I should believe in the interlocking Rings, the symbol of Unity and Values.
Sinking
Diversity
Hair
Protection
Sinking
Texture
Inclusion
Survival
Sinking
I believe in Unity and Values. The symbol of the interlocking Rings should…
Anneka Chambers 7/6/21 ________________________
Anneka Chambers (she/her) is a Black British poet living in London. Anneka’s work can be found in South Bank Poetry, Vine Leaves Press, Dwelling Literary, Superfroots Magazine and other notable publications. In addition to writing, Anneka is a social activist and heads her petition campaigning on behalf of the Windrush Generation in the UK. ________________________
Review by Truth Thomas Editor, The Skinny Poetry Journal
July 6, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. EDT
Tony Medina does with apparent ease what most people cannot do at all—prolifically composing fresh, compelling work, both in Spanish and in English. In Death, With Occasional Smiling, his latest collection, he offers readers a moving view of what critical race theory would look like if it took the form of poetry. I make this point, because critical race theory is essentially a documentation of the blues—the social blues of racism that permeates every aspect of American culture. Certainly, the horror of racism, playing out in the lives of Black and Brown people in the United States, is unfettered in its historical and ongoing brutality. Though some folks choose not to see it, Tony Medina is not one of those people. Particularly, in terms of chronicling modern day lynchings, the poems in this volume hit like Mike Tyson in 1985.
“Father, Son Arrested in the Death of…” is a piece that fills the early pages of his full-bodied book with a genealogy of race-based terrorism. The poem references Ahmaud Arbery’s murder in Georgia, though not by name, it speaks to the names of all the murdered—and martyred, so tragically. For those who may not be familiar with the family tree, which embodies, and emboldens, such evil, this poem is a history lesson, that begins with these words:
Racism is an heirloom passed down through Generations like a retrovirus
A rifle handed from father to son Aiming to please some deep-seated heated
Urge to violate rape maim hurt some thing
Like James Baldwin, Gwendolyn Brooks, and a multitude of great writers before him, Medina makes it plain that Black life in America is an abnormal normality, a halfway freedom riding, a daily kind of death (although we sometimes laugh to keep our sanity from snapping). Also, much like those notable figures, it’s clear that his work springs forth from a decidedly beautiful mind. In a myriad of forms (eintou, diptychs, triptychs, odes, and elegies) he paints strikingly vivid pictures that are gut wrenching, of worlds he has come to know. These poems are richly informed by the Black Arts Movement and Nuyorican poets—of which, he is a beacon. This is especially true in his politically themed verses. In “After Pelosi’s Dropkick,” his humor and social commentary are protest marches in a pen:
After Pelosi got through with Trump all he could do was spit out some teeth, look cockeyed and confused, swat aimlessly at stars, and mumble, Covfefe, Covfefe, Covfefe. Trump folded like Mumbo Sauce on greasy-ass fries. Covfefe is Russian for “To Cave.” Covfefe is Russian for Rosebud. COVFEFE is Trump’s anti-LGTBQ policy known as Don’t Ask Can’t Spell…
Pelosi laced up her Timbs and STOMPED Trump’s off-white ass into the White House lawn until a wall formed around his toupee. TRUMP CONSIDERS US THE ENEMY. WE CONSIDER HIM THE ENEMA…
There is tremendous range and a theatrical quality in the breadth of Tony Medina’s poetry. This book, that captures many sobering snapshots of early twenty-first century Black life, is no exception. With that in mind, if Broadway ever launches a production based on his catalog of work, it would be wise to fend for a front row seat. However, until that good show opens, Death, With Occasional Smiling, now lighting up the literary stage at Indolent Books, should more than tide over any thoughtful soul in search of a stunning, transformational, artistic experience.
Death, With Occasional Smiling by Tony Medina Indolent Books, paper, 132 pp. $20.00
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Truth Thomas is a singer-songwriter and poet born in Knoxville, Tennessee and raised in Washington, D.C. He studied creative writing at Howard University and earned his MFA in poetry at New England College. His collections include Party of Black, A Day of Presence, Bottle of Life, and Speak Water, winner of the 2013 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in Poetry. His poems have appeared in over 150 publications, including: Poetry Magazine, Ghost Fishing: An Eco-justice Poetry Anthology, Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South (A Cave Canem Anthology), and The 100 Best African American Poems (edited by Nikki Giovanni). He is the founder of Cherry Castle Publishing, creator of the “Skinny” poetry form, a former writer-in-residence for the Howard County Poetry and Literature Society (HoCoPoLitSo), and the managing editor of The Skinny Poetry Journal.
