NEWS
Luray Gross reads from her new poetry collection, Lift, on June 29th from 3-5 at the Tompkins Square Library, 331 East 10th Street, NY. Also featuring the musical duo Beckenstein-Brown.
Paul Sohar, the translator of The Conscience of Trees by Zoltan Böszörményi, will give a reading at the Somerset County Library in Bridgewater (1 Voigt Drive, near the Mall) Dec 18th, 2018 at 7 pm.
Ragged Sky Poets Arlene Weiner, Dean Kostos, Hayden Saunier, Vasiliki Katsarou, and Ellen Foos presented their poetry at 7th Annual NYC Poetry Festival on Governor's Island.
Princeton Author Book Fair at the Princeton Public Library on Saturday, March 25th from 1-4 pm. Featuring Ragged Sky Poets Ellen Foos, Carlos Hernandez Pena and Paul Sohar.
Sunday October 9 at the Jefferson Market Library in NYC hear 6 readers from the Dark As a Hazel Eye anthology and enjoy some treats. 2-4 pm.
Wednesday October 12 at the Barron Arts Center in Woodbridge, NJ, hear Paul Sohar read his own poems and translations, including from BEHIND GOD'S BACK, published by Ragged Sky, starts at 8 pm.
Saturday September 24 from 2-4 at the Mulberry Street Library, NYC, hear Arlene Weiner & Ellen Foos read from thier new books.
July 17, 2016: Charlotte Nekola will read from her new book, *Della Who* in the New Era Gallery in Vinalhaven, ME. She is a featured artist in a group show as well. http://www.neweragallery.com/
Just published cooperatively!
and this:
Ragged Sky has a table at the Capital City Book Fair on Saturday May 14, 2016 from 11-4. Special poetry reading from 2:30 th 3:30. Coincides with the Taste of Trenton!
http://www.capitalcitybookfair.org/
Charlotte Nekola reads from her new poetry collection Della Who on Monday, April 11 from 7:30 to 9 at the Princeton Public Library. Her co-reader is John Muth, sponsored by US1 and Deleware Valley Poets, an open mic follows.
The Princeton Echo covers our Ragged Sky history.
A New York launch party is scheduled for March 26, 2016. Please see our BOOKS page for more information about our new poetry anthology: Dark as a Hazel Eye: Coffee & Chocolate Poems.
photo (c) Katrin Talbot
Ellen Foos' chapbook wins honorable mention
A chapbook of poetry, The Remaining Ingredients, by our Editor-in-Chief, Ellen Foos, won honorable mention in the 2015 Rachel Wetzsteon Chapbook Contest. Congratulations, Ellen!
Arlene Weiner's City Bird was a finalist in the Autumn House's 2015 contest for a poetry manuscript.
Blanket Stories: Poetry Reading at the Princeton Public Library
The blanket stories project was a two-year collaborative, interdisciplinary project launched by prof. Richard Jochum of teachers college, Columbia university. Poets, artists, and musicians were invited to respond to a tale of sibling strife, and a book of poems was published by Ragged Sky Press. Come listen to and meet some of the poets, and view slides of the visual art inspired by the blanket story.
This event is part of the series Poets at the Library, which is co-sponsored by the Princeton Public Library, US1 Poets' Cooperative, and Delaware Valley Poets.
609-924-9529
LYNN LEVIN & BILL WUNDER in Bridgewater
Tuesday, December 2, 7:-9 PM
Meeting Room C, Bridgewater Library
1 Vogt Drive,Bridgewater, NJ (908)526-4016
(908)526-4016
Free. Open Mic
Contact: Bob Rosenbloom (732)371-3817
READINGS AND NEWS FROM ARLENE WEINER
September 11, 7-9 p.m. at Biddle's Escape in Wilkinsburg, PA, with authors from the first two issues of Uppagus (uppagus.com/), the online zine.
September 20, 1 p.m. at C.C. Mellor Library in Edgewood, PA, with members of the Squirrel Hill Poetry Workshop (www.squirrelhillpoets.org).
October 11, 7 p.m., at East End Book Exchange, http://www.eastendbookexchange.com, 4754 Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield (Pittsburgh). with Pittsburgh-area poets who have been published in U.S. 1 Worksheets.
