Announcements

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Pat Valdata read on Sunday, June 28, 2015, from Where No Man Can Touch

Pat Valdata read from Where No Man Can Touch, her award-winning collection of poems inspired by women aviators, 2 p.m., Sunday, June 28 at The Writer’s Center, 4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda, Maryland. The Writer’s Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit literary support organization, founded in 1976, offering workshops, readings and more. Our website, www.writer.org, more fully describes our programs.  Ms. Valdata read with novelist Tom Glenn. The reading was followed by a reception and book signing, and was free and open to the public.

Pat Valdata’s recent poetry collection, Where No Man Can Touch, is winner of the 2015 Donald Justice Poetry Prize. Her previous publications include the poetry book Inherent Vice (Pecan Grove Press, 2011); the novels The Other Sister (Plain View Press, 2008), Crosswind (Wind Canyon Publishing, 1997); and the poetry chapbook Looking for Bivalve (Pecan Grove Press, 2002). She has published widely in journals and anthologies, including Challenges for the Delusional (Jane Street Press, 2012), The Cento: A Collection of Collage Poems (Red Hen Press, 2011), Boomer Girls(University of Iowa Press, 1999);  Amarillo Bay, Grasslands Review, Icarus Review, Little Patuxent Review, North American Review, and Passager

Michael Salcman read on March 3, 2015 from “Poetry in Medicine,” his latest collection

“Poetry in Medicine: An Anthology of Poems About Doctors, Patients, Illness and Healing“ (Persea) released on March 5, 2015. It is Michael Salcman’s second published collection of verse, this one’s introduction written by Michael Collier, director of The Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and Professor of English at University of Maryland (College Park).

Salcman gathered more than 200 of the most distinguished poems about the medical profession through the ages. It is described as, “Infused with hope, heartbreak, and humor, this book gathers our greatest poets from antiquity to the present, prescribing new perspectives on doctors and patients, remedies and procedures, illness and recovery. A literary elixir, Poetry in Medicine displays the genre’s capacity to heal us.”

Michael Salcman, born in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, attended the combined program in liberal arts and medical education at Boston University, was a Fellow in neurophysiology at the National Institutes of Health and trained in neurosurgery at Columbia University’s Neurological Institutes of Health and trained in neurosurgery at the University’s Neurological Institute. He served as chairman of neurosurgery at the University of Maryland and president of the Contemporary Museum in Baltimore. Special Lecturer in the Osher Institute at Towson University, Salcman lectures widely on art and the brain. He teaches history of contemporary art at Johns Hopkins, Towson University and the Art Seminars Group.

A regular contributor to Little Patuxent Review, his poems have appeared in journals such as Alaska Quarterly Review, Harvard Review, Hopkins Review, The Hudson Review, New Letters, New York Quarterly, Notre Dame Review, Ontario Review and Poet Lore. His work has received six nominations for a Pushcart Prize and his poems have been set to music by Lorraine Whittlesey. He is the author of four poetry chapbooks and two collections, The Clock Made of Confetti, nominated for the Poet’s Prize and a Finalist for the Towson University Prize in Literature, and The Enemy of Good Is Better.

Ann Bracken’s “The Altar of Innocence” offers rare and compassionate look at depression

LPR Contributor Ann Bracken based the poems included in The Altar of Innocence on events from her life. From the 60s culture of secrecy surrounding alcoholism and depression, Bracken learned unspoken lessons about communication, conflict, and managing illness, all of which would unfold in her own unhealthy marriage.

Ann Bracken is a writer, educator, and expressive arts consultant whose poetry, essays, and interviews have appeared in Little Patuxent Review, Life in Me Like Grass on Fire: Love Poems, Reckless Writing Anthology: Emerging Poets of the 21^stCentury, Women Write Resistance: Poets Resist Gender Violence, Pif Magazine, Scribble, New Verse News, and Praxilla.  Nominated for a 2014 Pushcart Prize, Bracken also serves as a contributing editor for Little Patuxent Review and leads workshops at creativity conferences, including The Creative Problem Solving Institute, Florida Creativity, and Mindcamp of Toronto. Her company, The Possibility Project, offers expressive arts and creativity workshops for women of all ages, as well as poetry workshops in schools. Bracken is a lecturer in the Professional Writing Program at the University of Maryland, College Park. For additional information, visit: http://www.annbrackenauthor.com.

