Wordless Wednesday w/ Linky

I attended the Art'N Soul White Linen poetry event last weekend. These are photos of my friends and I. They each gave a wonderful performance.

Poets Kimeko Farrar, Joneia P. Brown, Marc Lacy and Lena Sledge

Happy Wordless Wednesday! Don't forget to add your post to the linky list below.

Writing Contests for 2013

It's summer time, so take out your pen, paper or laptop and start writing. Here are few writing contests that will be accepting entries this year. You have the entire summer to go ahead and get 'er done. So start writing now, you may just earn the title award winning writer. If you need a boost in your creativity, check out my Wordless Wednesday posts for writing prompts. Happy writing and good luck!

MudfishPoetry Prize
Judged by Charles
Postmark submission deadline: July 15, 2013

Every poem read with care and considered for publication in Mudfish. Deadline extended and prize increased. See for details. New postmark submission deadline: July 15, 2013. $1,200 and publication for the winning poem. Two honorable mentions will also be published. Enclose $15 for three poems and $3 for each additional poem. Include a cover letter with a name, address and titles of poems. Also include an SASE for reply. Include contact info on cover letter page only. Send to: Mudfish Poetry Prize, 184 Franklin Street, New York, NY 10013.


The First Annual Bone Bouquet Experimental Prose Award
Final Judge: Barbara Henning

Online submission deadline: June 30, 2013
Bone Bouquet is now open to submissions for our first annual contest for experimental prose by women-identified writers, which includes transgender and genderqueer writers who identify as female. The winning writer is awarded with $50 and publication in issue 5.1 of Bone Bouquet. Previous issues have featured work by Rachel Levitsky, Carmen Giménez Smith, Becca Klaver, Khadijah Queen and more. Submit your work(s) of experimental prose, up to 5,000 words per entry. Multiple submissions are allowed along with multiple entry fees. Contest deadline: June 30, 2013. Online submissions via Submittable only. Contest fee: $5.00 per entry or $14.00 per entry with a 1-year subscription.


First Annual Otis Nebula Poetry Prize
Online submission deadline: June 15, 2013

Announcing the first annual Otis Nebula Poetry Prize for a book-length volume of poetry. Donald Revell will select the winning entry, along with one runner up. Winner receives book and ebook publication and $250; runner up ebook publication and $50. Manuscripts should be between 40 and 100 pages and accompany a $15 reading fee. Manuscripts may consist of individual poems that have been published, however the manuscript as a whole must be unpublished. Translations not accepted. Winners will be announced on the website on October 1, 2013. Visit Nebula guidelines.



Anna Davidson Rosenberg Poetry Prize 2013
Postmark deadline: November 15, 2013

Anna Davidson Rosenberg Poetry Prize 2013 on the Jewish experience. Please submit 1-2 one-page poems, single space, submit in quadruplicate hard copy, cover page with contact information and list of poems. No email submissions. Deadline: November 15, 2013. NO FEE. For more information, visit Poetic Magazine. 



Salamander 2013 Fiction Prize:
Judged by Edith Pearlman

Online/Postmark submission deadline: June 15, 2013
Salamander magazine will award a cash prize of $1,500 plus publication for the best fiction story. All entries will be considered for publication. Send no more than one story per entry. Each story must not exceed 30 double-spaced pages in 12 point font. Multiple entries are acceptable, provided that a separate $15 reading fee is included with each entry. Contest reading fee includes a one-year subscription. Full guidelines: Salamander Magazine.
Judge: Edith Pearlman. Submit Entries Online or by Mail to: 2013 Fiction Prize, Salamander/Suffolk University English Dept., 41 Temple Street, Boston, MA 02114.



Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival Poetry Contest
Online/Postmark submission deadline: August 15, 2013
A single entry is 2-4 unpublished poems of any theme with combined length of up to 400 lines. Prize: $1,000, public reading, VIP Festival pass ($500 value) at 28th annual Festival (March 19-23, 2014), and publication. Judge: Robert Pinsky. Deadline: August 15. $20 entry fee. Poetry Contest, 938 Lafayette Street, Suite 514, New Orleans, LA 70113. Guidelines and online submission: Tennessee Williams Literary Festival.



