Poetry, Fiction, Jade and Gemstones

Update! Update!

What have I been doing lately? Being distracted, that's for sure. I've developed a love for the gemstone jade, so these days I've been reading up about crystals and crystal structures, the resonant sound of real stones (as compared to glass and plastic), the market values of gems, and schools to take up gemology in the Philippines.

When I remembered that I'm also a writer during other parts of the day, I went about catching up on my poetry and fiction. And then I submitted them places.

Here are the places where I'll be:

"Heather" (flash fiction) - James Gunn's Ad Astra, 2015
"Dysmorphia" (poem) - Apex Magazine, 2015
"Soul Searching" (poem) - Liquid Imagination, 2015

And I'll also be popping up as a featured poet in Edwin E. Smith's Quarterly Magazine, with eight poetry titles in the suite to be published in the Summer 2015 issue (which will also be the Fall 2014 issue, but expanded)! Whew, this is a first for me and I'm shamelessly going to plug it here!!

• Caretaker
• Autopsy
• Erasure
• Broken Cisterns
• Another Burial
• A Conversation with Water
• Skywalk
• How to Plant Your Death

Happy writing!:)

Acceptance Letters First Quarter 2015

I have not been as prolific as I'd like. But I do believe I've been producing higher quality work lately. More inspired. More meaty.

70% of the time, I submit work to paying publications. The other 30% are for the non-paying zines that I either read already or read ABOUT in reviews. I choose paying pubs for several reasons:

1. The curation of the work is USUALLY of higher quality.
2. They place a budget on cover art.
3. They place a premium value on art, contributing to a culture that supports artists.

This is not to say that non-paying joints produce low-quality work. But I have seen it happen. Perhaps because the publisher has a free reign to include as many literary pieces as it likes. Like padding. I have also, however, seen non-paying reviews that publish high quality work. I enjoyed reading these journals so much that I wonder why they aren't getting the readership they deserve?!

Anyway, here are the places where I will appear in this year.

• The Philippines Graphic Magazine - "As We Wake" (Already out, March 2, 2015)
• Mythic Delirium 2.1 - "The Secret Life of Cabinets"
• Garden Gnome Publications' Deluge Anthology - "Aqualung"
• The Write Place at the Write Time - "Frying Eggs" and "To the Coddled Youth"
• The Cascadia Subduction Zone - "This How You Teach a Bird to Walk" and "The Weight of Forgiveness."
• Nameless Magazine - "The Gospel of Gossip", "The Verbose Contagion", "The Devil's Darning Needle"
• Dreams and Nightmares - "A Witch's Thousand Years of Joy"

Thank you to the editors for the opportunity!

:)

Wonderful Year Ender: Nominated for the Pushcart Prize!!

Truly an honor. I don't really care if I win or not. I feel like all my hard work has paid off already!!

Reposting this blog post by Ms. Rhonda Parrish, publisher and editor of Niteblade:

Nominating for the Pushcart Prize is always difficult. Picking six works from all Niteblade has published over the year? It’s freaking tough. If you think I’m exaggerating, take a look over our archives and try to choose the six works you’d nominate from four issues. See? Hard.

This year it was made even more tricksy by the fact I was nominating not only from Niteblade, but also A is for Apocalypse. Luckily for me, I had back-up.

Poetry editor Alexandra Seidel helped me out with the nominations this year. And when I say helped me out I mean she was invaluable and pivotal when it came to making our poem-based decisions. So with no further ado… this year the Niteblade nominations for the Pushcart Prize are:

• The Bitter Gourd’s Fate by Anne Carly Abad (June 2014)
• Godfather by Megan Arkenberg (March 2014)
• Bird Girl by Beth Cato (March 2014)

Congratulations ladies, and good luck!

Before the Year Ends, More Poems

At Illumen, my poem "Possible New Species of Worm and Louse in the Domestic Ecosystem" appears. The journal is now available at the link provided :)

At Niteblade, two poems of mine appear: "Nameday" and "Ghost Engine Updates an Ad for Angry Spirits". Edited by Rhonda Parrish (editor), Alexandra Seidel (editor)

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. 

