Hudson Valley Writers Guild Newsletter, August 15, 2011
In This Issue
Guild Announcements: 2011 Non-fiction Writing Contest, October Writing Conference, Spotlight Poetry Column
Member Announcements: Djalloul Marbrook, Judith Prest, Barbara M Traynor
Area Announcements: Events at New York Expressive Arts in Albany, Rip Van Winkle Poetry Competition Reading, Writers Institute Announces Fall Writing Workshops, Call for Writers to Read at 9-ll Memorial in Clifton Park, Stipends for Writers and Other Artists from the Arts Center
Guild Announcements
2011 Non-fiction writing contest accepting submissions—Last Call!
The HVWG annual writing contest rotates genres each year, and our 2011 contest is for Non-Fiction (humor, personal essay, and memoir). There is a $100 top prize in each of three categories. Submissions are being accepted through the end of August. The contest is open to residents of any part of New York State. The full guidelines are posted at our website – hvwg.org (under the “about” tab). Here is a direct link: hudsonvalleywritersguild.wordpress.com/about/contests/
Guild Sponsored Writers’ Conference, October 2, 1:30 p.m.
The Hudson Valley Writers Guild will hold a Writers’ Conference on Sunday, October 2, at the East Greenbush Public Library, 10 Community Way, East Greenbush. The conference will include a panel discussion on electronic publishing, followed by a writing workshop by award-winning author Hallie Ephron. The program will start at 1:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is encouraged; to pre-register, or for more information contact Faith Green at fgreen13@nycap.rr.com.
Spotlight Column Garners Praise
To the Hudson Valley Writers Guild: Thank you for supporting the poetry column in the Spotlight. It’s always wonderful to have income from my work since that’s the way of the world even though poets seem to be excluded from certain near universal laws. More importantly, I am extremely pleased with the presentation of my poem. The comments at the end are astute, or so it seems to me, since they gave me a whole new view of the meaning of my poem, “Moose Love,” something I never thought of before. Also, this response to the poem made me realize that it will fit nicely into a manuscript I’m now working on, hopefully my next published book. –Joanne Seltzer
Anyone living in Albany, Schenectady or Saratoga Counties who would like to submit poetry to Spotlight on Poetry may send 5 short poems (12-16 lines per poem) to Mimi Moriarty, Box 222, Clarksville, NY 12041 or by e-mail to winterview@earthlink.net. There is a $25 honorarium if a poem is published.
Member Announcements
Nina Shengold reveals Djelloul Marbrook and his art-infused poetry collection in the August edition of Chronogram magazine: chronogram.com
Judith Prest announces publication of Late Day Light, a full length poetry collection, by Spirit Wind Books. Here’s what some others have said about Late Day Light:
Judith’s poetry is earthy, fertile like pomegranates full of seeds waiting to burst into new life. Like the seasons, her poems hold the warmth, the dark, the hope and the blossoms that make of our lives something beautiful and complete. ~ Jan Phillips, author of No Ordinary Time
Late Day Light invites a reader to step into a living, breathing world. These poems speak from the place where the body and life story, where senses and the felt experience of the human heart weave themselves together. These poems have, in short, muscle, nerve and a real-heartbeat. Judith’s gift is in giving shape to poems both clean and deep-rooted. ~John Fox author of Poetic Medicine: The Healing Art of Poem-making (poeticmedicine.org).
Late Day Light is available directly from Judith through the mail $16 (plus $2 shipping) or at open mics, etc. She doesn’t leave home without it! Contact Judith at jeprest@aol.com
Barbara M. Traynor, author of Second Career Volunteer, a passionate, pennywise approach to retirement, will give an overview of her unique volunteer lifestyle and sign books at Honest Weight Food Coop, Albany, on Saturday, Sept. 10, from 1-3 p.m. Stop by to say hello and peruse their great selection of local produce, cheese, and meats. Hope to see you there!
Area announcements
Events at New York Expressive Arts, August 20 & October 15/16
Free – Introduction to Expressive Arts
Saturday, August 20, 1 – 4, 4 Central Ave, Albany (home of New York Expressive Arts); To reserve your space and/or for more information – email denie@newyorkexpressivearts.com or call 518 768-2708.
Two-day Expressive Arts Intensive with Yaacov Naor
October 15 / 16. To reserve your space and/or for more information – email denie@newyorkexpressivearts.com or call 518 768-2708. Yaacov is the Founder and Director of ISIS ISRAEL: a Psychodrama and Intermodal Expressive Arts Therapy Center in Tel-Aviv.
