Tag: poets

Author Spotlight: Yecheilyah’s 2nd Annual Poetry Contest Judge: Tehilayah Ysrayl

Today we are introducing and spotlighting Tehilayah Ysrayl, mother, wife, poet and our 2nd Annual Poetry Contest judge! Join me as we catch up.

Copyright©2018. Tehilayah.

Tehilayah, whose name means song of praise, is an aspiring author and poet who was born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She attended IPFW and Ivy Tech Community College and currently works for a life insurance company. Tehilayah has been happily married for six years, has four beautiful children, and a Jack Russell named Sevyn that is selective in who he deals with and has a “big dog” mentality.

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Tehilayah and her Hubby

This mother is not afraid of the stage, presenting her poetry at various venues and impromptu poetry gatherings in her city. She enjoys singing, sewing, reading, wine, whiskey and, most importantly, words. Some of her favorite poets include but are not limited to, Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, Amiri Baraka, Countee Cullen, Sonia Sanchez, Steven Willis, and Rudy Francisco.

Tehilayah is also a voracious reader and fell in love with Urban Fiction because of Donald Goines. From there she branched off to discover other authors like Sista Soulja and the love stories that Eric Jerome Dickey brought, Carl Weber and many more. Currently, Tehilayah is enthralled in the Ashley and Jaquavis novel series. Tehilayah reads not only for the entertainment but also for the techniques in writing.

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Currently, this karate mom is working on her first book, a collection of poetry! “No Idle Word” is about encouraging the faint at heart, providing awareness to the ignorant, and healing to the broken.

Blog: https://nolineleftbehind.wordpress.com/

IG: @tehilayah/

Twitter: @tehilayah

Email: tehilayah12@gmail.com

Coming Soon

T - Mock 3

Present | Sonia Sanchez

This woman vomiting her
hunger over the world
this melancholy woman forgotten
before memory came
this yellow movement bursting forth like
coltrane’s melodies all mouth
buttocks moving like palm tress,
this honeycoatedalabamianwoman
raining rhythm to blue/black/smiles
this yellow woman carrying beneath her breasts
pleasures without tongues
this woman whose body waves
desert patterns,
this woman wet with wandering,
reviving the beauty of forests and winds
is telling you secrets
gather up your odors and listen
as she sings the mold from memory.

there is no place
for a soft / black / woman.
there is no smile green enough or
summertime words warm enough to allow my growth.
and in my head
i see my history
standing like a shy child
and i chant lullabies
as i ride my past on horseback
tasting the thirst of yesterday tribes
hearing the ancient/black/woman
me, singing hay-hay-hay-hay-ya-ya-ya.
hay-hay-hay-hay-ya-y a-ya.
like a slow scent
beneath the sun
and i dance my
creation and my grandmothers gathering
from my bones like great wooden birds
spread their wings
while their long/legged/laughter
stretched the night.
and i taste the
seasons of my birth. mangoes. papayas.
drink my woman/coconut/milks
stalk the ancient grandfathers
sipping on proud afternoons
walk like a song round my waist
tremble like a new/born/child troubles
with new breaths
and my singing
becomes the only sound of a
blue/black/magical/woman. walking.
womb ripe. walking. loud with mornings. walking.
making pilgrimage to herself. walking.

– Sonia Sanchez

Confession and Cover Reveal

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Many of you know that I have pushed my two bigger projects back but I’ve been low-key working on another one and yesterday, I revealed the news to my email list.

I have wanted to publish many of the poems featured on this blog (by featured I am referring to my own poems) in a book for a long time. I tried it with my third collection but since then I’ve written a lot more poetry. To make a long story short, I’ve finally submitted the final copy of I AM SOUL in to be edited last week and we’re looking at a release date as early as December 20th, my mother’s birthday.

COVER REVEAL – I AM SOUL

 

Inspiration Behind the Title

“You have an old soul.”

I don’t particularly like this phrase and I cringe when people tell me this. But, it is a fact that I’ve heard this many times over the course of my life, disguised in many different ways.

“You act older than you are.”

“You’re mature for your age.”

Or as my big sister so elegantly put it: “You old.”

So, I decided to drop the “Old” (because I’m young shooo lol) and just go with Soul.

