"Boundless" New Poetry Anthology

Don't forget to make your submission to the 2010 Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival Anthology and watch for more information about the 3rd Annual Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival (V.I.P.F.), April 22-25, 2010.

Boundless will be published this year as a perfect bound edition with an ISBN. Previous editons include poets from Texas, New York, and London. Be part of this exciting edition!

Poets do not have to attend our festival or register for our festival in order to submit for publication. (While this may change in the future, our open policy remains generous.)

Guidelines:

• Submit 1, 2, or 3 typewritten poems in a legible font.
• Poems may be of any topic, any language. (We ask for a translation if it is not in English, however.)
• 35-line limit per poem, not including title and spaces
• E-mail Submissions Only. Mailed Submissions Will NOT Be Accepted!
• E-mail submissinos to rgvipf@hotmail.com
• No previously published poems, please, except from self-published chapbooks with limited distribution.
• Do not place your name or other identifying information on the poems themselves.

Submit a cover letter that includes:

• Your Name
• Title of poem(s) or first line for an untitled poem
• E-mail address AND phone number
• A short bio – 50 words or less – focusing on your life as a writer

We strongly prefer to communicate by e-mail: rgvipf@hotmail.com
If you change your e-mail, let us know immediately.

NOTE: You must still mail your check, or money order (MADE OUT TO ART THAT HEALS, INC.), along with a SASE to:

Boundless Editorial Committee
1413 Jay Ave.
McAllen, TX 78504

An e-mail address is required for contact. If you will not collect your anthology in person, you should include a self-addressed stamped envelope (payable for $1.50).

www.vipf.org

rgvipf@hotmail.com

Presented by Art That Heals, Inc. in conjunction with the McAllen Chamber of Commerce and The Raúl Tijerina, Jr. Foundation

Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival comes to SPI

I am really excited about Paragraphs being asked to provide a venue on the Island, for this year's Poetry Festival. On April 25, at noon, we will have several poets here to read their work and guests will have the opportunity to meet and mingle with the featured artists. Refreshments will be provided and there will be anthologies, t-shirts and other items available for purchase.

The following is an e-mail I received from RGV Arts:

The Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival (VIPF) continues its second year to celebrate National Poetry Month from Apr. 23—26, 2009, with readings, workshops, and slam contests in venues across the Rio Grande Valley—all free and open to the public. This year’s festival features more than 40 poets in total, with 35 registered poets. Featured poets are Larry D. Thomas, poet laureate of Texas (2008), Amalia Ortiz, a La Feria native who supports herself through poetry readings across the country. Amalia has thrice appeared on HBO’s Russell Simmons presents “Def Poetry Jam. Also featured is Nephtalí De León, noted Chicano muralist and writer. The poets will be conducting readings in schools on Friday, Apr 24, then in coffee shops, libraries, museums, cultural centers, bookstores, and art galleries Valleywide and even in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, on Saturday, Apr, 25.

As far as we know we’re the only poetry festival anywhere with concurrent readings in two countries. -- festival founder Daniel Garcia Ordaz

On Friday evening, Apr. 24, there will be a youth poetry slam (recitation contest) as well as readings by college and university students, followed by the adult poetry slam—all at South Texas College (Pecan Campus) in McAllen. Music will be provided during a brief intermission by Pulse.

Poetry is a much practiced yet little celebrated literary genre. It’s in our lullabies, our sad goodbyes, our booty-calls, our bathroom stalls. It’s everywhere. Poetry is a rich and accessible form, but it’s often dismissed as too childish or way too deep, as if poetry isn’t what holds together our favorite songs, our favorite commercials, our favorite speeches. -- Garcia Ordaz

VIPF kicks off on Thursday, Apr. 23, 2009, at the McAllen Chamber of Commerce conference room with an anthology release party. Poets included in the collection will be on hand to read some of the selected entries in Boundless 2009, the anthology of the festival.

Unlike most poetry festivals, we solicit and accept submissions from all poets regardless of whether or not they registered to read at the festival. Poetry is not only for and by dead white men or young angry Chicanos; one of the goals of the festival is to be inclusive. While not every entry received was selected for publication, we are extremely proud of the caliber of the poems, which speak for themselves. -- Garcia Ordaz

Public and private venues have come forward as hosts. Aside from the McAllen Chamber of Commerce and South Texas College (Pecan and Mid-Valley campuses), other venues include Jitterz Coffee Bar (Mission), Galeria 409 (Brownsville), Paragraphs On Padre Boulevard (South Padre Island), Donna Hooks Fletcher Museum (Donna), and Museo Casamata (Matamoros).

We’re stimulating the economy here. We have poets traveling from Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, New Mexico, and northern Mexico, so the festival is already having a positive economic impact on the Valley. We’ll be spending money here—for food, lodging, and transportation. The McAllen Chamber of Commerce understands the business of art, which is why they’re our main sponsor. -- Garcia Ordaz

Boundless 2009 includes poems by poets from around Texas and other parts of the U.S. and even poems by an American living in London

We’re giving a voice to the often ignored and a stage to largely unknown word artists. We’re building international brotherhood and celebrating diverse cultures. Aside from giving poets a chance to ply their trade, sell books and merchandise, we’re also giving the audience free cultural programming. -- Garcia Ordaz

The festival’s grand finale will be the third annual Poetry Pachanga—the event that started it all in 2007 at UT-Pan American. The Pachanga, which follows a private dinner for poets only, is where all registered poets will take the stage, together for the first time. Doors open to the public at 7 p.m. at the Narciso Martínez Cultural Arts Center, with music by Incohero at 7:30 p.m., followed by the Poetry Pachanga. “Borderline,” artwork by Celeste De Luna, will also be on display.

Anyone who has pre-determined thoughts about poetry will find that this is not simply a festival by and for angry young Latinos—although we have some of those. Our festival poets are a broad amalgamation of very diverse poets presenting verses about love, lust, lemons, life—and everything in between. We have professors and pachucos, housewives and hoodlums, silly and serious poets coming together to teach, entertain, and make you think or even pee in your pants. -- Garcia Ordaz

VIPF 2009 is a program of Art That Heals, Inc., and with major funding from the McAllen Chamber of Commerce and also sponsored by South Texas College, the Narciso Martínez Cultural Arts Center and El Zarape Press.