So excited to announce the debut of my third translation, Hélène Sanguinetti’s Alparegho, Like-Nothing-Else, published by Beautiful Days Press. Hélène will perform a selection from the original French—a real treat if you have never seen her—and I will read in a Zoom launch on January 12 at 1pm ET, 13H in France. Please join us! Zoom link will be posted here.
Congratulations also to Hélène Sanguinetti on the above-titled anthology of her work published by Éditions Lanskine! The anthology samples her astonishing poetry from 1999-2017. A preview will take place on December 6 at 7:45pm at 17, bis rue Jean Moulin, in Lille. We toast you from afar, chère Hélène!
Did you know that Montauketts supplied the entire Algonquin nation with shell-crafted currency? Creating wampum, a lifelong pursuit started at five years of age, was barely mastered at 30. Consider Long Island “the Federal Reserve” of indigenous peoples, says Professor Christopher Verga who spoke on tribal history this week at the Commack Library.
This uplifting story tracks an all-Deaf football team’s climb from losing team to state champions. Thomas Fuller, long-time family friend, and New York Times San Francisco Bureau Chief, immerses us in the vibrant and loving Deaf culture as evoked in his PBS interview. “A feel-good read everybody needs right now,” it tops Amazon’s Best for 2024.
Pope Francis’s Encyclical (Letter) on Literature advocates reading as a way to enter into a deeper humanity. He builds a steady case, citing such authors as Borges, Celan, Cocteau, Eliot, and Proust. While the letter addresses priestly education, we writers can also celebrate its profound argument for the transformative power of the literary imagination.
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| Poet Jerry T. Johnson |
Pedestal 95, call for poetry, by December 8
The Previous Published Poetry Prize, by December 8
Harvard Review Poetry Chapbook Prize, by December 15
Frontier Poetry Portrait Prize, by December 16
Codhill Press Poetry Award, $30, by December 30
The Nature of Our Times, call for poetry on the environment, by January 15
Beautiful Days Press, call for innovative poetry book and chapbook manuscripts, by January 15
The Survivor Anthology Project, all genres and artwork, by January 15
Ann Cefola, trans. Alparegho, Like-Nothing-Else by Hélène Sanguinetti (Beautiful Days Press)
Elizabeth L. Hodges, Blood Sonnets (Finishing Line Press)
Hélène Sanguinetti, Cargo Bleu Sur Fond Rouge (Éd. Lanskine)
Jay Shulman, producer, The Stuyvesant String Quartet in Concert at the Library of Congress [1946] (Bridge Records, 2024)
December+ Events – ET
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| “Young Man on White” Watercolor by Linda Simone (2024) |
December, Kapej Gallery & Cafe (San Antonio), new art and art cards on exhibit and for purchase by Laura Lopez, Vera Smith, and Linda Simone
December 1, 4pm, HVWC, Poets on War and Peace, Susana Case, Don Krieger, Hind Shoufani, and Wang Jiaxin; live and via Zoom
December 3, 6pm, The Bean Runner Cafe, poets Jared Harél, Mary Newell, and James K. Zimmerman
December 12, 6-8pm, John D. Calandra Italian American Institute, Books and Biscotti Holiday Sale; to reserve a spot to sell your books, email italianamericanwriters@gmail.com
Now through February 5, The New York Public Library, Becoming Bohemia: Greenwich Village 1912-1923 exhibit
Use this link and scroll to listings
This looks good and I hope to try it soon:
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage or parsley
1 cup cubed peeled butternut squash, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
sea salt to taste
2/3 cup Arborio rice
1/4 cup white wine
freshly ground black pepper
grated Parmesan cheese
Sauté garlic, onion, and herbs in olive oil in deep sauté pan for a few minutes. Add squash, sprinkle with salt, and cook, stirring, one minute. Add rice and stir until rice is opaque, three minutes. Add wine and cook until it evaporates. Add 1/2 cup of hot broth and stir until broth is absorbed. Lower heat. Continue to add broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently until rice kernels are al dente in the center and creamy on the outside, 20-25 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper, and add cheese if using. Let sit two minutes before serving. Makes three cups.
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| Sculptor Eugenie Spirito |
Novelist and poet Ron Butlin on his Substack column, Not Sisyphus But the F***ing Boulder
Guitarist and songwriter Michael Cefola for this video of Christone “Kingfish” Ingram for “some of the best blues guitar I’ve heard in a long time”
Poet Llyn Clague on his poem, “Traitor!” accepted by Ibbetson Street Press
Poet Suzanne Cleary on winning the 2024 Laura Boss Narrative Poetry Award and New York Quarterly Books will publish her book The Odds; and on her poem “In Memory of the Forgotten” being a Watchword Prize finalist
Translators Chen Du and Xisheng Chen on Yan An translations and translator interviews in The Common, Penn Journal of Arts and Sciences, and Non-Binary Review; and two nominations for Best of the Net, and two for Best Literary Translations 2024 (Deep Vellum Press)
Poet Gary Glauber on winning the Peter Heinegg Literary Award and reading at Union College, sponsor of the award
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| Writer Lou Spirito with some advice |
Poet Cindy Hochman on her duet with singer Terry LaChance, having a haiku in Sense and Sensibility, and her Mackinaw review of Bob Heman’s new book, Washing the Wings of Angels (Quale Press)
Poet and essayist J. Chester Johnson, author of Damaged Heritage: The Elaine Race Massacre and A Story of Reconciliation (Pegasus/Simon & Schuster), on having his book selected for the Library of Congress Library Store
Poet Janet Kaplan on her interview in the Planet Poet Podcast
Poet Heller Levinson on work in Alligatorzine, Boog City: A Community Newspaper and Ultrculi; on reading at this year’s Boog City Festival; and on John Olson’s review of Valvular Ash in Sulfur
The MacArthur Foundation on its bumper-crop of storytellers and artists who won Genius Awards this year
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| Sarah Bracey White (center) with Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner and Colby Jenkins of Dare to Be Different |
Guitarist and songwriter Yorktown Poet Laureate John McMullen for this article on the original SNL cast
The New York Public Library for its 2024 Best Comics for Adults list
Music archivist and producer Jay Shulman on the debut of The Stuyvesant String Quartet in Concert at the Library of Congress [1946] (Bridge Records, 2024), and decades-long efforts to preserve works of his father, cellist and composer Alan Shulman, and uncle, violinist Sylvan (see this NPR piece for more)
Poet and artist Linda Simone on having her poem, “Bright as a Planet at 73,” accepted by Certain Age Magazine
Sculptor Eugenie Spirito on her interview in Bold Journey
Memoirist Lou Spirito on his interview in Shoutout LA
Novelist Amor Towles on Meet Me at the Met, an appreciation of the museum
Poet and memoirist Sarah Bracey White on being honored as a champion of seniors by Dare to Be Different Westchester; and on sharing her most recent reading (00:28) at WritersRead
Reading Moby-Dick for the first time, I was astonished by others’ response when I mentioned it. Most paused and said, “I ought to read that again.” Even Hélène Sanguinetti in France said, “Je devrais le relire”!
Another friend admitted, “I never got off the land,” meaning she jumped ship before the voyage began; yet she can quote a profound line that she loves from the novel.
One poet shared he had carried Moby-Dick throughout his military service. In the deepest jungles, he had enjoyed literary talks with a compatriot as tropical birds vocalized above. And, in a fitting tribute, after their tour ended, the two took to the ocean sailing a boat along the New England coast.
What is your Moby-Dick story? I bet it’s a good one.
Until next time,
Ann