Nordette N. Adams is a published poet and published fiction writer. She grew up in New Orleans, moved away at 20, and returned in 2007. In 2013, at the invitation of then Louisiana’s State Poet Laureate Julie Kane, she participated in the reading “Just Listen to Yourself” at the Louisiana State Library. She is also a contributing editor at BlogHer.com. You may read more about her at writingjunkie.net/info
The American-born author Aberjhani is a widely-published historian, poet, essayist, fiction writer, journalist, and editor. He is a member of PEN International’s PEN American Center and the Academy of American Poets as well as the founder of Creative Thinkers International. He launched the 100th Anniversary of the Harlem Renaissance Initiative in 2011 and during the same period introduced netizens to concept of guerrilla decontextualization via a series of essays and website of the same name.
He has authored a dozen books in diverse genres and edited (or sometimes co-edited) the same number. His published works include the Choice Academic Title Award-winning Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance, the social media-inspired Journey through the Power of the Rainbow: Quotations from a Life Made Out of Poetry, the modern classic ELEMENTAL The Power of Illuminated Love (a collection of ekphrastic verse featuring art by Luther E. Vann), and the frequently-quoted poetry collection, The River of Winged Dreams.
Among his works as an editor are the Savannah Literary Journal (1994-2001), plus the Civil War Savannah Book Series titles: “Savannah: Immortal City” (2011), and “Savannah: Brokers, Bankers, and Bay Lane-Inside the Slave Trade” (2012). In 2014, Aberjhani was among a limited number of authors invited to publish blogs on LinkedIn. You can learn more about the author at Creative Thinkers International, on Facebook, Twitter, or his personal author website at www.author-poet-aberjhani.info/
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Moving on. Poem by Aparna Pathak
Walking on long road
I ignored the squelch
Under haste feet
Remnants were crushed over and again
In hope of grabbing an oasis
I didn’t turn
On familiar path, for decades
I didn’t return
Tired of chaotic chase
Few nostalgic steps I took back
Splendid leaves, fragrance in breeze
Chirping birds, affluent trees
No crushing sound, no broken crust
No wrecked nests, no dust around
Yet epitome of peace could not soothe
Fluttering feathers were so noisy
Another U –turn I took
At peace, now I actually moved on
Bio:
Aparna Pathak belongs to Delhi, India. Graduate in English (Honors) and post graduate in public relations , her poems have been published in more than 30 print anthologies, online publications and also various literaty magazines like twice in “Reflections”, and Negative Suck, Rolling Thunder Press, and blue Cygnus. One of her poem has been awarded the commendation of ” Highly Commended ” in the Poem of the Year Category of the Destiny Poets’ International Community of Poets ICOP Awards 2012. Her own book of poetry, “silent flute ” was published in January 2014.
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Virus On The Move. Poem by Christopher Barnes
Dark nebula squinnying
Last-hoping the monorail’s window.
“Have you ever wondered
How a vault a fence”
A 120 mph wilderness is gun-jumped –
Trotter makes a rack of the seat.
“Throw a lasso
Or make your own sandals”
Honking throw-backs: Eternity For Men,
Sweat, stomach-churns.
“Drawing on the wit
And wisdom of Scouts”
The toilet’s door-jamb buffets
Peeved at being spew-gurgled
On time-changing plushy lines.
“Life is full of challenges”
*
Simple Baby Wipes
With Soothing Camomile
No Tears Formula
Alcohol Free
Hypoallergic
Suitable For Even Newborn Babies
By Christopher Barnes, UK
QUOTES: The Scouts
Some bio details…
In 1998 I won a Northern Arts writers award. In July 200 I read at Waterstones bookshop to promote the anthology ‘Titles Are Bitches’. Christmas 2001 I debuted at Newcastle’s famous Morden Tower doing a reading of my poems. Each year I read for Proudwords lesbian and gay writing festival and I partook in workshops. 2005 saw the publication of my collection LOVEBITES published by Chanticleer Press, 6/1 Jamaica Mews, Edinburgh.
On Saturday 16Th August 2003 I read at the Edinburgh Festival as a Per Verse poet at LGBT Centre, Broughton St.
I also have a BBC web-page www.bbc.co.uk/tyne/gay.2004/05/section_28.shtml andwww.bbc.co.uk/tyne/videonation/stories/gay_history.shtml (if first site does not work click on SECTION 28 on second site.