Meg Eden wins poetry prize; publishes chapbook 

It’s been a great year thus far for LPR Contributor Meg Eden. First, her poetry came in first place in the 2015 Ian MacMillan Writing Awards Contest. Second, her chapbook A Week With Beijing was published just by Neon, This book of twenty-one poems charts the narrator’s relationship with the mysterious Beijing, a woman who personifies the city for which she is named. We see Beijing through a time of tumultuous change: industries rise and fall, the Olympic games come and go, and her husband purchases a mistress. In these poems her vulnerabilities are laid bare and we catch fleeting glimpses of Beijing as she really is.

You can find Meg Eden’s work in Little Patuxent Review’s Winter 2015: Food Issue (First Job) and Summer 2012: Audacity Issue (Letter of the Day (Autism Pantoum)). Eden’s work has also been published in various magazines, including BODY, Neon, HOOT, and Rock & Sling. Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and received second place in the 2014 Ian MacMillan Fiction contest. Her collections include Your Son (The Florence Kahn Memorial Award), Rotary Phones And Facebook (Dancing Girl Press) and The Girl Who Came Back (Red Bird Chapbooks). She teaches at the University of Maryland.

Kelli Stevens Kane’s essay on Alma Speed Fox featured

LPR Contributor Kelli Stevens Kane’s essay about activist Alma Speed Fox is featured on the Carnegie Museum of Art’s blog. Alma is a 91-year-old civil rights hero, and guest curator of the exhibit “Teenie Harris Photographs: Civil Rights Perspectives.”  Read the essay here.

Sue Eisenfeld publishes a wistful portrait of a haunted landscape

For fifteen years Sue Eisenfeld hiked Shenandoah National Park in the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains, unaware of the tragic history behind the creation of the park. In this first-person travel journey through the lost communities, she tells the story of her on-the-ground discovery of the relics and memories a few thousand mountain residents left behind when the government used eminent domain to kick them off their land to create the national park.

Sue Eisenfeld is a freelance writer, communications consultant, and faculty member in the Johns Hopkins University MA in Writing Program. Her work has appeared in the New York Times,Washington Post, Gettysburg Review, Little Patuxent Review and other publications. Find out more on her website is sueeisenfeld.com.

Debby Rippey chosen as successor to Dylan Bargteil as LPR Online Editor

Due to competing obligations, Dylan Bargteil is resigning as LPR’s Online Editor. Stepping into the role will be Debby Rippey, who will bring a diverse and developed skill set uniquely suited to the duties of the Online Editor. We’re very excited to have her joining the team, and wish Dylan good luck with his future endeavors.

Fred Foote publishes new collection of poetry with Grayson Books

Medic Against Bomb (on the wounded– both American and foreign Muslim– of the current wars) is launching with a variety of events now thru NOV. It won a poetry prize and is published by Grayson Books, Hartford CT. Many of the poems are dedicated to specific staff and patients, and are meant honor Wounded Warriors and all who care for them.

Frederick Foote is a retired U.S. Navy physician who lives in Bethesda, MD., where he works to create holistic medicine and healing arts projects for Wounded Warriors and Veterans. He is director of the Warrior Poetry Project and the Green Road Proj- ect, and his poetry has appeared widely in national magazines. More info about Fred and the book can be found at http://medicagainstbomb.com/

Danuta E. Kosk-Kosicka named winner of Harriss Poetry Prize

Danuta Kosk-Kosicka standing by the plaque depicting John Brown and Polish poet Kamil Cyprian Norwid

LPR Contributor Danuta E. Kosk-Kosicka has been named the winner of the Harriss Poetry Prize at CityLit Press. Her manuscript, Oblige the Light, will be published by CityLit as part of the prize. Another manuscript of hers has also recently been picked up for publication, so be on the lookout for further announcements. Two of her poems in the forthcoming books first appeared in our pages, “The Movie in My Head” and “At the Seaside Café.”

