Poetica Publishing Company
2023 Miriam Rachimi Poetry
Micro Chapbook Award
Now Open for Submissions:
March 1st - May 31, 2023
Micro Chapbook Award
Now Open for Submissions:
March 1st - May 31, 2023
Theme: From the spiritual to the sacred
2023 Edition is open for submissions!
“Human methane is not an expression one hears every day. Certainly not one you expect to see in a book of poetry, but for Beth SKMorris it was something that was planted in her mind early in her post-9/11 experience as she worked as a volunteer for the WTC Ground Zero Relief Project, Spring Street Warehouse helping to stock-pile and deliver supplies to the firefighters and police at all the Ground Zero clean-up and recovery sites. These words appear near the beginning of In the Aftermath in the poem, Side Effects, uttered by a fireman who needs to change gear before rushing back to the chaos of “the Pile.” From there, Beth leads us on a journey through her volunteer days and the subsequent years with memories of a vast array of people whose lives were impacted by the horrors of 9/11: those who died, mourned, and survived; the first responders, those who cleaned-up and restored, volunteered to help. Those who prayed. My wife, my son, and I were privileged to volunteer at St. Paul’s cathedral adjacent to Ground Zero welcoming the recovery workers from “the Pile” with food, drink, and conversation. I will remember this for as long as I remain on this planet, and I am grateful to In the Aftermath for adding a much greater store of memories to the place in my mind labeled 9/11.” —Bob Stevenson, 9/11 Volunteer, author of “How I Remember 9/11” READ ABOUT THE COLLECTION
De Profundis is a series of poems exploring the author’s progression in Fahr’s Disease in literal and figurative ways. The series of one-hundred-four poems represent the intense mental challenges of coming to terms with this disease. The book focuses on raw emotions and the effects of denial, anger, bargaining, despair, and acceptance of this incurable and inoperable disorder. The series of poems employs strong imagery, reflections from childhood, references to nature, and unique imagery to present the author’s internal dialogue of despair and reconciliation The author suffers from Fahr’s Disease, Primary Familial Brain Calcification: a syndrome that is caused by calcium deposits on the basal ganglia or cerebral cortex. Its physical manifestations consist of features like Parkinson’s: muscle tremors, muscle stiffness, diminished voice, dis-coordination of fine muscle movements, dementia, diminished memory, and other muscular, physiological, and psychological symptoms. READ ABOUT THE COLLECTION
You find an old rotary phone and answer its cry but instead of a voice, you are greeted by a swarm of bees. I find anxiety to be like that. This is a book for people who have anxiety, but also for people who don't. I like to think it's for everyone because some will feel that familiar ache of thoughts that run too fast and others will swallow lovely weird imagery as they appear. READ ABOUT THE COLLECTION
In Roots & Branches, a collection of brief and deeply personal essays on family, Bay Area author Adina Sara recounts intimate moments in her life—helping her mother with her beauty baths; sitting with her father as he sips his tea; traveling with her Ex to meet their first grandchild; losing to her 4-year old granddaughter in a high stakes game of Hide-and-Seek. “…Sara takes us through a full gamut of emotions, all the while allowing us to feel more deeply what it is to be a part of that strange consortium of souls we call family.” “…She brings the world of relationships alive and one feels after reading her stories, reunited with the people who have mattered most.”
"How remarkable that in the span of forty-five pages, we are able to travel so deeply from near-despair to that area we call acceptance, which is the threshold of hope. Drawn in by Michal Mahgerefteh’s natural poetic gift, we find, on the one hand “songs of grief / for ancient places” rooted in a father’s passions, and on the other, a “tiny vial of happiness” in each of his daughter’s attempts to draw him to her, to a present of shared living. The poems revolve around two powerful characters—father, daughter—and the tension between them soon becomes our tension; we suffer with them and are ultimately uplifted by the fierce love underlying their relation. One of the most poignant verses (and there are many) is found in the penultimate poem: “So we both weep Kaddish for God the Father.” When understanding seems unattainable, the willingness to weep together will be the love that binds us. Bravo to this poet, for allowing us to share in a painful journey, that we might learn from it to bind our wounds and, more importantly, the wounds of those we love." Sofia M. Starnes, Author of The Consequence of Moonlight and other works Virginia Poet Laureate, Emerita
READ ABOUT THE COLLECTION FORTHCOMING MAY 2023
Korban Quest is a spiritual, “drawing closer” endeavor. The book navigates between friends, family, a culture, and a tradition, the natural world and the spiritual one. The Hebrew word Korban comes originally from the commandments in the Torah for sacrificial offerings. Doing homage in ancient times required great offerings, but after the catastrophic events surrounding the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Jews turned to prayer for atonement (instead of sacrifices) and “to reach out” and draw closer to G-d. It is our responsibility, as writers, to profess to be good and sweet faithfulness - in the magic and mystery of our words. My hope is readers will find your own Korban journey as fruitful and phenomenal as mine. Neil Spirtas READ ABOUT THE COLLECTION
READ ABOUT THE COLLECTION
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