Twenty-five Cent Stories

This week our poetry giveaway is sponsored by Claudia Diniz of San Jose, California. For a chance to win a signed copy of The Date Fruit Elegies answer the question below as a comment and you will automatically be entered for the random drawing. This contest is eligible only to legal and illegal residents of the United States and Puerto Rico. The winner will be announced on Sunday morning, January 11. Good luck!

What new year’s resolution do you expect to break first?

The winner of the first-ever Karl Schmidt Poetry Giveaway is Suzanne Frischkorn of Connecticut! Congratutions! Suzanne will receive a signed copy of The Date Fruit Elegies.

Thank you to all those who participated. I will announce the new giveaway contest on Tuesday!

Heather S. of Sunnyvale, CA asks: “In the poem ‘No Weeds, No Work,’ what is a ‘hula-hu?’ I imagine it to be that pink plastic circle you twirl around your waist.”

A: Thanks for the question Heather S. of Sunnyvale. A “hula-hu” is actually a garden tool used to quickly weed out massive beds of weeds. I don’t know if it’s actually called a “hula-hu” but that’s how we know it by. But I would imagine that “hula-hu” would be the way my dad would pronounce a “hoola-hoop” though.

Karl Schmidt of Chicago, IL, is the generous benefactor of this first ever poetry giveaway. To enter respond to the question below by leaving a comment. Those who comment will be entered in a random drawing for one signed copy of The Date Fruit Elegies. The odds of winning will depend on the number of entries. The winner will be announced Monday morning December 22.

The Karl Schmidt Poetry Giveaway question:

 Who is your favorite poet to hail from Chicago or the state of Illinois?

One of John’s goals was to produce a book that would appeal to young men and women whose experience with poetry has been limited. He works to make his poems accessible instead of lofty, using elegant but clear language to evoke dramatic imagery: a mother and her boys share a meal of two cheeseburgers, ever mindful to save a piece for a future meal; two wage-earning teen boys take a late-night odyssey in search of a dinner other than cheese and vanilla pudding; a college student spends eight hours kneeling next to his landscaper father, helping to pull weeds. Whether he is describing a tragic shooting or a cockroach, Olivares Espinoza’s powerful language captures the reader’s imagination along with the gamut of emotions.

Just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday, I am pleased to announce that The Date Fruit Elegies is now published. It inaugurates Bilingual Press’s new Latino poetry series, Canto Cosas. It is a slim volume weighing in at 78 pps and a going rate of $10.00 USD. Cover art is by Gene Flores with selections from his Loteria Series (2005-2007). Christopher Buckley wrote the introduction. I thank everyone for their support. It’s a very happy moment for me.

Click here to view the official Order Form

Francisco Aragon, editor of The Wind Shifts: New Latino Poetry and also the series editor of Bilingual Press’s new poetry series, Canto Cosas, has been taking the contributors of the anthology around the nation for the past two years. The idea behind this tour is bring poets from one region of the country to another. The tour will be coming to Moe’s Books in Berkeley on Thursday, February 26, 2009. Originally the line-up included Paul Martinez Pompa of Chicago, Adela Najarro of Santa Cruz, and Lydia Torres of I’m not sure where. Well, Lydia won’t be able to make it so I as asked by Francisco to fill in.

Here are some shots of our second resident readers.

Photo 1: Beaudeline from Haiti

Photo 2: Steve Godwin

Photo 3: Phillip Osgood

Photo 4: Carolina Maine

Today is Tuesday which means the fresh batch of VSC residents will be reading tonight. Good luck to them!

It’s been four days since I left Johnson. I do miss my routine of reading, eating, writing, sleeping, repeat. I also miss the friends I made. What I don’t miss is the cold. And though I was mesmerized by the snow, it appears I dodged the snowfall.

On Monday, November 16, Kevin Young did his reading for Vermont Studio Center. He read from Dear Darkness and For the Confederate Dead, plus new poems. What can I say? He fulfilled my expectations. He’s a good poet. A good reader. A good teacher. Just plain good guy.