Summertime and the Reading is Wonderful at Ithaca Lit

I had the pleasure of being the Guest Editor for the Summer 2012 issue of Ithaca Lit, a very nice online journal founded by Editor Michele Lesko and co-edited by Sherry O'Keefe. This issue marks the end of the journal's first year, so a big round of applause! I had poems in the first issue, Autumn 2011, and the guest editorship came about as a result of that. The journal comes out four times a year, each scheduled to occur on the solstice.

One of my jobs was to suggest a poet to be the issue's Featured Poet. I suggested Bruce Guernsey and Michele agreed that he'd be perfect for the spot, especially since his new book, From Rain: Poems 1970-2010, had just come out. Bruce is the former editor of The Spoon River Poetry Review as well as an accomplished poet with five full-length collections and seven chapbooks. He's also been featured four times on Ted Kooser's "American Life in Poetry" and has a fifth feature coming up. After reading his new collection, I sent him the interview questions which he then responded to. His responses are wonderful. Be sure to read this Interview. I had a hard time but a good time selecting just five of Bruce's poems to feature. I think you'll enjoy the range, craft, and variety of these Poems. (You can purchase From Rain at Amazon.)

My other role was to invite a handful of poets to submit work to the journal. Hard to narrow down to just a handful, but I'm happy to say that work was accepted by all seven of the poets I invited. In addition, there is work by five other poets. One aspect of this journal that I like is that each issue is limited to a dozen poets, making the journal one you can get through in one sitting but also one you'll want to return to. You'll remember these Poems.

Yet another admirable feature of the journal is its attention to art. Every single page has a piece of art as its header. As you can see from the two images I've included here, the theme for this issue is Chairs. How appropriate for summer! But there's more. There's a featured artist, Michel Delgado. You'll find an Interview with Michel conducted by the editor and, best of all, a Gallery of his work.

There's also an interview with Seamus Heaney, a music feature, and several prose pieces. Please visit Ithaca Lit and be sure to bookmark it. You'll want to go back.

Me and Ribbet: A Love Story

Click to Enter Heaven

Several months ago I received an email containing the heart-breaking news that my favorite photo editing site, Picnik, would be closing on April 19. The reason offered was pretty bogus—they wanted to do even better things over at Google+. However, the features they migrated over there are minimal, not even close to the glories of the Picnik site. Apparently, Google owned Picnik and had made that decision.

Thousands of voices rose in protest, all to no avail. In April Picnik did indeed disappear. Gone. Kaput. Finito. Like others who had loved the ability to get rid of wrinkles and double chins, who'd adored the collage feature (the collage used as header for this blog was made at Picnik), and countless special effects, and so much more, I began a search for an alternative. I found some—FotoFlexer, iPiccy, PicMonkey—all fine but not one of them even close to Picnik. Oh! woe was me.

Then a hero came along. Ribbet! Imagine my joy when I discovered on Facebook that Ribbet would soon go live and would offer ALL of the features of Picnik, using many of the very same platforms, even keeping the frog logo. Although they were not able to meet their original target date—problems with licenses and a few glitches—happiness came back into my life when they officially opened yesterday.

The site is wonderful. I've already used it several times. This is a completely free service, though, like Picnik, they will eventually charge a fee for Premium service, now free to everyone, but that fee should be minimal. I paid it to Picnik and will pay it to Ribbet when necessary, though I'm hoping to be one of the 100 winners of free Premium for a year.

As a sample and a tease, I offer you a piece of the magnificent Strawberry Misu I made this week. With Ribbet, I added a speech bubble, text, and a butterfly. I wish I could offer you a real bite.

Summer Journals Q-Z

Here's the third and final installment of the list of print journals that read during the summer months.  Again, please let me know if you spot any errors or omissions. Good luck!

 

This mailbox is lucky!

**Remember that the asterisks indicate that the journal accepts simultaneous submissions.

Journal accepts online submissions unless otherwise indicated.

**The Raleigh Review—1x

**Rattle—2x
via email

**Redactions—1x—by email

**Redivider—2x

**Rhino—1x—April 1-Oct 1

**River Styx—2x—May thru Nov
snail mail

**Rosebud—3x

**Sakura Review—2x

**Salt Hill—2x
August 1-April 1

**San Pedro River Review—2x
July 1st to July 31st, 2012 -- Non-themed
via email

**Saw Palm—1x—July 1-Oct. 1

**Slipstream—1x
snail mail

**Smartish Pace—2x

**South Dakota Review—4x

**The Southeast Review—2x

**Southern Humanities Review—4x
via email

**Southern Poetry Review—2x
snail mail

**Sugar House Review—2x
via email

**Turnrow—2x
snail mail

**Tusculum Review—1x

**Washington Square Review—2x
Aug 1-Oct 15

**Weave Magazine—2x
deadline July 31

**Women Arts Quarterly Journal—4x

**Yemassee—2x


Summer Journals A-F

Summer Journals G-P

Summer Journals G-P

Here's the second installment of the list of journals that read during the summer months. If you find any errors or have others to add to the list, please let me know. Good luck with your submissions.

 This mailbox is ready to receive lots of good mail.