Gulf Coast's Barthelme Prize for Short Prose Now Accepting Entries
Online/Postmark submission deadline: August 31, 2013
Gulf Coastis now accepting entries for the 2013 Barthelme Prize for Short Prose, judged by Robert Coover. The contest is open to pieces of prose poetry, flash fiction, and micro-essays of 500 words or fewer. Established in 2008, the contest awards its winner $1,000 and publication in the journal. Two honorable mentions will also appear in issue 26.2, due out in April 2014, and all entries will be considered for paid publication. All entrants will receive a one-year subscription to Gulf Coast with their contest fee. Entries accepted both online and via postal mail. Visit Gulf Coast Barthelme for more information.



The Second Annual Thomas Morton Memorial Prize in Literary Excellence
Online submission deadline: September 30, 2013

The Puritan is proud to announce the return of the Thomas Morton Memorial Prize in Literary Excellence! Two winners in the fields of poetry and fiction will receive a generous prize package, including cash ($900/fiction and $600/poetry) and a collection of books (approx. $600 for each winner) from Canada’s most celebrated publishers (including Coach House Books, House of Anansi, ECW Press, and many more). The winning entries will also appear in The Puritan Issue XXIII: Fall 2013 and be honoured at a launch party. See our website, for submission details! Deadline: Sept. 30, 2013. Brave the frontier today!



2nd Annual Romancing the Craft of Poetry & Fiction Contest
Online submission deadline: June 30, 2013
There is no entry fee or theme. Poems may be any length or style. Fiction stories should have no more than 3000 words. Three winners will receive cash prizes and publication in Volume VIII of the Torrid Literature Journal. Visit our website for submission guidelines and previous winners: Torrid Literature.



Great Lakes Commonwealth of Letters Inaugural Short Story Contest
Online submission deadline: June 30, 2013
Great Lakes Commonwealth of Letters (GLCL) is thrilled to announce our inaugural Short Story Contest with final judge Caitlin Horrocks. The winning story, in addition to being celebrated at a special reading hosted by GLCL in October, will be published in Passages North in January of 2014. The entry fee per submission is $10.00. In addition to granting entry into the writing contest, your fee also helps GLCL host more author events, writing workshops, and book launches. Submit your story at Great Lakes Sumbittable. For more information, please visit Great Lakes Commonwealth.



Flash Fiction Online Contest
Online submission deadline: May 31, 2013
CALYX Press is accepting short-short fiction (or poetry!) submissions for the 2013 Online Competition from strong women writers. This year’s theme is "A new creation story." Make it the title of your work, a jumping-off point, or a general suggestion that gets you moving in a totally new direction. We accept fiction, poetry, or reeeeeaaalllly short, one-act plays. All we want is innovative, beautiful, edgy, brilliant writing… in 250 words or less. The top five submissions will be published on our website, Calyx.

AWC Conference: Sell Your Books

I'm often asked where can published authors sell their books or gain exposure for their books. A great way is to sell your books at a writers' conference. Writers, authors and aspiring authors are eager to get their hands on books by new authors, especially if they have the opportunity to meet the author in person.

The Alabama Writers' Conclave is one of the oldest writers' organizations in continuous existence in the United States. Published AWC members, who attend the meeting (held during the conference), can sell their books at the bookstore. The AWC provides a bookstore and bookseller on Saturday of the conference from 8:00 AM (set up time) to about 4:00 PM. All you have to do is let the bookseller, Marie Peerson, know the number titles and copies (usually not more the 10 copies of each title) that you would like to bring. The bookseller will display the books in the bookstore and act as cashier. This is the only way books are sold at the AWC conference. Membership dues are $25 per year and include the quarterly newsletter, reduced registration costs, and reduced contest entry fees. SO JOIN TODAY! If you are already a member of the AWC and are registered to attend the conference, it cost you nothing to sell your books during the conference.

If you would like to attend the conference held July 20-22, 2012 in Huntsville, Alabama at the Space and Rocket Center Marriott Hotel, please visit the website of the Alabama Writers' Conclave for more information or go to the registration form and you can join as a member online or register for the conference online.

Below is a schedule of the Alabama Writers' Conclave Conference. I will also be conducting two workshops during the conference, so I hope to see you there!

