Monthly Archives: December 2014

Closing out 2014 with a basket of blessings:

Happy New Year to each and every one of you, my friends — thank you for being such generous readers and wonderful people.

Here are the final thank-you notes for 2014; I seem to be closing out 2014 with an overflowing basket of blessings:

The Stare’s Nest has kindly published my New Year’s Eve poem, “Breaking Bread” — today, on New Year’s Eve yet! Thank you and Happy New Year to editor Judi Sutherland!

Both The Lake (editor John Murphy) and Verse-Virtual (editor Firestone Feinberg) have released their January issues a day early — thank you, John Murphy, for including my new poem “Remembrance” at The Lake, and Firestone Feinberg for reprinting “It’s a PIRATE!” in the January issue of Verse-Virtual. (“It’s a PIRATE!” is from last penny the sun, Balkan Press, 2014).

I’d like to thank Russell Streur, editor of The Camel Saloon (AGAIN) for selecting “Elusive Alchemist” as one of the two December poems from The Camel Saloon to be reprinted in The Second Hump — I’m deeply grateful to have the “Elusive Alchemist” honored in this way.

 

 

“Elusive Alchemist” and “Observer’s Credo”

I’d like to thank Russell Streur, editor of The Camel Saloon, for publishing my poem “Elusive Alchemist” — it’s a delight to be back at this fine establishment!

I’d also like to thank Dave Bonta of Via Negativa for opening a discussion about “Ecopoetics” on Facebook this week, which prompted me to write “Observer’s Credo” — which Dave generously offered to put up at Via Negativa as well. Please click on the links below the post to follow the threads that led to this one.

More December Thank You Notes

I’d like to thank Robert S King and the editorial team at the Kentucky Review for publishing two of my poems, “Conversion” and “Give Us a Moment Yet, Hesperides”. This is the first time I’ve had poems up at the Kentucky Review, and I’m deeply honored.

I’d also like to thank Dave Bonta and Luisa A. Igloria for the continued inspiration and hospitality they have offered me at Via Negativa this month. Three new poems are now available:
“Opening”
“Rising” and
“Coming to my senses”

Finally, I’d like to thank Dale Wisely for his reading of “Two” — a poem inspired by an Eduardo Yague film — all in the archives at The Poetry Storehouse.

 

Two additional poems up on Via Negativa

Beneath each of these are links to the poems from Dave Bonta and Luisa A. Igloria that served as the inspiration for my offering — do take the time to read them and look around at Via Negativa — much fascinating reading here, as well as links to one of my favorite e-magazines, Moving Poems.

Dec. 7: “Spanish Lullaby”

Dec. 6: “Manifestation”

 

 

More gratitude: Synchronized Chaos, Via Negativa, & One Sentence Poems

I’d like to thank Cristina Deptula, editor/creative facilitator at Synchronized Chaos, for publishing four of my ghazals, including two reprinted from last penny the sun. You can read them in the December 1 issue of Synchronized Chaos (they are written under the name “Halima bint Ayuba”).

I’ve been reading and enjoying Dave Bonta’s Via Negativa blog, which features at least two new poems each day, one each from Dave Bonta and Luisa A. Igloria. I’m taking on a challenge for myself this December: to write a poem every day in response to their poems. Dave Bonta has generously published my response-poems from Dec. 1 and 2 (“Reckoning” and “Loosening”) as guest-posts. Please be sure to follow the links at the bottom of each poem to see the poems by Dave and Luisa that inspired these.

I’d also like to thank Dale Wisely and Robert Scotellaro, editors of One Sentence Poems, for publishing my Hausa and English poem “Gobe, Jibi” (“Tomorrow, Day After”) .