Glick Award winners

James Alexander Thom, Susan Neville and Christine Montross are winners in the first Glick awards, honoring Indiana writers. Details here:
http://www.indianaauthorsaward.org/2009/09/award-winners-named/

Matthew Brennan: 'The House With the Mansard Roof'

Terre Haute Tribube-Star article on Matthew Brennan and his fifth poetry collection, The House With the Mansard Roof.

http://www.tribstar.com/arts/local_story_246213219.html

Micah Ling publishes 'Three Islands'

From DePauw University:

September 16, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — Micah Ling, part-time assistant professor of English at DePauw and 2003 graduate of the University, has authored Three Islands. In the book of poetry, Ling "brings together the three colossal figures of Amelia Earhart, Robert Stroud (the Birdman of Alcatraz), and Fletcher Christian to examine the solitude and madness that comprises their slight degrees of separation," notes a synopsis. "Existing in the channel between fact and fiction, these poems deftly swim among the slight nuances that divide captivity, isolation, and escape."

Read more at http://www.depauw.edu/news/?id=24035

Deborah Grindhart Dragoo

Deborah Grindhart Dragoo has published a poetry chapbook titled My Cemetery Plot is Paid For. This Sept. 22 Muncie Star article focuses on her artwork and her exhibit "Poetry Slam in Paint: Observations of a Poet Painter," which will run the entire month of October at The Artist Within, 313 S. Walnut St., Muncie.:

http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20090922/ENTERTAINMENT03/309220001

Marianne Boruch in Poetry Magazine

Marianne Boruch, who teaches at Purdue Univeristy, has two poems in th e October 2009 issue og Poetry Magazine. The first lines of the poems are "On rain washed paper dried, ink" and "Some dreamily smoke cigarettes, some track."

Heads up: Jorie Graham at Butler, Jan Flexon at U of I

7:30 p.m. Jorie Graham at Reilly Room, Atherton Union, Butler University, 4600 Sunset Ave., Indianapolis. Free. Part of the Vivian S. Delbrook Visiting Writers Series. 317-940-9861. nvonnegu@butler.edu. www.joriegraham.com/

7:30 p.m. Jan Flexon & Friends in the Schwitzer Student Cebter at the University of Indianapolis, 1400 E. Hanna Ave., Indianapolis. Flexon, a writer, musician, and artist who resides in Indianapolis, is originally from the Appalachian mountains of Virginia. Her first book and CD of poetry, Words Are Electric, But Not Always Static-Free, was published by New Century Publishing. She is also singer/songwriter for the band the Dancin’ Nancys, which recently released their second album, Cover Me. Her music and poetry have been included in numerous anthologies, and she has performed nationally and internationally. She co-owns the Underground 9 Studio, which holds such monthly events as an open mike for writers, poets, and musicians of all ages. Flexon has performed her poetry at the Chicago Printer’s Row Book Fair,and she is on the editorial board of Ichabod’s Sketchbook Literary Journal, based in the Irvington community. Part of the Allen & Helen Kellogg Writers Series. Free.

Heather McHugh: genius grant

Heather McHugh, 61, Seattle, was one of 24 recipents of the so-called genious grants from the MacArthur Foundation. The prize is worth $500,000. The poet uses such wordplay as puns and rhymes in intricately patterned compositions. Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/21/macarthur-genius-list-200_n_294252.html

Bus shelter poetry competition

News from the Writers Center of Indiana (9-8-09):

"Moving Forward," is a new permanent public art project for the Indianapolis Cultural Trail that will bring three bus shelters, custom-designed by Indianapolis-based architect Donna Sink, to the Trail. Importantly, they become the vehicle for permanently displaying three poems. Published poets, who live in or who have close ties to Indiana, are invited to submit work to be considered for the project. Subjects may include, but are not restricted to, community, neighborhoods, landmarks, shared spaces, transportation, history, and the future. Each poet selected will receive a $1,000 Prize. For submission guidelines, click
here.

