Exciting news for poetry month!!!

Local Gems Press and PoeTea, the Tea the Poets Drink are coming together for an exciting new anthology and promotion. 

Tea-Ku, Poems About Tea!!

We're looking for Haiku (Haikai) about Tea for an upcoming anthology! 

We're also going to be giving away (at least) 100 FREE samples of PoeTea, the Tea the Poets Drink! 

​

Send in up to 3 poems.
All poems should be Haiku (Haikai)
The theme is tea: drinking it, pouring it, growing it, enjoying it, tea as meditation, the benefits of tea, anything you can think of in appreciation of tea! 

[email protected] 

is the email address for submissions. 

​Deadline: April 20th

PoeTea Sample Give-Away! 

All those who send in their poetry to Tea-Ku, if a poem is accepted, win a free sample of PoeTea! 

Note: We apologize but due to customs situations at the moment, at this time, only those in the continental US are eligible for the giveaway. But poets from any location are allowed to submit to the anthology. 

Also, please check out

www.bardconvirtual.com 

For more writing prompts. workshops, readings and other poetic happenings during this time of crisis! 

Hey poets, and fans of Local Gems Press
We wanted to let you know about an exciting new project you can be a part of.
​
This upcoming year will be the 5th anniversary of The Poets' Almanac, the poetry prompt journal that many poets have taken a shine to. For the 5th year of this project, we wanted to fulfill what has become popular demand for a more permanent poetry prompt text, that talks about form, meter, rhyme, syllable stresses and the whole tool box for the ambitious poet. 

So for this book, we will be combining some of the favorite prompts with some new ones, and lots more.

So, how can you be a part of this? We need example poems to publish in this textbook!

Have you ever written a poem from one of the prompts in our prompt journals, or a Poets' Almanac of any year? We might consider it to be included in this book.

We can only take 1 or 2 examples for each prompt (or else this book will be huge) but there are plenty of prompts to choose from.

In the coming days and weeks we will be posting lists of prompts we are looking for example poems for. Please send them to

[email protected]

These are the following prompts and forms are ones we are looking for right now (though feel free to send any you have done from any of the prompts we have provided over the years, they will all at least be considered.) We will post more soon.
 
 
 
Confession Poem
List Poem
Dialogue Poem
Fibonnaci Poem
Ode to the Mundane
Obsolete Item Poem
Thank You Note
Nostalgia
History from the point of view of the loser
Gratitude
Alchemy
Prophecy
English Sonnet
Italian Sonnet
Limerick
Tanka
Haiku
Dodoitsu
Addiction
Reunion
15 Word Poem
1 Line Poem 

Confession is a strong word. 
What comes to mind when you hear it? 

Write a poem about a confession. It can be a confession you made, a confession to a priest, something you never want to confess, a legal confession, a confession made to you, something hard you had to tell someone once or any combination of the above. 

It can be a confession between you and the higher powers, or you might have your own inspiration from the word. 

​Use the word confession in the poem. 

Obsolete Item You Love

Sometimes we have a hard time letting go of things that the rest of the world has moved beyond, a VHS player, an old cell phone, a certain video game system, or something else.

​Write a poem about an obsolete item you still use and love. It can be any length and any style. 
​

Hello all you poets out there.

Happy Poetry Month 2018!

We’re all very excited for this year’s poetry month.
​The NaPoWriMo Chapbook contest is in full force with a record number of contest entries. 

The publishers of Local Gems Press will be going on tour this April, in MD, DE, NY and CT giving lectures and talks on poetry forms, and publishing.  More info on that to come! 
​
To help the many wonderful poets keep up with the 30 poems in 30 day challenge, Local Gems Press has a gift for you...
 
Below you will find this year’s FREE 30 Day Poetry Prompt Journal.

We have some really great prompts in this year’s edition of the prompt journal.

In the martial arts style known as Bagua, the numbers 64 and 8 make regular appearances--such as in the 64 hands form where there are 8 lines of 8 moves.
 
A Bagua poem applies this same principle consisting of 64 words with 8 lines of 8 words each. It should also consist of 2 stanzas of 4 lines each.
 
(For an extra challenge, try to make your Bagua poem have something to do with one of the 64 hexagrams of the I-Ching.)

This form was invented by Local Gems Press publisher James P. Wagner (Ishwa) who is both a Bagua practitioner and a poet. In his poem "Eight Palms of Bagua" you can see the poetic form as well as the fundamentals of the 8 walking palms of the martial art.



Eight Palms of Bagua

Heaven, father of all energies, swift as swords
Earth, the mother, stable, receptive, a magnetic center
Fire, all consuming, a deep center moving skyward
Water, changing, solid as ice, elusive as liquid.
 
Wind, gentle or forceful from above or below
Thunder, sudden and startling, rumbling sounds and vibrations
Lake, deep and hidden, a clear calm reflection
Mountain, internal and rooted stillness amidst endless turbulence.

~ James P. Wagner (Ishwa)

If you are interested in more poetry prompts....

Then enjoy this free 30 Day Poetry Prompt Journal!