CALYX is 34 on March 11th

I'm not sure where the year is disappearing to, but March has arrived, and with it CALYX anniversary/birthday. March 11, 1976 is the founding date, and we will be celebrating with a party on Saturday, March 13th, 7-9pm at the Corvallis Arts Center (700 SW Madison). The reception including music, refreshments, and poetry readings is free and open to the public, so if you're in the area - come say hello!

The readings include the Oregon and Washington Lois Cranston Memorial Poetry Prize award winners: Linda Strever (Olympia, WA), Kathryn Graves-Messer (Salem, OR), Jennifer Richter (Corvallis, OR), and Toni Van Deusen (Eugene, OR). Linda's poem “How to Become the Oracle” received the 2009 Lois Cranston Memorial Poetry Prize judged by poet Marilyn Chin, and was published in our most recent issue. Kathryn's poem "Findings" is a 2009 finalist and is on our website http://www.calyxpress.org/Cranstonprize.html. Toni and Jennifer are finalists from previous years -- and we're looking forward to seeing all of them at our party!

As with other events, there is a bit of work that goes into creating this party - getting the word out, coordinating with poets and the location... and the last minute details seem to be falling into place. In a little less than two weeks, we'll have some photos to post up here, and wrapup of the event. How time flies!

-- Cathy

Signs of Spring

I know we shouldn't mention this, with the east coast buried in snow, and apparently snow in 49 of 50 states... but a few feet from the door of the CALYX office there are crocus, daffodils and snowdrops blooming! Spring has begun here in Oregon, and although we have had our "setbacks" before (notably a snow mid-April last year!), it's starting to feel like we're coming out of the winter! And if it's spring... CALYX birthday isn't far behind!

CALYX was founded on March 11, 1976, by four women with a vision to provide a publication that celebrates the excellence and diversity of women’s literature and art. It has continued to give opportunities to new and developing writers - more than 4,000, and we lost count a while ago!

A few writers who were published first or early in their careers include Julia Alvarez, Ellen Bass, Chitra Divakaruni, Molly Gloss, Linda Hogan, Natalie Goldberg, Barbara Kingsolver, Colleen McElroy, Sharon Olds, Nobel Laureate Wislawa Szymborska (the first English translations in the U.S.A.), and Eleanor Wilner. Did you know CALYX Journal was also the first U.S. publisher of color art reproductions of the work of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo?

We will be celebrating CALYX' 34th birthday here in Corvallis, Oregon, with a party on March 13th that includes music, refreshments -- and of course, readings! More on that soon. But if you are inclined to celebrate with CALYX, you can have a house party of your own! We would be delighted to provide more information to you -- email us at: info(at)calyxpress(dot)org.

Feedback, Anyone?

Hopefully, you have had a chance to read our latest issue, Vol. 25:3, which was shipped early January. Of course, as anxious parents, we simply love to hear how the latest creative "child" has been received! We have gotten some lovely emails, and several of you have filled out the Survey Monkey survey via our website (thanks!) But we'd love to hear from more readers.

As we begin to develop and expand our interactive abilities, we are hoping that we can begin a dialogue with our readers, and possibly facilitate a dialogue among you. Step one is to set up feedback mechanisms (such as the Survey Monkey questionaire), and of course we are reading and responding to our Facebook page. What next? What else would you like to see, either on this blog, or on the Calyx website? You can enter comments below, or email us at info(at)calyxpress(dot)org.

Sarah Lantz Memorial Poetry prize Winner Announced!

We congratulate Penelope Scambly Schott for her winning book, Crow Mercies. Penelope is the winner of our first Sarah Lantz Memorial Poetry Book Prize. There were many entries, and it was not an easy decision, but final judge Colleen McElroy selected Crow Mercies from a final group of eight books.

Because the lead time on book publication is so early, we got busy right away! Crow Mercies has an ISBN number, and we have entered the summaries and other needed info online with our distributor -- a January deadline for an October printing! As someone who is relatively new to this, it is interesting to me how long a lead time there is for many aspects of the production.

I'll be blogging along the way, as I learn more about how to produce a book of poetry!
-- Cathy

From the Director

Margarita Donnelly

12/3/09 I just returned from a vacation to the Philadelphia area for Thanksgiving. Flying into Portland airport after a 12-hour travel day was delightful. As the plane banked over the silvery Columbia River Mt. Hood, the Three Sisters, Mt. St. Helens, and even Mt. Rainier were visible under an ascending full moon. A beautiful welcome home. Back at CALYX I returned to the new issue, Volume 25:3 (Winter 2010), which is going to press on Monday the 7th. We did all the last minute checks and corrections of another incredible issue of women’s poetry, prose, reviews, and art. Look for it in your mailboxes early in January if you are a subscriber. If you’re not a subscriber, become one by the end of the year to ensure your receipt by mail of another incredible Journal of women’s words and art.

I continue reading (with another CALYX editor) the first reads of poetry manuscripts for the Oregon Women Poets Sarah Lantz Memorial Poetry Book Prize. It is not an easy task selecting from the many fine manuscripts we have received. The meeting to select finalists to send on to the final judge Colleen McElroy is Friday, December 11th. We plan to announce the first prize winner of the Book Prize in early February. At the same time CALYX Journal also opened for the annual open submission period (October 1 to December 31) and our editors are immersed in reading those first reads. The manuscripts are coming in heavily at this point.