Thursday, April 18, 2013

Celebrate National Poetry Month at The Oxon Hill Library in PG County. *Poetry Contest.*

The deadline is April 20th. The information desk must receive the entry no later than 5:00 PM. ( You may also email entries to Oxonhilll.library@gmail.com. Confirm at 301-839-2400. I was given two email addresses.

1 original poem per poet can be submitted.

The contest is open to children, teens and adults.

The poem must be suitable for a general audience.

A poem should be typed or legibly printed and no longer than one 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper.

Winners will be notified no later than April 27,13.

Prizes will be awarded to those with winning entries, on April 30th at 7:00 PM.

All participants will receive a certificate.

No entries will be returned.









Friday, April 12, 2013

Event for poetry month at the Library of Congress.

Many writers and readers forgot that events are held on behalf of the Library of Congress. It's another way to connect in the DC area.

News from the Library of Congress
Press contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639
Public contact: Rob Casper (202) 707-5394
Request ADA accommodations five business days in advance at (202) 707-6362 or ada@loc.gov

See other events in the "Igniting Conversations, Illuminating Minds" week

April 11, 2013
Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey to Lecture May 1 on “Necessary Utterance: Poetry as Cultural Force”
Trethewey Also to Host Afternoon Reading by Award-Winning Poets
Natasha Trethewey will conclude her year as U.S. Poet Laureate with a lecture on "Necessary Utterance: Poetry as Cultural Force" in the evening of Wednesday, May 1. The same topic will be explored in a reading that afternoon by five award-winning poets.

The poets were chosen to participate by Trethewey, who will introduce the afternoon program. The poets will include Marilyn Chin, Brenda Shaughnessy, Patricia Smith, Brian Turner and Kevin Young. They will read from their own work.

The reading will take place at 4 p.m. and Trethewey’s lecture at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 1. Both events are in the Coolidge Auditorium on the ground floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C.

Free and open to the public, the events are sponsored by the Library’s Poetry and Literature Center. Tickets are not needed. A reception and book signing for all the featured authors will follow Trethewey’s lecture.

The two-part program emerges from Trethewey’s vision that poems have "the power to influence us, to affect us deeply by touching not only the intellect but also the heart." Trethewey said the poets she selected for the afternoon reading "approach the making and appreciation of poems in rich and diverse ways."

Trethewey is the Robert W. Woodruff Professor of English and Creative Writing at Emory University in Atlanta. She is the author of four poetry collections, including "Thrall" (2012), "Native Guard" (2006), winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry; "Bellocq’s Ophelia" (2002); and "Domestic Work" (2000). She is also the author of a nonfiction book, "Beyond Katrina: A Meditation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast" (2010). In addition to the Pulitzer, her many honors include fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. She is also serving a four-year appointment as Mississippi Poet Laureate.

Chin is the author of four collections of poetry and a novel. She is the recipient of many honors, including fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard, and the Rockefeller Foundation. Chin’s work has been awarded the PEN/Josephine Miles Award as well as the Patterson Prize. She has made several translations of Chinese and Japanese poetry, and currently co-directs the MFA program at San Diego State University.

Shaughnessy is the author of three collections of poetry, including most recently "Our Andromeda." Her second collection, "Human Dark with Sugar," received the James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets. She has received a Bunting fellowship from the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard. Shaughnessy is the poetry editor-at-large for Tin House and serves as an assistant professor of English at Rutgers University.

Smith is the author of six collections of poetry and a children’s book. She is also a recognized performer of poetry. She is a four-time champion of the National Poetry Slam and has appeared in "Slamnation" as well as the popular HBO series "Def Poetry Jam." Smith is a faculty member for Cave Canem, a writer’s center for African American poets; a professor of English at City University of New York/College of Staten Island; and a faculty member of the Sierra Nevada MFA program.

