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SHORT LIST FOR PUSHCART PRIZE NOMINATION

9/28/2016

SHORT LIST FOR PUSHCART PRIZE NOMINATION

VOTE UNTIL OCT 10, 2016

Note: Names on the list are in alphabetical order

Please, vote:
* on Scarlet Leaf Review by leaving a comment or
* on Facebook on the Scarlet Leaf Review page or on Roxana Nastase’s page
* or by sending your vote by email to scarletleafpublishinghouse@gmail.com.

WE HAVE TO CHOOSE 2 FOR EACH CATEGORY!!! (TOUGH ONE!)

Thank you!

Poetry:

Don Beukes: Esofo Ygolirt (Trilogy of Rose) – September
Ken Allan Dronsfield – Balladeer’s Serenade – June
Teodora Dumitriu – The Tree – June
Robin Wyatt Dunn – Crash out with me – June
Michael Lee Johnson – Harvest Time (V8) – June
Indunil Madhusankha – An Anthem for a Warlord – March
Donal Mahoney – A Chance to Say Good-Bye – March
Scott Thomas Outlar – Naked Dreams – June
Irsa Ruçi – Self to Oneself – May
Soodabeth Saeidnia – Apple Fruits of an Old Oak – September
Neil Slevin – Walking on Your Memory - March

Short-Stories:

Louis Abbey – Between Friends – April
William Quincy Belle – The Game – September
Alex Csedrik – P.C.C. – February
Milo James Fowler – Where There’s Smoke – March
N.T. Franklin – The Hitman – April
B. Craig Grafton – The Worst of Times – May
T.R. Healy – Overseas – May
Norbert Kovacs – The Island Interior – September
Rylee Layton – Angel Mary – September
Michael Marrotti – A Vodka Induced Night of Terror – June

Non-Fiction:

Kim Bailey Deal – I Took It Back – September
Rick Hartwell – Intuitive Education – May
Bruce Kamei – The Educational Bow – September
Joan Kerr – Libby’s Story – February
Frank Light – October Surprise – January, February, March
S.D. Vincent – In the Historical Closet: The Right Wing Style of Denial - June
Juan Zapata – Letter from An Omniscient Racist - June

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INTERVIEW SERIES - ROBIN WYATT DUNN

9/24/2016

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INTERVIEW WITH ROBIN WYATT DUNN

Bio: Robin Wyatt Dunn lives in a state of desperation engineered by late capitalism, within which his mind is a mere subset of a much larger hallucination wherein men are machines, machines are men, and the world and everything in it are mere dreams whose eddies and currents poets can channel briefly but cannot control. Perhaps it goes without saying that he lives in Los Angeles.

Reading at Roar Shack in Los Angeles, my poem “Hollywood Men”, May 15, 2016
https://www.facebook.com/settdigger/videos/10156926897705174/

Hollywood men has been published here:
https://cactifur.com/2016/07/17/poetry-hollywood-men-robin-wyatt-dunn/

Reading “Man and Woman” which was published in Garbanzo Literary Journal #3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T3m-7sTk-I
http://www.garbanzoliteraryjournal.org/Home.html

They also made a trailer for that book here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpKLJ3dtOro

Welcome to Scarlet Leaf Review!
Q: Tell us a little about yourself and your background.

I was born in Wyoming in 1979, so I’m 37. I’ve had about one address for every year of my life. Favorite cities I’ve lived in include Los Angeles, California, Austin, Texas, Bronx, New York, and Oxford, England.

Q: Do you think that your school years have had an impact in your writing career? If so, what were you like at school?

I was fortunate to be a public school student in Texas as a kid when the state was still investing a lot of its oil money in public schools, so I actually had a PhD teach me third grade math. But I always liked learning so I didn’t need much encouragement.

I got my BA from Fordham University where they had a great honors program with an old fashioned ‘great books’ curriculum: read tons of literature, history, philosophy and art of the ancient, medieval, early modern and modern worlds.

Q: Were you good at English or like Einstein you excel now in a field that was a nightmare for you as a student?

I was always good at English.

