Sol Magazine
August 1999 Edition

============
Sol Magazine © 1999
============
 

SAD NEWS:  Carlyn Luke Reding's sister, Earlyn Vivian Luke, born July 1949, passed away 29 August 1999 at Hospice Austin's Christopher House.  Our thoughts and prayers are with her family

==============
August - Cool and Hot! :

===============
Twice a month, Sol Magazine sponsors poetry contests, and from the results, produces an electronic poetry magazine, published on the last day of each month.  The winners are posted to our website at:

http://pages.prodigy.com/sol_magazine

Our topics are on a variety of subjects about nature and the nature of humanity.  Our purpose: to foster the reading and writing of short poetry and the education of poets.


WELCOME:  Kathy Kehrli.  We also welcome Mary Santerre's eighth graders from The Village School in Houston, Texas.

GOOD NEWS:  Birthday Greetings:  To Don Castiglioni, on his August 31st Birthday, from  Lois and Cas Castiglioni: Happy Birthday, Don, star mathematician - you double our joy and divide our sorrow.

Birthday Greetings:  To Michael Schaefer, from Mary Carlisle and Leo Waltz:  Son, may the joy you bring us return to you one-hundred fold.

Birthday Greetings:  To Georgeanne Carlisle Gass, from Mary Margaret Carlisle:  Sister, you're like no other.  Happiness.


AUGUST'S JUDGE AND SPONSOR: John Rice, Houston, TX

From John Rice: August's Edition is dedicated to Glenda Lee Martin Rice in honor of her 50th birthday, August, 1999.  She has helped me find the "uncreated light."


"IN PART --- VIEWS ON THE ISSUES" - AUGUST

We asked folks to send us their views on the environment.  The winner for August is Ron Blanton, of Salt Lake City, UT.  He will receive a copy of "Tidelines - An Anthology of Galveston Writers," published by Galveston Writers Coalition.

The Curse of the Mummy

As long as man lives upon the planet
Chernobyl will be able to kill.
Containing this immortal demon
Is a decaying concrete sarcophagus.
How do you build a grave for a corpse that will not die?
The solution is not to embark
upon implementing technologies
which are unproven and hazardous
without first solving the problems
of dealing with the aftermath.

Hell fell out softly, upon a demon wind.
It was not the Reaper, It had a grimmer bend.
Dying Knights on heaven's mounts
bound Satan's hellish flow.
Now his prison rots, now his power grows.

Ron Blanton, Salt Lake City, UT.


"IN PART --- VIEWS ON THE ISSUES"
SEPTEMBER CONTEST: HOMELESSNESS.

People around the world are homeless for many reasons: poverty, floods, fires, volcanoes, tornadoes.  There are many other reasons, not the least of which is war.  Write a prose poem, devoting up to fifty words to "the problem" and as many as fifty words "the answer."  Additionally, add a free-form poem (no longer than five lines) to bolster the argument.

Deadline, Midnight, September 15, 1999.  Titled.  Put "IN PART" above the title of your entry, and your name and address below your poem.  One Prize: A new or used chapbook, anthology, or how-to writing book.

"Prose poem: a passage of short, to the point, one topic prose, the poetic quality of which is self-evident, with a prominence of rhythm and a rich connotation of language."  (Written from one side of the page to the other, as prose is written.)  Quoted from "Poetry Handbook" by
Babette Deutsch.

Example:

When Will I Be Home?

They wouldn't let me go.  Window frames melted onto firehose.  Hose began to leak.  It's as if my home's blood flowed, not water.  New trucks were called.  Time crept.  I strained against restraining hands.  The rising flames flooded dreams into ash.  I see those dreams now, falling like snow.

Had they let me go, I would have used my garden hose, or beat on the flames with my fists, or even spit into the face of the awful roaring beast.  Now the empty eyes of my home stare in, alone.

When will this be over
Will I ever go back
I am afraid
Be still they say
Home will wait

Mary Margaret Carlisle, Webster, TX


SPOTLIGHT - INTERVIEW WITH JOHN RICE
"Getting Naked in Print" - by Paula White.

