Have you ever checked out The Spoken Word Podcast? Its one for one hour each week on public radio. Click here for details.

Want to take part in the Second Annual Memorize a Poem Month? MePoMo is taking part the blog for 32 Poems. Click here to sign up.

Tomorrow you can tune in and listen to the Bookworm show, out of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Hosted by Michael Silverblatt this radio show showcases fiction and poetry.
Click here for more details.

Today is the three year anniversary of the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. Click here to read Three Years Later, poems are still putting the impact of Hurricane Katrina into words by Susan Larson of the Times-Picayune.

On August 3rd, Poets Who Blog started a new Add a line Poem. This is the completed work, along with links to all the authors who contributed. Thank you all for taking part.

Nights in Beijing by PWB Poets

Fast and furious, I chase
my dark dreams across the sky
as the blackbirds circle and cry
longings of an abandoned heart
fill the void that keeps us apart.

Broken, we are unspoken and chokin',
no token of your esteem for me;
but ghosts in a Chinese shadow-play.

Vast and curious, I still chase
your dark truths amid the lies
that bury us on the eastern plain.

Barren, our kabuki died in vain
with our child a vapid stain-
blood run the dream that never was.

Fast and furious, the chase is never done.




Line one was written by Sara from The Shores of my Dreams

Line two was written by The Mad Celt from Musings of a Mad Celt

Line three was written by Pam from Amputated Moon

Line four was written by Lissa from Just Writing Words

Line five was written by Jenn from Drawings in the Surf

Line six was written by Nicole Nicholson from Raven's Wing Poetry

Line Seven was written by Ralph Murre from Arem Arvinson Log

Line eight was written by Wordcrafter from Poetry for a Night Owl

Line nine was written by Chad.

Line ten was written by Christine from Maria Cristina Poesia

Line eleven was written by Mike Mc from Wod Anger

Line twelve was written by Davidlind from Virgina Breeze

Line thirteen and fourteen were written by Sara.

Would you like to read more complilation poems written by the members of PWB? Then check out:


Spilling
The Walk
Unravel
Midnight Hour
The King
Slither
Absolution
Reverberations
Fade to Sorrow

The PWB Poetry Collection- August

This is the third month of this feature at PWB.

The idea is to list twenty poems, from different bloggers on our blogroll, that I have found enjoyable.They are not listed in any particular order. Do not submit poems to me for this feature.

Please check out some of these poems and leave comments. If there is a positive response then I will continue this next month. It takes about two hours to compile this list so please, if you have time, take a moment to stop in to some of the blogs listed below.

Thank you for supporting PWB and making it a wonderful haven for poets in the blogosphere.

Jump in and get lost in poetry!

1.Old Words by Jack Sender
2.Swirl by Paisley
3.Honesty by Corinne Elizabeth
4.Honeysuckle Good-bye by Scot
5. The Further Adventures of Superhero Girl by Jilly Poet
6. Rich and Prepared by Cassandra Tribe
7. A Untitled Brief Poem by Brian
8.A one line poem by GRH
9. On Loss by This Girl Remembers
10. Infinity by Noah the Great.
11. Albany Bulb by Tiel Aisha Ansari
12. Image by Shirley Allard
13. Strange as it May Seem to Some by Gautami Tripathy
14. Return by Allyson
15.Stolen Childhood by Fenny
16. Phases by the poet at blog-a-poem
17. 1 by Geek Betty.
18. Weapon by UL
19. Late Eulogy by Monkeyboy
20. Poemflesh by Cynthia M.


Thank you for reading our August Collection. Please leave comments on some of the poems so that the poets know you appreciate their efforts to share poetry in the blogosphere.

This fall Kirsten Andersen will be teaching an online course titled
The Craft of Poetry: Let’s Begin (Online Course) (EGL 103 W)

through Stanford's Countinuing Education Studies program.

Anderson has been published in Fourteen Hills, Greensboro Review, Barrow Street and the Notre Dame Review, among other journals. She recieved her MFA from New York University.

Click here for detials on this course..

