New Poems Bumping in the Night

At Chrome Baby

Gingerbread(board) Baby  

In error 404 limbo
hell(o) to an.other
lonesome con[so(u)l]e ...read the rest here

At Digital Papercut Literary Journal

The Benefit of Wounds 

A wall is carnal.
It desires to be cut.
Wounds add scars ...read the rest here

A Philosophy of Chairs

The chair awaits untempered flesh
tenderness arguing with wooden inflexibility
...read the rest here

At The Cadaverine

Worry Not for Luxuries 

rest assured, Love
I have seen us before,
I have seen us too often
but we are the same
don’t ask too much
of nature
it runs its course ...read the rest here

Before the Bread is Gone 

Find reason to be kind.
Forget sincerity....read the rest here

At The Southeast Review

The Badjao Sisters' Wager

We made bets with the coins
in our lockless box—
Heads, you can’t
make us last, they said,
while we chose tails—
We can go to college.

The coins never did stay
long enough,
not for a pair of slippers,
not for a notepad
not for a pen or a new shirt.

But we could always go back
out to sea on our lepa, dive deep
for precious trepang, and believe

that as the sales trickle in
we could glean the barren
reefs of our past, remember
to thank Omboh Dilaut
and not savings tossed
into a daily gamble. 

Work that's Appeared in the Philippines Graphic Magazine this 2014

While I have my eye on the international scene, my heart still belongs in my home country. That's why I've been aiming to have my work out in local joints, which are becoming fewer and fewer every year. :(

The Philippines Graphic Magazine has remained strong throughout the years, thanks to the efforts of dedicated editors Joel Pablo Salud and Ms. Alma Anonas-Carpio. The literary dream lives on!

This is a late post, the result of many things going on in my life, moving jobs and homes being two of them.

In the Graphic's June 9 issue appears my poem "Transit"

Transit

Can hell be any nearer?
This infernal heat--
sun, swelter, pigslush of bodies.
Behind the scenes, someone winds up
a music box playing
the chilling tragedy of transit:

The mob puts Dante's damned
to shame.
The line is the first circle
of anguish, patience
is no virtue
in this push-and-shove contest
where everyone finishes last

because the trains are a lottery
in themselves. Fickle as storms
they decide whether or not to take you
to your destined haven, serving suffering
with a fleck of hope--
success for some, failure for most.

Until routine sets in,
birthing Devil whelps
wallowing in the third hell
of peaceful torment.

Meanwhile, I cut down and finalized my long short story "Sage's Reckoning" and subbed it to the team months later. The story, at a whopping 6500 words, thankfully made it to the coveted pages. Whew.

Part 1 of "Sage's Reckoning" appears in the August 18, 2014 issue;
Part 2 is in the August 25, 2014 issue, which my friend Angelo
luckily came upon and obtained in a branch of NBS in Ortigas.
YES! I have a copy!

I'm thinking about posting the story in this blog. Still thinking about it. I mean, it's so long, so it's not particularly fun to read on-screen, right?

Four Poems in Manila Bulletin's Cruising #GoingPlaces Magazine Jan-Feb 2014

Cruising Magazine January 2014

Several of my poems appear here. Read them below:

Provenance of Light

sun through the trees

white-striped

green

mirror lake

a duck shakes its feathers

on clouds

rising steam

a suggestion

of breasts

roiling springs

the ripples

meet

crowd

a face I thought

I knew

~ * ~ * ~

To Pay Homage

chants echo
from the temple spire
a crow caws 

golden statues
the voice of Buddha
is silence 

three realities--
sanctum archways
one after the other 

ancient mural
cat sprays at the feet
of avatars 

shining droplets
newly-hatched snails
on a lily pad 

lengthening shadows
the last of the incense
burns out

~ * ~ * ~

Given

There is much we can’t believe.

While on the bus to Panagbenga

we couldn’t believe the sky could be so blue, so open

readily taking the glistening cranes into its cerulean hold.

We couldn’t believe the paddies could don sunlight

in so many greens that tremble with the wind.