Emily Rich

Essay by Emily Rich named notable selection in 2014 Best American Essays

Emily Rich’s essay, “On the Road to Human Rights Day,” which originally appeared in LPR’s Doubt issue, has been named a notable selection in the upcoming 2014 edition of The Best American Essays. Join us in congratulating Emily (who has since joined LPR as Non-fiction Editor) on her achievement! You can listen to her read her essay and follow its genesis in our Concerning Craft series.

LPR Salon with Prof. Helen Bus Mitchell

On Thursday, Sept. 18th at 7:00 p.m., author and professor of philosophy, Helen Bus Mitchell, will speak on how the concept of virtue has evolved from Confucius and Aristotle to modern times. The event is free, co-sponsored by LPR and the Columbia Art Center, located at 6100 Foreland Garth (Long Reach village center).

LPR Events on the Horizon

The summer is bringing on three LPR events very soon!

First, we’ll have a table selling books at the opening lakefront weekend of The Columbia Festival of the Arts, June 13th through 15th. If anyone one would like to volunteer to work the table please contact Steven Leyva at editor@littlepatuxentreview.org.

On June 21st at 2 p.m., we will be holding our launch reading for the unthemed Summer 2014 issue at Oliver’s Carriage House, 5410 Leaf Treader Way, Columbia, MD. This event is also part of The Columbia Festival of the Arts. In addition to several of our contributors reading their work and being available for discussion, artist Lee Boot will give a talk about his work and the piece featured on this issue of LPR’s cover.

Finally, on July 29th at 6:30 p.m., LPR will hold a reading at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore featuring Joseph Ross, Kathleen Hellen, Tafisha Edwards, and Mike Brokos. The reading will be followed by a discussion on the role of small presses in the life of the poet.

The Inner Loop Literary Reading Series Seeks Writers

The Inner Loop is a new monthly literary reading series in the DC area that aims to give both emerging and established writers the opportunity to read their work aloud and hear the work of their peers. The Inner Loop seeks submissions from writers of poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction. Monthly events feature one “established reader” (past include Glenn Blake and Elizabeth Arnold), along with 9 readers, 3 from each genre, followed by a short open mic session. Please submit work for consideration to theinnerlooplit@gmail.com. Find us on Facebook and Twitter and/or join our mailing list.

Greg Luce wins 31st Annual Larry Neal Writers’ Competition

Gregory Luce, whose work has appeared in several issues of LPR, has won the Larry Neal Award in the adult poetry category. The competition is organized by the DC Comission on the Arts and Humanities. Greg shared with us that feedback from the LPR submission process pushed him “to go further and deeper” with one of the poems submitted to the contest. Congratulations to Greg!

Michael Salcman reading in Annapolis & Baltimore

LPR Art Consultant and Contributing Editor, Michael Salcman, will be giving readings in Annapolis on May 18th and Baltimore June 25th. The Annapolis reading is part of The Spiral Staircase Reading Series and will be hosted by Dan Kagan at the 49 West Cafe and Wine Bar from 4–6 p.m. You can contact Dan to join the reading series announcement list. The Baltimore reading will be held at the Graduate Center of MICA at 131 West North Avenue to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the CityLit Project. Chic Dambach, Adrianna Amari, and Dan Fesperman will also be reading. All readers have served as presidents of the CityLit board. Reading, party, and music will take place from 7–9 p.m.

Kathleen Hellen publishes new chapbook, Pentimento

Kathleen Hellen, author of Umberto’s Night reviewed on the LPR blog, has a new chapbook entitled Pentimento. The chapbook is published by Finishing Line Press and can be purchased on their website. Dick Allen, former Connecticut Poet Laureate, praised the collection, “To read these intensely observed and felt poems is like leaning forward in the back seat of a taxicab, listening while the driver speaks quietly from a life both as expected and unexpected as all of our lives are.”

