For NPS: See you all Tonight!

In search of a gathering

Somewhere in the jungle and tugged amongst the trees

Where you will find only the most sincere seekers

Of the mystics in themselves

Those that embarked on such trails

Trails of Bliss

Of hidden paths

Of ecstatic joy and abundance

Every step along the way...

(to be continued, this legend we call NPS)

See you all tonight!

-Priya Lin

2 February 2010 - Poetry Night/Contest Announcements

As my first post, and the first post for NPS in the new year, I would like to say that Poetry Night has been a wonderful and illuminating experience. That being said, this night was every bit as wonderful and illuminating. The revolving door that has been NPS over the past couple weeks welcomed back Q and Naja, as well as Iceiss and two new readers, Kent and Rylan. We had a total of 13 readers, and essentially everything that I am trying to say about this night can be best captured in what I would call the quote of the night (maybe even the decade). It was spoken by one of our new readers, Kent, and I hope he won't mind me including it here.

Without further adieu, the quote of the night-

"...the collective talent in this room is fucking staggering."
(This is Kent)

Now on to the contest rules for Tuesday, February 9th, 2010.
The rules are very simple. Write a poem about an aspect of February. Any aspect at all.
The poem could be related, but not limited to:

• Black History Month
• Breast Cancer Awareness Month
• Valentine's Day

The winner, of course, gets the respect and adoration of everyone at Poetry Night for one whole night.
The stakes are high, so start writing.

Wishing NPS continued growth and success,
John Ellis



pics by priya:

Poem for Trevor

“Raconte-Moi” (Tell Me)

~a service piece, serving one of the NPS stars, Trevor, this poem comes to me when I listen to one of my favorite French songs

Tell me

Your life stories

Your unseen sorrow

Your dreams and despairs that only you and your buddies know

And perhaps

None of your buddies know

It’s still hidden quietly

At the secret garden of your innocence

Those who can enter

They bring you a rose

A miracle of love

Wise and young

Old and innocent

Cherished and adored

Kind and forever sweet

Your nature shines like the sun

Dimming the light

I saw the man you are meant to become

Even if the light is still dim

Around you

And it seems to be a bit too dim

For the star dusts that you carry in your pockets

It’s just a note

That you picked it up one day after a long day

It says

I know you

The magnificent child and the man to be

There is one thing more you need to know

And I am going to whisper this to the Universe

My beloved

Your essence is non-stoppable

The timeless piece that is You

Those of us who cherishes who you are

Will hold it gently in our hands

Nurturing every cell of yours

Until one day

Your truth comes

Majesty is your last name

Forget Not

-Priya Lin

10/13/2009 -- Contest Night

Everyone give it up to Meghan for another win in our monthly contests!

She's 2 for however many contests we've done.


It was a particularly good night, 10 readers in total, 3 entries into the contest. All of which were awesome entries. Tricia read a poignant poem about her arrival and impending departure from Pensacola. Dustin's piece was a satirical look at local politics and issues in the community. Meghan's entry was a composed and eloquent peer into the community of Pensacola from her perspective.

It's unfortunate there can only be one winner. Even the Applause-o-meter had trouble deciding who won.


Next, we need to start collecting poems for the book.
I've made a list of frequent contributors to poetry night.

Everyone on this list can have up to 3 poems in the book.
Try and submit in the format you want to see in the publication.
Any edits will be cleared with you, so don't worry.

Yes, you can still enter the contest.
I'd like you to submit these three poems you want to see in the book, ASAP.
Then, when contest time comes around,
just resubmit them with the additional two you need.


Of course, the official submission cut-off date is NOVEMBER 3RD.


Here's the official list of people who can ABSOLUTELY see publication:

• Trevor Warren Griffith
• Renaud
• Stijl Calhoun
• Meghan K
• Stefan Georgi
• John Fravel
• Quincy Hull
• Naja
• Nitin Advani
  
• Alex Robinson
• Barrett White
• Al Spyce
• Alex Borgella
• Iceis
• Tyler Cummings
• Derek Cosson
• Priya Lin
• David
• Tricia McSweeney
• Alex Colston
• Jimi
  

Everyone else will have to submit and see what happens.
This is not a favoritism thing.
This is a result of consistent participation in poetry night,
whether on the stage or listening and attending.

Otherwise, submit entries to anomicemail@gmail.com
or
hand them to me at POETRY NIGHT.

Here's our article!

A Place for Poets by Hana Frenette

10/08/2009 -- Poetry Night, Contest Announcements

We had a great night, once again. 12 readers, including myself, and the triumphant, tired return of Quincy Hull and Naja. They're here to stay, now. Let's welcome them to the family.

Anyway, we had plenty of announcements, so I'll jump right into the contest rules.



Now, folks, I know this is strange for our contests; however, keep in mind this is primarily due to keeping up with the theme for the publication. As you know, we're planning on releasing an anthology for our year anniversary called 'PS--Pensacola....'

So, for this reason, the contest's only guideline:
It must be titled or start with the line "PS--Pensacola".



Also, because of the nature of these next two contests, I decided to go ahead and announce them.


For our November Month, we have two separate contests. Yes, you can enter both.


1) All-Star Poetry Contest:

Five of your best poems (Including what you want to enter into the Anthology)

Turn in poems as you'd like to see them published.

Make two copies, one for the judges without your name on it; and, one with a cover sheet including your name, e-mail, address, phone number, and which contest(s) you entered.

DO NOT STAPLE THE JUDGE COPY AND PROOF COPY TOGETHER.

There are no other guidelines, but bare in mind--being thematic with your entries WILL ALWAYS benefit you.

Prize: Half of the pot of total entry fees into this contest, a free used book from OPEN BOOKS, a free copy of PS--Pensacola when it arrives, and all five of your poems will be published (As opposed to three)


2) Short Story Contest

Self Evident rules, really.

Word count:
min-500
max-1,500.

Make two copies of the story, as with the Poetry contest.
Except, double space the judges copy.
Include a cover sheet on the proof copy.
Do not include your name on the judge's copy.

Prize: Half of the pot of total entry fees into this contest, a free used book from OPEN BOOKS, a free copy of PS--Pensacola when it arrives, and your story will be published regardless of your contribution insofar as Poetry is concerned.


3) Enter the Contest!

Okay, I said on Tuesday that the November month contests will have an entry fee of $5. However, upon evaluation, I'm worried that we won't have enough people entering the contest. Aside from having fun, we're doing it to fund raise for the book.

So, I'm raising the entry fee to $10.00 per contest.

This means a bigger pay out for the winner and--hopefully--better production quality for the anthology.

So, I'd like to know if you're entering the contest. Please comment here or send me an e-mail.

You can turn in your entries any time before November 3rd.
Please turn in a Manila Envelope with all of your materials, including the entry fee.

This contest will be judged by outside sources with the appropriate credentials;
however, their names will be kept secret until we're done.

The winners will be announced on November 10th, just like a normal month.

As always, you can submit via e-mail to anomicemail@gmail.com, as long as you've formatted the document correctly and insured that you will pay the entry fee.