Tag Archives: Death

Delmarva Review Reading . . . the voices behind the words

04 Thursday Feb 2016

Posted by in Maryland, Poetry, The Delmarva Review, Uncategorized, Writing

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At The Writer’s Center, one of the premier writing centers in the United States, six authors were invited to a public “reading” honoring The Delmarva Review’s eighth edition. Reading from their prose and poetry to a full house, on January 31, the authors expressed the feelings and emotions behind their writing. It was a transference of inspiration only possible by a live performance. . . a delightful event. The writers include:

Poet Sue Ellen Thompson reads from her celebrated book They, as the featured poet in The Delmarva Review, Volume 8.

Poet Sue Ellen Thompson, of Oxford, MD, reads from her celebrated book They, about acceptance, discovery and raising a transgender child. Ms. Thompson’s interview by poetry editor Anne Colwell is the cover feature in The Delmarva Review, Volume 8.     Click on the photo for a larger view

Anne Colwell, Poetry Editor of The Delmarva Review, introduces the poetry in the review and interviews Sue Ellen Thompson, the featured writer.

Anne Colwell, Poetry Editor of The Delmarva Review, introduces the Review’s poetry and interviews Sue Ellen Thompson, the featured writer. Ms. Colwell is an award-winning poet and English professor at University of Delaware.     Click on the photo for larger view

Poet Arden Levine, from Brooklyn, NY, reads from her poetry in the Review as well as a selection of her latest poems.

Poet Arden Levine, from Brooklyn, NY, reads from her poetry in the Review as well as a selection of her latest poems.     Click on the photo for larger view

Poet Wendy Mitman Clarke, of Maryland, reads her Pushcart Prize nominated poem "The Kiss," and other poems in the review.

Poet Wendy Mitman Clarke, of Maryland, reads her Pushcart Prize nominated poem “The Kiss,” and other poems in the Review. They are her first published poems.     Click on the photo for a larger view

Essayist Sheila Walker reads from her essay "Pacific America is so African," her first literary essay outside of academic journals. She is a cultural anthropologist from Washington, D.C.

Nonfiction author Sheila Walker reads from her essay “Pacific America is so African,” her first literary essay published outside of academic journals. She is a cultural anthropologist from Washington, D.C.     Click on the photo for a larger view

Novelist Neal Gillen reads from his memoir, "Northwest to Huguenot," in The Delmarva Review. Mr. Gillen is from Potomac, Maryland.

Novelist Neal Gillen reads from his memoir, “Northwest to Huguenot,” in The Delmarva Review. Mr. Gillen is from Potomac, Maryland.     Click on the photo for a larger view

The Writer’s Center, in Bethesda, Maryland, honored The Delmarva Review as a literary journal in the region that produces both print and electronic issues available worldwide (via Amazon.com and other major booksellers online). The current edition, Volume 8, contains the selected literary work of thirty-five authors from 12 states, the District of Columbia and Canada.

Over its eight-year history the Review has published new work from 216 authors in twenty-seven states, the District of Columbia, and nine other countries. It is published by the Eastern Shore Writers Association to promote the literary arts.

Submissions: The Review welcomes new poetry, short fiction and nonfiction submissions, in English, from all writers regardless of residence. While submissions are competitive, each is read by more than one editor. The current submission period is open through March 31, 2016, for Volume 9. Please see the website for more information and Submission Guidelines: DelmarvaReview.com 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Delmarva Review publishes 8th edition . . . opens new submissions period for all writers

13 Friday Nov 2015

Posted by in Inspiration, Maryland, Poetry, The Delmarva Review, Writing

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Volume 8 - Evocative Prose and Poetry

The Delmarva Review, Volume 8 – Evocative Prose and Poetry 2015

The Delmarva Review announced publication of its eighth annual literary journal presenting compelling new prose and poetry from thirty-five writers in 12 states, Washington, D.C., and Canada.

“From the large number of submissions this year, we selected stories, essays, and poetry addressing a diversity of human themes, each one exploring the author’s unique voice and vision,” said Wilson Wyatt, executive editor.

The journal opens with a conversation between poetry editor Anne Colwell and poet Sue Ellen Thompson about Ms. Thompson’s celebrated book, They. Her poetry stirs deep human emotions while presenting family and generational issues of acceptance over raising a transgender child. The cover photograph by Portuguese photographer Jorge Pereira Rudolfoelias, illustrates the timely subject.

