|
|
 |
|
Announcing: The Fall/Winter 2011-12 Issue of The Smoking Poet
|
| Pottery by Keweenaw artist, Ed Gray (Jikiwe) |
"Words that turn the page to flame."
Something about a New Year … a clean slate. Whatever didn’t meet our hopes and standards
in the previous year can be left behind, marked “lesson learned,” and we can move ahead with reinvigorated creativity.
Think of it as a rewrite—writers get that. Almost nothing comes off the pen, or the keyboard, without room for improvement,
and it’s the rewrite that brings polish to the pearl.
2011 was an exceptional year for The Smoking Poet. The highlight of the year was our 5th year anniversary in April, a reading of 14 authors participating and
an audience that left just barely room for standing. So what can we do in 2012 to beat that? Well, in our sixth year, we hope
to expand our collaboration with Kalamazoo, Michigan’s NPR affiliate station, WMUK, bringing more author interviews to our readers—and our listeners. Not to worry if you don’t live within the
102.1 FM frequency. You can listen online at WMUK’s site or right here on our pages.
Now entering our sixth year, we bring you an artist, Ed Gray (Jikiwe by his Ojibwa name), and a group of writers and poets from the far north—the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Writer t. kilgore splake refers to their long winters on Lake Superior as “the long white.” That’s a time when bears go into hibernation,
but artists surface, using that time of winter silence and solitude to immerse themselves in their art and emerge in the spring
with new visions of creativity. We bring only a few of the Keweenaw and U.P. talents to you in this issue—there will
be more to come in our spring issue.
And we have travel essays, memoirs, poetry, fiction to inspire you and keep you reading through your own long white. A Good Cause invites you to consider Miss Representation, how contemporary media portrays women with a stunning video and a challenge.
A warm welcome to Kim Grabowski, our newest intern from Kalamazoo College. She will play a big role in moving our winter into spring.
Got some holiday bucks to burn? Visit our Gift Shop, proceeds to writers and the maintenance of our online literary magazine.
Don’t miss our book reviews! We add to these pages throughout the season, so keep coming back—there is always something new here for you to enjoy!
TSP Founder and Editor-in-Chief
|
| Milkweed, oil painting by Brent Spink |
THE SMOKING POET - Summer 2011
Issue
www.thesmokingpoet.com
"Words that turn the page to flame."
And the years zip and zoom by, melting in the swelter of
summer before the next season arrives. Just this past April 28, we—the fans, the readers, the writers, the staff of
The Smoking Poet—gathered in our home town of Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA, to celebrate our fifth year of publication.
We gathered at The Wine Loft, and the place was packed, every seat taken, and listeners lining the walls. A dozen writers
read their work, and many more approached the open mic later in the evening. What a glorious evening it was!
Now what? Onward and upward! Another issue presented to
you here, brilliant with the art work of Brent Spink, rich with the fiction, nonfiction and poetry of our fine writers. Feature writers include Sherry Ackerman, talking to TSP about The Good Life: How to Create a Sustainable and Fulfilling Lifestyle,
and Daiva Markelis, sharing thoughts on her memoir of growing up Lithuanian in the United States, in White
Field, Black Sheep.
Yet nothing stays the same, no, not even TSP. As we enter
our sixth year, we take a moment to reflect on our past many pages. Our literary field of plenty will surely only grow more
lush. We so enjoy the work so many of you send us, from all corners of the world, and we will keep printing here the very
best. We plan to expand also on book reviews, music reviews, and social commentary such as A Good Cause. We will be making more room for what we do best—providing a stage for fine literature—and closing down the Cigar
Lounge after this issue. Our nod of gratitude to Mick Parsons, Cigar Lounge editor, for overseeing many smoky issues
of TSP.
Selfishly, we are also combining the coming fall issue
with winter. As much as I, TSP’s editor-in-chief, love this magazine, it has required a great many hours to maintain
and publish as a quarterly. In result, my own creative writing has had to smolder on the back burner. We will temporarily
go to biannual publication with the next issue—but expand the pages of these issues. Look for more: more fiction, more
nonfiction, more poetry, more art.
Keep up with our news on Facebook and on Twitter. We will keep you updated on deadlines, new themes, the occasional contest, and more fresh ideas for more years of a smokin’
literary magazine. We are here because you are.
