poetry gift ideas for Christmas

Are you a poet or lover of poetry? My latest Poet's Classroom column, "Give Poetry for Christmas" is full of ideas on how to give away your poems and the poems of others. Check it out.

chapbooks

For all my poet friends who are thinking of assembling some chapbooks of their work, there's a fine post on the Poetic Asides blog called "What makes a great chapbook?" It's actually a collection of responses to the question that Robert Brewer, the Poetic Asides' blogmeister, received from poets on the PA Facebook page.

And speaking of chapbooks, I have two for sale. You may not consider them 'great' - but they're mine and I feel like them a bit like I feel about my kids -- it's hard to be objective.


Calendar (2004). Regularly sells for $8.00 Cdn.
(I sold out the first print run and the reprinted edition has a slightly different cover)


Family Reunion (2007). Regularly sells for $17.00 Cdn.

Anyway, for you a good deal!

For a limited time you can have both for $20 (both U.S. or Canadian funds -- and that includes postage).

Email me to order.

Offer expires December 31, 2008.

promptings' potpourri

Doctor check-up

Check up on your doctor anywhere in Canada or the U.S. Rate him/her or find out how he/she rates.


Window shopping

Hema is a Dutch department store which first opened in Amsterdam in 1926. There are now 150 Hema stores all over the Netherlands as well as in Belgium, Luxemburg and Germany. In June this year it was sold to the British company Lion Capital.

Take a look at Hema's product page. You can't order anything and it's in Dutch but just watch...


Cell phones popping corn

Have you seen the video that shows several switched on cell phones popping popcorn?

Well, here's the truth about those popcorn-popping cell phones.


Water on Mars

As you've no doubt heard on yesterday's news, champagne corks are popping in Nasa because water has been found on Mars.

My newest gig

I'll be writing a monthly column ("Poet's Classroom") at Utmost Christian Writers for the next little while. The first one ("Who'd Want to Read Your Poems?) came online today. It's here.

yes!

I got some happy news today. My friend who attended The Word Guild Awards Gala in Toronto last night phoned this morning and told me I'd won the award in the category Article for Children / Teens category. WOO HOO!!

The list of all winners should be on The Word Guild website shortly - after the weekend and the Write! Canada conference is over.

promote your book

Book Launch 2.0



Hat Tip: Carolyn

smiling...

because my friend Alvin's poem "From Coast to Coast" won first place in Utmost Christian Writers' first Canadian-only contest -- and my poem "Canadian Rivers" won an honorable mention. The theme was Canadian landscape.

Links to all winners here.

If you're a Christian writer of poetry who lives in Canada, you might want to check out Utmost's quarterly contests especially for Canadians.

If you're a Christian writer of poetry from anywhere, you'll want to go to Utmost's international site and find out about their big annual contest. Deadline for submission to that one is February 28/08.

winner!

I was thrilled, a few weeks ago, to find myself on the shortlist of the 2007 Word Guild Awards in three categories. The Word Guild is an association of Canadian writers and editors who are Christian. Every year they sponsor a contest where Canadian editors, publishers and writers can enter a variety of writing (from song lyrics to books) published in the previous year. Winners in past years have been such Christian literary luminaries as J. I. Packer, Mark Buchanan and Phil Callaway.

This year's winners were announced at a gala in Toronto last Wednesday, June 13th. I was not able to attend, so had no idea who won until this morning. On checking the Word Guild website, I found the winners posted (at last!)

I won two awards!!! Not in any category for which I was on the shortlist, though, but in two categories for which there was no announced shortlist: Children/Young Adult article (for "A Touch of Wonder" an article about the sense of touch, published by Guide - it's not online, though) and in the Review category (for a book review of Presumed Guilty [by James Scott Bell] syndicated by Advance.net, and published in cincinnati.com).

I am smiling. This is hugely encouraging (not to speak of the fact that I get a little back from the wad I blew on entry fees).

actually you could...

vote for me. Frankly, I feel uncomfortable asking, but just this once... Here’s the deal.

A few months ago a poem I wrote was published by Infuze Magazine. Every year they also put out a book of the best poems and stories published in the previous year. The long list of the best of 2006 is up here and my poem – well it made the list. So now if enough readers vote for it - it makes it into the book. So, as I say, if you like, you could vote.

To view the competition, type the title of the piece and author in the search box on the top right of the voting page.