The Bomb...a great poetry project by S.A. Griffin!

I just submitted. Love the idea. If you're a friend on facebook, you'll find The Bomb among my fan pages. Submit ONE sheet of paper, front and back if you wish, printed out and mailed in with your name, location, and SASE. Watch the video!

Here, in S.A.'s words on the submission site:

Currently seeking international submissions of poetry to place inside the converted bomb. One submission per person, please! Subs must be flat and NO BIGGER than 8.5x11 inches. That means that your sub can be smaller than 8.5x11, but no bigger. Text/image on one or both sides.

If you are writing in any language that is not english, it would be nice if your native language were on one side of the piece and a possible english translation were on the other. I do plan on reading some of submissions at each and every stop along the tour.

If you expect to get anything back, please send with s.a.s.e. to:

S.A. Griffin
P.O. Box 29171
Los Angeles, Ca. 90029-0171

I will not accept any submissions that advocate or are violent in statement or purpose.

If your submission is kept for inclusion inside the belly of the bomb, obviously you will not be getting it back. I will have one time rights to publish your work in hardcopy form. Upon publication, all rights will revert to the authors. If you do not wish to see your work published and only wish for it to exist inside the bomb, please let me know.

In regards to the s.a.s.e, I would like to send something back to everyone who submits, but only if you send an s.a.s.e (stamped self addressed envelope) along with your submission.

I am not accepting electronic submissions, only hard copy. I want to know that you took the time to create it, and that you have actually handled the piece yourself. That it is something personal. I also do not have the time or the money to be reproducing things on my end, ink is expensive. I'm already spending time and money converting the bomb and documenting the entire thing. So please, no electronic submissions.

Spells

We see them from our boat,
these men and women dressed up
in Pilgrim clothes, as if Plymouth
is the new Brigadoon reincarnated
daily around a fake rock.
Had I been a real Pilgrim
I would've run off with a handsome
Medicine Man, slept on rabbit fur.
I would've warned my Medicine man
husband about the carnage already
brewing on the easterly winds.
I would’ve asked him to cast spells
upon all the birds in the forest
so their songs would bring peace
to land-greedy white men with guns
and Indians painting themselves
black and orange beside rising war fires.
Village and woods would be filled
with children of all colors,
beads clattering around their necks,
bellies filled with porridge.
I try to smoke the peace pipe with my lover,
one quarter Indian, himself,
but I never ran off with the Medicine Man
and the birds never sang their magic.
He slashes my throat with a word
and I bleed onto the deck until our boat
is drenched with the color of sunset.



from my book, Sea Trails(www.lummoxpress.com)
(this posting grew out of a discussion with an online friend about fake rocks and the Blarney Stone. Plymouth was our first stop on the '77 trip from Hull to Florida)

Posted by the CFIDS Association....what would you do if you were well today?

I took part in this survey. Seeing it put together in the video brings tears. We suppress longing for things we can no longer have or do and do our best to take joy from what we still can do. But ohhhh, if well tomorrow...the world waits.

The Virtual Tour of my book begins with Thirteen Blackbirds blog (Ed Nudelman)

An exciting new way to share a book has entered the blogging world. So many times an author can't do readings for time, financial or health reasons An author also usually can't tour far out of his or her geographical area.

This concept is called a Virtual Tour. How exciting! The idea is for a basic 'chunk' of information to go to each blog hosting the tour along the way, but with something new and unique added at each stop. Ed Nudelman has certainly taken this tour and made it his own. Thank you, Ed, for doing such a good job.

To read the first stop in the tour go to Thirteen Blackbirds. Please leave a comment on his blog. If you have any questions I'll be checking his blog and this one to answer them. When new things are featured, the tour will still be easily found in the top right column by clicking the 'Poet Series' link.

I'm also asking that any readers of my blog who both have a good readership and would be willing to host this tour for a week or perhaps longer volunteer a leg. I'll post links to all stops along the way. You don't have to have a poetry blog to volunteer. Lummox Press and I will send the basic package to you.

Now let's see if this is an effective way to sell more books! Thanks, all of you for participating via your readership!

Pris

Two bits of very nice news at one time!

I just checked my mail to find that one of my poems, Original Sin, from Sea Trails, that was published in The Wild Goose Poetry review, was just nominated for a Pushcart Prize for 2010, my second nomination this year. Look in the spring issue to read the poem. Thank you very much, Wild Goose!

My next email was from Pedestal Magazine telling me how much they enjoyed my book and will be running a review of it in their next issue.