Acceptance from Not One of Us

Whenever I receive good news like these, I still have to ask myself, "for real?" Acceptances are such unexpected gifts, and I'll never stop being surprised by them. I thought I'd never get into the likes of Strange Horizons and Apex, yet with a lot of time, hard work and rejection slips, I made it.

Another wonderful publication that's welcomed my work is Not One of Us. The magazine has been frequently recommended by editors I've worked with and I discovered that the mag has been running since the 1980s. Its focus is on otherness, a rich and powerful topic that will never lose importance in the world. A couple of verbatim reviews from their site:

“I definitely recommend Not One of Us to readers attracted to character-oriented dark fantasy... plenty of disquieting reflection. Fine work.” (Rich Horton)

“The staying power of Not One of Us is a testament to its quality.” (The Fix)

“Not One of Us ...is a reliable source for interesting dark prose and poetry.” (Ellen Datlow, Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror)

Here is a snippet of the email I received from the editor, Mr. John Benson. An acceptance into a joint with this name feels a bit like a pun, which maybe it is:

Dear Anne,

I'd like to use "Why Animals Don't Talk" in one of our future publications. The poem would go either in the next of our annual, variously-titled special collections in January or in the next issue of Not One of Us itself in April. [...]

John Benson
Not One of Us

It's another great week. :) 

I'm at Strange Horizons, "Rehearsal for When He Wakes"

This must be the most exciting year for me yet. I've always dreamt of appearing on SE's pages. Who'd have thought? "Rehearsal for When He Wakes" is up in their February 24, 2014 issue. The podcast of the issue is also available in two parts.

• Podcast: February Poetry Part 1, by John Philip Johnson, Peter Chiykowski, Susan Carlson, Natalia Theodoridou, Alicia Cole, and Amal El-Mohtar, read by Diane Severson Mori, Peter Chiykowski, Kristopher Goorhuis, Kate Baker, Ciro Faienza, and Amal El-Mohtar (2/24/14) In this episode of the Strange Horizons podcast, editor Anaea Lay presents poetry from the February issues of Strange Horizons. 
• Podcast: February Poetry Part 2, by Jenn Grunigen, Mike Allen, Jessy Randall, Lisa M. Bradley, Anne Carly Abad, Rose Lemberg, and Danielle Higgins, read by Jenn Grunigen, Mike Allen, Tina Connolly, Lisa M. Bradley, Ciro Faienza, Julia Rios, Rose Lemberg, and Clare McBride (2/24/14) In this episode of the Strange Horizons podcast, editor Anaea Lay presents poetry from the February issues of Strange Horizons.

Many many thanks to the editors, especially to Ms. Adrienne Odasso and Ms. Anaea Lay.

Where I'm at, or Gonna be at this 2014

Feeling slang today. I know my slang ain't good, but I got lots to celebrate. It's a good date, first rate. And my rhymes are feelin' fine. Not sour like lime.

Yeah, I'm at Shot Glass #12, published by Musie-Pie Press. This fine place focuses on all thing short and sweet, in poetry yeah. Check em out, they be real cool yo! My haiku and two tanka be there.

Soon to be, Imma be appearin' like a badass yo momma joke. At The Yellow Medicine Review, guest-edited by Carter Meland. Here be what he has to say:

Hello Anne Carly Abad!

I'm pleased to say that I really like the three poems you submitted to Yellow Medicine Review--The Choosing of the Babaylan, The Badjao Sisters' Wager, and The Babaylan Sleep--and will, with your permission, go ahead and publish them as part of the Spring 2014 issue. Congratulations! They are sharp little pieces and I found "The Babaylan Sleep" especially resonant. Great stuff!

