Monday, July 14, 2008
Get Together with family and friends, eat and support the arts!
Have lunch or dinner at Mark’s Kitchen on Tuesday July 15th in Takoma Park from 11 am to 9 pm and they will donate 15% of the day’s sales generated during this event to Pyramid Atlantic Arts Center.
Pyramid Atlantic Arts Center, a 501(c)(3) non-profit contemporary arts center located in
the Arts & Entertainment District in downtown Silver Spring. Pyramid’s mission is to
promote and nurture artistic excellence through programming in the artistic mediums of paper, printmaking, book arts and digital media.
It is that simple.
When: Tuesday, July 15th
11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Where: Old Town Takoma Park
7006 Carroll Avenue
Pyramid Atlantic Arts Center, a 501(c)(3) non-profit contemporary arts center located in
the Arts & Entertainment District in downtown Silver Spring. Pyramid’s mission is to
promote and nurture artistic excellence through programming in the artistic mediums of paper, printmaking, book arts and digital media.
It is that simple.
When: Tuesday, July 15th
11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Where: Old Town Takoma Park
7006 Carroll Avenue
Beltway seeks poems about museums
In just a couple of weeks, Beltway Poetry will be open for submissions for a special themed issue. We will be reading during the month of AUGUST only. Please see below for complete details. And please feel free to forward this on to others you think might be interested!
Many thanks.
Kim Roberts, Editor
Beltway Poetry Quarterly
http://www.beltwaypoetry.com
>>>>>>>>>
Beltway Poetry Quarterly, an online journal, seeks poems for a special themed issue celebrating museums. Poems should be about specific museums (of any kind, of any size, in any location) or specific items exhibited in museum collections. The issue will be co-edited by Kim Roberts and Maureen Thorson.
Only poets who live or work in DC, VA, MD, WV, or DE are eligible. Poems may be any length. Submit up to 4 poems by email only. Poems that have already appeared in print publications are acceptable if copyright has reverted to the author (and author secures any permissions for reprinting). Poems appearing elsewhere on the web are not eligible.
Submit poems in the body of a single email (no attachments, and please no multiple emails) to beltwaypoetryquarterly@gmail.com. Include your full contact information (snail mail address, phone, email) and a one-paragraph bio. Incomplete entries and those made outside the one-month reading period will not be considered.
The issue will be published in January 2009. All entries must be received during the month of August 2008.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
About the co-editors:
Kim Roberts is the editor of Beltway Poetry Quarterly.
Maureen Thorson is the author of two chapbooks, Novelty Act (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2004), and Mayport, winner of the Poetry Society of America's National Chapbook Fellowship for 2006. She is editor of Big Game Books, a literary small press specializing in collectible, limited edition, hand-made books.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Beltway Poetry Quarterly
http://www.beltwaypoetry.com
Many thanks.
Kim Roberts, Editor
Beltway Poetry Quarterly
http://www.beltwaypoetry.com
>>>>>>>>>
Beltway Poetry Quarterly, an online journal, seeks poems for a special themed issue celebrating museums. Poems should be about specific museums (of any kind, of any size, in any location) or specific items exhibited in museum collections. The issue will be co-edited by Kim Roberts and Maureen Thorson.
Only poets who live or work in DC, VA, MD, WV, or DE are eligible. Poems may be any length. Submit up to 4 poems by email only. Poems that have already appeared in print publications are acceptable if copyright has reverted to the author (and author secures any permissions for reprinting). Poems appearing elsewhere on the web are not eligible.
Submit poems in the body of a single email (no attachments, and please no multiple emails) to beltwaypoetryquarterly@gmail.com. Include your full contact information (snail mail address, phone, email) and a one-paragraph bio. Incomplete entries and those made outside the one-month reading period will not be considered.
The issue will be published in January 2009. All entries must be received during the month of August 2008.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
About the co-editors:
Kim Roberts is the editor of Beltway Poetry Quarterly.
Maureen Thorson is the author of two chapbooks, Novelty Act (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2004), and Mayport, winner of the Poetry Society of America's National Chapbook Fellowship for 2006. She is editor of Big Game Books, a literary small press specializing in collectible, limited edition, hand-made books.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Beltway Poetry Quarterly
http://www.beltwaypoetry.com
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Split This Rock Photos on Flickr - More and More
We're getting new photos up on Flickr every day. Check them out here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/splitthisrock. These are all by Jill Brazel. Contact her at: jill@jillbrazel.com
Monday, July 07, 2008
Forebears Issue of Beltway Poetry, new for summer!
from the fabulous Kim Roberts:
Beltway Poetry Quarterly announces a new issue!
