Kakalak 2009 Events
Submitted by admin on Fri, 2009-06-12 03:21.UPCOMING EVENTS
Readings/Presentations and Book Signings by Kakalak Anthology 2009 Poets and Artists:
CHARLESTON, SC:
October 16, 2009, 5 PM, Friday at Blue Bicycle Books, 420 King Street, Charleston, SC 29403; 843-722-2666; bluebicyclebooks.com. Wine and Cheese will be served. Readers/Presenters include: Alison Elrod, Ann Herlong Bodman, Heather Dearmon (Winner, Kakalak Poetry Prize 2009), Mary Hutchins Harris, Sheridan Hough, Ellen E. Hyatt, Kit Loney, Jim Lundy, Susan Myers, Diana Pinckney, Kathleen Pompe (2009 cover artist and Special Guest Contributor), Lynn Stanton, Dennis Ward Stiles.
HICKORY, NC:
December 8, 2009, 6:30 PM, Tuesday at Taste Full Beans, 29 Second Street NW, Hickory, NC.
Poets and artists who wish to participate, please RSVP to kakalakpoetry@aol.com to indicate which event(s) you wish to attend. Our readings are all about showcasing the poet's and artist's work.
Attn: Kakalak Poets, Artists, and the General Public:
For 2009, Kakalak readings, presentations, and book signings are scheduled as listed above. All poets and artists published in Kakalak 2009 are invited to read and/or present their work at any or all of the Kakalak 2009 events.The editors generally aim for about 22 readers/presenters at each event. For smaller numbers, we can adjust the format, typically with each poet/artist presenting not only their own work, but also the work of another poet/artist not in attendance. We can also schedule additional readings in an area if we have more people sign up than we can accommodate. Potential participants unsure about their schedule could respond with a "maybe" until their time available becomes clear nearer the scheduled event. Poets and visual artists wishing to participate in events are asked to sign up as soon as able.
Additional Kakalak details will be presented as they are available.
Thanks to our contributors and participants, we have been able to enjoy many readings that were terrific fun. We plan to continue the tradition. There really is something special--some would even say exhilarating--about sharing the stage with fellow poets and visual artists who have collaborated with editors in the creation of a great work of art.
>See Past Events page for information on Release Parties and Premier Readings.
Introduction to Kakalak 2009
Submitted by admin on Wed, 2009-09-02 05:40.
Welcome to Kakalak 2009!
Longtime readers will recognize this year’s poetry contest winner. Heather Dearmon takes first prize in poetry for her haunting poem, “not the matter.” Also a talented photographer, Heather earned second prize in the 2008 art contest and her photo, “Grace and Forbearance” is featured on page ## of this year’s edition. Second prize in poetry goes to Kimberly Glanzman’s piece entitled “Scar” with its lyrical commentary on Charles Simic’s line “If the sky falls, they shall have clouds for supper.” Paul Fisher rounds out the top three with “The Butcher’s Dream.” Bob Hicok, an associate professor of English at Virginia Tech and one of the nation’s most well-respected contemporary poets, served as final poetry judge in this year’s contest.
Three disparate pieces take the top prizes for art this year. Another frequent Kakalak contributor, Susan Fecho, claims first prize in art for her multi-layered “Country Kitchen.” Renaissance woman (novelist, poet, and photographer) Karon Luddy’s comical “Dreaming of Leo” earns second prize in art. Patz Fowle, whose stunning “Watertrees” graced our cover last year, takes third prize with “Runs in the Family.”
Carolyn Moore, Kakalak 2008’s top poetry prize winner, presents a portfolio of new work in our special guest contributor’s section beginning on page ##. This year’s stunning cover image is courtesy of our special guest contributor in art, Kathleen Pompe. More of her photography can be seen beginning on page ##.
Each new edition has given us a chance to share the poetry and art that moved us. Each year, we are grateful to the poets and artists who entrust us with their work. The three of us greet each new stack of entries with excitement and anticipation.
Over these four years, we have learned about printing, how to organize readings, and get a business license. And, boy, have we ever learned about taxes.
Since our first editor’s meeting in summer 2005, we have worked non-stop on Kakalak, in addition to writing our own poetry, working our “real” jobs, and juggling family commitments. Much has changed in the world at large since then. Our country has undergone a seismic political and economic shift. The internet has increased its presence across a broad swath of everyday life, including poetry and art.
Many people, when looking at the changed economic landscape, decide this is a good time to retool. Time to step back and decide what matters most and how to make sure their work reflects their values. After four years of Kakalak, we’ve chosen to do the same.
It’s time to reflect on where we’ve been and where we’d like to go. Kakalak would work better, we suspect, as a non-profit enterprise. This will take some legal work and grant writing. We want to take a look at how we can use the internet to the anthology’s -- and our poets’ and artists’ -- best advantage. Should we expand our website? Get a Facebook page? Publish the anthology more frequently? Organize a speakers series? Broaden our contributor base? We don’t know the answers to these questions, yet. We need to hear from our contributors and readers about what you would like to see from us in the future. To that end, there will not be a Kakalak 2010. We’re taking the year-long sabbatical to reinvent.
We thank our families for their continued support. Medals of honor go to Anne Hicks in graphic design and Scott Douglass in printing. We are grateful to Bob Hicok for his service as poetry contest judge.
Most of all, we are thankful to the readers, poets, and artists of Kakalak. Let us hear from you during our break. We’ll be back in 2011.
Lisa Zerkle, Richard Allen Taylor, Beth Cagle Burt, co-editors