Houston writer John Rice was born in Galveston, Texas, in 1941; he has lived and worked in Houston since 1969.  He and his wife are blessed with four children and three grandchildren.  John Rice writes fiction, non-fiction and poetry; he is also an artist working in watercolor, collage, block print and pen-and-ink.  His work is in several private collections.  When not writing, he is an executive with an international maritime shipping company.  Publishing credits include The Writer's Forum, TEXAS Magazine, Sol Magazine, Galaxy Literary Journal, the b.a.w.l. point pen, and others.
============

"Getting naked in print ain't always easy to do!" - John Rice

What keeps John Rice going?  What keeps the writing flowing?

"The act of creation keeps me moving.  To take the abstract, invisible 'idea', the 'hidden light,' as Hopkins put it, and reveal it by arranging a series of letters into words on a blank sheet of paper, for me, smacks of sorcery.  I'm amazed every time it happens."

The witchery of writing must have an accomplice, and Rice points to his wife, calling her his Muse, along with his family and some close friends who "alternately goad me, keep me grounded and unflaggingly support me."  Rice also revealed that he feels it takes a good reader to be a good writer, pointing out that he has read "voraciously and eclectically" since he was very young, and continues to do so.

Rice began writing when he was eight.  "My first efforts were poetry: page after page of rhymed couplets or bad doggerel verse.  These were stories in verse - sagas - populated with knights, damsels, horses, dragons, wolves, swordplay, etc."  He says his early attempts at poetry sprang from reading Grimm's grim fairy tales, "Ivanhoe" and "Border Tales," "Morte d'Arthur" and the like.

Rice recalled front porch plays he would write and stage, neighborhood ventures.  He confesses: "My thoughts toward the craft then were arrogant.  I assumed since I read so much, I should have no problem in producing immediately saleable material."  He points out that having good ideas, but no craft, may get you nowhere quickly; the knowledge of the craft of writing is essential, and he tries to learn something every day.

Rice thinks writers "are, were, and will be society's conscience"; he also points out, "Every writer, if he or she writes honestly, is a political writer.  It's part of being society's conscience."

He feels the partitioning of a work into segments, then the subsequent examination of those segments, will produce a greater influence and effect than simply looking at the whole - in other words, "the sum is greater than the whole."  The passion of that outlook is alive in John Rice, and he speaks joyously of it - he writes because he has to - he equates writing with reading and breathing, all on the same plane of existence.

Rice supports the theory of tough love - self-criticism is the hardest, but also the most necessary in the world of writing.  He advises, "Edit with an open mind and a sharp pen."

A favorite poem:

Origins by John Rice

It is strange sometimes, how the past
eludes us for so long,
then suddenly tantalizes us with a note
from some ancient yet familiar song.
We grope beneath the layers of years
blindly, haltingly, at first.
Each reborn note ever increases the
burning thirst
for more and still more til at last
our groping fingers turn the key
to that particular vault that, with a rush,
removes our blindness and lets us see
those long lost yet always hinted at
notes in a composition of history.
A composition that shows us (and none
too soon)
that it is the pattern for our own
as yet uncertain tune.

His comments on the poem: "It is a young man's work; its point of view wanders a bit and suffers from mixed metaphors.  I like it because it is my first serious adult work.  It is honest work written at a time not too long after my father's death, perhaps, the first of my searching for that 'uncreated light.'"

In the words of John Rice:  "I hope some of my writing is sufficiently well crafted so it lives beyond me and is still a fresh light in that future present.  In that way, maybe I'll be remembered, too."

Thank you, Mr. Rice, for taking the time to speak with us.  Your thoughts, clear and concise, are illuminating.  We wish you the best of luck in pursuing the "uncreated light," and hope you will share with us what you find. - Paula White and the Staff of Sol Magazine

============
BGC:  Book Gift Certificate.  B&N:  Barnes and Noble


TOPIC ONE:  QUATRAIN
IN THE COOL, COOL, COOL

THIRD PLACE - $5.00 BGC from B&N
Thought Control

"Thinking cool will overcome
the torpid power of heat."
Not being quite as smart as some,
I sweat, accept defeat.