Jigsaw Poem by Lissa

Submerged

there were voices belonging to many
whispering with beaded eyes
unrealized thoughts striking the air
beating pauses without hearts

she could taste bits of quagmire
bitter against her tongue
twisting the scent of timber around

twirling a piece of hair between her amber fingers
a carefree gesture that hid her from him

her dreams began to grow wings
decanting from drowned emotions
she chase them even as she sleeps

if only she could shout her feelings
throw her voice up high
gather her emotions in one gulp and fly

but the words stuck inside her throat
forcefully flowing toward her feet
where they stayed submerged inside her shoes



By Lissa from Just Writing Words

Thanks for taking part,Lissa.

I think I have posted just about every jigsaw poem I recieved. Leave a comment if you sent one and never saw it posted so I can make sure I get it posted for you.

Cruise on over to Poetmeister 4 Poets to read about how to submit to The 2008 Super Highway Poetry Contest.

Poetmeister 4 Poets is a fantastic resource for news on online poetry sites.

Jigsaw Poem by Nathan

Decant



Our office building has glass

walls that reflect everything and

become invisible. We stand outside,



the lowest things in the mirror. Here's

the slightly distorted self and the

anonymous parade of traffic. Cloud's

hair slides across its silver

face. A falcon wings beside itself.

The windows throw



light. Our pupils clench. Entrenched

inside, people make decisions. We

bob and sink in their wake like

capsized boats always losing the

horizon. Inside, amber files

preserve carefree accusations, births,

names of the untouchables,



conversations. Inside, elevators rise and

fall, chasing each other through a

fog of electronic memoranda. Here's a

hydroponic garden of cubicles. Here's

the open office plan, rooms where

orders are issued. Here they type

our papers, our blood, our brains,

our tissue.



The building claims to be ours but

we belong to it. It's alive in the

swing of a walk, the weight of a

voice, a quivering taste bud. It

lives in water, the wild, the wed,

the dying and between the fevers of

the passionate.



We're timber cut for lumber or

saved for cultivation. The building

shouts our names with sirens. We

twist and look every time. We become



reflections. We find the line. We sign.

It reaches into us like poured wine

reaches the bottom of the glass.



By Nathan, click here to read more of his work.

Thank you for taking part, Nathan.

Say hello to a new poet on our list.

Stop on in and meet Jack Sender from A Warming Trend. This blog joined PWB earlier this month.


Make him feel at home with us and support all PWB.

Jigsaw Poem by Benjamin

choose me. choose this. choose you.
choose the right decanter. something that looks good on the table. you don't know what a decanter is for. doesn't matter. you know you're supposed to have one and it looks so damn good.

remember me when i was five years old. not carefree. because i think you have to know what that means to be it.
remember when flying was as easy as pretending you had wings and standing on a hill with the wind twisting through your hair. remember when fun was chasing someone, shouting their name and chasing them, catching them, then letting them chase you screaming the whole time.

taste this.
just taste this. feel it. taste is one of the most potent sensations. so taste this. taste this like the last thing an ant tasted before it died and became part of the amber was sweet. taste this. taste this life. because trees are more then timber and people are more then accomplishments.

By
Benjamin Kibblewhite from
One Poem One Day.

Thank you for taking part, Benjamin, in our jigsaw poem project.

Congrats, Kay Ryan!

Kay Ryan has been named the 16th Poet Laureate of the United States, as the torch is passed to her from Charles Simic.

The appointment lasts for one year and comes with a $35,000 salary, plus $5,000 for travel and a "splendid office," according to Librarian of Congress James H. Billington.

Ryan is a resident of California and in the last thirty years has published six volumes of poetry. She has also taught part-time at Marin College.

Poets Who Blog sends out best wishes to the new Poet Laureate! You can read a profile about her by clicking here.

Meltdown

The band dismembered ‘Twist & Shout’
I was munching on some wings
as hair upon my arm stood out
“Man that coating stings!”

A swig of amber goodness made
me groggily carefree
enough to count each timber laid
in the floor geometry.

“Bartender please decant some more
to chase this chicken down,
I can’t taste, my lips are sore
it’s time for all my woes to drown.”


By Robert Cameron Hazelton from Average Poet

New Poetry Poetry

Poets Who Blog member Ceridwen, who once wrote a guest column for us, is part of a team that is starting a new poetry project called Postal Poetry.

Check out this exciting project and let us know if you decide to take part.

A call to all artists on the Web to collaborate on common projects, and make the world a better place.

If you are an artist with a desire to collaborate with others, feel free to join the network..

Want to check out Artists and Unity of Purpose then click here.

