Morgan Golladay – OLD SCRATCH PRESS

Delaware OSP Founding Members Honored With Multiple Awards

Published on May 8, 2024May 9, 2024 by DPP1 Comment

By Robert Fleming

Two OSP Founding Members, Morgan Golladay and yours truly Robert Fleming, won awards at the Delaware Press Association professional communications contest 5/1/2024 in Newark, DE. Escorting Morgan through the entrance, she answered my dress question: “my Old Scratch Press T-shirt is not fancy enough for a banquet, best black only.” I wore a tight shirt to accentuate my pecs, in-case there was anyone looking for a date. At a banquet, you must send the right signals.

Here is the low-down on who won which awards:

Morgan Galladay won first and second place in short stories: single story for “Under the Rhodendrons” published in Halloween Party ’23:
Halloween Party ’23: Keeten, Jeffrey, Heron, Robert Lewis, Goodridge, James, Golladay, Morgan, DeCicco, Kim, Dickerson, Marc, Howd, Eric Machan, Machan, Katharyn Howd, Paige, Michael, Cantu, Juan: 9781957224503: Amazon.com: Books

“Second Christmas” published in Solstice, volume 3:
Solstice: A Winter Anthology (The Solstice Winter Anthology Series): Pearce, Dianne, Doyle, Anthony, Golladay, Morgan, Watts, Virginia, Johnson, John, Fitzgerald, Christian, Aakaash, Buffy, Fulcher, R. David, Crandell, William F., Pearce, Dianne: 9781957224039: Amazon.com: Books
and honorable mention in creative verse: single poem for “March Wind” published in Instant Noodles: MARCH WIND – Morgan Golladay – INSTANT NOODLES (instantnoodleslitmag.com)

What’s next for Morgan: At the banquet Robert spilled ranch dressing on Morgan’s black skirt. Morgan screamed she will immediately send her suit to the dry cleaner. Robert agreed to pay for his stain. While Morgan is waiting to pick up her dry cleaning, she is promoting her upcoming book Song of North Mountain, published by Old Scratch Press:
DPP CATALOG – Devil’s Party Press, LLC (devilspartypress.com)

Robert Fleming won third place in creative verse: single poem for “Cheese Sonnet #263” published in Four Feathers Press: rhythms of Southern California

Honorable mention in Graphics and Design for “Timothy Gager is with Ellis Elliott at Boston Harbor with the Dire Literary Series.”

DPP CATALOG – Devil’s Party Press, LLC (devilspartypress.com

Robert Fleming won third place in creative verse: single poem for “Cheese Sonnet #263” published in Four Feathers Press: rhythms of Southern California

honorable mention in Graphics and Design for “Timothy Gager is with Ellis Elliott at Boston Harbor with the Dire Literary Series.”

(2) Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10223029934604316&set=gm.1347430896144791&idorvanity=518428889045000

What’s next for Robert?

At my club house gym yesterday, a neighbor approached me to purchase my book White Noir:

After showering, I delivered my book to my neighbor who invited me inside and paid me, after I signed my book. That was the end of the neighborly encounter because the neighbor’s husband, watching tv on the couch, sneered at me. I promptly departed my neighbor’s house, as the husband rose and walked toward his pistol.

Unwounded, I created three graphic images for Four Feather’s Press upcoming publication: Landmarks of Southern California. Learn more about the author here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOAb33t1NFc

Small Independent Presses Provide Opportunities for New Voices

Published on April 19, 2024May 7, 2024 by Nadja MarilLeave a comment

By Morgan Golladay

Five major publishing companies pretty much cover the market for books. But it’s the indies that take more risks on new authors, like me and my fellow writers at Old Scratch Press (an imprint of Current Word Publishing {CWP}). We write because we have something to say, not necessarily for fame and fortune (although that certainly wouldn’t hurt).

If you find a book you like, ESPECIALLY if it’s from an indie publisher, give it a review on whatever national website for books that comes up. Just that small bit of verbal support that says “I like this book” means a great deal to the writer, and the publisher. And it doesn’t have to be my book (but it’d be great if it were!).