The Skinny Poetry Journal (TSPJ) is a literary journal that is primarily dedicated to “The Skinny” poetry form. TSPJ is based in Washington, D.C., and edited by Truth Thomas, the creator of the form (in concert with a team of other D.C.- based. poets). The point of The Skinny, or Skinnys, is to convey a vivid image with as few words as possible. The form generally reflects more serious concerns facing humankind. In that light, as the Tokyo Olympics will soon be upon us, TSPJ is seeking poetry related to every aspect of the games–all the intrigue–all the drama–including its many political and social justice elements.
We are currently accepting submissions. The doors to the submission church will remain open until August 8th, 2021– ending with the game’s closing ceremonies. To submit your Skinnys for publishing consideration, email: theskinnypoetryjournal@gmail.comwith your poem, or poems, copied into the body of your email. Simultaneous submissions are accepted.
Poet Quintin Collins, author of The Dandelion Speaks of Survival: Cherry Castle Publishing, 2021. 66 pages.
The Dandelion Speaks of Survival Poems by Quintin Collins Rosetta Codling, Ph.D.
In short, this is a diverse and uniquely beautiful collection of poetic gems. Beauty transcends diversity. This the lesson of TheDandelion Speaks of Survival. From the bowels of the city’s concrete, a flower…a dandelion…. defies convention and nature to spring forth. It is, simply, beauty triumphing over adversity. This is the message sent to us in Quintin Collins’ poetry collection. He announces, “This is Where You Belong” and it is in Chicago, in Atkins Park, and it is in Chris’ backyard. The concrete summons you in “After the Towers Fell, Black Boys Felt American.” You belong in New York on Baker Street and witness the smoke on Pulaski Avenue. But there are more seeds to be planted in Collins’ poem “Sag.” You lumber, you launch, and you have the security of a safety pin that evolves to become a life preserver in the form of a rope, provided by a teacher.
Things blossom further in Quintin Collin’s poetic bouquet. “The Barber Chair” is an ode that springs from the concrete cracks. This selection is about the ultimate union among men in the traditional barber shop. The fraternity of male kinship springs forth here because “Elsewhere, only a woman/gets this close to your blood.” There are challenges in any given city. There are obstacles in every given city. And there is the drive to defy the known barriers. There, within, is the poetry of Quintin Collins.
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Dr. Rosetta Codling is a freelance literary critic. She has written reviews for the Ama Books, the Manhattan Book Review, the San Francisco Book Review, the Journal of African Literature, Autres Modernites, and Examiner.com. She has obtained scholarships and fellowships from Queens College (NYC), Teachers College/Columbia University (NYC), and the Open University (UK). She retired (in 2006) as a secondary school teacher and Adjunct Professor of English for over 30 years in New York. However, she attends global conferences and continues to write professionally. In addition, she now is an Adjunct Associate Professor of English at Herzing University in Atlanta, Georgia.
INDIANA NOCTURNES, by Curtis L. Crisler & Kevin A. McKelvey (Nebo Publishing, paper, 2020. 85 pages, $15.95.)
Honest conversations about race between Blacks and Whites in America are about as common as hunger running away from a steak. In books of poetry, as well as any other aspect of life in the United States, this is true. Poets Curtis L. Crisler and Kevin A. McKelvey, hoosiers to the core (one Black, one White, respectively), engage in such cultural discussions with courage — and without pretension. Indiana Nocturnes is their deliberate attempt to demonstrate both how separate — and yet similar we all are — through a literary concert that features two distinct poetic songs of ourselves. The implied racial and cultural dialectic that takes place within the pages of this book is notable for its authenticity and resonance of dual realities. Crisler writes of gripping urban farmlands in lines that often place humor on the point of thematic daggers. A glimpse into his “Hollywood B-Side,” makes this plain, as he writes:
Rudy Ray Moore’s karate kicked so slow I could make a fried-
bologna sandwich before his foot hit the floor. I knew he’d never catch my black ass in one of his flicks. Maybe white actors couldn’t see him—they never hid behind cars or trees
at night, trying to make it home.