With a good word,
Zinta Aistars
TSP Founder and Editor-in-Chief
Contributors
Sherry Ackerman
Marion Boyer
Tobi Cogswell
Elisha Webster Emerson
Hedy Habra
Amie Heasley
William Henderson
Casey Holman
Maureen Kingston
Georgia Knapp
Cara Lorello
Ricki Mandeville
Daiva Markelis
Amy Newday
Ronald Nitke
Luca Penne
Ralph Pennel
Scot Siegel
Alan Stedall
Rick Steigelman
Bronwyn Trathen
Evan White
Laura Elizabeth Woollett
Editors: Andris Silis and Joannie Kervran Stangeland
 By Mark Wedel | Special to the Kalamazoo Gazette The Kalamazoo Gazette
KALAMAZOO — Five years ago, Zinta Aistars dreamed of opening a poetry/cigar lounge.
The Kalamazoo writer was in Austin, Texas, on a business trip and visited a cigar lounge. There,
she saw how clientele “just dropped the stress of the world at the door,” Aistars said.
The owner had Aistars try some of the more expensive brands of cigars.
“It wasn’t the first time I’d lit up a stogie,” she admitted.
“He almost had me convinced that I needed to go back to Kalamazoo and open up a cigar lounge,”
she said. “It would have this ambiance, a dusky atmosphere, and there’d be jazz in the corner and a poet might
get up to read poetry from time to time. And people would just drop the stress at the door.”
Back home, “my senses had returned, and I realized I didn’t have the capital for an
undertaking like that,” she said.
Websites are not as expensive to launch, though.
Aistars created The Smoking Poet (thesmokingpoet.com), a quarterly online magazine of poetry, prose, music reviews and cigar reviews. In its virtual pages, it has featured nationally
known Pushcart Prize winners such as Dorianne Laux and contributors from around the world. It also makes room for those whom Aistars calls Kalamazoo’s “poetry rock
stars,” and local prose writers including Conrad Hilberry, Diane Seuss, Gail Griffin, Bonnie Jo Campbell, David Small and Stuart Dybek.
The Kalamazoo Friends of Poetry is throwing a five-year anniversary party for The Smoking Poet April 28 at The Wine Loft.
If You Go“Putting on the Dog: The Smoking Poet Celebrates
5” Poetry celebration with readings by writers including Rick Chambers, Michael Loyd Gray, Gail Griffin, Hedy Habra,
Kathy Jennings, Elizabeth Kerlikowske, Colleen Kolhoff Little, Kate Lutes, Lori A. May, Amy Newday, Cheryl Peck and Diane
Seuss. When: 7 p.m. April 28 Where: The Wine Loft, 161 E. Michigan Ave. Cost: Free
Contact: 269-672-2622, thesmokingpoet.com
The event will include readings from Michigan writers, a bit of live music and an open mic
for other readers.
The event is what Aistars had in mind for her dream lounge — almost. There will be no smoking.
“But (cigar bar) Winston’s is right across the street,” she pointed out.
When she started it in 2006, Aistars hoped the Web magazine would grow and graduate into a print
edition. Digital publishing has grown to overshadow print, however.
“Over the past five years, we’ve watched bookstores close their doors, and they say
there are more digital books being sold than hard-print,” Aistars said. “Frankly, that gave me a phase of identity
crisis as a writer.”
Aistars figured she should adapt to progress, like it or not. And there is a plus side.
“If you have an online magazine, you certainly have a lot more reach,” she said. “If
I’d gone to print, I’d still be struggling to find an audience in Kalamazoo.”
 Courtesy photoOnline: Zinta Aistars took her dream of
a smoking/poetry lounge to the Web.Aistars said the website gets hits from around the world. Its first issues published writers from
Singapore, New Zealand, Australia and other countries, “which was thrilling.”
She was international, “and I shrank back to Kalamazoo; I came back home” with a “Kalamazoo
and Beyond” section.
“We have an incredible number of talented literary stars right in our neighborhood,”
Aistars said.
The Smoking Poet features Kalamazoo and other American writers, and still includes some writers
of the world. Aistars, who is of Latvian descent, publishes and translates pieces by her music editor, Andris Silis, who lives
in Latvia.
But it’s the page of cigar reviews and commentary that makes the online magazine even more
unique, Aistars believes, even though she worried it might seem like “a gimmick.”
“Every once in a while, I’ll still light up a stogie,” she said. “I do
like that meditative mood that it brings about. That’s when the creative thoughts come to mind.”
