Announcing the Poemeleon Launch Reading

For anyone who will be in the area on Saturday July 29th, I am hosting a reading to celebrate the launch of the journal.

Nine contributors so far have signed on, one of whom is flying in from Montana just for the event, and another who will luckily be in the area, all the way from Norway. Aside from locals, I also have someone driving down from Santa Barbara, and someone driving up from L.A.

I'm really looking forward to it. There will be light refreshments and copies of contributors books for sale during the event. It will be at the Riverside Art Museum in the Atrium Saturday July 29th from 11 a.m. until about 1 p.m., or whenever we're through.

Check the website for more details, or send me an e-mail.

Poemeleon Now Online!

Poemeleon is now online!

Featuring poems by Maureen Alsop, Heidi Arnold, Larry Bauer, Sheila Black, Lavina Blossom, Gayle Brandeis, Wendy Taylor Carlisle, Christina Cook, Chella Courington, Catherine Daly, Iris Jamahl Dunkle, Julie R. Enszer, Ann Fisher-Wirth, Lucia Galloway, Bob Hicok, Judith Kerman, Judy Kronenfeld, Ann Neuser Lederer, Gary Lehmann, Adrienne Lewis, Ruth Mark, James Penha, Ren Powell, John Rauschenberg, Helen Ruggieri, Andrea Scarpino, Margo Solod, Eileen Tabios, Marilyn Taylor, Steve Trebellas, and Sholeh Wolpe.

www.poemeleon.org

Check it out!

journal update #3 -- almost there!

Just finished entering the last poem this morning. I have a couple more housekeeping things to do before I send out e-mails and instructions as to how to view your page. You'll have a chance to e-mail me with corrections before the issue is made public.

I'm still waiting for a few of you to forward your contributor's note and/or links you want included. Please do so when you get the chance.

I would like to see a show of hands as to how many of you would be interested and able to participate in an inaugural issue launch reading. I've counted and there are at least nine of you within driving distance -- I think. Now, unfortunately, I can't pay anyone, and I have no budget for travel expenses as of right now. But if you live elsewhere and will be in Southern California at all this summer, please speak up and I'll try to schedule the reading around that.

Thanks again to everyone who submitted. As soon as I get this first issue up I will be officially reading submissions for issue #2 -- see submission guidelines on the website for more details.

Journal Update #2

Okay, so I lied. It has been three months. Again.

But I have a good excuse. Really.

Okay. Well, maybe not. Just life. Yes I do have a life. Actually, the past week and a half has been spent just trying to keep my three year old from reopening a gash on his chin that we sat through six hours of Urgent Care to treat. Though we narrowly escaped stitches (All hail the inventor of Dermal Adhesive!) I doubt that will be our last trip -- his nickname is Danger Baby if that gives you a clue.

For all of you out there who are wondering what's going on with the journal, here's where we're at:

1.) I am about halfway done entering all the yummy poems into the journal.

2.) I am in the process of compiling and entering all of the authors' statements, links to more of our contributors' work, and general site updates. (If you still have something to send me, please do so ASAP)

3.) I am in the process of scoping out potential locales for an Inaugural Issue launch reading.

I went to a reading yesterday during the Orange Blossom Festival here in my hometown, Riverside, CA. It was held in the atrium area of the Riverside Art Museum, and put on by a local print journal, Epicenter, who did a great job organizing the reading and even moved us out-of-doors to the community stage for the final reader of the two-day festival series, LA poet Catherine Daly, who is also a Poemeleon contributor. It was a nice location -- casual, bright, tree-filled. I am considering the museum as a possible venue for the launch reading, but if anyone else has a suggestion for a venue in Southern California, preferably the Inland Empire, feel free to forward it to me.

Already I'm looking forward to the next issue, which will be art-centered. While I would love mostly ekphrastic poems (poems that evoke a specific work of art, not limited to paintings), I am broadening the search to include poems that reference art or artists. Of particular interest are poems that address a work of art/artist that ALSO include references to place. I prefer work that is grounded in the physical world; somewhere real, somewhere I would go; somewhere I could want to go. If this seems confusing at all, or if you have something that you think might fit, even if you aren't sure -- send it on.

For the first issue, I'm aiming for a launch date somewhere in the middle of June -- maybe a little earlier; maybe a little later. I've still got a lot of work to do. When we get closer I'll be in touch.

Danger Baby is back in the room, plodding around in my plaid slippers. I can only slip away for just so long before Life starts calling me back.

Cheerios,

Cati

Journal Update

Forgive me bloggers for I have sinned. It's been three months since my last post.

During this time I've created a website, ditched it, created another website, called for submissions, and am now in the final selection process. If you haven't heard from me yet, you will soon.

The journal is poised for launch in June. I originally wanted to push this puppy out twice per year, but because I've received so many submissions that I would like to use (far more than I actually can use, as you can well imagine) that I may take it to four times a year.

Thanks to all who've submitted -- for your work, and for your patience. I've received many many poems that evoke 'place' in one form or another. Not all of them do, and that's the way I wanted it, because the focus of this journal is not 'place poems' per se, but the plain fact that where we are influences at least what, if not how, we write.

To give you a little more input, for those of you who might be wondering, I'm not looking for poems that do nothing more than describe a place: I want poems that make me think, hurt, laugh, cringe; I want poems that make me want. I want poems that pay attention to linebreaks and rhythm without seeming forced. I want the subject and the tone of each poem to not feel trite or overused or inflated beyond what feels natural for the subject, and if you must rhyme, I want it to be seamlessly integrated, preferably as offrhyme. I really, really, don't want poems that read like a Hallmark card. And absolutely no proselytizing.

Okay. Phew. I guess I want a lot. My own poetry may not meet all those requirements. And if you catch me on a good day, and I like what you're trying to do with a poem, I may let something slide. But if you haven't been writing poetry for all that long, my suggestion to you, before you send anything out, is read read read all the poetry you can get your hands on, and revise until your head hurts. Cut out anything that seems suspect, or that you think maybe you've heard before, because you probably have.

In lieu of a traditional bio, I have asked contributors to write a brief statement about how 'place' influences their writing. It's been really cool to read all of these -- some poets' statements have been better than the poems they submitted. The statements have ranged from one or two lines to several paragraphs. I've asked for these because I think the standard bio puts too much emphasis on past accomplishments, or lack thereof, which can devalue or inflate a poem's perceived worth.

This is not to say that I don't believe in shameless self-promotion. There is no shame in promoting one's work. We are all working to build an audience. So, I have asked contributors for links to their work online, and am providing links to places where their books can be purchased (unless they have expressly asked me not to).

Well, I guess that it's for now. I promise not to take another three months to update this thing.

Thanks for stopping by.