The Albany Poetry Scenes, As Seen Through Dan Wilcox's Lens

Came across this article on the Best American Poetry blog about Dan Wilcox and how he has been documenting the Albany scene over the years with his camera.

As a relative newcomer to Albany--we moved here from Brooklyn in 2005 when I started teaching at The College of Saint Rose--I was curious to see what the local poetry scenes were like in and around our new hometown.  It didn't take long after going to my first readings that I noticed one dude at every one.  He wore in a black beret, a flash camera around his neck, and lots of political buttons. 

That dude's name is Dan Wilcox, and he was always taking pictures. A peace activist, veteran, and former state worker--everyone seems to be a former state worker up here in New York's state capital--Dan Wilcox is one of the poetry scene's griots. He claims to have the "world's largest collection of photos of unknown poets." Some of the photos are, in fact, of very well-known poets. Here's a mini-exhibition for your viewing pleasure, with Dan Wilcox's commentary.

OTHER:TEN is Coming…

You read that right.  OTHER:TEN, the long awaited tenth issue of Albany Poets’ magazine will be available during the small press open house at the UAG Gallery that was mentioned earlier. 

We would like to take this time to apologize to our readers and contributors for the delay on getting this issue out.  Due to circumstances beyond our control…

We hope to see everyone at the UAG this coming Friday to check out some of the small press poetry that is being published right in our own backyards.

Poetry Reading at the Bohemian Book Bin

Poetry reading at the Bohemian Book Bin, 85 Carle Terrace, Lake Katrine, NY (right off route 9W, in back of G&G Leather, 1.3 miles north from Kings Mall) on Thursday, January 8, 2009 starting at 7:30PM

Featured: You!...Wide Open Reading
Theme: Winter/Change (either or both)
Time Limit: Usually five minutes, unless there’s 20 or more signed up

Host: Teresa M. Costa

Upcoming Featured Poets

February 12: Patricia Martin and D. Alex Bird
March 12: Susan Hoover and Allen C. Fischer 

For more information or bookings contact Teresa at 845-331-6713

The Capital Flip

Information on a new magazine that is launching tomorrow, January 1st and how you can submit your poetry for publication.  What a way to start the new year!

The Capital Flip (www.thecapitalflip.com) will be launching in January as a cyber-publication (a.k.a. ʽzine), and will contain a section called Vice & Verse. V&V will feature four Capital Region poets, and will include their picture, bio and one or more poems, space permitting.

Submission Guidelines:

• One picture of the poet.
• A brief (100 words or less) bio, including any up-coming events.
• 24 line limit on poetry (not including breaks)
• 300 word limit on experimental prose.

To be considered for submission, please send the following as attachments with the heading ʽV-n-V Submissionʼ to editor@thecapitalflip.com

The deadline for each publication is the 15^th of the previous month. Due to the expected volume of submissions, we cannot guarantee a spot on a given month, but we can try. We do not judge on content or style; thatʼs for our readers to judge.

The Arts Center Has a New Blog

An announcement from The Arts Center of the Capital Region. 

Our own Amy Williams has posted her first blog!  In it, she reflects on our country's current financial situation and comments on the value of the arts during times of economic hardship: I don't mean to say I think that our current economic situation rivals the Depression, as bad as it is. But I do think we can learn some important lessons about the value of the arts from that time.

Read the full posting at www.capitalregionarts.blogspot.com. 

Updated weekly, you'll find commentary on the local arts scene, issues from the non-profit world, and insight on current events. 

We encourage your feedback!  Join the conversation by commenting at the foot of the blog, found at www.capitalregionarts.blogspot.com. 

Be sure to check out the blog and also all of the programs the Arts Center offers throughout the year.

Poetry Cemetery Magazine Seeking Submissions

The following is from an email from the editor of Poetry Cemetery with information on submitting to the magazine.

This magazine has been in existence since 2006.  We are currently seeking submissions-- our submission requirements are below, and are, of course, available on our website.

I would greatly appreciate your passing along our request for submissions to any poet-friends-- and letting any other connoisseur of poetry know about our site.

I am open to suggestions, comments, complaints-- feel free to email me at any time.

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Submission Guidlines:

POETRY
Poetry Cemetery always welcomes unsolicited poetry submissions from both published and amateur poets alike.  Feel free to send us your best work at any time...just be sure you follow the rules/guidelines below:

1. Send a maximum of 3 poems for consideration per issue.
   
2. PROOFREAD your work before you send it.
   
3. Send your poems in the body of the email...NOT as attachments.  Also, please be sure you  include titles (even if the title is "untitled"), and be sure we can distinguish the end of one poem from the beginning of the next.
   
4. Please let us know if the poems you've sent us have been published elsewhere; it's OK by us, just let us know where so we can properly credit the other publication.
   
5. Please do not send anything that is excessively vulgar, pornographic, or otherwise offensive to the masses.  We believe that every art form has its place in the world...but this is not the  place for overtly offensive material.
   
6. Please include a short bio-- 100 words or so.
   
7. Don't forget your name and at least the city and state where you live.

By sending us your poetry, you are granting us publication rights for our website, and confirming that you have the rights to allow us to publish your work.
All work remains the property of the author--we merely ask that you give us credit if the piece is republished in the future.

ART
We are also seeking artwork to decorate our pages.  If you would like to help us decorate our pages, please send us your artwork in JPEG format only, as an attachment to your email.

