Jigsaw Puzzling: Essays in a Time of Pestilence Denise Low, Kansas Poet Laureate 2007-09, won a Red Mountain Press Award for Shadow Light: Poems. Other publications are The Turtle’s Beating Heart: One Family’s Story of Lenape Survival (University of Nebraska Press); Jigsaw Puzzling: Essays (Meadowlark); Wing (Red Mountain); and Casino Bestiary (Spartan). Forthcoming is House of Grace, House of Blood, docu-poetry from the University of Arizona Press, Suntracks series. She teaches for Baker University’s School of Professional and Graduate Studies. Low is a founding board member of Indigenous Nations Poets, former board president of AWP, and literary co-director of The 222 arts organization. At Haskell Indian Nations University she founded the creative writing program. She lives in California’s Sonoma County, homeland of Pomo people. www.deniselow.net Judge: Andy Farkas, Washburn University professor. Andy teaches beginning and advanced fiction writing and advanced college writing and holds a BA from Kent State, a MA from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and a MA from the University of Alabama. He holds a PhD from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Andy is the author of a novel, The Big Red Herring (KERNPUNKT Press 2019) and two collections of short fiction, Self-Titled Debut (Subito Press 2009) and Sunsphere (BlazeVOX [books] 2019). His work has appeared in The Iowa Review, North American Review, The Cincinnati Review, and elsewhere. He has been nominated six times for a Pushcart Prize, with one Special Mention in Pushcart Prize XXXV and one Notable Essay in Best American Essays 2013. His novel was a finalist for the 2019 Big Other Fiction Award, a finalist for the 2019 Foreword INDIES humor award, and was on the Entropy Magazine Best Fiction Books of 2019 list. He is also the fiction editor for The Rupture (the re-brand of The Collagist).
K.L. Barron is a writer of place: poetry and prose. Her prize-winning fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction has been published in New Letters, The Bennington Review, Little Balkans Review, terrain.org, ChickenBones (Library of Congress), among others, and in several anthologies. She earned an MFA from Bennington in 2005 and taught writing and literature at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas for nearly 20 years. She lives and writes in the Flint Hills. Her debut novel Thirst came out in November 2022 from Sea Crow Press. Judge: Andy Farkas, Washburn University professor. Andy teaches beginning and advanced fiction writing and advanced college writing and holds a BA from Kent State, a MA from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and a MA from the University of Alabama. He holds a PhD from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Andy is the author of a novel, The Big Red Herring (KERNPUNKT Press 2019) and two collections of short fiction, Self-Titled Debut (Subito Press 2009) and Sunsphere (BlazeVOX [books] 2019). His work has appeared in The Iowa Review, North American Review, The Cincinnati Review, and elsewhere. He has been nominated six times for a Pushcart Prize, with one Special Mention in Pushcart Prize XXXV and one Notable Essay in Best American Essays 2013. His novel was a finalist for the 2019 Big Other Fiction Award, a finalist for the 2019 Foreword INDIES humor award, and was on the Entropy Magazine Best Fiction Books of 2019 list. He is also the fiction editor for The Rupture (the re-brand of The Collagist). [Emporia, Kansas] Meadowlark Poetry Press announces the release of Arlice W. Davenport’s fourth poetry collection, In Search of the Sublime!
Book Description: In Arlice Davenport’s fourth poetry collection, the poems express a constant search for and admiration of the sublime. Through experience and education, Davenport’s erudite knowledge of classical landscapes, literature, art, and philosophy connect mankind across time. The poet’s outward quests help inform and satisfy his inward quests for meaningfulness. These poems are restless in their pursuit of awe-inspiring moments, and they share these moments with us, the reader who picks this book up to experience something sublime in the first place. About the Author: Arlice W. Davenport is the author of four collections of poems, Setting the Waves on Fire, Everlasting: Poems, Kind of Blue: New Poems, and In Search of the Sublime, published, respectively, by Meadowlark Press (2020) and Meadowlark Poetry Press (2021, 2022, and 2023). He is the retired Books editor and Travel editor for The Wichita Eagle newspaper. He and his wife, Laura, continue their travels, which include more than 30 stays in Europe. What Readers Are Saying: . . . Davenport blends passion, erudition, instinctive poetic craftsmanship, and his abiding love of language to bring his thoughts burgeoning to life. There is a great expansiveness in this collection; the overarching sky is a recurring setting, whether the stage is internal and intensely personal, the corporeal world, or heavenly . . . . . . I suspect you will read through this book, as I did, to find yourself breathless, anticipating the rest of your day, looking forward to all your tomorrows. —Roy J. Beckemeyer, author of Mouth Brimming Over and Amanuensis Angel I have a new novel out now which is currently available on Amazon but will soon also be available at bookstores in the US. Its title is Unearthing the True Cross. Hope you will read it. Here are a few questions covered in my novel...
