Cigarettes, a spontaneous poem by Keith Badowski

Cigarettes

We don’t want to burn!
Cool as it looks, turning to ash
is something we’d love to postpone.
Just look at us snug in this pack,
our filters so white and clean,
in our orderly rows like cells.
From here we’re causing no harm,
all our poisons calmly inert.
We don’t want to cause cancer
or scar lungs or stain fingers.
Think of our white paper as a flag—
each of us has the skin of a pacifist.
Spare us the germy dampness
of your mouth and sweaty hands.
Pardon us, we beg, from incineration
in that holocaust of the ashtray.


Keith Badowski

Inspired by this prompt

M. Ayodele Heath performs Neckrollology at Java Monkey

Bicycle Repair Man

Ever since I started biking it to the church office, I have learned through trial and error how to replace the pedals, change the tire inner-tube, change out the seat, and reconnect the hand-grips for the breaks. I'm thinking about opening my own bicycle shop for a little extra income on the side. ;-)

Georgia Poetry Society Newsletter

Fall 2010 GPS Newsletter

This message is to let you know that the Fall 2010 GPS Newsletter is now available for download from our website.

Click HERE to open.

If the link does not work, please go to http://www.georgiapoetrysociety.org/

Then click the News menu option and chose Newsletters from the drop-down menu.

The file is a PDF named "Fall 2010 GPS Newsletter.pdf"

It is also posted on the Meetings page.

Important Dates

Saturday, October 16th: Postmark deadline for lunch reservations for the Oct. 23rd quarterly meeting in Columbus, GA. (Lunch reservation form is on page 1 of the newsletter.)

Friday, October 22nd: The Night Before the Meeting Reading, Columbus, GA. This will be an evening of poetry, socializing, and coffee/dessert. The incoming and outgoing Presidents and Vice Presidents will read. (Details provided in the newsletter.)

Saturday, October 23rd: GPS Quarterly Meeting, Columbus, GA. We will have an amazing line-up of poets and featured presenters in the very beautiful RiverCenter. (All the details, including directions in the newsletter.)

Sunday, October 31st/Monday, November 1st: This is the postmark deadline for all entries in this season's GPS poetry contests.  The deadline carries over to November 1st, being the next business day after the 31st. (All contest info is available on our website www.georigapoetrysociety.org.) 


Strophes?

For those of you who might be wondering where the next NFSPS newsletter is, there has been a delay in the next issue of Strophes.  The most recent issue we've received is the April 2010 issue. I'm not sure when Strophes will get back on schedule.

Billy Collins Read at GA Tech Last Night

Got a Shout-Out!

I got a shout-out from Jessica Handler on her blog:

http://www.jessicahandler.com/2010/09/hidden-literary-surprises.html

Wynne Huddleston mentions me as well:

http://wynne-huddleston.blogspot.com/2010/09/2010-chattahoochee-valley-writers.html

Keith Badowski Composing a Spontaneous Poem on Typewriter

Not the greatest camera angle, but this conveys the poetry stunt just fine. By the way, if you hang with the typing sequence, you'll actually hear me read the completed poem at the end.

Chattahoochee Valley Writers’ Conference

Yesterday I had a great time at the Chatt Writers Conference in Columbus, GA. Originally a friend of mine was going to come for the weekend and be one of the presenters. That didn't pan out. Then one of the poets who was scheduled to be a featured reader and presenter had to turn around and go home due to his family being in an auto accident. This changed the whole plan for me. Overnight I went from being a basic attendee to being a featured poetry reader and workshop presenter, having been asked to fill in. The reading went extremely well, felt very high energy. The workshop was well received; a few folks even stood up and applauded--like my head needed to be any more swollen. My workshop title was this: "How to Get Started, How to Keep Going: Poetry Prompts, Exercises, and Springboards For Those Times When Your Muse Takes a Vacation." On top of all this, my friend Ron put me up to doing spontaneous poems for folks between the sessions. I agreed to do them for donations to Chatt Writers. Ron provided me with an antique Royal typewriter upon which I composed poems on demand. I did around a dozen of these spontaneous poems and collected about $65 for Chatt Writers. Not a bad take for poetry!

Keith Badowski Reading on Radio

Newsflash! Tomorrow (Sat.) at 1 pm Eastern time, you can hear Keith Badowski, Ron Self, and Barry Marks reading their poems on Wordland radio show on WUGA, 91.7 FM, Athens or via live streaming on www.wuga.org! Tune in!

