CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY POETRY CENTER BOOK CONTESTS
The Lexi Rudnitsky First Book Prize (formerly the Lexi Rudnitsky Poetry Prize) is a collaboration between Persea Books and The Lexi Rudnitsky Poetry Project. This annual competition sponsors the publication of a poetry collection by an American woman poet who has yet to publish a full-length book of poems. The winner receives an advance of $1,000.00 and publication of her collection by Persea.
In addition, the winner receives the option of an all-expenses-paid residency at the Civitella Ranieri Center, a renowned artists retreat housed in a fifteenth-century castle in Umbertide, Italy.
Submission and Eligibility Guidelines:
• Entrants must be women with American citizenship.
• Submitted manuscripts should include two title pages: one containing the author's name, the author's contact information, and the title of the collection; and another containing only the title of the collection.
• Submitted manuscripts should be at least 40 pages. They should be paginated, with the title of the collection included on each page as a header or footer, and fastened with a clip. Please do not staple or permanently bind submissions.
• Submissions may include a page of publication credits. However, they should not include other sorts of acknowledgments, thank-yous, or dedications.
• Submissions must be primarily in English to be considered. Translations are not accepted.
• For the purposes of this contest, a previously published full-length book is defined as a volume of at least 40 pages in an edition of 500 or more copies that has been made readily available through trade distribution (i.e. local and/or on-line booksellers, including Amazon.com). Any woman who has published a book that meets these criteria is ineligible.
• Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Please contact us immediately if you must withdraw your manuscript(s) from consideration.
• Submissions must be postmarked between September 1st and October 31st (or the first weekday thereafter if October 31st falls on a Sunday). They should be sent to:
The Lexi Rudnitsky Poetry Prize, c/o Persea Books
PO Box 1388
Columbia, MO 65205
and should include a check (in U.S. funds) in the amount of $25.00, made payable to the order of The Lexi Rudnitsky Poetry Project. Please do not send submissions to Persea’s New York City office.
• Entry fees are nonrefundable.
• Submissions should be sent via USPS First Class, Priority, or Express mail. We reserve the right to disqualify submissions sent by other methods (e.g. USPS Media Mail) should they reach us after the postmark deadline.
The winner is chosen by an anonymous selection committee and announced on Persea's web site in January. Submitted manuscripts will not be returned.
The 2015 Green Rose Prize
$2,000 and publication for a book of poems by an established poet
Guidelines:
Eligibility: Poets writing in English who have already published one or more full-length collections of poetry. We will consider individual collections and volumes of new and selected poems. Besides the winner, New Issues may publish as many as three additional manuscripts from this competition.
Please include a $25 reading fee. Checks should be made payable to New Issues Press.
Postmark Deadline: September 30, 2014. The winning manuscript will be named in January 2015 and published in the spring of 2016.
The 2014 New Issues Poetry Prize
$2,000 and publication for a first book of poems
Judge: to be determined
Guidelines:
Eligibility: Poets writing in English who have not previously published or self-published a full-length collection (48+ pages) of poems.
Please include a $20 reading fee. Checks should be made payable to New Issues Press.
Postmark Deadline: November 30, 2014. The winning manuscript will be named in May 2015 and published in the spring of 2016.
General Guidelines:
Submit a manuscript at least 48 pages in length, typed on one side, single-spaced preferred. Photocopies are acceptable. Please do not bind manuscript. Include a brief bio, relevant publication information, cover page with name, address, phone number, and title of the manuscript, and a page with only the title.
Enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard for notification that the manuscript has been received. For notification of title and author of the winning manuscript enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Manuscripts will be recycled.
A manuscript may be submitted that is being considered elsewhere but New Issues should be notified upon the manuscript’s acceptance elsewhere.
Send manuscripts and queries to:
The New Issues Poetry Prize
(or) The Green Rose Prize
New Issues Poetry & Prose
Western Michigan University
1903 West Michigan Ave.
Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5463
BENJAMIN SALTMAN Poetry Award.
$3000 Award.
Deadline: August 31, 2014.
Final Judge: Douglas Kearney.