Soledad Salamé hosting open studio at Sol Print Studios

LPR Science Issue cover artists, Soledad Salamé, is holding an open studio day at her Sol Print Studios from 11am–4pm at 2338 Eutaw Place in Baltimore. Since 2009 SPS has been working with artists, primarily in solar etching and other experimental printmaking techniques, developing projects with specific artists. In the year ahead they will continue to expand their programs. If you are curious about their print-shop, meeting the artists that have worked with us, seeing the artwork that is created in their studio, and browsing though their print collection, this is perfect opportunity to get to know them. Kindly RSVP to solsa1(AT)verizon(DOT)net if you are planning to attend.

Daniel Hudon published in Science Creative Quarterly and Written River

Daniel Hudon, whose work appeared in the LPR Science issue, has had a series of instructions detailing how to manage an infinite hotel published in Science Creative Quarterly and an essay published in Written River.

Red Bird Chapbooks releasing Meg Eden’s The Girl Who Came Back

LPR contributor Meg Eden’s chapbook, The Girl Who Came Back, has been published by Red Bird Chapbooks. The Girl Who Came Back revolves around Ellicott City’s Enchanted Forest theme park.

Jim Ross published by Paper Tape magazine

LPR contributor Jim Ross’ essay, “Familiar Shore,” has been published by Paper Tape magazine. The essay is a look at his life as a Midwesterner transplanted to Florida.

Edwin E. Smith Publishing Releasing Lauren Camp’s The Dailiness

Lauren Camp appeared in our Winter 2013 Doubt issue, and is now publishing her second collection of poetry, The Dailiness. The collection is being pressed by Edwin E. Smith Publishing and will available in December of 2013. In addition to LPR, Lauren’s poems have appeared in J Journal, Linebreak, Beloit Poetry Journal, and World Literature Today. Lauren has received residencies from the Gaea Foundation and the Mabel Dodge Luhan House. She also writes the poetry blog Which Silk Shirt, and constructs the web installation Notes to Cecil, in addition to many other artistic pursuits across music, visual art, and literature.

LitMore Party at the Ivy Bookshop

To celebrate the opening of LitMore, Baltimore’s new literary arts center, the Ivy Bookshop is hosting a party featuring local authors, refreshments, and plenty of free parking. The Ivy is donating a percentage of sales during the party to LitMore. LitMore is dedicated to energizing and sustaining the area’s literary community. Learn more at LitMore.org. Saturday 12 October 2013, 6-8:30 p.m. The Ivy Bookshop, 6080 Falls Rd, Baltimore, MD 21209. Free. 410-377-2966, info@theivybookshop.com.

Shirley J. Brewer and Barbara Morrison to Host Poetry Reading

Shirley Brewer (Photo: E. Q. Tennant) and Barbara Morrison

Little Patuxent Review contributor Shirley J. Brewer, author of A Little Breast Music, and LPR blog contributor Barbara Morrison, author of Here at Least and Innocent: Confessions of a Welfare Mother, will read from their new poetry collections. In After Words, Brewer responds to the stabbing death of Stephen Pitcairn; in Terrarium, Morrison explores the influence of place: where you live, where you travel, where you go in dreams. Saturday, August 10, 2013, 2:30 pm, The Red Canoe Bookstore Cafe, 4337 Harford Rd., Baltimore, MD 21214. Free. For further information, contact The Red Canoe Bookstore Cafe at 410-444-4440 or contact@redcanoe.bz.

Barbara Morrison to Host Book Launch Party

Little Patuxent Review blog contributor Barbara Morrison, author of Here at Least and Innocent: Confessions of a Welfare Mother, will host a book launch party for her new collection of poems, Terrarium. LPR contributor Shirley Brewer, says of the book, “Morrison’s gift is to create a world that evokes a very strong sense of place. Even in dark moments—both past and present—nature’s comforting arms are never far away.” Friday, May 10, 7 pm, The Ivy Bookshop, 6080 Falls Road, Baltimore, MD. Free. For further information, contact The Ivy Bookshop at 410-377-2966 or info@theivybookshop.com.