Roberta Pipes Bowman, Fort Worth, TX
Judge's Comments:   Heated irony - by accepting sweaty defeat, the "torpid power of heat" is overcome.
============

FIRST PLACE - $20.00 BGC from B&N

Glowing Cool

Glimpsing through the veil where few can see,
Let alone know of, travel to or be.
Easy for those glowing cool and white
Needing to share, but visit alone and light.

S.J. Carr, Houston, TX

Judge's Comments:  This glows with a spectre's cool aura and takes us on a mystical mental journey.
============

HONORABLE MENTION
Freon Free

Darkness covered the city
Like a cool silken sheet
Nature's own solution
To summer's stifling heat

Don Castiglioni, Austin, TX
Judge's Comments:  Good use of alliteration, meter and rhyme.
============

Before A/C

My voile-dressed grandmother sat in the old rock church
Stirring the stifling air with a cardboard fan
Praying to be assigned a cooler spot
When she arrived in the Promised Land

Lois Lay Castiglioni, Galveston, TX
Judge's Comments:  Nice visual presentation.
============

Inner Coolers

It's hot! We all commiserate-
It's time to go refrigerate...
Frigid sno-cones chill our bones;
Frozen ice cream cools in cones.

Shelley Crabtree, Enid, OK
Judge's Comments:  Reminder of cones - ice cream and summer snow.
============

A Wish For Relief

Under the satisfying belly of the sea
lies a chilly wilderness, cool tinges
colored coral blue in temperature sedation
where is this calm blue paradise tonight?

Nico Crisafulli, Seattle, WA
Judge's Comments:  Wistfully expresses a longing for azure aquatic assurance against atmospheric heating.
============

Zip Line at Camp

Soaring through tree tops chasing a cool breeze
Free to fly higher, higher, higher
Tug of the tether brought reality
I was always attached to earth

Emily Earnest, Smyrna, GA
Judge's Comments:  Good use of alliteration.  Mental escape from physical attachments.
============

SECOND PLACE  $10.00 BGC from B&N
Summer Splash

Deep in a mountain hollow laughter bubbles up
Young waders slip over water-smoothed stones
Chasing tadpoles and gathering minty watercress
Following a wandering creek bed fed by icy springs

Kay Lay Earnest, Smyrna, GA
Judge's Comments:  This piece brings sound and motion to a happy summer scene.
============

EDITOR'S PICK - WINNER OF A BOOKMARK
Sweet And Sour Summer

Ever cool off in the open loft of a country barn?
Or swing on a vine to the centerline of a stream?
Ever squeeze a lime between your teeth onto your chin?
Then slide the tongue along the edge of a cone of cream?

Glynn Monroe Irby, Clute, TX
Judge's Comments:  Nice evocation of country childhood. Editor's
Comments:  Any of these suggestions would melt away the heat!
============

Savory Summer Sensation

Icy cool sticks of flavored fruit,
We suck on Freezy-Pops.
The colored juice drips down our chins
As we slurp the final drops.

Kathy Kehrli, Factoryville, PA
Judge's Comments:  Red, green, purple tongues, chins, t-shirts - a memorable summer sensation.
============

Childhood Reflections

Whenever I'm sick,
Whenever the fever rages,
I yearn for only one thing:
The cool, cool touch of our Mother's hands.

James W. Lay, Calhoun, Georgia
Judge's Comments:  Most mothers come equipped with cooling healing hands we never forget.
============

Trail Pond Swim

We dive in, water splashes,
it's cool on my feet.
My horse's tail lashes,
as I dive from my seat.

Jennifer Camille Manganello, Boca Raton, FL
Judge's Comments:  We can see the horses and children in a cool pond.
============

HONORABLE MENTION
Picture "ESS"

Cool the candle on the mantle
It couldn't take the August heat
And slumped over into an "S"
At the candle-holder's feet.