Note: Late addition to author list: poet Elaine Seaman
(Click to view original page on MLive Kalamazoo Gazette)
|
| Sheryl Ritchie at Sawall's (Photo by Erik Holladay) |
In Southwest
Michigan’s Second Wave:
Sawall Health Foods leads the way organically
Zinta Aistars Thursday, March 17, 2011
A passion for helping people live well by eating better
has served Sawall Health Foods well through the years. Zinta Aistars talks to Linda Sawall about helping customers find what
they need.
There
are trend setters and then there are those who are way ahead of the curve.
Sawall Health Foods is definitely one of the latter. This year it's celebrating its 75th year in business, and the natural foods store has never
been more on top of its game.
It all started with a bit of mineral powder and a passion for good health. Frank Sawall
opened the first Sawall natural foods store in 1936, but he had been selling mineral supplements in powder form before then,
going door to door.
Sawall had developed an interest in good health that had only intensified as he attended health
symposiums offered by the Kellogg Company of Battle Creek. He had noticed that vitamins and minerals could be difficult to
absorb for some, and he created …
Read
the full article.
Announcing: The Smoking Poet Spring 2011 Issue
“A fine cigar and good literature―two of life’s most
enduring pleasures.”
|
| Integration by Holly Friesen
|
When those little green knuckles start pushing through the rich soil,
gradually unfolding, stretching, growing into the lush greenery of spring—one can’t help but think about beginnings.
This spring, I think about the beginnings of The Smoking Poet, five years past.
Back then, I had little concept of where I was going with this. I just
knew I wanted to work with good writing and sharp writers. I wanted to do it in a classy and meditative atmosphere, something
like a cigar lounge, where one entered a dusky place to relax, enjoy an hour or so of indulgent pleasure. I could see fine
art on the walls. I could hear a jazz quartet playing in the corner. I could imagine the poet leaning against the polished
wood of the bar and reading a poem.
Five years later, I can look back on how far we’ve come, and
I feel proud. Proud for all of us. We are—editors, writers, readers who want to share our hearts’ passion with
others. We are enthralled with the power of language. We are mesmerized by the beauty of art, whether our tool of the trade
is a pen, a pencil, a keyboard, a paintbrush, a camera, or a musical instrument.
On April 28, in the comfortable and dusky ambiance of The Wine Loft in Kalamazoo, Michigan, a group of us are coming together to celebrate five years of The Smoking Poet. Putting on the Dog: TSP Celebrates 5 will be an evening of 15 authors who have appeared in our pages reading their work. Jazz will be playing in the corner. Poets
will be leaning against the polished wood of the bar, poems in hand. Dean Hauck of Michigan News Agency will be selling books. And the community will gather around us to listen and join in our celebration. If you are in Kalamazoo
on that evening, please join us.
The event is being sponsored by the Friends of Poetry, Inc., with the devotion of two women in particular that are exquisite poets … but by now, also my exquisite friends. I
have been honored by their help in organizing this event and am ever grateful. Amy Newday and Lynn Pattison, you have honored
me and all the good writers who have graced these pages. To Erica Vitkin of The Wine Loft—this toast is to you.
Drum roll: We are also announcing our fifth contest, our first to combine both prose and poetry. Please read the submission guidelines and send us your work—we would love
to read your very, very best.
Please celebrate with us. Reader or writer, or both, you have played
an immense role in creating the pages you see before you today. We offer you emotional and intellectual nourishment. We hope
that it moves you to consider a gift to The Smoking Poet. Our hope is to publish an anthology before the end of 2011 to put between covers and on paper the best of our best. We will
need your help in doing this.
|
| Daphney at Studio Grill, photo by Erik Holladay |
In Southwest Michigan's Second Wave:
Serving up burgers with inspiration on the side
Zinta Aistars Thursday, March 03, 2011
Craig and Daphney Dotson,
owners of the popular new diner Studio Grill, encourage their customers to get creative -- in their food orders and in their
artistry. Writer Zinta Aistars talks to the Dotsons about how a restaurant becomes a "vessel of inspiration."
When
the order comes in, Craig Dotson can often tell which customer has just entered his restaurant, Studio Grill at 312 West Michigan Avenue. Quickly, he serves it -- "Order up!" -- and Daphney Dotson, wife and co-owner,
swirls into the kitchen and brings the meal out with a smile that spreads sunshine throughout the busy diner.
