bottle rockets, The Syracuse Poster Project

bottle rockets is a short-form poetry journal that's been around for a while.  They used to be a paying market, then became non-paying, and are now a paying market again, offering "a token payment" for short poems (including haiku and tanka) submitted from within the United States and accompanied by an SASE.  Submit 5-10 unpublished poems at a time by snail mail.

Poets in or around the Syracuse area may be interested in the Syracuse Poster Project, an effort to bring more poetry to the city through the use of 11" x 17" posters.  They are seeking 5-7-5 haiku submissions, and there does not appear to be any payment.  If you want to support the project, you can either submit poems, donate money, or buy a poster.  Most of them appear to sell for $20.00 plus shipping.  There are also two booklets of haiku, selling for $3.00 and $5.95.

While we're talking about haiku, there was a good one posted on DailyHaiku from September 29th by Margaret Chula.  And Megan Arkenburg has a humorous senryu ("seventh inning") and an unexpectedly profound haiku ("bookstore awning") posted on the bottom of her "Previously Published" page, both of which deserve a read.  (Both of those poems were from Riverbed Haiku.)

Preditors & Editors, a haiku anthology

Voting is open for the Preditors & Editors Readers' Poll, for work published in 2008. For anyone who hasn't voted in it before, the rules are simple: everyone gets one vote in each category, and if you think something should be nominated that isn't (including your own work), you can nominate it yourself. Let your voice be heard, and support those authors, poets, and publications that you feel deserve recognition. Voting closes on January 14th.

Bottle Rockets Press is now reading submissions for an anthology of flower-themed haiku. There is no payment, and submissions are open through August 1st. Submit up to 20 haiku (5 to a page) by snail mail. Previously published poems OK.

In other news, the deadline for the Special Sam's Dot Drabble Contest has been extended one month to January 31st, and Dark Discoveries plans to reopen to subs sometime in the spring.

bottle rockets & poetry contest

The new issue of bottle rockets (#19) is out now, packed with strong poems by some of the field's biggest names: George Swede, Johnny Baranski, Bruce Ross, Deborah P. Kolodji, Tyrone McDonald, David G. Lanoue, and Vincent Tripi, just to name a few. The issue also includes a great haiku sequence, "House of Mirrors," by master poet Ed Markowski.

And in poetry contest news, Cyclamens and Swords Press is sponsoring their first ever poetry contest. The contest is open to any style poems, 30 lines or fewer, and accepts both postal and electronic submissions. Entry fee is $5/poem, $10 for 3 poems, or $15 for 6 poems. The contest deadline is November 30th, 2008.

Been Reading...

Just finished reading two good books recently -- Offspring by Jack Ketchum, and Mr. Hands by Gary A. Braunbeck. Both are great books and I would highly recommend them.

Offspring is the sequel to Ketchum's gory and thrilling Off Season, and doesn't hold anything back. Ketchum has that peculiar Stephen King-like ability to flesh out a character so well you can actually see him standing in front of you. In this story, it's pretty scary.

Mr. Hands is a complex tale about the horrors of this world, both good and bad. Braunbeck, in spite of his awards and best-sellers, is one of the most under-rated authors out there. I'm reading In Silent Graves now -- I'm only 50 pages in and already the book has gripped me. If you buy a copy of Mr. Hands, I believe 10% of the author's royalties go towards a children's charity.

Things are getting interesting on the haiku front. Somehow, I got acceptances from Frogpond and bottle rockets, and I still find myself unable to stop writing haiku. It's addictive.

Haiku, anyone?

I've been reading Jack Kerouac, Book of Haikus, and it's gotten me interested in haiku again. I've been writing a lot of scifaiku/horrorku (which are fun too) but lately not so much your flower/sun/dog smiling ku. It's a great little form, and very relaxing to write (as long as you're not worried about whether or not they're actually good).

Anyway, for anyone who likes haiku and likes technology, there's a neat contest over at ThinkGeek.com: write a "techie" haiku, and you could win a $50 gift certificate.

And for those interested in "regular" haiku, here are some haiku magazines to either check out or submit to:

- Frogpond
- bottle rockets
- Acorn Haiku Magazine