LJWorld.com

I found out about Kansas Authors Club in 2010 - just in time to attend the conference hosted by our local district, District Two, just a couple of blocks from where I live. I was not only surprised that I had no clue it existed, but I continue to be surprised by how many other people don't know about it.

So then, this is a call not only for submissions for the yearly District Two contest, but for writers across the state of Kansas to become members of KAC (Kansas Authors Club). Reasons to join Kansas Authors Club? Comradeship, a shared knowledge base that ranges from contests, to grammar and writing styles, new poetry styles such as the Loku, how to become published, presentations about understanding, writing and submitting e-books, making your own chapbook, shared work and critique groups, travel to area districts, etc.

For information about becoming a District Two member, please contact New Member Chair Susie Nightingale: swimmer10@sunflower.com

Membership dues are $25.00 annually and include a year book, newsletters, information about contests, monthly meetings with area writers, yearly District Writers Retreat (District Two welcomed state poet laureate Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg as guest speaker in 2011), and a multitude of other benefits.

Co-chairs of the District Two Writing Contest, Sally Jadlow and Ronda Miller, are proud to announce that D2 is sponsoring a writing contest open to all Kansas Authors Club members and nonmembers. Submissions open February 1st, 2012 and must be postmarked no later than April 1, 2012.

Entry fees: members - $3.00 per entry for members, non members - $5.00 per entry. There is no limit on the number of entries you may submit, but no manuscript may be entered in more than one category. If you plan on attending the award ceremony on May 12th (location to be announced), no postage on SASE is necessary with submissions.

Categories for poetry: Rhymed verse, Free verse, Haiku, Narrative.

Categories for Prose: Short Fiction, Memoir, Feature article, Inspirational.

Prizes - $20 for first place, $10 for second place, $5 for third place. (In categories with fewer than five entries, there will be only a first place award.

For detailed rules for submission, please email me: coachinforliferonda@yahoo.com with the words, 'D2 writing contest' in the subject line.

I had word Wednesday morning that my cousin Teresa and her family were heartbroken. A close friend of her son and daughter had died by suicide. Unfortunately, it seems barely a month or two go by without having word of someone I know experiencing the same loss and tragedy. This was the second such loss Teresa's family has experienced in the past year. Both individuals were male and in their early twenties.

The United States has thirty thousand suicides each year. Suicides per states are believed to be based on five main factors: mental health resources, barriers to treatment (yes, this includes health care), mental health treatment utilization, socioeconomic characteristics and mental health parity - this deals with generosity of the state mental health parity coverage so the population can receive mental health treatment.

Please watch the KCPT 4-Part series with your family and friends. Please help spread the word about the series. It could be a life saver.

KCPT 4-Part Series On Suicide Prevention and Bereavement

Part 1 Bipolar Disorder and Suicide Risk - Thursday, January 26th @ 7:30.

Part 2 Depression: How To Identify It in Yourself and Others: How To Help A Friend; How To Help Yourself - February 16th.

Part 3 Suicide, The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, What to Say To Someone Who is Considering Suicide - February 23rd.

Part 4, Survivors of Suicide Loss - March 1st.

The series features people affected by depression, bipolar disorder and suicide loss. Dr. Linda Moore, a Kansas City based psychologist, Bonnie Swade, Suicide Awareness Survivor Support MO-KAN and Marcia Epstein, Director of Headquarters Counseling Center (211 E 8th St. #C, Lawrence, Kansas) will be presenters during the series.

Headquarters Counseling Center for free life support counseling: 785 - 841-2345 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline center for Kansas: 1-800- 784-2433, or 1-800 - 273-8255.
All discussions remain confidential.

Did you know Headquarters offers free bimonthly suicide survivor group meetings?

Yeah, yeah! I know this is two weeks late, but I have the list of winning poets in hand!

First Place goes to:

rockchalker52: congratulations, rock! you win for amount of entrees, bantering within poems and sheer enthusiasm.

jay_lo: in particular for the poem beginning....cup them, the children's......, and for your good sportsmanship, ability to rhyme and humor.

cait48: "The Wild Hunt" is hauntingly beautiful and I will read it again and again.

autie: humor always works for me.

DustyAcres: this is Kansas after all!

riverdrifter: for his astute eye for beauty and his love of Kansas.

ShePrecedes: because I fear I'll be struck by lightning otherwise! (just kidding)

roe: for his support in all poetic endeavors, good nature and his blogs in general.

Ron Holzworth: for writing poetry when he's told me he does not and can not. You outdid yourself, Ron!

lonelane_1: so she won't be lonely through the upcoming snow and ice filled nights.

A special thanks to my friend and fellow poet, Lee Mick, for his help in deciding on the winning poet. Rock is our winner, but Jay_lo came in a very, very close second.

Lee has a poem in BEGIN AGAIN: 150 Kansas POEMS, "Having a Ball" as well as several poems in TallGrass Voices.

To receive your copy, please contact me through the ljworld.com site and we'll work out arrangements. Thank you for playing!