November 1, 7:30 p.m. at Brentwood Library, Brentwood, PA, book launch for the Brentwood Anthology, edited by Judith R. Robinson and Michael Wurster, with poets from Pittsburgh Poetry Exchange. http://www.lummoxpress.com/lc/brentwood-anthology/ and in 99 Poems for the 99 Percent (Dean Rader, ed.) http://www.spdbooks.org/Producte/9780988266223/99-poems-for-the-99-percent.aspxLook for RSP poet Vasiliki Katsarou at this year's Dodge Poetry Festival to be held Oct. 23-26, 2014. Congratulations, Vasiliki!
NEWS FROM LYNN LEVIN
Lynn's poetry collection Miss Plastique was named a finalist in poetry in the 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. And Poems for the Writing: Prompts for Poets by Valerie Fox and Lynn Levin, published by Texture Press, was named a finalist in the education/academic category in the 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. The awards were announced May 6, 2014.
She recently received her 10th Pushcart Prize nomination.
Birds on the Kiswar Tree, Lynn Levin’s translation from the Spanish of a collection of poems by the Peruvian poet Odi Gonzales, is forthcoming from 2Leaf Press in late spring 2014. For more info, visit: http://2leafpress.org/online/birds-kiswar-tree/
Lynn Levin’s upcoming readings and appearances for spring 2014:
Hunterdon Art Museum/Red Mill Meeting Room, 7 Lower Center St., Clinton, NJ (with Dave Worrell and Carlos Peña)—Sunday, May 4, 2014, 1:30-3:00 p.m.
Ann’s Choice Life Long Learning Academy, Warminster, PA. “Rhymes on the Range: American Cowboy Poets,” a lecture. May 8, 2014. For Ann’s Choice residents.
Moonstone Series at Fergie’s Pub, 1214 Sansom St., Philadelphia, PA (with Deborah Fries)—Wednesday, May 14, 2014, 7 p.m.
Fox Chase Review Reading Series, Ryerss Museum, 7370 Central Ave., Phila, PA (with Linda Nemec Foster)– Sunday, May 18, 2014, 2 p.m. George Reutter and Diane Sahms-Guarnieri
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Ragged Sky, publisher of the scrumptious collection, Eating Her Wedding Dress: A Collection of Clothing Poems, is planning a new anthology.
We’re looking for poems that delve into what is most crave-worthy about two of the most irresistable consumables, for a delectable literary sampler of poetry about...
Chocolate and Coffee!
Send us your richest and your darkest, your most irresistible pieces about coffee and/or chocolate. We’re interested in the earthy and exotic, the historical and psychic sources of your cravings.
Anthology Editors: Ellen Foos, Vasiliki Katsarou, Lynne Shapiro
Guidelines
Electronic submissions only: 1–3 poems (10 pages maximum) accompanied by short cover letter
Submissions accepted beginning on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 2014. Deadline: April 18, 2014
To submit: http://raggedskypress.
Submission fee: $5.00 per poem / $8 for 3 poems (max.)
We consider previously published work. Please include details of poems' previous publication history.
We will make final editorial selections on all submissions only after the submission deadline. Please note that if you do not hear from the Editors before Sept. 1, 2014, this means we did not select your work this time.Each contributor will receive one copy of the Anthology.
Christine Hamm praises Lynn Levin's Miss Plastique in the winter 2013 issue of Rain Taxi: Review of Books:
"In this accessible, outrageous, entertaining book, Lilith and Eve appear in funny, Rabelaisian poems that take place during shopping at the mall or strolls in the garden. Miss Plastique is fun, thought provoking, and paradoxical--an excellent read for anyone interested in the difficulties of existing as a modern and/or historical woman."
To buy the full issue of Rain Taxi, go to http://www.raintaxi.com/online/2013winter/print.php
WORKSHOP OFFERING BY RAGGED SKY EDITORS
Ellen Foos and Vasiliki Katsarou are offering a manuscript development workshop at the Hunterdon Art Museum in Clinton, NJ, on Sunday, March 30, 2014 from 10:30am to 4:30pm. Online registration is open now for this day-long workshop-- limited to 7 participants. More info here:
http://app.mainstreetsites.com/dmn1822/class_description.htm?sem_id=10736#14643
To register: http://tinyurl.com/mwtaqwd
If you have a manuscript of 14-24 poems and would like to work on it with us, please register online and follow the instructions for submitting your work.We will return each manuscript with extensive comments, brainstorm poetry strategies with fellow participants, and offer helpful tips and insights about small press publishing. This will be a high-level discussion, but a friendly and low-stress day. Hope to work with some of you, and please pass this message along to any poetry friends you think may be interested. Thank you!
