The Chimaera Slouches Closer

The Fifth Chimaera, its hour almost come round at last, is slouching towards Bethlehem, and should be born fairly soon. Some of the editors have been having insistent reality-engagement issues involving end-of-days scenarios: rivers running with blood, women wailing for their demon lovers, lions prowling at midnight on the High Street, clouds opening to reveal God, new-born puppies with heads like Tony Blair and so forth. We expect these issues to be resolved fairly soon, and The Fifth Chimaera lightly to trip fourth forth when the moon is in the seventh house.

The Chimaera Reports

A Message From the Chief Monster

Due to the retrograde influence of a mysterious but demanding phenomenon known as 'Real Life', not much work has appeared on the Chimaera/Shit Creek Blog news front. This post is an attempt to catch up on some of that.

From J.J. Steinfeld, Canadian writer whose brilliant flash fiction apppeared in The Chimaera's issues #3 and #4:

"Thought you might be interested in knowing that Chimaera has entered Canadian academe in the form of an essay topic for an English literature course at the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada). Attached are the course outline for "ENGL 1080-06 F08: Reading the Past" and the (May 2008) Chimaera topic from that course. So, some eager Canadian literature students should soon be visiting Chimaera."

I tell you, Lads and Lad-esses, that eventually The Chimaera and the Shit Creek Review will be required reading for every student on the planet! Untold wealth and fabulous fame will flow from these mighty enterprises. Even as I rant, 60,000 New South Welsh students, their teachers, and tutors, as well as the massive educational support industry, are searching for additional texts for the mandatory Year 12 Higher School Certificate Area of Study question on 'Belonging' — and many of them are starting to find The Chimaera's 'Belonging' themed feature from issue #3. Another 60,000 + will do the same thing next year, and the next, until about 2012: many of these will end up at The Chimaera, and find poems or prose relating to Belonging that they can discuss at school and write about in the HSC. There are worse things for writers than finding your way into Senior High and University courses and essays.

Dennis Greene's lovely poem 'One Tree Bridge' was published in SCR #2. Now Dennis tells me that the state officer given the task of updating the signage at One Tree Bridge ( in Western Australia )has written to him, saying that he was searching around on the internet for information and came across'One Tree Bridge' on Shit Creek Review, adding 'I would like to use this poem at the [One Tree Bridge] site as I think it is a great description of the area and alludes to the history which is the major focus of the interpretation.' Who says that poetry has no impact on the real world? Well done, Dennis!

Jack Large has posted nearly 100 short videos of US poets reading on his YouTube (jakvid) channel http://uk.youtube.com/user/jakvid . You may also be interested in looking over the website at www.thetemplebookstore.com. Jack's recommendations for the YouTube foray: Janine Pommy Vega ("Habeas Corpus"); Klyd Watkins, ("Nipple of light"), Charles Potts ("The English Verbs", "Pahsimeroi Eki"), Andy Clausen ("Deconstruction of an erection") and Corrine De Winter ("Heroin poem").

Sally Cook has a poem 'The Face Of Morning' in the June/July 2008 issue of First Things. Seven poems by Sally are now on The Hypertexts. Sally also joins Margaret Menamin, Jared Carter, David W. Landrum, and Joseph S. Salemi on the Featured Poet roster at The Formalist Portal. But there's more! Sally has reviewed The Conservative Poets: A Contemporary Anthology, by William Baer (published by University of Evansville Press (Evansville, Ind.) 192 pp., $20.00 cloth, 2006.) The review, 'Rhyming The Right', appears in the Summer 2008 University Bookman.

More readings on Youtube with Leo Yankevich's White Horse Tavern page: http://uk.youtube.com/user/WhiteHorseTavern, where Leo reads a number of his own poems. Leo edits The New Formalist and other Formalist literary magazines.

Australian poet Peter Nicholson has an very interesting online site at http://peternicholson.com.au/, with poetry, essays and student notes; see also his blog on 3 Quarks Daily.