So let me tell you about my book. There are fifty-five poems, 8 black and white full-page sketches, several smaller sketches, and other material in the book. They are all original I hope you’ll buy it, either in Kindle or print form.

Hot Off the Press: The Song of North Mountain an Amazon Top 100 Bestseller 8/17/24

For those of you who don’t know me, there are a few things that are important. I am 77, and I have retired from two jobs. I started publishing only in late 2019, and this truly is my Very First Book that is by myveryownself. At times I feel like it’s awfully late to start a new career, but then again.

I live in a community where many people move to when they downsize into their own retirements. THIS part is important: there’s no reason to stop just because we’re retired, or older, or more physically limited than we were when we were 35. We still have the ability to create, whether with words, paint and brush, whisks and casserole dishes, pottery wheels, or needle and thread. There really is nothing we can’t do, just some things we may not do as well as when we were younger (like blacksmithing, or crawling under vehicles).

Available here for pre-order on Kindle with delivery May 1st, I hope you like The Song of North Mountain. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D1P64FHC soon to be available in softbound print as well.

This post was adapted from an essay on Morgan’s own blog and you can read more of her words at https://morgangolladay.wordpress.com/ Don’t forget to follow this blog and our facebook page for the latest news.

The Song of North Mountain by Morgan Golladay features Poetry and Art

Published on March 18, 2024April 14, 2024 by Nadja Maril1 Comment

Old Scratch Press is pleased to announce the upcoming release of The Song of North Mountain, by Morgan Golladay. Slated for May release, the book includes original artwork by the author to accompany her poems. The collection is now available for pre-order.

Founded in 2023, Old Scratch Press is a cooperative of poets and short-form authors who have come together to promote the publication and appreciation of poetry and short-form writing. The Song of North Mountain will be the third chapbook, published by the small independent press.

Break in the Field by Ellis Elliot was their first book, nominated for the National Book Award, followed by avante-garde wordsmith and artist Robert Fleming’s poetry collection, White Noir.

The Song of North Mountain, says Morgan, “is about my relationship with this Earth, focusing on one small mountain in one small chain, in one small part of this vast world.

This book is about a connection – my personal experience sitting in stillness on this mountain, as well as many other mountains. North Mountain is, for me, a symbol of my relationship with this Earth. The permanence of the land, regardless of how it changes; the cycles of life, the quiet continuation of change. It has been a long time since I personally was able to sit quietly and listen to the tree branches and leaves speak to each other. I cannot scale the trails as I once did. But the magic of place is still in my memory, whether it’s the rocks in the rivers, the trails on the mountain tops, or the joy of sharing ripe wild berries.

“…my personal experience sitting in stillness on this mountain, as well as many other mountains. North Mountain is, for me, a symbol of my relationship with this Earth.”
Morgan Golladay

The cover design, an original painting, and the 10 black and white interior illustrations were created specifically for the book. Pre-order availability on Amazon and on the Old Scratch catalogue page will be coming soon.

To keep up with the latest news, please follow our blog here for free and also follow us on Facebook. Later this year look for more chapbooks penned by Gabby Gilliam, Alan Bern, and Nadja Maril. Thank you for reading. Special note: the deadline for Instant Noodles LIterary Magazine submissions has been extended to the end of the month.

Poems to Read to Your Toddler

Published on March 11, 2024March 30, 2024 by Nadja Maril1 Comment

Looking for recommendations for what to read to your toddler? Poet, writer and former Children’s Librarian Alan Bern has a favorite:

“The Owl and the Pussycat” by Edward Lear, illustrated by James Marshall ; afterword by Maurice Sendak.

By Alan Bern

Edward Lear’s “classic love ballad, “The Owl and the Pussycat,” was voted the most popular British childhood poem in 2014, and has been set to music by everyone from Stravinsky to Laurie Anderson.” (”The Sense Beneath Edward Lear’s Nonsense” by Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, April 16, 2018) If not as popular in the United States, “The Owl and the Pussycat” has spawned a number of illustrated picture books here. Of the many illustrated picture books of this absolutely brilliant poem for very young listeners and readers by Edward Lear, “The Owl and the Pussycat,” my top choice is the version by James Marshall. Next to Lear’s own illustrations for his poem, James Marshall’s illustrations, although he died before fully finishing them, are my favorites. Marshall creates wonderful characters that match so perfectly the sounds and voices of Lear’s poem. It is a nonsense poem, but it’s always made perfect sense to me and to so many. Young children will love the poem and the book; so will elementary school kids when they need to feel just a bit regressed. Heck, adults will love it, too. As I do.

