Good News

Hi all.  Recently found out that I won second prize for adult poetry in the Click Create Celebrate literary competition, sponsored by the Caledon Library.  Here is the poem:

Untitled

the sky is charged tonight

timorous stars, ears turned earthward

listen for their true voices, that

like blind gospel psalms—echoing

upwards from upturned palms

—rise out of the vocal sacs

of a sea of peeper frogs

who fill the wetland bogs

with intense ululations

a sexuality of supernovic proportions

light years separate star and frog

yet are they not one being

as the hand is, at heart, no different

from the head in its seeing?

they sing, these tiny astral amphibians

to give cruciform voice to a longing

felt in the farthest reaches of inner space

to teach me something

I cannot fully comprehend

like a dream I cannot quite place

the sky is charged tonight

it needs us to attend

it needs to birth universes

stir up cosmic dust dances

toss its connecting light

like a seine net over us all

drag creature-Earth to shore

so that we finally find each other

the way a hand searches for and caresses

the furrowed field of a brow

to share in its many sadnesses

my yes, my heart cups

the hive of the world

whose shiver chatters bones

its heft-sensuous curves

braille-like textures intone

the warp and weft of

Being in its becoming

and when I look at you

with my stars singing in your eyes

your frogs peeping in my ponds

I am made to ask

where do I end and you begin?

Meanwhile, we carry on writing towards the collection of flash fiction now tentatively titled AND MAYBE YOU FLOAT AWAY, with the goal of completing it and shopping it around for Spring of 2014. Working with a professional editor has really helped my understanding of 'conscious' writing, which is to say that I am more aware now, as I write, of the intertwining of narrative/character/thematic elements inherent to good storytelling. It is very much an art and a craft, this business of scribbling.

Next up, Anthony Carnovale and I will be offering a presentation and workshop series for seniors in Snelgrove, Ontario, on Nov. 7th, on the topic of MEMORY, IMAGINATION and the POWER OF STORYTELLING. We're also working on a series of workshops for autism spectrum teens. Busy period! Keep you posted.  Cheers.

Spirit First Meditation Poetry Contest

http://www.spiritfirst.org/spirit_first_news.html#poetry

First Annual Spirit First Meditation Poetry Contest

Deadline: January 31, 2010
First Prize: $150
Second Prize: $75
Third Prize: $50

Complete guidelines:
Spirit First announces its first annual meditation poetry contest. Poetry submissions may be of any length and any style but must have a theme of meditation, mindfulness, stillness, or silence. Poems may reflect any discipline or any faith or none. Poems must be previously unpublished.

Check out website for more information.

YOUNG POETS CONTEST

YOUNG POETS WEEKApplication Form Young Poets’ Week runs April 6 - 12, 2009. Teachers can check the teachers' forum each day to read about the new and exciting activities during YP week. Youngpoets.ca is an excellent source of inspiration for this year's entrants as well as a valuable educational resource, featuring lesson plans, reading lists, a digital history of Canadian poetry and an on-line discussion group. Young writers are encouraged to browse articles or join a chat-room discussion with peers and published poets.

Students in six provinces will also have the opportunity to meet poets in their schools through a series of classroom readings sponsored by The League and organized by provincial writers’ associations.

This year’s “Poetic Licence” contest winners will be announced during young poets week. First, second and third prize national winners in each language and age category will receive cash prizes of $350, $300 and $250 respectively. See Re:verse, the League’s youth driven on-line e-zine at www.youngpoets.ca for the winners’ poems

Free Poetry Contest

The following contest is the one I got short-listed on, but didn't make the final cut.

2008 Franklin-Christoph Poetry Contest

Guidelines for the 2008 Franklin-Christoph Poetry Contest
We will award $2500 in total prizes, including the $1000 cash grand prize. 10 Merit Award Winners will receive $150 writing instruments.

Submission Period: Entries accepted June 1-Nov 30 (postmark dates), 2008.
This contest is not yet open, and the rules below may change. Please wait until November 15 or later to submit. [???]

What to Submit: Original, unpublished poem of any theme. Limit of 2 entries per contestant. Entries should not exceed 100 lines each.

PrizesFirst Prize, $1,000 cash and publication on Franklin-Christoph.com Ten Merit Award Winners, each to receive a $150 Franklin-Christoph writing instruments, and publication on Franklin-Christoph.com. Winners announced by February 14th, 2008. [I think this should say 2009]

Entry is Free. There will be no fee or other obligation for entering this contest.

Deadline: November 30, 2008. Your entry must be postmarked or submitted online by this date. Preparing Your EntrySubmit one copy of your poems online or by mail. Provide your contact information within your email, or on a separate cover sheet if submitting by mail. Be sure to include your actual name and address, as we will not be able to send prizes to alternate names and addresses after winners have been announced. It is okay to use a pen name with the poem as well, and we will review with you how you would like your specifics to read before publication. If your poem contains complex formatting, such as centered text or italic type, we recommend submitting by mail. Please make your entry easy to read — no illustrations, fancy fonts or decorative borders.

How To Submit: Email to clientservice@franklin-christoph.com by either pasting within message or attachment. Or mail to: Franklin-Christoph Poetry Contest, 7511 Mourning Dove Rd. Ste. 104, Raleigh, NC 27615. Please include a cover letter (or email) with your name and contact number. The poem itself should not contain your name or any contact information. We will hold original copies at our headquarters, and submit anonymous copies to our panel of judges.

Entries Must Be Original and Unpublished. Your entries must be original, written by you, unpublished (either in print or in an online journal), and not have received a monetary award from any other contest. Self-published work is not eligible. Exceptions: Poems posted to the web outside of online journals, such as to a bulletin board, email list, personal web page, critique site or public forums are eligible for entry.

Please email us if you're unsure of eligibility. Our staff will research all submissions for prior publication.

Simultaneous Submission Allowed. You may submit your poems simultaneously to this contest and to other contests and publishers. Please notify us if one of your entries wins an award in another contest or is published elsewhere.English LanguagePoems should be in English. Poems translated from other languages are not eligible.

PrivacyWe respect your privacy. Franklin-Christoph does not sell or rent customer or contestant information to third parties. CopyrightYou retain the copyright to your submission. If you place as finalist or better, Franklin-Christoph only requests permission to publish your work on Franklin-Christoph.com, in our email publications and in our press releases. Any other potential use will be negotiated with you.JudgingFranklin-Christoph will utilize a panel of independent judges from a staff at a local college. Members of the FC Staff, or other economically affiliated persons are not eligible to enter.

Form: We are open to poetry in all forms, on all subjects, short or tall, large or small.Thank you for you participation, and we look forward to receiving you entry.

http://www.franklin-christoph.com/Writing/PoetryContest.html