I'm very pleased! Now, if a bunch more of my readers buy a copy of the book, that would totally make my day:-)

Pris

(Lummox Press, for signed and dedicated copy. Also available on Amazon)

I'm a cover girl:-)

Go to Red Headed Stepchild to see my cover graphic for the issue just out. This journal takes only submissions that have been rejected somewhere else and the issue is packed with fantastic poetry that other editors were unlucky enough to miss. Headed up by an excellent poet, this journal sings.

Scott Owens' review of my book, Sea Trails

Scott Owens is co-editor of The Wild Goose Poetry Review where this review appears this month. He reposted his reviews on his blog. Since the Wild Goose review page is in PDF, this link is easier to get to. Thank you, Scott. I'm glad you liked the book!


Sea Trails: Poems and 1977 Passage Notes, by Pris Campbell
Lummox Press (2009)
ISBN: 9781929878024

If you like poetry, you’ll love Pris Campbell’s new book Sea Trails (Lummox, 2009). If you don’t like poetry, even if you don’t understand poetry, even if you resent poetry and poets, you’ll love this book. If you like a story, if you like the sea, if you like memoirs, confessions, and reality shows, you’ll love this book.

It’s easy to be impressed with the creativity on display in Pris Campbell’s decision to juxtapose log notes from a sailing journey down the East Coast with highly personal and evocative poetry written about that journey. The complementation of prose and poetry, art and memoir creates a unique example of mimesis in action, a wonderful opportunity to speculate on the relationship between art and life, and the most enjoyable means of facilitating the comprehension of a poem that I’ve ever encountered. All that’s missing is the movie.

Read the rest of the review atScott Owens Musings Blogspot.

If accepted...

I'm going to participate in a research study on one aspect of ME/CFS by Dr. Nancy Klimas at the U of Miami Medical Center. I just filled in the paperwork they'll use to decide whether to accept me or not. This study involves 4 trips to Miami over a two year period, a thorough evaluation first visit (physical and cognitive), wearing a bracelet for two weeks after each visit to measure activity level and keeping a short online journal, provided by them online, of how I feel each day. This test is for genotype research that they're doing but they save your blood and when they gear up for a study on the retrovirus, my blood, with my permission will be used. They pay 20 dollars traveling expenses so gas will be paid for, which is nice.

Traveling is difficult for me, even though this is tops an hour and a half down there and my husband will drive while I stretch out in the back seat, but I want to do this since Dr. Klimas does outstanding research. It also will give me a feel of what they do down there since she does treat individual patients, too, but with a very long wait list. Just to be able to see her for a consult off in the future would be really helpful.

Dr Robert Keller, the immunologist who treated me for 10 years down in Hollywood, FL, before his untimely death this year, was friends with Dr Klimas and her fellow researchers, so that already validates my diagnosis for them.

Now to wait...

Pris

It wasn't the modem, by the way...

It was the DSl line. I'm glad it was that simple.

The discussions continue about the retrovirus found in the blood of those of us with CFIDS (ME/CFS). As expected, the research will have to be replicated many times over and then, if it holds up even for a subgroup, what antiviral will help is still another big question. Right now private labs are charging between 450 to 650 dollars for the testing. That's not paid for by insurance or Medicare. I'm sitting tight until more research comes in and prices go down.

The hardest part is the bouncing around of hope. When the work first was announced by the Whittemore-Peterson lab, The National Institute of Cancer, and the Cleveland Clinic, the first feeling of course was hope. As the days have gone by, the questions come in...is this a piggyback virus and not the cause...is this a correlation but not a causation...so many more. I'd held my hope to modest goals all of these years. This time, briefly, I allowed thoughts to soar that I might have my life back again, a life I'd convinced myself that I could survive without. I'd blunted all of my feelings in that direction.

Now I feel as if I'm on a seesaw. My emotions are all over the place and it's difficult.

I so hope this research takes us somewhere. At least for the first time, since signs of blood transmission have been seen in the labwork, the CDC and NIH are taking the illness more seriously than ever before. Research is gearing up in other places. This is a biggie, a first. I'm happy about that.

My husband drove me over to the ocean yesterday. That's always a centering place for me. It was late afternoon, still full light, but a white moon had already risen on the horizon. An east wind brought the scent of brine with it. It was lovely.

Modem Problems

My modem is dying. I unplugged it all night after it dialed ceaselessly for four hours late yesterday with me doing all of the 'reset' things to no avail, and it connected this morning but I don't know for how long. Since I still have no voice with this cold, my husband will have to make the call to Bellsouth, my server, and he may not until it starts dialing endlessly again. They have a way of testing them on their end. That's how I ended up getting this one when the old one died. Bottom line...if I disappear, I could be a few days missing while the thing ships.

