Seasons Greetings... Winter-Lit 2009 VOLUME 24, NO02. 2009
Executive Board of Directors and Coordinators
welcome ISSN 1203-6595 Poemata (Print)
ISSN 1920-8847 Poemata (Online) Poemata is published by the Canadian Poetry Association. Canadian Poetry Association 331 Elmwood Dr. Suite 4-212 Moncton, N.B. Canada E1A 1X6 Cell: (506) 308-1222 Email submissions to: poemata@live.com Poemata is published by the Canadian Poetry Association. Copyright © remain with the authors Magazine Staff
Managing Editor: Donna Allard Assistant Editor: Nat Hall Assistant Editor: Pierre Beaumier Proofer: Ben Nuttall-Smith Winter-Lit Cover Credit: Barbara E. Mercer
President Donna Allard NB Vice President Liz Rolls-Holmes MB Secretary Open Treasurer Brian Steve ns NB National Coordinator Pierre Beaumier ON Media Coordinator Ronda Eller ON CPA Life Member Award Committee: Nominations welcomed for 2010 CPA Poetry Competition: Coordinator Brian Stevens Internet Committee: Webmaster River Bones Press Official Site Paypal Manager Brian Stevens Media Coordinator Ronda Wicks CPA Official Bookstore: Manager Brian Stevens Continuity Coordinator: Brian Stevens CPA Community Blog Ne tworks: Creator CPA President Media Coordinator & selected members CPA Lit-Serv: Creator CPA President
Design and Layout: River Bones Press Subscription free to CPA Members. Ad rates 1/8 page $40, ¼ page $90, ½ page $175, Full page $250. 10% off for CPA members. All prices GST extra. Ad & Chapter Report deadlines: Jan. 07, March. 07, May. 07, July. 07, Sept. 07, Nov. 07. The Canadian Poetry Association founded January 16th, 1985) a registered nonprofit organization Ontario Corporation number 1083632.
NEW MEMBERS David C. Brydges, Keith Da niels Kaitlin Dubblestyne, Stephanie Hodgins Calvin Johansson, Carol Katz Yvonne Tr ainer, Brock Sullivan Wilfr ied Wlochal Photo Credit: Nat Hall
‘Sampler’ ePOEMATA
Contents
Prose: A Sense of Belonging By Peggy Fletcher 09 Two Homelands Translated By Cuban poet Manuel de Jesus & John B. Lee 04 CPA: New Official Website & URL POEMATA Poem of the Year Presidents /Editor’s Letter Assistant Editor’s Note Featured Authors Acorn-Plantos Award CPA Contest Flash Fiction Books New Members Contact/Copyright Membership Form Nomination Form News, Poems and much more… Download Your Copy Today! Full (PDF) Version ePOEMATA You’re secure with PayPal. Donations Accepted on Website! Go to http://poemata.ning.com or http://cpa.yolasite.com
A LAUNCHING WE WILL GO!!!
Editor
2009 has been a rewarding year and now we look forward to the exciting things that are to come. This issue of POEMATA is now ePOEMATA and to be launched this December 2009. It comes with a ‘sam pler’ POEMATA that will be available online at our Official CPA Website and at ISSUU.COM http://www.issuu.com and a paper copy sent to the National Library & Archives in Ottawa. This sampler is to inform members of the following full version ePOEMATA which will be available online in Adobe PDF format. There will be a $5.00 fee through PayPal. This means we will not increase the membership fee for 2010.
The CPA also launched a new Official CPA Website at Yolasite.com, it is a free service, combination of website and blog. The URL is http://cpa.yolasite.com or http://canadian-poetry-association.com. [The old URL http://www.canadianpoetryassoc.com will be in service for 1 year then it will be deleted. The previous website has a link to the new site.] We launched a new CPA Lit-Serv with Twitter http://www.twitter.com/cpalit. This site is interlinked with all the CPA Facebook Provincial Pages/Chapters. In other words all Facebook Provincial Page/Chapter announcements will filter into one site on Twitter. You do not have to join Facebook to get news and up coming event s, just join Twitter!
