Gaithersburg Book Festival Maryland USA 18th May 2013

This book festival looks like a nice thing to do this weekend if the wind is not too cold. Of interest to poetandgeek who has been reading about John Tradescant the younger's visit to this neck of the woods and its flora in about 1630.

On offer are poetry readings by Sally Keith, Joseph Ross, Yvette Neisser Moreno, Eric Pankey, Jason Mott, Sarah Arvio, used books sales, lots of authors and it is all free and in a park and the the city hall in Gaithersburg.

More information can be found here http://gaithersburgbookfestival.org/.

Pnina Shinebourne Radioactive

Wolfgang Görtschacher tell us that number 7 in the excellent PSPS (Poetry Salzburg Pamphlet Series) Pnina Shinebourne's Radioactive, is available now.

"Shinebourne tells the human story behind the discovery of radioactivity. She explores the interior thoughts, the intellectual conflicts and the joys of scientific revelation. The style is clipped, heady, energised and supple in its response to the hectic demands of the protagonists, and the language is simple and immediate in the way it handles complex scientific ideas. Shinebourne captivates us by revealing the psychological pressures that give birth to the creative process and for this alone the pamphlet is a compelling read from start to end!"

Daljit Nagra

More on Radioactive and how to get it on Poetry Salzburg here http://www.poetrysalzburg.com/.

Submit Poetry

A little shout out for the open submissions policy for the prestigious US Poetry magazine.

It is very easy to send your stuff in and you can do it online. You set up an account and you can check progress and resubmit using the same details.

Good stuff.

Why can't all international magazines be this easy...no hoo-hah about reply coupons and the like. Nice site too plus resources.

Find out more here http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/submissions

Itinerant poetry librarian and friends Edinburgh, Scotland 15th May 2013

All hail to the magnificent itinerant poetry librarian who will be in the Bongo Club as part of a night of European literature...glad to say that my hair passed muster last time we met. But would imagine that it was a close call.

Martin Reiner and Kapka Kassabova will be also be in the building with their special brand of respective literary magic.

No ticket required. Part of  the European Literature nights programme of which more later...

Full details are here http://www.cityofliterature.com/whats-on.aspx?sec=5&pid=20&item=4387

Aníbal Núñez tweet poetry

Aníbal Núñez (1944-1987) was a Spanish poet, painter and translator.

Núñez was born in Salamanca and studied Literature. Modern Languages and Fine Arts there. He translated the work of Propertius, Catullus and Rimbaud - nice choices. He died young but left a large body of poetry and extensive visual work. This tweet poem is taken from the poem No solamente en broadway (Not only in Broadway) written in 1972 but first published in 2008.

"Recognition was slow to come, as his poetry stood outside the major critical currents of his time in Spain. The situation has been changing since his death, and re-evaluation of his work has seen him recognised as a major, if independent, figure." Tony Frazer.

"El día que descubrí que el gran poeta salmantino figura en todas las antologías poéticas que se precien ; que su Antología Poética completa ( dos volúmenes ) figura en el catálogo de la prestigiosa Editorial Hiperión ; que no tiene estatua, no , en ningún rincón de la ciudad ; que era nada amigo de la ostentación y la mediocridade e hijo del insigne PEPE NUÑEZ LARRAZ." Ismael Marcos

Find his work here http://www.amazon.com/palabras-Hispanicas-Hispanic-Literature-Spanish/dp/8437625823/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367821424&sr=1-2 and in English for arguably the first time here http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/authors/nunezA.html; full text of the poem here http://www.poesiaspoemas.com/anibal-nunez/no-solamente-en-broadway.

Amongst all the monotony of all these activities fix yourself in the wind that sweeps clean these tombs chapped by snow

Geek competition

• Poetry
• Science
• Medicine
• Oxford
• 30 lines
• Free entry

All the above checked?

Find out more here http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/science/poetry-competition-2013

Creative qualifications

poetandgeek.com being of an age before creative writing courses (apart from UAE and the ones in the States) has no qualifications to attest to being a writer.

As a result, we are always interested in those who have and how they are working out for them.

• What modules have been useful?
• How have you used your new skills?
• Best courses?
• What was missing?
• When have you been brandishing the new letters after your name?
• And anything else that will tickle our interest...

Let us know at the usual address.