There's
Mike's Omelet, there's the Moby Omelet, and then there's a burger so tasty the customer named Rusty said it hit his hunger
nail on the head. Ever after, that burger became known as …
Read
the article, Serving up burgers with inspiration on the side.
|
| Habib Mandwee at Zooroona (Photo by Erik Holladay) |
by Zinta Aistars Thursday, February 03, 2011
With three businesses and more on the way, the Mandwee brothers are sharing their culture with Kalamazoo.
Writer Zinta Aistars talks with Habib Mandwee about making a home in the United States and sharing some of home with others.
|
| Michigan News Agency (Photo by Erik Holladay) |
by Zinta Aistars Thursday, January 13, 2011
Michigan News Agency continues to evolve to meet the reading needs of book, magazine and newspaper
lovers. Zinta Aistars talks to owner Dean Hauck about the work and love that goes into growing a business that supports the
community and is in turn supported by the community.
|
| Liz Comrie, Water Street Coffee Joint (Photo by Erik Holladay) |
by Zinta Aistars Thursday, December 02, 2010
Every town needs a coffee shop to call their own and many Kalamazooans claim Water Street Coffee
shop. Writer Zinta Aistars finds out about the roast that makes the sun rise at the city's most popular coffee joint.
|
|
|
Press 53 Announces
Poetry, flash fiction, short-short story, short story, creative nonfiction, novella--these are the prize winners
of 2010, each in their own category and compiled here by Kevin Morgan Watson in one lush volume.
The volume begins with winning poetry - entries judged and winner chosen by Zinta Aistars, who says of the winning poems: “A
female voice, Terresa Haskew is strong and sure in her word choices, expressing image and mood with impressive clarity.
She is accessible to any reader of poetry, and I respect that, yet captures that common experience in a way that makes me
hold my breath until I reach the end of the poem.”
|
| Photo by Erik Halladay |
Southwest Michigan's Second Wave Media
Zinta Aistars Thursday, November 04, 2010
Almost everyone knows buying local fruit and vegetables means you eat better. But it's just as tasty for the local economy.
And it's easy to do in Michigan, the state second only to California in agricultural diversity. Writer Zinta Aistars
talks to those in the know on the local food scene about all the benefits. read on…
|
| At Cape Kolka in Latvia (Photo courtesy of Andris Silis) |
Journey to Latvia—the ongoing story
with photos of my return to Latvia, Sept. 23 to Oct. 7, 2010
“What
have I done? Doors were meant to close, I meant to close them, if gently. Instead, I have opened them wide again, doors flying
open on hinges, windows open and curtains billowing in the wind….”
Read the blog.
View the photos.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zinta Aistars Thursday, September 16, 2010
The difference between a good cup of tea and a bad one is all in the timing. Writer Zinta Aistars reveals the passion,
the process and the product behind tea shop Chocolatea's success story in Portage. read on…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Live now at http://www.thesmokingpoet.com/
“A fine cigar and good literature―two of life’s most enduring
pleasures.”
 |
| Artwork by Ladislav Hanka | I
know, I know, I say this every issue: it’s our best issue yet. Thing is, it’s always true. However good you get
at what you are doing, what really matters is not to sit in that limelight or on those laurels, but to keep moving forward—keep
doing better what you’ve done before. The Smoking Poet is now well into our fifth year of bringing you fine literature in a smoky ambiance. In April 2011, we will be throwing a grand celebration at The Wine Loft in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with five candles—or cigars—burning on our anniversary cake. If your work has been published or reviewed
in TSP, you are eligible to participate in our author’s reading. If you’re a fan, we’d love to have you
there to help us cheer in the next five! So come on in. Enter into our pages and be spellbound. On most every page,
you will find the stunning artwork of Ladislav Hanka. Learn more about this artist and sense the mystery in his story and in his art. Look closely, listen … you can very nearly hear the heart beat in
his art. Conrad Hilberry is our gentle spirit, our feature poet, but there is fire hidden in those Hilberry lines—and whipped cream. Enjoy our
interview with Con, and then dip into his poetry. Gail Griffin’s new book, The Events of October, the true story of a murder-suicide on the beautiful campus of Kalamazoo College, is difficult, moving, alarming, and inspires
to thought. It’s not always easy to confront the shadow in ourselves or in others, but it’s potential to explode
is always present. It is not the stranger we must fear. It is, far too often, the person standing closest beside us. It’s
not just the person next to us, however. It is the world we create around us, and what we do with the world we live in. Olga Bonfiglio speaks to current environmental issues, but touches also on matters of the writer’s heart. Our editor Andris
Silis usually writes about music for TSP; this time, he has picked up a camera. Visit Andris' Blue Note for a photo essay of his native Latvia. Poetry, fiction, nonfiction are filled with wonderful works. Kalamazoo & Beyond brings local talent from southwest Michigan. You won’t be able to take it all in with one sitting. Keep coming back,
and we promise you will find new treasure with each visit. Our book reviews are updated with new reviews throughout the season, and the Cigar Lounge may just be the best we’ve ever had … ah yes, I said that already. See if I’m not right. With
a good word, Zinta AistarsTSP Editor-in-Chief
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE
SMOKING POET SUMMER 2010
“A fine cigar and good literature―two
of life’s most enduring pleasures.”