McKelvey’s poetic scene-setting is as expansive as the Indiana flat lands where most of his work comes to life. His imagery is as rich as sweet corn and as multi-layered as shingles on a rooftop. Indeed, although the two authors are framed in wholly different Indiana worldviews, both Crisler and McKelvey “see” each other in this book in ways that are fruitful — far from venomous screams across hate-filled canyons. Theirs is a book of unselfish poetic solos and duets that honor the salient and intertwined beauty of two halves of the heartland whole. McKelvey speaks to that healing geometry in the poem, “On Cliffcrest Dock Near The Dassier Cabin, Isle Royale National Park,” where readers find these words:
We see water and life differently when we stand above it.
And from “Standing and Seeing,” he goes on to say:
I can look through a window in my house, through windows in the next house, and see an apartment building two doors down. As a kid I could see evergreens at my elementary school three miles away. Proximity doesn’t matter. People can create their own cure for a place.
To declare a poet’s poems inaccessible, is sometimes seen as a literary term of endearment. In the context of Indiana Nocturnes, I will not lead myself into that temptation. Suffice it to say that in the same way that people and cultures are complex, Crisler and McKelvey’s poems reflect a comparable range and complexity. Full disclosure: Readers will find no name tags linking poems with their authors in the book proper — not until its final curtain call. To that extent, identifying who exactly is speaking can be somewhat of a challenge. However, the challenge is well worth the effort. The poems are equal parts literary concert and parable. Two quite culturally different Indiana voices ultimately become one voice, one humanity, one joy — much to the joy of joy itself.
Truth Thomas is a singer-songwriter and poet born in Knoxville, Tennessee and raised in Washington, D.C. He studied creative writing at Howard University and earned his MFA in poetry at New England College. His collections include Party of Black, A Day of Presence, Bottle of Life and Speak Water, winner of the 2013 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in Poetry. His poems have appeared in over 150 publications, including: Poetry Magazine,Ghost Fishing: An Eco-justice Poetry Anthology, Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South (A Cave Canem Anthology), and The 100 Best African American Poems (edited by Nikki Giovanni). He is the founder of Cherry Castle Publishing, creator of the “Skinny” poetry form, a former writer-in-residence for the Howard County Poetry and Literature Society (HoCoPoLitSo), and the managing editor of The Skinny Poetry Journal.
Collins, Quintin. The Dandelion Speaks of Survival, Columbia, MD: Cherry Castle Publishing, 2021. 66 pages.
Quintin Collins’s debut poetry collection represents release—a personification of voices from the mosquito, a suicide note, hip-hop freestyle, code-switching, the afro, the washcloth, the dandelion, and narrators who are witnesses to this vascular world of beautiful and ugly wonderment. Quintin impregnates The Dandelion Speaks of Survival with a brume of language—reverberating our ears with smoked, apple-wood, bacon sizzling in a hot, black, cast-iron skillet. No matter if you down with pork or not, it smells delicious.
In the titular poem, “The Dandelion Speaks of Survival,” the personification is melodic. There’s a luxuriant language with the juxtaposition of nature confronted by manmade tools and wording that cuts—that “shears,” “snaps,” and “poisons.” This is the confrontational (life and death) shared between a weed and a Black man. Yet, with vulnerability comes restoration. Also implied in this poem, Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive”—defying heartache and sorrow, hearing her belt out, “Oh, no, not I! I will survive. Oh, as long as I know how to love I know I’ll stay alive.” The disco high-hat and snare drum against a back beat with a melodious piano quivering out its truth, all underneath Gaynor’s turbulently defiant lyrics. Yet, this is not all the poem exemplifies. In another act of genius, Quintin summons one of the greatest line breaks in poetry, Miss Lucille Clifton’s “won’t you celebrate with me.” She wrote, in her ending:
come celebrate with me that everyday something has tried to kill me and has failed.
Quintin replicates Clifton’s sentiment. Many in Chi-town still do due diligence to Clifton’s declaration, as well as what the first African American Pulitzer Prize winner Gwendolyn Brooks represented—contin-uing vying for individual and collective Black voices. Quintin even replicates Miss Clifton’s line break. His narrator believes:
I survive. I survive. I survive. I survive again and again.