While landscaping on the Mount of Olives, Dante Leon encounters a Bedouin man who insists that he discovered, while exploring a Qumran cave, a map showing where Jesus was really crucified. To prove him wrong, Dante digs in that spot and finds five pieces of petrified wood as well as a scroll written by Joseph of Arimathea. A deaf and mute lost little orphan girl encounters Dante, who cures her with prayer and one of the artifacts. A blind Muslim boy is similarly cured. Dante and his family run tests on these artifacts and conclude what they have found is apparently the True Cross. Terrorists now are out to kill Dante's daughter as well as the pope who is about to announce to the world that these wooden pieces, when put together, form the crossbeam of Christ. If you have news of writing events that would be of interest to all Kansas Authors Club members, or if you are a member (dues current) who would like to announce an achievement, please submit your news via this form. September totals for Duane L Herrmann include:
If you have news of writing events that would be of interest to all Kansas Authors Club members, or if you are a member (dues current) who would like to announce an achievement, please submit your news via this form. Each year we name a Poet a Prose Writer of the Year, based on placings in our annual literary contest. Congratulations to Julie Ann Baker Brin, 2023 Poet of the Year, and Julie A. Sellers, 2023 Prose Writer of the year. Julie Ann Baker Brin placed in the following poetry categories:
Julie A. Sellers placed in the following prose categories:
Member Literary Entries for 2024 Yearbook, Deadline October 31
Every Member having paid current dues is invited to submit ONE literary contribution for the yearbook. That submission can be either prose or poetry. Prose is limited to one printed page (no more than 500 words). Poetry is limited to one printed page (no more than 40 lines including spaces between verses). Learn More by clicking here, or view the submission guidelines in the back of your 2023 Yearbook (appendix G) Theme Contest - 27 entries Judge: Amy Sage Webb Baza 1st - [there she is], by Ashley Clayton Kay 2nd - How to Write a Poem, by Arlice W. Davenport 3rd - Once You Have Rounded the Sun, by Arlice W. Davenport HM - To Tim, by Brenda White HM - Aubade: Trying to Decide the Kind of Poet She'll Become, by Laura Lee Washburn Free Verse - 68 entries Judge: George Franklin 1st - Why Blue Eyes Cry, by Janice Northerns 2nd - Ever Topeka, by Ruth Maus 3rd - The Wilding of Cynthia Ann Parker, by Janice Northerns HM - Mike London's, by Janice Lee McClure HM - You Are Not Diminished, by Janice Northerns Classical Poetry - 15 entries Judge: Jeanine Hathaway 1st - Some Things Can't Be Taken Back, by Kristine A. Polansky 2nd - Great-Great-Grandma and the Kitchen Wall, by Kristine A. Polansky 3rd - To the Stars, by Janice Lee McClure Japanese Forms - 14 entries Judge: David Romanda 1st - Cottonwood Seeds Land, by Ashley Clayton Kay 2nd - Railroaded, by Julie Ann Baker Brin 3rd - Pick-Up Sticks, by Iris E. Craver HM - Prairie Wind, by Perry L. Shepard HM - lavender splashes, by Duane R. Johnson Narrative Poetry - 29 entries Judge: Aida Dziho-Sator 1st - Trout Valley, W.Va., March 31, 1886, a found poem from family letters, by Roland Sodowsky 2nd - His Gentle Hands, by Cynthia J. Ross 3rd - Prairie Return, by Linda Beth Wilson Whimsy - 26 entries Judge: David Romanda 1st - Renaming Yoga Poses for Greater Accuracy, by Julie Ann Baker Brin 2nd - What am I made of? by Julie Ann Baker Brin 3rd - Slicing a Cantaloupe, by Janice Northerns HM - Prescribe, by Julie Ann Baker Brin HM - Manypaws, by Janice Lee McClure Performance Poetry - 8 entries Judge: Avery A. Marshall 1st - The Music of You, by Ronda Miller 2nd - Money, Money, Money, by Amanda Little 3rd - Prairie Song, by Mary Powell HM - Full Moon at Noon, by Mary Powell HM - Reason to Call, by Duane R. Johnson New Poets Judge: Ed Harkness 1st - Death, by Madison Morrill 2nd - The Laundry Brigade Marches On, by Heather G. Taylor 3rd - Death Warps Time, by S.L. Brown Rural Voices - 30 entries Judge: Sam Jack 1st - April 11, Again, by Laura Lee Washburn 2nd - Redneck Tornado, by Kelly Johnston 3rd - Wash House Memories, by Aimee L. Gross HM - Mesquite and God, by Roland Sodowsky HM - Landmarks, by Linda Ahrens-Brower Chapbooks - 11 entries
