CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
“To be sensual, I think, is to respect and rejoice in the force of life, of life itself, and to be present in all that one does, from the effort of loving to the making of bread”
– James A. Baldwin
“Cleopatra, queen of Egypt in the 1st century B.C., was widely renowned for her sexual skills. It wasn’t even particularly scandalous, but quite fitting with the prevalent mores. In addition to being queen, Cleopatra was the High Priestess of Aset, which is another name for the goddess Isis. ”
This volume aims at celebrating human passion in all its multifaceted manifestations, bringing forward – creatively – sentiments that affirm love in its many different forms.
It is an attempt at exalting the virtues of beauty in both women and men, and the vital importance of pursuing free, unconstrained love and its physical and meta-physical pleasures.
The topics a poetry book can explore are virtually countless: from the redefinition of “western-centred” standards of beauty, to the significance of mind attraction; from an appreciation of homo- and bisexuality, to the shaping of gods and goddesses’ radiant forms within one’s individual “love cosmology”; to the appearances of the men and women one loves (or longs for).
Even though much of erotic poetry (and literature) deals with physical beauty, contributors are invited to redefine the canon by suggesting new concepts about love in general. The bottom-line is that all poems submitted must emphasize the magnitude, the gracefulness, as well as the healing and liberating power of love, in its sensual and/or spiritual incarnations.
This anthology aims at offering a platform to interrogate, imaginatively, love and sexuality(ies) in a context of absolute creative freedom: in fact, when it unfolds at liberty in all its infinite potential, human affection transcends every possible obstacle and demystifies all stereotyped views on what “true” or “natural” love and eroticism should be.
As writers, poets, songwriters and wordsmiths we feel that the most exciting way to express the infinitude of this potential is through words: words that flow into melodies of ardent passion, lust, sensuality and spiritual complicity.
The editors:
Dr. Raphael d’abdon
Myesha Jenkins
Natalia Molebatsi
Notes for contributions
Poems submitted must be original contributions and not be under consideration for any other publication at the same time. Contributions must be typed in font Times New Roman, 12 pt, single line spacing. Each contributor can submit maximum 3 (three) poems. Poems must be submitted in English.
Each contribution must also include: contact details (email address and phone number); a jpeg picture of the author; a 5 (five) lines (maximum) biographical note. If the poems submitted have been previously published in journals, magazines, volumes, etc., the contributor must include the full bibliographical references of the previous publication in a footnote at the bottom of the page.
Example:
Author: Lodi Matsetela
Title of the poem: “He strums – 340 ml”*
Footnote: *Previously published in: d’Abdon, R. (ed.), I nostri semi – Peo tsa rona. Poeti sudafricani del post-apartheid, Mangrovie, Napoli, 2007, pp. 222-227.
Contributions must be sent as an attachment to raphael_all@yahoo.it with the head title: “Submission for erotic poetry anthology”. The deadline for submissions is 31 October 2010. Contributions which do not adhere to the above listed requirements will not be considered for publication.
More information here.
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