Stuff from 2004, perhaps in ascending order of chronology.
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2004 Awards & Publications

Madison-area poets Susan Elbe, Eden in the Rearview Mirror, and Judith Strasser, The Reason/Unreason Project, were semi-finalists in the Winnow Press First Book Award in Poetry.

Jodi Vander Molen got one of four honorable mentions in the 24-Hour writing contest conducted in conjunction with the WI Book Festival for her story "Watcher, watched": http://www.madison.com/tct/features//index.php?ntid=14124&ntpid=2
See the painting given as a starting point for the contest:
http://www.wisconsinbookfestival.org/mainevent/contest.html
Here is the lead judge's (C.J. Hribal, short story collection The Clouds in Memphis) comments: "Watcher, Watched" by Jodi Vander Molen of Madison. This is the equivalent of a split-screen story, in which we see the narrative unfold from two vantage points, that of the "watcher," a woman having a miserable time at the drive-in alone in the wake of a breakup, and that of the "watched," the couple she sees embracing in the ticket booth. The writer has a good eye for detail and psychological insight. The echo of each section's last line is also a nice touch.

Gordon Glass, poet and artist from Richland Center has had a poetry book, The Blood Truck, published by North American International , Fairfax, VA. The book can be purchaced at Ocooch Books and Libations, 145 W. Court St., Richland Center, WI.  or from the author at gglasss@mwt.net for $14.95 plus shipping and handling.

Jim Ferris's essay "The Enjambed Body: A Step Toward a Crippled Poetics," which is the lead essay in the current Georgia Review  special issue on poetry and poiesis, was featured August 31 as part of weekly series of prose features and will be in the Poetry Daily archive http://www.poems.com/feaprose.htm for a year thereafter. The editor says that it will be required reading in at least several workshops around the country.

Timothy Walsh has won the Grand Prize in the 2004 Atlanta Review International Poetry Competition. The poem will appear in the October issue of Atlanta Review, and he gets $1,000! Andrea Potos was an International Publication Prize winner in the 2004 Atlanta Review poetry competition, and Fabu Mogaka and F.J. Bergmann received International Merit Awards. There were only 56 awards given in all, and Madison-area poets won four of them. Madison poets have maintainedd a significant presence in this competition; for at least the last five years there have been at least three Madison award recipients each year. It's something in the water. Or the cheese.

Lynn Shoemaker was a finalist for the 2004 Pablo Neruda Prize in Poetry with "The Nazca Poems," a series.

F.J. Bergmann has won the 2004 Pauline Ellis Prose Poetry Prize. Alison Townsend, Stoughton, has won the 2004 Diner poetry contest with "Trichotillomania". Jim Ferris, Madison, has won the 2004 Main Street Rag poetry book prize for The Hospital Poems.

Andrea Potos won the 2004 James Hearst Poetry Prize from the North American Review.  She'll receive $1,000 and publication in the March/April issue of the North American Review.

PGI ON FRONT PAGE OF http://www.alternet.org. 4th story down is Word Wise: PGI editors Yogesh Chawla and Sachin Pandya interview with Naomi Klein

The Wisconsin Academy Review is pleased to announce the results for its poetry contest.
First Prize:
Rachel Azima, Madison—John Lehman Poetry Award, $500 CD recording session at Abella Studios
Second Prize: Harriet Brown, Madison—$100 and a $100 “Color It Green” gift certificate from McKay Nursery
Third Prize: Louisa Loveridge-Gallas, Milwaukee, $50
Honorable Mention: Michael Kriesel, Aniwa
Runners-up: F. J. Bergmann (Poynette), Harriet Brown (Madison, also won 2nd place), Joan Wiese Johannes (Port Edwards), John Kaufman (Wauwatosa), Julie King (Racine), Jackie Langetieg (Madison), Kay N. Sanders (Oshkosh), Christopher Scalia (Madison), and Shoshauna Shy (Madison, for two poems).
Thanks to contest judges Cathryn Cofell, Judith Harway, and Rusty Russell, and lead judge, Denise Sweet, as well as John Lehman, the Wisconsin Academy Review’s poetry editor and sponsor of this contest, Abella Studios, McKay Nursery, and Café Montmartre.

F.J. Bergmann was a finalist for the Sow's Ear Review poetry prize and the runner-up for the words & images Stephen Dunn Award, and has manufactured a Billion Bad Sonnet Generator, visible at www.innoveering.com/sonnets.html (Yes, I know it ought to be pentameter insead of tetrameter and will rectify the mattter when I get a Spare Moment). She and Robin Chapman were both finalists for the Violet Reed Haas Poetry Prize from Snake Nation Press.

2004 Poetry Books

The Hopital Poems by Jim Ferris is now available from Main Street Rag.

Rhinoceros by Kevin Ducey, is the latest winner of the Honickman First Book Prize, selected by Yousef Koumanya. Buy it at Avol's for $14.00.