Here is the message from the Writers' Center of Indiana, sent via Facebook:

Subject: "Moving Forward" Call for Poems
Throughout Indiana, Hoosiers are on the move—and so is our capital city. Nothing exemplifies this better than the Indianapolis Cultural Trail: A legacy of Gene & Marilyn Glick, an urban bike and pedestrian path that links five downtown cultural districts in an eight-mile celebration of the cityʼs vibrant culture. Traveling along it, walkers, runners, and cyclists pass by and through many of the cultural destinations and public art installations that have given Indianapolis its reputation as a world-class city, one with its sights set firmly on the future.
“Moving Forward,” is a new permanent public art project for the Indianapolis Cultural Trail that will bring three bus shelters, custom-designed by Indianapolis-based architect Donna Sink, to the Trail. Importantly, they become the vehicle for permanently displaying three poems. Published poets, who live in or who have close ties to Indiana, are invited to submit work to be considered for the project. Subjects may include, but are not restricted to, community, neighborhoods, landmarks, shared spaces, transportation, history, and the future. Each poet selected will receive a $1,000 Prize.
Eligibility:
• Poets must live in or have close ties to Indiana.
• Poets must have published at least one poem in a print magazine or anthology prior to submitting their work to “Moving Forward.”
INDIANAPOLIS CULTURAL TRAIL: A LEGACY OF GENE & MARILYN GLICK“MOVING FORWARD” CALL FOR POETS
Guidelines for Submission:
• Each poet may submit one poem, no longer than 50 lines. (The poem may have beenpublished previously.)
• Each entry must include a cover sheet with the following:
• Contact information.
• Verification of publication: a list of 1-5 published poems that includes the title of each poem, name of print magazine or anthology in which it was published, and publication date.
• Poets who do not live in Indiana must provide a brief statement describing their tie to Indiana.
• Content must be appropriate for public display with sensitivity to diverse audiences.
• Entries must be in English. (If appropriate, poets may include a translation to anotherlanguage.)
• All submissions must be made electronically to movingforward@indianawriters.org.
• Entries must be attached as a Word document (.doc) or PDF.
• The Writersʼ Center of Indiana and the Cultural Trail Management and Design Team retain the right to disqualify any entry that does not comply with the above guidelines. Deadline for
Submissions: Midnight on Friday, November 22, 2009.
Selection Process & Timeline:
• Entries will be judged blindly by three out-of-state judges. Poetsʼ names and contactinformation will be removed from all submissions.
• The judges will submit six finalists to the Writersʼ Center of Indiana. A panel includingrepresentatives from the Writersʼ Center, Art Strategies, and the Cultural Trail Managementand Design team, along with project architect, Donna Sink, will choose the three poems tobe used in the bus shelter installations.• Winners will be announced in mid-March 2010.
• Installation will begin in 2010 with expected completion in Spring 2011.
Selection Criteria:
• Quality of writing.
• Thematic connection to the Indianapolis Cultural Trail and the “Moving Forward” project.
• Appropriateness for public display with sensitivity to diverse audiences.
Contracts:
Winning poets will retain the copyright to their work, but must license the Indianapolis CulturalTrail and/or the City of Indianapolis to make reproductions of the poem for not-for-profiteducational and promotional purposes. While the projectʼs creator, Donna Sink, and the CulturalTrail Design and Management Team may ask for input on the visual manifestation of the poemwithin the project, both Donna Sink and the Indianapolis Cultural Trail Management and DesignTeam reserve the right to make the final decision about how the text will be displayed.

INDIANAPOLIS CULTURAL TRAIL: A LEGACY OF GENE & MARILYN GLICK“MOVING FORWARD” CALL FOR POETS
Contact Information: If you have questions about this project, please contact:Barbara Shoup, Executive Director pf Writersʼ Center of Indiana. Tel: 317-255-0710 or e-mail: barbarashoup@indianawriters.orghttp://www.facebook.com/l/;www.indianawriters.org
Project Partners: The Indianapolis Cultural Trail: A Legacy of Gene & Marilyn Glick is made possible by a largepublic and private collaboration led by Central Indiana Community Foundation, the City ofIndianapolis and several not-for-profit organizations devoted to building a better city. Forinformation about the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, visit http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.indyculturaltrail.org.