ANOTHER GREAT REVIEW FOR MISS PLASTIQUE FROM The Rumpus
Poet Antonia Clark meditates on the ways in which the poems in Miss Plastique present contradictions between traditional feminity and the compelling voice of feminism. “Poem by poem, we are lured on by mystery, by both seduction and subterfuge. The poems warn us that what lies beneath the surface may be more than you bargained for.” Clark’s review highlights “Idylls of Mayfield,” “Yes, No, Maybe,” “The Language of Wildflowers” (“a perfect gem of a poem”), “People Can Get Used to Just about Anything,” “Eve and Lilith Go to Macy’s” and other poems. “Enough complexity and ambiguity to keep you returning and rereading,” praises Clark.
http://therumpus.net/2013/11/miss-plastique-by-lynn-levin/
Elizabeth Danson's poem "Rampancy" has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize by the editors of U.S. 1 Worksheets. http://us1poets.com/ Congratulations, Mimi!
NEW RELEASE BY DANIEL A. HARRIS
Congratulations to Daniel A. Harris on the publication of Random Unisons, his new collection of poems. Read some samples on his website, and purchase a copy at Amazon.com.
A POEM BY ARLENE WEINER
Arlene Weiner has a beautiful poem at uppagus.com.
VASILIKI KATSAROU'S UPCOMING EVENTS
Fri. Nov. 1, 2013 @ 6pm-- First Friday Poetry Readings (with Ethel Rackin) at Hunterdon Art Museum, 7 Lower Center St., Clinton NJ 08809 (908) 735-8415(908) 735-8415
http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/events_programs/
Sun. Nov. 17 @ 2pm --South Brunswick Poetry Series (with Lynn Levin) S. Brunswick Library 110 Kingston Lane, Monmouth Junction, NJ
Wed., Dec. 11, 2013 time TBA--Reading for Rabbit Ears: TV Poems, Unnameable Books, 600 Vanderbilt Ave. Brooklyn, NY
LYNN LEVIN'S FALL LINEUP
Catch some of Lynn Levin's Fall 2013 Miss Plastique Readings and Events:
Musehouse, 7924 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19118 – Saturday, Oct. 26, 2013, 7:00-9:00 PM
Cornelia Street Cafe, 29 Cornelia St., New York, NY 10014 (with Odi Gonzales and musician Mimian Morales) – Sunday, Oct. 27, 2013, 6:00 PM
South Brunswick Library, 110 Kingston Lane, Monmouth Junction, NJ 08852 (with Vasiliki Katsarou) – Sunday, November 17, 2013, 2:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Congratulations to Elizabeth Danson for her knockout poem's appearance in the Sept. 2, 2013 issue of the New Yorker magazine http://archives.newyorker.com/?i=2013-09-02#folio=044
Intimate Geography, by Ishmael von Heidrick-Barnes, won San Diego's 2013 Book Award for published poetry. The editors of Ragged Sky wish him a well-deserved congratulations!
RADIO SHOWS AND REVIEWS KEEP COMING FOR LYNN LEVIN'S MISS PLASTIQUE
Elizabeth Thorpe, editor of the beautiful and cool online journal Press 1, just published an amazing review of Miss Plastique in the summer 2013 issue. I love the way she explores the “Wild I” in the Miss Plastique poems. She concludes by saying:
“Recommend this book to your suburban mom (who may or may not have her own wild side). Hand it out to the hipsters in the coolest coffee shop in town. It’s for your rock star boyfriend, your seventh-grade math teacher, and that friend of a friend who just sailed alone to Fiji. It’s poetry for people who don’t love poetry, and for people who love it too much, and for everyone in between.”
http://www.press1magazine.com/elizabeth-thorpe---review-of-miss-plastique.html
Lynn was the guest of Dennis Morton and Maggie Paul on the Santa Cruz, California radio program The Poetry Show, produced by NPR-affiliate-station KUSP 88.9 FM. The live radio interview took place Sunday, July 21, 2013. You can listen to the program here: http://blogs.kusp.org/poetryshow/2013/07/22/maggie-paul-and-lynn-levin-guest-poets/
Rattle just published a fantastic review of Miss Plastique.
http://www.rattle.com/poetry/2013/06/miss-plastique-by-lynn-levin/
Poet and critic Maggie Paul hails Lynn Levin’s Miss Plastique in this comprehensive review. Writes Paul, “The epigrammatic quality of Levin’s poems, the use of form to untangle complex narratives and at the same time pull us into their nets, the authentic reaching back in time to make sense of the ironic present, are all qualities you’ll find in Miss Plastique. Lynn Levin’s poetry exhibits sophisticated craft and clear-eyed passion, yet never at the expense of hard truths and life’s conundrums.”