Lena S. Norman, Saginaw, TX
Judge's Comments:  This is a distrESSing picture of summer heat incorporating rhyme and subtle internal near-rhyme.
============

HONORABLE MENTION
Royal Summer 52

Queen Dairy witnesses the test of heat
as minions scramble eggs on the sidewalk at noon.
 From her air-cooled castle on Velasco Boulevard,
she issues a custardly command, Pineapple Malts For Supper!

Carlyn Luke Reding, Austin, TX
Judge's Comments:  In '52 she was definitely Queen!
Editor's Comments:  In '99 she's still the Queen.  DQ Rules!
============

Escape From Humidity

Beneath sun's heat-filled fingers,
in the summer's worst hot flash
I escape the oppressive swelter
with a cool, refreshing splash

Lynne Remick, Nesconset, NY
Judge's Comments:  Don't sweat, get wet!
============

Sizzled Cooling

Crystal clear and soothing chill
water trickles over steaming stones
warmth surrenders to the blessed cool
and summer evaporates to autumn's kiss.

Marsha Rose Steed, Citrus Heights, CA
Judge's Comments:  This time of year, we all long for Autumn's first kiss.
============

Sizzle Fizzler

On hot days, Mom would take us to the swimming hole out back,
In midsummer its water, still chill, up to our necks.
Hot sweat dripped from small furrowed brows,
Absorbed into ripples surrounding us.

Patricia A Tabella, Providence, RI
Judge's Comments:  "Absorbed into ripples," reminds us of our watery origins and how amphibious we really are.
Editor's Note:  Look for a photo of this poet on our web site.


Glossary:  Echoing Vowels - Assonance
by Betty Ann Whitney, Assistant Editor.
http://pages.prodigy.com/dandelionsoup
Assonance, a form of alliteration, is the repetition of vowel sounds for effect.  These sounds may be identical or similar, used alone or in combination, but their consonants are different.

Even though they do not make true rhyme, notice how the sounds echo one another in these examples:

"For you a rose."  "Grab a handful of paper wrapped candies."  "Sunshine dances through the slats of the shade."

Occasional use of assonance or alliteration will enrich your work, but beware of too much dependence on this form.  The Handbook of Poetic Forms, edited by Ron Padgett, mentions that all forms of alliteration command much attention; if overused, your poetry might suffer.


HOUSTON CHAPTER Poetry Society of Texas announces its 29th annual Winter Poetry Festival, with 24 contests.  For more information, write to:  June Chalon, 5221 Locust, Bellaire, TX  77401-3322 or call her at (713) 667-1403.  Deadline for entry:  October 20, 1999.

One of these contests, "Talk the Blues," is sponsored by, and will be judged by Mary Margaret Carlisle.  There must be at least five entries in this contest, or the prizes will be returned to the sponsor.  We encourage you to enter.


POETRY WORKS - "Why,"
by Mary Margaret Carlisle, Managing Editor

Some reasons why your work will not win one of our contests:

1)   You will leave your name or mailing address off your entry.
2)   You won't follow the line limitations.
3)   You won't write to the topic.
4)   You won't title your poem.
5)   You will title your Haiku.
6)   You will borrow from Shakespeare but forget to give him credit.
7)   You won't check for grammar or spelling errors.
8)   You will send your entry in after the deadline.
9)   You won't enter.

How to win?  Read and follow the rules.  Enter.

============

BGC:  Book Gift Certificate   B&N:  Barnes & Noble


TOPIC TWO: SALSA

Summer is here, and so hot "corn-on-the-cob" might pop before it hits the pot.  We asked our poets to tell us, in English and/or Spanish, what "hot" means in terms of thermal heat, spice, or slang in six lines max.
============

Not Cool

Being not cool here, it's always hot,
 From early year, cool it's not.
In summer days with sultry haze,
Nights naught done, think a daze.
In time flies gone, measure no gains,
Lay back, don't move, it's not cool that pains.

