Tag: poetry

Introducing Collective Member Virginia Watts

Published on by Nadja MarilLeave a comment

“My prose and poetry is about daily human life, the small moments in the hometowns of contemporary America,” says writer and poet Virginia Watts. “Through my work, I hope to celebrate the unique characteristics of close-knit communities, shared family histories, local war heroes, larger-than-life characters.  I am interested in exploring the concept of home, whether that is a city, suburbia, rural life, the far future. Why does one person leave while another stays? Why do some people go back? What haunts those who never do?”

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 Virginia Watts.

Virginia Watts is the author of poetry and stories found in CRAFT, The Florida Review, Reed Magazine, Pithead Chapel, Permafrost Magazine, Broadkill Review among others. Her poetry chapbooks are available from Moonstone Press. She has been nominated four times for a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. A short story collection is upcoming from The Devil’s Party Press.

On her website she introduces herself by stating, “I have always been drawn to creating with words. In fifth grade, I began staying inside during recess to write stories. I didn’t care about the taunts of “nerd,” because once my pencil hit the paper it never stopped flying until the bell rang. I wish I’d kept those notebooks. I do remember one entry was entitled “Peanut Butter and Peas.”

To enjoy Virginia’s poetry and prose, there are no shortage of opportunities available just by googling her name, but here are links to two notable poems you might enjoy. The first poem published by Two Hawks Quarterly is entitled “The News” and the second one, first place winner of the Joan Ramseyer Poetry contest, is entitled “Choose a Memory to Keep.”

If you’d like to learn more about Virginia’s writing practice and sources of inspiration, this link to her interview with Dark Lane Books will provide more insight.

And don’t forget to visit our Facebook Page and follow us on Twitter to find out what our contributors are up to and the latest poetry news. Thank You as always for your support.

INTRODUCING COLLECTIVE MEMBER GABBY GILLIAM

Published on by Nadja MarilLeave a comment

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 Gabby Gilliam.

Gabby Gilliam is a writer, an aspiring teacher, and a mom. She lives in the DC metro area with her husband and son.

Her poetry has appeared in One Art, Anti-Heroin Chic, Plant-Human Quarterly, The Ekphrastic Review, Vermillion, Deep Overstock, Spank the Carp, and others. It has also appeared in anthologies from Pure Slush, White Stag Publishing, Black Hare Press, Raven’s Quoth Press, Devil’s Party Press, and others. 

Old Scratch Press will publish Gabby’s first chapbook of poems. The working title is No Ocean Spit Me Out. Approximately 30 pages in length, the poems in No Ocean Spit Me Out explore the dynamics and evolution of family relationships. It is scheduled for release during the second quarter of 2024.

Whether Gabby Gilliam is writing about the universe or writing about the give and take of emotions between two people, her work covers a wide range of topics. Want to read more? Here are a few links to Gabby’s poems published in Topical Poetry, One Art Poetry, and Ekphrastic Review : Quantum Physics Proves There is No Such Thing as Nothing, What We Can Gather and When a Woman Reaches Super Nova.

Keep up with Gabby’s work by following her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Visit her website for her latest literary news.

ANTHONY DOYLE, OLD SCRATCH POET, ON SPILLWORDS

Published on by Nadja Maril1 Comment

Anthony Doyle, poet, and author of HIBERNACULUM, is one of the ten founding members of the Old Scratch Press Short Form and Poetry Collective. A person of many talents, he writes a great story. Check out his short story on Spillwords. If you enjoy Anthony’s work as much as we do, please give him a LIKE. The most LIKES will give him the coveted honor of #1 story of the month. Thank you.

Daffodils and Mud Inspired Poetry

Published on by Nadja Maril3 Comments

Welcome to Week Two of National Poetry Month. The four seasons of the year are the subjects of many different types of poetry from traditional sonnets to exuberant free verse sprawled out across the page. So to start this week we are sharing two poems by American poets from the past.