Tis the season to embrace them all - people, cultures and religions that is.

Allow your loving, forgiving hearts and minds the ability to extend over space and time.

Stretch your belief system, drop tradition and wrap your mind around the endless possibilities of poetry.

Today's poetry blog will encompass whatever form your words and thoughts want to take.

So be it Haiku, Loku, KUku, Felisku, free verse or rhyme, all is fine - just make it seasonal. I will pick twelve winning entries (with a little help from my friends), to post in an online blog 12-26-2011.

Viewers may then cast a vote for whom they think should win. (I'm sorry, but there can only be one winner. You may post as many poems as you wish) The winner receives an autographed copy of BEGIN AGAIN: 150 Kansas Poems (edited by Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg and published by Woodley Press).

Have fun! Safe travels this holiday season. Ku ku ka jube!

Examples:

Haiku: (remember the first line is traditionally five syllables, the second line is seven syllables and the third line is five syllables)

Winter solstice bliss

Say goodbye - a final kiss

Stark lunar eclipse

Loku: a poetic form made up of three mono syllable words: the first two words are separated from the third word by a comma. Each line is complete, but additional lines can be used for a more complex story.

Snow comes, white

House full, friends

Sit round, eat

Join hands, pray

Tree bright, lights

Red nose, deer

Stops roof, gifts

Man suit, fat

Friends leave, belch

Shows on, snooze

Night cap, booze

Next day, cruise!

KUku

Gill is gone,

Weis now further west

I hear he's best anyway

What else do I hear

From up on the hill?

Raises for staff - nil

More work, less pay

Makes those who stay

Swallow pride, a bitter pill

Those who can, retire

Others left to inquire

Why? It's just not fair

With increased cost of living

All the knowledge and sweat

They give and share.

Have fun! I'll stop by to insert my own poems from time to time as well as read and enjoy yours. The contest ends Christmas Eve at midnight!

Kansas Poet Laureate Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg will present approximately twenty four poets from around Kansas to launch the anthology BEGIN AGAIN: 150 KANSAS POEMS at 7 p.m. this coming Tuesday at the Lawrence Jewish Community Center located at 917 Highland.

The anthology, edited by Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg and published by Woodley Press, features the work of over 90 writers, including the poems published on www.150KansasPoems.wordpress.com, a website Mirriam-Goldberg developed to celebrate Kansas' 150th anniversary of statehood.

Readings are being held throughout the state from Garden City and Ulysses to Leavenworth (Saturday, December 10th, at The Book Barn, 410 Delaware St., 1 - 3 p.m.), to Topeka (Sunday, December 11th, Topeka Library, 1515 SW 10th Ave., 3 - 5 p.m.), to Lecompton (Saturday, December 17th, at the Territorial Capital and Lane University, 1 - 3 p.m.).

The Lawrence reading promises to be one of the largest and will conclude with a signing party and reception. The anthology of 150 Kansas poems can be purchased at The Raven Bookstore, 6 E 7th St., Lawrence, KS 66044.

The readings will conclude for 2011 on December 30th, The Percolator, 913 Rd. Island, Lawrence, beginning at 5:00 p.m.

The anthology, which sells for fifteen dollars, makes a terrific gift for anyone who lives in Kansas, has lived in Kansas, has a Kansas connection, appreciates nature and the diversity of the human experience, or any connoisseur of poetry.

"Whatever gets you through your life 'salright, 'salright, Do it wrong or do it right 'salright, 'salright, "

John Lennon's lyrics to "Whatever Gets You Through the Night.", have played through my head numerous times over the years, too numerous to mention.

Most of you reading this blog have at one time or another been in extreme pain, and whether that pain was physical, mental, or spiritual, more than likely you have had many opportunities to feel the effects of how life changing and challenging pain can be.

Pain over the sudden loss of a loved one, news that someone you know and love has a terminal illness, or receiving a negative diagnose of a personal nature is indeed life changing.

Whether it is depression that is getting you down, temporary blues over the loss of a job, a physical ailment, or something more permanent, I hope you'll give the technique I"m talking about a chance to change your attitude by focusing in a more positive manner.

I didn't invent, "This is Better Than That", I don't even remember what it was called when I first heard about it, but the idea is that you begin each day with a mental list that you keep track of to compare what you have done as to being better than anything else that you experienced in the day.

Example: I wake up in excruciating pain, I turn over and the pain is slightly less. I say to myself, "This is better than that".

Next I get out of bed and I feel the cool, smooth floor underneath my feet and I ask, "Is this better than the decreased pain of my earlier movement?"

If it is then it goes to the top of my list. Next item may be something as simple (and endearing) as seeing my child's smile and noticing he/she is missing a front tooth - this immediately goes to the top of my list.

The idea is that if we concentrate on always looking for the next best thing to put on the top of our list. we tend not to focus on the negative things; they are ignored or not as noticeable since they are not what we are paying attention to for our list

.At the end of the day, as your head touches the pillow and just seconds before you drift off to sleep, spend a minute or two thinking about your list and remember as you go through all of the positive things that occurred in your day which one of them was better than all the rest.