Throughout the trauma of life, survival’s what we do. Therefore, be it organic or not, the allusion of the dalliance with Gaynor, Clifton, and Brooks demonstrates Quintin as a practitioner with an eclectic ear—using his language, history, and his love for women’s voices (his mother and grandmother) to articulate the ambience and bittersweetness of Black existence.
In “Ice Cream Economics” he directs us to some sweetness. He moves in and through us, as the Ice Cream truck bombards our ears, jerking our heads—rubbernecking and swiveling because it just got real:
You chase melody. Xylophone reverberations crawl up Ravisloe Terrace. Sneakers percuss sidewalks. Pause Double Dutch hi hats, basketball timpanis. Screen doors slap like cymbals. Faster tempos
The lyrical play in “Ice Cream Economics” elucidates the backbeat and rhythm of summer as children are told to either come in or go out, but you ain’t gone be slamming my door all damn day. It’s a cacophony as exhilarating as the kinetic energy of bodies participating in the breathing of air. This is universal, no matter the neighborhood, for the most part. And if not, Quintin lets us come behind the curtain. He continues…
as kids bolt. Pockets maraca nickels, quarters, dimes. Adolescents drumroll right up to the window.
And you are there, in Quintin’s cinemascope, an actor in the scene—a witness next to the narrator—putting your hand out for Mama to give you some change for ice cream—negotiating how fast you can run on the hot asphalt to obtain “Choco Tacos,” “Bomb Pops,” or “Good Humor strawberry shortcake”—returning before anything got a chance to even try to melt.
“Ice Cream Economics” is a reprieve from the ulcers, the blood draws, and the IVs, where the “immune cells attack healthy tissue,/internal wounds open.” “The Body’s Betrayal” and “Only Pussies Bleed” unveil a black boy’s vulnerability as his body bleeds from his anus, only adding to the external repercussions of shame the narrator takes on by other boys who call him a girl.
“Sold As-Is” seems the crux or thematic metaphor in Dandelion Speaks of Survival—revealing what Quintin’s narrator hears…
one final thing i should tell you people have died in the house some natural causes some murders but if you don’t believe in ghosts or oppressed people then you have nothing to worry about
Is this not America? Capitalism? All the different tribes currently beefing? Only here, we are looking through the poet’s lens, with a particular set of skills, honing the foci on Chi-town, and all those “homes” (all those bodies). These are not new goods. They are “being used and abused and served like hell” (Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five “The Message”) in a capitalist system where a profit must be made. Why does he want us to see this? What does “Sold As-Is” really mean? To the seller? The buyer? Isn’t it about what we will and will not accept? Quintin is Louis and Clark exploring this midwestern landscape; yet, he is also Sacagawea and York, giving us its truth and its culture.
The narrator of these poems addresses the internalization and affirmation that black lives matter like all other lives. In “Signs of Life”
You smile to promote the lie that you’re not afraid of death, that your notions of long life weren’t in a pile of ash
Only if death, and only if gaining freedom through death, were not poised implications for redemption in boys named Brandon, Chris, Keith, Toine, or Quintin.
Quintin’s vulnerability and love for place takes us back, then moves us forward, singing names we take for granted. In one of the meccas of blues, “We pull off to the shoulder,/ unaware of what we’ve done wrong.” The “we” are just trying to make it home after being pulled over by police. Dandelion Speaks of Survival is our access home. Quintin’s writing so “we” all make it home.
———————–
Curtis L. Crisler is Professor of English at Purdue University Fort Wayne. He is the recipient of a residency from the City of Asylum/Pittsburgh (COA/P), the recipient of fellowships from Cave Canem, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), Soul Mountain, a guest resident at Hamline University, and a guest resident at Words on the Go (Indianapolis). Crisler’s poetry has been adapted to theatrical productions in New York and Chicago, and he has been published in a variety of notable magazines, journals, and anthologies.
from the Ganges River exhumed dumped corpses, foraging, pending lullabies. nameless mass-graves, scarce firewood. nameless border, expensive crematoriums. nameless exhumed, pending lullabies, foraging dumped corpses from the Ganges River.
Ruchi Chopra 5/20/2021
Victims of coronavirus are cremated on the banks of the Ganges river in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh – Courtesy of REUTERS – 5/10/21
(peace) lilies
(peace) lilies unfurl from the chaos. cicadas shrill silhouette dead cicadas collect gunpowder lingers cicadas unfurl (peace) lilies from the chaos.
