Poet's Haven Halloween Jubilee

The Poet's Haven will be holding a Halloween Jubilee on Saturday, October 31st at Oak Knoll Park in Massillon! Doors will open at noon with poetry and music performances starting at 1:00. This will be an all-ages event featuring poetry and music performances from; Steve Brightman, Theresa Göttl Brightman, Nikann Charney, Joshua Gage, Marissa Hyde, Azriel Johnson, KnowEyePoetry Collective (CUPSI team from College of Wooster), Kristen Laine, Lennart Lundh, Nick Mayberry, Jen Pezzo, Vince Robinson, Dan Smith, J.E. Stanley, and The Stetson-Marlowe Project. J.E. Stanley's new book, The Persistence of Night, will be making its debut here. We will also be joined by our friends from Blood Pudding Press, Crisis Chronicles Press, and Writing Knights Press. Food and drinks will be available, with sales in support of the Lake Effect Poetry slam team!

More info on Facebook.

Amazing Cleveland Poets Stories

Horray for dan smith and J.E. Stanley, whose recent chapbook collections of speculative poetry were just reviewed in Amazing Stories by Diane Severson. Says Diane:
"Today’s post brings you two poetry reviews of chapbooks by Cleveland poets, one each by J. E. Stanley and dan smith. The Greater Cleveland area is a little hotbed of genre poetry! It is lucky enough to count Mary A. Turzillo, Geoffrey A. Landis and Joshua Gage among its inhabitants. Those three are award-winning poets whose work I’ve reviewed and podcasted here and on Poetry Planet. With this post I bring you two more fine genre poets and introduce a lovely small press (NightBallet Press), edited by Dianne Borsenik, which produces saddle-stitching bound chapbooks and broadsides, attractively presented with heavy paper and color photographs gracing the covers and the interiors."

...(and, scroll down, and find some readings on MP3.)

• From Night Ballet Press:
• Selected Regions of the Moon, by J. E. Stanley, on Amazon for $8.00.
• The Liquid of Her Skin, the Suns of Her Eyes by dan smith: 5.00 plus $3.00 shipping direct from Nightballet, or on Amazon for $8.00.

Dwarf Stars at Mac's!

Mac's at night
photo by Geoffrey A. Landis

One of the longest-running poetry reading series in Cleveland is the Second-Wednesday poetry reading at Mac's Backs on Coventry.

The August show of the Second-Wednesday poetry reading-- coming up this Wednesday!--will feature the poets of Dwarf Stars, including me, not to mention local poets and Dwarf Stars contributors Holly Jensen, dan smith,  J.E. Stanley and Mary A. Turzillo.

We will celebrate haiku, scifaiku, cinquains, ghazals, and other forms of short-short poetry. Come on over and join us-- you are encouraged to bring your own dwarf poetry to read during open mic!

Silly, serious, manic, inspired, poignant-- short poems can hit hard!

Dwarf Stars 2012.  Cover Art: "Once Beyond a Time" by overseer.deviantart.com

Dwarf Stars 2013. Cover Art: "Elephant"
by neisbeis.deviantart.com

Deep Cleveland features the Dwarf Stars: Friday

This Friday, Feb. 8, the long-running Deep Cleveland Poetry Hour reading series will be featuring editors and authors of Dwarf Stars, an anthology of the best short-short speculative poetry of the year.  Every year, the Science Fiction Poetry Association awards the "Dwarf Stars" award to the best short speculative poetry of the year, where "short" is defined as "ten lines or fewer," and "speculative" means poems of science-fiction, fantasy, horror, surrealistic, or similar content.  The Dwarf Stars volume, which just came out, reprints the fifty best such short speculative poems of last year.

Cover Art: "Once Beyond a Time"
by overseer.deviantart.com

• Facebook event page for the reading

But, what does this have to do with Cleveland poetics, you might ask?  Well, as it turns out, this year the Dwarf Stars anthology was edited by two Cleveland poets: myself and Joshua Gage.  And the book contains, among others, poems by two Cleveland poets, J.E. Stanley and dan smith.  So the Deep Cleveland Poetry Hour is perfect for the debut of the anthology!