Q: What are your future ambitions for your writing career?

It would be great to make some money but the kind of things I most enjoy writing don’t seem to have enormous commercial appeal.

Money aside, I’d like to develop my poetry so that it is more transformative; so that it can do things I don’t quite have the words for now.

I’d like to improve my prose too; I don’t know quite how.

Q: Which poets have inspired you and how? What was their impact on your work or your literary perspective?

Walt Whitman is like a nuclear bomb; the blast sort of clears out your mind of vegetation so you can see the world like he does, immense.
Emily Dickenson is like a spelunker; dragging you down into terrifying caves.
E.E. Cummings I read very young and was always amazed at what he did; I didn’t know you could do that with poetry.
Keats writes love better than anybody else.
Ginsberg is like a good sergeant, showing you where to march, and not letting you stop.
T.S. Eliot is a dreamer, like me. And I always liked his nightmarish landscapes, and how they intersected with the “normal” world.

Q: So, would you mind telling us what you have written so far?

I’ve written 16 books to date. 9 already published, 4 to be published this year, and 3 in 2017. They are listed below, some with links:

Forthcoming, Wine Country, poetry.
Forthcoming, 2DEE, a novel.
Forthcoming, Sunsborne, poetry.
Forthcoming, Black Dove, a novel.
Forthcoming, November 4, 2016, City, Psychonaut.
Forthcoming, September 10, 2016, Colonel Stierlitz, a novella.
Forthcoming, August 25, 2016, White Man Book.
December 30, 2015, Conquistador of the Night Lands.
December 7, 2015, Poems from the War, narrative poetry.
October 1, 2015, Julia, Skydaughter, a novella.

June 5, 2015, Last Freedom, a collection of short plays.
December 30, 2014, A Map of Kex's Face.
June 5, 2014, Fighting Down into the Kingdom of Dreams.
March 7, 2014, Line to Night Island, a novella.
August 28, 2013, My Name is Dee.
December 29, 2011, Los Angeles, or American Pharaohs.

I’ve also written 7 chapbooks of poetry:
April 24, 2016, Koreatown. Gypsy Daughter.
April 22, 2016, Mary. Rinky Dink Press.
December 30, 2015, Hanblečeya. White Knuckle Press.
January 20, 2015, Be Closer for my Burn. Crisis Chronicles Press.
October 21, 2014, Telegrams from X County. White Knuckle Press.
August 31, 2014, A Picnic in England. Gypsy Daughter.
November 13, 2013, Drive Thru Poems. White Knuckle Press.

I’m also fortunate to have had published a few hundred short stories, poems and essays. They are listed with links here:

http://robindunn.com/writing.html

Q: What are you working on at the minute? What’s it about?

I am working (slowly!) on a story about a man living in London who spends much of his time in a simulated version of his city. In the simulated version, war has destroyed the city and he lives in apartment he cannot leave, because of the fires and pollution. He is a scientist, trying to find out the connection between waking life and dreams.

Q: What genre are your books and what draws you to this genre?

They’re a mix of literary, science fiction, magical realism. But I just write whatever I find fun!

Q: When did you decide to become a poet? What was the decisive factor or you just took a pen and starting writing poems?

I’ve always written poetry. But I didn’t start writing books until after the Wall Street crash of 2008. Like many people I had a hard time of it, and books, for me, have been some of the best therapy.

Q: What makes you write? What’s the force behind taking your pen (or your keyboard) and put verses down?

Language infiltrates as well as reflects reality; we are always in a feedback loop with the world but language, and its precise control, gives us more influence over the world. Writing allows us to control our own destiny, as well as giving us a fuller understanding of all those areas of our lives over which we will never have any control at all.

Q: Do you write full-time or part-time? Do you have a special time to write or do you write every day, 5 days a week or as and when?

I teach much of the year and write most summers. I do manage to write at other times too. I wrote a great deal when I was an MFA student but all good things come to an end!

Q: Where do your ideas come from? Or is it just the spur of the moment, a special feeling you experience or a specific conjuncture that offers you inspiration?

