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Sol Magazine © 1999
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THIS MONTH'S SPONSORS:  Leo F. Waltz, Kay Lay Earnest.

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.

Sol Magazine held no contests this month so we would have time to upgrade our computers and start the lengthy preparations to move our webpages.

We present, instead, recent poems from our editors; a series of letters to and from our Poet Laureate, John Rice of Houston, Texas, and our Book Reviewer, Jean McAllister, from Bellevue, Washington; and Spotlight, the writings of a talented poet from Enid, Oklahoma, Shelley Crabtree;
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WELCOME:  Warner D. Conarton, Jennifer Doyle.

Mary, please relay to John Rice my very great admiration for his poetry that I've seen in Sol, and especially for the "like shelled turtles" one in the current (May) issue.  The skillful crafting, with continuing "reels" of alliteration, the wonderful specificity and richness of detail, the tenderness, empathy, realization of old men's anticipation (winter's hand-wrapped rods at the ready) --rhythmically reminiscent of Gerard Manley Hopkins.  Just a terrific poem!  Jean McAllister.

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Mary, my sincere thanks to Jean for her very kind words. They mean a lot. I think those old guys who taught me to fish (and wrap a rod) those many years ago would be pleased.  As aye/John Rice.

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Mary, with further reference to Jean McAllister's comments: I knew of Hopkins but didn't recall having read his work - perhaps in school way back when. I looked him up in an anthology of English speaking poets' work (published in 1941, the year I was born) and was surprised to read this, the third stanza of:

"The Habit of Perfection"

"Be shelled, eyes, with double dark
And find the uncreated light:
This ruck and reel which you remark
Coils, keeps, and teases simple sight."

Nothing to do with fishing or old men but perhaps a clue as to
where we all find "the uncreated light". I went on to read the
other (five) of Hopkins' work included in the volume: his "In the
Valley of the Elwy" saluting the "world of Wales" and the short,
wonderful "Pied Beauty" which praises:

"All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, feckled (who knows how?)
with swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;"

...and found a kindred alliterative spirit. So thanks again to Jean and to you for steering me, this time, perhaps consciously, to Hopkins.  -  John

REUNION

Like shelled turtles, leathery old men come down to the beach,
Winter's hand-wrapped rods at the ready.
Repaired reels, pawls picked and polished, ride the rod seats
coiled, cocked.   "Goin' out!"
One casts, another, then another --
a glistening gossamer thread ties each man to the sea.
Fish or no fish, it doesn't matter.  Seeping terrapin tears,
blinking and squinting at May's morning mist,
the old men cough and spit
and grin at each other.

John Rice, Houston, TX

Editor's Comments:  The comparison of the old men to turtles is excellent:  leathery shells, terrapin tears, blinking.  We know these men, have seen them, and toss the lines with them as we, too, connect with a glistening thread to the sea.
John Rice is Sol Magazine's 1999 Poet Laureate.
 

I believe all things are connected in this life and after.  Writing, friendship, encouragement, helpfulness, a continuation of learning, and then passing what we know along to others---each positive act is a conscious, deliberate addition, and brings good to all our lives.  Good examples of "+" additions are the letters above.

On the other hand, trying to make oneself feel better by discussing flaws in family members, friends, or neighbors (to their faces or behind their backs) not only takes away from the lives of those being discussed, it brings a "-" impact to everyone involved.  Why give wood to fire by listening to that negativity?

Each time you praise or encourage a friend in their work, you add a "+" to the world.  Each time you cut someone down with a harsh critique, you add to the world's stockpile of hatred and perhaps give someone else a desire for retaliation.

Negative acts can start war.  Positive acts can start peace.
Which do you choose?

Walk away from "-".

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A Drop of Blood

So cold it is
and dark again
and we are spooked
by the children
who will thrive on
the gleaming weight
of the rifle barrel
the children who
with a crazed look
will shout
this will stop a mind.

Satiny soil soaked from showers,
Spongy, sprouting seeds of weeds,
Awaits my toil to unleash its powers,
Varieties of vegetables by deeds
Of digging, planting, caring, sending
Good vibrations into garden plot.
Unearthed worm squirms and twists, intending
To find its way back where day is not
Though nothing here is hot, just gray,
And cool from thaws.  This pregnant pause
In season-cycle makes this spring day
My return to relearn nature's laws.

the morning mist rises, soft and slow,
burned off by the heat of jealous sun;
trees bend to the rising wind, purely flow
from ground to sky, touching the world's
hemispheres and understanding...
rising now, before the world is alight,
to find the glory of dawnbirth,
repeated creation of birds in flight,
and the old purity of a fresh earth...

Poet and novelist Shelley Crabtree's award-winning poetry regularly appears in Sol Magazine.  Newly elected president of Enid Writer's Club (EWC), the oldest writing club in Oklahoma, Shelley placed third in the rhyming poetry division of this year's writer's club contests.  She is a member of the Don Blanding Poetry Society, and a featured poet for Scribe and Quill E-zine.  Shelley is EWC's News Representative in her membership with Oklahoma Writer's Federation.  In January of this year, Shelley was one of four speakers from EWC who helped conduct a writing seminar sponsored by the Enid Public Library.  Shelley also read poetry during Enid Public Library's sponsorship of National Public Library Week.

