WOULD YOU LIKE TO TRADE/SHARE HOLIDAY CARDS THROUGH POETRY?

I genuinely love the Holiday season. So I’m pleased to share pictures below of the first snailmail that arrived in response to my offer to exchange Holiday cards—any holiday, as long as the card includes a poem. This came from Leny Strobel—what a lovely offering of “Qi Gong Hay(na)ku.” THANK YOU, Leny!

And if you wish to trade, here’s my original Notice:

HOLIDAY GREETINGS. I'm looking to trade holiday greetings by exchanging cards--holiday is not limited to Christmas. But cards must include a poem (handwritten fine), whether yours or someone else's. Here's my address. If you send me one, I'll send you something too. 

Eileen Tabios
P.O. Box 361
Saint Helena, CA 94574

Here is Leny's very smart hay(na)ku blossoms:

(Click on images to enlarge)

MINITAGE EDITIONS -- A NEW MINIATURE BOOK PUBLISHER!

I'm delighted to announce a new publishing initiative, Minitage Editions, an imprint of Meritage Press to publish miniature books. You are invited to click on link to see our first three letterpress releases, all sized at 3 x 3 inches. For both a Special Release Offer and Holiday Special -- they are perfect gifts, especially to encourage children to write poetry the way 2 of the 3 authors do -- a normative-size poetry book will accompany each order. Also great for book collectors. Go HERE for more information on

shadow
by Malaya Lanikai de Jesús-Tinsman (age 8)
Letterpress, accordion style, handprinted from polymer plates on Stonehenge paper & covered by Nepali paper by Melinda Luisa de Jesús. Size: 3" x 3"
Price: $25.00

SPAM
by Stinson Zacarias de Jesús-Tinsman (age 13)
Letterpress, accordion style, handprinted from polymer plates on Stonehenge paper & covered by Nepali paper by Melinda Luisa de Jesús. Size: 3" x 3"
Price: $25.00

MANGOES
with text by Melinda Luisa de Jesús and drawings by Malaya Lanikai de Jesús-Tinsman
Letterpress, accordion style, handprinted from polymer plates on Stonehenge paper & covered by Nepali paper by Melinda Luisa de Jesús. Size: 3" x 3"
Price: $25.00

Here are Minitage Editions' inaugural authors -- or, rather, two of the three as the third, Mom Melinda, is taking the photo-- 8-year-old Malaya and 13-year-old Stinson:

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(Hi Tom Beckett--you inspired the term "Minitage Editions" with your miniature book, The Chairman. THANKS!)

GALATEA RESURRECTS FOREVER!

As the year approaches its end, I've had to make the final decision. Galatea Resurrects' sabbatical will become permanent (http://grarchives.blogspot.com)--I think that Galatea R. has had its moment under the sun. And, actually, that project lasted years longer than I anticipated it would. So, I thank all the volunteer reviewers and authors and publishers who've participated in this idealistic endeavor--the reviews will be available for as long as the internet exists at http://galatearesurrects.blogspot.com We are extremely proud of Galatea R.'s unique ability to spotlight independent presses where we personally feel much of the advanced forms of poetry thrive.

As well, stellar editor John Bloomberg-Rissman and I had been preparing an encyclopedia-length Selected version of Galatea Resurrects. We've both agreed to defer the project--a print version simply is antithetical to the freeloading (pun intended) spirit of Galatea who wants open access to its engagements. So let its reviews/engagements/poetry remain in the cloud versus land on land. Let the trees remain on land.

Trees surround the real-life Galatea on earth. And it bears a house stuffed with books of poetry--all of which has been or will be read. May that thought gladden your day.