Like many writers, especially with poems and short stories, I am trying to capture a specific feeling, often one I experience when listening to music.

Novels are about feelings too, but more about ideas, for me, and trying to work them out on a large scale.

Q: How do you think you’ve evolved creatively?

I really have no idea; I think I’ve gotten better and others seem to agree with that. So cheers to me!

Q: In your opinion, what is the hardest thing about writing?

Beginning.

Q: Now, what about the easiest thing about writing?

Finishing!

Q: Do you ever get writer’s Block and if so do you have any tips on how to get through the dreaded writer’s block?

I’ve never had a serious case of it but minor cases I’ve had I’ve often managed to beat simply through self-discipline, like going to work even when it’s the last thing you want to do.

Q: Do you read much and if so who are your favorite authors? For your own reading, do you prefer eBooks or traditional paper/hard back books?

I do prefer physical books. Reading many pages on a screen makes me tired, and I like turning pages.

Some of my favorite writers are Gene Wolfe, Peter Hoeg, Sheri S Tepper, James Joyce, William Faulkner, China Mieville, Bruce Sterling, William Gibson, Nicole Krauss, Michael Chabon.

I am very fond of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, whoever its medieval author may have been, as well as The Epic of Gilgamesh.

Q: What book/s are you reading at present?

I am reading The Elephant Keeper’s Children, by Peter Hoeg.

Q: Do you proofread/edit all your own books or do you get someone to do that for you?

I do proofread all of them myself. Getting someone else to help is great, which I have done with books I have published in the small press. A good editor is worth twice their weight in salt!

Q: Do you let the book stew – leave it for a month and then come back to it to edit?

Sometimes I will let the book stew mid-writing. But once I finish it I tend to try to edit it quickly.

Q: Tell us about the covers of your books. How did it/they come about?

I am very fortunate to work with Barbara Sobczyńska, who I met through the web site Deviant Art. She is a very talented artist living in Krakow.

Q: Do you think that the cover plays an important part in the buying process?

Absolutely. We all judge books by their covers!

Q: How do you market your books, if you do the marketing yourself?

Sites/ companies I have found helpful:
Publishers Weekly, LibraryThing, Foreword Reviews, Goodreads, as well as our old friend Google, for hunting down reviewers.

Q: Would you or do you use a PR agency?

I would if I could afford it!

Q: Do you have any advice for other authors on how to market their books?

Never tell a reviewer to kill themselves, even if they deserve it! J

Q: What part of your writing time do you devote to marketing your book?

Very little! Submitting already takes a fair amount of time.

Q: How successful has your quest for reviews been so far?

Some reviews I’ve enjoyed of my writing (both good and bad):
https://www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/my-name-is-dee/
http://www.amazon.com/review/R333YB4P22RIJG/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#R333YB4P22RIJG
www.shimmerzine.com/2013/09/12/trampoline-novels/
www.thegeekgirlproject.com/2014/02/01/fighting-down-in-the-kingdom-of-dreams/
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1093357914?book_show_action=true (best negative review ever!)
http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-940830-10-0
http://maroonedoffvesta.blogspot.com/2015/08/dreamboat-by-robin-wyatt-dunn.html

Q: What are your thoughts on good/bad reviews?

Try to ignore both!

Q: Do you think that giving books away free works and why?

Yes, especially when you’re an unknown. People don’t often buy books by people they’ve never heard of, and if you have no reviews on the web.

Q: How do you relax?

Hiking. And sleeping!

Q: What is your favorite motivational phrase? What is your favorite positive saying?

I like the quote often attributed to Goethe, though I it might not be his words:
“Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”

Q: What is your favorite book and why?

The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe (a series of 5 books)
In addition to describing a beautiful near-apocalypse landscape (the sun is dying), these books pose powerful moral questions about the nature of violence and our understanding of heroism in relation to violence.

Q: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

Keep writing!

Q: Where do you see publishing going in the future?

Lots of it will become stupider and more garish.
At the same time, I believe an opposing movement will gain steam, of intelligent books for intelligent people, with improved distribution.

Q: How can readers discover more about you and you work?