The winner of the 2014 Benjamin Saltman Award will be announced in 2015. Established in 1998, in honor of the poet Benjamin Saltman (1927-1999), this award is for a previously unpublished original collection of poetry. Awarded collection is selected through an annual competition which is open to all poets. This year’s final judge will be Douglas Kearney. Award is $3000 and publication of the awarded collection by Red Hen Press.
Entry fee is $25.00. Name on cover sheet only, 48 page minimum. Send SASE for notification. Entries must be postmarked by August 31.
Go here for more information.
Black Sun Lit is open for submissions year-round, will read only unpublished manuscripts, takes into consideration unsolicited material and accepts multiple submissions in the limit of two pieces of prose, five poems/pieces of verse and two pieces of non-fiction. We accept simultaneous submissions in the good faith that the writer notifies us when his or her work has been accepted elsewhere. Larger manuscripts, such as full-length novels, collections of short stories, books of verse, etc., will also be considered.
Black Sun Lit does not have a limit or minimum in regards to length; however, shorter work will be considered for Vestiges, our print journal, or online publication through our website. We are also open to works of drama and enjoy debate on any artistic endeavor as it relates to our mission statement. Please allow up to three to five months for a response.
Please also be advised that we require every writer to submit a brief cover letter, which may include:
– Influences
– Genesis of the work
– Technical details
– Contact information
– Author biography (optional)
– Where previous work has appeared (optional)
– Forthcoming work to be published (optional)
To submit, please visit our Submittable page.
By: Kelly Fineman,
on 2/17/2013
Today, my long-overdue revue of J. Patrick Lewis's marvelous collection, When Thunder Comes: Poems for Civil Rights Leaders, which is illustrated by five different artists: Jim Burke, R. Gregory Christie, Tonya Engel, John Parra, and Meilo So. (My apologies to the illustrators for not including them in the subject line as is my usual practice, but it got a bit unwieldy, I'm afraid.)
Pat Lewis has provided eighteen poems in this book: an introductory sonnet (using the Shakespearean format) that begins as follows:
The poor and dispossessed take up the drums
For civil rights--freedoms to think and speak,
Petition, pray, and vote. When thunder comes,
The civil righteous are finished being meek.
The StatesmanOne of my favorite poems in the book is the one about Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in the state of California, back in the 1970s. Although the poem does not mention it, Milk was shot and killed while still in office. The spread is illustrated by Meilo So.
by J. Patrick Lewis
It is as if he's landed on the moon
Five years before the actual event.
At Robben Island Prison, his descent
Into a nightmare world, an outcast dune,
Begins at forty-six. His fate derails.
There are no clocks, his life's defined by bell
And whistle, sisal mats (no beds), his cell
Is seven feet square. But destiny prevails.
He keeps for an eternity of years
His keepers, not the other way around,
Marked by a calm refinement so profound
As to alleviate his captors' fears.
He said, once they had turned the jailhouse key,
No man will rob me of my dignity.
The CrusaderThis book is perfect for discussion during February, which is African American History Month, or March, which is Women's History Month, but truly, it's perfect for reading year-round, and a must-buy for middle school libraries everywhere (in my opinion, of course).
by J. Patrick Lewis
I knew my rights meant nothing.
I kept them out of sight.
Seen and heard when the sun went down,
hidden in harsh daylight.
Then Liberation called one day
and asked would I consent
to tell the world that I was proud
of being different.
I took the fight to the city fathers.
They scolded me for that:
We don’t approve of boys who wear
an unconventional hat.
So I became a city father
to break the laws that kept
boys and girls from living lives
that Life would not accept.
They say I came before my time
but who else would redress
unmitigated suffering due
to such small-mindedness?
By: Kelly Fineman,
on 9/20/2011
Poking my head up from my RA-induced haze to share a bit of good news with you.
My poem, "A Place to Share", is going to be published in Dare To Dream . . . Change the World (working title), a forthcoming anthology from publisher Kane Miller edited by Jill Corcoran. The anthology is going to contain a mix of biographical and inspirational poems. My poem is biographical, and related to the founders of YouTube. My friend Laura Purdie Salas wrote an inspirational poem on the same topic, and the pair of poems will be included in the anthology along with the work of 28 other poets - and just wait until you see the final line-up of people in this anthology. (List not yet public, I'm afraid, but trust me when I say that it's AWESOME, as is the potential illustrator!)