Nonsense Suggesting Sense

As Gopnik explains later in his essay: “This gift for creating pathos without sacrificing absurdity is what makes “The Owl and the Pussycat” one of the greatest poems in the language… In “The Owl and the Pussycat,” meanings rush in:

They dined on mince, and slices of quince,

Which they ate with a runcible spoon…

Not even Humpty Dumpty could explain what a runcible spoon is. We know it by its verbal vibration, by its presence, by its sheer runcibleness… This gift for making something felt without having first to make it familiar is one that we later admire in Beckett. Nonsense suggesting sense is a familiar pattern. Nonsense suggesting the numinous is not.”

Personal Connections

And here’s a personal story to go with the poem. As a children’s librarian for many years, I was honored to serve on the American Library Association’s Caldecott Committee in 1992, and I suggested Marshall’s illustrations for this book as a finalist. It was not chosen, most probably because Marshall never quite finished the illustrations. I continued to love the book anyway, and I always wondered why the poem always spoke to me… when I read it or when I listened to another read it. Shortly after my Mom died, I found out why. One day while going through some letters, from my Mom to my Aunt, letters that my Aunt had kept from the early 1950s. My parents were on sabbatical leave (my Dad was a young professor) in Cambridge, England, and I was almost two. In one letter, my Mom wrote: ‘It’s wonderful to be here, Howard and I are having such a good time, and we love having our little boy with us; however, he does drive us crazy and asks over and over and over that we read “The Owl and the Pussycat” to him.’ That brought such a wide smile to my face: of course, I don’t remember it, but it now explains, in part, my continuing love for the poem. Thanks, Mom and Dad, and thank you very kindly, Mr. Edward Lear! And now I shall reach for my runcible spoon.

Thank you for reading . Remember, only a few days remain before the submission window for the spring issue of the literary magazine, curated by members of the Old Scratch Press Collective closes. Submit here –https://duotrope.com/duosuma/submit/instant-noodles-O0jFm

If you haven’t done so already, please follow our blog here for free and also follow us on Facebook.And coming soon is our newest chapbook release, The Song of North Mountain, by Morgan Golladay followed by chapbooks penned by Gabby Gilliam, Alan Bern, and Nadja Maril.

The Not So Secret Lives of Poets! Fun Facts ABout Old Scratch Collective.

Published on September 12, 2023December 22, 2023 by Nadja MarilLeave a comment

Looks can be deceiving. Can you guess who did what?

Can you match these poets: Alan Bern, Anthony Doyle, Ellis Elliot, Gabby Gilliam, Morgan Golloway, Nadja Maril, with the correct fun fact?

A. This writer/poet has a secret fantasy to be part of a singing flash mob.

B. This writer/poet was so afraid of sharks, they conquered their fears by participating in a White Shark Cage Dive.

C. At a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader audition, this writer/poet taught the choreography.

D. In high school and college, this writer/poet had a following as a fortune teller. Their specialty was reading tarot cards.

E. This writer/poet was so embarrassed by their first attempt to bake an angel food cake, they buried the “cake” in their mother’s garden.

F. This writer/ poet fervently played the clarinet in their youth with hopes that the instruments vibrations would enhance the quality of their hair.

G. This writer/poet made a project of collecting all the dead ladybugs where they were working and lining them up on the top of their office cubicle walls.

AND THE ANSWERS ARE:

A. Gabby Gilliam secretly or not so secretly likes to be in the limelight. The many talented writer/ poet who by day works as a teacher, sometimes fantasizes about being part of a flash singing mob.

Poet and Writer Gabby Gilliam wearing what appears to be a pizza hat.

B. Poet and writer Anthony Doyle loves to swim. But he didn’t always feel safe in the water because he worried about being attacked by sharks. So in order to conquer his fears he allowed himself to be locked inside a protective cage and submerged in deep water, a White Shark Cage Dive in Gaansbai, South Africa, so he could confront his terror close up and now scuba dives as a hobby.

