This contest is open to anyone anywhere in the world. Go to https://t.co/K9jaJhQhFC to upload your work. Go to https://t.co/TB5sMWNpsN to hear us decide on this idea in real time and ramble on about various related topics.
Pick one, two, a dozen, all of them, or the concept itself. Spend some time with them. Think about what it is that only you can say about them. We want an authentic meditation, not a regurgitation of news clips and sound bites.
After only a few days in office, Donald Trump has already signed a whole host of executive orders on a wide range of topics and to varying degree of import. We want our contributors to use these executive orders as the basis of a creative, literary essay.
This is a poem about a little pal of mine who went through a tough time a while back.
It was published in the very snazzy Samfiftyfour last year.
Thanks for reading. :)
Umberto Eco, who owned 50,000 books, had this to say about home libraries:
"It is foolish to think that you have to read all the books you buy, as it is foolish to criticize those who buy more books than they will ever be able to read. It would be like saying that you should use all the cutlery or glasses or screwdrivers or drill bits you bought before buying new ones.
"There are things in life that we need to always have plenty of supplies, even if we will only use a small portion.
"If, for example, we consider books as medicine, we understand that it is good to have many at home rather than a few: when you want to feel better, then you go to the 'medicine closet' and choose a book. Not a random one, but the right book for that moment. That's why you should always have a nutrition choice!
"Those who buy only one book, read only that one and then get rid of it. They simply apply the consumer mentality to books, that is, they consider them a consumer product, a good. Those who love books know that a book is anything but a commodity."
This poem is so good it jolts me every time to be honest. People love to post that one line from it whenever June hits, which I get, but why deprive anyone of the whole thing??
We at Graywolf are very concerned about the impact of the collapse of SPD. The small press ecosystem is both delicate and crucial to a healthy literary culture. Please support these presses by donating, buying books from their websites, and recommending them to your community.