A poem from the book:
 

No Cameras Please (With Apologies to Joyce Kilmer) I hope my friends will never see Me and my lovely Christmas tree My tree with matted tinsel hung Old strings of berries too long strung Whose popcorn chairs are yellow now And half-chewed cookies trim each bough. The star is listing to the right Tired balls have disappeared from sight It's fairly plain for all to see The children decorate our tree But now they're gone and Dad's asleep I'm propped up in my stocking feet. And sinking deeper in my chair With faded makeup--tasseled hair I feel a kinshiop for this tree I think it sort of looks like me.  (c) 1990 Naomi Stroud Simmons

If you wish to order copies of It's About Time, (published by Nortex Press) write to:

Naomi Simmons
3721 Lenox Drive
Fort Worth, TX 76107-1711

If you wish your books signed, let the author know.

Send $5.00, plus $1.00 shipping and handling per book.
 
 

3 Savanna Blue, by Peggy Zuleika Lynch, Carlyn Luke Reding, and Glynn Monroe Irby, edited by Susan Bright.

This collection of poems tantalizes the reader with a smoky-sweet scent of slow-cooked words and simmering sensual images drifting over the heart of Texas hill country.  Unequivocally superb writing, a mouth-watering read!

A poem from 3 Savanna Blue:
 

extremes soulmates come and go talking of time and its long parade melodies of seasons fill space ride waves of sound back to their origins alone on the savanna with each hearing more clairvoyance more mist more red and blue more moon more night along the strings the ropes the chains the waves (C) 2000 Carlyn Luke Reding

If you wish to order copies of 3 Savanna Blue, (published by Plain View Press) write to:

Glynn Irby
P.O.Box 637
Clute, Texas 77531

Send $17.95, plus $2.66 shipping and handling (total $20.61) per book. Texas residents add $1.39 tax per book.
Phone:   979 265 2555       Fax:   979 265 4851
E-mail:  gmi@37.com
 

Under the Limbo Stick,   by Maryann Hazen-Stearns

Filled with gentle intensity, this eclectic collection of poetry resonates with energy and joy.  It exhibits a comprehensive understanding of the mechanical spirituality of humanity.  The reader will discover a diverse range of topics and themes which are simply compelling; each poem urging the turn of one more page.

A poem from "Under the Limbo Stick," by Maryann Hazen-Stearns (2nd runner-up in the Poet Laureate 2001 Competition):
 

Lady Magazine The magazine I bought yesterday at the check-out counter told me:  I need to have a job and keep house, as well as fight unsightly, suburban dandelions in my lush lawn.  I must be slim as I raise my children and enjoy sports as a single parent.  It suggests that I strive for intelligence, sensuality and be able to fix my car with a cheerful attitude and big breasts.  It's best to be skinny and have a sense of humor while I manage my budget with coupons.  It clims that women need to show sensitivity while we defend our country and  file our taxes.  I must maintain my composure as I arobicize (slenderly) while being scented like flowers and dryer sheets.  It said I can have clear, soft skin while I  drive heavy machinery in my string bikini.  If I exercise and eat right, I can be healthfully trim as I care for my grandparents, parents, children, significant other, myself and for just 35 cents a day, an underprivileged child  on the other side of the globe. For crying out loud.  (C) 2001  Maryann Hazen-Stearns

If you wish to order copies of "Under the Limbo Stick," (published by Straw House Press, an inprint of ViviSphere Publishing Company) send $16.00 plus $3.00 shipping & handling ($19.00 total) per book to:

Maryann Hazen-Stearns
31 Lincoln Street
Ellenville, NY 12428

If you wish the book signed, let the author know. The book may also be purchased by credit card through ViviSphere Publishing Company:
http://www.vivisphere.com/

Indigo Avenue: Selected Poems, by Craig Tigerman
(Writers Club Press, December, 2000, http://www.iuniverse.com, $10.95 plus shipping.  Available also at the same price from amazon.com, borders.com, barnesandnoble.com, and booksamillion.com)

Sol Magazine's Lead Editor, Craig Tigerman, recently published a book of poems entitled "Indigo Avenue." This collection draws from his thirty-three years of experience as a poet.

Mr. Tigerman's colleague at Sol Magazine, Paula Bentley, Assistant Editor, describes "Indigo Avenue" as contemporary poetry structured in a classically romantic yet spiritual style. "Craig Tigerman's expressive writing covers a wide range of stylistic fortes. His mastery of the English language shines through lyrical passages, rhythms, and varied rhyme schemes. While this inspired work is intensely personal, it remains universal in appeal."

Craig Tigerman makes his home in Moline, IL, with his wife and son, and works as a software support specialist for a large computer company.
 
 

Words Elude Me...Selected Poems, by Paula Marie White

"Words Elude Me..." is a special collection of poems straight from the heart; they range a wide span of years, and mirror the author at various life stages.  The range of poetic styles, from simple rhymed verse to extremely complex blank verse, studded with internal rhyming and near-rhymes, attests to the maturity, vitality, and imaginative power of this poet.  Readers will be enriched wherever they dip into this lovely collection.