__________________________________
Brick Road Poetry Press: For poetry that will entertain, amuse, and edify (not drain, confuse, and mystify) www.brickroadpoetrypress.com

FW: Poetry Contests and Writer's Conference

I'm forwarding this info to all the poets and writers I know.

If you're willing, please forward it on to all the poets and writers you know too! Please?

Peace,
Keith

__________________________________
For poetry that will entertain, amuse, and edify (not drain, confuse, and mystify) www.brickroadpoetrypress.com

---

Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 07:20:56 -0500
Subject: Poetry Contests and Writer's Conference



Our Next Quarterly Meeting: Saturday, October 23rd in Columbus GA

Details coming soon, but in the meantime, please mark your calendars.


Georgia Poetry Society Poetry Contests

Each year, entries are accepted beginning September 1 and ending with postmarks of October 31.

The General Rules can be found at http://www.georgiapoetrysociety.org/Contests.aspx


We are introducing two new contests this year:

The Anderson Social Poetry Prize ($500)

The award is given to honor two young men, Forest Anderson Rogers and Mathew Anderson Crowe, who had deep interest in how people interacted in past and current social conditions.

One winner will be awarded $500. Note: There are no 2nd or 3rd place awards in this contest.

Guidelines

 

Entered poems must exemplify the category of "social poetry." Social poetry reflects a keen interest in the human condition: our behaviors, relationships, beliefs, ideologies, scientific concepts, and how we perceive our world and the universe in which we reside. Poems submitted may be any form with a maximum length of 40 lines. Enter up to 3 poems. Poems submitted must also adhere to the Georgia Poetry Society "General Rules" for contests including the postmark deadline, October 31st.

Examples of social poetry: "Out, Out—" by Robert Frost, "The Death of the Hat" by Billy Collins, and "In the Waiting Room" by Elizabeth Bishop.

 
Entry Fee

 

(This is an exception from the standard fees for GPS contests.) $10 per poem (non-GPS members), $5 per poem (GPS members).

Under a Hundred Chapbook Competition

Under a Hundred: Chapbook Contest in Honor of Edward Davin Vicker

Every two years, the Under a Hundred Chapbook Competition selects for recognition three poets to be included in a combined chapbook. Below are the contest rules and guidelines for the 2010 Under a Hundred Chapbook Contest.

 

How to Enter

Send two copies of not more than 100 lines of poetry. You may include a title page, table of contents, and acknowledgments pages. These will not count as part of the 100 line limit for poetry.

No translations.

Use a conventional typeface, such as Times Roman, in 12-point font.

Do not include illustrations.

Poems must be typed and in English.

Use only 8 ½ X 11-inch white paper.

Any subject, and in any form. However, poems must demonstrate appropriate language and good taste. In general, poems will be disqualified if found to contain indecencies, obscenities, defamations, or hateful expressions.

Place your name and address on one copy of the manuscript. No author identification of any kind on the second copy, which will be sent to the judge.

 

No email, text message, disc, MP3 or other electronic submissions.

Entry Fee

 

$10 per submission of less than 100 lines. Make check/money order payable to Georgia Poetry Society. Do not send cash.

Only one entry is permitted per person.

Entrant need not be a member of the Georgia Poetry Society.

Deadline

 

Must be postmarked by October 31, 2010. Late entries will NOT be considered.

Mail entries to
Georgia Poetry Society
ATTN: Under A Hundred Contest
P. O. Box 2184
Columbus, GA 31902

Three winners will be chosen. No honorable mentions or runners-up.

GPS determines printing and binding specifications and book design. Publication rights rest with GPS until the chapbook is published. After that, rights revert to the author.

Winner receives $50 and 25 printed copies of the chapbook. The author may dispose of these as s/he deems appropriate, including selling them.
GPS will print additional copies of the winning chapbook over and above those presented to the author and reserves the right to sell these copies.

Enclose a SASE if you want to know if you won prior to the official announcement.

The contest will not be judged by a GPS member. The judge's decision will be final.

Our regular and recurring contests include the following:

Langston Hughes Award: http://www.georgiapoetrysociety.org/LangstonHughesAward.aspx

Mnemosyne Award: http://www.georgiapoetrysociety.org/MnemosyneAward.aspx

Reece Competition: http://www.georgiapoetrysociety.org/ReeceCompetition.aspx

Founders Award: http://www.georgiapoetrysociety.org/FoundersAward.aspx

Educators Award: http://www.georgiapoetrysociety.org/EducatorsAward.aspx

Edgar Bowers Award: http://www.georgiapoetrysociety.org/EdgarBowersAward.aspx

Foreign Language: http://www.georgiapoetrysociety.org/ForeignLanguage.aspx

Our contest Chairperson is Lou Jones. If you have questions about the contests, please direct them to Lou. His email address is loutoni@plantationcable.net

Chattahoochee Valley Writers' Conference

Register now for the 4th Annual Chattahoochee Valley Writers' Conference in Columbus, Georgia scheduled for September 23 through 25, 2010. For more information go to www.chattwriters.org.