**Indicates that simultaneous submission is ok
Unless otherwise indicated, the journal accepts online submissions

**Gargoyle—1x—June 1-July 16

**The Grove Review—1x
snail mail

Hanging Loose—3x
snail mail

**Hawk & Handsaw—1x—Aug 1-Oct 1
email subs

**Hayden’s Ferry—2x

**Hiram Poetry Review—1x
snail mail

Hudson Review—3x—April 1-June 30 (all year if a subscriber)
snail mail

**Hunger Mountain—1x

**Inkwell—2x—Aug 1-Nov 15

**Lake Effect—1x
snail mail

Louisiana Literature—2x
snail mail

**Lumina—1x—Aug 1 – Nov 15

**MacGuffin—3x

**Madison Review—2x

Manhattan Review—2x
(prefers no sim but will take)
snail mail

Measure—2x
metrical only

**Michigan Quarterly Review—4x

**Mid-American Review—2x

**The Midwest Quarterly—4x

**Minnesota Review—2x—August 1–November 1

Missouri Review—4x

**The Mom Egg—1x—June 1-Sept 1

**Nimrod—2x—Jan 1-Nov 30
snail mail

North American Review—4x

**Parnassus: Poetry in Review—2x
snail mail

Pinyon—2x—August 1-Dec. 1
via email

**Pleiades—2x—Aug 15-May 15

**Ploughshares—3x—June 1 to January 15

**Poet Lore—2x
snail mail

**Poetry Miscellany—1x—tabloid
snail mail or e-mail

Poetry—11x


Summer Journals A-F

Summer Journals Q-Z

Summer Journals A-F

It's that time of year again. During the summer many of us have more time to write and submit, but quite a few journals close their doors to submissions for the summer months. Do not despair. There are still many journals that do read during the summer and some that read only during the summer. This is the first of a 3-part list of those journals, all print journals. Sadly, several had to be removed this year as they have closed their doors permanently. But a few have been added.

I have given the lists a thorough updating this year and have added links for your convenience. If you find an error, please let me know.

This mailbox only accepts Acceptances!

**Indicates that simultaneous submission is ok
Unless otherwise indicated, the journal accepts online submissions.


**American Poetry Journal—2x
    (summer only for subscribers)

**American Poetry Review—6x-tabloid

**Another Chicago Magazine—2x—Feb-Aug 31

**Asheville Poetry Review—3x—Jan. 15-July 15
snail mail

**Atlanta Review—2x—deadlines June 1 & Dec 1
reads all year, slower in summer
snail mail

**Baltimore Review—2x—August 1-Nov 30

**Barn Owl Review—1x—June 1-Nov 1
email sub

**Bat City Review—1x—June 1-Nov 15

Beloit Poetry Journal—3x

**Birmingham Poetry Review—2x—deadlines Dec 1 & June 1
reads all year
snail mail

**Black Warrior Review—2x

Bloodroot Literary Magazine—1x—April 1-Sept 1
snail mail

**Briar Cliff Review—1x—Aug 1-Nov 1
snail mail

**Burnside Review—2x
email sub ok
$3 reading fee /pays $50

**Caketrain—1x
email sub

**Chariton Review—2x
snail mail

**Cimarron Review—4x
snail mail

**Columbia Journal—2x

**Columbia Poetry Review—1x—Aug 1-Nov 30
snail mail

**Conduit—2x
snail mail

**Crab Orchard Review—2x—Aug 27-Nov. 2 (special issue)
snail mail

**Cream City Review—2x

**Explosion-Proof Magazine—4x
submit via email

5 AM—2x—tabloid
snail mail

**Field—2x
August thru May

**The Florida Review—2x—Aug-May 31 (subscribers all year)


Summer Journals G-P

Summer Journals Q-Z

Wishing for a Broadside?

Click Cover to Purchase

If you're looking for a handful of good poems gathered together in an attractive format, try Wisconsin poet Karla Huston's beautiful broadside, What To Wish On. This arrived in my mail the other day and was a delightful surprise, a gift sent by Karla. I've seen broadsides before but always with one poem set against  a decorative background. This is different. More like a hybrid, a cross between a broadside and a chapbook. I was immediately charmed by this lovely and special way to put together a small collection of poems.

The publisher began with one 11" x17" piece of blue paper. In one quadrant on the first side he put the cover, in another he put the blurb, and in the remaining two he put one poem each. He then laid out 5 poems on the other side, folded down once from top to bottom and then sideways to get something that looks like a chapbook. The publisher's own pen & ink drawing is on the cover. 

R. Chris Halla, the publisher, lives in Wisconsin and came up with this project a few years ago. Karla's is #14 in the invitational series.

The poems are all previously unpublished, all strong poems individually but also nicely and subtly connected to each other. Blurber Mariann Ritzer says these poems "take me on a journey off the interstate and onto the backroads, the country roads where I can hear the  wonderful sounds of assonance and consonance in the lines and phrases that take me up and down hills, around curves--quickly, slowly. . . You don't want to miss the narrative these seven gems tell collectively about love and sex (and the abyss between.)"

Here's the title poem:

What to Wish On

Not the breastbones of birds, forgotten
and drying on a shelf, nor the fairy seeds
of cattails and dandelions taking flight,

not the Evening Star, Venus’ light,
as the night flips its dazzling switch.
Don’t wish on your child’s lost tooth,

clippings from tiny nails or the umbilical root.
Don’t wish on the green flood
of four-leaf clovers at your feet

nor candle flames – for some are tricks
that steal your breath.
In fact, don’t wish on fire of any kind

nor the little piggies of your toes,
not the soft moles on your grandmother’s chin.
Rather, wish on the blue moon who comes

so seldom, you forget about her.
Now she’s returned to steal your conceit
as her mouth opens to your petitions.


What To Wish On can be securely ordered online via PayPal for a mere $4.50 which includes postage. Your broadside will arrive signed by the poet.