Canon & Chorus: Black Poets in Prose Forthcoming from Willow Books in 2012—Canon & Chorus: Black Poets in Prose is a collection of essays by emerging and established poets, from the African Diaspora, focusing on what poets write, that which gives them the impetus to write and the larger job of being a poet. Essays might consider themes such as the poet’s purpose in the world philosophically; his/her approach to language and how this approach
fits into the larger poetic landscape. An essay may explore the spiritual aspects of form, or consider written or unwritten “texts” that provide a metaphor for poets of all walks of life. We are not looking for literary criticism, research papers or dissertations. Limit essays to 5000 words. Work not previously published encouraged. Format essay and bio in Times New Roman, 12 point in Word (single-spacing after punctuation and .3” tabs/indents) and send as an attachment to: Niki Herd at <canonandchorus (at)aol.com> (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail). Deadline: August 15, 2011 About the Editor: Niki Herd grew up in Cleveland and earned degrees in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona and Antioch in Los Angeles. Nominated twice for a Pushcart Prize, she is the recipient of fellowships from Cave Canem and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Her work has been supported by the Astraea Foundation and the Arizona Commission on the Arts, and has appeared in several journals and anthologies. Her debut collection of poems, The Language of Shedding Skin, received honorable mention for the Benjamin Saltman Award chosen by Nick Flynn. In that same year, it was also a finalist for the Main Street Rag Poetry Award and was published by the press.