with poets and editors to draft new pieces, share your work, and learn where and how to publish.

Presenters and instructors include Kaveh Akbar, Mary Biddinger, Ariana Brown, Hayan Charara, Stephanie Ginese, Quartez Harris, Kamden Hilliard, Valerie Hsiung, Brendan Joyce, Kevin Latimer, Ephraim Nehemiah, Eric Odum, Drew Pham, Hilary Plum and Rachel Wiley.

You can register for individual events or sign up for the full festival and save.

https://www.litcleveland.org/events-programs/lakefront-cleveland-poetry-festival

Call for submissions for The Cleveland Orchestra program book

From our friends at The Cleveland Orchestra:

The Cleveland Orchestra is accepting poetry submissions in response to its presentation of Verdi’s Otello and two associated concerts. The accepted submissions will be included in the festival program book / playbill, as well as potentially other spaces (which may include the Orchestra’s magazine, website, and other platforms).

About the programs:

On May 21, 26, and 29, The Cleveland Orchestra will present a concert performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Otello, based upon Shakespeare’s play Othello. In association with the opera, the Orchestra will present two programs (May 27 and 28) informed by the themes of Otello and the idea of otherness and outsider-ness that courses through it. Many of these works are also informed by poetry, from the works of Shakespeare, Wordsworth, and Whitman to Vedic chants and African American spirituals.

Information on the concerts:

Otello in Concert: May 21, 26, 29  

Program I: May 27

Program II: May 28

More information on the specific works that appear on each of the concerts follows.

Call for Submission:

We are looking for poetry submissions that respond — explicitly or implicitly — to the compositions that are being presented from May 21 to 29 and the theme of otherness and outsider-ness. The poem does not need to respond to the entire scope of the presentations, but should find resonance with one or more of the works being performed and/or the broader themes at play. 

·         Previously written or published pieces are welcome, please indicate if the piece has been published elsewhere and is subject to any copyrights.

·         Length should be one page or less.

·         Multiple submissions are welcome – please submit them within the same email submission.

·         Please send submissions to aangel@clevelandorchestra.com.

·         The Cleveland Orchestra will provide a $200 honorarium for selected works.

·        
Deadline: Thursday, April 14, 2022.

·         Notification responses will be sent by May 13, 2021

 

List of works that will be performed, with links to references:

Otello in Concert: May 21, 26, 29  

·         Giuseppe Verdi’s            Otello

Program I: May 27

·         Jüri Reinvere’s                 Norilsk, the Daffodils

·         George Walker’s             Lilacs (for voice and orchestra), texts from Walt Whitman’s “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd”

·         Sofia Gubaidulina’s        Light of the End

Program II: May 28

·         Charles Ives’s                  From the Steeples and the Mountains

·         Dmitri Shostakovich’s    Passacaglia from Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District (version for solo   organ)

·         Sofia Gubaidulina’s        Light and Dark (organ only)

·         Philip Glass’s                    Finale from Act III of Satyagraha (version for solo organ)

·         George Walker’s             Sinfonia No. 4 (“Strands”)

·         Samuel Barber’s             Toccata Festiva for Organ and Orchestra

 

poetic humility

Writers Conference in Lorain on March 19th

All writers, whether new to the craft or a veteran, are welcome to join us for this year's Lorain Public Library System Writers Conference on Saturday March 19th, 2022. This fantastic opportunity to network with other local writers will also include door prizes and refreshments. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Register here.

A Tribute to Russell Atkins - February 27th on Zoom

From our friends at Cave Canem:

Cave Canem invites you to celebrate this Black History Month by joining us in A Tribute to Russell Atkins. Poet, playwright and composer, Atkins’ work has had a devoted following since the 1950s, but he has found new audiences in the 21st century. At soon-to-be 96, Atkins has survived an extortionate conservatorship–during which time legally-appointed guardians went quickly through money earned from the resale of his family home, burned all his papers (opera, drama, poetry, journals, and correspondence with Langston Hughes and Marianne Moore)–and COVID19. Join us in honoring the tenacious artistry and longevity of this innovative virtuoso.  

Readings will be given by Janice Lowe, Daniel Gray-Kontar and Julie Ezelle Patton, along with a rare performance of Atkins’ “Objects for Piano” by pianist, Milena Gligić.  

This event is virtual. Click here to register.
Free and open to the public.

Poetry and Prose Contests for Ohio Writers

From our friends at the Gordon Square Review:

Gordon Square Review is pleased to announce two special contests to celebrate its tenth issue: the 2022 Poetry Contest for Ohio Writers, judged by Noor Hindi, and the 2022 Prose Contest for Ohio Writers, judged by Eman Quotah. This marks the first time Gordon Square Review has opened its contests to all writers who currently live in Ohio.