2012 Alabama Writers’ Conclave Conference Schedule

Friday July 20

   5:00 PM                Registration in Conference area beyond the Hotel Lobby

   6:30 – 8:00           Reception Sponsored by Alabama State Poetry Society

   8:00 – 9:00           An Evening with the Poets

   9:15 –                   Open-mic

Saturday July 21

  7:30  –   9:00 AM  Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:00 AM – 4:30 PM  Bookstore Open

  8:30  –   9:30         Nonfiction Writings (Rhodes): True Stories.  Well Told.  What do

                                they ‘they’ want?

  8:30  –   9:30         Social Media (Sledge): Low Cost Creative Marketing Strategies

                                for Authors

  9:30  –   9:45         Break

  9:45  – 10:45         Poetry (Brown): Writing Your Pivotal Moments:  Tension in Poetry

  9:45  – 10:45         Fiction (Holladay): An Old Hotel by the Railroad Tracks: Sources

                                and Subjects

10:45  – 11:00         Break

11:00  – 12:00         Writers-in-Residence (Cline & Richards):  The Mystery of Writing

                                Suspense,

12:00  –  1:30          AWC Lunch

  1:30  –   2:30         Nonfiction (Rhodes): Real People on the Page: Character in

                                Creative Nonfiction

  1:30  –   2:30         Haiku (French): An Introduction to Haiku

  2:30  –   2:45         Break

  2:45  –   3:45         Poetry (Brown): For Better or Worse: Inheritance and Heritage

  2:45  –   3:45         Fiction (Holladay): Shining Stars: Developing Your Characters

  3:45  –   4:00         Break

  4:00  –   5:30         Manuscript Critiques, Formal and Informal groups

  6:00  –   9:30         Grace Gravlee Awards Banquet

                                 Keynote Address (Cline & Richards):  The Genesis of Jokes;

                                 Writing Contest Awards Presentations

Sunday July 22

  7:30  –  9:00 AM     Registration and Continental Breakfast

  9:00 – 10:00           Nonfiction (Rhodes): Show and Tell

  9:00 – 10:00           Social Media (Sledge): How to Blog, Tweet and Facebook your way

                                 to Book Sales

10:00 – 10:15           Break

10:15 – 11:15           Poetry (Brown): Portraits and Characters

10:15 – 11:15           Fiction (Holladay): The Memory Project

11:15 – 11:30           Break

11:30 – 12:30           Annual AWC Member Business Meeting and DOOR PRIZES

Alabama Writers' Conclave Conference 2012

I will be a speaker at the annual writers conference held by the Alabama Writers' Conclave, partnered with the Alabama State Poetry Society. The Alabama Writers' Conclave was organized in 1923 and has been in continuing existence since. Through the years, the Conclave has moved its conferences around the state to provide writers everywhere better access to its resources. The Conclave is today one of the oldest continuing writers' organization in the United States. Writers, aspiring writers and supporters of the writing arts may join. Sharing information, developing ideas, honing skills, and receiving practical advice are hallmarks of their annual meeting. The Conclave is also responsible for nominating, for the governor’s appointment, Alabama's Poet Laureate, a post currently filled by Sue Brannen Walker.

The Alabama State Poetry Society was founded in 1968 and is a member of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NFSPS). Their purpose is to promote poetry as a vital cultural medium, to improve their own skills, share opportunities, support one another, join with others who enjoy the written and spoken word and to delight in good poetry of every form and persuasion.

I will be conducting two workshops at the conference this year. One titled, Low Cost Creative Marketing Strategies for Authors. The other workshop is titled, How to Blog, Tweet and Facebook Your Way to Book Sales. The conference is held for three days and there is always a tremendous amount of information shared amongst authors and writers. If you're looking for a writers conference to attend this year, please consider attending the writing conference held this year with the Alabama Writers' Conclave. For more information you can go to the website at www.alabamawritersconclave.org. Also please take a moment to Like their Facebook Page and tell them Lena sent you. :-)

The Spotlight Poetry Contest Winner Is...

To Jill Elizabeth for winning the Spotlight Poetry Contest!!!!

You have won $50. Please send contact info to claim your prize.

Voting for Spotlight Poetry Contest

Here's your chance to vote for your favorite poet or your favorite poem. I know it may be difficult to choose because they were all so wonderful, but the time has arrived where we must. I would especially like to thank our poets for sharing their wonderful talent with us. It has truly been a delight to read and spread the word of these artistic and inspring poets. I wish you the very best in your endeavors and when those books get published, cause I know they will, please drop us a line so we can stay connected and continue to follow you on your journey.

