“Interracial means Other” is up at The Externalist. Yay!
Author Archives: Christine Klocek-Lim
Bushkill Falls PA
Bushkill Falls today, Cherry Springs State Park tomorrow night for the Perseid meteor shower.
Bobby McFerrin and the Pentatonic Scale
chapbook at Seven Kitchens Press
I’m delighted to announce that my first chapbook, The book of small treasures, will be published this December by Seven Kitchens Press. The editor, Ron Mohring, was kind enough to rescue my manuscript from the recycle pile. Here’s a link to the announcement:
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Ten Questions for Poetry Editors
I’m up at Nic Sebastian’s blog in her interview series:
So much joy today. Thanks Nic!
Autumn Sky Poetry 14—now live!
Greetings!
The fourteenth issue of Autumn Sky Poetry is now online.
Read poems by George Bishop, Eric Blanchard, William Keener, W.F. Lantry, Jen McClung, Esther Greenleaf Mürer, Sergio A. Ortiz, Tania Runyan, Donna Vorreyer, and James S. Wilk.
—It’s all about the poetry.
Sincerely,
Christine Klocek-Lim, Editor
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Poem up at 3 Quarks Daily
I’ve got a poem up today at 3 Quarks Daily, one of the best blogs on the net. I’m thrilled and honored, especially since it’s one of the poems that won the Ellen La Forge Poetry Prize.
Thanks go to 3 Quarks Daily, and the folks at the Ellen La Forge Memorial Poetry Foundation.
I am so tired of reading about Zeus
. . . and all the other ancient gods and goddesses in poetry. I mean, why do we have such a fascination with these dudes? Seriously? Why the urns and the lightning bolts? Why must I read about Aphrodite again and again? I admit, I’ve written exactly one poem about Aphrodite, but that’s it. Enough already.
I would like to read about something modern. Why doesn’t somebody write a sci-fi sonnet? That would be cool.
And then I found this: D’oh! On a Grecian Urn
“A lot of students just don’t know many words. I don’t mean the kind of words you find in Elizabethan verse. I’m talking about everyday modern words, including many monosyllables. When we use a word such as “paucity,” “hierarchy,” or “realm,” we need to write it on the board and define it. Then add a couple of synonyms, and maybe an antonym or two. We need to find excuses for vocabulary lessons, and not just in the vocabularies of our respective disciplines.”
Wow, that’s just damned depressing. Maybe I shouldn’t be complaining about Hera and Troy, maybe I should run outside and accost the next kid I see and staple a multi-syllabic word to their shirt. Every month my kids and I pick a “word-of-the-month” and then vie with each other to see how many times we can use it. Last month’s word was irksome. That was a good one. This month the word is monstrosity. I didn’t want monstrosity; I wanted discombobulate, but I lost the vote. It’s not difficult to interest kids in words as long as you keep it fun. Perhaps that’s the true problem with our educational system: it’s just too unpleasant. Who wants to be trapped in a classroom all day with a bunch of other kids, forced to read iambic pentameter?
So, instead of shoving bad poems about Hercules into our children’s Eustachian tubes, why don’t we find some fun poetry, something edgy enough to appeal to a teen? What the hell, read Bukowski to them. Or maybe some rap. Hell, even Shakespeare, as long as it’s absurd and fun. But please, no more urns. Make them build a catapult and lob rolled up boring poems across the lawn. The winner gets to burn the next poem about Zeus. I guarantee the kids will like that project.
Submission Call-Autumn Sky Poetry, Number 15, October 2009
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For the first time ever, Autumn Sky Poetry will be publishing artwork as well as poems. If you are a poet who also dabbles in any of the visual arts, send me your work. I’m looking for poems with corresponding artwork:
—Do you have a poem about a barn? Send me the poem and the photo that you took that inspired the poem.
—Do you like to draw abstract shapes? Send me the poem you wrote and the doodle that you drew in the margin.
—Do you paint? Send me the painting and the poem you wrote about it.
—Did your sister or your son draw something after reading your poem? Send them in together.
—Alternatively, you may submit ekphrastic poems with a corresponding link to the art that inspired the poem. I won’t publish the art, but I will include the link with the poem.
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Send submissions to: autumnskypoetryeditor@gmail.com
Send up to four poems within the body of the email. I only read the first four poems.
Attach the artwork as a .jpg. I will only accept four graphic attachments per submission.
To submit to this particular issue, make sure you include the words: “Submission Number 15” in the subject line of your email. All other email with attachments will be discarded unopened.
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-It’s all about the poetry.
Christine Klocek-Lim
editor, Autumn Sky Poetry
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Christine Klocek-Lim 