Call for Submissions: Buffy Verse Anthology

Hello, dears!

I'm thrilled to be editing Buffy Verse, an anthology devoted to poetry inspired by one of my favorite shows.

Here are the submission details:

I am seeking submissions for Buffy Verse, an anthology of quality poetry inspired by Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I am looking for lively verse that engages with the Buffy mythos. For example, you may choose to revisit a certain episode, examine the intersection of some aspect of Buffy and real life, or simply write a poem with a relevant Buffy epigraph.

Submissions should be sent either as a Word document or pasted in the body of an email to me at erinlyndalmartin@gmail.com. No cover letter or bio is necessary at this time. Send as many poems as you like. Please put "submission" somewhere in your subject line.

In response to a few questions I've been asked:

-I will consider "Angel" poems, but not other shows from the Whedonverse.

-I don't yet know if contributors will be able to be paid

-I'm not interested in "fan fiction" type of poetry

I will be reading submissions until August 1, 2011.

I have already sent a proposal for this book to several agents and presses, but if any of you are involved in publishing and would like to discuss this project, please feel free to contact me.

Thank you for reading this, and please do circulate this call for submissions around your friends, colleagues, students, etc.

I'm looking forward to reading your work!

Madison, Early Spring

I'm typing this from my bed where I'm lying on my side with my cat perched on my hip. Soon I will leave to seek juice, but for the meantime, I don't want to disturb him.

It's been one heck of a late winter/early spring here. In all ways, not just politically, but it does feel strange to have the nation's eyes returning to Wisconsin again so soon in the wake of the Prosser/Kloppenburg race.

As the isthmus begins to wake up for springtime, things are looking busier. I celebrated my 29th birthday last weekend among old and new friends and felt quite loved and at home here. I am now also a contributing music writer for The Rumpus and The Quietus, and I'm thrilled to be working for such quality people and quality websites. I'm extra extra thrilled that the amazing Katy Henriksen is the music editor for The Rumpus, and I will get to work with her. I'm also starting my own music interview and review blog (which will be updated more than this one), but I'm still generating material for a proper launch. You'll have to wait and see what I've lined up already!

This is going to be a busy writing weekend as well. Thanks to my friend/writer/teacher extraordinaire Miriam Hall, I'm taking a workshop with the legendary Natalie Goldberg, and I think it's just what I need right now.

Finally, recent publications:

"Harvest" in Guernica

"We Will Sing the Songs of the Revolution" in InDigest

Three Poems in PANK

Dispatches from Ground Zero

Has it really been since November that I've posted? Wow. Time flies when you're getting ready to make a big move, which I did on New Year's Eve & Day.

I'm now back in Madison, WI, and I wanted to add my voice to all of those who are blessedly filling our streets and Capitol building with their peaceful voices. In the wake of this garish bill by an equally garish governor, I want to express pride in a lot of people. I am proud of all the demonstrators (including myself) for their peaceful, yet vigorous protests. I sprained my foot this past weekend and haven't been able to stand on it too much, but I've been to the Capitol and spent some time there. I am proud of all my friends who have been spending their days there, bringing their children, and sharing their experiences online. I am proud of local law enforcement, who haven't been at all intrusive (that I know of). I am proud of my roommate's Saudi students, who have joined the protests despite not understanding most of the chants. I am proud of my favorite coffee shop, Motherfool's, for giving out free coffee today to protestors. I am proud of everybody (especially that person in Egypt!) who has been ordering food for the protestors. I am proud of bands for playing here and keeping people revved up. I am proud of the Daily Show, who came yesterday, apparently bringing John Oliver and a camel (who did not do so well on the ice).

I do not know what will come of the protests, but I fear that it's all going to be for naught. The unions have agreed to give up certain financial benefits in order to keep their collective bargaining rights, but Gov. Walker won't agree to even that. Attempts to negotiate with him have fallen on deaf ears. There is, of course, the fear that the protests will turn less peaceful if the bill goes through, but we can only wait and see.

As for why I care about this, there are many reasons. Most of them should be obvious--I believe that civil servants are entitled to band together to protect their rights. But for me, it goes much deeper than that. My mother is a teacher. She has never had the opportunity to belong to a union, but perhaps her career would have been rosier if she had had that chance. My father has been a political organizer and campaign manager for as long as I can remember--longer than I've been alive, in fact. And as for me, the offspring of these two hard-working, monumental individuals, I'm on Medicaid and can't afford for it to be otherwise.

I'm typing this from Motherfool's while I transcribe an interview for PopMatters. The art installation here is political, entitled Corporations Are People Now. I'm sitting beneath a framed bumper sticker that says: "Whhy do they hate us?" with "now more than ever" underneath it. This show was put up before the bill was introduced, but the sticker seems appropriate.

But I'm going to keep fighting the good fight, and I'm glad for those around the world that are joined with us in solidarity. Thank you.

new story, new e-chapbook

Hello!

Hope everybody is well. I'm on my way out the door, but I wanted to post these before I forgot:

I've got a new short story up at the fantastic Essaysandfictions.com. This is my story about the pregnant mermaid, so you know it's gotta be, well, um, I'm not sure.

Also, I have an e-chapbook up at Gold Wake Press. It's a poetic treatment of Wong Kar-Wai's beautiful film 2046, though I think you can still enjoy it without having seen the movie. But have you seen the movie?

Okie dokie, that's all I got for now. Thanks for checking in!

New poem in Diagram!

http://www.thediagram.com/10_5/martin.html

This one is different than my usual fare, but I still like it. :)

facebooking

Hey there--

If anybody reads this blog and would like to add me on FB, feel free. My page is:

http://www.facebook.com/erinlyndalmartin

Please do click "add a personal message" and let me know how you know me so I don't think you're a random sketchy internet person. :)

the winged painter is on

Hi all--

Hope the summer is going well for you.

I'm just back from a wonderful trip to Madison, WI to see old friends (and eat at old favorite restaurants!). There is even a new-to-me veggie paradise restaurant named The Green Owl, and they deserve a shoutout for all their amazing food and beer. As long as I'm giving shoutouts to Madison restaurants, let it be on the record that I always love going to The Weary Traveler, Motherfool's (coffeehouse), Baraka, and Monty's, to name a few. One of the trip's highlight's was a behind-the-scenes look at the new children's museum, which isn't open yet. My friend Erika Koivunen is doing some metal art projects there and gave me a tour--it made me so happy to see so many local artists working really hard to make a truly magical place. Plus there is a delish crepe place across the street, yeah! (All about the food!)

So, yes, I am trying to move back to Madison for many reasons. I've been applying for jobs both there and here since Blacksburg is still a great place to live (don't take my potential exodus as an anti-recommendation). Fingers crossed that somebody needs an adjunct in comp or creative writing this fall.

While I was in Madison, I did a phone interview with Rufus Wainwright. It was brief but he seemed really nice--he was quite nice when I met him briefly in 2001 when he was opening for Tori Amos. Here is the interview:

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/128673-im-never-quite-sure-what-to-expect-an-interview-with-rufus-wainwrigh/

And, recently posted, here is the interview I did with Xiu Xiu a few months back:

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/124492-dear-god-i-love-xiu-xiu/

And here is a poem in the latest issue in Typo, which has always been one of my favorite literary magazines:

http://www.typomag.com/issue14/

'Til next time!