Amsterdam Days by Judith Zukerman is available at Room of One's Own.

Ray Hsu's first poetry book, Anthropy, has been published by Nightwood Editions. Buy it at Avol's for $12.00.

Phil W.'s new chapbook The Long Tunnel To The Other Side is available from him for $5 at ph@tds.net.

F.J. Bergmann has another chapbook out, Steaming A Head. It contains poems previously published in lit journals as well as embellishments, and is about as weird as you might expect. You can get it at Avol's Bookstore for $6, accost Jeannie when you see her, or call 635-3966.

D.H. Skogen's book Song Settled Scores was published in April by Layered Books.  Copies can be purchased for $12 from www.madmerch.com/store/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=64.

Chuck Cantrell's chapbook Greatest Hits has been published by Pudding House.  Avol's has copies at $8.95, or those interested can call him at 241-7845. 

Mukoma Wa Ngugi's first book, Conversing with Africa: Politics of Change, has been published by Kimaathi House. Get it at Rainbow Bookstore, 426 West Gilman Street. Author Profile: www.africanbookscollective.com/. Author interview: www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=2&ItemID=4491.

C.X. (Cliff) Dillhunt has a new book of poetry, Girl Saints, published by Fireweed Press, available in Madison from Avol's (now at Canterbury), Borders West, University Bookstore, and Room of One's Own. Or you can obtain it from the proud author himself for $12.95 including postage and handling.  Contact him at cdillhunt@cals.wisc.edu or 271-2819.

Local poet Benjamin Pierce's first novel, Snuck Past Death and Sleep, is commercially available online now at www.WassermanBlues4tet.com and at larger book distributors and local merchants soon.

2004 Tapes, CDs, videos

Former Madison Poet Laureate John Tuschen, through the Madison Institute of Poetry, Performance and Publication, has a new CD out, Then & Now…, limited edition—200 copies, each numbered and signed. Then & Now… is a “journey” guided by words, new music, jazz and synchronistic sounds, divided into three segments. The first two segments (~ 1⁄2  hour each) are compiled from a series of live radio shows entitled Neo-Bohemian Poesy w/New Music and Jazz which was featured on Bill Milosz’s System Considerations Sunday nights and aired on WORT in the 1980s. The series was sponsored in part by grants from the Madison Committee for the Arts and the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission. Local musical genii Paul Black, Gregory Taylor and the late “Fat” Richard Drake sat in on a few of the cuts. The third segment was taped by John's son, Jordan Caylor, in his State Street apartment at 3 am on a sweaty July night in 2003. The only music in segment 3 lies within the language. Finally, Then & Now… is miles away from “easy listening.” All journeys are meant to be made slowly, methodically and patiently, yet with all your senses ripping at their boundaries. To order, send $10.00 + $2.50 s&h to John Tuschen, 522 State Street Madison,WI 53703. Call 608-255-0549 or e-mail tuschen@tds.net for information about this cd, and/or bookings for readings. Additional information on the poet can be had by typing <poet john tuschen> into any search engine.

How to get a free cake from Mayor Dave, here! Who says poetry—well, prose—doesn't produce tangible results?

JOKE OF THE DECADE

"US President George W. Bush sends a clear warning to anti-democratic rebels in Venezuela that Washington will not stand idly by and accept electoral fraud."

IT'S GETTING FUNNIER BY THE SECOND
http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0402&L=poetics&D=1&O=D&F=&S=&P=92911


Thursday January 29th: FELIX Reading Series, UW Memorial Library
The Styles
and Premiere Generation Ink

Premiere Generation Ink editors discussed their new issue, PGI #7, in the FELIX series sponsored by the UW—Madison Special Collections as part of the second installment in the FELIX series, which brought together editors and contributors from Premiere Generation Ink and The Styles to read from their journals and participate in a discussion about literary "little magazines" and was accompanied by an exhibit of titles and art from Premiere Generation Ink.

PGI #7 features an interview with Naomi Klein, author of the book No Logo, and alix olson, widely published poet and spoken-word artist. "PGI #7 is our most ambitious effort yet. We hand-painted and individually numbered each cover and we are honored to bring the words of nationally-recognized and local writers to the audience in the popular FELIX reading series," said PGI Editor Yogesh Chawla. For a web preview which includes full audio of the Naomi Klein interview, please visit www.pgink.com/featurenew/pgi7/html/pgi7.html.

The FELIX events are held in Special Collections, located on the 9th floor of Memorial Library. Named after Felix Pollak (1909-1987), poet and former curator of Special Collections, this new lecture series seeks original young writers in the area and provides a forum for conversation on the role of the "little magazine" in literary culture and how these journals continue to evolve. Past discussions have focused on the emerging online little magazine culture and the necessity of an experimental literary voice for young writers. The FELIX series is organized by graduate students Barry Osborne and David Pavelich.