Volume 9, Number 3, Summer 2008
http://www.beltwaypoetry.com
The Forebears Issue includes essays that celebrate individuals and locations important to their writing:
a photo essay on DC AUTHOR'S HOUSES by Kim Roberts and Dan Vera
Taquiena Boston and Vera J. Katz on OWEN DODSON
M.A. Schaffner on AMBROSE BIERCE
Grace Cavalieri on ANN DARR
Olivia Barbee on GWENDOLYN BENNETT
Kathi Morrison-Taylor on JOAQUIN MILLER
Myra Sklarew on LEON-GONTRAN DAMAS
Merrill Leffler on GABRIELLE EDGCOMB
Elisavietta Ritchie on JOHN PAUKER
Mark Opsasnick on JIM MORRISON and BEAT COFFEEHOUSES
We hope you enjoy! This issue is the third in a series documenting the rich literary history of Washington, DC. Read it here: http://www.beltwaypoetry.com
Beltway Poetry Quarterly is also pleased to welcome our new summer intern, Alyssa Schimmel. Alyssa is serving as an editorial assistant, and has already updated one of our most popular sections of the Beltway Resource Bank, which provides links to other web sites featuring individual area poets, past and current. The Poet Links list can be found here: http://washingtonart.com/beltway/poetlinks.html
Finally, we are happy to announce that Maureen Thorson has agreed to co-edit a new themed issue of the journal, on the subject of museums. We invite poems on the theme from any poets currently living in DC, MD, VA, WV, or DE, and will be reading entries throughout the month of August. Full guidelines can be found here: http://washingtonart.com/beltway/about1.html
Beltway Poetry Quarterly announces a new issue!
Volume 9, Number 3, Summer 2008
http://www.beltwaypoetry.com
The Forebears Issue includes essays that celebrate individuals and locations important to their writing:
a photo essay on DC AUTHOR'S HOUSES by Kim Roberts and Dan Vera
Taquiena Boston and Vera J. Katz on OWEN DODSON
M.A. Schaffner on AMBROSE BIERCE
Grace Cavalieri on ANN DARR
Olivia Barbee on GWENDOLYN BENNETT
Kathi Morrison-Taylor on JOAQUIN MILLER
Myra Sklarew on LEON-GONTRAN DAMAS
Merrill Leffler on GABRIELLE EDGCOMB
Elisavietta Ritchie on JOHN PAUKER
Mark Opsasnick on JIM MORRISON and BEAT COFFEEHOUSES
We hope you enjoy! This issue is the third in a series documenting the rich literary history of Washington, DC. Read it here: http://www.beltwaypoetry.com
Beltway Poetry Quarterly is also pleased to welcome our new summer intern, Alyssa Schimmel. Alyssa is serving as an editorial assistant, and has already updated one of our most popular sections of the Beltway Resource Bank, which provides links to other web sites featuring individual area poets, past and current. The Poet Links list can be found here: http://washingtonart.com/beltway/poetlinks.html
Finally, we are happy to announce that Maureen Thorson has agreed to co-edit a new themed issue of the journal, on the subject of museums. We invite poems on the theme from any poets currently living in DC, MD, VA, WV, or DE, and will be reading entries throughout the month of August. Full guidelines can be found here: http://washingtonart.com/beltway/about1.html
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Foreign Policy In Focus Summer Film Series
The FPIF Annual Summer Film Series Opens with the Academy-Award Winning Taxi to the Dark Side.
July 3, 2008 5:30pm - 7:30 pm
Busboys and Poets
2021 14th St NW
Washington, DC, USA
Join us for the five of the best foreign policy films of the year!
The Foreign Policy In Focus Annual Summer Film Series gets underway with the Academy-Award-winning Taxi to the Dark Side. Please join us and our two guest speakers, Farrah Hassen, Newman Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, and Andy Shallal of Iraqi Voices for Peace and the owner of Busboys and Poets.
July 3, 2008 5:30pm - 7:30 pm
Busboys and Poets
2021 14th St NW
Washington, DC, USA
If you haven't seen it yet, this is your chance to watch a shocking documentary about the Bush administration's use of torture on political prisoners.