POEMATA-PARTICIPOET also has its own Blog. It has proven to be a success! Join today and get networking. Members and non- members are encouraged to join, start workshops, your own blog and more. As President, I am hoping to start a Canadian Poetry Association Book Award for 2010 but will need volunteers from across the country. Judges will be CPA members in good standing, publishers and Life Award Members. More on this in the next issue. This can be an exciting year it is all up to you! Please don’t forget our Annual Poetry Contest. Deadline Dec 30t h 2009. Poet & publisher Joe Blades will be this year’s judge for this upcoming contest and the CPA is grateful for Joe’s involvement. Thank you Joe!
2010 is also the Canadian Poetry Association’s 25th Anniversary! We are looking for your best verse for our issues. Local chapters and friends of poetry can celebrate with us all year long. We are a big country and it is nearly impossible to meet in just one location. So what we are asking is for each and everyone to celebrate Canadian Poetry all year long! Attend poetry readings, book launches, writers’ workshops, internet social networks, form a local poetry group or join an existing one. Buy books for yourself and for friends. Donate books to local libraries, schools, prisons, women’s shelters, hospitals as notable key places. Do what ever you can big or small and write in and tell us – take photos/videos too—we will be announcing special events throughout the year so bookmark our CPA Official Website and join twitter! It is also the 25t h Anniversary of Canada’s Peoples Poet Milton Acorn. What a year! I wish to thank our CPA Executive, POEMATA staff, mem bers, contributors, volunteers, Lini R. Grol, Bernice Lever, Joe Blades, James Deahl, Marion Beck, River Bones Press, social networking administrators and moderators for making 2009 such a success! I wish to congratulate Broken Jaw Press for their 25 years of publishing! Way to go Joe! Best, Donna Allard CPA President POEMATA Editor
Season’s Greetings
“We Want 2 Voice U” As seen by the Assistant Editor
Assistant Editor
Let me look back through the mirror. November 2009. In an effort to open up Poemata to a wider readership, I threw a question in the air: What if… We opened submissions to a wider pool of poets via the Facebook and Ning social networks and ask for their “best poetry”? Donna has already endeavoured to maintain and create platforms in the name of the spoken word and Poemata is a fantastic vehicle, either in e- and/or print version. The Editor’s response was imminent. Not only did she embrace the idea but let it take off on both networks. It all went like powder. By asking you all to send your best verse at such short notice, I must admit I was impressed with your response. Submission reading proved to be both intensive and challenging. The result of such exercise demonstrates a rich palette of voices which I hope you will enjoy as much as we do. Poet-mentor-Editor John Hudson [Markings, Scotland] reminded me how grumpy & dictatorial an editorial crew can be… And even dared and went further with a submission call for flash fiction. Call it self-indulgence, I let lose my inner spirit. Though very soon realised this could be done again in the future instead of “now”, since the magazine focuses on poetry. Poemata aims to please its readership by elevating poetry to a new height – hence by fostering quality. Poemata owes it to both its readers and contributors. Photo Credit: Jen Hadfield
Nat Hall
Poemata Poem of the Year Winner
“ For Blanche “ By Michael Fraser
News
Go to Official Website and download your copy today! PayPal available.
Congratulations from the Canadian Poetry Association! Brian D. Stevens CPA Poetry Contest Coordinator
The Canadian Poetry Association Portal New Website Url: http://canadian-poetry-association.com or www.canadianpoetryassoc.com
Direct Link To Social Networks: CPA Facebook Group/Provincial Pages POEMATA Blog Ning CPA Lit-Serv: http://www.twitter.com/cpalit Bookmark us today!
t s e t n o C Who says poetry doesn’t matter?
Enter Now! 1st Prize $1500, 2nd Prize $1000, 3rd Prize $750 All award winning poems will be published in POEMATA and posted on the CPA website, including Honorable th Mentions. Theme: Peoples’ Poetry. Deadline Dec 30 2009. Poet & Publisher Joe Blades will be this year’s judge for this upcoming contest.