Personal

I read something once that said, “The best writing is vulnerable.” I kept rolling this around in my head. It’s so true. I am extremely shy when it comes to my own personal feelings and I admit I am embarrassed to reveal too much of myself because, well, I think it will be too much. I’m too much yall (lol tee hee). But, the person was right. We connect deeper with people who we can relate to. People who are just as human as we are. People who make mistakes and are dripping with flaws. They may not always be this way, but they help us to see there is still hope. Their testimonies make redemption real. They are not somewhere in heaven while the rest of us are here on Earth. Their mistakes are a bridge of commonality that connects them to the rest of mankind. It is why we connect with people who are real.

This book is also a compilation of the Black History poems published to this blog which is another inspiration for the title. We have always had a unique way about us from our rich history to our style of dress to the way that we speak. We are the salt of the Earth. We are flavoring. We are Soul Train and Soul Brothers. We are soul.

I AM SOUL is personal in more ways than one and seeks to tell the truth. To be honest. To be vulnerable. To be weak and in that weakness, to be strong. ( 2 Co 12:10) This book is all things personal. This book is all things, soul.

So, there you have it. I’ll have more details and developments as we get closer to release but I am excited and I hope you will enjoy this collection just as much as you enjoy the poetry on this blog.

I AM SOUL- 3D

Coming Soon

Poetry Contest Reminder: Closing July 19, 2017

As you all know, I am running my first ever poetry contest in honor of my upcoming release Renaissance: The Nora White Story (Book One) which features poetry and is available now for eBook preorders.

Click Here to order at the low price of $1.99 before the price goes up on July 15th.

This book will also be available in paperback.

You can help further by marking Renaissance as to read on Goodreads. CLICK HERE.

Now, poetry…

I am writing to remind you that this contest will end soon!

First, what is this all about? For those of you who have not already checked into Colleen’s Blog where I made the initial announcement on June 19, 2017,  here are the rules:

The Poem

Submit one or two original, unpublished poems to Yecheilyah at yecheilyah ysrayl dot com (yecheilyah@yecheilyahysrayl.com) between now through July 19, 2017. You will have until 12:00 midnight Central Standard Time on 7/19 to get your poems in before closing.

Poems must be your ORIGINAL work and UNPUBLISHED anywhere online.

There is one winner of this contest with up to 2 entries per poet.

Entry Fee:

There is a $5.00 Entry fee. Click HERE to pay the fee.

OR – Entry fees can be waived by signing up for my email list HERE. There is no other way to waive the fee.

If you are already on my email list, please mention this when submitting your poem.

Signing up for my email list represents one entry.

If you are entering more than one poem, you must pay the entry fee for any additional poems.

The Reason for the Fee:

The entry fee is in place to help pay for the prizes.

Current Prizes

At this time, we have one Grand Prize Winner who will receive:

  • Poem published to The PBS Blog (includes links to your social media, buy links to your books (if any) and promotion.)

  • Amazon Gift Card

  • Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

  • *From When I was a Black Girl by Yecheilyah Ysrayl

  • And Still, I Rise by Maya Angelou

*From When I was a Black Girl is my second collection of poetry. First published in 2012 with a second edition published in 2013, this book became a book of study at The Evergreen State College in Tacoma, Washington for the Fall 2014 semester. Part of an Independent Learning Contract, it remains part of the school’s files to this day. It is my honor to offer a paperback of this collection as a winning prize for this contest. This is an exclusive offer that you will not find on Amazon.

International Shipping

Please note: Winners outside the U.S. will be awarded Kindle downloads of the books listed if someone overseas wins.

Final Thoughts:

The winner will be announced on Monday, August 6, 2017 on both this blog and Colleen’s.

(If you win, you will be notified a couple days before the announcement via email you have won and that an announcement will go out featuring you. This is so that we can collect your information, social links and links to any books you have out if any).

The Grand Prize Winner will have their poetry featured on The PBS Blog with added promotion. The date for this will be revealed to the poet after they have won.

To enter this contest, please send $5.00 to the PayPal of Literary Korner Publishing HERE.

 

To waive your fee, please sign-up to my email list HERE.(Verification of sign-up will be reviewed before poem is accepted).

 

Send your poem to Yecheilyah @ yecheilyahysrayl.com

The Theme

Since Renaissance follows the theme of The Harlem Renaissance and Black life in the South, poems should have something to do with these themes and can be as long or as short as you would like. The contest is open to all poets.

I understand not all of you are familiar with this era so I am opening this up a bit. The theme will remain the same but it is not mandatory. Poems of all kinds will be accepted and considered for the win.

 

Would a focus on the 1920s era and women in general be nice? Yes, but it is not required to win. Consider this open mic!

