Island Of Guam

Guam is my home

It’s my island and the place to be.

It’s where you can find

all sorts of nationalities.

We aren’t stingy with our island

Although how tiny it is to me.

But if you plan to come and ruin it

Then I suggest you pack and leave.

OUR island is here 

for as long as it can stand

So treasure and hold it

as if you’re a built man.

(c) ChelseaJenae

Dededo, Guam

INSPIRATIONAL MESSAGE: Be proud of your island and treasure it!

Palau's Beauty

Palauans have a passion for dancing.

Behind each dance is a story

They’re known for their loud chanting

Their waters are their pride and glory

It’s a home to many a people

They take pride in the land they own

The bells ring in the village steeple

The happiness in their faces are shown.

(c) Sierra Diaz

Dededo, Guam

INSPIRATIONAL MESSAGE:  Stand up and take pride in who you are!

UOG Presidential Lecture Features Marshallese Poet Kathy Jetnil-Kijner

University of Guam President Dr. Robert A. Underwood presents the first Presidential Lecture of 2015 featuring Marshallese poet and spoken word artist Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner on Wednesday, March 18 at 7:00 p.m. in the College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences (CLASS) Lecture Hall on the UOG Campus. Her lecture is entitled: “Iep Jeltok: A Basket of Poetry and Activism.”

Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner is a Marshallese poet and spoken word artist whose work focuses on raising awareness surrounding the issues and threats faced by her people - militarism and the nuclear legacy, climate change and climate justice, and adaptation and racism in America are just a few topics her work touches upon.

She received her Master’s degree from the Center for Pacific Island Studies at University of Hawai'i Manoa, with a focus on the history of Marshallese oral traditions and the transition into textual productions from Marshallese authors.

This past September, she performed at the opening of the United Nations Climate Summit in New York, following the speeches of Al Gore, Leonardo DiCaprio, and the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, and has since been thrust into global conversations on climate change. She currently teaches at the College of the Marshall Islands.

Source:  www.uog.edu

Shine from within

Poets and Writers Directory

Directory of Writers - Criteria for Listing

• Apply to Be Listed
• View the Directory of Writers
• Contact the Directory Administrator

P&W's Directory of Poets and Writers lists names, addresses, and publication credits for 10,005 contemporary authors. The Directory is a must for writers interested in connecting with their peers. It's also a great resource for editors, agents, and reading series coordinators.

Apply to be listed in the Directory of American Poets and Writers. Before applying, please read the Evaluation Criteria below to see if you are eligible for listing. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Directory Administrator.

EVALUATION CRITERIA:

Applications are evaluated on a point system. Poets, fiction writers, creative nonfiction writers, and spoken word artists are invited to apply. You must have 12 points in a category to be listed; i.e. you must have 12 poetry credits to be listed as a poet.

The following count as points for listing:

• Each book of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction (personal essays or memoirs) (12 points)
• Each chapbook (6 points)
• Each work of fiction or creative nonfiction (personal essays or memoirs) published in a literary journal, anthology, or edited Web publication (2 points)
• Each spoken word performance (not readings) (2 points)
• Each poem published in a literary journal, anthology, or edited Web publication (1 points)

The following do not count as points for listing:

• Journalism or scholarly texts (biography, history, how to, travel guides, book reviews)
• Publications from vanity presses such as International Library of Poetry, Poetry.com, Noble House Publishers or from other presses or publications that ask authors to pay all or some of the publishing costs
• Self-published work, or work from presses such as Publish America that do not offer authors standard book contracts, including, but not limited to, online entities like iUniverse.com, lulu.com, and AuthorHouse.com
• Writing for children under the age of 12
• Credits from publications that do not regularly publish poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction
• Work published by a journal, anthology, or press for which you make editorial decisions
• Plays or dramatic treatments
• Translations

Source:  http://www.pw.org/directory/criteria

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from around the Pacific! May the year 2015 bring you many blessings filled with much love, joy, peace, and happiness!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! - English
Biba Añu Nuebu! – Chamorro
Feliz Año Nuevo! – Spanish
Engan ke ya sasu! - Kosraean
Gung Hay Fat Choy – Chinese
Ungil Beches Er Rak! – Palauan
Selsalan Ebéach e duw! – Yapese
Peren En Parakapw! – Pohnpeian
Hauoli Makahiki Hou – Hawaiian
Pwapwan Ei Ier Mi Fo – Chuukese
Sehe Bokmanee Bateuseyo! – Korean
Maligayang Bagong Taon – Tagalog
Cung-Chuc Tan-Xuan! – Vietnamese
Jeramman ilo iio in ekaal! – Marshallese
Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu – Japanese
Ameseighil ubwutiiwel Layúi Luugh me raagh féé! – Carolinian

Image source: howtolearn.com

Poets.org - Happy Holidays!

December 15, 2014 Happy Holidays As you begin your holiday celebrations with family and friends this month,  we present our own special season’s greetings with this roundup of poems  to enjoy and share. “Winter is good - his Hoar Delights” (1316) by Emily Dickinson “Winter Field” by Joanna Klink “The Feast of Lights” by Emma Lazarus “Christmas Bells” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow “Winter Twilight” by Anne Porter “Meditations on the Fall and Winter Holidays” by Charles Reznikoff “The Snow Man” by Wallace Stevens “The Coming of Light” by Mark Strand “Winter Trees” by William Carlos Williams “Skating in Harlem, Christmas Day” by Cynthia Zarin SOURCE:  poets.org