My "Rough Cure" in the 50th Anniversary Hessler Street Fair Anthology

I'm happy to announce that my poem "Rough Cure" was selected as a finalist in the 2019 Hessler Street Fair Poetry Contest and will be published soon in the Fair's 50th anniversary anthology. I don't plan to compete at the final competition reading on May 11th, however (though I'll be there cheering everyone else on), because the ultimate winner has to be available to read at the Fair itself on the first weekend in June and that's when I'll be in Long Island for the Walt Whitman Bicentennial Convention. I'm happy, though, that my poem will be in the book alongside work by so many other fine folks.

More info: https://writingknightspress.blogspot.com/2019/04/hessler-street-poetry-finalists.html

Commitments, Cancellations

Yesterday I canceled my 17 December reading in Pittsburgh and my April appearance at the 2017 Poetry Throwdown in Kansas City. I hate to let folks down, but I'll need to stay close to home for the next several months. I've also resigned as editor/publisher of the annual Hessler Street Fair Poetry Anthology.  It's been a blast to do it the past two years, but I've needed for some time now to clear things off my plate as we continue my wife's liver transplant journey and I'm devoting most of my attention to her.

I have another 20 titles in my Crisis Chronicles Press to-publish queue, and I still plan to publish those, though I have fallen way behind schedule and the next few months will continue to be unpredictable. I'll formulate a new tentative timeline and contact our forthcoming authors soon, giving them more details, options and so on, including permission to find another publisher if they would prefer (as a few have waited a very long time already and I wouldn't blame them at all for losing patience). But I will definitely get all the books done at some point if folks can endure delayed gratification for an indeterminate while longer.

Thank you for your kindness, support and best wishes.  I'll write an update blog when I have more time at the computer.  I just let our dog out and am heading back to the hospital. <3

2016 Hessler Street Fair Poetry Contest Winners

What a great day of poetry and friends new and old from far and near at the Barking Spider Tavern Saturday! Many thanks to everyone who contributed and participated. I am pleased to announce that the winners of this year's Hessler Street Fair Poetry Contest are:

1st Place: Rosemarie Wilson (a.k.a. One Single Rose), "Motown Blues"
2nd Place: Tanya Grossner Pilumeli, "Sane"
3rd Place: Mindi Kirchner-Greenway, "In Medias Res"

These three fine poets will read their winning entries at the historic 2016 Hessler Street Fair Sunday 22 May between 1 and 2 p.m., simulcast on WRUW-FM 91.1 Cleveland.

Copies of this new anthology are available from Mac's Backs-Books On Coventry and at the Fair itself.  Read more about it here.

1st Place winner Rosemarie Wilson - photo by William Clarence Marshall

Crisis Chronicles Press presents the 2016 Hessler Street Fair Poetry Anthology

Crisis Chronicles Press is pleased to present the 2016 Hessler Street Fair Poetry Anthology, featuring 108 poems by 106 writers from Greater Cleveland and around the world. Join us for the official release 7 May 2015, 3 p.m., at the Barking Spider Tavern, 11310 Juniper Road in Cleveland, Ohio. This book is perfect bound, 154 pages, edited by John Burroughs and available for $14, either at the launch event, from Mac's Backs or on May 21-22th at the Hessler Street Fair itself. Cover art by Frankie Metro.
 

Mac's Backs - Books on Coventry
1820 Coventry Road
Cleveland Heights, Ohio  
(216) 321-2665
info@macsbacks.com
 

This edition of the annual Hessler Street Fair anthology is our biggest yet, featuring poems by A.D. Adams, Stephanie Alexander, Michael J. Arcangelini, Jameson Bayles, Dianne Borsenik, Colton Bose, Jeffrey Bowen, Nancy Brady, Steve Brightman, Theresa Göttl Brightman, Christina M. Brooks, Skylark Bruce, William Burkholder, Chad Burrall, John Burroughs, Joann Celleghin, Michael Ceraolo, Shelley Chernin, Charles Cicirella, Lorraine Cipriano, Victor Clevenger, Wanda Morrow Clevenger, Caitlin Blair Cogar, Juliet Cook, A.S. Coomer, Roger Craik, Subhankar Das, Lori Dean, Patricia Dengler, Christine Donofrio, John Dorsey, Kevin Eberhardt, Poetessa Leixyl Kaye Emmerson, Diane Vogel Ferri, Richard Ferris, Francine Flatley, Justyce Foss, Kelle Grace Gaddis, Joshua Gage, Hannah Gates, Christopher Alexander Gellert, Ken Gradomski, Michael Grover, Jennifer Hambrick, Richard Harries, Charles Robert Hice, Veronica Hopkins, Alina Howard, Christine Howey, Dionne D. Hunter, Clarissa Jakobsons, Azriel Johnson, Chuck Joy, Stan Kaufman, Sue Kaufman, Diane Kendig, Kim theBwordpoet, Mindi Kirchner-Greenway, Paul Koniecki, Leonard Kress, Tom Kryss, Lori Ann Kusterbeck, Jill Lange, Phyllis Lee, Lennart Lundh, Susan Mallernee, Marc Mannheimer, Julie Ursem Marchand, Elizabeth Marino, Jonie McIntire, Sarah McIntosh, Frankie Metro, Marisa Moks-Unger, Anne Marie Moore, Laura Moore, Tracie Morell, Leah Mueller, Elliot Nicely, Tanya Pilumeli, Alois Polzer. Tam e. Polzer, Valentina Ranaldi-Adams, Brianna Robinson, Melissa Rose, Damian Rucci, Rikki Santer, Sharon M. Senal, Elizabeth Senn, Aisha Marie Smith, Kevin Frederick Smith, Rob Smith, Steven B. Smith, John Stickney, Katherine Sturniolo, Brian W. Taylor, Jonathan Thorn, Anna Marie Tokarsky, Kerry Trautman, Mary A. Turzillo, D.R. Wagner, Scott Wannberg, Alinda Dickinson Wasner, Laura Grace Weldon, Madison Whitacre, Rosemarie Wilson, and Eva Xanthopoulos. 