Turner is the author of two collections of poetry, "Phantom Noise" and "Here, Bullet." A former soldier in the Iraq War, Turner’s writing has been lauded by the Washington Post for its unflinching ability to show "soldiers who are invincible and wounded, a nation noble and culpable, and a war by turns necessary and abominable." His honors include a New York Times "Editor’s Choice" selection, a Lannan Literary Fellowship and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Young is the author of seven collections of poetry and a book of criticism and the editor of seven anthologies. His honors include an American Book Award, a Stegner Fellowship, a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. Young currently serves as the Atticus Haygood Professor of Creative Writing and English as well as Curator of Literary Collections and the Raymond Danowski Poetry Library at Emory University.

The Poetry and Literature Center at the Library of Congress fosters and enhances the public’s appreciation of literature. The center administers the endowed poetry chair (the Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry), and coordinates an annual literary season of poetry, fiction and drama readings, performances, lectures and symposia, sponsored by the Library’s Gertrude Clarke Whittall Poetry and Literature Fund and the Huntington Fund. For more information, visit www.loc.gov

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PR 13-073
04/11/13
ISSN 0731-3527

Monday, April 8, 2013

Another issue of Grove Street. What about women in entertainment?

The 6th issue of Grove Street honors women in entertainment. It features Traci Braxton and author Amaleka McCall. Both are two of DMV's shining stars.

By the way, Traci does a great deal of charity work, and she's been through some tough situations that many may not be aware of. I enjoyed learning more about her background, outlook and passions. What are some things that are coming up next on the show?

How did Amaleka start her writing career?

Take a walk down Grove Street. When you have a moment to enjoy the roses, please cut and paste or click the link. :)

http://issuu.com/bloggertime/docs/honoring_women_in_entertainmentmarch2013?mode=mobile


Sunday, April 7, 2013

Hannah D. Spivey stops by The Nook to chat about her book, "Ebony The Beloved."

Hannah D. Spivey is an author from Miami, Florida. I interviewed her about the book, "Ebony the Beloved." It is an urban/ contemporary fiction read that was published through Aziza Publishing. Check out her express blog interview below.


The Nook: What are your feelings about urban fiction?

Hannah: I am a fan and author of urban fiction. No disrespect to some of the authors, but I think Urban fiction has been over saturated with light skin/brown complected women wearing next to nothing or hardcore thugs with cigars dangling from their mouth or they're holding a gun, gracing the front cover of books. Urban fiction is a great market, but I also see similar story premises. Although, most of the authors are very talented, I think Urban fiction can be a very diverse market with something that is refreshing and unconventional, and thankfully I've been witnessing emerging urban lit authors bring something fresh, bold, and new to the table. Kudos to them.

The Nook: What is the story about?

Hannah: My story is about a girl named Ebony Starks, who has been through more hell than Celie and Precious put together. You haven't read a book hardcore abuse until "Ebony the Beloved."

The Nook: Did you self-publish it?

Hannah: No, my book was published through Aziza Publishing. However, I'll be self-publishing my next novel, "The Bold and the Ugly Truth."

The Nook: Who is your target audience, and what would you like them to take away from it?

Hannah: My target audience is women 18+ and I want them to see that any forms of abuse doesn't define who you are and you can transcend beyond anything trials you encounter.

The Nook: What do you feel are two themes in your book that are relevant to teens today?

Hannah: Self-esteem and abuse--including physical, mental, emotional, or verbal.

The Nook: What has the feedback been about the book? Have you also received any feedback from teens?

Hannah: I've been getting rave reviews from people from all walks of life.

The Nook: Where can it be purchased?

Hannah: Amazon, Ebay, Barnes and Nobles, Books-A-Million, and other retailers.

The Nook: Is it available in eBook and paper back book format?

Hannah: Yes, the novel can be purchased for a nominal price of $0.99 on Kindle. :-)

The Nook: How can readers keep up with you?

Hannah: They can follow me on Twitter @Bossladywriter. I also have a fan page entitled "Hannah Dorothy Spivey." They can reach also out to me via my personal Facebook profile: Hannah Bobanna.


We want to wish Hannah continued success with her book, and we appreciate her visit. If you're a fan of the genres that she mentioned, please check out her work. So, what are others saying about "Ebony the Beloved?" Cut and paste or click the link and take a look.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0615516831

Happy reading to my fellow bookaholics!

Andrea @ The Nook