Cheryl Caesar's Blog, page 4
August 27, 2020
An elegy for Singapore, Michigan
Thanks to Silver Birch Press for so beautifully contextualizing this poem! https://silverbirchpress.wordpress.co...
August 26, 2020
Poetry in the Bar
Join me with Helen and Gavin Broom for the Eaton Rapids feature, Poetry in the Bar! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
August 11, 2020
"Thanks"
Thanks to Doc at Entropy2.com for publishing my 100-word story, "Thanks." http://entropy2.com/blogs/100words/20...
August 10, 2020
August 9, 2020
Flatman review by Erin Hamlin
Flatman: Poems of Protest in the Trump EraThanks, Erin!
This collection of poetry is delightfully cathartic. Caesar takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to serious issues involving the 45th President of the United States that allow the reader to find humor in an otherwise depressing topic. Some poems are playfully tempoed after familiar tunes (“You’re a Genius, Mr. Trump!” to the tune of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”) and childhood literature adding a refreshing touch of whimsy to the collection, (“Where the Dem Things Are” to the tempo of “Where the Wild Things Are”). While the nation seems to consistently erupt in chaos, Flatman is a humorous accompaniment to the headlines that would be hilarious satire, if only they were actually “fake news” instead of legitimate stories of true events. Other poems, such as “Children Draw Themselves” highlight the inexcusable acts executed under the current administration. Flatman is a psychological and emotional look into the trainwreck that is our president. I would recommend this collection to anyone who has just had enough with the nonsense coming from Washington D.C. and needs a good laugh to keep from crying.Flatman: Poems of Protest in the Trump Era
This collection of poetry is delightfully cathartic. Caesar takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to serious issues involving the 45th President of the United States that allow the reader to find humor in an otherwise depressing topic. Some poems are playfully tempoed after familiar tunes (“You’re a Genius, Mr. Trump!” to the tune of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”) and childhood literature adding a refreshing touch of whimsy to the collection, (“Where the Dem Things Are” to the tempo of “Where the Wild Things Are”). While the nation seems to consistently erupt in chaos, Flatman is a humorous accompaniment to the headlines that would be hilarious satire, if only they were actually “fake news” instead of legitimate stories of true events. Other poems, such as “Children Draw Themselves” highlight the inexcusable acts executed under the current administration. Flatman is a psychological and emotional look into the trainwreck that is our president. I would recommend this collection to anyone who has just had enough with the nonsense coming from Washington D.C. and needs a good laugh to keep from crying.Flatman: Poems of Protest in the Trump Era
August 8, 2020
Global Poemic publishes "Planting"
Thanks to Global Poemic for publishing my COVID poem "Planting," with a wonderful illustration by ninth-grader Varada JM.
https://globalpoemic.wordpress.com/20...
https://globalpoemic.wordpress.com/20...
August 7, 2020
August 6, 2020
One with the Mountain
This anthology compiled by Children, Churches & Daddies will feature my protest poem, "Please Get Up." Check it out! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08D4P9F2D/...
ISBN-13: 979-8666301678
ASIN: B08D4P9F2D
ISBN-13: 979-8666301678
ASIN: B08D4P9F2D
August 5, 2020
Join the Annual Conference of the Michigan College English Association!
We welcome current and former college (and high-school) teachers, independent scholars and authors. Registration fees are minimal, and you don't need to be from Michigan!
https://michigancea.org/
Call for Papers: Michigan College English Association Conference
Saturday, October 17 & Sunday, October 18, 2020
Theme: Coping with Change
Guest Speaker & Workshop Facilitator: Laura Apol, Lansing poet laureate
Location: on-line, through Zoom (as hosted by Michigan State University writing faculty)
Since our last conference in October 2019, COVID-19 has struck, changing our lives and disproportionately affecting people of color. Then there was the killing of George Floyd, which catalyzed nationwide protests and shed light on systemic racism and practices of police brutality. As we move forward into uncertain times, questions emerge about how both COVID-19 and recent racist incidents have impacted our lives as writers, teachers, and scholars. What kinds of fall classes do we now face, and how might we teach them? How can we best support our students, especially those of color, and others adversely affected by the virus? How might we incorporate anti-racist pedagogies and stances into our teaching and writing? What forms of teaching—on-line, hybrid, face-to-face, synchronous, asynchronous—are we being asked to do, and what kind of support are we receiving? How have more precarious forms of academic labor been impacted? How are we writing about our lives as we “shelter in place”? How has the pandemic disrupted our research, or in some cases, created new opportunities? How are such themes depicted in the books that we read, study, and/or teach, the poems and stories we write? How does literature or critical theory provide the language or catalysts for us to conceptualize new ways of surviving, of coping, of re-making ourselves to meet the needs of this moment?
The Michigan College English Association invites proposals for individual papers and for complete panels for our Fall 2020 Conference. We welcome proposals from experienced academics, young scholars, and graduate students. We encourage a variety of papers, including pedagogical work, scholarly essays, creative writing, as well as workshops, crafting circles, and other activity-directed sessions.
Here are some possible areas for presentations:
fiction, poetry, drama, creative non-fiction professional expectations/evaluation/assessment
classroom management
teaching composition, literature, linguistics
preparing students for the work world
English departments and our society
curriculum development
the creative process
computer or on-line instruction union/administration differences
race, class, and gender studies
film studies
literacy
textual analysis
Format: We will Zoom the conference starting Saturday morning, and continuing through Sunday afternoon, holding no more than one such meeting per session (i.e., 10-11:30, 1-2:30, and 3-4:30). To recognize the reality of “Zoom fatigue” and to engender robust discussion, we will ask presenters to limit their talks to no more than 12 minutes. Zoom links and passwords to each section will be provided in the on-line conference program.