S.J.Carr, Houston, TX
Judge's Comments: The rhyming couplets in this poem work well to stress the "hot" spots.
=============

EDITOR'S CHOICE:  WINNER OF A BOOKMARK
Free Flight

Flocks of giant condors
Float from the canyon floor
Caught in thermal uplift
Rising dark-winged angels

Don Castiglioni, Austin, TX
Judges' Comments:  Lovely use of imagery and metaphor.  Exceptional picture of condors as "dark-winged angels."
============

FIRST PLACE: WINNER OF A $5.00 BGC from B&N

Tears

The woman at the next table was crying
I thought she was in a sad mood
Until I tasted the Chiles Rellenos
Then I realized it was the food

Lois Lay Castiglioni, Galveston, TX

Poet's Note:  Chiles Rellenos is a Mexican dish consisting of red hot peppers sometimes stuffed with Cheese, meat or potatoes.
Judges' Comment:  Humorous, dramatized in a way that effectively connects the reader to the experience.  Cogent, clever, a clear description of what HOT means when it comes to spicy food!
=============

Salsa (hot!) Bite and wait.

I become tongue. Mind and body mostly disconnected.
The sun has come up in my mouth.
There is no help, only regret.
Deepest regret and possibly, but doubtfully, maybe, later.
Still my tongue beams and screams-
Never, please, No, not again!

Warner D. Conarton, Zephyrhills, FL
Judges' Comments:  Poet shows explicitly how he feels with the metaphor, "The sun has come up in my mouth," and plays again on that action in, "my mouth beams."  Wonderful use of language.
=============

Stair Step Red

Red hot chili peppers can't be beat
Ripe red tomatoes cool the heat
Get some red pimentos in the mix
Tobasco in the red now, just for kicks
Green peppers add to red, ready to go
Cook that Salsa hot and red, long and slow.

Shelley Crabtree, Enid, OK
Enid Writer's Club
Poet's Note:  "Red" moves over one word on each line in a "stairstep".
Judges' Comments:  These excellent directions for making Salsa make my mouth water in anticipation.
=============

HONORABLE MENTION
Nature's Dehydrator

Old Sol sizzling down
On Winesap apple slices
Spread to dry on the hot tin roof
Sealing the flavor of summer
To savor in fried half moon pies
On a cold winter day

Kay Lay Earnest, Smyrna, GA
Judges' Comments:  Descriptive slice of life; makes my mouth water for the "flavor of summer" on those cold winter days.  Sweet taste of summer to warm up the winter.
============

The Contest

The sultry Puerto Rican night
Exploded into a thousand stars.
The beautiful blue-eyed senorita
Sensuously danced the Salsa and the Merengue
I watched as the music pulsed throughout the tropical air.
Who was the hottest: the dancer, the music or me?

Jim Lay, Calhoun, GA
Poet's Note:  The "Salsa" and the "Merengue" are Latin dances, the latter patterned after a drunken sailor who had a wooden leg....at least that was what they told to this wide-eyed college student!
Judges' Comments:  Picture perfect tropical dream.
============

Baby Back

The end of summer this year won't cool down
as it often, most usually does.
This time I've got my baby back
and, honey, to me he's the sun.
He lights up my world and fills it with heat.
Now in a few days, again we will meet.

Jennifer Camille Manganello, Lexington, MA
Judges' Comments:  Feel the sizzle!
============

HONORABLE MENTION
Salsa

in the wake of the storm
the hurricane swirled away
the electricity and the gulf breeze
a lingering hot and sour atmosphere filled the void
kids sought pirated AC
no one ordered salsa

Carlyn Luke Reding, Austin, TX
Judges' Comments:  This vivid portrait of the "hot and sour atmosphere" which fills an AC-less summer day on the gulf coast uses smell rather than taste to give us a clear message of HEAT!
============

SECOND PLACE: WINNER OF A $5.00 BGC from B&N
Hot Sauce !

Hot is Houston, Texas--Grub and tacos at the Grill
"No, I don't mind some salsa, put as much as you will."
Oh, the steam, the raging fire, the sweat beads I perspire,
"I think I need an ambulance, the situation's dire !"
Never had I tasted hell, like right there in my mouth
 From now on, I'll keep it closed, each time that I go south!