Breathless amid the flowers and dance

you blossomed into bells and laughter

and I couldn’t believe how you could become

the sky, the fields, the cranes, the blooms, all at once

I couldn’t believe the extent of my want

“I can’t believe you’re mine,” your words

and mine, though unspoken—yours, mine

perhaps this was where we went wrong

being us was too much a given

I couldn’t believe that years later you’d still be calling

to tell me the same things.

You couldn’t believe we parted the way we did

No skies, no fields, no birds nor blooms.

All I know is we started believing

we were together, nothing more

and the end came with little surprise.

And I'm also in their February 2014 issue. Pleasure to be included in such a lovely magazine!

Cruising Magazine January 2014

The Snake in the Gutters

Serpent, how far you’ve fallen

from godly lineage.

Herald of ultimate healing

did you not bless the temples of Asclepius

and slither into fevered dreams—

revelations of therapy, promises of recovery.

Apophis, eternal destruction

gods enlisted gods in battle

to stop you from swallowing the sun

and returning the world to darkness

as deep as the length of your coils

Serpent, you would be cut down

but we were fools to think you could be slain

Versed in your secret, the alchemists knew:

Ouroboros devours himself to renew his life

immortality is eternal return

to them, you gave the magnum opus.

Harbinger of truth to Adam and Eve

When you eat of it your eyes will be opened

within all of us—the darkness we call desire

refuses to come full circle with reason,

refuses to be understood, or we refuse it, fear it—

perhaps the very reason why we lack eternity.

There is a snake coiled in the gutters

a protuberance in its belly

a crowd has gathered in reverent distance

a man prods its head with the tip of his umbrella;

shouts ripple through the onlooking host

as the serpent stands and strikes

a residual memory of its former glory

The Podium, at The Finger Magazine June 2013

The Podium

keep the silence and peace, earn your right to speak

cut off tongue and hands to offer up to the gods

and only then can you welcome yourself to our desert

begin from the bottom of the dunes,

look up to the great ark that locks away your gifts

in the abode of gods, whom you can curse

or you yourself become only if you dig deep

into the sands of their speech

find and keep every word, write and act as they do

if only with feet or whatever remains of you

once there was a girl who stole back her tongue

used it to speak words, rivaling the gods

yet what is one voice against a pantheon of hosts?

the gods tore out what she stole

tossed her back to the sands below

so save us your tears and put this to heart—

only the gods can decide

who will stay and who will climb

to the podium to claim prize of rightful limbs lost

make attempt of the rebel kind

and fall before you can ever rise

Area of Responsibility

Fear swooped in
battered down hearts
and homes.
scythe winds harvested
our joy,
so little we have
yet so much we can give
bangon, tindog, kapatid
words for those who've lost them,
hands to deliver relief,
eyes to guide the weeping
see, we were made this way
the sky in our lungs
earth in our tongues
sun in our blood
metal in our spirits.

It is not a storm
that enters the area
of responsibility
but a convergence
of kindness, an awakening.

Fave Poem of the Week: Girl Hours by Sofia Samatar (Stone Telling, 2011)

Excellent excellent speculative poetry this is. What I so love is how "Girl Hours" shifts from a magical realm into reality, with an almost dream-like quality. The creation, amalgamation, and destruction of "body" moves on the page like dancing fire.

I was also very happy to learn about a certain Henrietta Swan Leavitt, who discovered a way to measure the distance of stars:

In the 1870s, the Harvard College Observatory began to employ young women as human computers to record and analyze data. One of them, Henrietta Swan Leavitt, discovered a way to measure stellar distances using the pulsing of variable stars.

Happy to have read this piece. Now my day is made.

Chrysanthemum and The Transnational (formerly PostPoetry Magazine)

I've been blessed with two acceptances this month. Yes, you win some you lose some, indeed. I'm currently working on my fiction and getting them "out there". But I've been getting rejected a lot. :( I'll keep writing while I'm at it. It's good that my poetry is meeting more success. So all's well that ends well. Thank you for believing in my work, Chrysanthemum and The Transnational.

From Chrysanthemum:

Dear Anne Carly Abad,

All texts were well received.  We are pleased to publish "arid" and "the sound of a key" along with the translation into German in the upcoming Chrysanthemum 14, October 2013. 

Thank you again for your submission and your patience.  It is highly appreciated.