Personification is a popular poetic tool, but it is often mangled;  as with spring and its cliches, the repetitive re-structuring of an inanimate into an animate is difficult to break loose from.  In "Animal Myth," however, Shelley artfully weaves the "In like a lion, out like a lamb" with sound-words to paint a vital scene.

Animal Myth

They say March came in like a lamb
So it will go out like a lion-
I guess this snow was like a fleece
The wind bleated like lamb's cryin'.
These warmer days now, winds are fierce
Through sweaters worn, the wind will pierce-
It seems the lion now is prowlin'
As the wind at times is howlin'
Winterstorms may have been worse
Had the two exchanged at the top of this verse.

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Spring is a fickle season, and unfortunately it is often cliched; it evokes would-be bards to rhapsodize about the joys of love's season.  Shelley has found a fresh way -- spring as a sum of its parts, not as a cliched whole.

She chose the simply elegant haiku as her verse form, and delicately dissects spring to show "how it works."
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Spring Haiku

Icicles melting
Snowdrifts receding quickly
Sun shines bright and warm

Weeds galore
Torrential rain falls
Spring grass grows

Brown grass becomes green
Gray skies becoming blue now
Flowers bloom daily

March winds blow gaily
Leprechaun clover dances
Lamb becomes lion

Egg shells on the ground
Telltale chirps inside the nest
Baby sparrows born

Sunsets later now
Warm air replaces coldness
Spring is in the air

New moon's dark circle
Radiantly beams into
Full moon's pregnant glow

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Sometimes prose is more difficult to write than poetry, perhaps simply because it depends less on the tools of rhyme and meter and more on the ability of the author to paint a scene with words, and to do it well.  Here, Shelley depicts a truly unusual meeting, reminiscent of the "Six Poets at the Six Gallery" reading, circa 1955.
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Experiencing the Social Responsibilities Round Table

Several members of the Enid Writer's Club and Don Blanding Poetry Society treated themselves to an evening of poetry reading March 24 at the Sidewalk Coffee Bar on the square.  In the semi-darkened ambience, similar to popular New York coffee bars, members stood at the microphone with members of the Library Association and public onlookers to delight and titillate the auditory senses with their rendition of personal or favorite selections of poetry.  A few authors brought copies of their works, hoping to sell these tomes to eager consumers, thus lining their profit pockets while engaging in ethereal poetic delights.

The bewitching hour was 8-10 pm; late for some folks, but to the hardcore poet, a festival of ideas, shared feeling, inspired thoughts through the animation of each poet's mouth.  We basked in the fellowship of poets both strange and familiar, applauding each in turn as they shared the fruits of mind and heart.  Everyone had the opportunity to read, and none were turned away.  There is something very special in having your poetry read aloud and appreciated by kindred spirits.  Even criticism is allowed, as long as it is helpful, not detrimental, as perceived by Maxine Austin, who instructed her friend to "Read into the microphone, not into the paper."

The subjects and topics of each poet varied.  We were allowed to read three poems apiece.  Some roused us with laughter, others cast us deep in contemplation.  Through it all, we were able to learn and grow through expressing ourselves among our peers.  One particular individual gave a very moving, stirring recital of Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky.  He sounded much like one of Shakespeare's bards in the retelling of this famous poem.  The inflection of voice, the grand gesturing of his arms, artfully added visual depth to the mood created by the talented poet, who presented himself almost as an actor in a play.  We were enchanted by his singular performance.

The only possible downside to this evening of merriment would have to  be the noise of the Cappucino and Latte machines, as the "bartenders" made rich, warm mugs of specialty coffee.  It didn't take long for poets to get the hang of pausing momentarily while a drink whirred into being, then continuing on as if nothing had deterred them from their poetic discourse.  Just comrades in the realm of poetry, sharing in an evening that will not soon be forgotten.

-----Respectfully submitted as observed by Shelley Crabtree

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Send comments, questions, advice to:
DMHT67B@prodigy.com or Mary_M_Carlisle@prodigy.com
Sol Magazine, P.O. Box 580037, Houston, TX  77258-0037
Phone number:  (281) 333-3741  call week days 8-5 CDT
Website:  http://pages.prodigy.com/sol_magazine
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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.
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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.
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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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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.

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"Chronologically Enframed, Poems from a Nomad," a softcover chapbook by Mary Margaret Carlisle, is now available.  E-mail Mary_M_Carlisle@prodigy.com for information.  A portion of each sale is earmarked for the US Friends of World Food Program.

Thanks for your support.  We have forwarded a donation of $100.00 to WFP.

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End hunger.  Send a donation to:

Mr. Rick Leach
US Friends of World Food Program
1000 16th Street, N.W., Suite 415
Washington D.C.  20036

Telephone: (202) 659-4050
Fax: (202) 293-8050
e-mail:  RALeach@msn.com

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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, Jim Casey, Lois Lay Castiglioni, Guy Le Charles Gonzalez, Sharon Goodwin, Carlyn Luke Reding, Naomi Stroud Simmons, Craig Tigerman.

New sponsors and angels always welcomed.  Thanks for your support.