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Yo! That moment when the first author you signed up with Barrio Blues Press crafts a beautiful gift for you. Thank you, mi sobrino, Misael Juarez!   Totally RAD design by Kuya David, The Pen clique Co-Host Join the Livestream with the co-hosts of The Pen Clique Poetry PodcastWhere? On YouTube, Radical Books and Politics or Facebooks' Penned in the City: A Creative Writing Group for All.
The co-hosts of the Pen Clique will be talking about their revolutionary work in uplifting poetry in the U.S. and their successful poetry podcast. Come ask questions during the Livestream on Radical Books and Politics.  No amount is too small! Give today! Barrio Blues Press is a small, one woman independent press, aimed at uplifting the voices and talent of new writers and artists, striving to make their mark in the world of creativity and literature.
However, continuing with the Unity anthology series can only remain a possibility with external assistance. Your assistance. Your generosity will help Barrio Blues Press gather the funding needed to forge ahead with its mission of uplifting emerging writers and artists and turning our hope of transforming the world for the better into reality, by producing an anthology every year where the proceeds will go to Doctors without Borders - a worthy charity representative of the diversity the Unity series stands for. The anthologies will forever focus on the concept of Unity. What better way to radicalize the world than by offering a vision of what is possible; a ray of hope emanating from ideals that the editorial board stands for? Your financial support would help Barrio Blues Press with: 1. Producing at least one Unity anthology a year; 2. Printing contributor copies; and 3. Supplementing domestic and international shipping costs (seeing as the cost of shipping internationally has risen as a result of the pandemic). No donation is too small! Every dollar makes a difference. Thank you for your generous gifts and for supporting our small press via our short PayPal campaign. More importantly, thank you for backing independent and emerging writers and artists. Barrio Blues Press would not be here without you, Readers and Friends. ¡Muchas Gracias, de todo corazón! So the best thing about having depression, exacerbated by this pandemic, is these new manic highs and lows. (Yeah, there's a subject-verb agreement error. Get over it!) Man, do I love them! These ups and downs of inconsolable crying. Woo! Just kidding. I fucking hate them, but I am taking advantage of my current energy surge. I revised a poem and am submitting it to Spillwords. Enjoy!   Available in paperback by Amazon for only $9.99. Kindle coming soon! Design by PritiJ Designs. A Labor of LoveEarly this week, my husband made the mistake of calling what I do a "hobby." I almost punched him in the nuts. This isn't a hobby. This is a passion or, as Author Shawn M. Klimek called it, a mission.
Putting Unity, Volume 1: A Magical Realism Anthology has been a triumph and true love gift. I am so proud of the collaborative efforts by the editorial team, and of the contributors. PritiJ of PritiJ Designs did a masterful job of supporting with advertising and Andjela Vujić (cover designer) and Norbert Somosi, Featured Artist, made the cover sublime. This anthology really is like no other, and it is such a gorgeous book! This week, I sent out author copies to all eligible countries; the rest will go out through U.S. postal service (so long left kidney). Yesterday, the first copy reached Canada. That was a supreme joy for me. As a writer who loves to get author copies, that right there brought the efforts home for me. So, if you want a great read of magical realism stories, poetry and art, and yes art, where all the proceeds go to a worthy cause, buy this anthology for only $9.99! You will not only support Doctors without Borders but amazing emerging and established authors! #barriobluespress #doctorswithoutborders #COVID #charity #community #support #magicalrealism #love #booklaunch  Buy Hungry Thing on Amazon for only $9.89. SHAWN, THANK YOU FOR DOING AN INTERVIEW FOR MY READERS.