Send all submissions to: POETRYCEMETERY@GMAIL.COM

Writers Institute Offers Free Community Writing Workshops

Each semester the New York State Writers Institute sponsors residencies of varying lengths by authors who have distinguished themselves both for their writing and their teaching. In tandem with these residencies free writing workshops are offered on a competitive basis to members of the community. The Institute will sponsor three creative writing workshops during the Spring 2009 semester.

Fiction and nonfiction writer, poet and screenwriter James Lasdun will conduct two six-week workshops: “The Art of the Short Story”, and “The Self and Other Nonfiction Workshop”. The latter workshop will focus on the craft of the personal essay.

Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Sheila Curran Bernard will conduct an eight-week workshop on “Intermediate/Advanced Dramatic Screenwriting.”

All three workshops will be held on the University at Albany uptown campus and are offered free of charge for non-credit. Admission to the workshops is based on the submission of writing samples. For complete information on the workshops and submission guidelines go to http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/webpages4/programpages/workshop.html#jla. For further information call 518-442-5620.

Sheila Curran Bernard , Director of Media Programs for the Writers Institute, is an Emmy and Peabody award-winning media professional with experience developing, producing, and consulting on projects for national and international broadcast, theatrical release, and museum and classroom use. She specializes in applying dramatic storytelling techniques to documentary material, and is the author of Documentary Storytelling (Focal Press/Elsevier, second edition 2007), a unique guide used by students and filmmakers worldwide. A second volume, Archival Storytelling: A Filmmaker's Guide to Finding, Using, and Licensing Third-Party Visuals and Music (Bernard and Kenn Rabin, Focal Press), is due out in September.

Born and raised in England, James Lasdun has received awards and critical praise for his work on both sides of the Atlantic. Critic James Wood has said, “James Lasdun seems to me to be one of the secret gardens of English writing . . . When we read him we know what language is for.” Lasdun’s recent short story, “An Anxious Man,” received the 2006 United Kingdom National Short Story Prize. A new collection, It’s Beginning to Hurt: Stories, is forthcoming in July of 2009. Lasdun is also the author ofThe Siege and Other Stories (1999). The title story of that collection provided the basis of Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1998 film,Besieged.

Small Press Poetry at UAG

First Friday, January 2nd, 5-9pm at the UAG Gallery, 247 Lark Street.

The Upstate Artists Guild (UAG) Gallery, as part of their January “New Beginnings” show, will be hosting a Publisher’s Open House for many of the poetry small presses producing books in Albany, NY.

Across poetics, aesthetics, and institutional status, contributing presses will include: Flim Forum Press, Fence Books, A.P.D. Press, Anchorite Press, and Albany Poets.

This will be an opportunity for interested gallery-goers to engage with some of the independent, underground, and/or experimental writing and publishing happening here in Albany today.

The show opens on First Friday, January 2nd, and will last throughout the month. Free to the public. For more information, call (518) 426-350, or email: klane@flimforum.com.

Hudson Valley Writers GUild on Facebook

This is an announcement from our friends over at the Hudson Valley Writers Guild:

Dear Folks,

The Guild now has a presence on Facebook! Thank you to the following members who will be administering the group: Daniel Nester, Kate Laity, Christine Philo, Carolee Sherwood.

Visit us on Facebook (www.facebook.com) and share your news in real time on our discussion forum. Also post videos and photos you've taken at Guild or regional writers events. (Find us by doing a search for the group "Hudson Valley Writers Guild." )

If you're not a member of Facebook yet, now is the time to do it.  There are lots of poets and writers resources there and opportunities for networking!

Thank you for helping the Guild establish a bigger web presence.

Happy Holidays!
Miriam

Happy Holidays From Albany Poets

Happy Holidays from all of us here at Albany Poets!

We will return to Tess' Lark Tavern, Monday, January 26th for our Anniversary/Beret Toss/Tom Nattell Tribute. Our host for that evenings event will be Dan Wilcox! Dress warm!

Albany Poets has a huge year planned with our annual events and some surprises along the way.

Thank you for your continued support.

Sana Shabazz to Read at Poetry on the Loose

Sana Shabazz will read her poetry at the next program in the Poetry on the Loose Reading/Performance Series.  The event will be held at Baby Grand Books at 7 West Street in Warwick at 4:00 p.m. on January 3.  Following the feature, others are welcome to read original work.  Admission is free.

Shabazz is a writer whose work delves into the “spirit of daily living.”  Her book Why Women Cry: A Compilation of Stories, Poems & Positive Responses for the Cleansing of the Eyes & the Soul appeared in 2006 and she is now in the process of writing her next book Why Men Cry: A Compilation of Stories Along With Poems, & Manly Responses for the Venting of the Heart & The Soul. She is working as well on her first children’s book and a book of stories and strategies for the Altzheimer’s caregiver.

Her spiritual and psychological focus is evident in her professional life as well as her writing.  She serves as a chaplain at the Beacon Correctional Facility and as Chairperson of the Board of Masjid Al Ikhlas in Newburgh.  In addition she co-founded P.O.P. Enterprises -- a company that aims to assist and enable women to enrich their lives through education and through spiritual, physical and intellectual edification.   While pursuing a degree in Criminal Justice, she is also a Job Coach for the Martin Luther King Cultural Center, the proud mother of two and grandmother of one.

The next reading, on February 7, will feature Alison Koffler and Dayl Koffler-Wise in a reading hosted by Robert Milby.

For further information, contact: William Seaton/ Poetry on the Loose, Inc. at (845) 294-8085 or seaton@frontiernet.net