Jim Ross To Be Published in Clockhouse Review

LPR blog contributor Jim Ross’ essay “How I Spent My Summer Internship” will be published in an upcoming issue of Clockhouse Review. The essay is a look back at his 1987 summer reporting internship at the St. Petersburg Times, an experience also mentioned in his LPR piece “After Midnight.” Jim will return to Ashland, Ohio in May to attend the second annual River Teeth Nonfiction Conference. He was part of the inaugural class last year.

Clarinda Harriss to Participate in Poetry and Conversation Series

LPR contributor Clarinda Harriss and Karen Garthe will work in tandem at an iteration of the Enoch Pratt Free Library Poetry and Conversation series. Harriss is a professor emerita of English at Towson University and the prize-winning author of five poetry collections. She directs BrickHouse Books. Garthe, now an NYC resident, grew up in Baltimore. She won the 2005 Colorado Prize for Poetry for Frayed Escort. Her The Banjo Clock was published in 2012. Tuesday, March 5, 6:30-8:00 pm, Central Library, 400 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD.

Jen Grow to Read at Anonymous Requiem

LPR fiction editor Jen Grow will be reading a short piece as part of Bruun Studios’ Anonymous Requiem. Other participants include Clarence Brown, Navasha Daya, Lionel Foster, Violaine Melançon, Bill Schmidt and Kirk Wulf. This event is free, although donations are appreciated in support of Roberta’s House Grief & Loss Center, a nonprofit organization with the focus of restoring children and families to a place of wholeness as they experience grieving the loss of a loved one. Sunday, January 13, 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. Bruun Studios, 302 E. Federal Street, Baltimore, MD 21202. NOTE: RSVP required by January 10th.

Truth Thomas Nominated for an NAACP Image Award

Nominees for the 44th NAACP Image Awards were announced on December 11, 2012 in Beverly Hills, CA. LPR Contributing Editor Truth Thomas was nominated in the Poetry category for his latest poetry collection, Speak Water, put out by Cherry Castle Publishing. Winners will be announced during a two-hour star-studded event that will air live on Friday, February 1 (8:00 pm ET live/PT tape-delayed) on NBC.  Other nominees in the category are Arisa White, Marcus Wicker, Rowan Ricardo Phillips and Natasha Trethewey.

Naomi Thiers’ New Poetry Book Available for Pre-order

LPR contributor Naomi Thiers’ new poetry book In Yolo County is based on her grandparents’ odd courtship. Yolo County is in central California, where her grandparents were farmworkers. The book will be published by Finishing Line Press this coming March and is currently available at $12.00 a copy for online pre-order. Reserve a copy today, and it will ship March 9, 2013.

Ann Bracken Selected for Anthology, Nominated for Pushcart Prize

Ann Bracken, LPR Review Committee member and contributor, will have her poem “Marital Privilege” featured in the 2013 anthology Women Write Resistance: Poets Resist Gender Violence, published by Blue Light Press. Editor Laura Madeline Wiseman said this about the poets selected for the anthology: “…poets of resistance claim the power to name and talk about gender violence in and on their own terms. Indeed, these poets fight for change by revising justice and framing poetry as action.” Ann’s poem “Mrs. S,” recently published in the Reckless Writing Anthology, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

Jen Grow Offers Fiction Dialogue Workshop

LPR fiction editor Jen Grow will lead an hour-long workshop on how to write great dialogue in fiction. She’s got several easy techniques to share that will make the dialogue you write believable, engaging and lively. Come prepared to participate in writing exercises and to interact with other writers. This workshop is free. Wednesday, November 7, 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the central branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, MD.

