Tag: spoken word

The Greenbriar Mall – Pick-up Your Copy of I am Soul Today!

I am Soul is now available at The Medu Bookstore at the Greenbriar Mall in Atlanta. Medu means “power of the word” and is the second largest black-owned bookstore in Atlanta. They called me last week to say that they would like to carry my book in their store.

It has passed their review process which makes me very proud particularly because these are professional reviewers who have to ultimately vote on the book before it is accepted into the store. This means that a book must meet industry standards. I now share shelf space with the likes of Gabrielle Union, Jenifer Lewis, Tamika Newhouse and Urban Fiction power couple Ashley and Jaquavis Coleman. Of course, I still have to sell (lol) but I am excited about it nonetheless.

This makes the second store in Georgia to carry one of my books. If you are in the Atlanta-land area, remember that I still need your support to stay on the shelves. Be sure to stop in and request your copy. Again, the book is titled I am Soul by Yecheilyah. My name is pronounced e-SEE-li-yah. I am also looking to increase reviews for this book. If you’d like to read it in consideration for a review, let me know. (It’s a collection of poetry.)

Also, don’t forget. I want to see you at the Atlanta African American Book Festival event next month! Not only am I a vendor with an author table where you can support my books, I am also a volunteer for the event so I’ll be kinda all over the place and I’ll be looking for YOU!

 

“Savor the taste of your triumphs today. Don’t just swallow the moment whole without digesting what has actually happened here.”

– Dr. Chadwick Boseman

Yecheilyah’s 2nd Annual Poetry Contest Rules, Entry Criteria, Prizes and Guidelines

Guys!!

Don’t forget about the poetry contest! I don’t want to have to keep these prizes to myself. Because, ya know, I will.

But I don’t want to guys. I don’t wanna.

To learn more about how to enter, visit the ORIGINAL POST HERE.

It has already been shared and I don’t want to break the link of the original post so I am not going to repost it. Just CLICK THAT LINK to learn how to enter.

May the best poet win!

Please share THE ORIGINAL post with all the information on it. Please don’t reblog THIS post. Reblog the ORIGINAL. Comments disabled here.

YouTube: New Poem Added! Listen to “The Colors of Poetry” #Poetry #SpokenWord

Listen to The Colors of Poetry below. Be sure to subscribe to this blog by clicking on the button in the sidebar and my YouTube page HERE for notification of new poems.

The Colors of Poetry

Photo by Craven Bing Jr. on Unsplash

dip me in chocolate-covered rhyme
like the color of my skin
a young woman once drowning now lives on the shores of truth
sweating similes from her pores
a fresh coat of passion that shines something like melanin
can I scorch you with radiance?
breathing inspiration like oxygen
singing compassion, smoking lyric
and sipping on rhythm slow like the stride of a black man
the crackling compasses beneath his footsteps
clutching couplets like purses confused
by the uncertainty of his smile
the sugarcoated twinkle in their eyes
or the question mark in her walk
her hips sway
like six children, no man, and give up
but I got this mouth full of simile
this fist full of irony
this metaphor-shaped voice in my throat
a delicate coating of poetry to wash away the broken
so let me cocoa butter your heart into the palms of my hands
be Vaseline to your ashy and together
we’ll bind the broken wings of peanut butter,
and vanilla
and milky way,
and dark-covered freedoms
like the colors of poetry
on my skin.

Yecheilyah’s 2nd Annual Poetry Contest 2018: Rules, Guidelines, Entrance and Prizes

Yess people! It’s that time! Time to reveal the guidelines to this year’s contest and our amazing prizes! Read on…

Yecheilyah’s 2nd Annual Poetry Contest 2018

Theme: Self-Care, Self-Love – Our theme this year is on self-care and self-love!

Submissions Accepted: Thursday, July 12th NOW– Tuesday, July 31st

*If your poem is ready, go ahead and submit it!*

Winners Announced: Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Guidelines

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  • The poems submitted must be original work. This means that the poems must be written by you. If we find a poem that resembles any previously published poem in any way that poet will be disqualified from the competition. Poems must be your own work.

 

  • The poem must not be previously published in a book or anywhere online (including your blog)

 

  • The contest will be judged based on writing, style and how closely the poem adheres to the theme.

 

  • We are judges of the competition only. All poets are welcomed to enter regardless of race, religion, political views or location. All poems must be written in English and there will be no shipments outside of the U.S. In the event a poet wins this competition and their residence is outside of the U.S., any prize requiring shipping (if any) will be awarded in digital form. Ex. Ebooks instead of paperbacks.

 

  • All poets must be at least 18 years of age to submit.

 

  • There are no entry fees for this competition. Simply subscribe to Yecheilyah’s email list HERE and email your poem to enter. Anyone who subscribes only to unsubscribe before the competition is complete (any time before the winners are announced) will be disqualified for the win. Any subscription that has not been made before 11:59pm EST on July 31st will be disqualified.

