(December 2002) Page 2
(December 2002) Page 2
 JIM DUNLAP (Rhyme Master) Jim is in the Marquis, Who's Who In America and will be in the Marquis Who's Who In The World in it's next edition as well. He is also in the Directory of American Poets and Fiction Writers. His list of publications include "Candelabrum", "Plainsongs" and the "Paris/ Atlantic"; and he is now (or has been) online at "Die Niderngasse", "Poetry Repair Shop", "Midnight Edition" and Poetry Life & Times". He is a resident poet, and an Alpha poet at the Poet's Porch, is usually on Poetry Down Under and has had about six hundred poems published to date. He has been in the Writer's Digest top 100 three times, although he doesn't usually enter their contests any more, as their entry fees have gone out of sight. However, he has decided to send a single poem this time. He is currently the newsletter editor for the Des Moines Area Writers' Network. Jim's website, which included a lot of favorite poems by other writers, as well as his own work, is sadly now defunct, as Netscape discontinued their wonderful sites.netscape and now have a new site which is basically worthless for all practical purposes.
His work appears online at:
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THE GLORY DAYS OF LONDON'S WAXED 'SKELETON' UNDER GLASS © Jim Dunlap |
 RICHARD VALLANCE Richard Vallance was born in Guelph, southern Ontario, Canada, on March 11th., 1945, and currently resides in Ottawa, the nations capital. A graduate of Sir Wilfred Laurier University, Waterloon, Ontario (H.B.A. 1968) and the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario (M.L.S., 1975), Richard is a professional University librarian, now on disability pension. Richards career as a librarian reached its zenith in October, 1983, when he won the prestigious Data Courier Award for Excellence in Online Papers ($1,000 U.S.), in Chicago, Illinois. However, progressively aggravated alcoholism eventually forced him to retire prematurely, in September, 1991. Fortunately, Richard ceased drinking altogether in 1992, and has been sober now for a decade. While he did write some poetry during his "wet years", alcoholism severely blunted his inspiration. Creativity only truly blossomed in 1995. Since that time, he has written over 1,500 poems, most of them Sonnets, though he also specializes in both Haiku and the stricter, more traditional Japanese Hokku verse form. He has also composed numerous so-called "free verse" poems, and has published one book of poetry: A Quilt of Sonnets: Forty Four Familiar Poems. Ottawa: Providence Road Press, 1998. 56 pp. ISBN 1-896243-7-x. [National Library of Canada] Richard has been published on numerous occasions on some of the worlds best known poetry E-Zines, including, Poetry Life and Times (UK) and Autumn Leaves (USA). He also maintains his own bilingual international E-Zine, Poetry in Emotion la posie smouvoir and will soon be the editor of a new international Sonnet E-Zine, Sonnetto Poesia. Richard is the Poetry Reviewer for Poetry Life and Times. Anyone, who writes poetry for Poetry and Life and Times, is cordially invited to submit any poem of 20 lines or LESS for consideration for review to: Richard also moderates numerous Poetry Discussion Groups, the most notable of which are: 1. Describe Adonis [Shakespeares Sonnet 53] 120 members. Yahoos largest Sonnet poetry group by far. Here are posted historical sonnets, commentaries on sonnet writing, and sonnets by members: 2. Kawasaki Zen Haiku 90 members. Yahoos 3rd. Largest Haiku-Hokku poetry group, featuring links to historical Haiku Web Sites, examples of historical Haiku by such illustrious composers as Basho, Buson and Issa, and Haiku/Hokku posted by members, in any language they like: 3. Iliassia [Homers Iliad]. 61 members. Discussion group focussing on Homers Iliad, both in the original "Epic" Greek and in translation. Includes a repertoire archive of pictures, paintings, archaeological sites and cartographic information + maps: My Carousel Home Page is: Poesie's laissez-faire Foire
PUBLISHING HISTORY:
INTERNET:
March 2002 - Nominee for
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A selection of Sonnets and Quinzaines in the true spirit of Christmas from Richard’s Forthcoming book, Canadian Spirit Voices © 2003 (Kedco Press) |
 Jan Sand in New York
Recently Jan was published by Kedco Studios Artist Profile Press, on their latest CD ROM e-book, "A Way With Words (Poetry Real and Surreal), which also includes complete books by Dale Houstman, Sara L. Russell and Keith Gabriel Hendricks. Jan's illustrated book on the CD is called "Wild Figments And Odd Conjectures", which is also sold separately, in a limited-edition "single" CD. To see an illustrated article about Jan's poems, visit the November '98 issue of Poetry Life & Times, and scroll down past the Editor's Letter. He also has his own poetry pages on Charlotte's Web at Artvilla.
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DWINDLETIME © Jan Sand In dwindletime the crumblefolk go stumblefoot. The minuteswifts rain tumbledown to dribblegone. From hopelesscracks ooze mysteries of absolute Convoluting histories. Encephalon Sags toffee soft with mushysweat. The scramblefest from septicflesh is panicnailed. But twilightflight is moribund in dunregret. Sireneloam sings quietus with appetite. Fagendspurts buglecalls for finalshout And heralds windup fizz to Sunputout.
The crashing tree that hits the ground in silence As a puzzle to the lack of human presence Asks the question, “What is sound?” If the impact rings the atmosphere like a bell But not vibrate a membrane , tug a nerve Connected to an aural center, bound To consciousness, has it a voice? Or, if a mind, distracted by abstractions Stands within concussion’s presence - yet, Does not register the impact, fails to get The sense of the event, is it clear There is no sound when one does not hear? There are hurricanes of hurt That scream through smoking air Swirling around the world. Blizzards of agonies and pain Crash through. A howling wound- Yet, does it make a sound? People drink their morning coffee, Send their kids to school without fear, Shop for bread, play sports, go to bed. Is here no sound when one does not hear? Listen!
Inside a fishskin is a fish. Inside a birdskin is a bird. Inside the skin outside of me Is just where I happen to be. When I got bigger inside It gets bigger outside So where it sits It always fits. With two holes through to see And one to speak’ And one to what’s left from food To get out of me. And one to pee. There’s then, the ears With funny curly flaps Which, when one hears a bell, Perhaps, Or a bang or sneeze Helps make sounds louder So when bees Or flies that buzz (Which both does) I can step aside From where one flied. There are, of course, The other two At the bottom of my nose So that when one blows, The stuff goes down And never up. A wise condition for the skin Since it can’t let the rain get in.
Whose thoughts will shake the world again To roll the dice of circumstance? Whose words will crawl onto a page To march like ants across the Earth And gnaw stability to dust? Sometimes reason has a season, Sometimes passion takes the reins, Sometimes fear gets into gear To drive minds outside of brains. Suspicion’s snakes can charge the aches Of frights with poison’s bites. The bursting stars of ecstasy can blind All sense and sensibility, leave reason behind. Any dawn can crack the calm with seismic avalanche Any night can blanket thought with random hectic chance. Hold tight! Both blight and good fortune can descend To strike like bolts from outer space to govern any end.
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