Poem of the Month for May: “Sermon on Dogma” by Kalicharan Nigel Dey

As selected by the anthology editors, David Harris and Edie Eicas from FSP readings in May, 2016.

Nigel Kalicharan Dey: editor, 2014

SERMON ON DOGMA by Kalicharan Nigel Dey

There I was, sitting on a pew in church,
Attentively listening to Father John Birch.
The Reverend quoted reverently:
“None comes to the Father except through me.”
An exegesis followed with passion and fire:
“Either these words are true or Jesus was a liar.”

“Hold on!” I thought, “There’s a third possible conjecture:
The gospels could contain elements of fiction.”
Father John Birch is an authority on scripture
But like most authorities he has an affliction.

It’s called dogma – an epidemic mental disease
Preventing consideration of all possibilities.… Click for more

FSP Featured Poets @ The Halifax Cafe in June: Jules Leigh Koch & gareth roi jones

jlk grj bw1

FSP Featured Poets Series presents two of Adelaide’s most beguiling poets: Jules Leigh Koch and gareth roi jones.

6:00 – 7:00 pm; Wednesday 29th June 2016, at The Halifax Cafe, 187 Halifax Street, Adelaide.

Jules Leigh Koch has published four collections of poetry and one chapbook, most recently Stripping Wallpaper from the Sky (Interactive Press, 2015), and has received two SA Literature Grants (2008; 2011). He is one of the poets in the public art works Signs of Life  (Bowen Street, Adelaide) and the Shop 6 Tram Art project (Glenelg tram line). He also has worked as a mentor with writers from the Richard Llewellyn Arts and Disability Trust.… Click for more

How to obtain copies of Anthology #40

Front Cover of AnthologyThere are two ways  to obtain a copy of FSP Anthology #40, Many Eyes, Many Voices:

1.  Come along to any FSP meeting and buy one in person for $25 per copy.

2. If you cannot do that, you can order one via the form below. We do not have any on-line credit card or Paypal-style facilities, but we can handle Electronic Funds Transfer. The cost is $30 per copy including postage and packaging. We will reply with the necessary EFT details.

Please include your postal address and the number of copies you would like in the body of the message.… Click for more

Nova Prize 2016: “in the wake of e e cummings” by bruce greenhalgh

The Nova Prize is awarded by the Anthology editors to the best poem by a poet who has not been previously published in an FSP anthology. This year’s winner is in the wake of e e cummings by bruce greenhalgh.

in the wake of e e cummings by bruce greenhalgh

what no punctuation he cried
without an exclamation mark
without quotation marks
hovering over his words

but words remain
and fall like rain
from grey verbose clouds
onto grey receptive roads
at first the worddrops make
distinct marks
then patterns
then spreading like gossip
they join together
and whole discussions tumble along gutters

and dive noisily
into the mouths of drains

while i’m…
i’m feeling lower case
splashing iambic feet through prolix puddles

as conversation forms on cooling windows
i peer into a distance obscured
by the mists of cliché
and feeling a non sequitur coming on
i take a line break
to consider the meteorology of enjambment
the syntax of clouds
full stop

Satura Prize 2016: “Courage” by Elaine Barker

The Satura Prize is awarded to the best poem in the FSP Anthology according to an external judge. This year the judge was Richard Tipping and the Prize Winning poem is Courage by Elaine Barker. See more of Elaine’s work here and read Richard’s award commendation speech here. (pics: Martin Christmas and Ian Gibbins).

Courage by Elaine Barker

Like his mates he slept upright night after night.
The sheepskin jacket was not enough to warm him –
even his bones were racked.
The whale oil he rubbed into his feet
never enough to stop the rot.
A mild-mannered man, he was always last
over the top, then he’d charge like a barbarian
shouting obscenities as he ran,
all of them madmen shooting and stabbing
in the red fire, rolling smoke and the filthy mud.

… Click for more
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