A reminder for New South Wales poets, especially Novocastrians and those on the Central Coast, that Poetry at the Pub is held at the Northern Star Hotel in Hamilton, normally on the third and fifth Monday of the month (check their website first) — a good chance to drink a schooner or two of Black Ale pure inspirational water from the Muses' fountain.

Paul Hostovsky, who appeared in The Chimaera's Belonging feature in issue #3, has a new book out, Bending the Notes, from Main Street Rag Store.

Kathryn Jacobs, whose work also appeared in issue #3 of The Chimaera, has a book out, Advice Column, with Finishing Line Press (the titles are arranged alphabetically; scroll down to find Kathryn's book).

Juleigh Howard-Hobson, who has been with us since way back, has had a few gigs lately: work in 14 by 14, HawkandWhippoorwill, Soundzine and Bumbershoot Candelabrum, The Road Not Taken Journal of Formal Poetry and PanGaia. Doubtless more, since she told me this back in August!

I've put a lot of news items in here, but may have missed some that people have sent in. I'll have another go very soon: promise! In the meantime, if you are an SCR or Chimaera poet who is sending me an item, it really helps (now that we have a great many authors on board) if you tell me which issue your work appeared in so I can quickly find it and link to it; or better still, send me the actual URL. This would expedite considerably these news relays.

I experience the submission process from both sides of the equation: I receive submissions as an editor, but I also send poems out to editors in hope of publication. Sometimes they are published, more often they are not; sometimes editors are impressively prompt in replying, more often they take 6-12 weeks; depressingly fequently I never hear back from them at all. So, Dear Poets, without whose contributions there would be no Shit Creek Review or Chimaera, what I'm saying is that I know what it feels like to wait and wait. All of us working on both magazines are practising poets: we know the angst. Editors at SCR and TC try hard to move things through quickly, given that they all have day jobs, families, and all sorts of other commitments. And poems have to be emailed to and fro betweeen, and considered by, several editors: this takes time.

Also, with our system of selection there remains the fact that if you submit near the beginning of any particular submission cycle, that is just after the latest issue came out, you are probably going to wait longer than if you submitted late in the cycle, since decisions tend to be made when sufficient submissions have accumulated. So please factor that into your submission-response-freak-out-tolerance quotient. And finally: a percentage of my replies bounce — that is, the submitter's isp or mailbox just refuses to accept them. Unless I have another way of contacting that person (for example through a poetry board's PM facility) there's nowt I can do except feel sorry for the submitter. I always retry several times, but I'm often left with submissions from authors to whom I am unable to reply. I'm sure some replies end up in Spam folders, so if you're keen to hear your submission's fate it pays to check those from time to time. But If your emailer totally bounces my reply, I'm afraid it's Game Over. And the bugger is that you will not realise that this has happened, and think, 'Oh, bloody slack Stevens is probably drinking rounds of Calvados, flirting with poetry groupies, partying around the clock and generally skiving off while totally ignoring my poems!' Not so, alas! Not so!

PS: Rose Kelleher's Bundle o' Tinder is now on sale at Waywiser. Buy it, or we'll position the Shit Creek Corporation peace-keeping nuclear-armed gatling-gun satellite over your house and it will be the worse for you!

South African Poetry Blog

South African poets seem hard to find on the English-speaking poetry boards and in the ezines. Lots of Merkins, Canuks, Pommies, Aussies and the odd EnZedder, but in my ignorance I just don't seem to stumble across many Seth Efricans. Now here's a cool poetry blog emanating from that direction — Peony Moon. It's run by Michelle McGrane, a smart lady who's given me some great ideas. Peony Moon's worth following — I've put the url into the Links list.

Light Submissions!

 
For The Chimaera Issue 5, due out in the second half of January 2009, our Feature Theme will be light verse. John Whitworth (Spotlight Poet in this issue) has agreed to guest-edit the feature. The definition of light verse will be broad rather than narrow. We’ll be looking for well-made poems in a lighter style (see the part of the the Spotlight interview touching on light verse). John will select for the feature from submissions received, which should be sent via our online form (preferred) or by email to the usual editorial address (editor@the-chimaera.com) — not, please, directly to John. And please read our submission guidelines first.