I am extremely excited and more than a little humbled to be included with so many rock stars from the world of children's poetry.
By: Kelly Fineman,
on 5/31/2010
Writing poems about trees is one tall order. So tall, in fact, that this book opens with the spine on top, and not to the left (in the same manner as Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein & Ed Young). The book contains 18 poems, and has all the bells and whistles that make me a happy girl: table of contents, glossary (entitled a "glossatree"), which provides facts about each of the poems in prose, along with a charming Author's Note ("Over the years those trees have grown taller and wider in girth, just as I have"). Best of all, it has page numbers. Page numbers (especially in conjunction with a table of contents) make me so happy, I can't even tell you.
The first poem, "The Seed" is a shape poem written in the form of an infinity symbol, accompanied by an illustration showing the inside of a seed.
"Inside this seed you'll find a stem and leaf that grow with rain
into a trunk and branch and leaf and seed that starts again."
The poems are a nice mix of rhymed couplets, doggerel, list poems, and cross-rhymed stanzas. They are playful and informative and, in some cases, lyrically lovely, and each of the poems is accompanied by a pice of Florian's artwork, which is a combination of painting and collage, as best I can tell.
To the left, you can see the two-page spread that is "Giant Sequoias". Here's the text (bolding from the original):
Giant SequoiasI bought my copy of this book at Children's Book World in Haverford. A must-buy for classrooms and libraries everywhere, and for people who have a thing for nature - especially trees.
by Douglas Florian
Ancient seers
Of three thousand years.
Heavenly high.
Friends to the sky.
Spongy thick bark.
Large as an ark.
Gargantuan girth.
Anchored in earth.
Grow by degrees
To world's tallest trees.
Never destroy a
Giant sequoia.
By: Kelly Fineman,
on 5/21/2010
Today, a quick review of Everybody was a baby once: and other poems by Allan Ahlberg and Bruce Ingman. My review copy was sent to me by the kind folks at Candlewick Press, who published it earlier this year.
Do not let the title fool you. This is not a collection of poems about babies; it is instead a collection of poems perfect for the preschool and elementary school set.
I am extremely fond of the poem that forms the Introduction to this collection, which precedes even the title pages:
I hear its whirring engineThis collection of rhyming poems in various forms contains mostly short poems – some as short as a couplet, some taking a handful of short stanzas. The illustrations help the text along, and in at least one case ("The Summer Snowmen"), a wordless two-page spread cleverly stands in for the last word of the poem.
Glimpse its dipping wing
Against the sun-filled cloudless sky
Of early evening
A little flying poem
That circles down to land
On the runway in my head
And the page beneath my hand.
By: Kelly Fineman,
on 4/8/2010
Chicken Scratches: Grade A poultry poetry and rooster rhymes by George Shannon & Lynn Brunelle, illustrated by Scott Menchin, is clever, creative, funny and fresh as a new-laid egg, this book of chicken-related poems entertains from start to finish, accompanied by excellent, adorable illustrations worth clucking about.
The grass-green background on this roughly 8"x8" book is embossed/embedded with chicken footprints, and the "Grade A" label is embossed as well. (I have often observed, at least to myself, that Chronicle Books excels at design and/or packaging – their books have a nice feel in the hand, and their design shows a real attention to detail. Kudos to Amelia May Anderson, the book designer credited with this book, on a clever and well-executed package that helps to "sell" the poems and illustrations; the entire package forms a harmonious, hilarious whole.
A collection of sixteen humorous poems about chickens, all of which involve rhyme. Some are couplets, some are cross-rhymed, there's even a limerick or two in the collection. "Hula Zelda" is borderline risqué for a children's book collection, since Zelda is known for her power to drive the roosters crazy with her hula dancing (" . . . wearing a grass skirt.") "Time Traveler" (which discusses how chickens evolved from the dinosaurs) and "Yummy in My Tummy Bugs" (which talks about chickens scratching for bugs), while funny, include factual information about actual chickens. Poems such as "Champion", discussing a sumo-wrestling chicken with a small wrestling suit, is neither factual nor about an actual chicken, although it is extremely funny:
ChampionThe artwork that accompanies the text is adorable, and supports and enhances the text extremely well.