Christian Poetry Collection Available

Walk awhile upon my journey

And steal a place in my heart.


With your eyes,


Upon these words,


You, kindred spirit,


Can touch my soul.




By Chris Roe


“ In Search of Silence” by Chris Roe. A personal journey in search of spiritual peace.


A collection of 45 poems available from www.silentflightpublications.co.uk






Two poems from the collection “ In Search of Silence”




Eternal Journey
As the crimson flame of life


Breaks slowly


Above the horizon,


The white frosted meadows,


With trees and hedgerows


Of sculptured ice,


Speak loudly


Of your presence.


Once more


Upon this journey,


As another day begins,


Without effort


Or intrusion,


Through the peace


And tranquillity


Of your silent voice,


The moment becomes eternal,


And the journey begins again.




Immortal Spirit
Beside me once more,


In peaceful silence,


Softer than a feather


Cast adrift upon the breeze,


In memories,


Your spirit,


Immortal,


Returns.




Further work from this collection of poems can be seen at
Silent Flight Publications

POETS WEAR PRADA is a small press based in Hoboken, New Jersey devoted to introducing new authors through limited edition, high- quality chaplets, primarily of poetry.

New press, great authors, a publisher who is one miracle short of sainthood.-Angelo Verga, Poetry Curator of The Cornelia Street Cafe

Poets Wear Prada is a poetry publishing house with excellent poets and affordable books with beautiful covers. Have you had your poetry today?-Meredith Sue Willis, Books for Readers

Stylistically, these beautifully designed and produced chaplets bear their own distinctive signature.-Linda Lerner, Small Press Review

Check out Poets Wear Prada by clicking here.

Us two, twisted, into each other
Someone shouts, as we get ready to fly

With wings of hope we soar and fall
Her hair brush my face, time crawls

The amber sun glows like a burning coin
Freefalling, carefree we two are joined

Now we are frozen stiff like timber
Soon, our soul shall decant these earthly vessels

We'll chase the wind through day and night
And together taste immortality, entwined

By Nothingman from Poetry

Thank you for taking part in our Jigsaw Poem Challenge. When the Jigsaw Poem Challenge poems are all posted, I will then post the Add- a - line group poem and after that the August Poet's Who Blog Poetry Collective.

One of the newer sites to join our listing is Young American Poets.

Young American Poets is seeking submissions of poetry and short stories. You can visit them by clicking here.

Sweet Taste of Time



the wings were twisted

delicate and fine as

your silver hair



locked in amber

carefree

untouched by time’s passing



will you decant this for me

chase the meaning of the words

shout the words aloud



oh taste the ambered wonder

feel the trembling timber of trapped wings

while we drink of time’s sweet honey



By Pamela Olson from Amputated Moon

Thanks, Pam, for taking part in the Jigsaw Poem Challenge.

You can read the Before The Song column from The Western Way, the official publication of the Western Music Association (WMA), published quarterly, by clicking here.

DANCE MANIA

massive crowds dance
in medieval twist and shout
minus the Beatles

instead they hear
the music of dark hysteria
Black Plague rhythms

which shod their
feet with insanity's carefree wings
St. Vitus laughs

hair whips wildly
women chase visions of angels
men shout heavenward

as their poisoned,
heavy minds are decanted from
melancholy to lunacy

when finally drained
by their dancing convulsions, they
drop like timber

frail human puppets
tasting the edge of death
before their time

were amber waves
of rotten grain the cause,
bearing fungi LSD?

or were they
feverish desperate dancers rehearsing for
the Danse Macabre?


By Nicole Nicholson of Raven's Wing Poetry

You may find details about how to purchase her first chapbook by clicking here.

Thank you, Nicole, for taking part in our challenge.

Thanks for joining, Val

Another poet has decided to link to us here at PWB. Welcome Val from Ode to Poetry.

Thanks for joining us, Val. And thank you to everyone who make PWB work.

Carefree

Decanted out of the office
I expand into looser clothes
Like wine liberated from its cork
And free, at last, to breathe.
My hair, released from its prim twist
Falls into curls like amber wings.
I chase butterflies across the red-rotten
Timber of wandering jungle stairways
I shout gleefully back at the macaws
Screaming brightly in the treetops,
Trail my fingers in warm tea-coloured rivers
And swing in the ease of hammocks.
Briefly intoxicated by the sweet tasting air
And the fresh re-dawning of carefree days.