Entry fee: $25 for up to 5 unpublished poems (maximum 100 lines each), plus $5 per extra poem. See website for complete entry rules. Send your entries to: Canadian Poetry Association POEMATA Poetry Contest 331 Elmwood Dr. Suite 4-212 Moncton, NB, Canada E1A1X6
Membership
Your 2010 Membership Benefits:
Advanced ordering privileges, invitations to special events, online social networks, bookstore and much more! [ ] Regular….$30 [ ] Fixed Income/Students….$25 [ email for details ] Donations to ‘CPA Friends of Poetry’ Name:________________________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________ City:___________________________________________________ Postal Code:____________________________________________ Phone:_________________________________________________ Email:_________________________________________________ Payment: [ ] Cheque [ ] Money Order [ ] PayPal (http://canadian-poetry-association.com or http://www.canadianpoetryassoc.com)
All Cheques or Money Orders payable to:
Canadian Poetry Association 331 Elmwood Dr. Suite 4-212 Moncton, NB, Canada E1A -1X6
Goran Simic Born in Bosnia, ca me to Toronto in 1996 running from the war. Published about 15 books, translated in more than 10 languages, poetry included in some world Anthologies. Books: "Immigrant Blues" (Brick)-poetry "From Sarajevo with Sorrow" (Biblioasis)-poetry "Sprinting from the Graveyard" (Oxford U.Press)-poetry "Yestreday's People" (Biblioasis)-stories Sunrise in the Eyes of the Snowman Kiss me. Breathe into my mouth the way lovers do. Taste my neck with passion before I melt to my waist. Kiss me after there are only shi ny flakes left on your plate. When horoscopes start resembli ng weather reports, when the radio announces short sle eves on spring uniforms and stars became scary, let me love myself hugging ice cubes in the bottom of your glass. My every morning give birth to the night, the time when your guests come dressed in black. I repeat your words engraved on my wedding ring that flowers are replaceable and only flower pots remain. But will you love me, watching a swollen carrot and two charcoal eyes laving on the pavement in the cold puddle? Goran Simic
Contributors: Donna Allard, Pierre Beaumier, Marion Beck, Joe Blades, Patrick Connors, Lola Corkum, James Deahl, Kaitlin Dubblest yne, Peggy Fletcher, Michael Frase r, Nat Hall, Debbie Okun Hill, Stephanie Hodgins, Manuel de Jesus, Melissa Kratky, John B. Lee, Bernice Leve r, Khaled K. E. Mahmoud, Lori A. May, Michael McKinnon, Melisha McLellan, Barbara Mercer, Barbara Phillips, Featured Poets, Robert Priest, Jeanne Ripley, Carolyn Sandler, Goran Simic, K.V. Skene, Ben Nuttall-Smith & Chris Stafford
Featured
Kaitlin Dubblestyne From Hamilton, Ontario. She attended Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario and attained a Bachelor of Arts Honors Degree in English and Film Studies. She was influenced by various Canadian poets, such as Irving Layton, Louis Dudek and Archibald Lampman. In the fall of 2009, she will be attending Humber College in Toronto, specializing in the area of television writing and production.
Stephanie J. P. Hodgins Born and raised in Toronto West End (Bloor West Village). She graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in English Literature. She plans to have her first collection of poetry, Cafe Erebus, published this year. Her poems, Old Souls and His Addiction: A Rational were ranked second and fourth in the Honorable Mention category of the 2008 CPA Annual Poetry Contest and are also from Cafe Erebus.
CPA Online Bookstore PayPal Cover Art: Barbara E. Mercer The feature cover artist is Barbara E. Mercer her entry is entitled 'MY WINTER GARDEN' with her dog Charlie at their home in Caledon Ontario, a log house built by Irish settlers, in the middle of 50 acres. Painted with acrylic and is 30" X 40" in size. This painting has been exhibited in my solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of Peel.
“On behalf of the CPA Board of Directors, Poets and Volunteers, thank you for 24 “Poetic” years of reading and friendship!” Brian D. Stevens Treasurer and Contest Coordinator
331 Elmwood Drive Suite 4-212 Moncton, NB, Canada E1A1X6 Cell: 506-380-1222
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