Shutta Crum's Blog

I just love this nature journal! It is chock full of beautiful nature writing, photography, and art . . . in case you’re looking for something soothing and lovely to read in these stressful times. Lots of haiku and short poems. You can read free online, but holding the book with its smooth matte cover and wonderful cover art by Kimber Devaney is a sensuous experience you can’t get online. (Lots of other artists and photographers represented inside. )Thank you Humana Obscura for choosing to publish two of my poems in this lovely issue. Link to their website: www.humanaobscura.com

A little easier to read version below. (Check out the journal for my other poem on page 68!)

So excited that the new Poets for Peace Anthology SUNFLOWERS RISING includes a poem by me. It’s below. Please note that all monies from the sale of this book go to an orphanage in the Ukraine. You can purchase it at amazon.

Ciao, and peace to you.

Shutta

Have some metaphor fun with these metaphor exercises! (Note: the Jack Gilbert poem is at this link. )

As part of the Poet Tree Town month in honor of National Library Week the poem below was posted at the Ann Arbor District Library Main Branch. Yahoo!

Enjoy–

Shutta

Yay! Fun to see my poem in this full-color magazine out of Denmark!

If you have a middle schooler or a high schooler who is into poetry–please let them know about the young poets contest! And do spread the word to other folks about the contest. There are cash prizes and the chance for the writer to read the winning poem publicly. Feel free to download and distribute the flyers below.

A new group formed through the National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NFSPS) to promote peace through poetry. They are looking for peace poems for a new anthology. Info below:

Thank you, Jane, for these helpful guides to key book publishing paths, and for freely sharing them!

“O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”

 Duotrope has a sale on its annual subscription–perfect for gift-giving. So . . . I will purchase a gift subscription for one randomly drawn name of anyone who already has one of my books (or buys one) and leaves a new review on amazon. And I’ll draw a second name to win a copy of one of my books.

Enter by midnight Dec. 19th (eastern). Just let me know by responding with the title of which book you reviewed by posting to my Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/Shuttacrum.

Then, you’ll be in the draw!

I LOVE Duotrope! It indexes over 7,500 magazines, journals and agents. And it has a built in manuscript submissions manager. The perfect helpmate in getting yourself published. Three chapbooks and over 150 published poems later–I couldn’t have done it without Duotrope.

NOTE: the reviews do not need to be lengthy.

And I am not employed by Duotrope—I just adore it!

Shutta

Some news! My children’s book Grandpa Heaven (illustrated by Ruth McNally Barshaw) garnered a gold Royal Palm Literary Award at the annual Florida Writer’s Association conference. YAY! It’s a pretty rigorous competition (I know, as I also judge for it in categories I don’t enter.) and a great honor. Now Grandpa Heaven gets to wear a shiny gold sticker!

Also, at the Florida State Poets Association conference a poem I wrote won first place in one of FSPA’s annual contests. The poem is below. Titled: Where the Good Dog Sleeps. In addition, another poem (Of Covenants–yet to be published) got a 1st Honorable Mention.

Best of all, I got to spend two weekends in a row with writer friends. The high you get when you’re with people who are excited about making art. Wow!

And here’s the poem that won first place: WHERE THE GOOD DOG SLEEPS