Should be a great night with some science fiction and fantasy poetry!
--anybody else out there write SF and fantasy?  Come on over!  We'll have an open mike!


Deep Cleveland is held on the second Friday of every month at the MugShotz Coffee Shop, 6556 Royalton Road North Royalton, Ohio; the event starts at 8, with the feature reading starting at 8:30 p.m.


Looking for a collection of scifaiku and other one-breath short-shorts that are science-fictional in the way of poetry?  The anthology will be for sale at the reading, or if you can't make it, it can be purchased from the SFPA for $8.00 plus $2.00 shipping (in the US).

Review: Fortune Cookie by Dianne Borsenik

Fortune Cookie
by Dianne Borsenik
(Kattywompus Press, Cleveland Heights, Ohio. 2012)














The City and The Soul

“Cities have souls” and in Dianne Borsenik’s two-part “Fortune Cookie” she explores “The City,” “The Soul” and the myriad ways in which they interact. Although universal in appeal, several of Borsenik’s poems are centered in Cleveland, its past and its present, good and bad. Consider these lines from “Cleveland Spelled Backwards Is:”

D
N
A
Level C
unwinding
at last
. . .revealing a ceiling
unreachable

Borsenik also deals effectively with self and soul, when to be cool, when to “Howl” with a capital “H” and what to do “When It Doesn’t Add Up,” that perfect storm “when the world of even / meets the world of odd” and “the earth shifts / uneasily.”

Borsenik’s syntax has a rhythm all its own, fueled by a judicious use of repetition and internal rhyme. It sweeps the reader irresistibly from line to line, starting with “Got Soul?” a brilliant, metaphor-driven catalog of cities ending in her own city and then progressing through a cathartic journey from “Doubts and Redoubts” to “Thaumaturgy.”

This highly recommended collection surges with a poetic form of kinetic energy, but if you find yourself too intoxicated from “a sip or two / of the strong stuff,” don’t worry. Just “fasten your seatbelts” and enjoy the ride.

Reviewed by J.E. Stanley







Available from Amazon
and NightBallet Press  (Scroll down.In the left-hand column)

Poetry in the Woods on Thursday

At the risk of too much tooting, I'd like to point out the Poetry Back in the Woods reading, at the Shaker Heights Library, Bertram Woods Branch, coming up this Thursday at 7pm.

Shaker Heights Library Events

It'll be featuring some fine poets, namely Joshua Gage, J.E. Stanley, Mary Turzillo, and dan smith. Plus possibly a surprise reader as well.

Uh, I might point out that the reading is not actually in the middle of a forest (not that there's anything wrong with that.) It will be at:

Shaker Heights Public Library,

Bertram Woods Branch

20600 Fayette Road, Shaker Heights, Ohio

(that's off Warrensville Center Road, just south of Shaker Boulevard-- just to the south of the Rapid station at Warrensville, if you're car-free)

Check out the Facebook page.

Poetry in the Woods, I might point out, has been a long-running series at the Shaker Libraries:

the series was started eleven years ago by poet, college teacher, and environmental activist Barry Zucker. After starting the readings at the Bertram Woods library--"Poetry in the Woods"-- the series also included readings at Horseshoe Lake Park ("Poetry Really in the Woods") and readings at the Main Library ("Poetry Not in the Woods.") The series is funded by the Friends of the Shaker Library and, now that it's back at Bertram Woods, it's (what else?) "Poetry Back in the Woods."

Anyway-- be there!

New Sunday Afternoon Poetry Series in Elyria

Click flyer for larger version

As many of you know, I'm John Burroughs, a.k.a. Jesus Crisis, of the monthly Lix and Kix Poetry Extravaganza in Lakewood. Though that series is still going strong, I'm thrilled to announce that beginning on Sunday November 7th I will also be hosting an open mic and featured poet series in my hometown of Elyria, Ohio (the Lorain County seat).

