Month: February 2013

Christopher Luna named Clark County’s first Poet Laureate

February 17, 2013

I am pleased to announce that the Clark County Arts Commission has named me Clark County’s first Poet Laureate. I am very grateful to the commission for this honor, and look forward to this opportunity to share my passion for poetry with even more members of our community. I have a lot of ideas about how to do this, which I will share at the public meeting mentioned in the press release below, as well as a public address which I have been asked to give at the Vancouver Community Library on Tuesday, March 12 at 7pm. I encourage everyone who values poetry and its ability to transform our lives to join us in celebrating this great step forward for the county. I am very grateful for Vancouver’s poetry community, and for the love and support of three amazing women: Toni Partington, Mel Sanders, and Leah Jackson. Without their belief in me, and their own work for the arts community, none of this would have been possible.

Christopher Luna

Clark County Arts Commission news release logo

February 15, 2013

Contact: Elizabeth Madrigal, Clark County Arts Commission, (360) 281-1615,

emadrigal@clarkcountyartscommission.org, Elizabeth.madrigal@gmail.com

Patricia LaCroix, Clark County Arts Commission, (360) 606-7104,

placroix@clarkcountyartscommission.org

Vancouver resident selected first Clark County Poet Laureate

Vancouver, WA – Christopher Luna, a Vancouver poet, visual artist and editor, has been named Clark County’s first Poet Laureate by the Clark County Arts Commission.

As Poet Laureate, Luna may act as a cultural ambassador, composing poems for special events and occasions. His main duty is to promote poetry and literature, nurturing public knowledge and appreciation of the power of words. His work will reflect diverse experiences in Clark County and the Vancouver-Portland metropolitan area.

The public can meet Luna when he is officially installed as Poet Laureate during the commission’s 6:30 p.m. meeting Tuesday, Feb. 26, in the sixth-floor hearing room of the Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin St.

Luna earned a Master of Fine Arts in Writing and Poetics at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University, Boulder, Colo. He serves as a writing consultant and poetry event coordinator for WSU Vancouver’s Writing Center, where he teaches a weekly workshop.

His work has appeared in New York Journal of Books, Poetry Project Newsletter, The Columbian, The Oregonian and Willamette Week. He co-edited Ghost Town Poetry, a collection of poems from a popular open microphone poetry reading series he established in 2004. Luna frequently is a featured reader at bookstores, night clubs, libraries and coffee shops.

For information about the Poet Laureate position, contact Pat LaCroix, chair of the arts commission, at (360) 606-7104. For more information on the arts commission visit www.clarkcountyartscommission.org.

Announcing a Call for Submissions: GHOST TOWN POETRY VOLUME TWO

February 3, 2013

PRINTED MATTER VANCOUVER

Chris and Toni at SAm and Kelly's wedding by Julian Nelson cropped for PM

Toni Partington & Christopher Luna, Editors

Photo by Julian Nelson

 Call For Submissions

Printed Matter Vancouver is proud to announce the submission period for Ghost Town Poetry, Volume 2, a poetry anthology to be released in January 2014. 2014 marks the ten-year anniversary of the popular open mic reading series, hosted by Christopher Luna and Toni Partington and founded by Luna. Ghost Town Poetry takes place on the second Thursday of the month at Cover to Cover Books (6300 NE St. James, Suite 104B) in Vancouver, WA. For more information on the bookstore, go to: http://covertocoverbooks.net

We look forward to reading your work.

 Submission Guidelines:

The Stuff You Need To Know:

Poems will be accepted beginning April 1, 2013 through May 12, 2013 at 11:59pm, Pacific Standard Time.

To be considered for the anthology you will have read your work at the poetry series held the second Thursday of each month at Cover To Cover Books in Vancouver, WA prior to the submission deadline of May 12, 2013.

Submissions will be accepted via email only.

Submit a maximum of two (2) poems. Previously published poems may be accepted subject to the discretion of the editors. Indicate the publication name, date, poem title, and publication rights in the body of the submission email.

If one of your poems is accepted for publication, the editors may have suggestions for edits or format changes to prepare the work for publication. Whenever possible the editors will work with the author to review suggested changes. Authors will have the final decision on the edits. The editors are unable to guarantee publication of your work if they feel the edits are necessary and the author disapproves of the changes.

Authors whose work appears in the anthology will receive one copy of the book. Additional copies will be available for purchase. Printed Matter Vancouver retains first rights to pieces published in the collection. From there, rights revert back to the authors.

Authors agree to have their work appear online at printedmattervancouver.com

Poem Format:

  • Poem(s) must be in Times New Roman, 12-point font with one-inch margins.
  • Include your name, address, phone, and email at the top left of each page.
  • Include the poem’s title below your contact information.
  • Poems should be single-spaced with one space between stanzas.
  • Poems should not exceed 2 pages.
  • Poems should be saved as a Microsoft Word Document.
  • Save each poem as a separate document (last name+poem title).

What To Email:

  • Type “Printed Matter Submission” in the subject line of the Email.
  • Include in the body of the Email:
    • The title(s) of your poem(s).
    • Contact information: name, address, email, and phone (home and cell).
    • For previously published poems, indicate the publication name, date, poem title, and whether you own the publication rights.
    • Include each poem(s) as a separate attachment.
    • Include all attachments in one email.

EMAIL SUBMISSIONS BEGINNING APRIL 1, 2013 TO: printedmattervancouver@gmail.com