I’m thrilled to see the first published poem from my new manuscript-in-progress, about the severed tongue of the mythological character Philomela, in the May 2019 issue of Poetry and at the Poetry Foundation website. I’ve been working on the poems for several months now, and this poem comes from the first batch I’ve sent out. So exciting!
Here’s a link to the poem at the Poetry Foundation:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/149724/philomelas-tongue-says
$1000 winnings aside, this contest is worth entering just for the chance of having David Wanczyk, who is one of the best lit mag editors out there, work with your writing. I’ve had two poems in NOR, and each time he has given my work such careful, keen attention that it was transformed far beyond what I’d initially imagined possible.
https://www.ohio.edu/nor/contest.htm
I love these year-end peeks into what other people are reading and loving, and I’m delighted to be on this list!
So, this is what happens when I read about emergent behavior and systems theory…
Many thanks to awesome editor Russell Bennetts and Berfrois magazine for publishing this zany poem today.
Many thanks to New Ohio Review for publishing this poem about my experiences during Hurricane Harvey. I’m especially grateful to editor David Wanczyk, who generously spent a lot of time helping me fine tune it.
I’m happy to have this new poem in Tiferet, which is always gorgeously produced. The editors take such care with all the details big and small–from the cover art to the signature font. This issue also has a section of Malawian poems–I cannot wait to read them!
Many thanks to Christal Cooper for featuring my poem “Astral” in her blog series “Backstory of the Poem.” I really appreciate all the work she puts into this series. She dug up and included lots of fun photos of me that I didn’t even know I had, like the one below, as well as images of and by Leonora Carrington, who is the subject of the poem. I talked about how I wrote “Astral,” resisting unhealthy conformity, and how I used to jump on a trampoline in my dress when I got home from work. Also included are notes that didn’t make it into the final draft of the poem.
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/10/32-backstory-of-poem-astral-by-melissa.html
I’m so happy to have 3 poems in the new 5-year anniversary issue of Waxwing, a favorite journal of mine!
To see the rest, read here: http://waxwingmag.org/index.php#top.
My poem, “Everyone in Me Is a Bird”, which was originally published for the Academy of American Poets’ Poem-a-Day series, is now featured as part the New York Times’ “Being Women” project, an exciting poetry and photography collaboration.
This beautiful series, created by Kerri MacDonald and Morrigan McCarthy, began last summer and will run each year.
Other poets in the project: Tonya Ingram, Joy Harjo, Layli LongSoldier, Jennifer Chang and Nickole Brown.
Photographers: Ruth Anna Fremson, Cig Harvey, Maddie McGarvey, Annie Flanagan, Nydia Blas, Erika P. Rodrgz and Anjali Pinto.
The print edition is on the cover of the “National” section for Saturday, August 18, 2018.
Here’s the online edition:
And here’s the Instagram write-up:
The Temptation of St. Antony
I’m delighted to have the poem “Astral” republished in New World Review. It’s about one of my heroes, painter and writer, Leonora Carrington.
