June 30, 2024 Deadline for CSPS Annual Poetry Contest Judged by Marlene Hitt

The California State Poetry Society is pleased to announce its 37th Annual Poetry Contest. Submissions are accepted from May 1st – June 30th, 2024. The Judge is Marlene Hitt. 

SUBMISSIONS: Up to 10 poems per one poet may be submitted with a limit of 80 lines per poem. All poem should be previously unpublished, including print books or journal publication, posts on social media, websites, blogs, and online journals. Poems must be written in English, with translation provided in notes if words or phrases from other languages are used. Submissions are only by mail, with clearly printed poems on unmarked pages, with one-sided printing, and no identifying information about the poet (no name, address, email, etc.)

PRIZES:  $100, $50, $25 Cash for 1st, 2nd and 3rd Prizes, plus publication in the California Quarterly, Vol. 50, No. 4 (2024 Winter). 

READING FEES: CSPS Members, $3.00/poem; Non-members, $6.00/poem. Submit the reading fees only BY CHECK payable to CSPS or California State Poetry Society with a note "Annual Contest 2024."

WINNERS: Winners will be announced in September 2022. Submissions are now welcome of original poems with 80-line (two-page) limit per poem. Submissions are only accepted by mail. 

HOW TO SUBMIT: Send a cover letter with all poet information (mailing address, email address, name, phone) and a list of the submitted poems, as well as one copy of each poem with NO poet identification, and a check for the appropriate amount of reading fees to: 

           CSPS Annual Contest Chair

           P.O. Box 4288 Sunland, CA 91041-4288 

CONTEST JUDGE - MARLENE HITT

Marlene Hitt was the first Poet Laureate of Sunland Tujunga (1999- 2001). She has been a member of the Chupa Rosa Writers of Sunland- Tujunga and the Foothills since its inception in 1985. Her critically-acclaimed first poetry collection Clocks and Water Drops was published by Moonrise Press in 2015. Her second collection, Yellow Tree Alone appeared in 2022. In addition to publishing numerous poetry chapbooks, she has authored a non- fiction book Sunland-Tujunga, from Village to City and two books of stories for children: Grandma's Stories for All People Large and Small and The Discontent of Brother Turnip and Grandfather Tree. Her poems appeared in Psychopoetica (UK), Chupa Rosa Diaries of the Chupa Rosa Writers, Sunland (2001-2003), Glendale College’s Eclipse anthologies, CSPS California Quarterly and Poetry Letter; and poetry anthologies (Chopin with Cherries, 2010; Meditations on Divine Names, 2012; and We Are Here: Village Poets Anthology that she co-edited in 2020 with Maja Trochimczyk).

Recently, Hitt was one of 12 poets invited to contribute to Crystal Fire. Poems of Joy and Wisdom (2022). Her work also appears in Sometimes in the Open, a collection of verse by California Poets Laureate, and The Coiled Serpent, anthology of Los Angeles poets, edited by Luis Rodriguez (2016).

Marlene Hitt served at the Bolton Hall Museum in Tujunga as Museum Director and docent for many years. Ms. Hitt was the history writer for the Foothill Leader, Glendale News Press, North Valley Reporter, and Voice of the Village newspapers. She has been honored as the Woman of Achievement by the Business and Professional Women's Club, Woman of the Year by the U.S. Congress, and many congratulatory scrolls by the City and County of Los Angeles, and the State of California. In 2019, Village Poets of Sunland-Tujunga presented to Marlene and her husband Lloyd, a Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing their support of poetry in the Foothills.

CSPS Newsbriefs No. 1, 2021 - CSPS Annual Contest Entries Due by June 30, 2021

 NEWSBRIEFS 2021, NO. 1 (SPRING 2021)

This issue of the California Quarterly (vol. 47, no. 1) is filled with great poems selected by Bory Thach, our newest CQ Editor, from hundreds of poems submitted via Submittable and by mail. We appreciate Bory’s insight and taste! 