I KNOW YOU NOT ONLY WRITE, YOU EDIT AND DRAW. BUT, WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU WERE A WRITER? WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST STORY OR CREATIVE WRITING WORK ABOUT? My first, juvenile attempt at prose was a one-page, science-fiction story. It described an astronomer gazing up into the stars while wondering about life on other planets. The story concluded with the astronomer “crossing a couple of legs”, revealing that he, himself, was not an earthling. WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU WERE AN ARTIST? My artistic talents emerged quite young, so that it was even a matter of jealous pride in kindergarten. I gained confidence from consistent praise by parents and siblings first, then teachers and classmates. That’s why shifting focus from art to writing was a major decision for me. I HAVE READ HUNGRY THING, WHICH IS JUST GORGEOUS. DID YOU DRAW ANY OF THOSE? IF NOT, DID YOU CHOOSE THE IMAGES TO ACCOMPANY THE WORKS? Because I sidelined my practice of art decades ago, my skills have atrophied accordingly. Illustrating Hungry Thing myself to a professional level of quality would therefore have taken me a long time and imposed a lot of frustration. Since I could not bear to pair my poems with shoddy artwork, I scouted for an independent artist whose work I admired. All of the illustrations are by Romanian surrealist, Norbert Somosi. But Norbert proved to be more than an illustrator. He visualized further poems, and it was he who proposed the book. I THINK MOST WRITERS ARE CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT GOES THROUGH A WRITER’S HEAD WHEN HE/SHE/THEY ILLUSTRATES THEIR WORK. HOW DO YOU CHOOSE THE ILLUSTRATORS YOU WORK WITH? I joined a handful of FB groups for illustrators and browsed the artwork they shared until I found one that inspired me. The task was not just to find someone good, but someone whose style was compatible with mine. And finally, someone both inspired by my poetry and willing to work with me. IS THERE SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO BETTER, AS A WRITER AND/OR ARTIST? Yes, both as an artist and a writer. I need to revive my art skills, mainly with disciplined practice, so that they can be relied on for future projects. And I need to improve as a writer, becoming competent at stories of greater length and emotional impact. PLEASE, TELL US ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING WRITING PROJECTS. I’m continuing to write and submit for anthologies, as inspiration strikes, but becoming increasingly choosy. I am prioritizing science-fiction calls most often because I plan to compile these into my own collection for independent publication. ONE LAST FANTASY QUESTION: DO YOU THINK WRITING CAN TRANSFORM THE WORLD? IF SO HOW? Writing already transforms the world continually, most often for the better. Writing is communication itself—something central to civilization and essential to humanity. We are nothing without sharing. But art, in particular—including fiction writing, can inspire people to new ideas and renew hope, or by providing entertainment and escape, rejuvenate their brains and therefore, their bodies. WHERE CAN READERS FIND YOU ONLINE AND/OR ON SOCIAL MEDIA? My Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/shawnmklimekauthor My creative writing blog. http://blog.jotinthedark.com/ My amazon page: www.amazon.com/author/shawnmklimekauthor. My Twitter account: https://twitter.com/shawnmklimek THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR BUSY SCHEDULE. SHAWN, I DON’T SAY THIS ENOUGH, BUT I LOVE YOUR WRITING AND REALLY VALUE YOU AS A HUMAN BEING. I WISH YOU THE UTMOST SUCCESS. So, seeing how submissions are closed for both Unity and Nation, I have been in my editing cave! Classes started this semester, so I will be doing more writing and editing on weekends. My husband and I are also remote teaching three kids at home, and even though classes haven't started, I am teaching them fun projects, while Aaron has them doing school Bo. Ring. All exciting stuff!
Anyway, all this to say that two amazing books are coming in September! You know what I am really excited about? Sending the hard copies to the contributing authors. Each contributor is getting one copy of Unity. I love getting hard copies of books where my work is published. It's a real joy. Finally, I want to share my poem "Sex Camaro" which I posted online. It was too long for a meme, and my bro Kuya David from Pen Clique suggested that I do an online presentation. If you are not familiar with this great poetry community from Califas, I highly recommend their online poetry clashes and interviews. Oh, have you missed all the rad author interviews I've done on YouTube? Check them out here!  Cover crafted by PritJ Designs: https://www.facebook.com/pritijdesigns/ Penned in the City: a Creative Writing Group for All is proud to produce its first chapbook Nation.
Who: English Writing Poets Who Else: Artists Theme: Nation Genre: Any Line Length: Any Deadline: August 16, 2020 Payment: *.pdf copy Submissions are due to pennedinthecity@gmail.com. Emailed attachments are preferred; include a valid address and email. In addition, you can indicate what font you want, and we will try to accommodate your choice. Artists, submit your pieces to pennedinthecity@gmail.com. The resolution should be 300 dpi. This is a charity edition published by Barrio Blues Press. All profits are going to the Chicago Freedom School. |
Dr. Jesú Estrada,
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