Book and Bake Sale

W&I knows everyone loves books and baked goods. And if you’re anything like us, you like to multi-task and read while you eat (which admittedly results in a miniature mess. Don’t judge us for who we are.)

We invite you to our Book and Bake Sale on November 14th from 10 am – 2pm in the lobby of the Luther Bonny building on USM’s Portland campus.
We’ll send you on your way with delicious baked goods and a book or two. We’re selling used books for a suggested donation of $3 a pop, as well as current issues of the journal (for a reduced $15) and back issues for a suggested donation of… whatever you’d like to give us. Come ask us questions about our contests, or just get to know us.

 

There will be snacks!

 

The Autumn English Major Social

Sorry folks, this one is for University of Southern Maine English majors only!
It’s time for the English Major Social. Our understanding is that there will be free food and your favorite faculty members. See you there!

O’Brien Poetry Workshop and Reading: Brigit Pegeen Kelly

Poet Brigit Pegeen Kelly will be visiting the University of Southern Maine next Friday, November 4 as part of our O’Brien poetry series.

A Q&A Session is being held on the 7th floor
of the Glickman Library from 2-3 PM

The reading will take place shortly after in the University Events Room, also located on the 7th floor of the Glickman Library at 4PM.

All are welcome  to this event and we encourage you to come hear Kelly read and answer your questions.

Don’t know much about Kelly? Now you do.

The 2012 Contests Are Here!

We just updated our contest pages today, so have a look at them -

The Andre Dubus Award 2012        The Betsy Sholl Award 2012

Lily King has generously donated her time to judging The Andre Dubus Award this year.

The Betsy Sholl Award will be judged by the University of Southern Maine’s Professors Nancy Gish and Shelton Waldrep.

Winners receive publication, the opportunity to read at our Spring release party, and prize money relative to the pages of their entry. Time’s ticking away, so click the links and submit your work!

Introductions, Part I

W&I thinks it’s nice to know that the people you send your work to are real, live, flesh and blood humans. That’s why we’d like to officially introduce ourselves. Hello, we’re Words & Images. It sure is nice to meet you!

Caroline O’Connor Thomas, Publishing Director/Poetry Director

…is a senior at USM and this is her third year working with the journal, previous duties including poetry editing, event planning and Assistant Director. She likes to be abroad, poetry that makes you want to cheer (such as Tony Hoagland, Kay Ryan, Elizabeth Bishop etc.,) Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock and being surrounded by trees, water and animals. Phase One after college is to move on to an MFA program to study poetry. If Phase One goes according to plan, Phase Two is to lead the glamorous life of an adjunct faculty at any school that will have her, or starve. There is no Phase Three… Yet.

Michael Frier, Assistant Director/Fiction Director

…is graduating from USM this year with a degree in English. Hobbies (time allowing) include acting, piano, Muay Thai kickboxing, aerial dance, lemurs, hiking Mt. Katahdin, and any Mario game. He is very bad at Wii Tennis and dislikes eels. He is a raving Detroit Lions fan (because he grew up that way) and has been very happy this fall. Michael is from Camden, Maine, where he spent his younger years reading fantasy novels and pretending to be either Barry Sanders or Batman. His dream is to write novels, teach fiction writing, and one day bowl higher than a 200.

Contest Announcement!

Words & Images would like to announce a contest open exclusively to USM students, The Dos Cosas Award.

“Dos Cosas” is Spanish for “two things.” Why two things, you ask? And why in Spanish – considering we’re in Maine and none of our staff speak Spanish?: “Maybe all literature is just two things banging together. Characters banging against settings; dialogue banging against secondary action; similies banging against alliteration; memory banging against the present moment.  …All writing should hold a contradiction. Of course, those aforementioned pairs aren’t really contradictions. But man oh man, a contradiction surely must consist of two things.”
-Benjamin Rybeck, Publishing Director 2009

And Spanish sounds more fun. Though “Deux Choses” has a certain allure as well…

So here it is: Submit up to five poems or a short fiction piece of less than 5,000 words by December 1st. The winner, selected by a panel of peer judges will receive $500 dollars for their outstanding work and an opportunity to read their piece at the Words & Images 2012 journal release party.

There is no contest entry fee, but we must reiterate – this contest is only for USM students. Send your submissions to the appropriate e-mail addresses and make sure to indicate your piece is for the Dos Cosas Award.

wordsandimagespoetry @ gmail.com
wordsandimagesprose @ gmail.com

Recommended Reading

Labor Day is great! It’s like an extra Sunday for continual indulgence in extra sleep, pleasure reading and brunch. Unless of course, you are a food service worker, retail slave, shop girl/boy, taxi driver or, you just hate free time for some reason.

Here’s what we had fun reading this Labor Day:
Welcome to the Library! A fun little piece from everyone’s favorite McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. (P.S. – Show your library some love.)

Outremer, by Fanny Howe. It’s a fabulous and solid piece of prose. What else would you expect from Poetry Magazine?

Buying W&I 2011, A Guide, Part I

Did you know you can find the latest edition of Words and Images in bookstores far and wide?

In Albany, NY, Words and Images may be purchased at the locally-run independent bookstore The Book House. You may also find the journal in The Book House’s sister store in Troy, NY – Market Block Books.

Here in Maine, you may purchase your very own, shiny and new copy of Words and Images at USM’s Bookstore, as well as one of our favorite shops in downtown Portland, Longfellow Books.

So maybe it’s less far and wide, and more centered around New England – but if you’d like to see Words and Images in a bookstore closer to you, send us a message and we’ll do our best to get it out there.

We’re Hiring!

Dear USM Students,

Words & Images is currently looking for a whole lotta staff. We’re talking about people who are passionate about literature and art. All kinds of literature and art, not just literature and art with a capital “L” and “A.” And we offer work study. Can you imagine getting paid for reading and then having your opinion on said reading amount to something more than just your opinion? If it sounds like heaven to you too, then look no further.

In addition to art editors, poetry editors and fiction readers, we’re in need of people who have strong organizational skills and an interest in promoting Words & Images events.

Hours are quite flexible, though we will have mandatory staff meetings 1-2 times per month.

E-mail caroline.oconnorthomasATmaine.edu (or simply reply in the comments) with your name, year at USM, which position interests you most and what you like to read. We’ll be in touch soon!

 

 

Submissions for Words and Images 2012

…Open on August 1st! ALL are welcome to submit and we hope to see a lot of submissions from USM writers.

We have some guidelines set out, as well as where to send your work all listed right here.

Stay tuned for details on this years fiction/poetry contest, which will be a revival of the Dos Cosas Award, which first appeared in our 2009 issue.