If you have been used to thinking in a negative manner, are seriously depressed over a diagnosis, it might take awhile to retrain your thinking pattern.

You DO have control over how you LOOK at things that are happening, or have happened, in your life even though you may not have control over what actually happens or happened. Take back some of the control by how you choose to look at things and don't forget to ask, "Is this better than that"?

What techniques or tools have you utilized to help you transition through a difficult time period or loss?

We have had numerous losses within our community over the past couple of months - what advice would you give to those people who have lost a loved one to help them make it through their life?

Bowlegged, gray haired women run after tobacco spitting squirts. Some of the children are their own, but form and features are unrecognizable in the blaze of squealing chickens and piglets as all embrace in glee, then quickly pull away, each vying for the best possible view of the poets.

They came! They are coming! Only one child will be chosen to return with them, to be taught how to tap into subconscious and allow memories stored through osmosis to distort, entangle, engulf, and finally, to create!

Millilng peasants and townspeople listen, enraptured, into twilight. Eyes slightly closed, parched beak agape, a scuffled, freshly poisoned magpie flies to the north, so frightful and uncommon this scene.

By sunrise, the poetesses gather their dust laden skirts around their shoulders, a few elderly poets taking off dress jackets to assist in providing warmth to a favorite.

No sooner has it begun, and it has ended. Adults come awake in the reality of everyday survival. With renewed energy and appreciation of words to grasp onto until the next visit, mother and child once again recognize each other and make their way home.

All except one. It is days before anyone realizes I'm a chosen one. I'm carried away among the shuffling, sandaled feet of the poets and into a way of life I have no means of comprehending. One day I too shall return, and I will bring words.

This, unfortunately, was not my childhood reality, but for many children, teens and adults over the next several months, it will be.

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, poet laureate of Kansas, has chosen 150 poems representing Kansas in Woodley Press release, 'Begin Again: 150 Kansas Poems'.

Caryn, and a variety of poets, kick off a twenty city reading tour Thursday, November 3rd, in Wichita - Eight Day Books, 2838 E. Douglas.

Twenty-six poets who made the cut will be reading (The Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St., large auditorium), Sunday, November 6th, from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

All readings are free and open to the public. Additional information about readings may be found at: 150kansaspoem.wordpress.com/readings/

The poets ARE coming. Allow them to carry you away........

When temperatures head south outside, you can find me turning up the heat inside! It's nice to even think about the joys of baking, frying and cooking 'inside' again.

So with the daily race to squeeze as many veggies and fruits into our diets as possible, here is a tasty way to start your day with three of them. (and if you're like me, you can't manage 5 - 6 daily servings let alone 7 - 10!)

Recipe for sweet potato oatmeal pancakes:

2 C old fashioned Quaker oats 3 C skim milk - place both in bowl and refrigerate overnight. Add 3 eggs - or substitute

1/2 c wheat flour

1 cooked and mashed sweet potato or butternut squash

1 1/2 teas. Baking powder

Dash of salt

1 T peanut or olive oil

1 teas. vanilla

1 T cinnamon

1/4 cup chopped pecans

Mix ingredients together and cook on lightly oiled griddle or pan. (makes about 16 - 18 small pancakes)

These are great rolled up with peanut butter spread on them and then dipped into your favorite syrup.

As breakfast sandwiches, you may place an egg, sausage patty, or omelet between two pancakes. We enjoy them with a spinach omelet as yet another means of adding a veggie. Serve with sliced cantaloupe, watermelon, or OJ.

Do you have a favorite way of getting your day started right with fruits and veggies?

Sing it high, sing it low

Sing it as you tie a bow

Shout it from the tops of trees,

or bubble it from below the seas.

Sing it in unison or all alone,

gather as a group outside his home.

Thank his mother for giving him birth

along with his father from whom he

inherited mirth.

Thank the doctor who cut his cord.

Hold hands and praise the Lord

for giving us an amazing man

who shares his poetry throughout our land.

He makes us smile, he makes us think,

he writes poetry quick as a wink.

He's kind, he's good, he's funny -

If he wasn't married he'd be MY honey!

So now it's time to say the words,

but words alone are for the birds.

For none can ever truly express

his humor, laugher, or tenderness.

A simple, 'Happy Birthday, Jay_lo!'

must suffice, many happy returns, now kiss your wife!

I remember we had a blazing hot summer the year my cousin decided to come to Lawrence in preparation of attending KU - isn't that the reason we're all here? We had temperatures of 113 degree for a couple of weeks, or was that temperatures over one hundred for thirteen days?

I can't remember; who can the way the sun sizzles my brain and my bare feet when I hot foot it (literally) to the mail box. I'm sure it's an amusing sight, and I'm not sure why I refuse to wear shoes. I guess I just like feeling blisters building on my soles. I mean what's life about if it isn't accompanied by suffering?

And, since we all know how much misery loves company, we're going to share personal experiences and hardships incurred from this heat.