The cover of CQ 47:1 is a painting Harmony, by Sylvia Van Nooten, that was recommended by the former Editor, Margaret Saine. Van Nooten is an asemic artist living in western Colorado. Asemic art, with its pastiche of ‘language’ and images, allows her to merge texts and painting creating a hybrid form of communication which is open to interpretation. Her work has appeared in The South Florida Poetry Journal, Experiment-O Issue 13, The Raw Art Review, Spring 2021 and she has a painting on the cover of the summer 2021 edition of The Raw Art Review.

Monthly Contests – 2020 Winners. Alice Pero, the Monthly Contests Chair and Judge, selected the following poems as winners of our Monthly Contests. The prize-winning poems are posted on our blog, CaliforniaStatePoetrySociety.com. Congratulations to all!

• January: 1. Jane Stuart - Our Winter Garden, 2. Jane Stuart - Early on a Winter Morning, 3. David Anderson - The Apple Spy; February: 1. Pamela Shea - Rosebuds and Lovers, 2. Jane Stuart - Dancing Into Love Again; 

• March: Dorothy Skiles - The Coyote’s Howl; April: No award.

• May: Marlene Hitt - Enlightenment; 

• June: Joyce Futa – Kumquat Marmalade; 

• July: Jackie Chou – Cerulean; 

• August: Joan Gerstein – Self-Portrait as Clark Gable One Liner; 

• September: Louise Moises – Empty Chairs; 

• November: Charlene Langfur – Meandering; 

• December: Ambika Talwar – Losses into Treasures.

To submit poems to contests, send them to Monthly Contest email, CSPSMonthlyContests@gmail.com and pay fees via PayPal to CaliforniaStatePoetrySociety@gmail.com. 

CSPS Annual Contest 2021. 

The contest submission period is now open, from March 1st to June 30th, 2021. We are delighted that a distinguished poet and experienced editor, Georgia Jones-Davis, agreed to serve as CSPS Annual Contest Judge, while Joyce Snyder continues in her role as the Annual Contests Chair. The cash awards are $100, $50, and $25 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places respectively, plus publication in the CQ 47: 4 (2021 Winter). 

After 25 years as a journalist, Georgia Jones-Davis turned to poetry with publications in Westwind, Brevities, Nebo, Poets Against War, Ascent Aspirations & South Bank Poetry, London. She authored two chapbooks, Blue Poodle (2011) & Night School (2015) published by Finishing Line Press. A former board member of the Valley Contemporary Poets in Los Angeles, she was honored as a Newer Poet by the Los Angeles Public Library ALOUD series.  

Please upload poems and pay the contest reading fees via our website http://www.californiastatepoetrysociety.org  

OR

send a cover letter with all poet information and a list of the submitted poems, plus one copy of each poem with no poet identification to:

CSPS Annual Contest Chair: 

3371 Thomas Drive 

Palo Alto, California 94303

Reading fees: Members of California State Poetry Society and/or all member societies of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies (please indicate which Society you are belong to), $3.00/poem; Non-members of any NFSPS-affiliated societies, $6.00/poem. You may also send fees for the contest to PayPal, to CaliforniaStatePoetrySociety@gmail.com,

Requirements:  The length of poems should not exceed the limit of 80 lines (two-pages) per poem. Up to now, we did not have a limit on the numbers of poems submitted, but, please, do not send whole books!  For the California Quarterly, the limit is 6 poems, so we might keep it at that. 

       

Maura Harvey edited the California Quarterly 46:2 (Summer 2020) that elicited the following reader’s comment: “As I look over that Quarterly from last summer, I realize there is so much of nature in it, so many writers talking about living things outdoors, the seasons, the passage of time—as if we were especially aware of the natural world because we were so confined inside. I don't know if you were aware of that, if you intended that, but of course, poets should be more attentive and it seems this collection bears that out.” ~ Liz Dossa, Foster City, CA. In January 2021, Maura was a featured poet for the Monthly reading of the Village Poets of Sunland Tujunga, on Zoom. She sent the following comment from a listener: “Wonderful opportunity to stop and listen. To connect with poets around the state & get a glimpse into their diverse approaches. Enjoyed Maura’s use of local flora and fauna in her poetry and the ever present voz latina.” ~ Madeleine Wood, Fairfax, CA, High School Teacher of Spanish.