Ruchi Chopra 5/20/2021
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Ruchi Chopra is a poet, social media influencer, and former journalist. Born and raised in India, Ruchi now lives in Cleveland, Ohio, with her family. She is a bilingual writer and enjoys reading, writing experimental poetry, and non-fiction. Chopra explores different mediums of creative self-expression through photography, writing, recycled crafts, and collages.
About the candle photo above: Last year, Ruchi Chopra participated in a virtual “Peace Candle Prayers” event for people affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic. On the evening of Sunday, April 12th, 2020, Chopra and others prayed for peace, solidarity and harmony in the world. She continues to this humanity-edifying practice, along with her family and friends, to this day.
Her poetry has appeared in several anthologies, journals, ezines, and magazines. You can find her on Instagram at @banjaran_life. Indeed, link to her Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/banjaran_life/
i do not doubt killing. neck. knee. doubt. breath. life. malice. doubt i do not.
2. (blood)
the cardiologist made it plain. not drugs clots. plain like malcolm fannie plain the cardiologist made it.
3. (love)
george was a momma’s boy said his brother, lover said his lover, she said george was a momma’s boy
4. (george)
not a perfect man, but a man, george he struggled some george he fell. rose. george, not a perfect man, but a man
5. (us)
a black news channel… they’re black proud united they’re waiting wanting demanding they’re a black news channel.
6. (race)
defense says george is brute strong savage dangerous brute prone choked dead brute is george, defense says
7. (george 2)
george floyd is speaking to us today. them. professionals. women. men. them. humanity’s bouquet. crying. them. today, george floyd is speaking to us.
8. (what they do)
it is not going to work counselor. dirty deeds transgressions. counselor. stop doing it counselor it isn’t going to work.
9. (justice)
to the jury i yell ashe’ george is human ashe, spoken for, loved ashe’, to the jury i yell
10. (guilty)
hands behind his back, cuffed. he knows. feeling cuffed. feeling less than. cuffed, hands behind his back.
11. (peace)
i wanted it to go on and on… justice. accountability. public truth. justice. a beautiful song, justice i want it to go on and on
Brian Gilmore 5/8/2021
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Washington D.C. poet, writer, and law professor, Brian Gilmore, is author of four collections of poetry, including his latest, come see about me, marvin, (Wayne State Press), a 2020 Michigan Notable Books recipient. He has written for The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Progressive Magazine. His 2015 collection, We Didn’t Know Any Gangsters (Cherry Castle Publishing) was an NAACP Image Award nominee and a Hurston-Wright Legacy Award nominee. Gilmore is also a Kimbilio Fellow.
Big problems in Knoxville kids trafficked groomed intersection kids I-40 I-75 abused kids In Knoxville, big problems
Kay Fields 3/25/21 ________________________ The work of award-winning poet and writer, Kay Fields has appeared in Tennessee Magazine, where she won several poetry awards, Verse Virtual, and is to be published in Muddy River Review. Her memoir will be published in late spring of 2021. A resident of Dandridge, Tennessee, she spends her days with her senior Yorkie, Rocky.
A fossil fuel vampire is biting into Mother Earth’s turned neck. Vampires Fangs Sink In. Vampires Keep Sucking. Addicted Vampires. Is Mother Earth turned into a neck-biting fossil fuel vampire?
Rebecca Spring 3/9/2020 ________________________ Rebecca Joy Spring is a 9th grader at Duke Ellington School of the Arts in the Literary Media and Communications Department. She films and writes in a variety of genres and forms, and she loves doing all art forms for fun. Spring has made several short films that are available for viewing at Rainbow Rebecca Films on YouTube. She tries to use art to speak out about and fight the climate crisis. Additionally, she’s part of the media team at the climate organization Extinction Rebellion DC.
This poem was generated from celebrated poet Derrick Weston Brown’s intensely inventive creative writing class at Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Enduring thanks to Mr. Brown for continuing to teach the Skinny form and nurture young artists as they grow–and add beauty to all our grown-up days.