A poem from the book:
 

{Words soar in musical flight} Words soar in musical flight, Tumbling, flying, around The confines of the room Eyes shut tight, I dream I'm singing to music. Music so sweet it hurts To hear... (or not to). I sing...in my dream I am on stage, alone, Spotlit dramatically... Singing my heart out to a crowd Of several hundred... Or thousand! Ah, and I sing, and my heart Is poured forth in the words, So painfully, movingly, beautifully... It hurts to hear... (or not to). The music ends, and I stand Glowing in the applauding hands Then I open my eyes, And silence returns.  (C) 2000 by Paula Marie White

"Words Elude Me...Selected Poems," is published by 1stBooks Library, Bloomington, Indiana, copyright (c) 2000 by Paula M. White.  This book is available for purchase in several ways:

1)  Through 1stBooks:
http://www.1stbooks.com
Cost is $9.95 plus about $4 for shipping and handling.

(2) Through Barnes and Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com or http://www.bn.com
Cost is $15.54 plus about $4 for shipping and handling.

(3) Through Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com
Cost is $15.54 plus about $4 for shipping and handling.
 
 

A Cowtown Chronicle  is a collection of poems about the people and places of Fort Worth as told by a much-honored Texas poet, William Barney.

"The Slide"

In the Children’s Zoo, when it’s Stock Show time
there’s a devilish contraption, the duckling slide.
It’s a sort of a stair, with pond below,
and not much else for ducklings to do.
We all gather round to watch them climb
up to the top of this treacherous trap,
where the bait hangs high for ducklings to grab.
It hangs out of reach, oh, maybe not quite.
Still what hungry duckling won’t give it a try?
When he misses, he’s bound to lose footing
and down the slide go bewilderedly shooting.
We all of us gathered here shout with glee
to see a poor duckling cheated this way.

I have this fantasy, of somewhere above
a gaggle of Ultra-Ducks looks down on us
hilariously quacking at our over-reach
as we slide on our tails down into the deep.

If a man’s reach must exceed his grasp,
it’s only fair ducklings face this same fact.
Prizes get hung where they can’t get snatched
(say some) whether ducklings or men get hatched.

For a true taste of down-home Americana, Texas-style, visit:
http://www.virtualtexas.com/comm/virtual/writers/literary/barney

For more information about Billy Bob Hill, Mr. Barney’s publisher, visit:
http://browdersprings.com
 
 
 

Unstinted is a collection of poems by Ted Badger, editor of Lucidity, A Journal of Verse. Ordering information below.

From the collection:

A Time-Worn Man I am a time-worn man! Erosion has flawed my countenance, as Infirmity has marked my step; aches I feel I never felt before,  and my vision blurred some while back. I am a time-worn man! But aging withers not the heart, nor does it touch the dreamer’s soul; my spirit flares and burns today  as fiercely as three-score ago.

Send $3.00 plus $1.00 postage per copy to:
  (new address)
Bear House Publishing
435 B-1 FM 1092 Rd  #285
Stafford TX  77477-5494
 

You may e-mail the poet at tbadger@ipa.net

Ted also offers a critiquing service. For more information, visit:
http://bcity.com/tbadger

Texas Poetry Calendar 2001, edited by
Lianne Mercer and Betty Davis

This third Texas Poetry Calendar reveals much about Texas from Rusk to the Rio Grande Valley, from its rivers to its mountains, its coastlines and plains.  This book takes the reader on a Texas adventure, revealing along the way its history and the heart of its people, offering a hand in friendship, for as we all know, Texas means “Friend.”

Ordering information below.

Quartet  by Sam Lanham Sunflower gaily promises the habañero heat is ending Elegant gayfeather bundles up the thermal breezes of summer Eryngo sings of the cool air coming Snow-on-the-mountain whispers        winter         winter.

Send $12.00 per book plus shipping and handling of $3.00 for one book, $4.00 for three books. $1.00 for each additional book, (Texas residents add $.99 per book) to:

Flying Cow Productions
P.O. Box 654
Fredericksbrug, TX 78624

A quick reference for twenty-one forms which will add variety and charm to otherwise simple verse.  Examples included for each.

Example:

Quatrain:  A quatrain is four lines of verse, unrestricted in regard to rhyme scheme or meter.  A complete thought in expressed in the four lines.  Good practice for writing novels.      The Other Side If steep and high the road will wind,          I walk with swinging stride Because a hill that is inclined Must have a sloping side.

Poems.  These poems are windows  lines revealing clues to truth the poet knows and continually pursues.

Example:

The Light Flickers The reading lamp dims, brightens, shadows dance over the page. Soon, I must put the book down, find a new bulb, or sit in a dimming room. It is still light outside. Trees chatter in crisp breeze of autumn.  I listen to clink of leaves hitting the awning. I go on reading, pause when light loses power until it grasps a fresh charge of strength. The filament refuses to die. It is annoying.  I wait, this dribbling down of life. Certainly it will collapse, leave me in the dark. Everything has its time.

Biography:  Roberta Pipes Bowman began writing at an early age and has been included in many publications.  Her poems have been awarded prizes at local, state, and international levels, and published in a number of anthologies.  In 1994, she received the World Peace Award by CAAA at Lincoln Center in New York City.  She was inducted into the Hall of Fame in her hometown of Rio Vista, Texas.   A member of the Poetry Society of Texas, Roberta currently lives in Fort Worth, Texas.

For copies of either book, contact Roberta at:
rbowman@flash.net
Welcome to Today  - $5 pp
Writing That Certain Poem - $3 ppd

Roberta Pipes Bowman
3521 Eastridge Drive
Fort Worth, TX 76117-3534
(817) 838-9063