Contributors may show up at either event or contact Suzanne at Mac's to procure a copy for half price.

Accepting Submissions for Hessler Poetry Contest / Anthology

During the month of March 2016 Crisis Chronicles Press is accepting submissions for the 2016 Hessler Street Fair Poetry Contest and its corresponding anthology. Contest is free to enter and open to anyone age 14 and up. Winners will receive cash prizes and get to read their poems live at this year's Fair.

• 1st Place winning poet will receive $100
• 2nd Place winning poet will receive $50
• 3rd Place winning poet will receive $25

 

When and where:

Submissions will be accepted from March 1st to March 31st 2016. We will let you know by April 30th if your work has been accepted for the anthology. Poets will be invited to read their accepted works during the contest reading. The poetry contest reading will take place May 7th, 3 pm, at the Barking Spider Tavern, 11310 Juniper Road, near the campus of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Shortly after the reading, our panel of judges will select three winners to receive cash prizes and read live at the Hessler Street Fair itself.

The 2016 Hessler Street Fair will take place May 21st and 22nd from 11 am to dusk, rain or shine, on Hessler Road and Hessler Court in Cleveland. The exact time of winning poets' reading will be announced soon.

 

Before you submit, please read these guidelines:

• Submit up to 5 original poems or 5 images of your own original art via email to hesslerpoetry@crisischronicles.com (no snail mail entries, please).
• Please include your name, street address, city, state, zip code, telephone number and e-mail address with your submission(s).
• Please remember the deadline is midnight on March 31st. We will not have time to consider works submitted later than that.
• Poets and artists published in the book retain all rights to their work.
• Any accepted art work will be printed in black and white.
• Unpublished work is preferred. But previously published work is acceptable if we love it (let us know who the original publisher is so we may include them in our acknowledgments).
• The contest reading will be held at the Barking Spider Tavern on Saturday May 7th, 2016 at 3pm. About 20 minutes after all participating poets have read, the winners will be announced and prizes handed out. If you have won 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Place in the Hessler Street Fair Poetry Contest in the last three years, you are welcome to submit to the book and read your poem, but you will not be eligible to win a prize. Prize winners are also expected to read on the designated day during the Hessler Street Fair.

 

Contributor copies:

Contributors to the 2016 Hessler Street Fair Poetry Anthology will be able to purchase a copy of the book for half price from the Hessler Street Fair Booth during the Fair, or at Mac's Backs Books, 1820 Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights (216-321-2665 / macsbacks.com). We regret that we cannot afford to provide free contributor copies in print at this time. However, we will make a free pdf version of the book available to the public in late 2016.

 

FCC Guidelines:

Poetry has always been an integral part of the Hessler Street Fair, sometimes having its own stage on the street and sometimes combining with music on the main stage, but always doing something interesting. The top three winners will be given the opportunity to read from the stage at the Hessler Street Fair, simulcast on live radio and the web, during the Fair. Poetry read on air must not include any words designated to be obscene language by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

We welcome a diversity of styles and subject matter. Poems that don't meet the FCC guidelines can still be submitted and may be accepted for publication in the book. But they won't be eligible to win a prize since the winning poems will be read on air.

 

Special thanks to:

• Mac's Backs ~ Books on Coventry, 1820 Coventry Rd., Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
• Barking Spider Tavern, 11310 Juniper Road, Cleveland, Ohio.
• Crisis Chronicles Press, Cleveland, Ohio.

Barking Spider Diddley Groove Uncaged

Don't worry, it goes right side up in about 7 seconds.  This is me spewing an incomplete version of my poem "John Cage Engaged and Uncaged" to the accompaniment of Ray McNiece's Tongue-in-Groove band on 16 May 2015 at the Barking Spider Tavern in Cleveland during the Hessler Street Fair.  Thanks to Dianne Borsenik for recording it.  I promise no microphones were harmed in the making of this video.

