Category: Archive

For kids of many generations, Nancy Drew mysteries by Carolyn Keene hooked them on reading. Whenever a new book came out, the local bookstore (and there were several independent! bookstores in my neighbourhood!) would sell out very quickly, as young readers couldn’t wait fo the puzzle their favourite sleuth would unravel.

Garnett is pleased that Silver Birch Press of California chose her erasure poem “With original mystery” for the anthology, published on October 1. This poem extracts words from titles of Nancy Drew books in the order they appeared on the the page preceding the inside title page of “The Hidden Staircase,” published in 1930 and reprinted in 1995. The poem and the page showing the erasure appear in the collection.

Copies of the anthology will be available through the publisher and from Amazon.com. The publisher’s price per volume is $15. Here’s the link to Silver Birch Press’s release:

New Release: NANCY DREW ANTHOLOGY

Garnett’s second poem arising from Nancy Drew sources will be posted on her own website. “Siren” This uses bon-contiguous phrases, taken unaltered from”Nancy Drew: The Secret of Mirror Bay,” published in 1972.

JC is delighted “Scales” received an Honorable Mention and will appear in the upcoming “Loves Lies Bleeding” anthology from The Ontario Poetry Society (TOPS).

“I have found it difficult to sustain my equilibrium and my writing practice during the pandemic years and the upheavals in Canada and elsewhere. Although the poem begins with a dream, it moves on from that experience to my everyday reality: how current events weigh upon me in a debilitating way and force me to create a refuge of sorts,” JC explained.

“I thank the judges and TOPS for including “Scales” in the anthology and for giving the poem this award.”

FRAMED & FAMILIAR: 101 PORTRAITS, is an international anthology of poetry and photography just published as an e-book by Hidden Brooks Press.

The collection features two of JC’s poems. Here’s a link to the book and to her poems:
“Long playing” (page 174) and “Self, imagery” (page 175.)

https://issuu.com/richardgrove1/stacks/40131a9b3e1d42b8b4a0b829dc08ec2e

“I am delighted that Poetry Editor Antony Di Nardo chose to include my work in this stunning anthology. Among such fine words and images, my poems are in good company, indeed,” JC noted.

JC’s memory of a dream prompted her to write “Sleep, hiding” which is rooted in her experience during the first year of the pandemic. She is delighted that Public Poetry (Houston, Texas) and Director Fran Sanders chose this poem as a finalist and included it in PANDEMIC POEMS, their new anthology, now available for purchase.

Public Poetry hosted a lively online launch featuring several poets reading from the new anthology on July 7, 2022.

“What struck me is how amazing it is to be ‘in the room’ with poets and poetry lovers from across the United States, to have the opportunity to hear the poems featured in Public Poetry’s new anthology read aloud, and also to share with that community thoughts and work that are memorable.”

JC was happy to receive comments and feedback on her use of the cento form after she read her cento in memoriam Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg as her second poem of the evening.

Here’s the link for a way to purchase Public Poetry’s new collection:

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1087992478/ref=ox_sc_act_image_2?smid=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB&psc=1

BRICOLAGE, A GATHERING OF CENTOS, is JC’s most recent poetry book, published by Aeolus House in 2021 under her pseudonym A. Garnett Weiss. The collection was a finalist for the 2022 Fred Kerner Book Award from the Canadian Authors Association. https://canadianauthors.org/national/fred-kerner-book-awards-2022-winner-and-shortlist/

Copies of BRICOLAGE are available from Octopus Books (Ottawa, Ontario), Books & Company (Picton, Ontario) and from bricolage.weiss@gmail.com

Poetry Super Highway Editor and Publisher Rick Lupert released the 24th annual Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) issue for Thursday, April 28.

JC is honoured to have her poem “Panorama” appear in the issue which features the work of 104 poets from around the world. “Panorama” first appeared in the Canadian Jewish News and then in JC’s debut poetry collection, SOUTH SHORE SUITE…POEMS from Point Petre Publishing in 2017.