Chickie Teriyaki,
a sumo superstar,
tossed his weight around the ring
and bumped opponents far.
His shape was very ovular.
His wrestling suit was small.
So when he bowed to start a match,
fans nearly saw it all!
By: Kelly Fineman,
on 1/4/2008
Yesterday, an interview with renowned fantasy writer Bruce Coville, and today, a top ten list. I really don't think I can keep this level of quality up, folks.
Until recently, I was on the nominating panel for the CYBILS poetry award, which kept me from telling you my top ten favorite poetry books of 2007. (I know I said twelve the other day, but I've edited myself down to a mere ten.) But now that the discussions are over and the finalists are in, I'm embargoed no more. Oh, and I should note before I start that I've not yet read Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz, illustrated by Robert Byrd and Tina Schart Hyman, nor did I get my hands on Twelve Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali by Charles R. Smith, illustrated by Bryan Collier, both of which come highly recommended by readers I tend to trust.
Here they are, in alphabetical order by title. Those that made the CYBILS top 7 have an asterisk before the title:
*Animal Poems by Valerie Worth, illustrated by Steve Jenkins. I reviewed this one during National Poetry Month. I loved it then. I loved it as much or more now. The poems are gems. Written in free verse, the poems are about 23 different animals. Some of the animals Worth wrote about, like the Elephant and Jellyfish, are staples in collections of animal poems; others, like the Star-Nosed Mole are decidedly uncommon. In order to keep this post from becoming ridiculously long, I will simply repeat the link to my prior review, which includes sample poems and artwork.
Blue Lipstick: Concrete Poems by John Grandits. I loved the sassy main character in this collection of individual concrete poetry. Jessie is a teenage girl who is facing issues at high school, and who has built a wall to protect herself from others. The wall is protection, but it's also prejudice and isolation, as becomes clear through the poems and through the later poem that features the wall once Jessie's perceptions start to change. The prejudice I discuss is not racial, btw, but is the result of Jessie's snap judgments and stereotyping. I really wish I could find a scan of the poem "Bad Hair Day" to share with you, but thus far, no dice. However, you can "Look Inside" the book over at Amazon. For another blog review that loves this one, check out Jules's post from September 21, 2007 over at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. This one is perfect for the middle school and high school set, and that's based not just on basic demographics but on specific research by a mother with one middle schooler and one high schooler. For relatability (is that a word?) and content, I'd put this as a must-buy for teen poetry collections.
Do Rabbits Have Christmas? by Aileen Fisher, illustrated by Sarah Fox-Davies. If I have a quarrel with the words in this book, it's the title selection, which (a) makes it sound like it's only a Christmas title, (b) could be interpreted as being about anthropomorphic animals, which it isn't, and (c) makes it sound like it's for even younger readers than it truly is. The book opens with a poem called "Fall Wind", a song-like poem in rhymed couplets that tells of winter's approach. Other poems discuss snow (what animals and people think of it, how it looks, how it feels, footprints, etc.) and winter, although there are seven poems about Christmas. Final tally? Six winter poems, seven Christmas poems and two winter poems that mention Christmas. There are a couple of stand-out poems in this collection. My particular favorites: "December", "Sparkly Snow", "My Christmas Tree". Here's an excerpt from "My Christmas Tree":
I'll make me a score
of suet balls
to tie to my spruce
when the cold dusk falls.
And I'll hear next day
from the sheltering trees
the Christmas carols
of the chickadees.