This new series will take place every Sunday afternoon from 1 to 3 p.m. at the newly reopened Jim's Coffeehouse and Diner, located at 2 Kerstetter Way (formerly known as Lake Avenue) in downtown Elyria, just doors away from the gorgeous East Falls Riverwalk. The current plan is that each session will begin promptly at 1 with an open mic before the features. When the weather's nice we may continue outdoors near the falls with a poetry free-for-all after the coffeehouse closes at 3.

Featured poets/authors/performers lined-up already include:

Nov. 7 - Eric Anderson and Stacie Leatherman
Nov. 14 - J.E. Stanley and dan smith
Nov. 21 - Sammy Greenspan and Tom Adams
Nov. 28 - Elise Geither and Lady K Smith
Dec. 5 - Claire McMahon and Lou Suarez
Dec. 12 - Dianne Borsenik and Mary Turzillo
Dec. 19 - Steven Smith and Courtenay Roberts
Dec. 26 - Cameron Conaway and Clarissa Jakobsons
Jan. 2 - Shelley Chernin and Anne McMillen
Jan. 9 - Andrew Rihn and Christina Brooks
Jan. 16 - Wendy Shaffer and Eric Odum
Jan. 23 - Michael Bernstein and Michael Grover
Jan. 30 - Yuyutsu Sharma, Geoffrey Landis and Bonné de Blas
Feb. 2nd thru 8th - Snoetry: A World Record Winter Wordfest
Feb. 13 - Everyone's a feature - open mic free-for-all
Feb. 20 - Dawn Shimp and a very special guest
Feb. 27 - Paula Lambert and Louise Robertson

I will add more features to the list in the very near future as soon as I have time to sort things out and get back to everybody who's inquired. Feel free to contact me at jc@crisischronicles.com for more information/details.

http://www.facebook.com/loraincountypoets
http://twitter.com/elyriapoetry

Just one set of falls on the Black River in Elyria, Ohio

*

Intrinsic Cinquains

Some of the Cleveland-area speculative poets have been experimenting with the cinquain, a short poetic form similar in some ways to the haiku.

Prominent among these cinquainistas have been Joshua Gage and J. E. Stanley, and now they've collaborated on a book of cinquains, Intrinsic Night, just out from Sam's Dot (available here, or look for it at Mac's Backs).

The cinquain (sometimes called the "American cinquain," to distinguish it as a definite form, distinct from other five-line forms) is a verse form invented by Imagist poet Adelaide Crapsey (1878-1914). She was one of the very early admirers of Japanese poetry forms, and came up with the cinquain partly as an American analogue of these haiku and tanka forms. Like Japanese forms, it's distinguished by a pattern of syllables: the five lines consisting of a line of two syllables, four, six, eight, and then back to two.

More complicated cinquain forms, like the mirror cinquain, butterfly cinquain, and so on (which Jim and Josh also use), build on the basic 2-4-6-8-2 structure.

As the poems in Intrinsic Night demonstrate, the cinquian builds up momentum and complexity of imagery as the length of the lines build up, and then detonates in a short final line. There's a lot that can be said, stories told and whole worlds built, in just 22 syllables!

Of the poems in Intrinsic Night, in the Simmons' Voice reviewer Stefanie Maclin wrote:

"Part science, part science-fiction, heavy on the folklore, the unexpected, and the odd shapes, findings, and beauty of everyday life, Intrinsic Night fits into no clear genre. But it also doesn't need to. Its unexpectedness defines the collection's true character."

Check it out.

Some links:

• 28 cinquains from Adelaide Crapsey's Verse
• Amaze, the Cinquain Journal
• Intrinsic Night

--

The poems from Intrinsic Night, with image layout by Joshua Gage, are used here with permission of the authors

Book Review: Iron Angels by Geoff Landis

Iron Angels is the long overdue, first collection of poetry by Geoff Landis. Landis, a scientist at NASA Glenn Research Center, has already won the Rhysling Award for his poetry in addition to the Hugo, Nebula and Locus Awards for his works of fiction. Landis' background, intelligence and sense of humor are very evident in this collection. And while much of his poetry is profound, it always remains both accessible and engaging. These are poems for everyone, not just fans of science and science fiction.

