To all the poets out there: Montreal International Poetry Prize 2013

The Montreal International Poetry Prize is happy to announce the launch of its 2013 competition. The prize amount is $20,000. The line limit is a maximum of 40. Early deadline is March 31, and late deadline is May 15, 2013. You may consider entering a poem or two in this year’s competition, or passing on […]

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Poets Demand End of Genocide Against the Hazara people

An open letter from World-wide Poets addressed to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso, and President of the United States, Barack Obama. Dear Sirs, After more than a century of systematic crimes such as genocide, slavery, sexual abuse, war crimes, and discrimination, being a Hazara still appears to […]

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Why Charles Simic is so so good… but then the dog.

So I’m walking to school–usually takes me 15 minutes–but this time at a brisk pace because it’s close to my teaching hour when this dog walks up to me just around the Birmingham Museum of Art. I look around for the owner, the dog looks around too, then inches closer to me. I swear it […]

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All our love: Jayne Cortez

Jayne Cortez is much celebrated in life as she is dearly remembered. Was does not sound right. When I learned of her passing on yesterday, I alerted Frank Chipasula, because in our communication sometime we had talked about her. Frank is devastated, but like a true poet has chosen to mourn her with words of […]

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The Hobbit Read-a-Thon at Woodlawn.

Today I put on my community gloves and went for the Hobbit Read-a-Thon, a day-long, out-loud, nonstop reading of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic, in Woodlawn, at the DISCO–The Desert Island Supply Co headquarters. I loved The Hobbit, which I read at a young stage, and was cast in a world of fantasy that I still appreciate […]

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Cross-posting: Ugandan women’s rewarding pens

One of the rewards of being a night owl is getting to read the papers before the crack of dawn, and discovering familiar names in print. This journey we’re on, what a burden and joy at the same time! Often I wonder what goes on with other professionals. Do surgeons, for instance, ever get a […]

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Remembrance Day= Devotions

Because it is Remembrance Day, also known as Veterans Day, Poppy Day or Armistice Day, I’m not going to school but will take a moment of silence to remember all those who have died in the line of duty. I run to my hero, Thomas Sankara, perhaps the only military fellow I recognize as being […]

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Poems of Luke: The Sun Whispers, Wait

When I opened The Sun Whispers, Wait, a collection of poems from Luke, aka Joseph A Brown, I was glad that I read the introduction and discovered that October 18th is a significant day: Luke, the Evangelist, is honored within the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar, and it also happens to be the birthday of Luke’s […]

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Messages Left Behind, a collection of poems

A good poem is as large as a novel. Consider this poem from Messages Left Behind, by Lupenga Mphande, published in 2011 by Brown Turtle Press. How Long She Waited For You Every night She came out And sat on the veranda, facing south Longing for your return.   You went away many years ago, […]

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Call for Poetry–African poets

Good news for African poets: The submission period for the Book Prize kicked off September 15 and will run until November 15, 2012. It costs nothing to enter! To read how to submit to the prize, click here (http://africanpoetrybf.unl.edu/?page_id=21) or follow the guidelines below: * Eligibility: The Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets will only accept “first […]

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