Best wishes to you all and good luck!

P.S. I won't be choosing the winner. I won't be voting AT ALL. It is up to you the followers of this blog to choose a winner, so if you have a favorite, champion him or her and get people to vote. I can't wait to see who wins. I'm so excited and giddy with anticipation.

Voting will take place on July 29th, July 30th and July 31st ending at midnight July 31st. Winner will be announced on Monday, August 1st. The winner will receive $50 if they reside within the United States. If the winner is international, they will receive a $50 credit at the Book Depository.

Click the this FORM to cast your vote.

Thanks again and good luck!

Spotlight Poetry Contest Day 6

Today we have a wonderful and extremly gifted poet. Her work is a delight to read. I know you'll enjoy it. And don't forget this is the weekend the poets need you to vote for your favorite poet from the Spotlight Poetry Contest. On Friday, I'll have a voting form posted and each follower can vote for their favorite poet. So take some time and get reacquainted with all the poets from July so you can remember which poems you loved the most.


And to the poets, it's time to network and get your fellow followers and friends to vote for you. Only followers of the blog can vote. And I will be checking. So as long as they follow the blog, they can vote. They can follow by GFC, Email or RSS Feed. The winner will receive $50 if they are a U.S. resident or $50 for The Book Depository.


Thank you to all the wonderful people that sent me emails, prayers, cards and special thoughts this week. I truly appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. I need you all to help me spread the word about the poetry contest and the voting that will take place this weekend. I will be out of town this weekend to bid farewell, so I won't be able to tweet or link as often as I normally would without internet access. So if my blog family could come together for me and help me out by linking the voting post this Friday by Facebooking, Tweeting, Digging, posting on Stumble Upon or other social sites, I would truly, truly appreciate it.


Thank you so very much.


Good luck to all the poets and please don't forget to leave encouraging words or thoughts for Chantel A. Jonson. Have a wonderful week.
-------------------------------------------------------

Writer of poetry for more than 25 years and most recently children's books and science fiction. Works as a dispatcher and currently attending classes at the University of Phoenix. Enjoys reading, learning, and sharing the beauty of the imagination. She has published several books of poetry. Including Thoughts, Desires, Passions: A Poetic Collection and Passionate: A Collection of Poetry. Stay tuned for her newest book, Cascades: Poetic Empathy.

----------------------------------------------------

A New Man by Chantel A. Jonson

Your spirit is like a song to me
Easy, soft beautiful words
caressing away my tensions
Replacing the motions of bittersweet
I calm myself in your company by the river
Not a word as waves become our melody
The things my heart wants to give to you
Softly the words shape the path of your fingertips
strumming the shrill of my trickling resolve
Along the nape hairs rise and fall to your rhythm
Kisses that pound the shore
Craving from your touch so much more
Will you sing to me as we love
Guide the words to pierce tenderly
Fluent language our body's will hum
I'll close my eyes to release the moan
Delicious is the score
Every sweet rise and ever sinking note
Swaying, floating ever so delicately
Teach me the words
of the song you sing to me

Interview with Poet Nikki Giovanni Part 3

Goodmorning everyone. Here is part 3 of my interview with Nikki Giovanni. If you've missed any of the previous interviews, please go to the Author Interviews tab and you will find the previous two interviews. Also, don't forget to check out the Spotlight Poetry contest entries. They are doing such a spectacular job. I have really been enjoying the poetry they have submitted. If you still want to enter, there is still time. Just go the Spotlight Poetry Submission tab and follow the guidelines to enter. And please spread the word, we want as many poets as possible to have the opportunity to share their work and have a chance at winning the prize.

Blessings!

Nikki Giovanni Interview

I’m going to give you four words; can you give me a poem that best represents each attribute? For instance, if I say surrogate, I might think of the poem, The Aunt by Mari Evans.

Love:

Bicycles

Desire:

Love Poems

Pain:  

Acolytes

Hope: 

All of my poems are about hope.

You have written several books of poetry for children? How do you get children interested in poetry and how can we inspire our youth to be more empowered?

