Our topics touch a variety of subjects about nature and the nature
of humanity. The purpose of our all-volunteer organization is to
educate poets, and to foster the reading and writing of short poetry.
We are not a vanity press. Not every poem submitted will be published.
We are a family magazine. Do not advocate the use of alcohol or drugs
in your poetry then ask us to consider your work. Please read our
monthly rules before sending us your work.
FEATURED ARTICLES
(These articles are on separate web pages; use
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by Betty Ann Whitney, Assistant Editor http://pages.prodigy.net/sol.magazine/glossary.htm |
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by Craig Tigerman, Lead Editor http://pages.prodigy.net/sol.magazine/onweb.htm |
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by Mary Margaret Carlisle, Managing Editor and Paula M. Bentley, Assistant Editor |
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New postings for October http://pages.prodigy.net/sol.magazine/events.htm |
CONTENTS:
| LETTERS |
| FROM: Roberta Pipes Bowman - Dear Mary, Thank you for the tribute (in August's Edition) to Lena Norman. It was beautiful (tribute) for this lovely poet who is no longer with us. Best. |
| FROM: Suzie La Forge - I want to thank you for recognizing Lena Norman, her spirit and her poetry, on your website. She was a wonderful poet. However, even more important, she was a kind and gentle member of our community. Her gardening, quilting, scrabble contests---were all talents at which she excelled. Her book of poetry is a delight to read and memories come quickly to all of us who were touched by this fascinating individual. |
| FROM: Louie Levy - My very best regards to Craig, Betty Ann and the other very talented writers of Sol. I don't know how you all give soooo much. Your dedication is a blessing of your precious literary gifts shared with the aspiring as well as the accomplished writer. |
| FROM: Kathy Kehrli - It was wonderful to see two of my poems in your issue and even more delightful to recieve a prize for my "Picnic" poem. It was so fun to write that one! Kudos to you and your staff for your contests and topics, which always inspire me. |
We found it difficut to choose a single "best poem" this month, so we chose two. Here they are.
This Boot of DeathEDITORS' COMMENTS: Specific and intensely original use of imagery to evoke both beauty and horror, the commonplace and the incredible in the same scene. Well-written and full of images poetically encapsulating the writer's experience in the midst of "death and dying." Wry commentary, "six left feet," dancing with a boot of death.I see the hospice nurse in white.
Her chalky presence
blowing dust across a board.
Your i.v. drip,
an etherizing summer rain.
Clock arms set in gray concrete.
A patio of shrinking flowers,
brown spindles of geraniums,
dandruff of alyssum buds
awaiting a massaging wind.
Meals I cook and you don't eat
a wish will freeze in innocence.
Age is readier than youth
to smile on lousy poker hands.I tip-toe through the silences,
stitch a tear in roving stanzas,
tape a shoelace, shove its stray
through tiny eyelets of the void.
Spray old beds of potpourri
with ipecac of roses gone,
bring you back like bags of tea.
Scrub my study, shine its wood
as women bathe behind a rape.
Dancing with this boot of death,
I'm all bruised shins and six left feet.
Seven years have passed
their suns and lumpy moons.
The end is still an asteroid
that crumbles as it strikes the sky.
Yolk and white in fragile shell
so whole it could be kidney stones.Janet I. Buck, Medford, Oregon
Asperges - September 2001EDITORS' COMMENTS: With particular observation to tiny details, the poet makes the leap to a larger disturbing experience, illuminating strain, while vividly illustrating many dimensions of human feeling. Clear expression of the simple desire to escape reality.Wash
me a-
shore.
Is this
my country
any-
more?
Seems there's
no longer
sanctuary
any place.
Wash me
out
to sea,
peaceful wave -
far from
here,
far from
fear.John E. Rice, Houston, TX
EDITOR'S NOTE: This concise, precise and highly lucid poem uses a new form, the Waltz Wave. This form was created by Sol Magazine's Managing Editor, Mary Margaret Carlisle, to honor our Web Manager, Leo F. Waltz.
FIRST PLACE
New York ReporterEDITORS' COMMENTS: With sharp,jagged edges, this piece captures the shocked numbness of the horror, and how trivial or futile the task of writing a news story can become in light of such shocking scenes. Terse writing, with a careful choice of words that reflect the depth of thought behind this poem. Images, thoughts, ideas combine to make the bigger picture more clearly seen.Out
windows
they
escape
hellish heat.
Falling
lives
words lost
in horror
mind confetti
paper shreds
smoking
how
can I
write about
it? No
tears
just facts
now.Deborah P. Kolodji, Temple City, CA
ShrivenEDITORS' COMMENTS: Tight writing. The subtle use of rhythm and rhyme gently, but insistently, carries the reader to the conclusion. Clearly intelligent and thought-out manipulation of words beautifully fit this flowing form. The quiet rhyme scheme helps to unifiy the poem. Most appropriate title reinforces the meaning of the poem.If
I can
write
the right
words for us
all to
hear
to take
us to an
absolution
without fear,
perhaps
then,
somehow
I will have
paid my
keep,
earned my
sleep.John E. Rice, Houston, TX
Riding the Wave of WritingEDITORS' COMMENTS: Expresses the artistry of writing, and shows the effort that must be expended to yield strong results. The harmonious arrangement of words complements both subject and form as it creates the feeling of riding on waves. Lovely piece, almost a prayer.When
I sit
And
Let my
Fingers dance
Over
The
Keyboard
And pour out
My heart and mind
Into the
Strongest
Words
Given
To my soul,
I know
Words
Are my
Strength.Katherine Swarts, Houston, TX
Sol Magazine will mail no book prizes to poets outside the United States
of America. Book gift certificates from Barnes & Noble will be
substituted. No exceptions.
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Have a comment? Want to be added to our list? Want to be
taken off our list?
Write to us at: Sol.Magazine@prodigy.net
Or at:
Sol Magazine
P.O. Box 580037, Houston, TX 77258-0037
Phone number: (281) 316-2255 weekdays 8-5 Central Time.
Sol Magazine's Website: http://www.sol-magazine.com
============
So you want to be judge, guest editor, interviewee? Tell us.
Judges are asked to write a guest editorial on a topic we set before being
invited to judge a contest.
============
All poetry remains the property of the poet, except Sol Magazine reserves
the right to publish all poems (once) at a future date, and/or to post
them to a web page. NONE may be reproduced without permission of
Sol Magazine. Electronic forwarding is permitted as long as no portion
of this magazine is changed and all credits are given.
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Sponsors in 2001: M. G. Angel, Mary Margaret Carlisle, Lois Lay
Castiglioni, SuzAnne Cole, Jim Lay, Cliff Thomas Roberts, Marsha Rose Steed.
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Angels in 2001: Leo F. Waltz.
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Book donors in 2001: Paula Marie Bentley, Debby Cochran, Katherine
Elmore, Maryann Hazen-Stearns, Glynn Monroe Irby, Peggy Zuleika Lynch,
Carlyn Luke Reding, Cliff Thomas Roberts, John Salacan, Kathleen Elizabeth
Schaefer, Craig Tigerman.
Corporate book donors: Barnes & Noble, Bookstop. New sponsors and angels always welcomed. Thanks for your support.
Sol Magazine, P.O. Box 580037, Houston, TX 77258-0037
Phone number: 281-316-2255
Call weekdays 8-5 (CT)
Send comments, questions, advice to:
Sol.Magazine@prodigy.net