Website: robindunn.com
Facebook: fb.com/settdigger
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Robin-Wyatt-Dunn/e/B006RL8CPG
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/settdigger

Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview.

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NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

9/22/2016

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DEAR READERS,

We want to thank you for taking the time to visit our magazine and read the awesome literary pieces featured every month.

Scarlet Leaf Review recorded 295,517 hits during the period Jan 15, 2016 and Sep 21, 2016, while for the August issue (Aug 15-Sep 14) had 44,937 readers. For the September issue, we had the pleasure to see 17,490 readers on the site for a very short period, Sep 15 – Sep 21.

We thank all the authors that chose to publish with us. The success of this review relies on them, their talent and their hard work.

To cut to the chase, now, the winners for the August issue are:

For Poems:
Michael Lee Johnson                     -              2,050 readers
                                Irsa Ruçi - 1993 readers
                                Ken Allan Dronsfield                       -              1,026 readers

For Stories:
                                William Quincy Belle                        -              943 readers
                                B. Craig Grafton -              737 readers
                                Donal Mahoney -              715 readers

For Nonfiction:
                                Derek Vaughn                                   -              611 readers
                                Anonymous                                       -              587 readers
Charles Hayes                                    -              570 readers

We thank them all and we congratulate them!

Scarlet Leaf Review Staff

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9/14/2016

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Dear Readers,

A new issue of Scarlet Leaf Review will see the light of the web tomorrow at 4:30 am Eastern Time, as always on the 15th of the month.

As always, there are three sections: poems, short-stories and non-fiction, and we are pretty sure that it will be impossible not to find something of interest. If you hover with your mouse on the name of the month, you will see the drop-down menu and you can choose from there.

As for all previous issues, we let the site decide the order of the featured poems and stories (not that we would have a choice in the matter – this is a very stubborn site).

To find a specific author, on the poem page or short-story page or the nonfiction page, just go under categories (on the left hand of the page) and click on the name. Of course, we’d appreciate immensely if you tried to read everything ….

Thank you dear readers for visiting our review and reading all the awesome literary pieces you can find here.

Scarlet Leaf Review Staff

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INTERVIEW SERIES - ALLISON GRAYHURST

9/10/2016

2 Comments

INTERVIEW WITH ALLISON GRAYHURST

BIO: Allison Grayhurst is a member of the League of Canadian Poets. Three times nominated for Sundress Publications “Best of the Net” 2015, she has over 850 poems published in over 380 international journals. She lives in Toronto with her husband, two children, a dog, two cats, two rats and a bird. She is a vegan for the animals. She also sculpts, working with clay;www.allisongrayhurst.com
Link to an old TV interview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJtJd7VaS-0

Link to reading a poem and accompanying video by Ava Harness:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqqX7e7OlBg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqqX7e7OlBg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJtJd7VaS-0

Welcome to Scarlet Leaf Review!

Q: Tell us a little about yourself and your background.

I grew up mostly in Montreal by the St. Lawrence River. My parents were both journalists, and my father and mother moved my brother and I to Spain when we were young so my father could write a mystery novel. My father read often, his favorite was Shakespeare, who he would read to us over the dinner table. My mother and I would write short stories together. She was the first person I shared my poems with.

Q: So, would you mind telling us what you have written so far?

In 1995 my book Somewhere Falling was published by Beach Holme Publishers, a Porcepic Book, in Vancouver in 1995. Since then I have published twelve other books of poetry and seven collections with Edge Unlimited Publishing. Before the publication of Somewhere Falling I had a poetry book published, Common Dream, and four chapbooks published by The Plowman. My poetry chapbook The River is Blind was published by Ottawa publisher above/ground press December 2012. In 2014 my chapbook Surrogate Dharma was published by Kind of a Hurricane Press, Barometric Pressures Author Series. Then in 2015, my book No Raft – No Ocean was published by Scars Publications. More recently, my book Make the Wind was published in 2016 by Scars Publications. As well, my book Trial and Witness – selected poems, was published in 2016 by Creative Talents Unleashed (CTU Publishing Group).

Q: Where can we buy or see them?