So much cause
for celebration! The Summer 2010 issue of The Smoking Poet, marking the beginning of our
fifth year of publication, is brimming with newness. Brimming with creativity. Brimming with talent, passion for
new ideas, and encouragement for forward movement. Wherever you dip in first, you will find something you’ve never found
in TSP before—and we are pretty sure you will be as moved, as surprised, as impressed, as inspired as we have
been.
Enjoy the most
spectacular issue of The Smoking Poet yet ... Summer 2010.
Feature author/illustrator:
David Small
Feature artist:
Sniedze Rungis
Feature poet:
Derick Burleson
Feature nonfiction
author: Kip Kreiling
New: Andris'
Blue Note, music page edited by Andris Silis
New: Kalamazoo
& Beyond, featuring Kalamazoo area talent
New: Mick Parsons,
cigar editor, has entered the Cigar Lounge
and The Winners'
Circle with 1st, 2nd, 3rd Prize Winners of TSP's Third Annual Short Story Contest
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
by Zinta Aistars on Southwest Michigan's Second Wave (story and video)
Dog mushing: It's not just a winter pastime
Thursday, May 20, 2010 "Hike!" With a sharp command, Mary Vowell streaks by with
dogs panting. At a bend in the trail she and the dogs are gone deep into woods. Depending upon the season, a spray of snow
or pebbles, kicks up behind them. By day, Vowell tweaks web pages, designs newsletters, takes orders by phone, and
consults with gardeners as she maintains a network of mail-order customer service at Oikos Tree Crops, just outside of Kalamazoo. Oikos
is the Greek word for "home." Ken Asmus founded the arboretum bearing that name in 1985 to preserve wild selections of plants
from all over the world. Vowell's boss develops and grows strains of plants, edible food crops and trees that enhance wildlife
habitat and are resilient to environmental changes. "It is rather like home to me," Vowell says of her day job. "I
enjoy the type of people drawn to natural and organic ways of life. I enjoy anything that gives me the chance to bond with
nature." Vowell is nowhere more at home, however, than when she is behind her dogs on a sled or a wheeled rig. By night
and by weekend, at every spare moment, she leaves the office to transform into a dog musher. Mary caught mush fever
in .... READ THE FULL ARTICLE and view the video and photos by Erik Holladay.VIDEO: Gone to the DogsBY: Jordan Hochstetler of Joho Productions Photo: Mary Vowell mushing with her girls: Willow, Nabu,
Hannah, Moose Tracks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
by Zinta Aistars for Southwest Michigan's Second WaveThursday, May 06, 2010
Kalamazoo is proud of the high level of its cultural offerings. One of those is the Irving S. Gilmore International Keyboard Festival. Writer Zinta Aistars talks to members of the Kalamazoo community to hear their thoughts about how The Gilmore influences
Kalamazoo. There's a certain steady beat to the thunk of the baseball when it hits the
leather baseball glove on Thomas Evans' hand. Almost like a metronome. Inside that baseball glove is the hand of a
musician, a conductor of orchestras. But on this day, it is the hand of a father playing catch with his son in the backyard.
Thunk, pause, toss, thunk, pause, toss, thunk. While Evans was tossing the ball to his son, in nearby Chenery Auditorium,
members of the world renowned Beaux Arts Trio were tuning their instruments. Evans says he'll never forget the impact of playing
ball with Matt, only minutes and just a few miles from a world-class concert. "I tossed the ball one more time to
Matt," Evans says, "got into my car, drove a few blocks to Chenery, parked my car for free, and sat down to listen to one
of the most incredible ... Visit SECOND WAVE for full article and photos.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Describe what you publish in 25 characters or less.