 

If you didn’t see the original announcement, CLICK HERE to learn more.

That is all and I look forward to reading your poems!

Jezebel

She is manipulation like time told backwards

Even the strongest think they’ve escaped her

But she tap dances on their lips

And she impales their language

With their slave master’s mentality

She is Judas

Sticking her hands in the cup of your salvation

She’ll take you

From light

to darkness

From the daylight

to those days of Eve

Tear scriptures from your mouth

like ripped pages

take laws and commandments

and break valleys of dry bones

like abortions

She will tear apart

Decipher

and Willie Lynch your good news

Before you read it

She is death

like the sting of the grave

but silly women are captivated by her

Too desperate for her friendship

to see that she’ll change her name to Peter

before they deny her

And she invests millions in their pain

Create nests in her wounds

Like wasps in the crevices of houses

And her stinger is always ready

To throw lukewarm water on your faith

That Proverbs 31 woman she erases from her memory

Like cancer cells

Begging its maker for freedom

She is death

To their lungs like tonsils

Scratching at the captivity of their throats

And she gives poison to sell

So run along now

And give my warning to the silly women

Loaded down with various sins

Tell them

that she sets no bail

and for the record

her name

is Jezebel

 

Poetry Contest: Emily Dickinson First Book Award, $10,000

Wow. Poets check it out! $10,000 Award Poetry contest. Being I’m not even 30, I can’t participate lol. Post Quote: “The award seeks to recognize an American poet who is at least 40 years old and who has never published a book-length collection of poetry.”

*Comments disabled here*

Kristen Twardowski's avatarKristen Twardowski

The Poetry Foundation recently announced that it will once again be holding its Emily Dickinson First Book Award. Though the contest is held infrequently, it is a wonderful opportunity for poets. It also has several unusual restrictions. The award seeks to recognize an American poet who is at least 40 years old and who has never published a book-length collection of poetry.

The prize for this award is extraordinary. The winner will receive $10,000 as well as the publication and promotion of a book of poetry by Graywolf Press. In addition to having a stellar name, Graywolf Press has published some amazing works including Max Porter’s Grief is the Thing with Feathers, Elizabeth Alexander’s American Sublime, and Kevin Barry’s Dark Lies the Island. (The Press has an extensive list of award winning books.)

In order to be considered, contest entrants must submit a poetry manuscript between…

View original post 92 more words

Writer’s Quote Wednesday – Getting Naked

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Put your stones back in your pocket, there’s nothing freaky going on here. Minds out the gutters please. Great, now we can begin.

For today’s episode of Writer’s Quote Wednesday, Colleen has asked us to appreciate a few poets. Initially, I was going to share something from Melvin B. Tolson but I have instead chosen this one from Nikki Giovanni for a few reasons:

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The reason I went with this quote is because I look for quotes that instantly speak to me. This is when I know I have selected the appropriate one for the week. So anyway, as soon as I read this quote I was put into the mind of poetry. Nakedness reminds me of writing poetry because to write poems is to do so in a way that communicates, that bridges gaps, and that builds and to do this properly, at least in my opinion, is to get naked. By getting naked I just mean to be transparent. It is to strip yourself down to complete humility so that you can share poems that actually speak to people. Sometimes poems seem so extremely personal that it seems like it’s too much, an over share if you will. And while I will never tell you to just tell all your business, I will say that if you enjoy poetry you will hear some pretty personal stuff. It’s the poets’ way of getting naked because the fact of the matter is that transparency speaks. You don’t necessarily have to be all deep in the over intellectualized kind of way no, but poets should have something to say that will help others to cling onto that testimony like a bond. This is why poetry is so emotionally charged because people will always be able to relate to the real and poetry is that real. Good poetry is the whole experience. It’s the taste, the touch, the sight, and the feel.

About the Author:

nikki-giovanniBorn Yolande Cornelia on June 7, 1943, Nikki Giovanni is a writer, commentator, activist, and educator. One of the world’s most well-known African American poets, her work includes poetry anthologies, poetry recordings, and nonfiction essays, and covers topics ranging from race and social issues to children’s literature. She has won numerous awards, including the Langston Hughes Medal, the NAACP Image Award, and has been nominated for a Grammy Award for her Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection. – Wikipedia

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writers-quote-wednesday

“Maybe I’ll use poetry to C-Section my insides
besides
I’ve got to have some kinda gut
to stand up here and strip for you”- Yecheilyah