The Lake Country Project for Artists and Poets - CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

The Lake Country Project for Artists and Poets
(Wisconsin)

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS!

We are seeking to help promote the creative works of visual artists and writers in the Lake Country community by creating a project of collaborative, ekphrastic art (Ekphrasis: poetry inspired by art - the conversation between two mediums of art). We will organize visual artists and poets into compatible pairs. Each creative pair will have 2-3 months to work together to create 1 painting and 1 poem. The artist and poet can come up with a theme together, the painter may offer up an original work for the poet to write about, or the poet may have a poem they wish to offer for inspiration to the artist.

There is a two-part scope to the Lake Country Project for Artists and Poets, which will be co-facilitated in partnership with PAAC (The Pewaukee Area Arts Council). There will be art shows and poetry readings at several venues, starting fall 2009, featuring the completed ekphrastic works of each artistic team. There is also a proposed anthology of Lake Country Artists and Poets (publication date still to be determined) offering the opportunity for wide exposure for all contributors.

Liz Rhodebeck and Cristina Norcross will be co-editors of the book project and judges for the poetry submissions. Troy Tatlock will be the art advisor for judging art submissions.

Call for Submissions: January 12th – March 23, 2009

Editorial Reading Period: all candidates will be notified by May 1st, 2009 about final selections for the project.

Those who either live or work in Lake Country are welcome to submit. Lake Country is defined by communities which feed into the following high school districts:

Arrowhead HS
Kettle Moraine HS
Pewaukee HS
Oconomowoc HS

Visit the PAAC website for full details and guidelines: http://www.pewaukeearts.org/project.htm

The 15th Annual Poetry Marathon at Woodland Pattern Book Center

I had the great honor of participating in the 15th Annual Poetry Marathon at Woodland Pattern Book Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this past Saturday, January 31, 2009. The poetry readings ran from 10am until 1am the next day. This was truly a wonderful, literary experience. I want to thank our hosts at Woodland Pattern, the people who sponsored my time slot of 11am-12noon, as well as the local businesses who sponsored each hour of the marathon. This was my first time reading at this event. I explained to the audience that I was a recent transplant from New Hampshire. I felt very welcome in this supportive environment of very talented writers and appreciative listeners. What a wonderful crowd! I only wish I could have stayed to listen to all of the hours of performances. In the evening, they even had an hour devoted to songwriters and musicians who took turns with poets, and I think they had some collaborative efforts between writers and musicians.

The talent in that room was mind blowing! Each poet read an average of 4 poems, some just had one long spectacular poem to share. I was one of only two female poets during this hour. The rest were male poets who were all so clever and humorous in their styles. Our last poet even used props. The applause in that one room sounded like hundreds, because of the sincere appreciation of the audience. I felt very lucky to be surrounded by such fine writers. There is so much creative, synergistic energy when a group of poets get together.

Thank you to Woodland Pattern and thank you to my fellow poets for a wonderful day! I hope to return next year with a new set of poetic offerings to share.

If you happen to be in Milwaukee, Woodland Pattern Book Center now carries several copies of my latest poetry book, The Red Drum. Go in and have a browse at this amazing independent bookstore. You will find yourself gazing at the shelves in wonder at their thoughtful selections.

Thank you to Woodland Pattern for supporting local writers!

Keep Reading!
Cristina M. R. Norcross
www.FirkinFiction.com