Christmas 2001 The Northern Cultural Skills Partnership sponsored me to be mentored by Andy Croft in conjunction with New Writing North. I made a radio programme for Web FM community radio about my writing group. October-November 2005, I entered a poem/visual image into the art exhibition The Art Cafe Project, his piece Post-Mark was shown in Betty’s Newcastle. This event was sponsored by Pride On The Tyne. I made a digital film with artists Kate Sweeney and Julie Ballands at a film making workshop called Out Of The Picture which was shown at the festival party for Proudwords, it contains my poem The Old Heave-Ho. I worked on a collaborative art and literature project called How Gay Are Your Genes, facilitated by Lisa Mathews (poet) which exhibited at The Hatton Gallery, Newcastle University, including a film piece by the artist Predrag Pajdic in which I read my poem On Brenkley St. The event was funded by The Policy, Ethics and Life Sciences Research Institute, Bio-science Centre at Newcastle’s Centre for Life. I was involved in the Five Arts Cities poetry postcard event which exhibited at The Seven Stories children’s literature building. In May I had 2006 a solo art/poetry exhibition at The People’s Theatre why not take a look at their website ptag.org.uk/whats_on/gallery/recent_exhbitions.htm
The South Bank Centre in London recorded my poem “The Holiday I Never Had”, I can be heard reading it on www.poetrymagazines.org.uk/magazine/record.asp?id=18456
REVIEWS: I have written poetry reviews for Poetry Scotland and Jacket Magazine and in August 2007 I made a film called ‘A Blank Screen, 60 seconds, 1 shot’ for Queerbeats Festival at The Star & Shadow Cinema Newcastle, reviewing a poem…see www.myspace.com/queerbeatsfestival On September 4 2010, I read at the Callander Poetry Weekend hosted by Poetry Scotland. I have also written Art Criticism for Peel and Combustus Magazines. I was involved in The Creative Engagement In Research Programme Research Constellation exhibitions of writing and photography which showed in London (march 13 2012) and Edinburgh (july 4 2013) see
www.researchconstellation.co.uk/ . I co-edit the poetry magazine Interpoetry www.interpoetry.com/
.
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Athena. Poem by Julie Hopper
denizen of the mental metropolis
there is a city that bears your name
but the city of the mind
is the only home you know
your mother Metis
subsumed by Zeus
who wanted no rivals
no sons to challenge him
How ironic, then, that you came forth instead.
Poor Zeus.
Did he not realise
that he would never be free
until you were released?
No child of the womb
yet even in the skull of Zeus
your mother’s spirit
gave you wisdom and strength
There is none better to be companion of the heroes.
Brave deeds not warmongering
will win your admiration and respect
and men who wish to dwell with you
must also dwell in the city of the mind
Your head is aflame like a match
burning bright but burning out
before your body catches fire
staying cool to the touch
Can you forgive Zeus for what he did to your mother?
You wear your armour with pride
but beware the shining metal
lest your protection
become also your prison
The Gorgon at your breast
this monster keeping demons at bay
is she not also a demon
but one of your own making?
Julie Hopper is a former teacher and adult literacy trainer. She enjoys writing poetry short stories and memoirs and hopes to devote time to writing more of everything.
She gained a Professional Writing and Editing degree some years ago and is now taking the opportunity to put the knowledge gained to good use. She is an avid reader and loves talking about books of all kinds with like-minded readers and writers. Encouragement from friends has given her the courage to think that maybe others may also like what she has written.
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How Could I Ever Forget You Sonnet by Jose Antonio Pamies.Translated from Spanish by Robin Ouzman Hislop.
How could I ever forget you, sonnet,
comforting evenings, without wickedness,
finding there knowledge of challenge, to fight
and to love freely, wrists without handcuffs.
Your dream is as if of secret corners
that’s yet in everything so far away,
things, that never get the respect today,
your neglected home of ancient roses.
I’d never studied how to fashion you
believing I found you in ancient books,
stroking your rhythms, I encountered you.
And from that noble form emerged the dream
flowing with other words to kiss your looks,
destroying eve time, loving oblivion.
Translated from José Antonio Pamies Cómo he podido olvidarte soneto by Robin Ouzman Hislop
Cómo he podido olvidarte soneto
Cómo he podido olvidarte soneto
que acompañabas las tardes dichosas
sin maldad, hacerte aquí sabe a reto
y a amor libre, muñecas sin esposas.
Suenas todavía como un secreto
arrinconado lejos de las cosas,
chismes de hoy que no merecen respeto,
olvido es hogar de las antiguas rosas.
Nunca estudié una manera de crearte,
en libros viejos te hallé imaginando
acariciar tu medida, ubicarte.
Y desde la noble forma soñando
otras palabras con las que besarte,
destruyendo tardes, olvido amando.
