Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Poetry and Wine: A Giveaway

On Monday at The High Calling Blogs, Laura Boggess had an article on poetry, and specifically on InsideOut: Poems, the new volume by L.L. Barkat and published by the International Arts Movement. I made a comment – and I’ve made no secret of how much I’ve enjoyed reading L.L.’s poems (I’ve read the book twice, and a partial manuscript once, and I’ve gone back and read particular poems). And I reviewed it on Amazon.

A few people commented that poetry wasn’t their thing, and I posted a rather lengthy comment about why I thought poetry was important. Here’s part of what I said:

“I read poetry a lot more than I used to, and now I’m occasionally writing it (or trying to). And here’s why, I think: all good writing inherently contains poetry. All good writing (and speaking, too) contains rhythm, flow, and artful and purposeful use of language. It makes you think in a different way, understand something for the first time, or deepen your understanding. The poetic elements of all good writing are, I think, the essence, often hidden or disguised, of what makes the writing good.

“A good poet extracts that essence, and shapes it, translates it, describes it, reveals it.”

This is what L.L’s poetry does – extracts the essence and then shapes it and reveals it. And it’s beautiful to read, and read aloud.

So, because I want other people to experience poetry, I’m doing two things.

First, I’m offering a chance to receive a copy of L.L.’s InsideOut: Poems for free. All you have to do is drop a comment in the comment box, between now and next Thursday (Jan. 21) at 8 p.m. Central time, and one name will be selected at random to receive the copy.

Second, I’m offering the chance to receive a copy of InsideOut: Poems for free, along with a free bottle Sineann 2007 Merlot Hillside. All you have to do is write 100 words or less on either of these themes: “Why poetry matters today,” or “How I came to love poetry.” You can post it on your own blog and drop the link here in the comment box, or drop the full 100 words (or less) in the comment box, by 8 p.m. Central time on Thursday, Jan. 21. I’ll select one winner to receive InsideOut: Poems and the bottle of wine. If you post on your own blog, I’ll link to it from here, and so will the High Calling Blogs. And I’ll publish all of the responses over at TweetSpeak Poetry. Also, please note: Some U.S. states – including Massachusetts, Utah, New Hampshire and one of the Dakotas – do not allow the shipment of wine. If your response is selected as the winner and you live in one of those states, I’ll figure out a suitable replacement.

And if you participate in the second you’re automatically eligible for the first, so you may actually have two chances to win the poems. Winners in both categories will be announced here on Friday, Jan. 22.

Poetry, or poetry and wine. Delightful, yes?

From Helen-at-Random: Why Poetry Matters Today
From A Simple Country Girl: Blinking-Breathing-Thinking
From Lorrie: How I Came to Love Poetry
From Phoenix-Karenee: Poetry and Air
From Chris Wiles: Why Poetry Matters Today
From Monica Sharman: When Poetry Speaks
From Diatribal Arts: Why Poetry Matters
From Nancy in SoCal: Why Poetry Matters
From Joyce Wycoff: I Don't Write Poetry
From Diane Walker: It Bubbles Up

Also see: Favorite InsideOut Poems at TweetSpeak Poetry.

31 comments:

  1. Delightful? Yes. Like your friendship and those wonderful poems you write.

    I hope you get lots of responses to this.

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  2. That is a delightful idea. As a matter of fact, I would LOVE to write on that topic even if there wasn't a potential prize. I'm not sure I could do it justice, but I love the challenge. And yes, I love poetry. Not all.... Like with painting, I love art from the Renaissance, but not modern or contemporary art, though some...Anyway, you get what I'm saying, I think...

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  3. Poetry is best savored with friends like you, Maureen, LL, Nancy, and tweetspeak folk. ;)

    I never thought poetry could be socializing! Imagine that!?

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  4. Oh, NO WAY! I have actually been wondering how to get a free bottle of Sineann. :) I am IN for SURE. I'll be back before the 21st. :) And a SECOND copy if InsideOut sure will BLESS somebody, yessir.

    Do I get in twice for 200 words?
    (Kidding.)

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  5. Sounds lovely - wine and poetry, I'm in!
    But I think PA has some odd laws about shipping wine also, so I enter to win the book and if I win, I'll go buy myself a bottle as I enjoy the book.

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  6. On why poetry matters today:

    “You read it aloud in the darkened room, your lamp the center of one pool of light. From another bulb’s halo , the poet sent the words out to you. Held in the vowels and caught on the consonants, somehow, is your own story written by a stranger. Truth unknown before now falls on you from the uneven ends of the lines. This moment of recognition is as ancient as the cave paintings we shine our flashlights on, deciphering our story from the shapes and tracings of another’s, the one with the courage to pick up the colors. “ Missy Kemp

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  7. Reading poetry
    is important
    many ways.
    Chief of
    which
    is the
    fact that poems
    birth creative
    musings in our hearts

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  8. Would love to win the book, but since I do not drink and live in PA (where Janet thinks there might be shipping restrictions), you should enjoy the wine! :-)

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  9. a photographer captures an external instant
    with a clever mechanized
    click.
    an image caught between blinking.

    a poet conveys an internal beauty
    with a heart inked
    beat.
    a feeling caught
    between breathing.


    Glynn,
    After being inspired by Laura's piece at High Calling and before reading your offer today, I had already posted my own nod to poetry this morning. I am certain that my word count well exceeds 100, but here I am with a bite and a link.

    http://aspiretoleadaquietlife.blogspot.com/2010/01/blinking-breathing-thinking.html

    And it's okay by me if I land outside the rules for the giveaway, my copy is already on its way!