Guest Speaker: Lansing poet laureate and MSU professor Laura Apol will open up the conference Saturday morning with an on-line poetry workshop; all registered conference participants are invited to attend, and then share their resulting work at the conference poetry reading to be held Sunday night. Dr. Apol will preface Sunday’s reading by sharing her thoughts about the challenge of writing and teaching poetry, along with being poet laureate, in the middle of a global pandemic.
Conference proposals are due by October 1, 2020. Early submissions are welcome. Please send your name, university affiliation, e-mail address, AV requests, time/day preference, and a 200-word abstract or sample of creative writing to Ilse Schweitzer and Curtis VanDonkelaar, Program Chairs, via email at schwei53@msu.edu and vandonkc@msu.edu . To submit a panel proposal, please include the information for all members (4 maximum participants) in the same proposal.
Topic Tags: call for papers, Michigan College English Association, conference, Coping, Change, Pandemic, COVID-19
https://michigancea.org/
Call for Papers: Michigan College English Association Conference
Saturday, October 17 & Sunday, October 18, 2020
Theme: Coping with Change
Guest Speaker & Workshop Facilitator: Laura Apol, Lansing poet laureate
Location: on-line, through Zoom (as hosted by Michigan State University writing faculty)
Since our last conference in October 2019, COVID-19 has struck, changing our lives and disproportionately affecting people of color. Then there was the killing of George Floyd, which catalyzed nationwide protests and shed light on systemic racism and practices of police brutality. As we move forward into uncertain times, questions emerge about how both COVID-19 and recent racist incidents have impacted our lives as writers, teachers, and scholars. What kinds of fall classes do we now face, and how might we teach them? How can we best support our students, especially those of color, and others adversely affected by the virus? How might we incorporate anti-racist pedagogies and stances into our teaching and writing? What forms of teaching—on-line, hybrid, face-to-face, synchronous, asynchronous—are we being asked to do, and what kind of support are we receiving? How have more precarious forms of academic labor been impacted? How are we writing about our lives as we “shelter in place”? How has the pandemic disrupted our research, or in some cases, created new opportunities? How are such themes depicted in the books that we read, study, and/or teach, the poems and stories we write? How does literature or critical theory provide the language or catalysts for us to conceptualize new ways of surviving, of coping, of re-making ourselves to meet the needs of this moment?
The Michigan College English Association invites proposals for individual papers and for complete panels for our Fall 2020 Conference. We welcome proposals from experienced academics, young scholars, and graduate students. We encourage a variety of papers, including pedagogical work, scholarly essays, creative writing, as well as workshops, crafting circles, and other activity-directed sessions.
Here are some possible areas for presentations:
fiction, poetry, drama, creative non-fiction professional expectations/evaluation/assessment
classroom management
teaching composition, literature, linguistics
preparing students for the work world
English departments and our society
curriculum development
the creative process
computer or on-line instruction union/administration differences
race, class, and gender studies
film studies
literacy
textual analysis
Format: We will Zoom the conference starting Saturday morning, and continuing through Sunday afternoon, holding no more than one such meeting per session (i.e., 10-11:30, 1-2:30, and 3-4:30). To recognize the reality of “Zoom fatigue” and to engender robust discussion, we will ask presenters to limit their talks to no more than 12 minutes. Zoom links and passwords to each section will be provided in the on-line conference program.
Guest Speaker: Lansing poet laureate and MSU professor Laura Apol will open up the conference Saturday morning with an on-line poetry workshop; all registered conference participants are invited to attend, and then share their resulting work at the conference poetry reading to be held Sunday night. Dr. Apol will preface Sunday’s reading by sharing her thoughts about the challenge of writing and teaching poetry, along with being poet laureate, in the middle of a global pandemic.
Conference proposals are due by October 1, 2020. Early submissions are welcome. Please send your name, university affiliation, e-mail address, AV requests, time/day preference, and a 200-word abstract or sample of creative writing to Ilse Schweitzer and Curtis VanDonkelaar, Program Chairs, via email at schwei53@msu.edu and vandonkc@msu.edu . To submit a panel proposal, please include the information for all members (4 maximum participants) in the same proposal.
Topic Tags: call for papers, Michigan College English Association, conference, Coping, Change, Pandemic, COVID-19
August 4, 2020
Wednesday Night Poetry
Do you know this group? They've been reading every Wednesday since 1989. They're based in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and since the pandemic shutdown, they're on Facebook, with readers from around the world. Join the on 5 August 2020 and hear featured poets Siaara Freeman, Nichole Gauthier-Acosta, Tina Mozelle Braziel, and Noah Falck. Just click the Facebook link any time after 8 PM EST.
https://www.facebook.com/WednesdayNig...
I'll be reading the title poem from my chapbook Flatman, with illustrations!
Flatman: Poems of Protest in the Trump Era
I hope to see you there! Cheryl
https://www.facebook.com/WednesdayNig...
I'll be reading the title poem from my chapbook Flatman, with illustrations!
Flatman: Poems of Protest in the Trump Era
I hope to see you there! Cheryl
