Pond 29 - 2017
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And the winners are:
1st place: Cathy Bryant, “Spring's a Right Jack-the-Lad” 2nd place: Andrena Zawinski, “Return” 3rd place: Leah O’Sullivan, “Home” Thanks to all who entered for making this the biggest poetry contest for StC yet. Thanks also go to William Swarts for donating his book as part of the prize. And a special thanks to our judge Professor Patrick Dunn for his time and effort. As you’ll see from his commentary, he gave entries a close and thoughtful reading, and bettered our contest by doing so. Thanks Patrick! As for the current issue, it’s strictly bottom of the barrel, pure...nah, it’s great, as usual, another wonderful set of talented authors providing a little beauty to balance out so much ugliness we see elsewhere. Also check out the new images in the Carpwork Gallery. Enjoy! - Ken |
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F L A S H I ran Glen Donaldson’s ‘Hitting Scissors Paper Rock Bottom’ on my comedy site Decasp.com because it’s such a hoot. But it’s also great flash fiction, packing a whole world into less than 800 words so I wanted to showcase it here as well.
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P O E M For those of you who haven’t been married long, Roger Sharp’s ‘With You’ might strike you as an odd love poem. For the rest who’ve been married a long, long time, it’ll ring through as describing true love.
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S H O R T S T O R Y ‘Pneumopolis’ by E.M. Stormo (who is also featured in the Profile below) is perfect speculative fiction that intertwines its subject in the characters, descriptions, and the entire context and meaning of the piece.
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SPECIAL PROFILE - E.M. Stormo Being a musician at heart, I’m drawn to authors who are also musicians, and E.M. Stormo, whose piece appears in the issue, is that in spades. Moreover, I was blown away by his band Los Doggies. So I decided to switch things up a bit and feature him for the profile this issue. Enjoy, and please check out his band’s website.
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P O E M ‘Dinner’ by Carl Boon reminds us even ordinary things, at ordinary times, can evoke special memories of loved ones.
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P O E M Gary Beck’s ‘Interference’ subtly expresses that deep down, almost buried feeling that things aren’t right, and that the “concrete” is going to be winning more and more.
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F L A S H CB Droege’s ‘Leaving the Can’ is another wonderfully speculative piece that I can best describe as un-dystopian. And true to form, it leaves just the right amount unsaid to draw you in deeper.
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Friends of the Carp
American Life in Poetry The Art of Elizabeth Darrow National Steinbeck Center Barking Moose Press    |
AUTHOR'S ROW
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William Swarts
Readers praise William Swarts’ latest poetry collection, Harmonies Unheard: for example, ”Bill Swarts rewards us with poetry of an often delightful earthiness and much ironic humor,” says Black Buzzard Press publisher and poet Bradley Straham. “This is a book not to be missed.” And, University of Vermont English Professor Emeritus Richard Sweterlitsch agrees, “His verses resonate with rich images; his themes are universal.”
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Ken Poyner
A collection of fantastical mini-fictions. A man who encounters mammoth rustlers. Houses that begin to move on their own, forcing the inhabitants to finally introduce themselves to their neighbors. Giant chickens that are hunted for processing in the chicken sandwich industry. And much more.
Humor, irony, mythical realism, surrealism, soft science fiction. |
Ken Schweda
If you enjoy thought provoking, unusual science fiction, that might not even make sense the first time you read it, then this book of short stories is for you.
A summary for them might be: first contact, pig, birds and black holes, conspiracy, more birds, lunacy (or not?), lost time. Your reaction to each story might be something like: ? ? ? , , , ? . . . !!! , , ? |
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Peter Dabbene
You've got spam! And so does everyone else. But what happens when you reply to those spam e-mails?
Peter Dabbene poses as his alter ego, Dieter P. Bieny—a man who gives spammers just enough hope to keep them coming back for more abuse. |
Fred McGavran
The Butterfly Collector has more Fred McGavran stories like those in Spank the Carp.
“The humor is understated and often wicked.” William Pratt, Miami University, World Literature Today. |
Jacqueline Jules
“Jules’ gift is in finding the small moments — green paisley pajamas, carrot cake, the giggle of a nine-year-old boy — and gracefully elevating them to tell the story of a life. If half of all marriages end in widowhood, Stronger Than Cleopatra is a manual for how to go on.”
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Jeanne Julian
The changing seasons provide a framework for these poems that explore the loss and rebirth in the natural world and in the spirit. "These poems challenge and resonate; the reader will be haunted by them." - David E. Poston, author of Slow of Study
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Ken Poyner
Forty-two surreal, irreal, subreal fictions of master bird races, nine foot tall women, chickens and their cell phones, the collection and consumption of oxygen, a surrogate lover for a mermaid.
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Brett Stuckel
Guided by Shadows: A Westward Walk on Spain's Camino de Santiago. Discover the absurdity of Europe’s most famous pilgrim path (a Kindle eShort, ~15,000 words, also available for Nook and Kobo).
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Carol Roan
When Last on the Mountain: The View from Writers over 50 offers nonfiction, fiction, and poetry that range from the heart-wrenching to the hilarious. Who better to bear witness to the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune than writers over 50?
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Carol Roan
Speak Up: The Public Speaking Primer is an inspirational guide through the thickets of stage fright, in all its forms, to the freedom of speaking up. The journey begins with a breathing exercise and wends its way through practical advice about the use of space and energy.
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William Quincy Belle
Fate can be kind. Fate can be cruel. However, every once in a while, fate can be funny. This is the lust love story of how one man met the most unusual of women in the most unusual of circumstances.
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