My personal favorite is "Earthrise, Viewed from Meridiani, Sol 687," inspired by a photo of the Earth taken from the surface of Mars, with lines like:

"That's you
and me
and everybody you know;
everyone who ever lived,
everyone who ever died.
All of us."

This collection also has numerous poems that, on the surface, seem straightforward and direct, but imply much more than what is being said. Consider "After:"

"After the flash
a moment of quiet
before the sound"

And, as expected from a writer of this caliber, there are several deep, thought-provoking pieces. "Snapshots," for example, which so accurately captures the haunting sense of disconnection one gets when viewing old photos. In part:

"Who are these people,
frozen in their graceless poses,
with their awkward smiles
and how dare they think that they could ever have once been
us?"

There is much humor and wit here, as well, such as in the award-winning "Christmas (When We All Get Time Machines)" and the quite useful "Ten Ways to Tell if Your Cat is a Space Alien." And yes, if you don't know what your feline friend is up to right now, maybe you'd better check. All in all, an excellent collection and valuable addition to anyone’s bookshelf.


Cover Art: NASA, ESA and The Hubble Heritage Team. Cover Design: Heidi Della Pesca. (vanZeno Press) Reviewed by J.E. Stanley.

Congratulations to the 2009 Hessler Street Fair Poetry Contest Winners!

footage and editing by Ken Kitt, courtesy of PoetryVidz
Wednesday, May 13th, I had the pleasure of reading (and seeing my work included in the Hessler Street Fair 2009 Poetry Anthology) with some mighty fine poets from across northern Ohio (and even from Michigan) at Mac's Backs Books on Coventry. Thanks to Suzanne DeGaetano of Mac's for hosting, to Joshua Gage for editing the anthology and emceeing, to the judges (Suzanne, Josh and Gail Bellamy), to the Hessler Street Fair organization, and especially to all the fine poets who participated. Congratulations to you all!

Winners include:
1st Place - "Grace" by Dan Smith
2nd Place - "Five pounds of sunlight" by Geoffrey A. Landis
3rd Place (tie) - "Autonomic" by J.E. Stanley and "The Sleeping Town" by Jill Riga

I'd also like to let folks know about Ken Kitt's PoetryVidz You Tube channel. Ken films a lot of readings/performances across northeast Ohio and graciously shares the best of his footage online. He's a tireless promoter of our local poetry scene(s) and provides an immeasurably valuable historical record of what makes Cleveland poetry so special. Ken recorded last night's event at Mac's and has already posted several clips, including videos of the four winners reading their poems, at http://www.youtube.com/user/poetryvidz.

Thanks, Ken! You're a winner, too.

Review

GuestGuest blogger J.E. Stanley

weighs in on our very own Joshua Gage’s “breaths”.

“breaths”
by Joshua Gage
Cover Photo by Rosann Gage; Cover Design by Heidi Della Pesca
(vanZeno Press, www.vanzenopress.com)

In “breaths,”

Joshua Gage shows his respect for traditional haiku yet manages to transcend that tradition by infusing his work with a modern, urban sensibility. Nature and neon, snowfall and cigarette ash exist side by side in this unflinching look at present-day life.

Modern haiku writers strive to place their images and ideas into profound juxtapositions such that the poem implies more and, in fact, becomes more than the sum of its parts. Gage is one of only a very few with the ability to do this exceptionally well. Consider the following excerpt:

our son in Iraq
wasps build a nest
in the mailbox

The depth of the book is further enhanced by the inclusion of recurring themes and images viewed from differing perspectives. Love and sensuality, the moon, the lake (Erie in this case, although not specifically named), the uneasy merging of civilization and the wild are woven throughout and viewed from fresh angles in the same way filmmaker might add depth by shooting his scenes from alternate points of view.

“breaths” is filled with original images but also permeated with moments to which nearly everyone can relate. Consider “the sound of rush hour / a deer grazes / in my front yard” for example.

This is an essential book of keen insights that reveals additional layers with each rereading and it comes very highly recommended.

Reviewed by J.E. Stanley.