Alex Gibney's TAXI FROM THE DARK SIDE is a perpetually shocking documentary about the Bush administration's use of torture when dealing with political prisoners, with a particular focus on those captured in Iraq and Afghanistan. The title of Gibney's movie is derived from the treatment meted out to an Afghani taxi driver named Dilawar, who was mistakenly fingered as a terrorist, then killed during a torture session conducted by American troops. Despite the title, Dilawar's case is just a small part in Gibney's jigsaw, as the director uses excruciating and comprehensive details surrounding the taxi driver's death as a starting point in his search for the people who have permitted such incidents to occur. Gut-wrenching and fully uncensored pictures from Abu-Ghraib feature alongside interviews with military personnel (some of whom tortured Dilawar) as Gibney's search slowly heads into the upper echelons of the military and, ultimately, into the Bush regime itself.
TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE is a powerful, well-executed piece of filmmaking. Gibney's skills as a director come to the fore as he manages to pull some surprisingly candid revelations from his subjects, while his choice of newsreel clips featuring the likes of Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld are extremely well chosen. Perhaps the most eye-opening scenes come from a press trip to the U.S. facility at Guantanamo Bay, where Gibney and others are given a tour of the facilities, including the site gift shop, where gallows humor is stretched to breaking point with the sale of souvenir t-shirts bearing the legend Behavior Modification Instructor. The film concludes with Gibney pulling the focus back to Dilawar once again, highlighting the futility of his death as a number of commentators show how torture isn't, and never has been, an effective method for extracting information from people.
The FPIF film series is co-sponsored by Busboys and Poets Restaurant and the Progressive Intern Network.
Free and Open to the Public!
Calendar of Films (all at Busboys and Poets Restaurant):
Taxi to the Dark Side
Best Documentary - Academy Award
Thursday, July 3
5:30-7:30pm
Speakers: Farrah Hassen, Newman Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies
and Andy Shallal, Iraqi Voices for Peace and Owner of Busboys and Poets
Camden 28
Best Documentary - Philadelphia Film Festival
Friday, July 11
5:30-7:30pm
Speaker: Marcus Raskin, Co-Founder and Distinguished Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies
Cocalero
Nominated, Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary - Sundance
Friday, July 18
6:00- 8:00pm
Speaker: Sanho Tree, Fellow and Director of Drug Policy Project, Institute for Policy Studies
Body Of War
Best Documentary - Hampton International Film Festival and Best Documentary - National Board of Review
Friday, July 25
5:30-7:30pm
Speaker: Geoff Millard, Iraq Veterans Against the War
MAQUILÁPOLIS
Outstanding Achievement in Documentary - Tribeca Film Festival and Audience Award for Best Documentary - Barcelona International Women's Film Festival
Thursday, July 31
5:30-7:30pm
Speakers: Sarah Anderson, Fellow and Director of the Global Economy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies and Manuel Perez Rocha, Associate Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies
July 3, 2008 5:30pm - 7:30 pm
Busboys and Poets
2021 14th St NW
Washington, DC, USA
Join us for the five of the best foreign policy films of the year!
The Foreign Policy In Focus Annual Summer Film Series gets underway with the Academy-Award-winning Taxi to the Dark Side. Please join us and our two guest speakers, Farrah Hassen, Newman Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, and Andy Shallal of Iraqi Voices for Peace and the owner of Busboys and Poets.
July 3, 2008 5:30pm - 7:30 pm
Busboys and Poets
2021 14th St NW
Washington, DC, USA
If you haven't seen it yet, this is your chance to watch a shocking documentary about the Bush administration's use of torture on political prisoners.
Alex Gibney's TAXI FROM THE DARK SIDE is a perpetually shocking documentary about the Bush administration's use of torture when dealing with political prisoners, with a particular focus on those captured in Iraq and Afghanistan. The title of Gibney's movie is derived from the treatment meted out to an Afghani taxi driver named Dilawar, who was mistakenly fingered as a terrorist, then killed during a torture session conducted by American troops. Despite the title, Dilawar's case is just a small part in Gibney's jigsaw, as the director uses excruciating and comprehensive details surrounding the taxi driver's death as a starting point in his search for the people who have permitted such incidents to occur. Gut-wrenching and fully uncensored pictures from Abu-Ghraib feature alongside interviews with military personnel (some of whom tortured Dilawar) as Gibney's search slowly heads into the upper echelons of the military and, ultimately, into the Bush regime itself.
TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE is a powerful, well-executed piece of filmmaking. Gibney's skills as a director come to the fore as he manages to pull some surprisingly candid revelations from his subjects, while his choice of newsreel clips featuring the likes of Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld are extremely well chosen. Perhaps the most eye-opening scenes come from a press trip to the U.S. facility at Guantanamo Bay, where Gibney and others are given a tour of the facilities, including the site gift shop, where gallows humor is stretched to breaking point with the sale of souvenir t-shirts bearing the legend Behavior Modification Instructor. The film concludes with Gibney pulling the focus back to Dilawar once again, highlighting the futility of his death as a number of commentators show how torture isn't, and never has been, an effective method for extracting information from people.
The FPIF film series is co-sponsored by Busboys and Poets Restaurant and the Progressive Intern Network.
Free and Open to the Public!
Calendar of Films (all at Busboys and Poets Restaurant):
Taxi to the Dark Side
Best Documentary - Academy Award
Thursday, July 3
5:30-7:30pm
Speakers: Farrah Hassen, Newman Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies
and Andy Shallal, Iraqi Voices for Peace and Owner of Busboys and Poets
Camden 28
Best Documentary - Philadelphia Film Festival
Friday, July 11
5:30-7:30pm
Speaker: Marcus Raskin, Co-Founder and Distinguished Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies
Cocalero
Nominated, Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary - Sundance
Friday, July 18
6:00- 8:00pm
Speaker: Sanho Tree, Fellow and Director of Drug Policy Project, Institute for Policy Studies
Body Of War
Best Documentary - Hampton International Film Festival and Best Documentary - National Board of Review
Friday, July 25
5:30-7:30pm
Speaker: Geoff Millard, Iraq Veterans Against the War
MAQUILÁPOLIS
Outstanding Achievement in Documentary - Tribeca Film Festival and Audience Award for Best Documentary - Barcelona International Women's Film Festival
Thursday, July 31
5:30-7:30pm
Speakers: Sarah Anderson, Fellow and Director of the Global Economy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies and Manuel Perez Rocha, Associate Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies
Who is a witness?
A long discussion thread on a poetry list serv I belong to, inspired by C.D. Wright's book of poems about men incarcerated in Louisiana, One Big Self, about whether poets can be "witness" to conditions they themselves haven't experienced. I just eavesdropped for awhile. But was finally moved to write something this morning. Here it is:
As the poet E. Ethelbert Miller likes to point out, James Baldwin spoke of the witness as being altogether different from the observer, as the witness is called upon to testify. We are all witnesses to our country’s outrageous prison-industrial complex, which has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. Let me say that again: The US has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. The people we lock up – mostly poor men of color – are voiceless and considered altogether expendable.
I have also not yet read CD Wright’s book, and I’m with those who have not been moved by previous work I’ve read. But I am in favor of any poet or artist, indeed any citizen, drawing attention to the human impact of our policy decision to lock up so many of our brothers and sisters. The stronger the poems as art, of course, the more effective they will be. But how can we question a poet’s right to write about our inhumanity as a society? Isn’t this, in fact, our responsibility?
As the poet E. Ethelbert Miller likes to point out, James Baldwin spoke of the witness as being altogether different from the observer, as the witness is called upon to testify. We are all witnesses to our country’s outrageous prison-industrial complex, which has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. Let me say that again: The US has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. The people we lock up – mostly poor men of color – are voiceless and considered altogether expendable.
I have also not yet read CD Wright’s book, and I’m with those who have not been moved by previous work I’ve read. But I am in favor of any poet or artist, indeed any citizen, drawing attention to the human impact of our policy decision to lock up so many of our brothers and sisters. The stronger the poems as art, of course, the more effective they will be. But how can we question a poet’s right to write about our inhumanity as a society? Isn’t this, in fact, our responsibility?
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
ANTIWAR LEGAL VICTORY CELEBRATED!
Please distribute widely. Thanks.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Malachy Kilbride 202-841-2230
Ann Wilcox 202-441-3265
ANTIWAR LEGAL VICTORY CELEBRATED!
Tuesday, July 1, 8 AM
WashingtonDC Superior Court, 500 Indiana Avenue NW
July 1 - An antiwar legal defense victory rally and press conference was held today outside of Washington DC Superior Court and was attended by US military veterans and peace activists from around the country. Paul “zool” Zulkowitz of Woodmere, NY, represented by antiwar attorney Ann Wilcox, won an agreement with the United States Government on June 30. Zool voiced opposition during the public hearing with General David Petraeus at the Senate Armed Services Committee chaired by Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) on April 8, 2008. Zool stood and chanted “Bring them home, bring them home! . . . ,” was arrested and charged with one misdemeanor count of “disruption of Congress.” Rather than a jury trial and possible 6 months in jail, zool walked out of the courtroom with a diversion agreement and a dismissal of the stay-way order from Capitol Hill.