Here's the latest news from the Chattahoochee Valley Writers' Conference.

We just received word that John Langan cannot make it to this years' conference. We're disappointed of course, but don't fret, Catherynne M. Valente has graciously offered to step in. Her workshop is titled, "The Fantasy Author's Toolbox." Find out more about Catherynne and her newest book, Palimpsest (Bantam Dell) that listed as Amazon's #1 SFF Book of 2009 at www.CatherynneMValente.com.

Rick Campbell will lead a workshop entitled "First the Poem, Then the Book". Read Rick's interview with the Southeast Review Online at www.SouthEastReview.org/2008/campbell.php

A workshop entitled "Writing through Grief" will be led by Jessica Handler. Jessica's book, Invisible Sisters: A Memoir has been named one of the "Twenty Five Books All Georgians Should Read". Check out Jessica's latest blog posting at www.JessicaHandler.com.

A workshop on "Publishing in Today's World" will be led by John P. Travis. Check out John's recent Portals Press publications at www.portalspress.com.

Sarah C. Campbell will lead a workshop on "Photos + Stories = Winning Nonfiction & Earn $$ Before Getting Published." Go to www.SarahCCampbell.com and watch the cool video about her latest book, Growing Patterns. Sarah's Web site and video are excellent examples of how digital technology is changing the way authors promote their work.

"Poetry About Poetry: How Language Looks at Itself" will be led by Carey Scott Wilkerson. Read a review of his first collection, Threading Stone at http://www.writersforum.org/books/archive.aspx?ArchiveYear=2009&Category=Poetry

A workshop on "How to Write a Novel in 30 Days" will be led by Elsie Austin. You can find Elsie on Facebook at www.facebook.com/people/Elsie-Austin/1683775053.

For more information about the Georgia Poetry Society
Contact: Keith Badowski
Georgia Poetry Society, PO Box 2184, Columbus GA 31902, (334) 448-4715

Poet Ken Babstock reads from Airstream Land Yacht

Robert B. Parker

Rest in Peace, Robert B. Parker, author and source of some of the most enjoyable hours I've ever spent reading. Your books have been part of the fabric of my life, and I've read aloud more novels by you than any other!

Interview with John Langan and Michael Cisco at KGB Fantastic Fiction

Way to go, John!

John Langan's first novel, House of Windows, is available now on Amazon.com and the like.

"Why I Should Win the Nobel Prize for Literature" by Keith Badowski

Is it political humor? Poetry? Both? Neither? You decide:

Night Prowl of the Circus Performer

The Country - Billy Collins Animated Poetry

New Star Trek: Phase II Coming Nov 20th 2009

Justin Blackburn: The "Fun" Poet

Keith's Poetry Chapbook Is Now Available

My Wife Warned Me And I Did It Anyway is $6.95 per copy, free shipping and handling. (ONLY IN THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES.)

To purchase online, use the Buy Now button (below-to purchase through PayPal). Or send a check for $6.95, pay to the order of Keith Badowski to the following address:
Keith Badowski
341 Lee Road 553
Phenix City, AL 36867

Keith Badowski is a poet who loves a challenge. Having written poetry for over twenty years, Badowski sought a fresher, looser, and less inhibited mode of poetry writing. Over the last two years, Badowski has solicited poetry assignments from other poets, friends, and family members. Within 24 hours or less of receiving the prompt, he produced what he has dubbed a “spontaneous poem.” The resulting spontaneous poems have been enthusiastically received by the readers of Keith Badowski’s blog “There Goes the Top of My Head.”

Now these spontaneous poems have been collected together in a 40 page chapbook entitled, My Wife Warned Me And I Did It Anyway.







In addition to 25 poems, the volume includes a notes section that offers behind-the-scenes information on the creation process for many of these poems.

My Wife Warned Me And I Did It Anyway is $6.95 per copy, free shipping and handling. (ONLY IN THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES.)

Announcement: New Spontaneous Poetry Concept

I've arrived at a new concept for my ongoing series of "spontaneous poems!" Any Facebook status updates that tickle my muse will be fair game for a spontaneous poetry prompt. So watch out! Your status update might inspire a poem. My goal is to do one a week until the end of the year, so that's 12 before the end of 2009. Status away, folks!