Well, you know children are not stupid. And I think you have to approach them as intelligent beings. And I m really thrilled that they have enjoyed the books that I’ve written. But I approach children like anything else, like they are intelligent. And you approach them as intelligent. I think I am a pretty good story teller, but one of the reasons I am is that the stories are true.  I’m sharing something with them, something that they not only need to know but enjoy getting to know. And that’s black or white. That doesn’t matter. My book Rosa, has been well received all over the community, kids like it, white kids like it, black kids like it, and I wanted to share Mrs. Parks as I knew her. I think kids will read if we give them the books.

So true.

What are your thoughts about the segregation of books by African American writer’s in book stores?

Well, you know, that’s been a controversy. Because you say segregation, and other people call it categories, but I don’t read for example… umm…what is that stuff… I don’t read murder mysteries, so I’m glad there is a section on murder mystery, cause I don’t have to go to it. And I don’t read it anymore, I use to read a lot of science fiction when I was much younger, I don’t read it anymore. So I’m glad there is a section on science fiction. I read poetry and I’m glad there is a section on poetry.  And I read a lot of black American authors, so I’m glad when I walk into a bookstore, I don’t have to go through everybody that ever wrote, to find what I’m looking for, I don’t think of it as segregation, I think of it as categories.

That’s a good way of looking at it.

In a previous interview you mentioned that Fredrick Douglass had input into Abraham Lincoln’s administration. Are you currently working on a project to educate readers about that relationship and the influence Fredrick Douglass may have had on the Emancipation Proclamation being signed?

I have written the book, it’s called An American Friendship: Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglass and the book is out. I have not done any additional work to that. No.

----------------------------------------------------

Stay tuned to the final conclusion of my interview with Ms. Nikki Giovanni next Monday. You know she will have something interesting and insightful to say.

What did you think of the interview today? Do you agree with Ms. Giovanni about the segregation of African American books in bookstores? Are they simply categorized or are books segregated in bookstores?

What poems comes to mind when you think of love, desire, pain and hope?

Spotlight Poetry Contest Day 3

Good day everyone. It's day 3 of the Spotlight Poetry Contest and we have two more poets debuting today. I think they are wonderful additions to the contest. So please leave a comment and show them some love and support. Don't forget to check out their websites, blogs, etc. Also, there is still time to participate, just go the Spotlight Poetry Contest tab for more details.

Did you read this week's Part 2 interview with acclaimed poet, Nikki Giovanni? If you haven't, please go check it out, she had some really interesting things to say. I think you will enjoy it or at the very least go hmmm?

Have a safe and happy week. Don't forget to come back tomorrow for the next set of poets in the contest, they need your love and support too. And don't forget last week's poets as well. And feel free to share this poetry contest with your friends and followers; it's free exposure and another added notch on their networking resume they can add.

Enjoy!

************************************************************

A former corporate attorney and government relations/health policy executive, Jill-Elizabeth walked away from that world (well, skipped actually) and toward a more literary life (equally challenging, but infinitely more enjoyable).  If you enjoyed this poem, please visit her at Jill-Elizabeth.com, the official home of All Things Jill-Elizabeth – that is, all of the teehees, musings, rants, book reviews, poems, writing exercises, and witticisms of her burgeoning writing career.

Jill Elizabeth Website
Jill Elizabeth Goodreads
Jill Elizabeth Facebook
Jill Elizabeth Linkedin

********************

 In An Instant by Jill Elizabeth

What does it mean, to truly love –
To find the person you are meant to find?
The one whose life fits yours like a glove,
Who turns two ones into a matched set, a two of a kind.

Suddenly a rosy-red sunset, a flash of lightning in brilliant blue-white,
The grace of a soaring flight of birds –  
These things take on new meaning when you know it’s right;
Clichés are magically no longer just banal words.

They represent the wonder and amazement, the awe, the bliss
Of all that you feel.  The words themselves are no longer the point –
All that matters is the hope, the spark, the kiss,
The touch of the divine, whose spirit deigned to anoint.

It happens in an instant; the Other suddenly is the central part.
From just a piece they have become the very fabric of your heart.
 