José Antonio Pamies (España)
José Antonio Pamies (Alicante, 1981―) Finalista del III Premio internacional de poesía Andrés Salom 2005 y del II Premio de la editorial poesia Eres Tu 2010 con Las Ruinas de la Aurora. Ha publicado Campos de hielo (Babilonia, Pliegos de la palabra nº 3, 2012) y Afonías (finalista del XXVI Premio Gerardo Diego de Poesía), así como poemas en revistas y numerosas antologías. Reside en Madrid, donde realiza estudia Teoría de la Literatura y Literatura Comparada.
José Antonio Pamies (Alicante, 1981―) His early poetry collection Las Ruinas de la Aurora was a runner up at the III Andres Salom International Poetry Award in 2005 and the II poesia Eres Tu Publisher Award in 2010. He has published Campos de hielo (Babilonia, Pliegos de la palabra nº 3) and Afonías― a runner up at the XXVI Gerardo Diego Poetry Award. He currently lives in Madrid, pursuing studies in Theory of Literature and Comparative Literature.
This sonnet together with its translation appeared in The Phoenix Rising from the Ashes: Exciting new sonnet anthology edited by Richard Vallance now available on Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1lIL0jF BN ID: 2940148833628 Publisher: FriesenPress Publication date: 11/20/2013 Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Robin Ouzman Hislop (UK) Co-editor of the 12 year running on line monthly poetry journal Poetry Life and Times. (See its Wikipedia entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetry_Life_and_Times). He has made many appearances over the last years in the quarterly journals Canadian Zen Haiku, including In the Spotlight Winter 2010 & Sonnetto Poesia. Previously published in international magazines, recent publications include Voices without Borders Volume 1 (USA), Cold Mountain Review, Appalachian University N Carolina, Post Hoc installed at Bank Street Arts Centre, Sheffield (UK), Uroborus Journal, 2011-2012 (Sheffield, UK), The Poetic Bond II & 111, available at http://www.thepoeticbond.com and Phoenix Rising from the Ashes a recently published Anthology of Sonnets: http://bit.ly/1lIL0jF. He has recently completed a volume of poetry, The World at Large, for future publication. He is currently resident in Spain engaged in poetry translation projects.robin@artvilla.com and you can also visit Face Book site at www.facebook.com/PoetryLifeTimes
Songs of a Clerk. Review(Press Release) & Poems of Gary Beck
Poetry That Sheds Light On Daily Monotony
A Spotlight on Real Life
For Immediate Release
Sacramento, CA – Songs of a Clerk, another gem by author and poet Gary Beck shows us a unique perspective on life, hope, and our too-often faded dreams. Through his gifted poetry we are pulled in and touched by his relatable and powerful words. A poetic must-read.
With so many of us compelled to work under oppressive treatment for low pay, our dreams of a better life for ourselves and our families have faded under the denial of opportunity, education, and advancement. Songs of a Clerk expresses the anguish and frustration of people trapped in sterile jobs, toiling away in our futureless menial positions in the dehumanizing offices of our lives.
Songs of a Clerk, is a 132 page poetry volume. Available on paperback with a retail price of $11.99, and eBook with a retail price of $5.99. The ISBN is: 978-1-941058-16-9. Published through Winter Goose Publishing and available now through all major retailers. For more information or to request a review copy, contact Winter Goose Publishing at: info@wintergoosepublishing.
Watch the book trailer on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeI295xf6OY
POEMS EXCERPTS FROM SONGS OF A CLERK
(i.)
Clerk’s Plea
Should I fall upon my sharpened pencil,
No. 2 lead?
Should I leap upon my desk and scream?
Terrify everyoneuntil they yell:
“You’re fired!”
Help me.
What shall I do to escape
the tedious, soul sucking
office.
(ii.)
The Clerk’s Song
Hidden in the only ally, unbiased sleep,
the sudden summons rips my exile’s cave.
The clock that serves employers cries:
Arise! Dazed, apologetic, I mumble:
“Five minutes.” Silence the insistent nag,
my wife of passing ticks.
Stir awake. Oh, no. Overslept.
Fast wash, dry shave, yesterday’s suit,
breakfastless rush to the bus,
the guilty fears of lateness.
“Will he see me sneaking in?
“Will he fire me?”Off the bus,
following the tardy hips of typists
to the subway of suffering.
The brief pause in daylight,
the radiant sun gleams unnoticed,
scurry through revolving doors,
“Good morning,” to the elevator man,
archbishop of boredom.
My floor, entrance, trying to look
as if I just stepped out for coffee.