Dyslexia writes for I Don’t say I’m slow Don’t call me Braindead Don’t I write for Dyslexia
Isley Gold 3/9/21 ________________________ Isley Gold is a writer, filmmaker, and dyslexic advocate whose a freshmen at Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Before Ellington, she went to the Lab School of Washington D.C., where she found an appreciation for the written word, despite having a learning difference. Outside of writing, she has been an actor in multiple productions, such as Fame, Hamlet, and Twelfth Night. In her free time, she spins tales of mystery playing Dungeons and Dragons and watching bad action movies with friends.
This poem was generated from celebrated poet Derrick Weston Brown’s intensely inventive creative writing class at Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Enduring thanks to Mr. Brown for continuing to teach the Skinny form and nurture young artists as they grow–and add beauty to all our grown-up days.
The distant eye is awake Frigid Hands Reach For Frigid Hearts Warming His Frigid Eye, the distant is awake
Maya ray 3/6/21 ________________________ Maya Ray is a Sophomore at Duke Ellington School of the Arts in the Literary Media and Communications Department, graduating class of 2023. She enjoys cross examining her classmates in Street Law, fishing at Fletcher’s Boathouse and apple picking to make homemade apple pies. In her spare time, she enjoys watching anime on Zoom with her friends.
This poem was generated from celebrated poet Derrick Weston Brown’s intensely inventive creative writing class at Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Enduring thanks to Mr. Brown for continuing to teach the Skinny form and nurture young artists as they grow–and add beauty to all our grown-up days.
I’ve run out of tears to cry Dry eyes leave me dry cries fill me dry. Of tears to cry, I’ve run out
Jameela Ayoub 3/3/21 ________________________ Jameela Ayoub is an aspiring writer and photographer based in the Washington D.C. area. She’s a sophomore at Duke Ellington School of the Arts and is a first year student in the Literary Media and Communications Department. She will be graduating with the class of 2023.
This poem was generated from celebrated poet Derrick Weston Brown’s intensely inventive creative writing class at Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Enduring thanks to Mr. Brown for continuing to teach the Skinny form and nurture young artists as they grow–and add beauty to all our grown-up days.
I just want to press pause for a beat to say how much I thank Brother Charles Barrow for all he does to support The Skinny Poetry Journal, and also, Cherry Castle Publishing. A treasure, he is. – truth
Texans are not prepared for ice, snow covering everything. Cold iced roadways, lines cold enough to break, cold Texans are snowed, unprepared for ice-covered everything.
Patricia Hope 2/26/21 ________________________ The work of award-winning writer Patricia Hope has appeared in Voices On the Wind, The Avocet, Weekly Avocet, Artemis Journal, Tiny Seed, Liquid Imagination, American Diversity Report, Maypop, Plum Tree Tavern, Muscadine Lines, and many newspapers and anthologies. Born and raised in Appalachia, she now lives in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Kingdom divided, feet of clay, signs of the times… Human powers, Iron Strong. Human feet, fragile clay. Human signs of the Kingdom, divided times, feet of clay.
Supremacists smash Congress with flags and spears to stop the count killing democracy on TV killing their own Destroyers killing ‒ Congress stops Supremacists smashing with flags and spears to count
Martha Deed 1/21/21 ________________________ Martha Deed has published seven books, including mixed media and two poetry collections: Under the Rock (2019) and Climate Change (2014), both with FootHills Publishing, and six chapbooks. Her poems have been included in dozens of anthologies and dozens of journals. Twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
THE SKINNY POETRY JOURNAL CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:” Poems to Document the January 6, 2021 Trump-Led White Supremacist Insurrection / Violent Attack at the U.S. Capitol.”
Tell the truth. Make it poetry. Make it plain. – TSPJ Editors
Rules of the Skinny Poetry form: A Skinny is a short poem form, developed by Truth Thomas, that consists of eleven lines. The first and eleventh lines can be any length (although shorter lines are favored). The eleventh and last line must be repeated using the same words from the first and opening line (however, they can be rearranged). The second, sixth, and tenth lines must be identical. All the lines in this form, except for the first and last lines, must be comprised of ONLY one word.