Judge: Sam Jack Published Chapbooks 1st - Since Corona Ruined Our Trip to the Library, by Beth Gulley 2nd - Nurdles and Other Poems, by Allison deFreese Craft Chapbooks 1st - Neighborhood Crazies, by Martha Wherry 2nd - A Common Yearning, by Cammie Funston 3rd - Skysong, by Julie A. Sellers HM - Unfolding, by Iris E. Craver Theme Contest Judge: Kathie Buckman First Place: A Lazy Sunday Morning by Julie A. Sellers Second Place: Sacred Tuesdays by Lindsey Bartlett Third Place: Writing From the Heart by Nancy Julien Kopp Honorable Mention: Zounds! Sounds! By Connie Rae White Honorable Mention: Just a Moment by Brett Wilkinson Honorable Mention: Writing Moments by Sandee Lee Playwriting Judge: Kari Bowles 1st: Gene Stratton-Porter The Birdwoman by Cynthia J. Ross 2nd: Murder by the Books by Julie A. Sellers 3rd: Cold Sweat by Sandee Lee Stories for Young Readers Judge: Michaela Karr 1st: The Eggnog Thief by Linda Ahrens-Brower 2nd: The Mystery of the Hundred Dollar Bill by Marcia Young 3rd: The Singer and the Storyteller by Julie A. Sellers Honorable Mention: The Haird by Heather Taylor Honorable Mention: Shake and Settle by S.L. Brown Flash Fiction Judge: Lydia Kautz 1st: Doubt Thou The Stars are Fire by Julie A. Sellers 2nd: Missed by Heidi Unruh 3rd: Curiosity Bites by Sandee Lee Honorable Mention: A Surprise on my Bed by Sandee Lee Honorable Mention: Uninvited Delivery by Gloria Zachgo Honorable Mention: The Wish by Julie A. Sellers Rural Voices Judge: Ryan Dennis 1st: Landscape of My Childhood by Lindsey Bartlett 2nd: Laneway Landmarks by Julie A. Sellers 3rd: The Bull is Out by Kristine A. Polansky Honorable Mention: Finding Home by Linda Heggestad Honorable Mention: In My “Hay” Day by Gloria Zachgo First Chapter of a Book Judge: Amy Sage Webb-Baza
Honorable Mention: Overcoming by Hazel Hart Pre-suffragist female character in MO finds herself a target of the times in social and gendered ways. She is accused of behavioral crimes and there’s tension and excitement right away. Good context building. Honorable Mention: One Throw Pillow Too Many by S.L. Brown Reader is catapulted into the POV of a woman on a reality show about to be rejected. It’s immediately dramatic and likely to become moreso, with humorous insights along the way. Memoir Judge: Kim Horner McCoy First Place: The Curse of the Catalpa Tree--Learning about Bees by Roger Droz Second Place: Football Mom by Shawn Renee Hood Third Place: Vultures on the Roof by Gretchen Cassel Eick Honorable Mention: Chien for the Win by Julie A. Sellers Honorable Mention: New Arrows for Christmas, Or The Extent of My Injury by Roger W. Heineken Short Story Judge: Michelle Zumbrum First Place: The Spelling Bee by Sarah Jane Crespo Second Place: The Sunflower Dance by S.L. Brown Third Place: Slipping Away by Stacy Thowe Honorable Mention: Reflections by Jeanette Carter Honorable Mention: Empty by Julie A. Sellers Honorable Mention: Donnie and the Great KA-BOOM by Marion Joseph Bollig Humor
Judge: Marcia Lawrence First Place: Have a Drink and a Pen by Marion Joseph Bollig Second Place: It Pays to Save the Receipt by Deborah Shouse Third Place: Ten Little Birds: A Tragic Tale of Attrition by Jerilynn Henrikson Sunday, October 8, 2023 10:30 AM CST View the 2023 Literary & Book Awards via Zoom
Members received the link for this in the Monthly News email (if they subscribe to it) and/or via their district presidents. The link is available on our member pages (sign-in required) by clicking here.
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