Promise

The betrayed women sit
on my street corner.
Nails ragged.
Lipstick smeared.
Eyes puffed.
Labels jut out from their collars
like flags, marking them
untouchable.

The sky turns scarlet
and you kiss me.
Your words become as wee birds.
They sing promises to the rising moon.
My legs lift up to greet you
and I'm lost in the great web
of want.

I hope those birds still perch
on my bedpost come morn.



Pris Campbell
©2009



Published in Durable Goods Two, a mini-print.
Aleathia Drehmer, Editor

To see this with art on my website, go HERE.

Information from the International Fibro/ME/CFS group on Facebook

The site offers this information to freely share.


Fibromyalgia can affect every aspect of a person's life. While neither degenerative nor fatal, the chronic pain associated with fibromyalgia is pervasive and persistent. FMS can severely curtail social activity and recreation, and as many as 30% of those diagnosed with fibromyalgia are unable to maintain full-time employment. Like others with disabilities, individuals with FMS often need accommodations to fully participate in their education or remain active in their careers.

Fibromyalgia is often referred to as an "invisible" illness or disability due to the fact that generally there are no outward indications of the illness or its resulting disabilities. The invisible nature of the illness, as well as its relative rarity and the lack of understanding about its pathology, often has psychosocial complications for those that have the syndrome. Individuals suffering from invisible illnesses in general often face disbelief or accusations of malingering or laziness from others that are unfamiliar with the syndrome.

Common symptoms of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome:

Pain - The pain of fibromyalgia has no boundaries. People describe the pain as deep muscular aching, throbbing, shooting, and stabbing. Intense burning may also be present. Quite often, the pain and stiffness are worse in the morning and you may hurt more in muscle groups that are used repetitively.

With FMS there are 18 tender points that radiate pain on a daily basis.

Fatigue - This symptom can be mild in some fibromyalgia patients and yet incapacitating in others. The fatigue has been described as "brain fatigue" in which patients feel totally drained of energy. Many patients depict this situation by saying that they feel as though their arms and legs are tied to concrete blocks, and they have difficulty concentrating, e.g., brain fog.

Sleep disorder - Most patients have an associated sleep disorder called the alpha-EEG anomaly. This condition was uncovered in a sleep lab with the aid of a machine that recorded the brain waves of patients during sleep. Researchers found that the majority of fibromyalgia patients could fall asleep without much trouble, but their deep level (or stage 4) sleep was constantly interrupted by bursts of awake-like brain activity. Patients appeared to spend the night with one foot in sleep and the other one out of it.
Sleep lab tests may not be necessary to determine if you have disturbed sleep. If you wake up feeling as though you've just been run over by a Mack truck—what doctors refer to as unrefreshing sleep—it is reasonable for your physician to assume that you have a sleep disorder. Many fibromyalgia patients have been found to have other sleep disorders in addition to the alpha-EEG, such as sleep apnea (as well as the newly discovered form of interrupted breathing called upper airway resistance syndrome, or UARS), bruxism (teeth grinding), periodic limb movement during sleep (jerking of arms and legs), and restless legs syndrome (difficulty sitting still in the evenings).

Irritable Bowel Syndrome - Constipation, diarrhea, frequent abdominal pain, abdominal gas, and nausea represent symptoms frequently found in roughly 40 to 70% of fibromyalgia patients. Acid reflux or gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD) also occurs with the same high frequency.

Chronic headaches - Recurrent migraine or tension-type headaches are seen in about 70% of fibromyalgia patients and can pose a major problem in coping for this patient group.

Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction Syndrome - This syndrome, sometimes referred to as TMJ or TMD, causes tremendous jaw-related face and head pain in one-quarter of fibromyalgia patients. However, a 1997 published report indicated that close to 75% of fibromyalgia patients have varying degrees of jaw discomfort. Typically, the problems are related to the muscles and ligaments surrounding the jaw joint and not necessarily the joint itself.

Other common symptoms:
Chest pain, morning stiffness, cognitive or memory impairment, numbness and tingling sensations, muscle twitching, irritable bladder, premenstrual syndrome and painful periods, the feeling of swollen extremities, skin sensitivities, dry eyes and mouth, dizziness, and impaired coordination can occur.

Fibromyalgia patients are often sensitive to odors, loud noises, bright lights, and sometimes even the medications they are prescribed.

Aggravating factors - Changes in weather, cold or drafty environments, infections, allergies, hormonal fluctuations (premenstrual and menopausal states), stress, depression, anxiety and over-exertion may all contribute to fibromyalgia symptom flare-ups.

