Edwidge Danticat Speaks at York College

Edwidge Danticat, 2009 MacArthur Fellow

Nigerian 3D Animation: Mark of Uru

One small step for African Animation

With a budget of less than $5,000 dollars a small production studio in Nigeria, TransTales Entertainment has recently gained international attention for their animation titles. The titles produced by Segun Williams and Obinna Onwuekwe claimed the United Nations World Summit Award for the use of technology to promote African culture.

“Mark of Uru” is written and directed by Obinna Owuekwe and produced by Segun Williams. Owuekwe also lends his voice to two of the characters: The Warrior and Isi Agu. The costumes and makeup are authentically African and the series has a woman empowerment theme embedded in it. The voices also feature varied accents, mostly Igbo and Efik from West Africa.

According to TransTales, very few countries rival the diversity of Nigeria across the world; with 250 ethnic groups, 500 languages and a population of over 160 million. “Such diversity brings with it unique experiences and stories that need telling. While Nigerians have explored film, music, arts and literature to tell their stories, animation has been absent; but this is about to change.”

- Africa Good News

Mark of Uru has certainly gained some ground for the African animation industry, yet there have been criticism regarding general quality in the industry as a whole. Many animation studios in Africa are generally understaffed, suffer from lack technology infrastructure as well education on core animation techniques, however African animators are not afraid to rise up to these challenges.

As a Nigerian animator and founder of a small studio, I have been following Grafikdon’s work for years. I can see both sides. As a consumer you want to see something that is as good as Pixar’s offerings and feel cheated if you don’t. As an animator trying to produce genuine African based (in its broadest sense) animations and facing challenges, just finishing a piece is a triumph. But it is important to note where the greats started from. If you watched the pilot episode of the Simpsons now you’d be shocked at how different it looked to the later episodes. Also as in the case of Nollywood, certain viewers are willing to forgive certain technical deficiencies to watch content they can relate to or that speaks to them. It’s an interesting time and there are a lot of animators working hard in Sub Saharan Africa despite challenges. In about 4 years I feel the media landscape will be different.

Adamu Waziri – Nigerian Animator

We would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions on the African animation industry. Join the conversation on our African Animators Group.

Love Is Where You Find It

The American ideal of sexuality appears to be rooted in the American ideal of masculinity.  This ideal has created cowboys and Indians, good guys and bad guys, punks and studs, tough guys and softies, butch and faggot, black and white.  It is virtually forbidden—as an unpatriotic act—that the American boy evolve into the complexity of manhood. 

- James Baldwin

 

Joseph is a man who has sex with men (MSM). But don't call him gay.

Labels may be problematic, but lies are even more so.

I recently read a blog in which an author by the name of “Joseph” explains why he refuses to identify as gay even though he has sex (apparently exclusively) with men.

He says:

I can't claim to be something I was raised to hate. I'm just me, and I do what makes me feel good. Besides, my folks raised me as a Christian and they would be really disappointed in me if I didn't live my life in the same steps that they were raised. So I'm not gay, even though I have sex with guys. And no, I'm not in denial. There are just some things about the lifestyle that I don't do. I don't club, I don't go to the Village, I don't do that Ball stuff, I don't geek over Beyoncé, I just live my life—I do what I want to do. There's such a negative stigma that comes along with identifying yourself as gay. I don't like feeling like I have to participate in a certain set of actions because of who I sleep with. It's the same thing as identifying yourself as black or white or Baptist. There's a set of standards that people automatically are gonna put in your face—that this is what you do because this is who you are. There are so many things that come with the gay stigma that I just don't want to be a part of.

