New Poems Online

If you are still following me, I apologize for a long absence from this blog. I have read, by the way, that the blog is obsolete, superseded by social media. Do you agree? In any case, a new poetry chapbook of mine, Bleak Splendor, is soon to be released by Muddy River Books, in Brookline, MA, and two of the poems included are now up at Five Willows Literary Review:

http://fivewillowspoetry.blogspot.com/2015/10/two-new-poems-from-george-held_14.html

Another pair of poems is at Literary Matters: 

http://alscw.org/PDFs/Literary%20Matters_7.4.pdf

on pages 34 and 36 of this pdf publication. Please check them out.

The New Devil's Dictionary

Here's a link to new work of mine at Five Willows Literary Review: http://fivewillowspoetry.blogspot.com/2014/08/george-held-definitions.html

Haiku Workshop

I'll be giving my fourth haiku workshop at the South Fork Natural History Museum, Bridgehampton, NY, on Saturday, 26 July, at 10 AM. If you can attend, that would be great. Here are the details:

Writing a Haiku Poem with George Held 7/26/2014 · 10 am - Saturday Bridgehampton, SoFo Leader: George Held In this small group workshop George Held, who has published more than 100 haiku and 18 poetry books, will teach the philosophy and practice of the haiku, a concise Japanese form of verse that is written widely throughout the world today. Because the haiku focuses on an instant in nature, the SoFo Museum and adjacent field and woods will offer many opportunities for a "haiku moment": this occurs when the writer sees a natural object and has an insight into it that can be expressed in about 12-17 syllables. Only a pen or pencil, a small notepad, sharp eyes and a clear mind are needed. Limited enrollment. Photo: Writing To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735

377 Bridgehampton / Sag Harbor Turnpike
P.O. Box 455
Bridgehampton, NY 11932-0455

Telephone:	631-537-9735
Fax:	631-537-9621
E-mail:	sofo@hamptons.com

Debby Mayer is a Hudson, NY, novelist and journalist, whose memoir, RIPTIDES & SOLACES UNFORESEEN, I have reviewed at http://www.whlreview.com/no-9.1/review/GeorgeHeld.pdf. I hope you'll check it out and consider reading this remarkable book about the death, from brain cancer, of her longtime partner, Dan Zinkus.

Jeremy Lin Comes Out

Jeremy Lin Comes Out

Houston, May 2, 2013. In the wake of Jason Collins’ recent revelation in SI that he’s gay, Jeremy Lin told Houston sports radio KROK that “I’m tired of being in the closet and want the world to know that I am an NBA point guard, a Harvard man, and I’m Taiwanese.”

With these words Lin revealed that he is the first major-sport professional who is Taiwanese. So far, the response from other pro athletes has been positive. Charles Barkley, the former NBA All-Star, said, “I support the brother for his candor. It’s about time we had a new cause to lend our support to.”

Keyshawn Johnson, the NFL star who retired to become a sports commentator, added, “Jason who?”

Boomer Esiason, the NFL quarterback who is a professional Norwegian, chimed in: “Now Taiwanese boys and girls with athletic ambition will have a role model. But how long will it be before the NFL admits Taiwanese into the locker room?”

Lin’s announcement rocked Houston like a Roger Clemens fart, and the Texas sporting intelligentsia bombarded local talk radio with speculations about who might be the next jock to come out of what closet.

Among the nominees were Dallas QB Tony Romo who might reveal that his family name used to be Homo, NY Knicks marksman Carmelo Anthony who might admit he’s a secret member of Opus Dei, and Alabama coach Bear Bryant who might confess that he’s really alive.

The New Pope Finds His Footing

Please check out my new poem at New Verse News: http://newversenews.blogspot.com/2013/03/getting-off-on-right-foot.html

Passover & Easter greetings to those who celebrate.

George

Poetry Reading

I'll be one of 3 featured readers this Saturday, Feb. 16th, at the Yippee Museum Café, 9 Bleecker St., noon-2 PM. I invited Eileen Hennessy and Francine Witte to join me, because they are first-rate writers and readers. This will be varied and terrific reading, and an open-mic is included. So please be there and bring something to read in the open.

Phoenix Reading Series @ The Yippie Museum Cafe

Saturday, February 16, 2013

12—2 pm

9 Bleecker Street

New York, NY 10012

212.677.5918

George Held, Eileen Hennessy, Francine Witte

 OPEN READING SIGN UP @ NOON

 Francine Witte is a high school English teacher. She lives on the Upper East Side with her husband, poet and comic Mark Larsen. She writes poetry and flash fiction. In 2012 she received four nominations for a Pushcart Prize -- two for fiction and two for poetry. Her newest poetry chapbook is "Only, Not Only."

A seven-time Pushcart Prize nominee, George Held publishes widely both online and in print. His work appears in the current issues of I-70 Review, Drunk Monkeys, Wilderness House Literary Review, Deronda Review, Mobius, Plainsongs, and Verse Wisconsin, and the anthologies Connections: New York City Bridges in Poetry and Songs of Sandy. His most recent book is Neighbors Too (2013), a sequel to his children’s book of animal poems, illustrated by Joung Un Kim.

When she is not writing poems and flash fiction pieces, Eileen Hennessy earns her living as a translator of foreign-language documentation, studies languages as a hobby, and teaches courses in translation in the Translation Studies Program at New York University. Since the mid-1980s she has built up a lengthy record of publication in numerous literary journals, including The Paris Review, The New York Quarterly, and Confluence, to name just three. This Country of Gale-force Winds, a collection of her poems, was
published by NYQ Books in 2011.

$8 Donation