The poetry portion of this project is being administered by the Writersʼ Center of Indiana with additional support provided by the Arts Council of Indianapolis and Art Strategies, LLC. Funding provided by the Indianapolis Cultural Trail Fund of the Central Indiana Community Foundation.

UPDATE: Nore information about the bus stops. http://archinect.com/news/article.php?id=91975_0_24_0_C

Masterpiece in a Day winners

Writing:
1-Danielle Wheeler--"In Each Other's Faces We take out lines, streets, stories"
2- Cindy Ragsdale---"Parade Rest"
3 - John Hawn -- "She Paints a Poem" (Note: Even though the entry specified JL Kato as the author, for some reason, MIAD organizers chose to use the real name, presumably for tax-reporting purposes.)

Read the winning entries here: http://bigcar.org/archive/2009/09/images/09_Maspterpiece_writing.pdf

Art
Best in show: Jessica Dunn- _O_N_A_N Sqaure
Category pick
2D-Kyle Ragsdale--Fountainless Square
Runner up 2D-Thomas J. Lemanski-"The 65/To Split"
Category pick
3-D-Lukas Schoder-Cabinet of Curiosities
Runner up 3D-- Lauren Ditchley--All In A Day

Heads up: Masterpiece in a Day

I like to call this the most lucrative first-draft contest of the year. From www.bigcar.org:

Masterpiece in a Day
When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 19
Where: 1043 Virginia Ave. (in front of Murphy Art Center), Indianapolis
Cost: Free for participants and visitors

The writing contest presented by Second Story features a single combined contest this year for prose writers and poets. The overall winner receives $600, with the second-place writer taking $300 and third place picking up $100.

The contest begins at 9 a.m. with day-of registration ending at 11 a.m. Typed copies of writing are due for judging at 3:30 p.m.

Winners from both contests will be announced at about 4:30 p.m. All work must be completed in the Fountain Square neighborhood during contest hours.

Writing judges are Fountain Square writer and Urban Times contributor Connie Zeigler and NUVO critic and poet Dan Grossman.

Download rules for writing contest here.

Heads up: Nancy Pulley at An Evening With the Muse

7 p.m. An Evening With the Muse presents Nancy Pulley and an open mic, at the Writers' Center of Indiana, 812 E. 67th St., Indianapolis (in the Cultural Complex Center just west of the Indianapolis Arts Center). Host: Rohana McCormack, (317) 259-7900. Every second Sunday of the month. Pulley's new chapbook, Dream Puzzle, published this spring by Art in the Heartland Publishing, Columbus, Ind., will be available at this reading. Her previous chapbook, Tremolo of Light, was the winner of the 2nd Indiana Poetry Chapbook Contest sponsored by the Writers' Center of Indiana. Nancy is a graduate of Indiana Central College--now the University of Indianapolis. Her poems have appeared in The Flying Island, Arts Indiana Literary Supplement, Passages North, Plainsong, The Sycamore Review, the Humpback Barn Collection and A Linen Weave of Themes, a collection of poetry on tape, as well as other journals and publications. Nancy lives in Ogilville and works in Columbus as a Case Manager for Agency on Aging. She is married to the sculptor, Bob Pulley, and they have two grown children, Emily and Dylan.

A fan of Alice Friman's

The current issue of Poetry magazine (September 2009) contains an essay by Dennis Jacobs. chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. The essay is part of the section "The Voew From Here," a feature un which people from various fields comment on the experience of poetry.

Jacobs writes, "...my long interest in poetry has yielded a respect for the language that people should employ when they undertake to speak the law. It helps to be able to weigh words, to hear their resonance, and to pay attention to sound and rhythm."

