17 March 2020
Often we’re too busy to notice the view right in front of us. One of my students, when I asked about what they missed being away from home, softly described the view of the city at night from his bedroom window in what he called ‘the projects where I live.’
“At night,” he said, “the lights go on forever, and every light, I think, is a soul.”
Make art about seeing the world through your window.
Womxn at Red Door 104: Words and Art, created to celebrate Virginia womxn writers, is a partnership between Creative Writing at Longwood University and Red Door 104, a unique gallery and art learning center owned and operated by the tireless and talented Audrey Sullivan, in historic downtown Farmville,Virginia.
The series will consist of two events annually:
The first Womxn at Red Door 104 reading will take place from 2-4 pm on Saturday, April 4, 2020. The art opening will take place in October 2020, date tba.
Selected writers must be available to read in person, and should be willing to attend both events.
Believing that artists should be compensated when possible, we will award all selected readers a small token honorarium.
Please submit writing samples, as detailed below, along with a 50-75 word bio, via Submittable. Please include in your bio your current Virginia city of residence.
Submissions are limited to current Virginia residents.
Send us your best! We’re looking for work that is visually rich, and that will make for a compelling live reading.
1 September 2019art
Make art about what you do to make it brighter.
In minute-by-minute detail, Patricia Smith tracks Hurricane Katrina as it transforms into a full-blown mistress of destruction. From August 23, 2005, the day Tropical Depression Twelve developed, through August 28 when it became a Category Five storm with its “scarlet glare fixed on the trembling crescent,” to the heartbreaking aftermath, these poems evoke the horror that unfolded in New Orleans as America watched it on television.
Assuming the voices of flailing politicians, the dying, their survivors, and the voice of the hurricane itself, Smith follows the woefully inadequate relief effort and stands witness to families held captive on rooftops and in the Superdome. She gives voice to the thirty-four nursing home residents who drowned in St. Bernard Parish and recalls the day after their deaths when George W. Bush accompanied country singer Mark Willis on guitar:
The cowboy grins through the terrible din,
***
And in the Ninth, a choking woman wails
Look like this country done left us for dead.
An unforgettable reminder that poetry can still be “news that stays news,” Blood Dazzler is a necessary step toward national healing.
Patricia Smith is the author of four previous collections of poetry, including Teahouse of the Almighty, winner of the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award and the Paterson Poetry Prize. A record-setting, national poetry slam champion, she was featured in the film Slamnation, on the HBO series Def Poetry Jam, and is a frequent contributor to Harriet, the Poetry Foundation’s blog. Visit her website at http://www.wordwoman.ws.
Womxn at Red Door 104: Words and Art, created to celebrate Virginia womxn writers, is a partnership between Creative Writing at Longwood University and Red Door 104, a unique gallery and art learning center owned and operated by the tireless and talented Audrey Sullivan, in historic downtown Farmville,Virginia.
The series will consist of two events annually:
The first Womxn at Red Door 104 reading will take place from 2-4 pm on Saturday, April 4, 2020. The art opening will take place in October 2020, date tba.
Selected writers must be available to read in person, and should be willing to attend both events.
Believing that artists should be compensated when possible, we will award all selected readers a small token honorarium.
Please submit writing samples, as detailed below, along with a 50-75 word bio, via Submittable. Please include in your bio your current Virginia city of residence.
Submissions are limited to current Virginia residents.
25 August 2019
Make art about what’s irreplaceable, about losing what can never be regained.
The Amazon is the largest rainforest in the world and vital to combating climate change. In the aftermath of the wildfires, several organizations have stepped up to assist in aid or other ways to help save the Amazon. The following organizations have been rated 4 out of 5 stars by Charity Navigator, a non-profit that evaluates financial health, transparency and accountability in charities.
From “What You Can Do to Help the Burning Amazon Rainforest” —from CBS News
23 August 2019
Make art about the power of story, of how story can change lives.
22 August 2019
Make art about that lone voice in the wilderness, or about the voice of the wilderness.
Image by David Mark from Pixabay
Activism Anthology Call for Submissions
Deadline: October 15, 2019
Something happened and made you want to get involved in transforming your organization, neighborhood, community, state, or country. You decided to speak up for something you care about, and did so through words, images, or actions. Or, maybe this is the first time you are speaking out. MuseWrite Press seeks short stories, poems, essays, and creative nonfiction that capture your journey, work, and/or goals regarding your activism. Considering unpublished submissions of no more than 2,500 words.
Email submissions to musewritecommunity@yahoo.com by October 15, 2019. Include a 50-word bio.
Visit www.MuseWrite.com for info on press and editors.
Mary Carroll-Hackett: Poetry and Prose 
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