 

For the Poetry Contest, writers in Ohio may submit a single poem of any length. For the Prose Contest, writers in Ohio may submit a single piece of prose up to 3,000 words. The entry fee for each contest is $10 per entry. One winner in each category will receive a $500 prize and publication in Issue 10 of Gordon Square Review. One runner-up in each category will also be selected for publication.

 

Both contests open for entries on January 15, 2022, with a deadline of April 10, 2022. See full guidelines on Gordon Square Review’s website.

Cleveland Power of Sport Summit

 

Cleveland Power of Sport Summit presented by KeyBank and FirstEnergy will celebrate diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) by demonstrating the power of sport as a catalyst for change. 

Held in conjunction with NBA All-Star 2022, this free multi-day event will showcase local and national organizations who are utilizing their voices to address topics related to adaptive sports, gender equity, LGBTQIA+ athlete advocacy, mental health, racial equity and more.

Power of Sport Performing Arts Competition encourages participants to create an original poem or song that describes how the power of sport has affected you, your community or your outlook on the world.

This competition is free to enter and prize money will be awarded to winners in multiple categories. Submit by January 31st, 2022. For more information, visit https://www.clesportsummit.org/power-of-sport-performing-arts-competition.

Jeremy Jusek named first Poet Laureate of Parma, Ohio

Congratulations to Jeremy (and Parma)! 

Read all about it at Cleveland.com.

And you can find him at jeremyjusek.com.

 Folks, we at Bottom Dog Press can use your support in this big project to work for reason in gun control. We will be publishing a  book of memoir by JRW (Robert) Case.

Cycling Through Columbine

A Memoir of American Democracy in Crisis

The book follows Robert on a cross-country bike-packing adventure while reflecting on the Columbine school massacre near his hometown in Colorado.

You can help through our GoFundMe campaign. 

https://gofund.me/639ffd7a

Thanks

Paid $1,000 Internships with Literary Cleveland

Literary Cleveland is now accepting applications for two $1,000 internships for spring 2022.

Interns will have the opportunity to assist with literary arts programs and events, support Gordon Square Review literary journal, and develop their own project.

These internship opportunities are intended for members of historically underrepresented groups in the writing and publishing industry. Our goal is to provide skills training, career advancement opportunities, and support to these writers to help address the longstanding lack of diversity in the writing community.

Internships are 5-10 hours per week, and each intern will be compensated $1,000 for 10 weeks of work from February through April 2022. Most of the work will be done remotely via Zoom.
 
Application deadline: December 20.

Learn more and apply here.

Dec. 1st - Last Day to Register for Lit Youngstown Poetry Intensives

Lit Youngstown is offering a monthly, in-depth poetry writing workshop from January to September, 2022. Each participant will set their own goals for writing, publishing and participating in other opportunities in the literary community. Workshop leaders will offer a variety of topics and influences.

The workshops will meet from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on the second Saturday of each month (after January's session on the 15th), in Lit Youngstown's office at St. John's Episcopal Church, 323 Wick Ave. The course cost is $200 per participant; the course will run when we reach a minimum of ten participants.

Register here by December 1 to save a seat. For more info, including FAQ and presenter bios, please click here. Feel free to reach out with any other questions: LitYoungstown@gmail.com.

January 15
10-12 Morning topic: contemporary poetry books
1-4 Guest Workshop Leader Robert Miltner & Molly Fuller, on the sounds of music in poetry

February 10
10-12 Morning topic: craft books on poetry writing
1-4 Guest Workshop Leader Mary Biddinger, on inviting strangeness into your poems

March 12
10-12 Morning topic: journals, submissions
1-4 Guest Workshop Leader Steve Reese, on abstract vs. concrete in poetic language

April 9
10-12 Morning topic: chapbooks
1-4 Guest Workshop Leader Marion Boyer, on revision

May 14
10-12 Morning topic: full-length books
1-4 Guest Workshop Leader Barbara Sabol, on beginnings and endings

June 11
10-12 Morning topic: residencies, contests, retreats, conferences
1-4 Guest Workshop Leader Allison Pitinii Davis, on linebreaks

July 9
10-12 Morning topic: creating a workshop group
1-4 Guest Workshop Leader Diane Kendig, on time

August 13
10-12 Morning topic: performance reading
1-4 Guest Workshop Leader Susan Grimm, on how the poem happens: thinking about the parts and the whole

September 10
10-12 Morning topic: trade magazines
1-4 Guest Workshop Leader David Hassler, on finding the hidden energy in language