The California Quarterly 46:4 (Winter 2020)  that I edited, featured a painting by Julian Stanczak on the cover. Barbara Stanczak, the artist’s widow, commented: “I just received a copy of the California Quarterly. It is beautiful, sophisticated and so very elegant with Julian's Constant Return # II, 1965. It graces the clover and gives the edition beauty and the weight of quality. Thank you for sharing.” Poets were also pleased with the issue: “Honored to be with such great writers.” ~ Cindy Rinne. “I am happy, grateful and excited to be included in this wonderful issue of California Quarterly” ~ Stefano Bortolussi. “The poem “Aquamarine” is wonderful. It reads like a song. I love the cover too!” ~ David Rosenheim. “I loved reading the editor's note – I think you did a wonderful job on it!! I also love the cover. Admittedly, I was not familiar with Julian Stanczak, so thank you for introducing me; it will be something enjoyable to look into.” ~ Ivan Amaya Hobson. “The whole issue looks just wonderful. I am happy to be included.” ~ Karen McPherson.

California Quarterly Editors. We are now looking for new Editors to work with us on the CQ Editorial Board. If interested, send your bio to the President, maja@moonrisepress.com.

Membership Dues. Please note that individual dues for 2021 have been increased to $40. Other dues are listed on the following pages. CSPS membership includes four issues of the CQ, access to contests with lower fees, and access to the National Federation of State Poetry Society contests – their newsletter, Strophes, is found on the NFSPS website. 

Maja Trochimczyk 

Los Angeles, California

CSPS President

Winners of CSPS's 34th Annual Poetry Contest, 2020

The 34th Annual Poetry Contest of the California State Poetry Society was managed by Joyce Snyder and adjudicated by Kaecey McCormick, Poet Laureate of the City of Cupertino, California. The results are as follows: 

THE WINNERS 

1st  Prize — “Respite” by Anara Guard of Sacramento, CA 

2nd Prize  — “Low Sun Angle” by Susan Gunter of Santa Rosa, CA 

3rd Prize  — “Boundaries” by Barbara Allen of Palo Alto, CA 

The prize-winning poems have been published in the California Quarterly, vol. 46 no. 4 in December 2020.  https://www.californiastatepoetrysociety.com/2020/11/california-quarterly-vol-46-no-4-winter.html

HONORABLE MENTIONS 

• “The Gain” by Hilary King of Los Altos, CA

• “More War Than the One Staying Alive Demands of Us” by Abby Bogomolny of Santa Rosa, CA

• “April, 2020” by Mark Meierding of Rohnert Park, CA

• “For My Twelve Students Absent on Halloween” by Kathleen McClung of San Francisco, CA

• “Covers” by Greg Gregory of Antelope, CA

JUDGE’S COMMENTS 

Reading poetry requires curiosity and a willingness to learn. Each piece is a lesson, each line a challenge to one’s subconscious biases. Every poem submitted this year offers something unique, and choosing the winners was not an easy task. I am grateful to each contestant for sharing their creative spirit and am honored to have learned from these wise and honest writers. 

1ST PRIZE — “RESPITE” 

A meditative and pensive piece, this short poem lingers long after the reader sets the page down. “Respite” demonstrates the ability of poetry to transport the reader in mood and place. The first two lines both pull the reader in and slow the reader down, setting the rhythm and tone of what is to follow. Simple yet powerful imagery planted in lines six and seven allow the reader to celebrate along with the speaker, and the language choice evokes a sense of timelessness. The entle command of the third stanza is a call to action, an offering for the reader to seek respite in nature again. As a whole, this well-crafted poem succeeds in delivering what the title offers. 

2ND PRIZE — “LOW SUN ANGLE” 

A modern sonnet, this poem begins and ends with strong imagery. The soft, slow language in the second line contrasts with the blunt language in line three, setting a pensive and reflective mood. Concrete language grounds the poem, making the images accessible while the lexicon evokes a sense of discomfort, contemplation, and loss. The steady rhythm leads the reader deeper into the reflection, and sound plays an important role. The couplet works to solidify the theme, yet the soft hiss of the final word (“space”) adds to the simile’s power and brings the poem to a soft, slow close. 