NOTES:
Did you know?????...
Florence Nightingale was probably the most famous non-royal person of the Victorian period. She helped develop modern nursing.

By 1896, Florence Nightingale was bedridden. She may have had what is now known as chronic fatigue syndrome and her birthday (12 May 1820) is now celebrated as International CFS Awareness Day.

As usual with fibromyalgia the amount of co-morbidities (other diseases) is high and may confuse the diagnosis. The fact that she developed her fibromyalgia after an apparent infection trigger made it called chronic fatigue syndrome and the infection itself is being accused of the symptoms. A recent biography cites brucellosis and associated spondylitis.

NOTE: Please invite everyone, our goal is to make it around the world and create an awareness so that FMS CFS and ME are not the invisible illness, or the illness that when you mention it you get asked questions that are too complicated to explain in a passing conversation..

YET ANOTHER NOTE: This is a Worldwide Event and can be celebrated at home or by contacting a local group. We are trying to create an awareness of the DATE and ILLNESSES; INTERNATIONAL FIBROMYALGIA AWARENESS DAY / CHRONIC FATIGUE / ME DAY

Please check out the LINKS which might lead you to a group in your area or just pass on the awareness to your friends... The pictures have added insight to many as well.

OUR VOICE IS POWERFUL!!! (On May 12, 2009, we started this virtual event with a goal of being heard around the world and we did...
"IT IS AMAZING TO SEE IN SUCH A SHORT WHILE...JUST HOW WE HAVE UNITIED PEOPLE FROM ALL ACROSS THE WORLD!!! WE WANT TO SHOW JUST HOW BIG OUR VOICE IS...AND BY ALL MEANS TO ANYONE WHO IS FROM SOMEWHERE NOT ON THE LIST...FEEL FREE TO POST ON THE WALL WHERE YOU ARE FROM AS i DO BELIEVE HAVING FOUND SUCH A HUGE VOICE GIVES US ALL A SENSE OF UNITY AND A FEELING OF HOPE!!!
The places are: All of the 50 states of the U.S.A.; 7 out of the 10 Provinces of Canada; District of Columbia; Federated States of Micronesia; Puerto Rico, Australia; Central America; South Africa; Japan; Italy; Scotland; United Kingdom; Portugal; Barbados; Norway; Sweden; Spain; Glasgow; England; Ireland; New Zealand; Wales, Isle Of Main."

Special book offer from Lummox Press

This came in the morning email from Lummox. It's a really nice offer. If you want a signed copy, leave that in the ordering instructions when you're on the Lummox site.

IF YOU WANT THE BELOW SPECIAL WHEN YOU ORDER YOU NEED TO ASK FOR IT!

Pris

From Lummox:

Hello again

Just a quick announcement I forgot to mention in the October newsletter. What with the holidaze and all coming up, I thought it might be nice to offer you readers a little deal: anyone who buys one of the following titles will also get a free Little Red Book to go with it (but you have to buy it from Lummox). Sea Trails with Hesitant Commitments by Pris Campbell; The Riddle of the Wooden Gun with Bone by Todd Moore; Down This Crooked Road with Any Abyss Will Do by William Taylor, Jr; and any of my books with The Hunger by RD Armstrong. If you buy a copy of The Long Way Home, I'll send you a LRB of your choice. This offer is good from now until Dec. 15th. Poetry makes a great gift.

--
Raindog
Lummox Press

Thank you Helen Losse for this wonderful review of my book, Sea Trails.

This is the first paragraph of a wonderful review written by Helen Losse, author of Better With Friends and the Poetry Editor of the Dead Mule School of Southern Literature


It's hard for me to envision a book of poems as a "page turner," but Sea Trails: Poems and 1977 Passage Notes by Pris Campbell is just that. The narrative is about a trip, taken by the author and a man called R, aboard a small boat named Little Adventure. Included within the 100-page volume are not only Campbell’s original notes and recent poems, written 30 years after the trip, but also, for those of us who are undereducated in nautical terms, a glossary of boating terms and asides, such as “How to lay a trot line for catching crabs” (p. 42) — woven into the body but printed on a gray background — along with maps, and a few well-placed black and white photos of the author in her younger days. There is even an entry called “While We Were Gone,” that lists news about Elvis’ death and the launchings of Voyager 1 and Voyager II (p. 88).

Click HERE to read the entire review. And buy Helen's book. Purchase information is on the list at Rank Stranger Press. I've read really good things about her book and am ordering it today!