Danuta Hinc to Talk at The Writer’s Center

LPR editorial board member Danuta Hinc will read excerpts from the fictionalized memoir Angels in the Forest that she is currently writing and discuss her process. The book is about her grandfather and a story about angels that he told her. Because she was too young to hear about World War II atrocities, he used the story to both concealed the truth and, through metaphor, tell her exactly what happened. It took her 11 years to unravel the truth, and her fictionalized memoir is about that unraveling. November 15, 12:00 noon to 2:00 pm, The Writer’s Center, Bethesda, MD.

Ron Capps Announces New Veterans Writing Project Seminars

Ron Capps, Veterans Writing Project founder and director and LPR blog contributor, tells us that the VWP will hold Fall 2012 Open Seminars October 20-21 at The George Washington University in Washington, DC. The seminars are free for veterans, service members and military family members and cover elements of craft such as scene, setting, dialogue, narrative structure and plot. VWP instructors are combat veterans who are working writers holding MAs or MFAs in writing. For more information or registration, visit the website and check the calendar. Also check out the new journal, O-Dark-Thirty.

Ann Bracken’s Poems Selected for Reckless Writing Anthology

Ann Bracken, LPR Review Committee member and contributor, will have two poems featured in the upcoming 2012 Reckless Writing Anthology: The Modernization of Poetry by Emerging Writers of the 21^st Century from Chatter House Press. Ann’s poems were selected along with the work of 39 other poets from across the United States. The anthology will be available in November, 2012 from Amazon and Chatter House Press. Penny Lewis, the editor of the anthology, had this to say about the selected poems: “Taken together, the poems demonstrate a noteworthy breadth of styles and views upon universal experience.”

Michael Salcman to Participate in Science Café Reading and Discussion

Michael Salcman, Little Patuxent Review Consulting Editor for Art, will give a joint poetry reading with Myra Sklarew on the topic of Science and Technology. Their reading will be followed by a panel discussion with brief readings by other poets and writers. This event is the 12th in an annual series of Science Café readings and discussions sponsored by the DC Science Writers Association and supported by Busboys and Poets. Wednesday, September 19, 6:30 to 8:30 pm, Busboys and Poets, 5th and K Street, Washington, DC. For further information, contact host Ivan Amato at DCScienceCafe@dcswa.org.

Shirley Brewer Starts a New Service

If you want to move forward with your writing goals but need some professional assistance, consider The Poet’s Coach. Through this service, Little Patuxent Review contributor Shirley Brewer offers help with particular poems, the craft of poetry in general as well as practical matters such as manuscript organization and journal submissions. Shirley has an MA in Creative Writing & Publishing Arts from the University of Baltimore, is the author of a chapbook and will have a poetry collection published early next year. Contact Shirley by email (shirleybrewer09@comcast.net) or phone (410-279-5487).

Truth Thomas Featured at Busboys and Poets Open Mic

August’s Nine on the Ninth Open Mic will be hosted by Little Patuxent Review contributor Derrick Weston Brown and feature LPR contributing editor Truth Thomas. Truth has a new poetry collection out and has contributed to numerous publications, including the anthology The 100 Best African American Poems.  August 9, 9:00 pm, Busboys and Poets, 14th & V, Washington, DC, $5 (buy tickets online on the day of the event).

Linda Joy Burke to Appear at the Pratt

Join poets Michelle Antoinette Nelson, better known as LOVE the poet, and Little Patuxent Review Contributing Editor Linda Joy Burke as they perform their own work and discuss the differences between poems on the page and poems performed onstage. August 8, 2012, 6:30 pm, Enoch Pratt Free Library Central Branch, 400 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD.

Laura Shovan to Speak at MWA Carroll County Chapter Meeting

At the next Carroll County chapter meeting, Laura Shovan, editor of Little Patuxent Review, will be “giving us an editor’s perspective on opportunities to hone submission skills and increase acceptance rates, says Regina Sokas, chapter president. Join Laura and chapter members on Saturday, August 11 at 1:00 pm at the Mt. Airy Public Library, Large Conference Room, 705 Ridge Avenue in Mt. Airy, MD.