Our Spotlight Poet for Issue 5 will be Stephen Edgar, three of whose poems appear in the current issue. If you have special familiarity with Stephen Edgar’s work and would like to contribute to this feature, please contact the editor.

Issue 5 will also include the usual miscellany of verse and prose in various styles and on various themes. We invite Submissions for this General section as well.

All submissions need to be in by December 1st, 2008.

The Fourth Chimaera

It's the Fourth Chimaera!

Starring

John Whitworth,

with Mark Allinson, Peter Austin, Anne Bryant-Hamon, Nuala Ní Chonchúir, Antonia Clark , Sarah Colona, Maryann Corbett, Corrie Fenner, Sally Festing , Jan Iwaszkiewicz, Margaret Menamin, Timothy Murphy, Henry Quince, Myra Schneider, Janice D. Soderling, John Weston, Christopher Whitby, Gail White, Greta Bolger, J. J. Steinfeld, Alan Brownjohn, Harry Chambers, Wendy Cope, Gregory Dowling, Ann Drysdale, R.S. Gwynn, Richard Broderick, Stephen Edgar, Sally Festing, Howie Good, Taylor Graham, Christopher Hanson, Janet Kenny, Quincy Lehr, Lance Levens, Amy Bell, Julie Wakeman-Linn, Duncan Gillies MacLaurin, David Holper, and Quincy Lehr.

Cameo performances by Les Murray and Roger McGough.

Art by Pat Jones. Blood, sweat and tears by Peter Bloxsom and Paul Stevens.

Better read it now!

Rose, and John, and Joseph, and Poetry at the Pub, and...

 
Dear Creekish or Chimaeric Reader,

Coming soon! The September Chimaera approaches, carrying poems, stories, reviews and articles in its maw(s) — including a Spotlight Feature on the UK poet John Whitworth. John has published ten books of verse (and a very good book on writing poetry called errmm... Writing Poetry). His poem 'The Examiners', published in The Chimaera, was voted by readers of the Times Literary Supplement to second place in TLS's Foyles Poetry Competition (details here). I love reading John's poetry for all sorts of reasons — not least because it's fun! The ludic element in his verse is extremely vigorous, and exhilarating: this is poetry that you can unashamedly enjoy reading — aloud if possible!

Anyway, read a lovely bunch of new poems by John, as well as an interview with the good fellow, and some of what other poets have to say about him — and a few other little surprises as well.

The September Chimaera will also have a 'Multum in parvo' themed section where writers will attempt to express a greast deal in relatively few words. We're pretty tight-lipped about that. 'Nuff said.

As for the next Shit Creek Review — prepare for weirdness! The normally sane, orderly, clean-minded Shit Creek Review will become strangely psychotic. Bizarre obsessions will run riot in ever-diminishing circles. Implacable compulsions will drive the writers — and the readers — relentlessly on. Compulsive reading indeed: due out sometime in September — provided I ever get my hands clean enough to type it up.

Rose Kelleher is well known to readers of The Chimaera and Shit Creek Review. SCR nominated her 'Mortimer' for the Best of the Net, and Rose, as we reported, won Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize for her forthcoming book, Bundle O' Tinder. This feisty but perfectly formed little book is full of real, live poems, some of which will bite you on the bum! We highly recommend Bundle O' Tinder which is available to pre-order here at Amazon. Rose reviewed Gail White's new book Easy Marks at Quincy Lehr's new blog The Belletrist. The Belletrist, according to Quincy, 'aims to fill something of a lacuna in the reviewing of new work—books on independent publishing houses and chapbooks in particular — from less 'established' writers, as well as to provide at least some coverage of live readings', and the site looks set to fulfil that aim admirably.

Paul Hostovsky contributed some of his work to The Chimaera's 'Belonging' feature, here. Now he too has a book forthcoming: Bending the Notes, available at Main Street Rag Store (towards the bottom of the page). So there goes the rest of your pocket money!