3RD  PRIZE — “BOUNDARIES” 

Deceptively simple, the poem’s short form and lines hide a powerful and effective metaphor. The title leads the reader into the poem and plays a key role in unlocking the poem’s message. The 30 words in the poem are so effectively selected that those few present succeed in creating a vivid image and compelling analogy. The kitchen references set the scene, evoking a sense of familiarity and continuity through the shift in stanza two. While the message of the poem is straightforward, it is skillfully realized, highlighting how a short poem can showcase complex themes. 

"Redwood Creek" by Karen Winters,  20 x 16", oil

karensblog.com; karenwinters.com

RESPITE 

In deep woods, 

language slows down: 

first the tongue, 

then the mind. 

With reverence, we gaze: 

oh, the red soil, 

oh, the fern’s green. 

We thank the cobblers and knitters 

who outfitted us, 

the trail makers, 

the grove savers. 

Into this silence, listen well. 

Fresh words will arise,

unhurried thoughts, 

allowing us to ask 

the right questions 

when we return.  

Anara Guard  

Sacramento, California 

First Prize Winner 

Anara Guard grew up in Chicago where she studied writing at the Urban Gateways Young Writers Workshop with Kathleen Agena and Sterling Plumpp, at the Columbia College Story Workshop, and at St. Joseph’s College with Stu Dybek. While attending Kenyon College, she was awarded the John Crowe Ransom Poetry Prize and the Doris Crozier Award. At the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts, Guard studied with Norman Corwin; in the fiction workshop at Bread Loaf Writers Conference with Robert Cohen and Alix Ohlin. In 2016, she attended the fiction workshop at Community of Writers at Squaw Valley. She lives in northern California with her husband David Hutchinson. 

 

LOW SUN ANGLE 

The hours weight the winter light down,

dried daisy stalks sashaying in the wind. 

I’m flattened by my own history, 

trying to compost a past I can’t revive. 

Today my memories nag at me, 

that empyrean of years, felonies 

of mind like so many bees mining 

the purple starred rosemary blooms. 

My tongue licks words for the honey 

of remembered tunes, for the nectar

of winter afterthoughts, those blue 

candles I can’t quite snuff. 

Old age is like that: thoughts like 

spider webs, trailing into space. 

Susan E. Gunter   

Santa Rosa, California

Second Prize Winner 

Susan E. Gunter is a professor of English emerita and a three-time Fulbright scholar in American and gender studies. She has published poems in America (Atlanta Review, Louisville Review, Paterson Review, Poet Lore, and many other journals), Bulgaria, England, Montenegro, and Sweden. Her reviews of poetry have appeared in American Arts Quarterly, Crab Creek Review, and The Harvard Review. She has also published three academic books on the Henry and William James family. She lives in Santa Rosa, where she paints watercolors, plays golf, and helps care for her grandchildren. 

"Vineyard Valley" by Karen Winters, 18x24, oil on linen

karenwinters.com

BOUNDARIES 

She wished for me 

to hold her pain 

in my red ribbed mixing bowl, 

balanced on my belly 

just beneath the heart. 

I offered her instead, 

my arm outstretched, 

a teaspoon.  

Barbara Allen 

Palo Alto, California 

Third Prize Winner

Barbara Allen’s interest in poetry began as a child reading weekly from “101 Famous Poems” to her visually impaired great aunt.   Her fascination with poetry continued throughout her four decades of elementary teaching career.  Upon retirement, she joined an adult education poetry appreciation class and began attending various writing workshops and retreats.  In 2014, she established Palo Alto’s first Poetry Post outside her kitchen door, posting a classic or contemporary poem weekly for the community’s reading pleasure. Reading poetry has become a daily practice, as she seeks poetry for The Post that reflects a particular time or season. As a writer, Barbara is enchanted with the hunt for “just the right words in just the right order.” Boundaries is her first publication and award.