C. Poet/writer Ellis Elliot once taught ballet and was a dance choreographer too. So, once upon a time she taught choreography at a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader audition. Here’s a professional photo of her dancing.

D. In High School, Nadja Maril was fascinated by the occult: astrology, numerology, time travel and fortune telling. Her talent to predict the future in college, with the aid of a battered deck of Tarot cards had fellow students lined up outside her dorm room door. Eventually, she packed the cards away. “While influences, opportunities and obstacles can be predicted,” she says, “We make our own destiny.”

A very young Nadja performing in a High School play.

E. Writer, poet and artist Morgan Golladay is not afraid to tell the world her first attempt at baking an Angel Food Cake was such an embarrassment, she hid the evidence by burying it in her mother’s garden. Often the work of creating something “just right” takes multiple tries.

F. Allan Bern shares this wonderful photo of him in his youth when long full hair was “a thing” and he was convinced, if he kept practicing his clarinet, the vibrations of his instrument would enhance his hair growth. “Here I am in Napoli in 1966, ” says Alan. “My friend Umberto and I played the Clarinet, and he claimed the practicing made your head vibrate and, perhaps, helped your hair grow like this.”

E. Writer/Poet Janet Uchendu thought it odd that an inordinate amount of ladybugs were turning up dead inside the office where she worked. Like most writers, she is a keen observer. Perhaps it was the end of their lifecycle, but why inside that particular office? So she stacked them up on the top edge. of her cubicle. But much to her surprise, no one else noticed.

Thank you for playing the game. Don’t forget to follow this blog for news and announcements. It’s free. Just sign up. Coming up is the October 15th deadline to the Coold Turkey issue of Instant Noodles Literary Magazine. Prose submissions this time must be approximately less than 500 words and no more than two poems, if you are submitting in the poetry category.

INDIE PUBLISHER DEVIL PARTY PRESS LAUNCHES NEW IMPRINT

Published on June 16, 2023July 12, 2023 by Nadja Maril4 Comments

IN THE NEWS

Old Scratch Press will feature original chapbooks and short-form prose

For Immediate Release

June 15, 2023 – Los Angeles: Devil’s Party Press of Los Angeles announced the launch of a new publishing imprint, Old Scratch Press. This new imprint, based in southern Delaware, will produce quality chapbooks that feature poetry and short-form prose by leading authors.

Supporting this endeavor will be ten contributing editors, members of the Old Scratch Press Short-Form Prose and Poetry Collective: poets and writers Alan Bern, Anthony Doyle, Ellis Elliott, Robert Fleming. R. David Fulcher, Gabby Gilliam, Morgan Golladay, Nadja Maril, Dianne Pearce, Janet Holmes Uchendu, and Virginia Watts who will work together to help promote the love of poems and short form prose.

Old Scratch Press’ inaugural publication is Break in the Field, a collection of verse by award-winning poet, Ellis Elliott. Ms. Elliott is a contributing writer for the Southern Review of Books, an editor/workshop teacher for The Dewdrop, and facilitator of the Bewilderness Writing Workshops. Her publishing credits include Signal Mountain Review, Ignation Literary Magazine, and Literary Mama.

Break in the Field addresses how human perception can change, depending on the vantage point. “I am a perennial student of nature, inner realms, and the wisdom of the body,” says Elliott, “and I write to bear witness and disentangle the world as I perceive it.” Break in the Field will be available in mid-July 2023.

November 2023 will see the publication of White Noir, a chapbook by Robert Fleming. White Noir is a black and white visual poetry exploration of human birth to death and beyond on Earth. A prize-winning poet who explores masculinity, sexual orientation, sin and virtue, and dystopia in words and graphics, Fleming is a self-described word-artist whose work has been published internationally in more than 95 print and online publications, and has appeared in art galleries and in online mic features. “The vibe is dark, Goethe, and dystopian, but I lighten it up by including humor, and it offers a hopeful ending,” notes Fleming of his upcoming collection.