The first poem is by Amy Lowell (1874-1925). A Pulitzer Prize winner for her poetry collection, What’s O’Clock, Lowell is associated with the early 20th Century Imagist Movement, which sought to use precise, colloquial language and concrete imagery in lieu of traditional poetic diction and meter. Compared with the second poem we’re posting by E.E. Cummings, however, to our twenty-first century ears it sounds very traditional, until you compare it to last week’s poem posting by William Shakespeare.

To an Early Daffodil

By Amy Lowell

          Thou yellow trumpeter of laggard Spring!

           Thou herald of rich Summer’s myriad flowers!           

           The climbing sun with new recovered powers

          Does warm thee into being, through the ring

          Of rich, brown earth he woos thee, makes thee fling

           Thy green shoots up, inheriting the dowers

           Of bending sky and sudden, sweeping showers,

          Till ripe and blossoming thou art a thing

           To make all nature glad, thou art so gay;

          To fill the lonely with a joy untold;

           Nodding at every gust of wind to-day,

          To-morrow jewelled with raindrops.  Always bold

           To stand erect, full in the dazzling play

          Of April’s sun, for thou hast caught his gold.

The second poet, E.E. Cummings ( 1984-1962) was one of the most popular poets of the twentieth century. Challenging the established approach to words on a page, Cummings experimented with form and language to create a distinct personal style. The exhilaration of the change in seasons is transmitted by his merging certain words together and distancing others in a poem that shouts out to be read aloud.

[in Just-]

By E.E. Cummings

in Just-

spring          when the world is mud-

luscious the little

lame balloonman

whistles          far          and wee

and eddieandbill come

running from marbles and

piracies and it’s

spring

when the world is puddle-wonderful

the queer

old balloonman whistles

far          and             wee

and bettyandisbel come dancing

from hop-scotch and jump-rope and

it’s

spring

and

         the

                  goat-footed

balloonMan          whistles

far

and

wee

Do you have a favorite poem to greet the season? Share it with us and share it by posting it on your own social media account as well. Poetry is not only meant to be read aloud, it is meant to be shared.

Thank you for reading and don’t forget to follow us on WordPress, Facebook , Instagram, and Twitter.

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HORROR POETRY ANYONE? NATIONAL “ALL KINDS OF POETRY” MONTH

Published on by Nadja MarilLeave a comment

Wanna submit to the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for their horror book of poetry? If you are published in HALLOWEEN PARTY, you can. Gravelight Press is part of the Old Scratch Press family, and we pay every author in HALLOWEEN PARTY $25 (and give each author a free copy of the anthology), and that $25 check is enough to qualify for membership in the HWA.

The HWA is currently soliciting for a volume of poetry. Why not submit?

Here’s a little horror ditty (I’m not saying it’s very pretty…).

Little Bo Weep (by D.Pearce)

Now I lay me down to sleep
and thinking ’bout dismembering sheep.
No hooves to leap
no baaaaahs to bleep
just nightmares in the meadow’s deep.
Like a tea with too much steep
the blood into the wool will seep.
I chopping chopping as she weeps
that simpering whimpering
dopey BoPeep.
Then I round the herd will creep
for bones and fuzz and tails to sweep
And when the sheep are in a heap
what will be the reap I reap?
At lastly long and blissful sleep.

Horror poetry. See? It’s easy. 😉

And fun!

C’mon, write a horror poem and submit!


National Poetry Month A Time For Reading-Out- Loud

Published on 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.

POETS & WRITERS DIRECTORY

Published on by diannePLeave a comment

Old Scratch Press is now listed in Poets & Writers Directory and you could be too.

It’s a great way to further network with fellow writers, poets, editors and publishers.

What are you waiting for?

Here is the information below:

Increase your “street cred,” and we can be connected to each other there!

Click here to find out more!

“The Day Arose Cold”

Published on 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.