By Lirone from Words That Sing

This is a jigsaw poem. Thanks for taking part, Lirone.

I'll be posting another poem tommorow.

Short Form Open-Minded Poetry

One of the latest sites to link to us is Pagence Press.

Pagence Press features the short form prose and poetry of Benjamin Dean. This poetry focuses on zen, taoism, freedom, enlightenment, spiritual renewal, self-development & observation. Over 900 online poems to read, enjoy and share.

You can check it out by clicking here.

The challenge words are in italics...


TWIST

twisting memories of disease
force a shout from dusty lips...
the vultures' wings tip down
scenting another poet's death...
only a hairs width from insanity
taking this Kentucky amber
to force a carefree soul...
burning mind-timber glowing red and orange
decanting a boiling liquid sanity
to the voids below...
i chase these dark dreams across the sky
awaiting another taste of the death promised me


By D. C. Massey from
Musings of a Mad Celt

This is a Jigsaw Poem.

Great news! One of our poets has started a new site.

At Pen Me a Poem, you can find weekly poetry prompts, poetry news, and you can even solicit a personalized poem for yourself or a loved one.


Go ahead and stop on into Pen Me a Poem and check it out.

Wow! Way to go, Lirone.

PWB sends out congrats on taking part in your own personal NaPoWriMo and completing 31 poems in less that 30 days. Can't wait to cruise on over and check them out. Stop on in to Words that Sing if you want to do the same.

Hanging Around

I thought about your wings today
Your carefree laughter
Sun bleached hair
Floating from a tree
Over there.

Sitting here
I leave the windows open
Curtains twisting
Recalling tastes like wine
Decanting you inside.

Amber headlights
Through the night
Timber strobes
Make me uptight.

But I wait for you to ring.

I will not shout
For anything
But twist upon this bed
Chasing ghosts
Inside my head
Wishing we
Were joined in stead.

By David from Photo Link Love. Thanks for taking time to do our challenge, David.

You can also read this poem by visiting Virgina Breeze

Welcome!

Stop in and check out the newest poet on our list Chaolue from Amatuer Poet. Please make him feel welcome at PWB.

Thanks for being a part of what makes our site work.

Jigsaw Poem by Phillip

A wine remembered

The wine, decanted,

with amber temper:

even with a twist of lemon,

still left taste of timber.





A shout of carefree pleasure

or just hair-of-the-dog,

it had the wings to chase me

around in the fog.


By Phillip Thrift from Poetical Bits

This is a jigsaw poem. I will post one a day. Thanks to all who are taking part.

Thank you!

PWB sends out our thanks to John Marshall and Christine Deavel for running an all poetry bookstore in Seattle (one of only two in the US.) Thanks for keeping poetry alive with your store Open Books: A Poem Emporium.

Click here to read an article about this bookstore.

Submission Call Out

Editor Paula Cole Jones seeks poems by published and unpublished authors on "identity and transformation as it relates to race and ethnicity" for an anthology. She is the founder of ADORE which stands for A Dialogue on Race & Ethnicity.

You can submit up to 10 poems for consideration by Sept. 10th. Include your phone number, address and a brief bio if you go submit. Send all entries to ContactAdore@aol.com

Decant

Our office building has glass

walls that reflect everything and

become invisible. We stand outside,

.

the lowest things in the mirror. Here’s

the slightly distorted self and the

anonymous parade of traffic. Cloud’s

hair slides across its silver

face. A falcon wings beside itself.

The windows throw

.

light. Our pupils clench. Entrenched

inside, people make decisions. We

bob and sink in their wake like

capsized boats always losing the

horizon. Inside, amber files

preserve carefree accusations, births,

names of the untouchables,

.

conversations. Inside, elevators rise and

fall, chasing each other through a

fog of electronic memoranda. Here’s a

hydroponic garden of cubicles. Here’s

the open office plan, rooms where

orders are issued. Here they type

our papers, our blood, our brains,

our tissue.

.

The building claims to be ours but

we belong to it. It’s alive in the

swing of a walk, the weight of a

voice, a quivering taste bud. It

lives in water, the wild, the wed,

the dying and between the fevers of

the passionate.

.

We’re timber cut for lumber or

saved for cultivation. The building

shouts our names with sirens. We

twist and look every time. We become

.

reflections. We find the line. We sign.