ABOUT THE JUDGE

Kaecey McCormick, the 2020 Contest judge, is an author, artist and educator who was named 2018-2020 Poet Laureate for the City of Cupertino. She holds degrees in Anthropology & Psychology from UCLA and the University of Maryland, and an MFA in Writing from Lindenwood University. Her poetic work has been featured in numerous journals & anthologies. Her recent chapbook, Pixelated Tears is currently available and her book The Creativity Blueprint is forthcoming. 

"June Lake Sunset" by Karen Winters, 24x30, oil on linen

 ABOUT THE CSPS ANNUAL CONTESTS

This contest is open to all poets, whether or not they are members of the CSPS. Poems must be uploaded to our website or postmarked from March 1st through June 30th. Reading fees for all entries, domestic or international, are $3.00 per poem for members and $6.00 per poem for nonmembers. There is an 80-line (two page) limit for each poem. Winning entries are announced on our website, blog, and in the CSPS Newsbriefs included in the fourth issue of the California Quarterly in a given year. 

Poets winning 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes receive $100, $50 and $25, respectively. As many as five Honorable Mentions may also be awarded. Placing poets are published in the fourth issue of the CQ in the contest year. The Honorable Mention poems and other submissions are forwarded to the CQ editors for possible inclusion in the subsequent issue. Contest results are posted on our website.  If submitting by mail, send a cover letter with all poet information and a list of submitted poems, one copy of each poem with no poet identification, plus an email or SASE for contest results, to:     

CSPS Annual Contest Chair 

3371 Thomas Drive Palo Alto, California 94303 

Photos from High Sierras, CA - near Huntington Lake by Maja Trochimczyk

Artwork by Karen Winters, California painter based in La Canada.

Annual Contest Winner 2019 and Monthly Contest Winners, Aug, Sept, Oct 2019

California Coast by Maja Trochimczyk

THE 33RD ANNUAL POETRY CONTEST 

OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE POETRY SOCIETY

The winners and prize winning poems from the 33rd Annual Poetry Contest, selected by Lisa Rosenberg are published in the California Quarterly 45:4, edited by Pearl Karrer.


AWARDS
1st Place: “Stone, She” by R. J. Keeler, Vashon, WA
2nd Place: “Skull of Moon, Fist of Stars” by Claire Scott, Oakland, CA
3rd Place: “For the Young Man Unimpressed with the Sky” by Kathleen McClung, San Francisco, CA

Honorable Mentions
“A Lamp on the Polished Table” by Katharyn Howd Machan, Ithaca, NY
“Mighty Eucalypti” by Selma Calnan, Anaconda, MT
“Fire for Fire” by Ed McManis, Larkspur, CA
“Too Much of Nothing” by Neal Zirn, Denver, CO
“Inside the Chicken Shed” by David Anderson, Lincoln, CA

                              ABOUT THE CONTEST JUDGE, LISA ROSENBERG

Poet and recovering engineer Lisa Rosenberg served as this year’s judge. She holds degrees in physics and creative writing, and worked for many years in the space program. A former Wallace Stegner Fellow in Poetry at Stanford University, she served as the 2017-2018 Poet Laureate of San Mateo County, California. Her debut collection, A Different Physics, received the 2017 Red Mountain Poetry Prize. Lisa speaks, consults, and instructs, bringing polymathic tools to industry, research, and education. She was recently awarded a 2020 Djerassi Residency for Scientist and Artists. 

California Fields by Maja Trochimczyk

JUDGE’S COMMENTS  - BY LISA ROSENBERG

Judging is much like the process of writing: guided by our current understanding of the art, we encounter challenges to our habits and preferences. I am humbled by lessons revealed in this body of work: poems that carry wisdom, curiosity, courage, and inventiveness.

First Place: “Stone, She” Rhythmic, lyric, and intriguing, this brief poem builds a multi-faceted mood: reflective, declarative, and unresolved. A single word, the rhetorical “well” in line 3, provides a tonal anchor to keep what follows within the realm of the self-reflective and confessional. Spare stanzas move with agility through sensory images and existential suggestions, creating a diffuse portrait of the spoken-of and the speaker’s relationship to her. Concrete details hold their weight, so that the grammatical oddities add to our enjoyment and curiosity. Navigated with conviction in tone, and satisfying use of repeated structures.