Female and male. Black and white. Gay and straight. Poor and rich. Yes, all of these labels are constructs meant to identify us at best, and separate and imprison us at worst. But part of the problem here is that Joseph doesn’t even seem to know what “gay” means. Oh, he’s certainly hip to the pop cultural, co-opted meaning of the word—that is to say, the mass media portrayal of homosexuality as a flamboyant and decadent “lifestyle” in which one “chooses” to participate. But what the media portrays is intentionally mythical. For clarity’s sake, one isn’t required to vogue, go to the Village, go to gay clubs, or be a Beyoncé fan to be gay. Some gay men do those things and some don’t. Just like any other community on the planet, the gay community isn’t monolithic no matter what MTV, Eddie Long, or Dan Savage says.

Joseph rejects being called "gay" and probably anything else that points to his sexuality ("I do what I do," he says).  But before one can reject an oppressor’s label, whether or gay or "black" or something else, one must first accept that the oppressor must be correct: There’s something inherently wrong with being considered gay or black or something else. I, for one, don’t accept the oppressor’s premise. I’ve no quarrel with what the terms actually mean: To be black means, at its base, to possess the obvious physical characteristics (darker skin, kinkier hair, etc.) which indicate a direct (or indirect) lineage from the African continent. To be gay (another word for "homosexual") is to be a person with one set of sexual equipment who is sexually attracted to someone else with the same set of sexual equipment. Anything added to the meanings of the words beyond that is dogma (of course, the words themselves are dogma, but I’m talking about the essential thing here, the purest definitions without added value judgments).

In giving name to these two groups, the oppressor has—most times, but not always—identified what distinguishes us from himself. I find no fault in that. After all, a bear knows he’s not a lion and a lion knows she’s not a deer. (And there’s no reason to assume that just because I have accepted a label, I’m automatically reduced to only that thing. Indeed, I’m also man, son, brother, lover, uncle, friend, artist, intellectual, human and much more.) For me, the crime lies solely in the oppressor’s declaration of his own superiority as a result of the distinctions. That’s what I believe requires rejection and, ultimately, destruction.

Still, I completely understand Joseph's desire to reject the label.  He lives in a homoantagonistic world, a world sometimes violently so. I admire his stance on self-definition and self-identification.  His impetus isn't so much cowardice as it is self-preservation. I get that.  And he has my sympathy.  However, I believe that he'll one day come to understand his current position as naive, if not wrongheaded and futile. 

For example, we also live in a racist world.  I could, in theory, refuse to identify as black, which might make all the sense it needs to make in my house. But the moment I step outside the door, it would be meaningless in the face of my skin and hair. Similarly, what Joseph fails to realize is that it isn’t the label that parents, religion or society have a problem with: It’s the action. So, he can certainly call himself “straight”—or more precisely, “not gay”—if that’s what pleases him. But the moment it’s discovered (and the discovery is inevitable) that he gets fucked in the ass by men (which he says he does), how he identifies himself becomes absolutely irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Precisely at that moment, to those individuals that he wishes, more than anything, not to offend, he will be a “faggot”—whether he wears sagging jeans, Timberlands, pretends to date women, and says "I do what I do"; or if he wears a dress and pumps, declares that he has anal sex with men, and calls himself “Josephina.”

I think previous comparison is apt given that I believe Joseph’s issue is actually a modern kind of misogyny called effemiphobia—the fear and shame of all things feminine (especially feminine men), an equating of femininity with weakness. It’s a fear and shame that, by his own admission, he learned at the foot of Christ. Religion is, after all, where bigotry originated: Read any religious holy book and show me the one where God (by whatever name he’s called) isn’t used at least once to justify the subjugation and murder of the Other. At the very least, religion is where bigotry has been most successfully organized, institutionalized, and utilized.

In any event, there seems to be a kind of panic in Joseph’s writing, specifically concerning how his masculinity is perceived. A new acquaintance of mine must have noticed that, too, and referred me to a video from Cleo Manago entitled “Getting the Language Right: HIV and Healing in Young Black America,” which contains a hysteria of its own.  It’s a provocative video in which Manago and a number of black men discuss what they deem to be crucial problems facing the black community—whether heterosexual or homosexual. One of those problems, according to Manago, is the failure of whites to allow black men to be men.