Smokin' words
—Zinta Aistars, editor-in-chief on 05 May 2010
What other current publications (or publishers) do you admire most?
Our keenest competitors, although there really aren't any ... what we do is unique. That
said, Drunken Boat, AGNI, Poets & Writers, Copper Canyon Press, Press 53, Her Circle Ezine, Poets Against War, Literary
Traveler. More.
—Zinta Aistars, editor-in-chief on 05 May 2010
If you publish fiction, who are your favorite fiction writers? If you publish poetry,
who are your favorite poets?
Usually the ones we feature in that particular issue, because that means we've just spent
a couple months immersed in their work. For the current issue (Spring 2010), that means Marge Piercy - her fiction, nonfiction,
poetry. Just previous, we interviewed Bonnie Jo Campbell, whose "American Salvage," story collection published by Wayne State
University Press, was a finalist for the National Book Award. Upcoming issue (Summer 2010) will be David Small and his graphic
memoir, "Stitches." Ever read a comic book that brought tears to your eyes and haunted you? Yeah. Our upcoming feature poet
will be Derick Burleson, Alaskan poet, who makes language a new discovery.
—Zinta Aistars, editor-in-chief on
05 May 2010
What sets your publication apart from others that publish similar material?
Read the rest of the interview here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Second Wave Media
http://swmichigan.secondwavemedia.com/
Zinta Aistars Thursday, April 08, 2010
People are discovering they don't have to go to the big city to get world-class art. Writer Zinta Aistars talks to Terry
Nihart about how he got the nerve to open a downtown Kalamazoo gallery to show that art in the teeth of a fierce economic
downturn. Sometimes he shows art so edgy it tickles. read on…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fourteenth
Annual Kalamazoo Gazette Community Literary Awards
Zinta is pleased
and honored to serve as a judge on the Fourteenth Annual Kalamazoo Gazette Community Literary Awards in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
The Awards are for (1) Adult Poetry (ages 19 years and older);
(2) Youth/Teen Poetry (three age groups for ages 10 years and younger, 11 to 14 years, and 15 to 18 years); (3) Adult Short
Story (ages 19 years and older); (4) Youth/Teen Short Story and Creative Non-Fiction (two age groups for ages 14 years and
younger and 15 to 18 years); and (5) Memoirs/Creative Non-Fiction (ages 19 years and older). Topics are authors’ choice;
however, all entries must be suitable, in sponsors’ judgment, for printing in a family newspaper. Short stories and
memoirs/creative non-fiction must not exceed 1,750 words. There are no limitations on poems. All entries must be original
writing by the entrant that has not been previously published and must not infringe the rights of any third party. You may
submit up to three entries in each category, but each entry must be submitted separately and an entry may not be submitted
in more than one category. For example, you may submit three entries in the Adult Short Story category but those three entries
may not be submitted in the Memoir/Creative Non-fiction category. Entry forms are available during regular business hours
at the Kalamazoo Gazette; Kalamazoo Gazette Customer Service Center at The Crossroads mall; Kalamazoo Public Library its branches and the Bookmobile; the Portage District Library; Bookbug; Kazoo Books; Lowry’s Books and Michigan News Agency.
To learn more
and to download entry forms, visit here.
Deadline February
12, 2010.
Read the 2009 winning entries.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mītnes zemju (agrāk devēto trimdas zemju) rakstnieki un dzejnieki, kuri ir kalpojuši un kalpo kā
"teicēji" latviešu kopienai svešumā, savos darbos skaidrojuši kopienas likteni, ilgas pēc dzimtenes,
uzņēmību saglabāt latviešu valodu, kultūru un saikni ar dzimteni, mūsdienās ir piemirsti
kā diasporā, tā arī Latvijā, it sevišķi jaunāko lasītāju vidū. Projekta
"Tilti" un latviešu mītnes zemju dzejas un prozas antoloģiju - "Tilti I" (proza) un "Tilti II" (dzeja) - mērķis
ir plašai lasītāju auditorijai Latvijā un mītnes zemēs atgādināt par šī
kultūras fenomena eksistenci un iepazīstināt ar diasporas rakstnieku un dzejnieku daiļradi. Grāmatās
pārstāvēta visu paaudžu rakstnieku un dzejnieku daiļrade, arī jaunākie autori. Vāka
noformējumam izmantota Dainas Dagnijas tekstilkolāža "Jāņu diena" (2003). Gunāra Janaiša
foto. Māra Garjāņa vāka dizains.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Press 53 Open Awards 2010
Opens: September 1, 2009
Closes: January 31, 2010
Winners Announced: June 1, 2010
16 Entries Published
in the Press 53 Open Awards Anthology: October 1, 2010
The Press 53 Open Awards Writing Contest is open to writers anywhere in the world who write in English. Press 53 employees and family members are not eligible.