Ann Wilcox of the National Lawyers’ Guild, stated that: “The offer of dismissal before judgment is a victory, because the Government does not necessarily want to expend the time and resources for a jury trial. Further, the Government may not want to provide a forum for antiwar views in the Court of Public Opinion.”
“Contrary to Sen. Levin's view, citizens attending a public hearing are not an 'audience',” zool said. “Though I might have considered the Petraeus hearing to be a farce, a public hearing is not theater, the Committee is 'doing the people's business,' and citizens, members of the public, have a responsibility to hold elected representatives accountable for the way they do the people's business.”
“This is a great victory for zool…” noted Malachy Kilbride board president of Washington Peace Center, “But, people need to know that the government is cracking down on those who openly dissent against the war and occupation of Iraq.” Kilbride said “Since the build up to the war in 2002 over 15,000 people have been arrested protesting the war. However, we are now at a point in which serious jail time and stiff sentences are being meted out to those exercising their First Amendment rights” Kilbride said.
“I am pleased zool can have this victory…and that we now see a glimmer of hope at a time when arrests are rising and stiff sentences are being handed down…” said Lori Perdue, a veteran, who also has protested the war and is a member of Veterans for Peace from Missouri.
“We congratulate zool for the courage to speak out against the occupation of Iraq during the Petraeus hearing and for having the government recognize his right to free speech. This is a victory for all of us, since the trend has been in the opposite direction with peace activists facing more arrests, harsher charges and more onerous sentences. Of course, it is the warmakers, not the peacemakers, who should be facing criminal charges.” said Medea Benjamin of California and a founder of the peace group Code Pink.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Malachy Kilbride 202-841-2230
Ann Wilcox 202-441-3265
ANTIWAR LEGAL VICTORY CELEBRATED!
Tuesday, July 1, 8 AM
WashingtonDC Superior Court, 500 Indiana Avenue NW
July 1 - An antiwar legal defense victory rally and press conference was held today outside of Washington DC Superior Court and was attended by US military veterans and peace activists from around the country. Paul “zool” Zulkowitz of Woodmere, NY, represented by antiwar attorney Ann Wilcox, won an agreement with the United States Government on June 30. Zool voiced opposition during the public hearing with General David Petraeus at the Senate Armed Services Committee chaired by Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) on April 8, 2008. Zool stood and chanted “Bring them home, bring them home! . . . ,” was arrested and charged with one misdemeanor count of “disruption of Congress.” Rather than a jury trial and possible 6 months in jail, zool walked out of the courtroom with a diversion agreement and a dismissal of the stay-way order from Capitol Hill.
Ann Wilcox of the National Lawyers’ Guild, stated that: “The offer of dismissal before judgment is a victory, because the Government does not necessarily want to expend the time and resources for a jury trial. Further, the Government may not want to provide a forum for antiwar views in the Court of Public Opinion.”
“Contrary to Sen. Levin's view, citizens attending a public hearing are not an 'audience',” zool said. “Though I might have considered the Petraeus hearing to be a farce, a public hearing is not theater, the Committee is 'doing the people's business,' and citizens, members of the public, have a responsibility to hold elected representatives accountable for the way they do the people's business.”
“This is a great victory for zool…” noted Malachy Kilbride board president of Washington Peace Center, “But, people need to know that the government is cracking down on those who openly dissent against the war and occupation of Iraq.” Kilbride said “Since the build up to the war in 2002 over 15,000 people have been arrested protesting the war. However, we are now at a point in which serious jail time and stiff sentences are being meted out to those exercising their First Amendment rights” Kilbride said.
“I am pleased zool can have this victory…and that we now see a glimmer of hope at a time when arrests are rising and stiff sentences are being handed down…” said Lori Perdue, a veteran, who also has protested the war and is a member of Veterans for Peace from Missouri.
“We congratulate zool for the courage to speak out against the occupation of Iraq during the Petraeus hearing and for having the government recognize his right to free speech. This is a victory for all of us, since the trend has been in the opposite direction with peace activists facing more arrests, harsher charges and more onerous sentences. Of course, it is the warmakers, not the peacemakers, who should be facing criminal charges.” said Medea Benjamin of California and a founder of the peace group Code Pink.