Most of my books are available to buy in paperback and kindle on amazon:
US Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst
UK Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B001KIWQUS
Amazon.ca: http://www.amazon.ca/s?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Allison%20Grayhurst&search-alias=books-ca

People can also read most of them for free on Issuu at: https://issuu.com/allisongrayhurst

Q: What are you working on at the minute? What’s it about?

I am not working on anything right now. I am in a bit of a stasis right now. I am just writing poems or pieces of poems. I write longhand with a pen and tuck the paper in a drawer. I have about six months of writing, which I will eventually type in, and most of it I will throw out. I am not sure if any of it will amount to anything at this point.

Q: When did you decide to become a writer and why? What was the principal reason for taking up a pen (metaphorical speaking) and write that first sentence?

I never decided to be a writer/poet. It was actually one of the last things I wanted to be. For me, it wasn’t a choice, but an acceptance, which at almost 50 years old, I have mostly come to terms with.

Q: Do you write full-time or part-time? Do you have a special time to write or do you write every day, 5 days a week or as and when?

When and how I write has changed over the years. I use to write in donut shops, then when walking. The early mornings have always been the most sacred and creative times for me. I am a full-time poet, because for me being a poet isn’t a career or job, it is just part of who I am, something I carry with me always.

Q: Where do your ideas come from? Or is it just the spur of the moment, a special feeling you experience or a specific conjuncture that offers you inspiration?

My inspiration comes from animals, children, people, trees, love, inner dread, spiritual longing – all of it ultimately, if it is worth anything, comes from God.

Q: How do you think you’ve evolved creatively?

I don’t know, because it seems to always be evolving or changing. There are times when I feel very confident with creating and other times I feel like an amateur with no ability whatsoever. Writing poetry for me is not an intellectual endeavor and it is not purely emotional either. Those aspects are involved, but only secondary. It has always been for me an act of surrender - clearing myself to receive, trusting what I receive, and then recording it.

Q: Do you proofread/edit all your own books or do you get someone to do that for you?

I proof read and edit all of my writing many times over. When I feel done, my husband Kyp Harness, singer/songwriter, author, and cartoonist reads it over, whose artist opinion I trust implicitly.

Q: Tell us about the covers of your books. How did it/they come about?

The first nine books I put out in 2012 were very clear visions I had for fifteen years before putting them out. I knew I wanted my sculptures on the covers and I knew which one I wanted on which book. The books I self-published since then were the same. They have all of my work in them that I want to share. I wouldn’t do it any other way.

Q: What would you say are the main advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing against being published or the other way around?

I like self-publishing books with createspace as it gives me absolutely control over the look and content, as well as any changes I want to make at a later date. I also love that I can do it at my own pace, which is usually very quick. I have been published by publishers and often (not always) I have been at the mercy of their time-frame. The first book I got published took two years from when I started sending it out – a year to be accepted and another year before it was in print. The main drawback with self-publishing is that a larger publisher has the machinery in place to promote the book, get reviews and interviews which is lacking when self-publishing. As well, having a book published by an established publisher gives the author respect and credibility.

Q: Which famous persons, living or dead would you like to meet and why?

Jesus, first, although he is alive now and I have met him.
Dostoyevsky, second, because he is my mentor.
Jane Goodall, third, because she is my hero.

Q: How can readers discover more about you and you work?

Website: www.allisongrayhurst.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allison.grayhurst
Twitter: https://twitter.com/agrayhurst
Lnkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/allison-grayhurst-39b1b67b
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Allison-Grayhurst/e/B001KIWQUS/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1343255960&sr=8-1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1937690.Allison_Grayhurst
Issuu: https://issuu.com/allisongrayhurst

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9WZmOvTHbw

Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview.

2 Comments

SHORT LIST FOR PUSHCART PRIZE NOMINATION

INTERVIEW SERIES - ROBIN WYATT DUNN

INTERVIEW WITH ROBIN WYATT DUNN

NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

NEWSLETTER

INTERVIEW SERIES - ALLISON GRAYHURST

INTERVIEW WITH ALLISON GRAYHURST

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