*****************************************

Charron Monaye never dreamed of being an acclaimed writer, but when she connected with 912 James Street Production, from Douglasville, Georgia in the winter of 2009, her words were heard. Under this independent label, she wrote soulful ballads such as Better with Me, Lonely Days and Just Friends. In 2010, she connected with ML the Truth of 100 Drums Productions, LLC and wrote some of her favorite ballads, "I Apologize" and "Commitment", which appear on his latest CD entitled, "The Truth". In October of 2010, she networked with Londa B. of Purposeful Publishing and Media Services and decided to publish her thoughts, feelings, and emotions in her 1st proclaimed book of poetry entitled, "My Side of the Story". Charron discusses her experiences and emotions regarding relationships, love, heartbreak, parenthood, family, African - American heritage, and overcoming life's trials. This book is not just her testimony, but it is her own advice manual for all.

Website: www.charronmonaye.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorcharronmonaye

Watch Youtube interview
Youtube Book Trailer
Email: charron.monaye@gmail.com
Purchase Book: submissions@purposefulpubandmedia.info


***********************************************

Survival by Charron Monaye

My strength shows my struggle

My bloodshed shows my battles

My broken bones show my determination

My smile shows my pleasure in spite of

My pain shows that I am still human

My broken heart shows that every one isn’t true

My imperfections show that I am not perfect

My drive shows that I keep it moving no matter what

My corns show there is no stopping me now

My determination shows that I “Can’t stop, Won’t stop”

My testimony shows that my life isn’t much different from yours

My beauty shows that I come from a line of elegance

My sexiness shows that I am a woman

My timberlands show that I am not ghetto, but straight hood

My divorce papers show that I did give love a try

My pot belly shows that I am a great mother

But

The mere fact that my life hasn't stop

Shows that I have Survived!!!!!! 

**********************************************

What did you think of the poets today? Could you relate to what they were speaking about?

Favorite Nikki Giovanni Poem, All Eyez on U

Hello everyone. I hope everyone is having a great Tuesday. Here is another one of my favorite Nikki Giovanni poems, it was written in honor of Tupac Shakur, entitled "All Eyez on U."

If you didn't get a chance to read Nikki Giovanni's Interview Part 2, please do so. Leave a comment and let us know what you thought about the interview. I would like to get more renowned poets and writers, but we have to show them so love. I enjoy them, I hope you do too, so please leave a comment and let them know you do too. If you haven't joined the Spotlight Poetry Contest, there is still time to do so, just got the Spotlight Poetry Submission tab for more details.


Enjoy and have a blessed day!

"All Eyez on U" by Nikki Giovanni

as I tossed and turned unable to achieve sleep unable to control anxiety unable to comprehend why
2Pac is not with us
if those who live be the sword died be the sword there would be no white men on the earth
if those who lived on hatred died on hatred there would be no KKK
if those who lived by lies died by lies there would be nobody on wall
street in executive suits in academic offices instructing the young
don’t tell me he got what he deserved
he deserved a chariot and the accolades of a grateful people
he deserved his life
it is as clear as a mountain stream as defining as a lightning strike
as terrifying as sun to vampires
there were those who called it dirty
gansta rap inciting there were those who never wanted to be
angry at conditions but angry at the messenger who reported:
your kitchen has roaches your toilet is over flowing you basement has so much water the rats are in the living room your house is in disorder
and 2Pac told you about it
what a beautiful boy graceful carriage melodic voice sharp wit intellectual breadth
what a beautiful boy to loose
not me
never me
I don’t believe east coast west coast
I saw them murder Emmett Till I saw them murder Malcolm X
I saw them murder
Martin Luther King
I witnessed them shooting Rap Brown I saw them beat LeRoi Jones
I saw them fill there jails I see them burning churches
not me
never me
I do not believe this is some sort of mouth action
This is some sort of political action and they picked well
they picked the brightest freshest fruit from the tallest tree
what a beautiful boy
but he will not go away
as Malcolm did not go away
as Emmett Till did not go away
your shooting him will not take him from us
his spirit will fill our hearts
his courage will strengthen us for the challenge
his truth will straighten our backbones
you know, Socrates had a mother
she too watched here son drink hemlock
she too asked why
but Socrates stood firm and would not lie to save himself
2Pac has a mother
the lovely Afeni had to bury her son
it is not right
it is not right that this young warrior is cut down
it is not right for the old to bury the young
it is not right
this generation mourns 2Pac as my generation mourned Till as we all mourn Malcolm
this wonderful you warrior
Sonia Sanchez said when she learned of his passing she walked all day
walking the beautiful warrior home to our ancestors I just cried as all
mothers cry for the beautiful boy who said he and Mike Tyson would
never be allowed to be free at the same time who told the truth about
them and who told the truth about us who is our beautiful warrior
there are those who wanted to make him the problem
who wanted to believe if they silenced 2Pac all would be quiet on the ghetto
front there are those who testified that the problem wasnÕt the conditions
but the people talking about them
they took away band
so the boys started scratching they took away gym
so the boys started break dancing the boys started dancing the boys started rapping
cause they gave them the guns and the drugs but not the schools and libraries
what a beautiful boy to loose
and we mourn 2Pac Shakur and we reach out to his mother and we
hung ourselves in sadness and shame
and we are compelled to ask:
R U Happy, Mz Tucker? 2Pac is gone
R U Happy?