Second Place: “Skull of Moon, Fist of Stars” This poem shows how the physical workings of poetry can sustain and deliver complex themes with immediacy. The poet uses sound patterns and figurative devices that engage us without pause: wordplay, “this was the known I knew”; repetition in phrasing, symbols, and structure; rhythmic power, “sun-baked snake”; measured assonance and alliteration; and unexpected (very wellplaced) metaphor. The way in which these are woven brings emotional urgency into the reader’s experience. The near-ultimate lines, which the title foreshadows, exemplify one of the metaphorical shifts. The speaker backs an “ancient Studebaker” down a driveway, straight into a description of self “wearing the shape of wind / the steady of stars.”

Third Place: “For the Young Man Unimpressed with the Sky” The sharp contrast between the villanelle form, popular in the 19th century, and this modern-day setting heightens the contrast between teen and adult perceptions in the social exchange recounted. Philosophical musings and blasé observations weave through and past each other in an anecdotal mode, held together by the form (employed with slight variations). The strict requirements of the villanelle feel countered, even confronted, by the speaker’s diction. The form also supports casting the entire encounter within the brief, repeated time frame of a few moments.

Hermosa Beach by Maja Trochimczyk

THE 2019 ANNUAL CONTEST WINNING POEM

STONE, SHE

Crush, she— 

Crushed by blossoms;  

As many as, well,  

Since flowers appeared.

Fuse, she— 

Fused since time, 

Long past believing 

And given to me.

Grind, she— 

Ground like wheat,  

By glaciers, forests,  

As many as grain.

Press, she— 

Pressed by breezes,  

Soft, cold,  

As married as air. Stone, she.

                ~ R. J. Keeler 

                  Vashon, Washington

Star of Stones by Maja Trochimczyk

THE 2019 ANNUAL CONTEST - SECOND PRIZE WINNING POEM

SKULL OF MOON, FIST OF STARS

I knew if I stayed I would die 

you can’t live nourished on nothing 

my mother: made of malice + bitter marrow 

silent as a sun-baked snake 

one eye glistening 

my mother: manic + mercurial 

knife flailing 

scotch flowing

shredded wheat for supper 

my mother: a vulture winging + waiting 

to pick my bones clean 

this was the known I knew 

remnants + rinds 

of an almost life 

tethered to a mother who one day 

would care, if only I— 

if only—

I knew if I stayed I would die 

for years I chose death 

living at the end of a rope 

a boot heel on my face 

until I finally got it

             —my rope 

             —my boot 

& backed down the driveway 

in my ancient Studebaker 

wearing the shape of wind 

the steady of stars 

the solace of a crescent moon

            ~ Claire Scott 

              Oakland, California

Path of Light by Maja Trochimczyk

2019 ANNUAL POETRY CONTEST - THIRD PRIZE WINNER

FOR THE YOUNG MAN UNIMPRESSED WITH THE SKY

“It’s just the moon,” he shrugs, blasé, this teen. 

His mother, stirred, like me, does not agree. 

We strangers gaze, transfixed. The light turns green

as we step off the curb and walk between 

these yellow lines. Familiar mystery: 

it’s just the moon, of course, but full. We’ve seen

its sliver in the sky, known its routine 

each month—a moving toward immensity. 

We strangers gaze, in awe. The light turns green.

Sixth Avenue seems safe to cross—if screens 

are off in every car. No guarantee. 

It’s just the moon, just solstice. No machine

that waits for us to cross can ever mean 

what full moon in a winter sky does: constancy. 

We strangers gaze, grateful for light, for green,

for seasons, cycles, wheels that spin unseen 

far longer than our brief mortality. 

It’s just the moon. You’re right. You’re seventeen. 

We strangers praise it, though. The light turns green.

                   ~ Kathleen McClung 

                      San Francisco, California

Bronze and Azure by Maja Trochimczyk

MONTHLY POETRY CONTESTS

CSPS Vice President for Communications, Richard Modiano, selected the following poems as winning the Monthly Poetry Contests in August, September and October 2019. Congratulations to all the winners!

