Beyond Baroque First Annual Poetry Contest

Beyond Baroque is one of the United States' leading independent Literary/Arts Centers and public spaces dedicated to literary and cultural production, contact, interaction, and community building. Founded in 1968, it is based in the Old Town Hall in Venice, California, near the Pacific Ocean. It offers a program of readings, free workshops, publishing, bookstore, archiving, and education.  Like most art / cultural centers, Beyond Baroque is struggling to meet its financial obligations.

Toward that end, they are hosting a Poetry Contest - so yes, there is a fee, but there are cash prizes for the top 3 poets ($500, $250, $100) and the reader's fee will go back into keeping the doors open on this beloved center.  The final judge will be Tony Barnstone

CONTEST RULES
1. Submit up to three unpublished poems, 40line limit.
2. All themes and styles welcome.
3. Deadline Sept. 1st. 2010 (postmarked)
4. No ID on poems; poet's name, address, phone, e-mail address and poem titles on cover sheet.
5. Send entries, including $15 reading fee, to: 

Beyond Baroque Contest

681 Venice Blvd., 

Venice, CA 90291.

6. Checks payable to Beyond Baroque
7. No SASE. Poems not returned.

Note: A reading/reception will be held for the three cash winners and five top finalists at Beyond Baroque on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2010.

Los Angeles Born Poet Reads at Beyond Baroque

Los Angeles has great readings going on all the time but LAwritersgroup.com is really excited about Diane Wakoski's appearance at Beyond Baroque this weekend because although she was born and raised in Whittier, CA, she is now based in Michigan and her reading appearances in Los Angeles are few and far between. 

Her latest book of poetry Diamond Dog, Anhinga Press 2010 is the first entirely new collection of her poems to come out since Argonaut Rose in 1998.

When I was getting my Masters at USC, I read Diane's Emerald Ice and it inspired me to track her down (something I had never done before) to speak with her about poetic sensibility and the use of a specific image I had noticed in her poetry.  It turned into a wonderful correspondence and I took from it a deeper understanding of personal poetic mythos.  You can read my article about our correspondence here.

Diane continues exploring and in her latest book combines poetic-mythos with science.  She will be reading at Beyond Baroque (map here) on Sunday, May 23 at 7:30 p.m.