 

 

I think what Manago, whom I respect and admire, fails to identify is that the real problem rests with the pathological way in which masculinity is being defined. It’s strange because on the one hand, he chastises the black community for accepting what he feels is a white definition of identity as it relates to our sexuality. But on the other, he grants an exception for the equally damaging white definition of what it means to be a man. And what I am talking about here, in the main, is what patriarchy—whether Eastern or Western—tells us it means to wield power.

The patriarchal definition of maleness, if history is of any use here, means being strong, tough, aggressive, courageous, protective, and responsible (all of which are things women are and have been since the dawn of time, by the way; and they are no less women because of it). What the patriarchy doesn’t advertise (but makes evident by its actions) is the subtext: Men are also expected to be frightening, abusive, stoic, violent, unapologetic, unemotional, gun-toting, war-like, murderous, insatiable, destructive, misogynistic, homophobic, xenophobic, and promiscuous. In this crazy, mixed-up world, men are defined in opposition to women, masculinity in opposition to femininity—like we’re colors or math equations instead of people.

Without question, Manago seems to accept the validity of the patriarchal definition of manhood (which seeks only to perpetuate itself) without recognizing the power present in femininity. (Isn't a whole being someone who utilizes their full self, yin and yang?) And how could he not, really, when the whole of our society has made masculinity so unfortunately seductive, while belittling femininity at every turn? After all, aren’t we told to admire men from Christopher Columbus to Donald Trump because of their accomplishments and wealth? (I'm never called upon to be more like Sojourner Truth, though.) But no one asks what they had to do to become so accomplished and wealthy. No one is brave enough to talk about the untold lives that were lost so that these men could inherit patriarchal privileges. No one will assess the damage. To what end and at what cost am I being asked to uphold and emulate their silent and historical genocide?

It seems to me that Manago has decided that there’s tremendous value in the former slave mimicking his former slave master and any attempt to thwart that transformation will be labeled emasculation. Fair enough, but there’s been absolutely no discussion about how the conversion requires the new slave master to find a new slave to give shape to his mastery. The bitterness we see in black community is not, as Manago insists, a result of “blackmanophobia”—an imprecise term which insists upon encouraging black men to be more patriarchal and more white in their masculinity, while black women are placated by promising them imaginary rights to heterosexual, masculine black men. No, the discontent in the black community is misogyny and homoantagonism, which is nothing if not a clear example of the new slave master attempting to corral his new slaves.

Here is the truth: If one believes that one can only be a man—can only be powerful—to the degree that he can subjugate someone else, then the psychosis is self-evident.

Not to mention that power isn’t really the issue here; autonomy is. The ability to think and act for the benefit of one’s self—without malice towards others—requires intelligence, not hostility; courage, not shame. And it’s not as small or limiting a performance as “acting like a man”; it’s as large and freeing as being human and humane. It insists upon following the example of peace, where gender is immaterial. It requires something vastly different from dominance, abject wealth and superficial displays: It requires integrity; it requires love.

Love is where you find it. And you won't find it anywhere until you've found it within.

 

Mos Def on Real Time

James Carroll Booker III (December 17, 1939 - November 8, 1983) was a jazz, New Orleans rhythm and blues and soul musician born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.

 

Booker was the son and grandson of Baptist ministers, both of whom played the piano. He spent most of his childhood on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where his father pastored a church. Booker received a saxophone as a gift from his mother, but he demonstrated a stronger interest in the keyboard. He first played organ in his father's churches.[edit]

Biography

After returning to New Orleans in his early adolescence, Booker attended the Xavier Academy Preparatory School. He learned some elements of his keyboard style from Tuts Washington and Edward Frank.^[1] Booker was highly skilled in classical music and played Bach and Chopin, among other composers. He also mastered and memorized solos by Erroll Garner, and Liberace. His thorough background in piano literature may have enabled his original and virtuosic interpretations of jazz and other American popular music. These performances combined elements of stride, blues, gospel and Latin piano styles.

