The Intimate Interview—Miller of Alenier

 

 

What makes a good interview? In September 2024, Karren Alenier was interviewed for an hour by E. Ethelbert Miller for his podcast On the Margin.

 

Besides interesting questions that addressed the concerns of working poets like how does one arrange a book manuscript, it was clear that interviewer and interviewee liked and trusted each other. Trust is crucial if the interviewer wants honest discussion about such issues as grief and race.  The good chemistry between Miller and Alenier added to the shared history of the literary scene in the Washington, DC area.

 

People who listened to this interview made such comments as:

 

—I didn’t expect to watch the whole interview, but I was swept along by the exchange.

 

—I learned new things about the DC literary scene.

 

—I got to know Karren Alenier better.

Heron Clan XII accepting submissions

 

 

Heron Clan XI: 2024 Poems from Katherine James Books has been published. It includes such poets as Lola Haskins, Hiram Larew, Ed Lyons, Doug Stouber, Brad Strahan, and Karren Alenier (a.k.a. the Steiny Road Poet).

Here are some snippets from poets that caught Steiny’s attention

 

What There is to Lose  [excerpt]

A Golden Shovel with thanks to Louise Gluck

     by Frances Klein

 

Leather shoes in the rain, of course, and the endless why

of your child’s third year. A pillowy slice of cake. Love.

 

 

 

 

 

Cloud-Speak  [excerpt]

     by Brad Strahan

 

What comes from this cloud of words?

Surely not rain. – Blood perhaps?

Surely not coins. – Maybe stones?

Not hail, perchance pale maidens

dressed in wet veils.

 

 

Stage Fright  [excerpt]

     by Earl Carlton Huband

 

You sit, staring straight ahead.

Your jaw tight. Hot. The spotlight

focused, overhead a hood

poised, the final curtain drops.

 

 

To submit for the 2025 Heron Clan anthology, send three poems and a 50-word bio to

katherinejamesbooks@gmail.com

Checklist for an Excellent Poetry Manuscript

 

What does a poetry manuscript in the 21^st Century include? Here are some of the elements possible.

 

[ ]        Prologue Poem

 

This is a poem that sets up the major themes of this collection and ties its sections together. It should be short and easy to enter.

 

[ ]        Sections

 

A typical collection might have three to five sections. Fewer seem better but it depends on the work. There are collections where the work is one long poem without sections.

 

[ ]        A Repeating Title

 

This is a technique for demonstrating that the collection contains poems that talk to each other and deepen the subject matter. Such poems might open or close each section. To identify these poems with exactly the same title consider picking up a few words from the first line of the poem.

 

[ ]        Forms

 

While there are successful collections that use the same form for every poem in the collection (e.g. the sonnet is a popular form), variety shows the poet’s mastery of craft. Creating your own form and then, if possible, writing another poem in that form also shows craft.

 

[ ]        Poems in a Series

 

Poems that repeat some aspect such as subject matter, character, linguistic marker, add glue to a collection. The question is whether to group these together or spread them out in the manuscript.

 

[ ]        Poems that Contain Research

 

Whole collections of poetry might be based on extensive research but poems in a series might also operate under the magnifying glass of  researched information. Be careful about keeping end notes to a minimum.

 

[ ]        Metapoems

 

Poems that are about writing poetry. This is another way to demonstrate your knowledge of poetic craft.

 

[ ]         A Repeating Word 

A word or a version of a word that repeats throughout every poem of the collection creates an undercurrent of meaning to deepen the subject matter.

 

[ ]        Punctuation & Capitalization

Many poets have quit using punctuation and capitalization. Whatever you decide, just be consistent.

 

 

 

 

Don't Go into the Steinian Woods Alone

 

Because the Stockbridge Library poetry series airs on Zoom at midday Eastern time, it's a great opportunity to include poets in Europe and on the US west coast. So Steiny (a.k.a. Karren Alenier) is taking her own advice about don't go into the Steinian woods alone.

 

 

 

Mark your calendars now!