Best wishes,

Beate Conrad

Beate Conrad, managing editor

About Chrysanthemum:  It "is an international internet magazine that will appear twice a year, and will showcase previously unpublished Haiku/Senryû, Tanka, Haibun, Essays and Interviews in German and English."

And from The Transnational (formerly, PostPoetry Magazine):

Dear Anne,

Thank you very much for your submission to the PP Mag. I enjoyed reading your poems and decided to publish the following of those on the website of The Transnational:
…………………………
Remains and
Jellyfish

Sarah

Sarah Katharina Kayß,
ed. The Transnational, A Literary Magazine
ed. PostPoetry, A Literary Magazine

www.the-transnational.com

www.PostPoetry-Magazine.com

The Transnational's manifesto: "Texts which are published in the Transnational can dissolve existing boundaries or suggest new ones. They can make us question our beliefs, champion social justice and human rights, war and psychological violence, giving rise to provocative or soothing thoughts. We believe that all great literature is revolutionary and necessary. Great writers are honest. They call upon us as readers to experience the intangible."

"A Feast for Scavengers" to Appear in the Inaugural Issue of Songs of Eretz

There's a new zine in town! (or out of town). I found Songs of Eretz as a new listing on Ralan, and this is actually among the few publishers who pay for work. It would be lovely if more publishers gave at least free copies, so writers could see their work and feel that what we do is actually of worth.

I sent in my poem "A Feast for Scavengers," for which I got an acceptance from Dr. Steven Wittenberg Gordon, the editor.

I really appreciate his comments about the piece. Sometimes I don't know why a place likes my work. They accept, and then after jumping around in happy abandon, I get all philosophical. In my head these questions start running around: Why do you like it? Which part of the work do you like best? What did I do right?

So thanks, Dr. Gordon.

Let me post part of his email here:

Dear Anne Carly,

I like the moral lesson you offer as well as your mocking, irony-filled tone.  The imagery takes me to a bad visual place but in a good way...

Cheers,

Steve

Steven Wittenberg Gordon, MD

Editor

Will post more on this when the inaugural issue is released. :)

Good News for the Price of a Wound

I've been so unlucky lately! It's hard not to read into things when you've consistently been waking up at 3 a.m., and something bad happens everyday!

It started with shoes. I wanted a new pair of boots, because I destroyed two pairs of sandals from walking so much. I need sturdier shoes, obviously. My bf and I went around Landmark looking for a good pair, and we found an excellent pair of army-style boots. Unfortunately, when they got my size, I discovered that the left shoe felt too tight. I examined the size, and indeed, it was a size smaller. MY SIZE DID NOT HAVE A PAIR. Who does that to a good pair of shoes?

The next day, I went to find the same brand of shoes in Landmark Makati. I found them. I asked the saleslady if I can just use my card to pay, because the line at the ATM is too long, plus the mall was closing soon. The saleslady said yes. When we arrived at the counter, all card transactions came OFFLINE.

Thanks. No shoes for me once again.

The next day, on my way to work, I couldn't find anything to ride. A jeep came by, and I thought I was in luck. But the damned driver revved up the engine as I was still climbing up the step. I ended up getting off balanced and skinning my shin. Bled profusely, and needed two types of Tetanus shots! My arms are still hurting from the vaccines.

Those are three bad events. I started to think maybe I'm paying for the good news I've been getting. I got another one, my poem "The Unsaid Apologies While on the Train" received an acceptance from Phillip Levine, the poetry editor of Chronogram Magazine. It will be published this June 2013.

I should probably visit an albularyo or someone who can exorcise me of this slew of calamities. Can't stand this anymore! :(

More Good News: Acceptance Letter from The Finger Magazine

The Finger is an international literary journal based in Finger Lakes Community College (FLCC).

FLCC is a part of the State University of New York (SUNY). Got that part from wikipedia :)

My poem "The Podium" will be featured in their Spring 2013 issue. That piece was actually a surprise. I wrote it in such a way that it would reflect the current politics in the Philippine literary community, but it would still resonate with readers from other countries. Though I wasn't sure if I wrote it clear enough... I wanted to make it accessible since cliques aren't solely the bane (boon?) of Philippine literati circles. They're everywhere. Having published short form poetry in several international journals, I've also seen some disappointing backstabbing and mudslinging going on among the writers and their leaders.