Rip Van Winkle Poetry Competition Reading, Greenville Library
All Arts Matter announces the winners of the 12th Annual Rip Van Winkle Poetry Competition. Cash prizes will be given at the awards ceremony with a reading of the winning works by the winners on Saturday, August 27, at noon in the Greenville Public Library on Route 32 in Greenville. Readings by other poets are also part of the program. The event is free and open to the public.
The competition provides emerging poets the opportunity to submit their work for objective review and encourage their continued growth as poets. Divided into two categories -adult and young poet’s 14 years and younger – the number of participants has steadily increased over the years. This year, in addition to submissions from the area’s emerging poets entries were received from as far west as San Antonio, Texas. Area schools incorporate the Competition as part of their study of poetry in the classroom, submitting works that show formal poetry conventions as well as contemporary poetic structure. Entries came from the school districts of Windham-Jewett, Cairo-Durham, Coxsackie-Athens, and Berne-Knox.
The winning poets in the Young Poet category show the student’s grasp of poetic form and the diversity of their interests. Sasha Shablovsky of Catskill wins with her work “How To Build A Ziggurat”, and Thomas McGahan from Cairo for his poem, “Basketball.” Equally diverse are the subject matter in the Adult category: subjects ranged from snowflakes to poetry itself. Anita Sanchez of Amsterdam, authoress of “A Short Story” shares third prize with Lauren Maisenbacher (Hudson) for her “Characteristics of a Snowflake.” From Coxsackie, Edward Clopman takes second prize with “Neo-Slavery.” First prize goes to Dan Wilcox of Albany for his “Poems on Poems,” his two-part glimpse of the moment of writing.
The Rip Van Winkle Poetry Competition is one of the many events in the arts and humanities presented by All Arts Matter, a non-profit arts organization, throughout the year. For more information about this event and the group’s upcoming events, go to the website allartsmatter.org or call 518-966-4038.
Writer Institute Announces Fall Workshops
The State Writers Institute at UAlbany will have two eight session workshops this fall in the evenings. A poetry workshop will be offered by writing fellow Rebecca Wolff. A short fiction and creative nonfiction workshop will be offered by writer-in-residence Jo Page. Both these workshops are limited to 10 members and participation is based on writing samples. Deadlines for submission and application are September 2 for postmarked mail and September 7 for in person delivery. Full details and submission rules should be examined at the website prior to submission. The website is albany.edu/writers-inst.
Call For Writers to Read at Clifton Park 9-11 Memorial
The Town of Clifton Park is planning a special 9-11 Remembrance & Recognition Ceremony on Sunday afternoon; September 11, at 3 p.m., on the Clifton Common, at the outdoor stage. We would very much like to invite local perspectives, experiences and memoirs to be read aloud. We plan to have a guest speaker – Siena College President Fr. Kevin Mullin who will speak about honor, courage, loss, family and community. There will be a short procession from a staging/gathering area to the stage lead by the Albany Bag Pipes and will include military and other formal Color Guard units accompanied by invited officials and special guests. A short medley of patriotic songs will be performed by the town Community Chorus. Other guests will include leaders from our faith based communities. Our local Rabbi will close the event with a thoughtful convocation.
The Town of Clifton Park encourages aspiring and experienced writers, who are comfortable reading their work in front of large gatherings, to please submit excerpts from their original works for performance consideration by our 9-11 Planning Committee.
The Town invites all area residents to join us to recognize this anniversary. Contact information: Barbara A. McHugh, Community Development, Town of Clifton Park, (518) 371-6651 ext 230; barbmchugh@cliftonpark.org; www.cliftonpark.org
Stipends Available from the Arts Center of the Capital Region
The application for Strategic Opportunity Stipends (SOS) is now online. SOS grants are designed to help individual artists of all disciplines take advantage of unique opportunities that will significantly benefit their work or career development. Literary, media, visual, music and performing artists may request support ranging from $200 to $1,500 for specific, forthcoming opportunities that are distinct from work in progress.
Round I applications are due on September 12, 2011, for opportunities between November 2011 and October 2012. Please see the Arts Center website for more information and an application. For questions, contact Lauren Hittinger at lauren@artscenteronline.org or 518-273-0552 x229.
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The Hudson Valley Writers Guild offers space in its newsletter for submission and program opportunities but does not endorse any programs or publications that are not offered through the Guild. Two notes from the newsletter editors:
* Within each section, announcements/events are arranged, when possible, by relevant dates.
* We are always curious to know if the formatting “works” (appears neat and tidy) in your email or if it causes issues (is difficult to read). Send feedback and suggestions regarding any formatting issues to hvwginfo@gmail.com.
* News items should go to Bob Sharkey at riverrun@nycap.rr.com. Please use Times New Roman size 12 font whenever possible.
Thank you!
–Carolee Sherwood, Newsletter Co-Editor
-Bob Sharkey, Newsletter Co-Editor