Sally Cook has graced our various online organs several times, with controversial prose and well-turned verse. Not content with such glory, she now has a poem, 'The Face of Morning', in the June/July 2008 issue of First Things. Tim Murphy has a poem in the August/September issue of First Things, as well. But back to Sally: check out her contributions to The Bumbershoot Annual , where you'll find three of Sally Cook's poems: one, 'Artistic Licenses' in the general section, and two parodies (one on Auden's 'The Fall of Rome' the other on Emily Dickinson's 'A Light Exists in Spring') in the Fractured Verse section. I think I recognise some of the other writers there too. Sally's been busy: her poem 'MRI' is in Contemporary Sonnet, and you'll also find work by Sally, and Joseph S. Salemi, and Juleigh Howard-Hobson, and David Anthony — all SCR/TC writers — in Poems for Big Kids.

Speaking of Joseph S. Salemi: his brief essay and three annotated translations from the Roman poet Martial were published in the latest issue of The Barefoot Muse . These are worth a read! — But only if you're not easliy shocked. Another essay on poetic composition ('Bottom's Dream') has just appeared at ShatterColors Literary Review. A pair of matched sonnets by Joseph are in the newest issue (issue #3) of Contemporary Sonnet, and two brand-new sections from his verse satire 'A Gallery of Ethopaths' have been showcased at The HyperTexts website, along with illustrations by the political cartoonist Bob Fisk.

I reside in New South wales, and went to high school in Newcastle. So speaking authoritatively as an ex-Novocastrian, I'd like to recommend one of the very best of our local live poetry venues: Poetry at the Pub, which takes place at The Northern Star Hotel, Beaumont Street, Hamilton in Newcastle, normally on the third and fifth mondays of the month. Recently Stephen Edgar (who will feature as the Spotlighted poet in The Chimaera's January 2009 issue) appeared there, and Michael Collins and David Reiter will be reading there on August 18th and September 29th repectively.

In the Write Light, Spain's hippest creative writing workshop, has ditched the hippy digs for chic boutique. For the October 1st to 5th workshop, they are moving from the campo to the town centre. Participants will enjoy the luxury of local hotel, Pousada Vagamundo. Martina Devlin, the bestselling author and tutor for this workshop will be showing would-be writers how to give their work a commercial edge and get published see their site for details.

SCR/TC will publish this newsletter on its blogs at irregular intervals, and will willingly include poetry news that I deem more or less relevant to our particular vision of poetry (there! I used the 'V' word!). But writing the newsletter up is extremely time-consuming, so be aware that producing it is not at the very top of my list of priorities: it trails behind making a living, trying to be a good family man, doing household chores, editing The Shit Creek Review and The Chimaera, helping select sonnets for 14by14, watching The Sopranos (again!), partying, pursuing mindless pleasure, playing fan-tan, staring absent-mindedly into space — oh, and trying to find time to write my own poetry in the middle of all this. Actually it's a wonder that the bloody newsletter gets published at all!

If you sent me an item of news and I've left it out, it was probably inadvertent. Email me and remind me. You know where.

Cheers!

Paul

Obsession up the Creek

The Chimaera's parent magazine, The Shit Creek Review, is calling for submissions for its September issue on the theme of Obsession. Here are the details (wash your hands first):

Obsession: not just a fashion accessory.

Obsession is how you make art, poetry, music, progress. Love.

"Love: the cognitive-affective state characterised by intrusive and obsessive fantasising concerning reciprocity of amorant feelings by the object of the amorance."

(Definition of Love from a psychology textbook)

So get your obsessions to work for The Shit Creek Review, whose theme for Issue #8 is.... well, yes: Obsession.

If you don't do Obsession, try Compulsion. Write poetry compulsively instead. Set free your inner Nutter.

However you get there, write the blooming obsessive-compulsive poems, then, if you can bear ever to part with them, send them to The Shit Creek Review.

Here we are:

http://www.shitcreekreview.com/

Check the Submissions Guideline page for details.

But if Mars Sector 6 has commanded that you don't look at submissions guidelines on alternate Sundays, then send the poems direct to editor@shitcreekreview.com