What is your favorite Nikki Giovanni poem? And what poem do you remember most by Ms. Nikki Giovanni?





Nikki Giovanni Interview Part 2

Good day everyone. Today is part 2 of my interview with renowned and acclaimed poet, Nikki Giovanni from June 14, 2011. If you would like to read part one, please go to Nikki Giovanni Interview Part 1 to catch up. We still have two more interviews after today, each interview will be posting on Monday for the entire month of July. And don't forget to check out the Spotlight Poetry Contest also going on for the entire month of July. If you would like to participate, please go to Spotlight Poetry Submission for more details. Also, please enjoy the poets from last week, Poetry Contest Day 1 and Contest Day 2, that have already been selected for the poetry contest. Please leave a comment and let them know how well they each did.

Enjoy the interview.

Nikki Giovanni Interview Part 2

Tupac Shakur's birthday is in two days. (It was at the time of this interview). You wrote a poem about Tupac, titled, "All Eyez on U" and you even got a Thug Life tattoo, what motivated you do do so?

He was a genius. And a wonderful young man. I think he was deliberately misunderstood. And I think that his death was a great loss.

I agree. It really was.


After the Virginia Tech Massacre, you created two beautiful poems that mourned the tragedy of that event, but also offered words of encouragement to students to stand tall and brave. Those poems were released in a book of poetry entitled Bicycles: Love Poems. What does the bicycle represent?

Bicycle are about trust and balance. That's all a bicycle is. When you get on a bicycle you have to balance and you have to trust that if you keep paddling  you won't fall. And that's what life is and that's what love is.

True. Very true.

Well, it's been what five or six years now? None of the students are still here.


They've gone on.

Yes, they've graduated and moved. Sure. This is America. There is a tragedy someplace everyday in America. Everyday somebody is getting killed because some fool has a gun.


Is poetry born out of anger, grief, love or a combination, or perhaps something all together different?

Poetry is an emotion. It comes out an emotional awareness. I wouldn't begin to try to say what brings poetry forth.


You stated previously, that losing your father is different than losing your mother, can you explain?

Probably not. But usually when you lose your father, you have your mother. But when you lose your mother, you only have your brothers and sisters, or sometimes you're by yourself. But it's a major change.


You've experienced a lot of grief with the passing of your father, your mother, your sister, and even the loss of your lung. How does this affect your poetry without having it all pertain to sadness and loss?

I don't think that it's sad. Death is apart of life. And our health in the modern world. everybody has got, well not everybody, I don't mean each and every....people come up with cancers all the time. I'm very fortunate that I'm alive. I've got good medical care and I'm a big fan of medical care. And this is apart of life, life was never what you saw on television.


What do you think about America having a black president and a black first lady? Do you think as African Americans we've made it to the hilltop and brought Martin Luther King's dream to fruition?

NO. I don't think so. This hasn't anything to do with King's dream. King dreamed of a just world. And I don't think we can look at this world that we are living in and see that it's just. America is fighting four wars. I dont' see the justice. We are still holding people in Guantanamo and we are still outsourcing torture and we're sending in drones to kill people. I voted for Barack Obama, this first time. I will not vote for him again. I'm bitterly disappointed that He has not lived up to his promise at all.


If you had a chance to meet President Obama, what would you tell him?

I don't have any reason to think I would have a chance to meet Obama, anymore more than George Bush, any more than any of the other presidents, so I can't think like that. And the color of his skin doesn't change that. The president has to stand for something. And I don't care what color of his skin is. And Barack Obama has refuse to do so.