Lynne Remick, Nesconset, NY
Judges' Comments:  Good use of meter and rhyme help make this poem a delightful experience.  Humorous story set to rhythm and rhyme.  Foolish bravado that ends in a "heated" remark!
=============

THIRD PLACE: WINNER OF A $5.00 BGC from B&N
Cayenne Kisses

A little girl in a spice wonderland
sniffing and tasting all within the pretty jars
learned that red pepper is fire hot
and leaves a sting for many days after.
A big girl found that heated summer nights
can leave as many burns as pepper kisses.

Marsha Rose Steed, Citrus Heights, CA
Judges' Comments:  Clever double contrast:  little/big girl and spicy jars/kisses, revealing what sting/burns mean to them both.  Remembrance as spicy as peppers.



 
ON THE WEB "Poetry for Kids," 
by Craig Tigerman, Assistant Editor 
http://sol-magazine-projects.org/prodigy/craig_tigerman
"Poetry4kids" is for kids of all ages!  For a light-hearted experience, try http://www.poetry4kids.com and share laughter with your children or grandchildren.  Kenn Nesbitt presents a delightful collection, his "Funny Forty," a rolling hodge-podge of "...most recent poems, along with older favorites." Bookmark this site and return there weekly!  Nesbitt explains, "There are only forty poems here to limit the amount of brain damage you can incur in one sitting.  Warning:  Reading funny poetry is like eating potato chips. Betcha can't read just one!"  He's right, of course.

My 10-year-old is delighted when we read children's poetry by Jack Prelutsky or Shel Silverstein.  Nesbitt's style fits right into that genre. Some intriguing titles are: "A Pig is in My Wig," "Mashed Potatoes on the Ceiling," and "The One Thing I Won't Eat," which closes with this stanza:

Try a thousand pounds of chocolate
or a million tons of sugar.
I don't care how much you sweeten it,
I will not eat a ______.

I omitted that last word so that you can guess it, or find it at this great site.  Laughter is the best medicine, the saying goes.  Take time out for some today! Poetry4kids will get you laughing in a jiffy.

(First one to tell us the missing word wins a bookmark!)


TOPIC THREE: LIGHTNING - Haiku

JUDGE:  John Rice  (In his words:  "A good group of entries.")
============

atoms in clouds groan
crackdown     white rips through blackdrop
releasing light rain

Coke Brown Jr., Fort Worth, TX
Judge's Comments:  Nice wordplay using "crackdown" and "blackdrop."
============

does it seek this night
a light stick in high gray mist
alive I see another

S.J. Carr, Houston, TX
Judge's Comments:  Mystic view of nightlights.
============

storm laden clouds
flashing pictures
of night's secrets

Don Castiglioni, Austin, TX
Editor's Comments:  Slide show at midnight.
============

foxfire
fills forest floor
with lighting

Lois Lay Castiglioni, Galveston, TX
Judge's Comments:  Good use of alliteration.  Nice imagery.
============

HONORABLE MENTION

bright feather stitches--
lightning suturing the wounds
of a bruised heaven

SuzAnne C. Cole, Houston, TX
Judge's Comments:  Very pleasing expression.
============

lightning flickers
moves my eye to darkness
another bug answers

Warner D. Conarton, Zephyrhills, FL
Judge's Comments:  A "bug's eye" view.
============

FIRST PLACE: WINNER OF A $20.00 BGC FROM B&N

Heat lightning flickers
As wilted grasses rustle
False hopes of rainfall

Shelley Crabtree, Enid, OK
Enid Writer's Club

Judge's Comments:  Haiku for high-plains cattle country.  We could see this through strands of rusted barbed-wire.
============

All rain drops dancing
Unearthly disco lighting
Party in the sky

Shelley Crabtree, Enid, OK
Enid Writer's Club
Editor's Comments:  Disco dancing rain drops:  a vivid picture.
============

Thick air electron
Activated afternoon
I feel the suspense

Nico Crisafulli, Seattle, WA
Judge's Comments:  Positive charges before the storm.
============