Beginning in 2024, Old Scratch Press will produce three or more original titles per year, available in both print and Ebook formats. For more information visit oldscratchpress.com and devilspartypress.com.

About Devil’s Party Press
Devil’s Party Press, LLC, an independent publishing house located in Los Angeles, was founded in 2017 by Dianne Pearce, an award-winning author, editor, and publisher. The mission of Devil’s Party is to help showcase the work of unsung authors over 40 years of age. Devil’s Party publishes literary fiction while its four imprints are genre specific: Gravelight Press (horror), Hawkshaw Press (crime/cozy), Out-of-This-World Press (sci-fi), and Old Scratch Press (poetry). To date, Devil’s Party and its imprints have published over 200 authors internationally. In addition to print publications, Devil’s Party produces the award-winning online literary magazine, Instant Noodles

Introducing Collective Member Morgan Golladay

Published on May 8, 2023July 12, 2023 by Nadja Maril1 Comment

How does one convey the feeling of a place? Twice-recognized by the Delaware Press Association for her poetry, Morgan Golladay gathers images and thoughts into a story of living in an area where rivers and mountains converge into dreams and memories.

Destination by Morgan Golladay

Ten dedicated writer poets comprise the Old Scratch Short Form Collective, with the goal of working with the Devil’s Party Press, a small independent publisher, to bring to fruition the concept of publishing chapbooks of poetry and short form prose under the imprint Old Scratch Press.

This week we are introducing founding member Morgan Golladay

Morgan Golladay has been intrigued with words all her life. Her poetry reflects this, and she uses illusion and allusion in her writing. Much of her work focuses on her native Shenandoah Valley, as well as coastal Delaware.

Morgan says that poetry originated as an oral form, and she thinks it works best when it is heard. To that end it must be concise, simple, and tight. The poet bears the responsibility to speak old truths in new ways, to encourage the reader/listener to consider ideas from a different point of view. To do this the poet must be vulnerable, must allow their inner thoughts and fears and secrets to surface. This is particularly difficult in a society that doesn’t share its hurts, its fears, its pain. And that poetry, of love, loss, sadness, fear, and joy binds us together in our humanity and give us opportunities to grow.

Daylight in the Swamp by Morgan Golladay

Now a resident of central Delaware, Morgan ‘s latest work The Song of North Mountain is a love song to the northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Growing up in a valley nestled between the Blue Ridge and North Mountain, Morgan Golladay was greeted daily by the aura of a quiet landscape blessed by sky and rolling hills. The images in this chapbook are, for the greater part, memories of a time where all that was important was sky, mist, land, and trees. Publication is tentatively scheduled for 2024.

Above the Gap by Morgan Golladay

Morgan past work and life experiences have provided her with a diverse perspective which she brings to her writing and her visual artwork. She has worked with non-profits as a volunteer and staff member, been a librarian, a blood donor recruiter, and a customer service and purchasing agent for a residential water-well wholesaler. Her watercolor and acrylic-collage paintings have won awards, and she is a member of the Mispillion Art League in Milford, DE, where she currently lives.

Her poetry and prose has been published in the Broadkill Review, Halloween Party ’21, and Instant Noodles. She is currently editing her first novel.

National Poetry Month A Time For Reading-Out- Loud

Published on April 3, 2023July 12, 2023 by Nadja MarilLeave a comment

April is the month for poetry, and in the part of the United States where I live, I’m fortunate to have a hiking trail where years ago small signs were posted with quotes from poetry. What a delight, to only hear the sounds of my shoes crunching into the dirt and the twitter of birds and insects, blue sky overhead, surrounded by green. I pause and read the poem painted on a wooden sign. If I am with a friend, I read it to them aloud. If I am alone, I still read it out loud to myself, because poetry is meant to be heard.

National Poetry Month was established in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets. According to the Academy, it is the largest literary celebration in the world. Listening to a poet read their own work is a treat. Click on the previous link to see and hear Joy Harjo read one of her exquisite poems.

One of the earliest poets I was introduced to in school was William Shakespeare. Today, due to the evolution of the English language, his works are not as frequently read. Some of the words and phrasing may seem “odd” to your modern ear, but listen to the phrasing and the selection of vowel sounds and consonants. Read him aloud and his work may start to grow on you.

