Small Press Points: Get Fresh Books
Founded to support the work of marginalized poets, Get Fresh Books publishes one to three poetry collections each year, selecting manuscripts from a pool of no-fee submissions and solicited work.
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Genre: Poetry
5 Over 50: 2023
Essays by debut authors Alma García (All That Rises), Bernardine “Dine” Watson (Transplant), Tommy Archuleta (Susto), Chin-Sun Lee (Upcountry), and Donna Spruijt-Metz (General Release From the Beginning of the World).
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Literary MagNet: Mira Rosenthal
The translator of Tomasz Różycki’s To the Letter discusses the journals where she first placed poems from the book—including Cagibi and Guernica—and the unique process of publishing translated work.
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The Anthologist: A Compendium of Uncommon Collections
An introduction to three new anthologies, including Another Last Call: Poems on Addiction and Deliverance and Black Punk Now: Fiction, Nonfiction, and Comics.
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Page One: Where New and Noteworthy Books Begin
The first lines of a dozen noteworthy books, including Orders of Service: A Fugue by Willie Lee Kinard III and I Would Meet You Anywhere by Susan Kiyo Ito.
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Cinematic Places
The poems in Dorothea Lasky’s The Shining, published by Wave Books in October, portray the physical and psychological horrors that take place in the labyrinthine Overlook Hotel, the setting of the iconic Stephen King novel and Stanley Kubrick film adaptation. Lasky guides readers into the hotel of her imagination in the opening poem, “Self-Portrait in the Hotel”: “When I checked into this / Godforsaken hellhole / They locked me in the tiny yellow room / With no belongings but my lipstick,” she writes. Throughout the book, Lasky meditates on the many horrors of simply being alive, finding inspiration in the hotel’s high ceilings, the Gold Ballroom, and the final shot of the film featuring a terrifying photograph of the protagonist, Jack Torrance, in the ballroom in 1921. Take note of Lasky’s ekphrastic practice and write a poem that places you in the setting of your favorite film. What conflicts come to mind in this newly imagined world?
Alice James Award Accepting Submissions
Calling all poets! The time is right to submit to the Alice James Award. Given annually for a poetry collection, the award confers a prize of $2,000 and publication by the celebrated independent press Alice James Books. Both emerging and established poets are eligible to receive the prize. Submissions are open through October 16.
Submit a manuscript of 48 to 100 pages with a $30 entry fee. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Established in 1973 and named for writer and feminist hero Alice James, Alice James Books “is committed to collaborating with literary artists of excellence whose voices have been historically marginalized.” Previous winners of the Alice James Award include Lee Kinnard III, for Orders of Service; Ina Cariño, for Feast; and Aldo Amparan, for Brother Sleep.
Book Bans Rising
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“Books aren’t dangerous. At least, they’re not dangerous to those of us who want to create an equitable and just society,” says author Ibram X. Kendi in this Washington Post video which takes a look at the history and common themes of banned books in America.
Thresholds of Artifice
In 1950, Alan Turing devised a test that could assess the intelligence of computers and determine if they were capable of sentient thought—an uncertainty that lingers as artificial intelligence (AI) continues to develop. Franny Choi’s poem “Turing Test,” published in the Summer 2016 issue of the Poetry Review, plays with this subject of identity and consciousness. The poem responds to objective questions posed by an AI entity, including, “How old are you?” with elaborate answers that reveal more about the speaker. “My memory goes back 26 years / 23 if you don’t count the first few / though by all accounts i was there / i ate & moved & even spoke,” writes Choi. Write a poem in which your speaker, whether AI or not, answers unassuming questions, such as, “Where did you come from?” and “Do you believe you have consciousness?”
Will Alexander
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“[Los Angeles is] part of an international community. The city has allowed tremendous growth for me, in terms of its cultural outlets, from libraries, great cinema, dance, orchestra, interesting mixes of people.... I see myself as a global citizen and a global writer.” Will Alexander, winner of the 2016 Jackson Poetry Prize, talks about the influence the city of Los Angeles has had on his relationship with language and writing.
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