Brainstorming Request
by Ted L Glines
The included facts will come as no surprise to those of you who have ever published a literary or poetry magazine in the print media. For the rest of you, prepare to be shocked.
There is an excellent quarterly literary magazine which is published in Milton, West Virginia. Some of you are authors within the covers of Art With Words. AWW is in its third year. An average issue will be about 95 pages, 8.5” x 11” format, containing the poetry, short stories, articles, columns and artwork from about 70 authors, some of whom are Authors Den members. Two things make AWW very special in the challenging world of literary arts publications. AWW is totally interactive, carrying ongoing critiques and comments between readers and authors, while most magazines simply present the works, issue after issue. So AWW is an ongoing writers' workshop. Secondly, and most important, AWW has an ongoing program to encourage school children to read and write poetry, and their poems are published in the magazine. Thus, a literary peer group is created within the small setting of the children's classroom. Imagine the pride of a 10- or 12-year-old who is a published author! The long-term value of this program is outstanding, by any measure.
October 2007 may witness the final issue of Art With Words. And that is why I am requesting some brainstorming today.
Art With Words Owner/Editor/Publisher, Debra J Harmes-Kurth estimates the annual cost of production and circulation to be $4,600, but I put the estimate higher to account for expected price inflation and circulation growth (est. $5,500). Three years ago, it cost $1.56 postage to mail one copy of AWW via Media Mail (USPS domestic). Now it costs $2.13. Printing costs have almost doubled over the same period. “The base cost to produce, print and mail each issue is $11.68 per copy with the latest price increases,” says Debra. As with all literary magazines, subscription revenues only help to pay the postage. For Debra, these past three years have been a labor of love with a bright vision for the future of poets and poetry, and she is recently quoted as saying, “I cannot help but think I am fighting a losing battle.”
We need ideas, creative thinking, innovative ways to attract patrons and tap into available endowments for the arts. If there is one thing we have here, it is creative thinkers. You may send your ideas to Debra J Harmes-Kurth, 1050A McGhee, Milton, West Virginia 25541, or you may message me and I will be pleased to forward your thoughts to her. Debra is not a quitter. I know we can help.
Poetry Submissions should be sent directly
to
Art With Words
Attn: Publisher
1050-A McGhee Street
Milton, WV 25541
GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSIONS OF POETRY, PROSE, AND COVER ART
Poetry and Prose
1. You do not need to subscribe to this publication to submit your work, or enter any of the contests. However we are not able at this time to send out free copies of the quarterly. All available funds go into the printing, distribution and marketing of this publication.
If you would like to you can purchase each issue individually as long as there are extra copies available. Send for requests, subscription, and submission information to Debra Harmes Kurth, 1050A McGhee Street, Milton, WV 25541.
2. You may submit by email, as long as your work is included within the body of the email itself and not an attachment. Attachments will not be opened. To submit by email the address is:
mailto:djharmeskurth@hotmail.com.
3. All submissions that are not used in the current issue will be held for future use. You may submit as many pieces of poetry as you would like to at one time. Submissions that are received after the deadline will be held for the next issue. If you would like to know that I received your submission, send a self addressed, stamped postcard.
4. Please make sure to proofread all submissions. Poems will not be printed in ALL CAPITOL LETTERS, please do not send them to me that way. If your poem requires special formatting, enclose a note. Telephone numbers and email address will be helpful if there are questions.
5. Please include a brief bio with your submissions. Try to keep your bio within about 60 words.
6. Poems that exceed one page in length may not be used. I try to give each writer a page.
7. Prose and short stories are accepted, no more than one page in length. Exceptions may be made if space allows it.
8. Graphics are not accepted with your submissions, please do not send them.
9. New column ideas are always welcome. If you are interested in writing a column, write it up and send it in, along with a projected list of articles for the upcoming issues. Include both your telephone number and email address on the column.
10. Copyright stays with the author. Art With Words has one time rights.
Cover Art
Original photographs, paintings, or sketches are accepted for consideration for use on our cover. All submissions for cover art must be the sole property of the person submitting the art. If submitted by email, include the artwork in the body of the email and not as an attachment.
Poems & Prose may also be posted on this site
and will be considered as submissions
for the magazine. However, submissions for Contests
must be mailed to the address listed above.
In Tallmansville
by Ted L Glines
Why do they go down deep in the mine
where the flowers don't grow and the sun don't shine,
death stalks them all as they work down there
in the shakin' ground and the deadly air,
and down in the deep of the Sago pit,
there's twelve more souls a-guarding it,
young men, old men, down in the hole,
dark as black lung - breathin' coal,
but down they go day after day
'cause it's their life and it's their pay
and an inner code must be obeyed,
“We trust in God, we're not afraid.”
Published in A place of...Amazing Grace, January 2006, a chapbook published by Debra J Harmes-Kurth and Barbary Chaapel, and Art With Words Chapbook Publications in Milton, West Virginia, commemorating the Sago Mine Disaster, with proceeds from sales going to the Miners Assistance Fund set up by the West Virginia Council of Churches. Contributing works to this chapbook were writers from all over America, and I feel so humble and honored to have been allowed to participate with my little verse. I remain amazed at how quickly so many writers responded to the Sago crisis, and the speed at which Debra and Barbary had the chapbook completed and ready for sale. It makes me proud to be numbered among such dedicated people.
The final stanza of “Watching Sago,” by Lola Warren, says it all:
“Shouts of joy and praise,
Geraldo sobbing, as false reports
Of rescue are followed by
A creshendo of heartbreak which
Reverberates around the world.”