Booker made his recording debut in 1954 on the Imperial label, with "Doin' the Hambone" and "Thinkin' 'Bout My Baby." This led to some session work with Fats Domino, Smiley Lewis, and Lloyd Price.^[2]

In 1958, Arthur Rubinstein gave a concert in New Orleans. Afterwards, eighteen-year-old Booker was introduced to the concert pianist and played several tunes for him. Rubinstein was astonished, saying "I could never play that... never at that tempo." (The Times-Picayune, 1958) A gay man, Booker also became known for his flamboyant personality amongst his peers.^[3]

After recording a few other singles, he enrolled as an undergraduate in Southern University's music department. In 1960, Booker's "Gonzo" reached number 43 on the U.S. Billboard chart, and number 3 on the R&B chart. This was followed by some moderately successful singles. In the 1960s, he turned to drugs, and in 1970 served a brief sentence in Angola Prison for possession.

Professor Longhair and Ray Charles were among his important influences.^[4]

In 1973 Booker recorded The Lost Paramount Tapes at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, California with members of the Dr. John band which included John Boudreaux on drums, Jessie Hill on percussion, Alvin Robinson on guitar and vocals, Richard "Didymus" Washington on percussion, David Lastie on sax and Dave Johnson on bass. This album was produced by the former Dr. John and Sweathog bassist, David L. Johnson and Daniel J. Moore. The master tapes disappeared from the Paramount Recording Studios library, but a copy of some of the mixes made near the time of the recordings was discovered in 1992, which resulted in a CD release.

Booker's performance at the 1975 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival earned him a recording contract with Island Records.^[4] His album with Island, Junco Partner, was produced by Joe Boyd, who had previously recorded Booker on sessions for the Muldaurs' records.^[5] During 1976, Booker played and toured with the Jerry Garcia Band.

Booker recorded a number of albums while touring Europe in 1977, including New Orleans Piano Wizard: Live!, which was recorded at his performance in the 'Boogie Woogie and Ragtime Piano Contest' in Zurich, Switzerland This album won the Grand Prix du Disque. He played at the Nice and Montreux Jazz Festivals in 1978. Fourteen years later a recording in Leipzig from this tour would become the last record to be produced in the former East Germany. It was entitled Let's Make A Better World!.

From 1977 to 1982 he was the house pianist at the Maple Leaf Bar in the Carrollton neighborhood of uptown New Orleans. Recordings during this time made by John Parsons were released as Spider on the Keys and Resurrection of the Bayou Maharajah.^[6]

His last commercial audio recording, Classified, was made in 1982 — in four hours according to the producer, Scott Billington.^[6] However in the 1980s his physical and mental condition deteriorated.^[4]

At the end of October, 1983, film-maker Jim Gabour captured Booker's final concert performance. The footage from the Maple Leaf Bar in New Orleans was broadcast on Cox Cable and a six-and-a-half-minute improvisation, "Seagram's Jam," featured on Gabour's film - All Alone with the Blues.

Booker died ten days later, on November 8, 1983, while seated in a wheelchair, waiting to be seen at the emergency room at New Orleans Charity Hospital. The cause of death was renal failure. (Orleans Parish Coroner's Death Certificate). His death was mourned by music lovers, but was unsurprising to those who were aware of his life-long history of serious drug abuse and chronic alcoholism.

—Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Booker

Classified

Please Send Me Someone

Live in Nice, France, 1978

Papa Was A Rascal

True

The master at Montreux 1978

2010 BCALA Literary Award Winners

The Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) announces the winners of the 2010 BCALA Literary Awards during the Midwinter Meeting of the American Library Association in Boston, MA. The awards recognize excellence in adult fiction and nonfiction by African American authors published in 2009, including the work of a first novelist, and a citation for Outstanding Contribution to Publishing. The recipients will receive the awards during the 2010 Annual Conference of the American Library Association in Washington, D.C. The winner in the Fiction category is Buying Time by Pamela Samuels Young (Goldman House). The two Fiction Honor Book winners are Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday) and Carried by Six by Allen Ballard (Seaford Press). Buying Time is a captivating, suspenseful thriller focused on greed, murder and corruption in the viatical industry. Waverly Sloan, a disbarred attorney about to lose it all, ventures into a very lucrative career redeeming life insurance policies for the terminally ill. He soon discovers however that the life-threatening dangers of this new career outweigh the financial gains. The well developed subplots of domestic violence and pedophilia heightens the suspense of the novel and also generates constant juggling of the suspects list. Samuels-Young, a corporate attorney in Southern California, is the author of three previous mysteries. Sag Harbor is a humorous coming of age tale where Colson Whitehead provides readers with an inside view of what it means to be black and affluent, but mainly what it means to be a teenage boy. Whitehead clearly captures 1980s popular culture as well as tapping into the African American vernacular and oral traditions. Colson Whitehead is an award winning author and lives in Brooklyn. Carried by Six is a gripping page-turner, where Obie Bullock, leader of the Men of Africa United (MauMau) has waged a war against the drug dealers who have taken over his urban Philadelphia neighborhood. Tired of being terrorized by the dealers and having the young men of the neighborhood either being “carried by six” pallbearers to their graves or “judged by twelve” and sentenced to a prison term, Obie fights to keep his family safe and himself alive while making his neighborhood a better place to live. Author Allen Ballard, a Philadelphia native, now lives in Albany, NY where he teaches history and Africana Studies at the State University of Albany. The winner in the Nonfiction category is The Breakthrough by Gwen Ifill (Doubleday). An Honor Book winner for Nonfiction was also selected: Freedom Struggles by Adriane Lentz-Smith (Harvard University Press).  The Breakthrough explores the political leadership of the Black community starting with the Civil Rights Movement and progressing to the contemporary and what Ifill calls “The Age of Obama.” Not until the appearance of President Barack Obama on the national political scene did political leadership become so hotly contested within the Black community. Ifill describes this power struggle between two generations of Black leadership as “sandpaper politics” where change is often abrasive but necessary. The Breakthrough provides intriguing and insightful profiles of Black leaders engaged in national politics as well as rising stars at the local and state levels. Gwen Ifill is moderator and managing editor of Washington Week and senior correspondent of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. Through the experiences of the 200,000 black soldiers of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, Freedom Struggles uses moving stories and experiences to bring forth a significantly influential but little known aspect of American history. Adriane Lentz-Smith is Assistant Professor of History at Duke University. The recipient of the First Novelist Award is K.C. Marshall for My Sister’s Veil (XLibris). This debut novel is an inspirational and motivating story about the trials and tribulations of three strong Black women. Their lives are separated yet connected through their friendship and consequential environment. Using their inner strength or spiritual “veil”, the main characters show how their ancestral culture shapes their drive to overcome adversities thus giving them the fortitude to make a difference changing themselves and their circumstances. K.C. Marshall is a free lance writer. For excellence in scholarship, the BCALA Literary Awards Committee presents the Outstanding Contribution to Publishing Citation to In Search of Our Roots by Henry Louis Gates (Crown Publishers). Gates has taken his popular PBS television documentary and captured his extensive genealogical research in a compelling book. Nineteen famous and unknown African Americans allow us to follow their incredible journey tracing family sagas through slavery and back to Africa. This is a book of enormous importance that will inspire others to take this courageous journey to