ANNOUNCEMENT: The William Wantling Prize for Poetry –  Sponsored by Poet John D. Robinson

by Henry Stanton
From John D Robinson:
William Wantling: 1933 – 1974 was an ex-Marine and an ex-convict. He was addicted to drugs and alcohol. He also was in possession of a unique literary/poetic genius: even now, 45 years later, his work resounds with an often disturbing and lyrical beauty. Life’s events are mirrored in his poems. He takes you into a world that is terrifying but also is full of moments of tenderness. The poems convey a deep sense of compassion and humanity and openness. They offer a glimpse into the poet’s vulnerabilities as a flawed human being and as a unique poetic voice.
As Judge of the William Wantling Prize for Poetry, John D. Robinson will be looking for poems that exhibit the lyrical beauty and tenderness, honesty and openness often found in Wantling’s poetry.

FEATURED POET: James Walton

by Henry Stanton

(CLICK HERE TO READ  MORE OF JAMES’ POETRY)

Letter to Lois

I’ve experienced falling
but never in such a tumble

twirling like a tin can

I wanted to tell you
without the safety
of a cloak’s heightened perspective

how much I love
your human fragility

the joy in a wind chime

to feel the scissor depth of an ending
the gothic pages of ink

newsprint wrapping a bouquet

the short speech of balloons
a stagey mess of comic action figurines

tell Jimmy my favourite one
is still you and me in mufti
holding out our Press cards
the ill-fitting fake lenses
my gin to your tonic

and I’m now way past
the speed of time’s sight
where our shape has no dimension
holding on to this cobalt krypto rock
because I don’t want the super power

of living without you forever.

ANNOUNCEMENT : BOOK SELECTION

by Henry Stanton

John D. Robinson – Hang in There

Uncollected Press, the publisher of The Raw Art Review, has selected John D. Robinson’s book Hang in There for the first book publication project in 2019.  UCP is very excited to have the opportunity to present John’s beautiful, powerful, deeply illuminating and often devastating poems in full book form.  Please see RAR’s featured poet page for John (link below) to get a preview of John’s poetry, to see John’s BIO and to find links to buy his previously published books.

FEATURED POET: JOHN D. ROBINSON (click)

Winners: RAR Winter Cover Art Contest

by Henry Stanton

WINNER:
Chess Player Suddenly Distracted, by Dave Sims

Dave Sims After 30+ years of teaching in colleges, universities, military bases, and prisons from Alaska to Louisiana, Dave Sims retired to the mountains of central Pennsylvania where he now dwells and creates. His most recent comix appear in Gigantic Sequins, The Nashville Review, Talking Writing, and Freeze Ray. He can be reached at tincansims@gmail.com.

 

 

RUNNER-UP:
Backyard Familiar #5, by Mason Bondi

17F73476-7643-4C05-8077-3D826F916006

Mason Bondi is a California based painter working in a studio in San Rafael. His work explores the familiar people in his life in familiar places. Mason overlays these images with what he sees within the individual – expressing these feelings via color and form.

 

 

RUNNER-UP:
Mother’s Rain, by J. Ray Paradiso

MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA

J. Ray Paradiso – A confessed outsider, Chicago’s J. Ray Paradiso is a recovering academic in the process of refreshing himself as an EXperiMENTAL writer and street photographer. His work has appeared in dozens of publications including Big Pond Rumors, Storgy and Typishly. Equipped with graduate cRaZy quilt degrees in both Business Administration and Philosophy, he labors to fill temporal-spatial, psycho-social holes and, on good days, to enjoy the flow. All of his work is dedicated to his true love, sweet muse and body guard: Suzi Skoski Wosker Doski.

The Awakening, by William Wantling

by Henry Stanton
 I found the bee as it fumbled about the ground
Its leg mangled, its wing torn, its sting gone
I picked it up, marveled at its insistence
to continue on, despite the dumb brute thing that had occurred
I considered, remembered the fatal struggle
the agony on the face of wounded friends and the same dumb drive to continue
I became angry at the unfair conflict suffered
by will and organism
I became just, I became unreasoned, I became
extravagant
I observed the bee, there, lying in my palm I looked and I commanded in a harsh and angry shout – 
STOP THAT! Then it ceased to struggle, and somehow suddenly became marvelously whole, and it a rose and it flew away
I stared, I was appalled, I was overwhelmed
with responsibility, and I knew not where to begin