The potent eye of accusation falls on me
and I take refuge at my desk.
Sightless, I stare at my papers
(my face my maask of concentration)
dreaming time’s faster passage,
yet fearful of its passing.
Gary Beck has spent most of his adult life as a theater director. Published chapbooks include: ‘Remembrance’, Origami Condom Press; ‘The Conquest of Somalia’, Cervena Barva Press; ‘The Dance of Hate’, Calliope Nerve Media; ‘Material Questions’, Silkworms Ink; ‘Dispossessed’, Medulla Press, ‘Mutilated Girls’, Heavy Hands Ink and ‘Escape to Cyberspace’, Writing Knights Press . His poetry collection ‘Days of Destruction’ was published by Skive Press; ‘Expectations’, Rogue Scholars Press; ‘Dawn in Cities’, Winter Goose Publishing; ‘Assault on Nature’, Winter Goose Publishing. ‘Songs of a Clerk’, Winter Goose Publishing and ‘Civilized Ways’ will be published by Winter Goose Publishing. His novel ‘Extreme Change’ was published by Cogwheel Press; ‘Acts of Defiance’ was published by Artema Press. His collection of short stories, ‘A Glimpse of Youth’ was published by Sweatshoppe Publications. His original plays and translations of Moliere, Aristophanes and Sophocles have been produced Off Broadway. His poetry, fiction and essays have appeared in hundreds of literary magazines. He currently lives in New York City.
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Old Bod. Poem by Leland Jamieson
Reflecting on Chapter 43 of
Paramanhanza Yogananda’s
Autobiography of a Yogi.
When these old lungs have finally heaved their last,
what happens to their animating soul?
The body’s struggles — character — have passed
and all that’s left is bone grit in a bowl.
What then? Do Hindi yogi sages troll,
by way of meditation, cosmic truth?
Is Yogananda’s Yukteswar our sleuth?
Sri Yukteswar said every soul is dressed
in three bodies — a nesting Russian Doll!
Once soul’s released from Flesh & Bone, it’s pressed
to fill an Astral body. (They’ll enthrall
us — mental telepathy’s shared with all!)
Inside the Astral lies the Casual body.
It’s realm? Ideas! Souls — Illuminati . . . ?
Given: My salty blood’s the salt of seas.
My six bucks worth of minerals are theirs too.
When tide’s outbound and there’s an off-shore breeze
I’ll trust my children, with little to-do,
to pour my ashes and my point of view
into retreating surf — returning earth
to Earth — and me, at last, to Astral Mirth?
Leland Jamieson lives and writes in Monroe Township, New Jersey, USA. His three collections of poetry — 21ST CENTURY BREAD (2007), IN VITRO (2009), and SOONER (2014) — plus a handbook for self-taught poets-to-be and teachers-to-be, HOW TO RHYME YOUR WAY TO ‘METAPHOR POEMS’ (2012), can be found, with texts and video readings, at www.jamiesonspoetry.com. where you can also check out his latest book there, Sooner: A Crown of Sonnets & New Post-9/11 Poems.
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In a Waiting Room. Poem by Valentina Cano
Legs like marionettes,
shuffling with feet made
of cotton balls and lead paint.
She swings them up and down
against the counter
and turns herself into a metronome.
No more than senseless rhythm
and tired wood.
Valentina Cano is a student of classical singing who spends whatever free time either writing or reading. Her works have appeared in Exercise Bowler, Blinking Cursor, Theory Train, Cartier Street Press, Berg Gasse 19, Precious Metals, A Handful of Dust, The Scarlet Sound, The Adroit Journal, Perceptions Literary Magazine, Welcome to Wherever, The Corner Club Press, Death Rattle, Danse Macabre, Subliminal Interiors, Generations Literary Journal, A Narrow Fellow, Super Poetry Highway, Stream Press, Stone Telling, Popshot, Golden Sparrow Literary Review, Rem Magazine, Structo, The 22 Magazine, The Black Fox Literary Magazine, Niteblade, Tuck Magazine, Ontologica, Congruent Spaces Magazine, Pipe Dream, Decades Review, Anatomy, Lowestof Chronicle, Muddy River Poetry Review, Lady Ink Magazine, Spark Anthology, Awaken Consciousness Magazine, Vine Leaves Literary Magazine, Avalon Literary Review, Caduceus,White Masquerade Anthology and Perhaps I’m Wrong About the World. Her poetry has been nominated for Best of the Web and the Pushcart Prize. Her debut novel, The Rose Master, was published in June 2014. You can find her here: carabosseslibrary.blogspot.com
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