explore their family roots. Members of the BCALA Literary Awards Jury are: Joel W. White, Chair, Durham (NC) County Library; Virginia Dowsing Toliver, Vice Chair, Washington University in St. Louis; Gladys Smiley Bell, Hampton University; Karen B. Douglas, Duke University Law Library; Makiba Foster, Washington University in St. Louis; Carolyn Garnes, Library Consultant, Atlanta, GA; and Ernestine Hawkins, East Cleveland Public Library. TO ALL PUBLISHERS: The Literary Awards Committee of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) is now accepting submissions for the annual BCALA Literary Awards. The Committee will present three prizes of $500.00 each for adult books written by African American authors: a First Novelist Award, a Fiction Award and a Nonfiction Award. The First Novelist Award is given to recognize an outstanding work by a first time African American fiction writer. Honor Book citations are also awarded in fiction and nonfiction without any accompanying monetary remuneration. Additionally, an Outstanding Contribution to Publishing citation is provided to an author and/or publishing company for unique books that offer a positive depiction of African Americans. First presented at the Second National Conference of African American Librarians in 1994, the BCALA Literary Awards acknowledge outstanding works of fiction and nonfiction for adult audiences by African American authors. Recipients of this award offer outstanding depictions of the cultural, historical or sociopolitical aspects of the Black Diaspora and embody the highest quality of writing style and research methodology, if applicable. Enclosed is a copy of the BCALA Literary Awards Criteria. Books from small, large and specialty publishers are welcome for review consideration. Titles forwarded for review must be published between January 2010 and December 2010. Sets or multi-volume works are eligible. New editions of previously published works are eligible only if more than 30% of the total content is new or revised material. Inspirational and self-help books are ineligible. Please send one copy of each title submitted to each member of the Literary Awards Committee as soon as possible after receiving this letter. I have enclosed a list of the members of the Committee and their addresses. Supply all available information regarding the submission, including promotional material, author biography and available news articles and reviews. Only finished, published books should be submitted; galleys (bound or unbound) are unacceptable. The final submission date to each juror is December 17, 2010. Decisions will be made during the American Library Association’s Midwinter Meeting in San Diego, CA in January 2011.The awards will be presented in New Orleans, LA during ALA’s Annual Conference in June, 2011. Publishers and authors will be advised of the Literary Award Committee’s decision in advance of the conference. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at (919) 560-0114 (email: jwhite@durhamcountync.gov. We extend our sincere thanks in advance for your cooperation in making these awards possible. Sincerely yours, Joel White, Chair Black Caucus Literary Awards Committee Black Caucus Literary Awards Committee BCALA Literary Awards Criteria The Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) presents three (3) $500.00 awards: one for adult fiction, one for nonfiction and one for a first novelist. These awards acknowledge outstanding achievement in the presentation of the cultural, historical and sociopolitical aspects of the Black Diaspora. The Fiction Award recognizes depictions of sensitive and authentic personal experience either within the framework of contemporary literary standards and themes or which explore innovative literary formats. The Nonfiction Award honors cultural, historical, political, or social criticism or academic and/or professional research which significantly advances the body of knowledge currently associated with the people and the legacy of the Black Diaspora. (Categories could include the humanities, science and technology, social and behavioral sciences and reference). The First Novelist Award acknowledges outstanding achievement in writing and storytelling by a first time fiction writer. The Outstanding Contribution to Publishing Citation recognizes the author and/or the publishing company (for their support and publication of) special and unique books that recognize the outstanding achievements and positive depiction of contributions of the people and legacy of the Black Diaspora. Purpose: To encourage the artistic expression of the African American experience via literature and scholarly research including biographical, historical and social history treatments by African Americans.   Criteria: 1. Must portray some aspect of the African American experience past, present or future. 2. Must be written by an African American. 3. Must be published in the United States in the year preceding presentation of the award. 4. Must be an original work. Joel W. White, Chair BCALA Literary Awards Committee Email: jwhite@durhamcountync.gov Voice: (919) 560-0114 Fax: (919) 560-0137