Sometimes we dirty ourselves because we want to win (in a contest). Sometimes we've already won our spot and just want to eternalize ourselves on the pedestal. But that's just me spoiling the poem for the (future) readers... I'll stop now.

Two of my poems accepted in the Philippines Graphic Magazine

So aside from me signing up for my first official Muay Thai fight (wtf did I get myself into???), I received an acceptance letter last night from Ms. Alma Anonas-Carpio of the Philippines Graphic Magazine. I'm so happy that I feel like I'm gonna do good in my first fight! I'm gonna train much harder starting today.

Here's the letter I got:

Hi Anne,

Thank you for submitting your poems to the Graphic. We have selected two of your poems, A Sense of Loss and Habagat, for our literary section. They are lovely pieces and it is our pleasure to carry them in our pages.

Alma Anonas-Carpio

Literary Editor

*Positive thinking*

Three Poems, Two Publications

I've received a couple of acceptances in the past few days, first is for a tanka of mine. This will appear in print, in the February 2013 issue of Bottle Rockets (#28).

The next are two poems entitled The City is a Conch and Flesh for the Weary, which are about to be released online by Our Own Voice. This publication is based in the US, edited by Remé-Antonia Grefalda and Aileen Ibardaloza-Cassinetto.

For many of my tankas, I'd have wished that contributors' copies would be provided, but I guess that financial constraints prevent this. I'll have to save up to buy copies of the journals in which I appear.

Upcoming: Two Tankas in Atlas Poetica 13 (Fall Issue)

In the midst of these gloomy and dangerous rainy days, I got some good news regarding my poetry. Two tankas of mine will appear in the 2012 Fall issue of Atlas Poetica. :)

About Atlas Poetica:

When MET Press of Baltimore, Maryland, published Landfall : Poetry of Place in Modern English Tanka (2007), it received a landslide of submissions. Thousands of poems were submitted, making it the most sought after tanka venue in the English language. It was only logical to create a journal to provide an ongoing forum for the publication, appreciation, and advancement of tanka poetry of place. Atlas Poetica was born.

Edited by M. Kei, it quickly established itself as one of the distinctive voices in tanka literature. The large format was deliberately designed to accommodate lengthy sequences, shaped tanka, tanka prose, articles, and other items too bulky for the smaller journals. In addition, ATPO reached out to tanka communities around the world, providing a venue to publish tanka in languages other than English, as well as providing lists of resources, announcements, and other information to serve the world tanka community.

Tanka poetry of place embodies the community and environment, both human and natural, through which the poet travels. Groups and places are profoundly important, forming the affective and effective boundaries of the poet’s psyche. Whether contemplating subjects as diverse as an old chest of drawers or a Romanian seashore, tanka poets find connection, meaning, and significance in the previously unremarked proximities of our lives. Tanka poets of place are pushing into new territories and creating new maps of our literary consciousness.

Upcoming Appearance: Grasslimb Volume 10 Number 2

Horray! Received an acceptance letter today from Ms. Valerie Polichar, Editor of Grasslimb journal for my poem entitled "Deciduous." It is due out this August, 2012.

The first poem they published from me is entitled The Train Comes and it came out January this year. I do retain electronic rights for that poem, so here it goes:

The Train Comes

In the company of thoughts
I might be walking in two realities:
It's you leading me to the crepe stand
in the subway halls of Seoul.
You would buy me vanilla
but I can never guess
yours always different.

Back home, I’m in similar halls
the stench of decayed concrete
and the chill of early morning solitude.
These could be your halls, too.
But the train comes
crowd upon crowd
none of them you.

Upcoming Appearance: A Hundred Gourds 1:4 Magazine

Received an acceptance today from Ms. Lorin Ford, Editor of A Hundred Gourds Magazine. One of my haiku will appear in Issue 1:4 of the magazine.