SERGE GAVRONSKY ON "IN-TER-WO-VEN," AN EXHIBIT BY MIRIAM BLOOM AND RON MOROSAN

I was delighted to write the essay for Miriam Bloom's and Ron Morosan's "IN-TER-WO-VEN" joint retrospective exhibition. If you would like a copy of that catalogue, you can contact Westwood Gallery where the exhibit is ongoing through to Nov. 16, 2019. You also can see exhibit images by clicking on the link, though I'm delighted to present the following art (click on all images to enlarge):

Drawing by Ron Morosan 

"Clouds and Sand" by Miriam Bloom, 50 inches high 

 "Hall of Art" by Ron Morosan, oil and acrylic on canvas, 80 x 70 inches

"The Open," a joint and site-specific installation by Miriam Bloom and Ron Morosan

I'm also delighted to present a poem written by Guggenheim awardee Serge Gavronsky. Serge Gavronsky wrote his poem in response to Miriam's and Ron's exhibition; a bio is presented beneath his poem:

Click on all images to enlarge

 
 
 
 

REVIEWED, AND IT'S ALL DESSERT!

Halo-Halo

Today the 8^th issue of The Halo-Halo Review is fresh!  I’m happy to share the first review of The In(tervention of the Hay(na)ku by self-described “emerging critical scholar” Maileen Dumelod Hamto. You can see her review HERE but here’s an excerpt that of course makes me sniffle:

“Poetry rules are sometimes made to be broken,” Tabios writes. At its core, the Hay(na)ku is liberatory and emancipatory, similar in magnitude to the genius of Black American inventors and innovators in literature, music and other creative pursuits. By developing the Hay(na)ku, Tabios invited her contemporaries to define FilAm, U.S.-born-and-bred poetry from brown-skinned Filipinos, to cease conformity with white supremacist notions of “goodness” in art and the expectation of appeasing the tyranny of literary gatekeepers in order to be validated. 

As an emerging critical scholar, I ask these questions: who determines the importance and significance of a word? In a literary form where every word counts, who is doing the counting? Poetic constructs are defined by rules established by dead white men. Tabios, as a decolonizing poet, takes self-determination to a whole other level by creating her own, devising a forward-looking FilAm/Pinoy literary identity that is concurrently sophisticated and approachable.

I’m also happy that several of my edited projects got reviews:

“HUMANITY, Vol. 1 edited by Eileen R. Tabios,” Review by Marjorie Evasco at The Tambara Journal, June, 2019 (as reprinted online by The Halo Halo Review)

“VERSES TYPHOON YOLANDA edited by Eileen R. Tabios,” Review by Neil Leadbeater

“Evidence of Fetus Diversity edited by Eileen R. Tabios,” Review by Aloy Polintan

Finally, I am mentioned in an anthology review: 

“NO TENDER FENCES: An Anthology of Immigrant & First Generation Immigrant American Poetry edited by Carla Sofia Ferreira Kim Sousa & Marina Carreira,” Review by Cristina Querrer 

I’m a cat with cream--or the halo-halo's coconut milk--all over its face. Thank you, Universe.

Do check out the entire issue to see what's up with Filipino-Pilipinz literature. I even review the novel that just won the Philippines' National Book Award, Reine Arcache Melvin's THE BETRAYED.  And so much more! Lots of good reads and eats!

HOLIDAY MINIATURE BOOK-PLUS SPECIAL!

My book The In(ter)vention of the Hay(na)ku:  Selected Tercets 1996-2019 (Marsh Hawk Press, New York, 2019) soon will be available through SPD and other outlets (like that online one that begins with A). While it technically is released on December 1, 2019, I am running a Holiday Special as its author because that Special involves … a miniature book!

I am delighted to share that The In(ter)vention… has been annotated into a mini-book version—sized at 1-7/8” x 2.5”—that can work as a Christmas Tree ornament! If you don’t traffic in Christmas or Christmas trees, the ribbon used for hanging on a tree can be used as a bookmark!  There are poems within the miniature book, as shown partly by the images below.

This miniature book, available in a lovely Holiday-red gift bag, is available for $10  (plus $5 shipping). You can purchase just the miniature book or use its purchase for a credit of $10 off of the larger hardback release priced at $29.95!  Yes, this means that for the price of the hardback, you also can get the charming tiny book!

Optionally, if you wish to give either the miniature book or miniature plus large book as a holiday present, I can gift-wrap them both and send them on your behalf to the gift recipient. (Free gift-wrapping.) A perfect gift for introducing poetry to, or sharing new poetry with, a reader!

Naturally, books can be signed!  If interested in this offer, email me at galateaten at gmail dot com   Offer good while supply of miniature books last!

Meanwhile, here are pics: