Birthday Messages (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

I Wanted To Say It With A Bunch Of Flowers, A Card Would Have Sufficed.

I Wanted To Say It With A Pack Of Sweets, A' Hi' Would Have Sufficed.

Song of the Great Zimbabwe, and Silver and Inca Blood [Poems and notes] (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

"Song of the Great Zimbabwe"

Across the African, winter's sky

A Hundred and Fifty Dead [Korean War--l952] (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

There I sat, ninety-five degree weather

Outside; the bookstore caf, was cool.

Mechanical Poetry; Part Two (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

What do you do when you want to write poetry? I hope your answer is "I start writing." Even writing a bad poem is better than waiting for the "right words." You can always throw it away, and the process has begun. You'll start to find the words sooner than if you had just waited. Here are some more ways to get started.

Africa - Wheres The Profit? (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

A poetic comment that just welled up inside my head - why cant we just do something - before many more are dead?

Poetry in Turbulence (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

To many non-specialists of literature, poetry is deeply unsatisfying. There are several reasons for this, but two in particular come to mind. The first is that most poetry is overly descriptive, leaving little to the imagination; the second is that the rest of it is abstruse. This presents the non-specialist with a dilemma: either to persevere in the thankless task of attempting to unravel an increasingly unrewarding literary crossword; or to make do with the superficialities of descriptive verse and the resultant ennui. Both projects would presumably confirm any prejudices that these readers entertained about the relevancy of poetry to their lives. In circumstances such as these, I think it would be appropriate to introduce a method of poetic appreciation, which, although unorthodox, would encourage the non-specialist to revise any negative opinion of poetry held.

Publishing Your Poetry (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

If you are serious about seeing your work published by reputable publishers, there are a few points you should consider. Firstly and most obviously, you need to determine if you have poetry worth publishing. This assessment can be done by doing something that will not only help you gauge the competitiveness of your poetry, but will give you some viable options for publishing it. Subscribe to literary journals and buy books of poetry. If you do this, what you are doing is searching out the market place. Read the types of poetry that many publishers are publishing and see if the quality of these poems surpasses or is on par with the quality of your own poems.

Two Poems and a Short Story (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

1)

dying in the bar[sluggishly]

Three Love Poems [all wicked] (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

Advance: Mr. Dennis Siluk's poetry can have its fire-hearted twists: as with 'Lovers'...', and 'Death...' and the 'Loves's Curse';but love can carry with it, luring assets, especially in these three poems, as you will soon see; two of which he calls sonnets. He sings a dim song, but it all seems to fit in the river of bitter waters; or salty waters. Be that as it may, they are worth the adventure in reading them, weary as they may be. For those interested, his new book of poems will be out in weeks, "Spell of the Adnes," it will be a charming book. Rosa Penaloza

Four Poems: Harvest of Apoplectic Horses [Katrinas Pathway] (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

Four Poems: Katrina's Pathway

Harvest of Apoplectic Horses((Dedicated to: Katrina)) crisis)

New Poetic Work By Ethiopian Immigrant Promotes Respect, Courage And Cultural Sensitivity (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

McLean, VA - "The Healing Conscious" tells the story of an Ethiopian immigrant boy on his fascinating journey to America and adulthood. Author Kifle Bantayehu, a 23 year-old second-generation Ethiopian immigrant, recounts this poignant tale in poetic format. His inspirational collection of poems reflects the final words and thoughts of a dying man who traveled across the world, raised a family and became successful-finally fulfilling the American dream.

A World That Doesnt Care (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

War bombs may explode demolishing man and land.Hurricanes may devastate and leave us entirely bare.Earthquakes may devour and swallow up old landmarks.But nothing is as destructive as a world that doesn't care.

A Dose of Laughter (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

I'm not well. Can't you tell?Kinda low, so,give me a dose of laughter.

Mirth will heal my every illand give me rest from my distress.Now, give me a dose of laughter.

Opposites Do Attract Quite Well (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

When I am climbing up, you are stepping down.When I wear a smile, you wear a frown.When I am very happy, you are feeling sad.When I am doing well, you are faring bad.

Mechanical Poetry - Part Three (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

Have you ever read the lyrics of a Simon and Garfunkle song? Pure poetry. Want to write poems like that? Start copying them. Let me explain.

Catherine Daly reviews Antidotes for an Alibi (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

Amy KingAntidotes for an AlibiBlazeVox BooksISBN 0-9759227-5-02005

These poems read to me like poetry versions of flash fiction. Now, I like flash fiction very much, but I like the more fabulistic kind. Amy King is writing the fabulistic kind of flash fiction -- I want to say, "the good kind" -- in poetry. What does this mean? Well, when lineated, the line breaks in the poems point to the jumps in the narrative. When not, the poems still take the same little leaps that poems take. I guess I'm struggling with the new sentence this morning. I am not seeing "torsion" as I understand it, nor am I looking for it -- I am just saying that these poems have little leaps in them that flash fiction of a similar type does not. For example, this poem, "Evening In," is a story of screening a particular kind of call:

Antidotes for an Alibi (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

Amy King's first full-length collection, Antidotes for an Alibi, insists that we examine the deceptive clarity of our actions and the goals that motivate us. How does one actually get from "A" to "B"-and is there ever really a "B"? What color is the white space between "A" and "B"? Upon closer inspection, surface realities reveal themselves to be porous and fragile, layered with textures and grains that lead the eye on varying pathways. So what are we to do in a world of newspaper narratives that instruct us toward tidy endings, murmuring that such endings are possible and even inevitable?

Three Poems: Phantom of the Rocks; Lady from Lima & Bell Ringer of de Copan (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

Phantom of the Rocks

[Huancayo, Peru]

Death & the Supernatural: Poetry/Five Poems (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

Supernatural Poetry

Here are five poems,-what I call-death and supernatural poems. Perhaps a bit bizarre, a few stanzas may be, but with unfailing subtlety of course, and a ting of acuteness, but we have to hag on if we want a good ride:

Anne Bradstreet, To My Dear and Loving Husband, A Discussion (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

"To My Dear and Loving Husband" was written by America's first female poet, the Puritan, Anne Bradstreet. In fact, Anne Bradstreet is one of only a handful of female American poets during the first 200 years of America's history. After Bradstreet, one can list only Phillis Wheatley, the 18th century black female poet, Emma Lazarus, the 19th century poet whose famous words appear on the Statue of Liberty, and the 19th century Emily Dickinson, America's most famous female poet.