Rolling thunderhead
Mass on heavy horizon
Flash bulb underside

Nico Crisafulli, Seattle, WA
Judge's Comments:  Nice description of lightning inside clouds.
============

sleeper jolted out of slumber
hiding under comforter
from exploding lights

Emily Katherine Earnest, Smyrna, GA
Judge's Comments:  We can imagine the dog's already dived under the bed.
============

thunderclouds
punctuated by
rippling lights

Kay Lay Earnest, Smyrna, GA
Judge's Comments:  Nice imagery.
============

anvil cloud
shooting fire through forest
cleaning floor for new growth

Kay Lay Earnest, Smyrna, GA
Judge's Comments:  Subtle alliteration illustrates nature's not-too-subtle efficiency.
============

EDITOR'S CHOICE: WINNER OF A BOOKMARK

storm's heart
pyrotechnic
Woden's weapons

Milton Earnest, Smyrna, GA
Editor's Comments:  Succinct, vivid, excellent use of language.
============

SECOND PLACE: WINNER OF A $10.00 BGC FROM B&N

sapling caught in storm
sudden flash of wicked grin
kindling leaves black lace

Lisa Grable, League City, TX
Judge's Comments:  Fine imagery of back-lighted, storm-tossed tree.
============

rain and wind outside
light glimmers on closed eyes that
want to stay asleep

Lisa Grable, League City, TX
Judge's Comments:  Late night summer storms wake us all.
============

webs of lightning
screen over the shore sky
with rolling thunder

Glynn Monroe Irby, Clute, Texas
Judge's Comments:  A storm moves in from the Gulf.
Editor's Comments:  "Webs of lightning" paints a vivid image.
============

Thunder's companion
Summer storm's divining rod
Raindrop's precursor

Kathy Kehrli, Factoryville, PA
Editor's Comments:  Nice illumination of the topic without mentioning it by name.
============

THIRD PLACE: WINNER OF A $5.00 BGC FROM B&N

kickapoo joy juice
white lightning in a Mason jar
bolts from Mother Nature

James W. Lay, Calhoun, Georgia
Judge's Comments:  This elixir sometimes has more jolt than the celestial, electrical stuff.
============

Van de Graaff generator
whirls two spheres around
lightning zaps between

Lena S. Norman, Saginaw, TX
Judge's Comments:  Watch closely as Frankenstein's Monster rises from the table.
============

HONORABLE MENTION

thirty miles away
heat-lightning splashes thunderheads
anvil shapes defined

Carlyn Luke Reding, Austin, TX
Judge's Comments:  Nice imagery - perhaps a view from a plane descending through 20,000 feet.
============

the tropical storm
claims the Rabb Road Powerhouse
the breaker box melts

Carlyn Luke Reding, Austin, TX
Editor's Comments:  We see the moment as lightning melts the breaker box.  The use of "Rabb Road Powerhouse" gives us a concrete image.
============

Thunder cracks a whip
against a now-blackened sky
Lightning close behind

Lynne Remick, Nesconset, NY
Judge's Comments:  Sound and fury.
============

Suddenly! white threads
spiderwebbing the blackness --
distant storm coming

Cliff Roberts, Sherman, Texas
Judge's Comments:  Stark black and white imagery.
Editor's Comments:  This poem's alliteration sizzles with electricity.
============

dying stars falling
fingers of electric fire
sky danced wild funeral

Marsha Rose Steed, Citrus Heights, CA
Judge's Comments:  We see the lights, hear the music.
============

lightning snakes
through dark star stippled skies
connect the dots

Patricia A, Tabella, Providence, RI
Judge's Comments:  Alliterative depiction of a celestial child's game.
============

flashes pulsate
thunder holds the beat
it's disco time

Patricia A Tabella, Providence, RI
Judge's Comments:  We see light, hear music.
============

AUGUST'S ALPHA POET - Lena S. Norman.  WINNER OF A BOOK FROM OUR GRAB-BAG

What's Cooking?

Glossy tar bubbles
Pop beneath my feet
Heat radiates
 From the dark country street.
Flowers thirst for moisture
River beds are dry
Weather's only good for haying
As clouds just drift on by.
Cook up some changes if you can
August sizzles in the frying pan.