Thank God :)

I'm also thankful for being able to work with one of the editors of another haiku pub--Heron's Nest. Ferris Gilli was assigned to be my editor and she helped me weave better, tighter haiku through her honest critique. It has been a while since an editor responded to me with little more than a form letter, so this is truly a breath of fresh air. With the shortage of reading material in the Philippines, I've been struggling to self-edit my work lately. Got a couple haiku in for consideration in Heron's Nest's September issue. Crossing my fingers. :)

Haiku and Tanka Project

This is my new craze: The tanka and the haiku. I revel at the challenge of being able to create multiple meanings within five or three lines, depending on the form I choose. I've always been such a talkative girl, writing talkative essays and fiction. But now that I've been writing poetry for a while, I decided I should step up and try out forms instead of my usual free verse. I was really attracted to the rhythmic, almost meditative quality of good haiku and tanka. I searched for journals dedicated to these forms so I can learn and study them more. I found several and was lucky enough to receive compli copies, first from "Kokako," New Zealand's twice yearly magazine of haiku, tanka, haibun and related poetry. I'd post a picture of it had I not crumpled and written on the pages while I was in the beach, enjoying the poems so much I was instantly inspired to write my own O_O

I also came upon a tanka publication called "GUSTS," edited by Kozue Uzawa. She also sent me a compli copy of the magazine, which is published in Canada. Beautiful cover! Just that my camera does it no justice. Plus I couldn't stop my hands from shaking coz of the asthma meds I drank tonight. It's been so hot lately I've been getting sick. Anyway, I'm enjoying the pieces a LOT. I can't wait to write again once my brain is fully functional from these asthma attacks, colds and splitting headaches.

On a not-so-related note, I managed to eat pad thai at last after craving it for months. Only for P80 I got this big plate of decent tasting noodles from the foodcourt :D

best enjoyed with literature about what else? Food :))

Grasslimb Volume 10 #1

Yey! I got my contributor's copies of Grasslimb today! I immediately took photos of course, so I can plug myself shamelessly in my shamelessly about me blog hahaha

Next Up: Grasslimb Journal

Received an acceptance letter from the EIC of Grasslimb Journal on Saturday, for my poem "The Train Comes." Out of a suite of 5 poems only one made it through the editorial fire. Thank God this one made it. Here's how the letter went:

Dear Anne,

It's my great pleasure to accept

The Train Comes

for Grasslimb volume 10 number 1, due out in January, 2012.

We can offer $10 for this work; a check will be sent shortly, your
payment on acceptance.  We can also offer payment via PayPal if this is
preferred -- please let me know as soon as possible if so.  Your two
contributor's copies will be forwarded after the printing.

We purchase first serial print publication rights; you retain all other
copyright.

Thank you for submitting to Grasslimb!  Your work will enhance our
publication.

Warmly,

Valerie Polichar
Editor, Grasslimb
editor@grasslimb.com

Can't wait to get my contrib copies!

3rd Issue | 2011–2012: TAYO literary magazine

This'll be a very quick post since I got lots to do. Four of my poems are featured in TAYO literary magazine, and you might like to have a peek.These poems are: Along Edsa, Tin-ag, this is how light hits circumstance and Pilgrimage.

Thanks. :)

Upcoming Appearance: The Asia Literary Review

This is a dream. This is dream...

As a writer, I get rejected a lot. I submit my work, and dread getting that return email. In my inbox, the message's first few words would be previewed. When the message starts with something like "Thank you for your submission," I already know that the next line (once I do click open the message), would be "We regret to inform you that we will not be publishing your work blah blah". That's the rejection form letter.

That was how I felt when I saw the Asia Literary Review's email. I read the previewed "Thank you..." and my  mind was automatically resigned to the fate of the poems I submitted on December 2010 (yeah, it was that long ago). But I was wrong. It was an acceptance letter for two poems, "Three Meals" and "Etiquette."

Poetry editor Martin Alexander mentioned "I very much enjoyed reading your work..." and I was extremely thankful and humbled that the pieces would be that much appreciated. I was like, so dreams do come true. Because when I was writing more fiction, I kind of didn't expect anymore, with the heaps of rejection letters I kept getting.

I have many many people to thank for these recent successes. The fellows and panelists of the 18th Iligan National Writers Workshop, 49th Silliman University National Writers Workshop, 10th Iyas Creative Writing Workshop, 9th Ateneo National Writers Workshop. I had little access to poetry because I was all sci-fi and fantasy, but through these workshops, I learned about stuff like line cuts and objective correlatives.

I still can't believe it.