Here is the link to access this special issue on the Poetry Super Highway site: https://www.poetrysuperhighway.com/psh/24th-annual-yom-hashoah-holocaust-remembrance-day-poetry-issue/

Host Lynn Pickering embraces National Poetry Month by dedicating the April 10 broadcast of THE COUNTY WRITES…THE COUNTY READS to that celebration with a fine lineup of poets, including JC.

The program includes a segment originally taped around the launch of JC’s collection of centos, BRICOLAGE, written under her pseudonym A. Garnett Weiss. JC invites listeners to a poetry reading on the theme of Intimacy and Hope. Convened by publisher Allan Briesmaster, the event will feature eight poets published by his Aeolus House. To receive an invitation to the live-streamed April 25 event at 7:30 PM EDT, just email allan@aeolushouse.com.

Here’s a link the radio station’s post with information on the show tomorrow. Tune in and hear local poets and personalities read Purdy and their own poetry. The program begins after the noon news and runs until 1:00 PM EDT.

https://www.facebook.com/993CountyFM

Publisher Allan Briesmaster of Aeolus House welcomed a great audience to hear eight authors read from their recent books of poetry. JC, reading as A. Garnett Weiss, the pseudonym she uses for centos and other found poetry, chose 4 poems from BRICOLAGE and unveiled 3 centos written since the collection came out last summer. Many people stayed for the lively question-and-answer session which ended the evening.

“It was both an honour and a privilege for me to participate in this National Poetry Month celebration of fine poetry. I am grateful to Allan and to the League of Canadian Poets for making the event possible. I was delighted with how many of my friends and colleagues were able to attend. Great to ‘see’ them there.”

Signed copies of BRICOLAGE at $18 each are available from: bricolage.weiss@gmail.com, and from Octopus Books in Ottawa, octopusbooks.ca and Books and Company in Picton, www.pictonbookstore.com

JC Sulzenko is delighted that California-based Silver Birch Press chose her poem as a New Year’s Eve toast in its current series on Thoughts About the Earth/Healing the Earth. Here’s the link to the post:

https://silverbirchpress.wordpress.com/2021/12/31/splendid-terms-by-a-garnett-weiss-thoughts-about-the-earth-series/

Written under JC’s pseudonym, A. Garnett Weiss, the poem draws individual words from death notices and obituary articles which appeared in the April 20, 2017, Toronto GLOBE AND MAIL. The piece is one of a full collection of such five-line poems now in development. “Splendid terms” also featured in the Poetry Leaves 2020 project (Waterford Township Public Library).

BOXING DAY COLOURS

Three black pigeons found solace

in the too-warm puddles

They alone had not dreamt of a white Christmas

Did not regret the grim, gray slush

that bequeathed lines of salt to new leather boots

still stiff from packages, now crushed and

stuffed along with blue reindeer wrapping

and rivers of silver ribbon

into bulging green garbage bags

at the curb

of a new year

Here’s the link to JC’s poem, “How to find your voice,” in the current series offered by California-based Silver Birch Press (SBP).

How to find your voice by JC Sulzenko (HOW TO Series)

“I took a quasi prose poem approach in this topic,” JC explained. “I love singing and had confidence in my strong voice and ability to sing on key. It came as a nasty surprise when I heard a melody in my head but couldn’t get the song out.

“This SBP series offered me the ideal opportunity to look at why and how I had come to this tuneless place. And to share how I dealt with it.

“Joining an online chapter of the choir Shout Sister gives me the chance to rediscover what I had mislaid. Even when we can return to in person practices, I hope virtual, weekly sessions will continue. I’m loving every moment.

“Thank you, SBP Editor Melanie Villines for featuring “How to find your voice” in this eclectic series and for selecting the beautiful Mary Cassatt portrait to accompany its publication.”