[snipped]  

Carter Meland

Such beastly news! Thanks so much to the team, you can see how happy I am.:)

Just a bit of a conflict on the piece: "The Badjao Sisters' Wager," coz it's already reserved for The Southeast Review. But no more issue there, it's nice and fixed and ironed out.

About SER, where I'll also be this Fall 2014:

The Southeast Review, established in 1979 as Sundog, is a national literary magazine housed in the English department at Florida State University and is edited and managed by its graduate students and a faculty consulting editor. The mission of The Southeast Review is to present emerging writers on the same stage as well-established ones. In each semi-annual issue, we publish literary fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, interviews, book reviews and art. With nearly sixty members on our editorial staff who come from throughout the country and the world, we strive to publish work that is representative of our diverse interests and aesthetics, and we celebrate the eclectic mix this produces.

Great stuff, yeah? And great sites, too. Come on, run along now and visit em, so I can bow from my shady rhymes.

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

Featured at OMNI Reboot, Expanded Horizons

Read at http://omnireboot.jerrickventures.com/phenomena/hiring-process/

My science fiction flash piece "Hiring Process" is featured in OMNI Reboot, a rebirth of the classic sci-fi magazine. Thanks to editor Claire Evans. Before closing in 1998, Omni featured William Gibson, Orson Scott Card, Arthur C. Clarke, Ben Bova and many more names that I've been reading for years. It's an honor to be part of this project.

The circumstances that led to this story being published are surreal. Given that this story feels "jinxed," I didn't expect anything good can still come out of it. It's the same story that was involved in fiasco with a contest that once published my private details without my permission. That problem has been resolved with the help of the good people from Absolute Write, my favorite forum and writer resource.

A friend of my mine linked me to OMNI and I checked it out right away, excited at the fact that one of the best SF mags is making a comeback (there aren't enough of these zines left!). When you visit the site, you'll kinda feel nostalgic if you're a fan of golden age sci-fi. It has that air to it, one of cold metal and possibilities.

At almost the same time, my poem "Molting Season" was published sooner than expected (supposedly 2014). It's now out and crawling about at Expanded Horizons. Also in Issue 41:
"Swallowing Saturday" by Catherine Batac Walder
"Daughters of the Air" by Gail Labovitz
"The Five Flavors" by Bryan Thao Worra
"The Robo Sutra" (Artwork) by Maria Mitchell

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

Some Poems that Came out 2013: No One Wants a Girl with Brains and Things We Tell Ourselves After Elections

Thanks to the editors of The Philippines Graphic Magazine. I wasn't able to get a copy of this particular June 14, 2013 issue since National Bookstore may have run out of it that time :(

No One Wants a Girl with Brains

No one wants a girl with brains
just make sure she doesn't burn your bacon
but when she does
raise your voice immediately

make known the vastness of your displeasure

and if for some reason, she causes you to go hungry once more

you may have to go old fashioned on her--

ball your hands into fists

you're sure to get her knees wobbling.

No one wants a girl with brains

you need someone who won't complain

she should smile when you get home late

never to figure out why

you no longer touch her withered prunes

that you're tired, is all

she will ever know.

If you do get a girl with brains
just make sure she doesn't like to use them

she should laugh when you tell her to make a sandwich

(and maybe make you a real one, too)

and solicit your help even when she knows what to do

making you feel needed,

she might just be

the prize among all prizes!

~

Things We Tell Ourselves After Elections

Keep telling yourself
that the masses are the powerful
ones, yeast that works through the whole dough
much more potent than you
in your leathers and power suits
or even you with the still-hot diploma in your hands.

Keep telling yourself
that the masses are the ones that kick ass
at election time, and once more you’ve gotten whopped,
you whose vote couldn’t make a modest dent
into the iron doors of a tomorrow
you can but now accept.

Keep telling yourself
that the masses are not stupid
just a bit drunk on TV, and easy
to manipulate, as all things
that run on empty
tend to be.

Keep telling yourself
all they need is you, and your gift
of information
just maybe a dash of a better
education. Keep telling yourself that
we need just one solution.