Later on, he writes: "My subscription to Poetry has heightened my interest in translation, kept me abreast of current writers I've admored, and intriduced me to poets such as Alice Friman and Bob Hicok."

Friman is a former professor at the University of Indianapolis.

Wanted: Submissions for anthology

Susie Bieman is editing an anthology of poems dealing with the death of a mother. The following classified ad appears in the September/October issue of Poets & Writers:

Has your mother died? An anthology about the death of a mother seeks emotionally honest and compelling submissions that will resonate with the reader. Through the writer's varied experiences, readers will recognize themselves and be encouraged in knowing they are not alone. Prose poems and poetry, max 100 lines. Short prose, max 750 words. If previously published, please include reprint permissiuon and literary credit. Send up to 5 submissions and brief bio. No fee. 1 free copy if accepted. Submit by December 1 in a 12-point, double-spaced Word doc. To motherlosspoetry@gmail.com or mail to Mother Loss/Deatils, 8663 River Crossing Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46240.

Update: Hannah Faith Notess

Hannah Faith Notess earned an MFA in creative writing at Indiana University, where she was the poetry editor at Indiana Review. She was the 2008-2009 Milton Center Fellow at Seattle Pacific University. She is the editor of a collection essays titled "Jesus Girls: True Tales of Growing Up Female and Evangelical Experience in Evangelicalism, Vol. 1."

A collection of personal essays by up-and-coming female writers, Jesus Girls offers a window into a world of flannel board Jesuses, Christian "rap" music, faith healing, and Bible memorization competitions. Eschewing pat formulas, these women provide insights on topics of community, worship, education, sexuality, and identity.
Evangelicals are taught to tell their life stories as "testimonies," inspirational tales of dramatic conversion. But this formula leaves out a lot of stories--and a lot of voices, especially female voices, according to editor, Hannah Faith Notess. In Jesus Girls "un-testimonies" from women with varying experiences in evangelicalism are given voice. "I think it would be hard to overestimate how my faith and church experience influence my writing," says Sara Zarr, a National Book Award-nominated young adult novelist who contributes an essay to Jesus Girls. Notess adds, "You have to figure out how to make your beliefs your own."

For more information, click here: Jesus Girls

The Art of Poetry Experience, Zionsville

October 2-3, 2009

Spend time with visual artists and poets to explore the art of poetry. Twelve poets and twelve visuals artists in various medium have collaborated on works which can be experienced on the Art of Poetry Tour. Those attending all events beginning with the Friday Tea will be eligible for the drawing of a piece of artwork at this event.

The Art of Poetry Schedule

FRIDAY, OCT. 2
2 p.m. Art of Poetry Tea and Talk at Serenity, 135 S. Main St. Zionsville. Immediate past Poet Laureate of Virginia, Dr. Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda is both a poet and visual artist. She conducts popular talks and workshops on poetry and art at universities and art museums. Come for a tea under the white tent in the Serenity garden, and hear Dr. Foronda. $15. Profits benefit the Writers’ Center of Indiana. Serenity: 317.873.5590

The Art of Poetry Reading Tour. Free. Those visiting all fourZionsville tour sites will be entered in a drawing for a special signed poem. Schedule of artworks, artists and poets follows.
6 p.m. Goodman Jewelers, 106 N. Main St.:
Edge of Day, Laura Villanyi, glass – poet Joseph Heithaus.
Differences, Peg Neal, pottery – poet Barry Harris.
Porcellana, Lynn Miller, pottery – poet Phoenix Cole.
6:30 p.m. The Yarn Shop, 40 N. Main St:
Calla Lilies, Kim Ort, nature photography – poet Dr. Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda.
Leaving the Present Tents, Laura Teshdahl, colored pencil – poet James Murdock.
On Mallard Landing, Kevin Bowles, wood – poet Joyce Brinkman.
7 p.m. Brown’s on Main, 98 S. Main St.:
In October, Katherine Meade, oils – poet Jane Gentry Vance.
Why I Run, Sandy Ezell, watercolors – poet Marjory Wentworth.
Shorter Days, Katie Lane, gourds – poet Laurel Smith.
7:30 p.m. Art In Hand, 211 S. Main St.:
Songs in Sepia & Black & White, J.D. Nolan, black & white photography, poet Norbert Krapf.
Fallen, Jody Flynn, Acrylics – poet Ruthelen Burns.
Internet Exchange, Cindy Leavesly, pastels – poet Mary Brown.

