Hump Day Poetry – Week 15

Hump Day Poetry is a weekly poetry blog-share every *Wednesday*

Here’s how you can join in

The rules:

1. Write a poem (any type of poetry, even for other challenges) You have from Wednesday to the following Tuesday to link up!
2. Grab the badge and display it on your blog to show your support.
3. Link it to my poem of the week with a pingback or by leaving the link to your poem in comments.
4. Visit other bloggers’ poetry for that week. Like, leave a comment, and share! (Please try to visit as many other poets as possible. Keep the community love flowing!)

Note: to create a pingback, simply include the url of this post somewhere in your post. Please check my page to ensure your pingback has posted. If not, it is either awaiting moderation, or the pingback failed (happens sometimes!). To ensure your post is seen, you may want to just add the link to my page. I would rather have duplicates than not get to read your poetry!

Click HERE for further information.

And now for my poem of the week….

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Just for You
~for Lisa D.

I struggle to find the words
to fill these empty spaces
white and foreboding
crashing down upon me
avalanches of emptiness

And yet I do this
over and over again, for you
a weekly endeavor
that sometimes proves daunting
and leaves me bare, exposed

And I often wonder
why you expect this from me
what sinister pleasure
you derive from forcing me
to bleed upon the page

But here I am again
tumbling down this mountain
covered with snow and blood
given in to your demand
these verses just for you

©2016 Lori Carlson. All Rights Reserved.

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Happenings in the World of Poetry

Each week I will list 5 poetry (and fiction!) bloggers who I follow and enjoy their work. I hope you will take a few moments to check out their blogs. Here is this week’s offerings:

1. Mark @ Coloring Outside the Lines (poetry & fiction)
2. Caroline @ Tales From the Seeds (poetry & non-fiction)
3. John @ DoubleU
4. Moondustwriter @ poetry penned in moon dust
5. Mindlovesmisery

Each Friday, Calen over at Impromptu Promptlings posts a Friday Favorites where she highlights a poet. Check out her post this past Friday here.

SUBMISSIONS/CONTESTS

• Paper Plane Pilots is an amazing group of poets and fiction writers. They also host a free literary magazine and are currently accepting submissions for issue eight of In-flight Literary Magazine. The deadline to submit is June 1st.
• The WaterSedge Poetry Chapbook contest is hosted by Writer’s Relief, Inc. The chapbook contest runs to May 25, 2016. The winning poet will receive a $500 cash prize; publication of the poetry chapbook in both print and e-book formats; Amazon distribution for Kindle and print; and 25 free print copies. The contest is limited to poetry chapbooks 24 – 48 pages in length, and the entry fee is $20. Click the link above for complete contest submission guidelines. (Deadline ends soon. Still time to submit!)
• List of 57 Poetry Contests in 2016
  (note: Some of the deadlines here have passed. These all require entry fees, but decent prizes. Please check out the submission pages carefully. I have not investigated any of these for legitimacy)
• Comps and calls for May 2016
  (note: this list includes fiction and poetry contests and submissions. Some deadlines have passed, but it is not too late to submit to those that haven’t!)
• Poets&Writers Writing Contests, Grants & Awards Database
• Poetry Society of America Database, featuring Lit Organizations, Poetry Journals, Publishers, Contests, & More – Click through Resources on left sidebar

POETRY IN THE NEWS (Articles)

• Adrienne Rich’s Poetic Transformations
  http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/adrienne-richs-poetic-transformations
• Google’s AI has written some amazingly mournful poetry
  http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2016-05/16/google-artificial-intelligence-poetry
• Kristina Jacobs Dawn After Dusk Named #1 Best Seller For Contemporary Poetry At Amazon
  http://www.cbs8.com/story/31986456/kristina-jacobs-dawn-after-dusk-named-1-best-seller-for-contemporary-poetry-at-amazon
• For Pulitzer Prize-Winner Gregory Pardlo, Poetry Offers ‘Intimacy’ Between Strangers
  http://www.npr.org/2016/05/14/478040450/for-pulitzer-prize-winner-gregory-pardlo-poetry-offers-intimacy-between-stranger
• Dylan Thomas fans in for treat as poetry manuscripts set to go on public show at Swansea University
  http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/Dylan-Thomas-fans-treat-poetry-manuscripts-set/story-29279047-detail/story.html
• Why Queer Poetry Still Matters
  http://flavorwire.com/575828/why-queer-poetry-still-matters
• Poetry is a perfect form to challenge human rights abuses
  http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/may/11/poetry-is-a-perfect-form-human-rights-abuses-shami-chakrabarti
• Meet the Greek writers revolutionising poetry in the age of austerity
  http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/may/11/meet-the-greek-writers-revolutionising-poetry-austerity
• Poet Kate Tempest raging protest poetry on Q and A – Powerful, Must-See!
  http://www.gympietimes.com.au/news/q-poet-kate-tempest-raging-protest-poetry/3027402/

WEEKLY POETRY CHALLENGES

• Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie
• RonovanWrite’s Haiku Prompt Challenge
• Haiku Horizons
• dVerse
• The Writing Reader
• Bastet’s Monday Haiga Challenge
• the secret keeper
• Poets United
• Sunday’s Whirligig
• Sunday Scribblings 2
• imaginary garden with real toads
• A Week for Writing
• Three Word Wednesday

If you know of other happenings in the world of poetry or  blogs that host poetry challenges, let me know in comments and I will include them in next week’s Happenings!