 

  • Authors of the winning poems grant Yecheilyah of The PBS Blog and Literary Korner Publishing the right to publish the poems on her blog located at www.thepbsblog.com  as the winning poem. Permission is granted upon entry of the contest for publishing to The PBS Blog. The poets retain all rights and copyrights of their own work.

 

  • Upon submission, poets grant Yecheilyah of The PBS Blog and Literary Korner Publishing the right to publish the poem in the Literary Korner Publishing’s debut online magazine. The poets retain all rights and copyrights of their own work.

 

  • Multiple entries to this contest are allowed. If submitting multiple poems there is a 3 poem max.

 

  • Entry is taken as acceptance of ALL of these guidelines.

Submission Instructions:

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  • Click on THIS link and subscribe to Yecheilyah’s email list. This will automatically give us your name and email address. Be sure to confirm your subscription is due to this contest by checking ‘yes’ next to “Is this a poetry contest entry?” on the form. *If you are already subscribed to my list you are halfway there! Just email me your poem*

 

  • Once you’ve subscribed to the list, please send your poem(s) to yecheilyah@yecheilyahysrayl.com.

 

  • Both of the above steps are needed for a poem to be considered submitted.

 

  • Submissions are accepted July 12th NOW – through July 31st 2018.

 

  • Winners are announced August 22, 2018 on The PBS Blog and across social media.

Prizes:

The grand prize winner of this contest will receive:

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  • One $50 Amazon Giftcard (this will be a hard-copy gift card mailed to the winner within the U.S. Winners outside the U.S. will receive an ecard.)
  • Gift Card is nested inside a specialty gift box
  • Gift Card has no fees and no expiration date
  • Gift Card is redeemable towards millions of items storewide at Amazon.com

Why Hardcopy Giftcards:

For authors getting reviews, Amazon is strict about assuming manipulation when it comes to amazon e-cards, usually given away at contests. “If the author has ever given the reviewer a gift card, anywhere in the past, then all the reader’s reviews are considered “paid for” and deleted.” (Source: https://tracycooperposey.com/amazon-reviews-being-deleted/)

To help to protect any authors entering this contest, our gift-cards will be hard-copy and mailed, except in the case of winners outside of the United States.

  • Signed paperback copy of I am Soul poetry book by Yecheilyah Ysrayl (Winners outside the U.S. will receive a digital copy of this book)
  • 1 Writing Custom Designed Journal and matching pen to encourage your writing journey!
  • Front page feature and publication to Literary Korner Publishing’s exclusive online magazine designed specifically for this contest, debuting this summer.
  • Promotion on The PBS Blog and social media (over 700+views weekly)

Runner-ups!

We will be choosing some runner-ups!

All Entrants

All entrants have the opportunity to be featured in our first online magazine publication designed specifically for this contest so put forth your best! Only a select few will be chosen!

Don’t forget to support the contributors to this year’s contest.

Follow Tehilayah’s Blog HERE
Follow Lisa’s Blog HERE
Follow Kathy’s Blog HERE
Follow Tinzley’s Blog HERE

These rules will be re-posted again as we get closer to the contest so go ahead and write those poems! Hurry. Deadline is 7/31

When the World Loves You

I hate to have to be the one to tell you this

after all, you woke up today optimistic

and here I am

feeding you words that I know you do not want to hear

but I wouldn’t be much of a friend if I didn’t tell you the truth

about how the world loves you.

The world will love you

only after the soil hugs your flesh

when the breath leaves your body for that place it will now call home

the world will bring you home

on the backs of T-Shirts

and tattoos that kiss cuzo’s flesh

in a frame on grandmother’s wall

and in museums

popularize your name in a post

speak to you in a language that you will never understand

and in a voice that you will never hear

the world will love you

later

after the fact

like they did messiah

on their living room walls

force a crown of thorns around your head

sacrifice your body to social media

hang you

on their Facebook walls

hashtag your legacy

in cyberspace

they will celebrate you

like they never even did at birth

I warn you

they will throw you parties

bigger than anything your eyes could behold

hold you

in their memories like a nightmare

from which they cannot awake

you will haunt them

and they will love it

the world will love you in caskets

and in prayers

tell you secrets in the grave

they will confide in you

like a man to a woman’s hips

when the world loves you back

it is in flowers

and candlelight vigils

it is in marches, street corners, and pictures

the world will love you in laughter

and in memorials

in memory and regret

and I apologize that I have to be the one to tell you this

after all, you woke up today optimistic

but I wouldn’t be much of a friend if I didn’t tell you the truth

about how the world loves you

only in death.

This poem is inspired by “When the Hood Loves You Back” by Steven Willis. You can watch the video to my poem below. Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel for notifications of more poems.