Faith & Doubt: An Anthology of Poems, edited by Patrice Vecchione. An anthology for teens that grapples with the questions so many teens face every day: what is faith? is there room for belief? disbelief? if I have doubts, what does that mean? Vecchione has assembled an outstanding collection of poetry from a wide variety of poets, many of whom are familiar to adult readers. There are a lot of heavy-hitters in this book, from Emily Dickinson ("My Worthiness is all my Doubt") to Shakespeare ("Doubt thou the stars are fire" from Hamlet Act 2 scene 2, but you won't get the Hamlet cite in the book, which I find curious) to Whitman, Rumi, Neruda, Rilke, Shelley and more, including modern-day poets such as Marilyn Nelson and Charles Simic. The poems don't all speak about religious faith and doubt, as the introductory note makes clear. Lines attributed to Queen Elizabeth I, entitled "The Doubt of Future Foes" discuss doubt in a political sense, and "The Girl at Five" by Anna Paganelli talks about the loss of faith that comes from sexual abuse as a child, for example. Heavy topics, yes, but these are the sorts of Big Issues and Big Questions that I remember spending hours mulling and discussing with friends and writing really bad poetry about when I was a teen, so I think this one is a must for teen poetry collections.
*Here's A Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry, edited by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters, illustrated by Polly Dunbar. I first reviewed this book during National Poetry Month, when I said "If you have a toddler or preschooler who needs a poetry book, this is the one to buy. It is a beautiful book in all the right ways, and it's perfect for adults to share with kids." I stand by my earlier words, including the ones about the need for adult assistance - this is a BIG book of poems for little people. One of the things I love best about this collection is the number of "new" poets in it. Yolen and Fusek have selected poems from all over the English-speaking world, and they've insisted on printing the poems exactly as they were originally written, spellings and all. So the word "favor" might be in a poem by an American author, but "favour" from a Brit (as a hypothetical illustration). The illustrations are completely darling, and this book positively screams High Quality Production! at every turn, from paper weight to typsetting to artwork to the excellent assortment of poems, all of which are well-arranged. If you take another look at my review from April, you can see some of the pages and poems to get a better sense for yourself. Or just go buy it.
Miss Crandall's School for Young Ladies and Little Misses of Color: Poems by Elizabeth Alexander and Marilyn Nelson, illustrated by Floyd Cooper. This poetry collection pieces together the story of Miss Prudence Crandall's decision to open and run a school in Crandall, Connecticut in the 1830's. Initially, Miss Crandall taught local (white) schoolchildren, but she allowed "colored" girls to attend as well. The townspeople went from unhappy to full-out ugly, taking actions that ranged from legal actions to ruining the well to hanging a dead cat on the gate outside the school to setting the building on fire. The idealism and enthusiasm of Miss Crandall and some of her students, as well as their dismay and disgust and fear as events turned obscene, are depicted movingly in twenty-four sonnets: twelve by Alexander, twelve by Nelson. The authors' note at the end of the book makes clear that Alexander likes to take a modern approach to the sonnet and stretch the form, whereas Nelson follows a more classical approach. I have to say that overall, I preferred Nelson's poems, which had an additional tautness to them that I can only guess, based on my overall reaction, is the result of her adhering to a more rigid form than Alexander. An excellent addition to middle school and high school libraries and a good supplemental text for any studies of racism.
*Poems in Black & White written and illustrated by Kate Miller. I will have to write a separate review of this book to do it complete justice. Miller decided to create images in black and white, but trust me when I say that the book feels like it's in technicolor. From the baby feet depicted for "First Steps" (which you can read, along with the second poem in the book - and one of my favorites - "Comet", over at this review post from Laura Purdie Salas. Today, I'll share with you "The Cow", although I'm really wishing I had a ppage scan so you could see the thoughtful Holstein on the page and the recreation on the text page of a black patch on the cow's side in which the poem appears in white. The text meanders as well, adding to the poem's appeal, but I'm not going to approximate that here:
The Cow
Because
she wears
a bristly map
of milkweed shite
and midnight black
it seems
as though
she's
strong enough
to carry continents
upon her back
with oceans
in between
and islands on her
knees
Tap Dancing on the Roof: Sijo (Poems) by Linda Sue Park, illustrated by Istvan Banyai. What's not to love? An excellent poet, wonderful, whimsical illustrations, and oh, by the way, A NEW FORM! And you all know how much I love forms, yes? I reviewed this book back in October, and I love-love-love it now just as I did then. I predict it will win other awards, but unfortunately not a CYBILS award this year - it didn't quite make the cut (sorry, Linda!), but not for lack of appreciation or interest in it. By all means, read my review, but here's the text of "Word Watch" to intrigue you:
Word Watch
Jittery seems a nervous word;
snuggle curls up around itself.