Arrows of geese soar across the sky overhead breaking winter’s sovereign stillness breaking fog’s quiet embrace breaking the sky, arrows of geese soar overhead–crossing
Tyrean Martinson 12/16/2020 ________________________ Tyrean Martinson: Author, Teacher, Believer is the author of author of: Liftoff: Rayatana Series, Book 1; The Champion Trilogy; Flicker: A Collection of Short Stories and Poetry; Ashes Burn; A Pocket-Sized Jumble of 500+Writing Prompts; Dynamic Writing Curriculum Books; and over 200 short works including poems, short stories, and non-fiction articles. Martinson is editor of: Walking with Jesus: Stories from One Hope Church and teaches at: Words Take Flight – https://tyreanswritingspot.blogspot.com/
he consumes another bottle unrequited fixation sour olfaction unrequited shards viscous red unrequited another bottle consumes he
Isabelle Fortaleza-Tan 12/2/2020 ________________________ Isabelle Fortaleza-Tan is a high school sophomore at an international school in South Korea. She enjoys reading movie synopses on Wikipedia, eating tzatziki, and walking her Pomeranian.
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
Rana Zoe, I never knew you—East New Yorker 30 writer teacher Afrolatina 30 Afrovictim COVID age 30 Rana Zoe. You, East New York—I never knew.
He said, “She had a panic attack.” Denied testing twice. Symptoms denied. Finally– breathless– hospitalization. Denial. He said, “She had a panic attack”?
They fight for Rana Zoe. Connect ventilator. Contact media. Connect race gender $$$$$$. Connect for Rana Zoe. They fight.
Such hope when she opened her eyes. Cried. Shed weeks’ unconsciousness. Cried— students stories abandoned. Cried. Such hope, when she opened her eyes.
Rana Zoe died of COVID-19 complications. Wrong zip code. Complications. Black woman’s body. Complications of COVID 19… Rana Zoe died.
Michelle M. Tokarczyk 6/04/2020
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Rana Zoe Mungin, who had been clinging to life in the hospital for more than a month, died on Monday afternoon, April 27, 2020, after succumbing to COVID-19. She was a beloved 30-year-old middle school social studies teacher from Brooklyn who was twice turned away for testing before eventually being diagnosed with the virus. Rana Zoe…Say her name.
This poem, written by Michelle M. Tokarczyk, and shared with the world by The Skinny Poetry Journal, is dedicated to the Mungin family with unreserved love. Tokarczyk was born in the Bronx, New York City and lived there until she was nine years old, when her family moved to the more suburban Queens. She attended Herbert Lehman College — back in the Bronx — and received her doctorate in English from SUNY Stony Brook. Tokarczyk is a former professor of English at Goucher College. An avowed city dweller, she is the author of Bronx Migrations, a breakthrough collection of poetry on Cherry Castle Publishing.
To the chain-link fence separating me and my neighbor, vines grow vines and, vining, transfigure into stalks vined inseparable, chained to the fence linking my neighbor and me.
Clayton Adam Clark 11/09/2020 ________________________
Clayton Adam Clark lives in St. Louis, his hometown, where he works as a public health researcher and mental health counselor, and also volunteers for River Styx magazine. His debut poetry collection, A Finitude of Skin, won the Moon City Poetry Award and was published by Moon City Press in 2018. His poems have recently appeared or are forthcoming in Poetry Daily, Shenandoah, Salamander and elsewhere. He earned the MFA in poetry at Ohio State University and recently completed a master’s in clinical mental health counseling at University of Missouri–St. Louis.
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
for virtually forever now my neighbors and I have played
bridge
kitchen
table
no-score
bridge
slam
response
forcing
bridge
played virtually, and now I have my neighbors for forever
the computer keeps score
deal
count
your
winners
deal
we
they
vulnerable
deal
the computer keeps score
pass, pass, pass, I say
notrump
unbalanced
dummy
exposed
notrump
finesse
the
knave
notrump
I say, pass, pass, pass
faces in little boxes we
laugh
double
showing
support
laugh
aces
and
spaces
laugh
faces in little boxes, we
Angela H. Dale
4/02/2020
Angela H. Dale is a poet and picture book author who lives in Ellicott City, Maryland. Her writing has appeared in The Baltimore Sun, Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review, The Skinny Poetry Journal, Her Mind and in many other notable journals. Her picture book debut is slated for release in Fall 2022.
rivers to run
white lyrics spilling out, rivers to run heads crowing old swastika heads scraping cleansing bludgeoning heads spilling out white rivers, lyrics to run
***
Wall
nothing hangs on the Wall each drop of skulls each drop of history each wall hangs on the Nothing