August:

1st place: "Picturesque Moment" Jane Stuart, Greenup KY

2nd place: "After the Storm" Mary Jo West, San Clements CA

3rd place: Two-Year-Old-Bronco Von S. Bourland,  Happy TX

September:

1st place: "Victory Dance 1945" Nick Sweet, Shepard TX

2nd place: "Perseverance" Mary Jo West, San Clemente CA

3rd place: "Alifair" Jerry Douglas Smith,San Luis Obispo CA

October:

1st place: "War Memorial" Von S. Burland.Happy TX

2nd place: "Calm after the Storms" Von S. Bourland, Happy TX

3rd place: "The Poet Elopes With the Philosopher's Daughter Louis Aboulafia, Stockston CA

The First Prize Winning Poems receive a small cash prize and the poem is posted on this blog, as well as announced on our website.

Not so Liquid, Not so Amber by Maja Trochimczyk

AUGUST THEME: Humor, Satire, Joy of Life

AUGUST WINNER: JANE STUART

Picturesque Moment

Golden    fireflies

blinking    lanters

full of starlight

Misty shadows

moonlit rivers a 

flying owl

and mountains rising in

a turning globe

Starry silence

then the moon 

drops lower

Gold and Blue by Maja Trochimczyk

SEPTEMBER THEME: OPEN

SEPTEMBER WINNER: NICK SWEET

Victory Dance, 1945

On that night in San Diego
When he danced with Betty Grable 
And with all his G. I. buddies
Was invited to her table

At first his foxtrot faltered 
On legs a bit unstable
By chorus he regained it 
They floated smooth and able

He danced as if before the war 
Before the occupation
Before the barefoot orphans  
Waded through the devastation

Before he followed orders 
That nullified sensation
And left him drained and broken 
No glimpse of restoration

While holding Betty closely  
He whispered, so he claims, 
"You just have to call me if  
You split with Harry James,"

He never really said it 
Wasn ' t glib with dames 
But this amended memory 
Helped erase the flames

Of many burning villages 
Ragged refugees
Vacant stares of conquered men 
Sobbing mothers' pleas

But he knew while guiding Betty  
With elegance and ease
Some distant day he'd care again 
His haunted heart appeased

Garden Sunset by Maja Trochimczyk

OCTOBER THEME: War & Peace, Activism & Politics

OCTOBER WINNER:  VON S. BOURLAND

  War Memorial

Traffic whizzed by as we strolled around
the War Memorial outside the Visitor's Center 
in Trinidad, Colorado.

WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War 
and more recent conflicts: Iraq and Afghanistan 
marble structures thrusting upward
paying homage to scripted names.

As I stood in front of the Vietnam monolith 
a chill embraced me at the sight:
a miniature version of The Wall - USA featuring a father 
holding his daughter - pointing to names on the list.

In awe of the miniaturization depicting so many men 
and women fallen on the battlefields
the skill of the artist remained dominant.

Later, I thought of those tiny scrolled names 
and how minimal our tribute must have appeared 
as the survivors returned home - how blame seemed placed 
on those who fulfilled what they saw as duty.

Shame overwhelmed beauty.

Ginkgo and Sycamore by Maja Trochimczyk

ABOUT RICHARD MODIANO

VICE PRESIDENT - COMMUNICATIONS - RICHARD MODIANO

Elected Executive Director of Beyond Baroque in 2010, Modiano is a writer, curator, and editor. In 2007 he produced Beyond Baroque’s “On the Road” 50th Anniversary Production and in 2009 he produced the marathon reading and panel discussion of “William Burroughs’ Naked Lunch at 50.” He was on Board of Directors for Valley Contemporary Poets from 1997-2005 and served as Board President in 2004-2005. His poems have been published in Blue Satellite, Big Scream, Maintenant, Mas Tequila Review, Malpais Review, the Los Angeles Cultural Weekly, and he is a contributor to The Bukowski Anthology. Modiano has been elected unanimously by e-mail vote  in May 2019 and we are very pleased to gain his expertise and experience to help CSPS spread its wings. He will also serve as the Chair of Monthly Poetry Contests. He is Director Emeritus of Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center in Venice, CA.