 

March 20, 2024 12:30 pm Eastern

 

On Zoom

 

 

Who: Karren Alenier with Andrea Carter Brown & Margo Berdeshevsky

 

What: Stockbridge Library presents The French Connection—Karren Alenier reads with Andrea Carter Brown & Margo Berdeshevsky their poems in From the Belly: Volume I "Objects" and much more.

 

How: Visit stockbridgelibrary.org (close to the date, go to events calendar to register or email Karren@Alenier.com and she will make sure you get the link.)

 

Free 

 

 

 

About the Words Being Spoken: upcoming reading

 

 

 

Part of publishing poetry is getting the words spoken, getting the poems read out loud to an audience. The Steiny Road Poet is pleased to say she has lined up another reading of From the Belly: Poets Respond to Gertrude Stein’s Tender Buttons.

 

This time Steiny goes solo. This means she will focus on poems she wrote in response to Tender Buttons Objects. There are over 20 poems of Alenier's to choose from. She will also be reading the Tender Buttons that inspired Alenier's poems and shining light on those buttons. It is a one-hour program. Here’s an example:

 

 

 

 

NOTHING ELEGANT.

     from Tender Buttons Objects by Gertrude Stein

 

A charm a single charm is doubtful. If the red is rose and there is a gate surrounding it, if inside is let in and there places change then certainly something is upright. It is earnest.

 

about the word

     by Karren L. Alenier

 

the pen is the

pen is an organ

flaccid or sound

 

muscular music

flowing milk or ink

Horace said pen

 

is tongue of

mind who needs

articles point is

 

pen is maker

of kind teacher

teaching us

 

right

 

Mark your calendars now.

 

March 20, 2024 12:30 pm Eastern Standard Time

On Zoom

Who: Karren Alenier

What: Stockbridge Library presents Karren Alenier reading her poems in From the Belly Volume I Objects—reading & discussion

Free

 

Contact Karren at  Alenier.com and she will make sure you get the zoom link.

Poetic Honoraria: One Breath at a Time

 

The issue of getting paid for presenting poetry is ever present among poets. Most of us present without any promise of honorarium because we need to reach audience.

 

Recently, the Steiny Road Poet organized a reading featuring four other poets and herself based on her anthology From the Belly: Poets Respond to Gertrude Stein’s Tender Buttons through the Brooklyn, NY organization One Breath Rising. The reading was spectacular with lots of great questions posed by our host. Although there was some mention that we might get an honorarium, we had no expectation. Some weeks later we each received a check for $100 thanks to funding from the Brooklyn Arts Council and Poets & Writers (NY).

 

Stepping back to see the bigger picture, one should note that was $500 for one program. Some speakers easily get that kind of money, insist on that level of funding.  Just saying that poetry is an art form that brings spiritual benefits if not entertainment and that we poets are much like monks sitting with our begging bowls. Kudos to One Breath Rising for their generosity in sharing their resources.

Poetry Mutual: A New Washington DC Poetry Promoter

 

Washington, DC, has a new poetry promoter in town called Poetry Mutual.

 

Years ago, DC had the Poetry Committee of Greater Washington, DC Area which was hosted by the Folger Shakespeare Library. That poetry promotion group had a literary calendar and an award system (the Columbia Prize). It’s a brave thing to do because it takes staying power.

 

Behind Poetry Mutual are Kim Roberts (founder of Beltway Journal now hosted by Indran Amirthanayagam), Michael Gushue, and Dan Vera. These three poets have been involved in promoting other people’s poetry through small presses they have formed and supported. They are an awesome literary force.

 

The Steiny Road Poet is pleased to have had From the Belly: Poets Respond to Gertrude Stein’s Tender Buttons selected by Poetry Mutual as one of the three best anthologies of 2023. The other two selected were Dora Malech and Laura T. Smith’s The American Sonnet: An Anthology of Poems and Essays and Luisa A. Igloria, Aileen Cassinetto, and Jeremy S. Hoffman’s Dear Human at the Edge of Time: Poems on Climate Change in the United States.  There were many wonderful anthologies they could have singled out for recognition. Check out Poetry Mutual and sign up for all their news, including their selection of the ten best single author poetry collections.