***
Here's one from Fox Chase Review in poetic form; and another from Word Riot. Also, John Timpane featured Lynn in his roundup of Philly-area poets.Poets Lynn Levin and Daisy Fried were the guests of Marty Moss-Coane on WHYY's Radio Times on Thursday, April 25, 2013. LISTEN HERE.
March 21, 2013 review by Amanda V. Wagner:
"You may be surprised to hear this but poets are still around. Yes, a few survived influenza in the 16th century, and are now conquering contemporary culture with the same weapons poets have always used: words. Lynn Levin is one of those modern poets. Levin’s latest book, Miss Plastique, takes on the complications of female identity and views of feminine beauty..."
If you're in the Trenton NJ area, Classics Books has some copies for you...
Wednesday, April 17, 2013, 7 PM
National Museum of American Jewish History, Philadelphia, PA, Reading featuring Lynn Levin, Eleanor Wilner, Elaine Terranova, Kathryn Hellerstein, and Taije Silverman
Thursday, April 18, 2013, 7 PM
Princeton Public Library, Princeton, NJ, release of Lynn Levin's new poetry collection Miss Plastique
Tuesday, May 14, 2013, 8 PM
Painted Bride Quarterly Series, Perch Pub, 1345 Locust St., Philadelphia, PA 19107 --Lynn Levin, Miss Plastique reading and book signing, with Hayden Saunier
Friday, May 17, 2013, 6:30 PM
Doylestown Bookshop, 16 S. Main St., Doylestown, PA 18901-- Lynn Levin, Miss Plastique reading and book signing
Saturday, June 1, 2013, 3 PM
Penn Book Center, 130 S. 34th Street, Phila, PA 19104 -- Lynn Levin, Miss Plastique reading and book signing, with Anne-Adele Wight
Sunday, September 15, 2013, 6 – 7:30 PM
Moveable Beats, Good Karma Cafe, 928 Pine St., Philadelphia, PA -- reading featuring Lynn Levin, Ellen Foos, and Vasiliki Katsarou
Thursday, February 7, 8pm
VASILIKI KATSAROU will be reading at the delightful Farley's Bookshop
44 S. Main St., New Hope
Tel. (215) 862-2452(215) 862-2452
... in two online magazines, Fox Chase Review and Drunken Boat.
Way to go, Carlos!
Monday, February 11, 7:30 PM
JAMES RICHARDSON & ELLEN FOOS in Princeton
"Poets at the Library," a joint reading series sponsored by Delaware Valley Poets and U.S. 1 Poets' Cooperative, presents Ellen Foos and James Richardson, followed by open mic.
Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street, Fireplace on second floor. Free. Contact: 609-924-9529609-924-9529 x 228
Miss Plastique ~ POEMS BY LYNN LEVIN
Miss Plastique, the fourth full-length poetry collection by Lynn Levin, invites the reader into a world of female bravado in which Miss Plastique and her many selves rant, fret, joke, fall in love, dress up, and do their hair. A poet known for her eclecticism, humor, and range of poetic styles, Levin is also a writer and literary translator. She teaches at Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania.
A music video of Tenderart performing Milk & Tea. This was filmed at Cornelia Street Cafe in New York City during Ish's reading there in October 2012. The lyrics were written by Ish.
Vasiliki reading at an ekphrasis event (poetry intertwined with the visual arts) "Fragments of the Muse" in October 2010. Paintings by Minako Ota. The installment will remain at the Swan Creek Gallery, 34 South Main Street, Lambertville, NJ, until Christmas 2010.
NATIONAL ARTS CLUB READING
Here are some of the gorgeous photos that Paul Oratofsky took at our launch party at the National Arts Club in June '09. Eating Her Wedding Dress poet Maria Terrone reading, Barbie Image Wedding Dress Cake, the crowd, the editors (Ellen Foos, Vasiliki Katsarou, Ruth Zamoyta O'Toole ), and Ruth in upscale talismanic attire...
© Ragged Sky Press