Lena S. Norman, Saginaw, Texas
============

IN AUSTIN
============

The General Meeting of Austin International Poets, Inc. will be held on Tuesday, September 7, 1999 at the Milwood Library, 12500 Amherst Dr. at 7:00 PM in Austin, Texas.  Directors will be  elected at this meeting.  If you have any questions, contact us by email at midserv@texas.net  Midge Kocen, Festival Director
============

IN HOUSTON:
============

Houston Writers League Announces the First Annual "We'll Publish Your Book" Poetry Contest.  Contact David Crump for more information.
e-mail dcrump@uh.edu  http://www.swammi.com/writers
==============

The Houston Council of Writers, as part of its Saturday Seminar Series, presents:   "How To Become An Organized Writer"

Contact Raul Herrera at either  rherrera@insync.net  or (713) 527-6367 for more information.  The Seminar will be held at Anderson Hall, University of St. Thomas, Houston, TX on Saturday, September 11, 1999.
Early registration is $25.00 by September 1, 1999.  After that, the fee increases to $35.00.  Please send the registration fee, including your full name and postal address, to:

Houston Council of Writers
P.O. Box 441381
Houston, Texas 77244-1381
==============

DO YOU WANT TO WRITE A MOVIE? - SCREENWRITING FOR BEGINNERS -  Spend seven weeks with Dawn Ireland.  Classes run from Sept. 29th through Nov. 10, or Oct. 2 through Nov. 10.  Email dawn_ireland@prodigy.net for more information.
==============

AUTHORS FOR LITERACY 5th Annual Luncheon for Literacy, sponsored by Houston Bay Area Chapter of Romance Writers of America, will be held October 9, 1999, 11:00 am until 4:00 pm. Grande Ballroom at The Gardens, 12001 Beamer @ Hughes, Houston, Texas.

The Goal:  "To raise lots of money for national, state, and local literacy programs and have fun with other lovers of the written word!"  Catered BBQ Buffet Lunch, Book Fair, Auctions, Celebrity Mementos. WESTERN ATTIRE ENCOURAGED!  Event Chair: Elizabeth Kelldorf Email:  dawgg@ev1.net

Tickets are available at participating Houston book stores or by mail order.  Contact book fair coordinator:  Sharon Murphy of Paperback Trader at 281-481-3425 * Fax 281-481-2943 * Email:  SMPT@aol.com for more info.
============

Send comments, questions, advice to:
E-Mail Sol.Magazine@prodigy.net or write to Sol Magazine, P.O. Box 580037, Houston, TX  77258-0037  Phone number:  (281) 333-3741  call weekdays 8-5.
Website: http://pages.prodigy.com/sol_magazine
============

Write to above address to be added or deleted from this list.  Include the id that needs to be deleted, please.  Some folks have more than one.
============

So you want to be judge, guest editor, interviewee?  Tell us.  We may have just the spot for you.  Judges are asked to write a guest editorial on a topic we set before being asked 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.
=============

See our contest website or last contest for current guidelines.  We do not accept entries that make use of graphic language, touch on partisan politics, or support particular religious views.
=============

19th Century words, such as "Tis," "'Til," "Thine," and "Thou," belong in another venue.  Poems using these words will not appear in Sol Magazine except in poetry in articles.
=============

We correct grammar and spelling errors and sometimes change punctuation without asking for permission or forgiveness.



Angels in 1999:  Lois Lay Castiglioni, Leo F. Waltz.

Sponsors in 1999:  Don Castiglioni, Emily Katherine Earnest, Kay and Milton Earnest, Sharon Goodwin, Jim Lay, Brad and Mary Millar, Naomi Stroud Simmons, Leo Waltz.

Book donors in 1999:  Joe Blanda, Roberta Pipes Bowman, Jim Casey, Lois Lay Castiglioni, Guy Le Charles Gonzalez, Sharon Goodwin, Lianne Mercer, Carlyn Luke Reding, Kathleen Elizabeth Schaefer, Naomi Stroud Simmons, Craig Tigerman.

Corporate book donors:  Flying Cow Productions, Barnes & Noble.
New sponsors and angels always welcomed.  Thanks for your support.
============
Sol Magazine © 1999


Back to index:http://pages.prodigy.com/sol_magazine