Happy to have the opportunity to edit and publish the 2015 Street Fair Hessler Poetry Anthology

Crisis Chronicles Press is pleased to present the 2015 Hessler Street Fair Poetry Anthology, featuring work by 104 poets from around the world. Join us for the official release 13 May 2015, 7pm, at Ensemble Theatre, 2843 Washington Heights Blvd. in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. This book is perfect bound, 129 pages, edited by John Burroughs and available for $14, exclusively from Mac's Backs or on May 16-17th at the Hessler Street Fair itself. 

Click here to buy.  Contributors may show up at either event or contact Suzanne at Mac's to procure a copy for half price.

Mac's Backs - Books on Coventry
1820 Coventry Road
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
(216) 321-2665
info@macsbacks.com

This edition of the annual Hessler Street Fair anthology is the biggest yet, featuring work by word artists including Alexis-Rueal, Michael Joseph Arcangelini, Dana Aritonovich, Thandiwe Augustin-Glave, Stephen Benefit, Cyndi Birkmeier, Kim Boccia, Rose Mary Boehm, Dianne Borsenik, Jeffrey Bowen, Steve Brightman, Christina M. Brooks, Patricia Brodsky, Skylark Bruce, Chad Burrall, Michael Ceraolo, Kathleen Cerveny, Shelley Chernin, Charles Cicirella, Caitlin Cogar, Roger Craik, Subhankar Das, Natalie Dickerson, Christine Donofrio, John Dorsey, Sean Thomas Dougherty, Robin Wyatt Dunn, Poetessa Leixyl Kaye Emmerson, Michael Fiala, Giselle Fleming, Diane Vogel Ferri, Ethan Fittro, Luba Gawur, Ken Gradomski, Dana Grant, Susan Grimm, Zachary Scott Hamilton, Austin Heath, Charles Hice, Veronica Hopkins, Christine Howey, Preston & Paul Hrisko, Clarissa Jakobsons, Azriel Johnson, Krysia Jopek, Jeremy Jusek, Janne Karlsson, Diane Kendig, Kim theBwordpoet, Ian Koenig, Leonard Kress, Tom Kryss, Craig Kurtz, Lori Ann Kusterbeck, Geoffrey A. Landis, Jim Lang, Jessica D. Lewis, Lennart Lundh, Caitlyn Lux, Susan Mallarnee, Marc Mannheimer, J.W. Mark, Molly McCann, Bob McNeil, Ray McNiece, Lila McRainey, Philip Metres, Marisa Moks-Unger, Patrick O’Keeffe, Mary O’Malley, Ashley Pacholewski, Renee Pendleton, Tanya Pilumeli, David S. Pointer, Sally Queen, Ben Rader, Valentina Ranaldi-Adams, Georgia Reash, Poetess REDD, Elizabeth Rees, rjs, Amy Rosenbluth, Elizabeth Rudibaugh, S. Renay Sanders, Heather Ann Schmidt, Erika Schoeps, Dennis Shanaberg, Kevin Frederick Smith, Larry Smith, Steven B. Smith, Vladimir Swirynsky, Brian Taylor, Joseph Testa, Steve Thomas, Jonathan Thorn, Kerry Trautman, Nick Traenkner, Mary A. Turzillo, D.R. Wagner, Mary Weems, Batya Weinbaum, Laura Grace Weldon, Eva Xanthopoulos & Shkehlaht Yisrael.  ISBN: 978-1-940996-20-2

Inviting you to the 2015 Hessler Street Fair Poetry Contest and Anthology

So you've probably heard by now, on Facebook, by word of mouth or over at Cleveland Poetics, that I've been enlisted to do this year's 2015 Hessler Street Fair Poetry Anthology. Or maybe you haven't.  This is a big deal to me.  The very first poetry reading I ever went to was at the Barking Spider during the 2008 Hessler Street Fair.  And I think I've been a contributor to four of the annual anthologies since then (when Joshua Gage was the editor).  But the Fair was founded in 1969, and has been a grand tradition since long before I came on the scene.

Anyway, I'm taking submissions from now until April 20th 2015 and so far I've received some phenomenal work.  If you want to be considered for inclusion in the book, or participate in the corresponding poetry contest, please send up to five poems, preferably in a Word document, to me at hesslerpoetry@crisischronicles.com.  I will respond by the end of this month.

If you are selected as a contributor, you will be invited to read your chosen poem Wednesday May 13th at Mac's Backs in Cleveland Heights. That evening, three readers will be selected to win modest cash prizes. Competing is not required for inclusion in the anthology, but you are welcome either way.  The three winners will be expected to read their poems at the Fair (broadcast live on WJCU) on Saturday May 16th.

More info: http://hesslerstreetfair.org