Some words fit their meanings so well:
Abrupt. Airy. And my favorite——
sesquipedalian,
which means: having lots of syllables.
I've met Linda Sue a couple of times now, and in my mind, I can literally hear her voice in this poem, as if she were hear, speaking assuredly into my ear. Linda Sue, you had me at sesquipedalian.
*This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski. A confession: When I first began to read this book, I was a bit shruggy about it. Fictional teacher, fictional students, all writing poems to apologize for something they did as part of a fictional class exercise based on William Carlos Williams's poem, "This is Just to Say", sometimes referred to as "the plums". *shrug* The first "kid" apes Williams's form, apologizing to the teachers for eating their jelly doughnuts. *shrug* A girl apologizes to a statue for rubbing its nose. *cute, but shrug* Two boys write poems to one another about dodgeball. *boys! eyerolling shrug* And then a girl apologizes to the teacher for insulting her, and I stopped shrugging and my eyes filled with tears and I couldn't put the book down, even when I was done reading it, because I was too busy hugging it. Not shrugging. Hugging. Tightly. Sidman eases you into the apologies, but once you're into them, you are STUCK IN THIS BOOK. And then.
Then there are the poems of response (and in many cases, forgiveness), that come in the second half of the book, where even the poem written on behalf of Florence P. Scribner's statue contains magic and heart. Just glancing at some of the poems now has caused my eyes to fill again, because they are so strong and warm and wonderful. They are funny and sad and true. They are, in short, miraculous. A must-buy for upper elementary and middle-school kids and teachers. Here's an excerpt for you:
From Apologies:
"How Slow-Hand Lizard Died"
I stole him.
Took him home in my pocket.
Felt the pulse beating
in his soft green neck.
Had no place good to put him.
A shoebox.
He got cold, I think.
Watched his life wink out,
his bright eye turn to mud.
Brought him back,
stiff as an old glove.
Hid him in the bottom of the cage.
Left the money on Mrs. Merz's desk.
(Stole that, too.)
Won't touch the new lizard.
Don't like to touch
money
either.
From Responses:
Ode to Slow-Hand
the way his heart beat in his throad
the way his toes whispered on our hands
los perdonamos
his skin: rough green cloth
the color of new leaves
los perdonamos
his belly: soft as an old balloon
his tongue: lightning's flicker
los perdonamos
the sad way he left us
the sad way you feel
los perdonamos
we forgive you
Crap. Now I'm crying again. While I compose myself, by all means check out Elaine Magliaro's post at Blue Rose Girls from back in March.
*Your Own, Sylvia: a verse portrait of Sylvia Plath by Stephenie Hemphill. You may recall that I first raved about this book back in March when I reviewed it for my blog. And then, I repeated my enthusiastic rave in May as part of Wicked Cool Overlooked Books. I still love it for all the reasons I stated. This book is fun to discuss, by the way, because the reasons I love it — it keeps a bit of distance between the reader and Sylvia Plath and it presents a kaleidoscopic image of her by showing her through the eyes of many different acquaintances as well as by guessing at what was in her own mind (based on her journals, etc.) — are the same reasons that some other folks don't particularly care for it (they found the many attributed voices distracting and/or didn't care for the distance between the reader and the subject (or is she the object?) of the book. Highly recommended for teen readers. This one was, in fact, teen-tested here at my house, and got two thumbs up and some tears from my older daughter. An excellent book for a book report for middle school- and high school-aged kids, and an excellent supplement and research tool for anyone interested in Plath (middle school through adult), on account of the copious bibliography and source notes in the back of the book.
What an excellent review, Kelly! I especially like that you are suggesting this book for middle school--there are lots of great poems here for sharing aloud and starting discussions. I had been thinking of this as a book for 3rd-5th grades, but was probably limiting it to those grades simply because of the fact that it is illustrated. (I'll tear those limits down in my mind right now!)