SATURDAY, OCT. 3
10 a.m. The Art of Poetry Community Discussion at Serenity, 135 S. Main St., Zionsville. Munch on scions and sip lemonade with poets, visual artists, and everyone interested in culture, for a community discussion of the Art of Poetry Experience and how artistic collaboration enriches our lives. Free.

Heads up: Poetry on Brick Street & Roger Pfingston

6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3

Poetry on Brick Street presents Roger Pfingston, followed by an open reading at G. Simone's Cafe, 120 S. Main St., Zionsville. Free. For information, call Barry Harris at 317-733-1811 or Susan Miller at 317-587-1438, or send an e-mail to poetryonbrickstreet@cyberroad.com. Every first Thursday of the month.

Roger Pfingston (1940- ), Roger Pfingston is a lifelong Hoosier, who was born in Evansville and has lived most of his adult life in Bloomington. Roger Pfingston was born and raised in Evansville, Indiana, and later he attended Indiana University, graduating in 1962. He taught English and photography in a Bloomington high school from 1967 until his retirement in 1997. He still lives in Bloomington today, where he continues to pursue both his writing and photography, which often focuses on Midwestern landscapes. He's received an NEA Fellowship for poetry, two PEN Syndicated Fiction Awards, and a Teacher Creativity Fellowship from the Lilly Endowment to explore alternative processes in black and white photography. His poems and photographs have appeared in New Letters, Orion, The Laurel Review, American Photo, Shots, Spoon River Poetry Review, The Sun and Ontario Review.

Schedule change: Writers Speak Volumes!

From Lylanne Musselman:

A major reminder that Writers Speak Volumes! will not meet during the month of
September! I am teaching a creative writing class at UIndy SAL and the class
meets on Thursdays all during September. To make up for the missed time, WSV!
will meet twice in October - Thursday, October 1st and Thursday, October 22nd. I
will go ahead and give you the prompt for the first meeting now and then after
that meeting I will give you the prompt for the 2nd meeting in October. The
prompt for the 1st will be: School, Sun, Sirens. As always, use the prompt any
way you see fit, or don't use it all.

The meetings are held at Bookmama's, 9 Johnson Ave., Indianapolis just south of the Irving Theater in the Irvington neighborhhod.

Best Books of Indiana 2009

Hi, folks:

A family emergency has prevented me from attending this year's Best Books of Indiana awards ceremony, and I have not been able to find the results of this year's competition on the Web. If anyone knows what happen, please post the results here or e-mail me at jl(dot)kato(at)sbcglobal.net. As soon as I know, I'll post the results here.

UPDATE (10:19 p.m.): Barry Harris reports the winner in the poetry category is Rob Griffith for A Matinee in Plato's Cave. Check here for further updates. Thanks, Barry.

UPDATE: Here's the updated list with the winners, thanks to Rita Rose:

Children's/Young Adult
Diamond Willow by Helen Frost (Fort Wayne). Farrar, Straus and Giroux. New York, NY

Fiction
Anathema by Colleen Coble (Wabash). Thomas Nelson Books. Nashville, TN

Nonfiction Historical/Biographical
Robert F. Kennedy and the 1968 Indiana Primary by Ray Boomhower (Indianapolis). Indiana University Press. Bloomington, IN

Nonfiction Creative/Instructional
Home Grown Indiana by Christine Barbour (Bloomington) and Scott Hutcheson (Lebanon). Indiana University Press. Bloomington, IN

Poetry
A Matinee in Plato's Cave by Rob Griffith (Evansville). Water Press & Media. Argyle, TX