Other human themes addressed by the stories, essays, and poetry in this edition relate to individualism, birth, loss, death, grief, healing, and discovering one’s sense of place in a larger world.

Published by the Eastern Shore Writer’s Association (ESWA), the nonprofit Delmarva Review has published original work of 216 writers over an eight-year history. They have come from twenty-seven states, the District of Columbia, and nine other countries. The Review opened to all writers, regardless of residence, in 2007, in order to discover and publish outstanding new literary work.

The Review’s published work has earned thirty-seven nominations for a Pushcart Prize, as well as notable mentions in Best American Essays and critical journals.

For writers: the submissions period for new poetry, short stories, and creative nonfiction is open now through March 31, 2016, to be considered for the ninth annual edition. Selection is competitive. All submissions are made from the website’s Guidelines page at www.delmarvareview.com.

The Review’s print edition is available worldwide via Amazon.com and other online booksellers. It is also downloadable in a digital edition at Kindle for tablets, computers, smart phones, and other reading devices.

Publication is supported by private contributions, sales, and a grant from the Talbot County Arts Council, in Maryland.

Our Volunteers: The Delmarva Review is nonprofit and produced entirely by volunteers from the tri-state writing community. In addition to Wyatt, of St. Michaels, MD, and Colwell, of Milford, DE, the editorial board and advisors include managing editor Bill Gourgey, of St. Michaels and D.C., poetry reader Stacey Pounsberry, of DE, fiction co-editors Harold O. Wilson, of Chester, MD, and Cheril Thomas, of Easton, nonfiction co-editors George Merrill, of St. Michaels, and Cheryl Somers Aubin, of Vienna, VA, financial advisor Denise Clemons, of Lewes, DE, editorial advisors Gerald Sweeney, of Trappe, MD, and Emily Rich, of Arlington, VA and Secretary, MD, copyeditor Jodie Littleton, of Chestertown, and proofreader Charlene Marcum, of Easton. The cover designer was Laura Ambler, of Easton.

Additional information about the Review and the authors, is available on the website: www.delmarvareview.com.

You can get a copy now at:

The Delmarva Review, Volume 8

Aging and Freedom…”How would you like to die?”

27 Tuesday Dec 2011

Posted by in Aging and Freedom, Uncategorized

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Sunset Over the Valley

I just read a story about a man’s determination to be free and to realize a dream.  It was about his struggle to remain free in aging, to make his own choices, when others sought to place him in an “assisted living home”…ostensibly to protect him from himself in his final days.  We saw the world through the man’s mind.

All our lives we struggle with personal aspects of freedom, trying to find our way through the quagmire of reality toward some vision of freedom…reminds me of Jonathan Franzen’s novel, Freedom.  You’d think that as we get older and wiser, we’d reach our answer…and maybe we do in death.  Or, as Franzen illustrated in his novel, perhaps freedom is not all we think it will be.  There may be unintended consequences.

It seems as we grow older, in the final third of our lives, freedom is as much a dream as in adolescence, those precious years when a boy or a girl struggles through innocence to enjoy the imagined fruits of adulthood.  There is always someone to be beholding to…some impediment to reckon with.  Life becomes bigger than ourselves, never as simple as it seems.  It’s what it is.

My doctor asked me an interesting question the other day, after my annual physical exam. He finished going through my lab work, reviewed all the tests warranted for my age, and gave me a conclusion. He told me the good news was I was almost at no risk for any of the major causes of premature death.  My veins were clear, colon was healthy, good blood pressure, no heart disease, no cancer, clear lungs, etc.  All I needed to do was lose some weight and get more daily exercise…very reasonable. Then he said. “So, assuming you will live to be 85 or so, you face an enviable question. How would you like to die?”

It was striking, not what you’d expect your doctor to say after a successful physical exam. It was provocative, as I think he intended.  The question begs other questions, how will you lead the rest of your life…what will you do with it?  I’m still thinking of a dazzling array of interesting answers.  There are spiritual and personal choice concerns. Regardless of my imagination, the question of my own freedom keeps nudging up in importance…along with the unintended consequences.  It’s good to have choices.

Wouldn’t it be best if when we knew the time was right, we could just reach up and turn off the light?