    Blessings.

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  10. Count me in! Here's my 100-word comment:

    I start each writing day with “The Writers Almanac” (a project of National Public Radio hosted by Garrison Keillor). I also keep an ever-expanding collection of favorite poems. Lately, I’ve been reading poetry online, especially through connections made through High Calling Blogs. Although I have not published any poetry, writing it has helped me to cope with my mother’s cancer.

    I think of poetry as a postcard – a graphic depiction of deep thoughts. But Garrison Keillor said it best in the collection Good Poems. “Stickiness, memorability, is one sign of a good poem.”

    May all your poems be good ones!

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  11. Glynn,
    This is just wonderful. I will have to ponder...I hear that bottle calling my name :)

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  12. What a great idea! I would love to win a copy of L.L's "Inside Out"!

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  13. hi glynn,
    your name is on the list for welcoming as a member to hcb.

    so...welcome to high calling blogs!

    :-)
    love to you.
    nAncY

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  14. Oh man, this is way too good - My last bottle of Sineann is almost gone!

    I hope I win I hope I win I hope I win.

    Does that count as poetry?

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  15. I've put my 100ish words on my blog :-) Thanks!

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  16. Ernest Hemingway said, "Prose is architecture, not interior decoration."

    But I contend that when poetry is captured in prose, they dance; they become what neither is alone, like a couple who've long yearned to be together and discover in their union something new and beautiful.

    I'm partial to Riesling. I'd love L.L.'s book, though. :D

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  17. *laugh*

    http://phoenix-karenee.blogspot.com/2010/01/poetry-and-air.html

    Thanks for my poetry prompt for the day. I had fun playing with it. Poetry about poetry for poetry ... what could be more fitting.

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  18. Glynn,
    This is what I'm thinking:

    Because…
    the earth shakes
    mountains fall
    people die
    and tears collect
    like oceans.

    Because…
    hearts need
    lines
    to link together;
    strings of words
    interlocking souls.

    Because…
    in looking
    for words
    we sometimes
    find
    what truly matters--

    it keeps us
    looking out
    looking in
    looking up.

    Because…
    this fallen world
    needs beauty.

    that
    is why
    poetry matters.

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  19. Glen,
    I teach literature to a high school tutorial and also have done workshops at the Childlight USA
    Conference on Poetry. I think about
    Billy Collins saying in Introduction to Poetry :to hold it to the light, drop a mouse into it and watch him probe his way out OR Wendell Berry on How to be a Poet:Make a place to sit down. Be quiet. There are only sacred places........
    And John Keats with Truth is beauty and beauty is truth from Ode to a Grecian Urn.
    Luci Shaw from Breath for the Bones: Because Beauty matters.
    L.L.Barkat's poetry book does that.

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  20. I posted a tribute to you Glynn, Nancy, Bonnie, Laura and Maureen. You have all compelled me to try and renewed my forgotten love of poetry. Thank you so much. http://bit.ly/4zCyKC

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  21. Taking a shot at it. I actually already won a copy of Stone Crossings. So if I win two contests, well then I might go out and buy a lottery ticket, just to see if my luck keeps rolling...

    http://thornscompose.wordpress.com/2010/01/16/why-poetry-matters-today/

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  22. OK, here's my link:

    http://mybigthree.highcallingblogs.com/2010/01/18/when-poetry-speaks/

    ...and this time I plan to REMEMBER the tweet party! It's on my calendar, big! See ya there on Tues.

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  23. I'm a new friend here, but I'd like to take a stab. Thanks for the opportunity :-)

    http://75andsunny.blogspot.com/2010/01/why-poetry-matters-today.html

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  24. Thanks, Glynn ... what fun! My entry is about NOT writing poetry ... the indented portion is right at 100 words ... that was the toughest part!

    http://joycewycoff.blogspot.com/2010/01/i-dont-write-poetry.html

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  25. I'm in: see "It bubbles up" at www.contemplativepoetry.com

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  26. My sister has always been the poet of the family (she has an MFA in poetry), and she writes beautifully. But last week, on a lark and in response to a prompt by Robin at Pensieve, I wrote a haiku. I don't know if haiku counts as "real" poetry, but I have to say, the process really fired me up. And it scratched a new creative itch I didn't even know I had!

    I think poetry boils life -- its joys, griefs, beauty, ugliness -- down to its essence. And I love what Ted Kooser says about why he writes poetry: because it reveals the extraordinary in the ordinary. Yes!

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  27. Glynn,

    Thanks for making me think. I was going to blog about it, but find time running out on me. Here's what I came up with:

    "Words pared down turn thought on head, alter reality. Poetry circumvents brain, logic, reasons, political correctness and a million other vain inventions, surgically implanting emotion straight to the center of a person’s being. A person who has not laughed with poetry has not read good poetry; neither has the person that has not cried with poetry been exposed. Poetry is a craving: once the pox falls, you find you cannot get away and go in search of more. There are baser addictions to be certain, but so rare an addiction enlightens and ennobles a human."
    Joy Messimer

    (I must note- it has been forever since I've had to limit my word count- and 100 words! Quite an exercise. I really should do it more often. [As all the editors in the "room" nod vigorously ;)]

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  28. Rather cool place you've got here. Thanx for it. I like such topics and everything connected to this matter. I would like to read a bit more soon.

    Sincerely yours
    Jeph Normic

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