It reaches into us like poured wine

reaches the bottom of the glass.

By Nathan from Exhaust Fumes and French Fries.

This is a jigsaw poem. Want to play along? Leave me a comment and send your information to poetswhobog@yahoo.com with something about poetry in the subject line.

Robert Lee Brewer from Poetic Asides, the Writer's Digest Poetry column, names some of the top poetry sites online. You can find out what made his list by clicking here.

Look for Emmy nominated poet Jon Goode on CNN's new series Black in America. You can read more about Jon Goode in

the wings were twisted
delicate and fine as

your silver hair


locked in amber
carefree

untouched by time’s passing



will you decant this for me

chase the meaning of the words

shout the words aloud


oh taste the ambered wonder

feel the trembling timber of trapped wings

while we drink of time’s sweet honey



By Pamela Olson from Amputated Moon.

This is a jigsaw poem. Another will be posted tommorow. If you want to take part in our challenge, send me your poem at poetswhoblog@yahoo.com or leave me a link to it in the comments.

Poetry on Your Car? Wanna Play Along?

Several bloggers over at Automotivetry are placing poetry on their cars, as blogged about by Lizerati in a post titled The Terror of Poetry.

Think you might like to join in their fun?

Read instuctions on how by clicking here.

Youth Poetry Contest

Anyone 17 or younger may submit a poem to the 3rd Annual Alexander Popoff Youth Award Poetry Contest. Poems must relate to human rights.

To submit send one poem to stazja at yahoo.com

Make sure your subject line is “Youth Award entry”
Include your name telephone number, address, school, age, and grade. Please seek permission from your parent or gaurdian before sending that information.

The poem that wins the contest will be read at the annual Universal Declaration of Human Rights event in December 2008. There is also a 100 dollar prize.

Visit Youth for Human Rights to watch videos that explain the 30 articles of human rights. Base your poem on one of those articles.

Heavy summer air plays tag
with thin cool ocean breezes
They chase carefree through tree tops
carrying shouts of beachgoers
who are just out of site.

I inhale the scene
savoring it like the scent of a lover's hair
I taste the sea salt
spiced with the timber planks
layed before me in a twisted path

which decants me from woods to sand
while wings of evening
wrap around it all
turning the sky amber
and making a moment a dream


By Jenn from Drawings in the Sand.

This is a Jigsaw Poem, using words donated by other members of PWB. You can take part by looking at the instructions in the post below.

Thank you, Jenn, for taking part.

Ready to Play?

These are the words for the Jigsaw Poem Challenge:

twist
shout
wings
hair
amber
carefree
timber
decant
chase
taste

You can add ed, ing, ly, s etc to these words.

Use all ten words to make a poem and then send the poem to

poetswhoblog@yahoo.com

with your screenname, and a link to your blog. Please put something about poetry in the subject line.

The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor does a daily podcast where he talks about this day in history and reads a poem. You can find his show by going to this page and clicking Listen.

Congrats to Shawntay A. Henry!

PWB sends out congratulations out to Shawntay A. Henry, of the U.S. Virgin Islands, winner of the 2008 Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest!

To learn more about Poetry Out Loud click here.

Add a line Poem

Add the next line in the comments. I will end by adding the last line at the point I deem it to be done.


Fast and furious, I chase



First line by Sara from The Shores of My Dreams.

Listen to selected poems from Steel and Stone - an anthology of poems celebrating the bridges of the world at Poetica by
clicking here.


Poems by Helen Keller,Joyce Carol Oates, F. Scott Fitzgerald, DH Lawrence, and many more poets.

Youth Contest

Rehoboth Beach Writers Guild is now accepting poems for their contest. Poets who submit must be between 10 and 18 years old.

There is no fee to entry.

You can submit up to 3 poems per entry or 150 lines, or stories and essays up to 1,500 words. Each entry should include a title and name, address and age (as of June 15), name of school, home phone, and email on a separate cover sheet, along with genre and number of words or lines.

All entries must be typed in 12-point font, original, unpublished, and not under consideration elsewhere.

First place winners in each category will be published in Delaware Beach Life. Other submissions may be published in local newspapers.

Postmark deadline: August 15.

Mail entries to: Rehoboth Beach Writer's Guild, Young Writers Contest, PO Box 1326, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971.

Click here for more details.