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Stay tuned for Part 3 of my interview with Nikki Giovanni next Monday. You don't want to miss what else she has to say.

What did you think of Ms. Giovanni's interview?



Nikki Giovanni Poetry Spotlight, Day 1 of Contest

What a glorious day. I hope you are all feeling as wonderful as I am today. I was giddy with excitement all yesterday because I had to go through all the submissions for the Poetry Spotlight and Contest and I had to choose another one of my favorite Nikki Giovanni poems as well. Also, if you haven't checked out Part 1 of my interview with Nikki Giovanni, please feel free to do so.


One of my favorite Nikki Giovanni poems is entitled, "A Poem for Flora." I like this poem because it rememinds me of how as children, we find people we want to be like because they inspire us or because they are familiar to us. I remember growing up, I wanted to be a mother, but I wanted to be the kind of mother Clair Huxtable was on the Cosby Show. However, you realize once you're grown, you can never be like anyone else but yourself. But when you're a child, anything that looks like you, sounds like you and is in the company of greatness, you don't mind aspiring to and that's why I chose this poem.


Also, we have our first two new poets to spotlight today. I was so pleased to choose them today. So after reading my favorite poem, scroll and keep reading and show these two new poets some love and attention, welcome Laura Williams and Gary Moon.


It is not too late to enter your own poetry submission, just go to the tab at the top of the page that says Spotlight Poetry Submission for more details on how to enter.
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Poem for Flora by Nikki Giovanni


when she was little
and colored and ugly with short
straightened hair
and a very pretty smile
she went to Sunday school to hear
'bout nebuchadnezzar the king
of the jews


and she would listen

shadrach, meshach and abednego in the fire


and she would learn
how god was neither north
nor south east or west
with no color but all
she remembered was that
Sheba was Black and comely


and she would think


i want to be
like that.
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Laura Williams is from Neath in the United Kingdom, she is a writer, trapped in an English teacher’s body. She is also a blogger, a reader, book reviewer, a coffee-drinker and compulsive notebook buyer. Seriously, she says, "it’s bordering on a fetish at this point… I have lots of poems tucked away in these notebooks, but I’ve never shown any to anyone or entered one into a competition before. Poetry is a personal thing. Bad poetry is both personal and embarrassing! I’m hoping this isn’t bad poetry. I’m hoping lots. If you’re interested in hearing more of my babble, check out my shiny blog, "Scattered Figments."


Laura's Twitter
Laura's Blog, Scattered Figments

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Sun Melted By Laura Williams 

Fat and creamy she melts, 
Like delicious butter
In the heat. 

A stubborn protest,
A placard of freckles,
She’s happy only in the sun. 

She wants to bottle 
A perfume of pollen
And sun baked skin.

Life is best when 
Crisp, yellow grass moves
In. Slow. Motion.



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Gary Moon also hails from the United Kingdom. He is a poet and writer. He says, "a glass of Ardbeg, a book and some music constitute a great evening for me." Gary also has his own poetry blog called, The Parrish Lantern, where he displays his poetry and writes book reviews.

Gary's Blog, The Parrish Lantern
Parrish Lantern on Twitter

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Sunstruck by Gary Moon

you gave me my wings
Tho clipped & torn,
crow tattered rags, where
bright peacock feathers
had been. All gaudy display
now muted distrust,
of a world which I'd hid from
with thee

I shook doubt from these stumps
like clay from my boot, with
foolish pride this icarus flew
Do I need to go on, you
knew the tale.....
You were the sun
I fell
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Thank you for joining us for the Poetry Spotlight. Give a warm welcome and tons of support to our two poets today. They deserve it for their lovely poems. I enjoyed reading them and I hope you did too. Since these two poems are being spotlighted, that means they are automatically entered into the Spotlight Poetry Contest and can win the prize available of $50.00. But it's up to "YOU" the reader to vote for the winner at the end of the month. I will not be choosing the winner, I am leaving that up to the followers of this blog, YOU! So stay tuned and keep up with the poets being displayed the entire month of July. It's also not to late to submit your poems so please do that today. It's free exposure and a chance to win a great prize.


Again, congrats to Laura and Gary and thank you for your contribution. Wishing you the very best of luck in winning.