Jean Valentine Wins Bollingen Prize, Frederick Douglass’s Legacy, and More
Solmaz Sharif on poetry that moves beyond diagnosis; fiction writer Bharati Mukherjee has died; Ursula Le Guin on fact versus fiction; and other news.
Genre: Poetry
Archipelago
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“The enigma is some other thing—no gods live here / Just men and the sea, immovable inheritance.” In this clip filmed in São Tomé, Santomean poet Conceição Lima reads her short two-line poem “Archipelago,” translated from the Portuguese by David Shook, from her second collection, A Dolorosa Raiz do Micondó (Editorial Caminho, 2006).
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An Open Call for Muslim Writers, Black History Month, and More
Hillary Clinton to publish book of essays in the fall; New York City and BuzzFeed Books launch “One Book, One New York”; the political cartoons of Dr. Seuss; and other news.
Let Us Fish for a Poem
Many of the food-related traditions associated with the Chinese New Year—including eating fish, sweet rice dumplings, and certain vegetables—have their origins in Mandarin-language homophonic puns. Jot down a list of food-related homonyms, such as homophonic pairings like “lettuce” and “let us” or “beets” and “beats,” or homographic words with multiple meanings like “cake” or “milk.” Create a festive poem using some of the words or phrases you come up with that celebrate the start of a new year.
Deadline Approaches for Zócalo Public Square Poetry Prize
The deadline approaches for the sixth annual Zócalo Public Square Poetry Prize, given for a poem that evokes a connection to place. The winner will receive $500 and publication on the Zócalo Public Square website.
Submit up to three poems of any length via e-mail to poetry@zocalopublicsquare.org by Friday, February 3. There is no entry fee. The editors will judge. “Place may be interpreted by the poet as a place of historical, cultural, political, or personal importance,” write the editors. “It may be a literal, imaginary, or metaphorical landscape.” Visit the website for complete guidelines.
The winner will be announced in March. In 2016, 443 poets entered the prize. Interviews with recent winners and their winning poems can be read on the Zócalo website. Recent winners include Matt Phillips for his poem “Crossing Coronado Bridge” about the bridge that connects San Diego to Coronado Island; Gillian Wegener for her poem about a small town, “The Old Mill Café;” and Amy Glynn for her poem “Shoreline.”
Established in 2003, Zócalo Public Square publishes news, essays, and creative writing. The journal is based in Los Angeles.
The Shapes of Leaves
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“Ginkgo, cottonwood, pin oak, sweet gum, tulip tree: / our emotions resemble leaves and alive / to their shapes we are nourished.” Arthur Sze reads his poem “The Shapes of Leaves” for Dear Poet, an educational project for the Academy of American Poets.
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Neruda
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In Neruda, a film directed by Pablo Larraín, an inspector hunts down Nobel Prize–winning Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, who becomes a fugitive in his home country for joining the Communist Party. Part fact, part fiction, the film stars Gael García Bernal and Luis Gnecco.
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New American Poetry Prize Open for Submissions
The deadline approaches for the 2017 New American Poetry Prize, given annually for a poetry collection. The winner receives $1,000 and publication by New American Press. Jesse Lee Kercheval will judge.
Using the online submission system, submit a manuscript of at least 48 pages with a $22.50 entry fee by January 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Judge Jesse Lee Kercheval is the author of fifteen books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Her most recent book is the poetry collection Extranjera/Stranger (Editorial Yaugarú, 2015), written in both Spanish and English. Kercheval is also a translator, and specializes in Uruguayan poetry. She teaches in the University of Wisconsin’s MFA Program, and spends part of each year in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Previous winners of the New American Poetry Prize include Christopher Cokinos for The Underneath, Brittney Scott for The Derelict Daughter, and Arne Weingart for Levitation for Agnostics. New American Press publishes three to five full-length books each year, including the winners of its annual poetry and fiction prizes. The press also publishes the literary journal MAYDAY Magazine, and recently released two anthologies of poetry and fiction by Midwestern writers.
To Find Your Place in the World
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Spoken word artist Kelly Tsai narrates her poem for this short film animated by Ryan Hartley Smith. Tsai wrote the poem in dedication to those who have served in AmeriCorps and others who have volunteered their time and energy to provide public services and community improvements.
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Poetic Constraints
Starting a new year often means an attempt at challenging resolutions or constraints, but in poetry, constraint can seem natural and even fun. For example, in Oulipo, formulas and frameworks (some more complicated than others) are applied to the lines and words of a poem. Try this exercise in constraint: Write a poem in which all of the words contain a vowel of your choice. For inspiration, read “Ballad in A” by Cathy Park Hong.
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