Your “Decomposing Summer” poets are…

From Flickr Commons, by Dendroica cerulea

“Decomposing Summer”

First, I’d like to announce those who will be published in our upcoming summer e-pub, “Decomposing Summer.” We received almost 40 submissions from about 30 applicants, and we used some of the following criteria to whittle down the numbers:

1) Did the entry fit our theme?

2) What type of contraints did the poem use, and did those contraints add to the difficulty of the poem?

3) Use of poemic elements

4) Free form innovation

5) The ability to engenger a particular mood, thought, or sense of setting

Although it can be said, with great cliche, that it was difficult to eliminate the majority of our poems, I would like to mention that we didn’t pit any person up against another. The goal was to find poetry that was suitable for our first publication; we wanted poetry that would help to define the future of our e-pubs and overall theme of “quirky and thoughtful.” Please, if you submitted before, don’t be shy about submitting in the future. I’m very enouraged that we’re building a wonderful community of writers. If you are interested in workshopping your submissions, please send an email to butifandthat@gmail.com and we will give you group workshop feedback that is constructive, helpful, and thoughtful.

Here is our list!

“Upturned Gestures of Random Moments” by David Glen Smith

“Lincoln County Love Song” by Sarah Einstein

“Summer Evening Song” by Nan Little

“Rib Rubric” by Jack Pine Jones

“The Nights Are Mine” by Nicholas Hess

“Lives of the Dead” by Marva Nelson

The summer issue will feature special guests Warren Brown (photography) and Paul K. Tunis (graphic poetry), with graphic design by Isaac Mitchell. Special thanks to Margot, Yusef, D’Andre, and my anonymous colleagues at the University of Illinois, the University of North Texas, and San Diego State University for their reviews and comments. We also want to give a special thanks to our friends Hazel  & Wren for their broadcasting and support!

Announcing “Minus One”

The inspiration for our Autumn publication is drawn from several sources, most notably from poet Bob Hicok’s piece “In Michael Robbin’s Class Minus One.” A snippet:

He asks, why did you fill the boy with your going?
I didn’t know a boy had been added to me, the river says.
Would you have given him back if you knew?
I think so, the river says, I have so many boys in me,
      I’m worn out stroking eyes looking up at the day.

We are looking for three to five pieces of creative nonfiction that deal with the subject of eulogizing something or someone distant, of loss, or of memorialization. As usual, we use these terms loosely. We will publish non-thematic pieces that are of  high quality, but we will give preference and higher consideration to thematic submissions. The rules:

1) No longer than 6,000 words, please, but if you would like special consideration, please contact us at butifandthat@gmail.com.

2) Please submit in .rtf, .doc, or .docx, and in the format that you would like it “visualized,” please.

3) Please include a coversheet with your name, address, email, and contact information, as well as the title of your piece.

4) If your piece has been previously published, you must tell us where and when it was published, and demonstrate in writing that we are allowed to republish it.

5) Deadline is MIDNIGHT, SEPT. 5, LABOR DAY, 2011.

More details will follow as we develop this edition further, and after we finish publishing our summer edition.