Home Page   |   About WECSPress   |   Poetry Chapbooks   |   FRESH GROUND   |    Publications   |   The Scent of an Ending™  Contest

THE LONG STORY CONTEST, International (formerly The Long Fiction Contest, International), now in its 18th year, has become the premier competition for writers of stories that don't fit the conventional limits imposed by the economics of small press publishing.  Named for A. E. Coppard, one of the leading British writers of the 1920's, whose first story was rejected only because it was too long--12,000 words--the contest attracts writers from all over the world. In order to acknowledge and encourage entries from outside the United States, the word International has been added to the title. All submissions must be in English and entry fee in U.S. dollars.

Contest Rules:

Previous winners include:  In the Gathering Woods by Adria Bernardi   Better Than Home by Joe Hill   Raped Diaries by Katherine Glover   Setting Up Shop by N. S. Köenings   Signal Codes by Jeb Livingood  Double Vision by Martha G. Wiseman  The Last Full Service Crocodile Ranch in Quintana Roo by Richard Hofheimer    Tracking Rachel by Roy Minich   Mad Dog by Kathy Flann   Benediction by Brent DeLanoy   The Christmas Shopper by Tom Smith    Along the Highway by Barry North Most of these can be purchased for $6.95, including postage. A few First Edition, First Printing copies of Joe Hill's Better Than Home are still available for $110., plus $7. Priority Mail. E-mail first. 1st Edition, 2nd Printing of BTH can be ordered for $15., plus shipping.

White Eagle Coffee Store Press The Long Story Contest, International A. E. Coppard Prize for Fiction

2010

Ruth Stone Poetry Prize

What is the Ruth Stone Poetry Prize?

An annual poetry contest. A chance for your poems to be read by Hunger Mountain editors and guest judges!

What will the winner receive?

One first place winner receives $1000 and publication!
Two honorable mentions receive $100 and publication.

Who can enter the contest?

Anyone! Everyone!

Who is this year’s judge?

The 2011 judge is Claudia Emerson, author of  Late Wife, winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for poetry.

When is the deadline?

The postmark deadline is December 10th.

Where is last year’s winning entry?

Here! Click to read “Between Land and Water” by Ashley Seitz Kramer, chosen last year by Matthew Dickman.

Or Right here! Click to read “Edges” by David Cooke, chosen two years ago by Major Jackson.

What are the guidelines?

• $20 entry fee. Make checks payable to “Vermont College of Fine Arts” or pay with a credit card on paypal (scroll to bottom of page for Paypal link)
• Entries must be postmarked by December 10th
• Submit up to three poems, not to exceed six pages
• Poems must be original, written in English, and previously unpublished
• Your name or address should not appear anywhere on the poems
• You may submit via our online submission manager or by snail mail
• If you mail your entry, enclose an index card with poem titles, your name, address, phone number, and email address
• If you mail your entry, enclose an SASE for notification of winners
• You may also enclose a postage-paid postcard for acknowledgement of entry (if you’d like)
• Entries must be typed, and on one side of the paper only
• If using the mail, use a paper clip or send unbound—no staples or binding, please
• Once submitted, entries cannot be altered
• All entries will be considered for general publication as well as for the RSPP
• No translations please
• Multiple entries allowed—each entry must include a separate entry fee
• No entries will be returned
• Email hungermtn@vermontcollege.edu if questions arise

To submit online go to the Hunger Mountain online submission manager. Please submit only one file, with up to three poems. The online submission manager will ask you to choose a genre for your submission. Although, the genre is indeed poetry, please instead choose Ruth Stone Poetry Prize.

To submit via the mail, send Ruth Stone Poetry entries to:
RSPP
Hunger Mountain
Vermont College of Fine Arts
36 College Street
Montpelier, VT 05602

Include a check for $20.00 payable to “Vermont College of Fine Arts” or pay using a credit card on paypal:

Please Indicate Which Prize You’re Entering

Creative Nonfiction Prize Ruth Stone Poetry Prize Howard Mosher Short Fiction Prize Katherine Paterson Prize for Children’s Writing

Geoffrey Philp

Play in either Real OR Windows Media players

The Jamaican-born poet Geoffrey Philp has long been inspired by what he calls the insights of rock steady and reggae music. And his new collection Dub Wise, like his popular blog and his other writing, is a lush and evocative celebration of the music, the politics and the history of his homeland - with a special emphasis on one man, Bob Marley.