Hey there! Happy Mother's Day. One bit of news I heard this week is that Glimmer Train is coming to its final destination – here’s what appeared in a recent email: “Most of you already know that next fall Glimmer Train will—after almost 30 years—finally arrive at the end of the line: The last Writers Ask, #85, will be out in October 2019, and Glimmer Train #106, the fall issue, will also be out in October (a little later than the usual August) so we have time to tuck every … [Read more...]
After The Blizzard — Lesléa Newman (photos by Kathy Buckland)
Greetings! A couple of weeks ago I received an email from esteemed writer Lesléa Newman with some wonderful poems. It made my day. She has a new collection of poetry--it's called Lovely, and this poem is from that new book out from Headmistress Press. When I read this poem about a cat, I knew to contact Kathy Buckland for photos, and sure enough, she had ones that were perfect. Today it is spring-like in Chicago but I know my friends in the Northeast are recovering from … [Read more...]
News on SISMW contributors and friends & calls for submissions
Hello. Hope your Spring has sprung. Here in Chicago we have not quite gotten to warm weather yet. And the news seems to be that other areas of the country have also experienced a return to winter. I guess we should expect April to be harsh for as T. S. Eliot told us: "April is the cruellest month, breeding / Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing / Memory and desire, stirring / Dull roots with spring rain." BTW, Happy Poetry Month. Cuban-American author Margarita Engle has an … [Read more...]
Diversions and photo prompts
As I have mentioned here before, I am a crossword puzzle enthusiast, an addict really. The Chicago Tribune runs the puzzle from the Los Angeles Times syndicate and the Sun-Times runs the The New York Times puzzle (a week later than it originally appears), I still get the Trib delivered and do the puzzle each day. Usually I warm up with the Jumble. I work in pen. I time myself. I have let my Chicago Sun-Times subscription lapse. The paper is not what it once was, and I … [Read more...]
Celebrating Mother’s Day with Lesléa Newman
Happy Mother’s Day! I hope it is a great day and that you are able to celebrate in some way. My heart goes out to all of you who are missing your mother or are missing being a mother this Sunday. I am happy to share two poems by Lesléa Newman. They are from her latest book, I Carry My Mother. If the name Lesléa Newman sounds familiar, you may have recently read about the 25th anniversary of her ground-breaking book Heather Has Two Mommies. A new edition just came … [Read more...]