Discovering new poets and rediscovering forgotten favorites, is part of the fun of National Poetry Month.

Writer and Artist Morgan Golladay, a founding member of the Old Scratch Poetry and Short Form Collective, created this beautiful piece of artwork featuring a flower found in many spring gardens, Impatiens.

Sonnet 98: From You Have I Been Absent in the Spring

BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

From you have I been absent in the spring,

When proud-pied April, dressed in all his trim,

Hath put a spirit of youth in everything,

That heavy Saturn laughed and leaped with him.

Yet nor the lays of birds, nor the sweet smell

Of different flowers in odour and in hue,

Could make me any summer’s story tell,

Or from their proud lap pluck them where they grew:

Nor did I wonder at the lily’s white,

Nor praise the deep vermilion in the rose;

They were but sweet, but figures of delight

Drawn after you, – you pattern of all those.

Yet seem’d it winter still, and, you away,

As with your shadow I with these did play.

IF you have a favorite poet or poem you’d like to share, let us know. Follow us on WordPress, Facebook, and Twitter.

Thank you for reading.

INTRODUCING COLLECTIVE MEMBER ROBERT FLEMING

Published on March 27, 2023March 27, 2023 by Nadja Maril1 Comment

This week we are introducing Robert Fleming. His chapbook White Noir will be published in the fall of 2023. Don’t forget to subscribe to our blog, as we’ll be introducing the contributing editors, member of the collective, one by one each week. You’ll also learn about poetry events, publishing opportunities, and new ways of approaching the genre of short form.

MEET ROBERT FLEMING

Robert Fleming is a word-artist born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada who emigrated to Lewes, Delaware, United States. Robert follows his mother as a visual artist and his grandfather as a poet. In his work, Fleming explores masculinity, sexual orientation, sin and virtue, and dystopia in words and graphics on earth and beyond.

Since 2017, more than 400 of his works were published internationally in more than 95 print and online publications, art galleries and online mic features. His style is influenced by the writers Robert Frost, Dr. Seuss, and the Beats and his graphics by surrealistic artists like Salvador Dali. A Member of the Rehoboth Beach and Horror Writers Association, nominated twice for the Pushcart Award and twice for Best of the Net, Robert Fleming’s is the winner of the 2022 San Gabriel Valley California Poetry Broadside Award and is in the 2021 Best of Mad Swirl.

Robert’s chapbook, White Noir, a Black and white visual poetry exploration of human birth to death and beyond on earth, is scheduled for publication in the November of 2023. He says about the book, the vibe is dark, goethe, and dystopian, but I lighten it up by including humor. And,” he adds, “ it offers a hopeful ending.”

Follow Robert on https://www.facebook.com/robert.fleming.5030 .

Learn about the other writer/poets in our collective in the upcoming weeks, or click on their links here:

Alan Bern
Anthony Doyle

Ellis Elliot
Gabby Gilliam
Janet Holmes Uchendu
Morgan Golladay
Nadja Maril
R. David Fulcher
Robert Fleming
Virginia Watts

In just four more days April will be here, and you know what that means?… National Poetry Month! If you have a favorite poem, we’d love to hear about it and possibly post it ( if it is in the public domain). Please use the comment space to get in touch, We’ll be sharing favorite poems and pieces we admire along with writing prompts, thoughts and musing about poetry, short form prose and other hybrid forms.

Do you have an idea for something you’d like to read about in this space? Let us know. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

“The Day Arose Cold”

Published on March 13, 2023July 17, 2023 by Nadja MarilLeave a comment

Congratulations to OLD SCRATCH PRESS founding member Morgan Golladay, whose poem “The Day Arose Cold,” featured in Solstice, was a Delaware Press Award winner.

WAY TO GO MORGAN!

The Day Arose Cold

The sun rose
into a pink sky,
pausing
to gain strength
before entering this frozen day.
Yesterday’s snow
is untrodden
by the small ones,
searching for food.
Even squirrels
have forsaken their branches
for warmth and safety
in their leafy nests.
Would that I, too, could stay,
snug and cozy,
but there is snow to move,
feed to put out,
animals to tend.