Writers who have published full-length books with Press 53 are not eligible. Writers whose work appears in anthologies
published by Press 53 are eligible. Judges have agreed to disqualify any work that, for whatever reason, they may recognize.
Use your best judgment when entering.
Judges
Poetry: Zinta Aistars
Flash Fiction: Tara L. Masih
Short-Short Story: Aaron Burch
Short Story: Ann Pancake
Creative Nonfiction: Lise Funderburg
Novella: Amy Rogers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kalamazoo Weekly News, Vol. 8, Issue 18
July
29, 2009
Writer
Turns Passion Into International Phenomenon
By Jessica Short
“A fine cigar
and good literature—two of life’s most enduring pleasures” is the motto behind The Smoking Poet (TSP).
Established in 2006,
the literary e-zine (an online magazine) has become a worldwide phenomenon attracting readers and writers from countries including
Spain, Singapore, France, Australia, New
Zealand, and Indonesia.
The ambiance of the
website offers its users a unique atmosphere, incomparable to any other.
“What makes The Smoking Poet unique is this cigar-lounge atmosphere,” said Managing Editor
Zinta Aistars. “We offer something to nourish the spirit—an atmosphere of relaxation… a moment away from
the raucous world to restore the spirit… a retreat into the finer arts.”
As a writer, Aistars
saw the need for The Smoking Poet while on a business trip to Austin, Texas. After meeting a man named Charlie, who was
the owner of a cigar lounge, and hearing about the day-to-day pleasure he derives from running his business, Aistars and her
[travel] companion, J. Conrad Guest, now coeditor of The Smoking Poet, were inspired
to begin a similar business of their own—a business that would embody the atmosphere of a classy cigar lounge.
“There is this
ambiance of relaxation, of leaving the hectic and stressful world outside, and retreating to this place where one can enjoy
a fragrant, hand rolled cigar, and ream a little,” said Aistars, who also works as a health care writer in Grand Rapids.
Raised by Latvian parents,
Aistars grew up in a household where the American culture played a near-to-nonexistent role in her upbringing. Growing up,
she realized how intertwined art, culture, and language are and how all of the factors play a role in how people truly grasp
a style of reading and writing.
“Many of us resolve
at that threshold crossing into independence that we must reinvent ourselves and need an entirely new environment around us
to do so,” said Aistars. “Later in life, we learn that is not necessary. Wherever we go, there we are.”
“In addition to
cigar-themed stories and reviews, the quarterly publication also publishes poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, with occasional
excerpts from novels, book reviews, and interviews that feature various artists and their work, including those from family
and friends.
“I hope our readers
enjoy that high quality of literary pleasures and enjoy the beauty of the artwork,” said Aistars.
“I hope they might
be introduced to a writer they may not have read yet. And I hope they might be moved to make a difference, too, for a cause
we feature, or for one of their own,” she said.
New to TSP is a page called “A Good Cause,” which focuses on select issues about those who have been abused
and neglected, an area in which her daughter, Lorena Audra Rutens is both educated and passionate.
Rutens, who works as
the editor of “A Good Cause” lives in Chicago.
Like many editors of The Smoking Poet who live out of state, the ease of being
able to access and utilize the e-zine has given them the opportunity to read and write about areas of literature and society
that they feel the most passionate about.
“Home is where
you make it, where your heart is,” said Aistars.
“What I love perhaps
most of all about TSP is its international flavor. This is a lounge where anyone
can drop in, from any point on the globe, and find something for them. Had we opened a lounge in Michigan, we would not have had this international community to such a degree. I can stay
in Kalamazoo, sink my roots deep into the soil, and keep on
traveling. Or, have the world come to me,” she said.
For More Information
For more info on The Smoking Poet, visit www.thesmokingpoet.net .
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Contact Zinta with your thoughts, review requests, freelance work inquiries at zintaaistars@yahoo.com
|
|
|
|
