All about Harry Gilleland

Harry E. Gilleland, Jr. is a 64-year-old southerner. Born and raised in Macon, Georgia, he earned a B.S. (1966) and a M.S. (1968) in Microbiology from the University of Georgia in Athens. Following three years of service in the U.S. Army as a captain, including a tour of duty in Vietnam, he returned to earn a Ph.D. in Microbiology from UGA in 1973. He then headed north to complete a two-year fellowship at the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada. In July of 1975 he joined the faculty of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, Louisiana. After twenty-nine years of teaching microbiology to medical and graduate students and performing vaccine research, Harry retired in July of 2004. Today Harry lives in Shreveport with his wonderful wife Linda. Harry enjoys being able to engage in his passion for writing full-time.


Harry has previously published three books of his personal poetry: Poetry For The Common Man: Storoems and Poems (2003, ISBN 1411600649), Gilleland Poetry: Storoems and Poems (2005, ISBN 1411629272), and Poetic Musings of an Old, Fat Man (2008, ISBN 978-1-4357-1242-3). In addition, Harry has published two books of prose, a tale of fantasy entitled Bob the Dragon Slayer (2005, ISBN 1411633156) and a contemporary romance story entitled White Lightning Road (2006, ISBN 978-1-4116-8693-9).

Harry Gilleland’s poetry recently won two cash awards in the 2008 Tom Howard Poetry Contest associated with Winning Writers.com. Harry’s rhyming storoem The Old Salty Poems won 2nd Place with a $1,000 prize, while his free-verse poem The Assembled Waiters earned $200 for a High Distinction award. Harry was the only poet to win two cash awards in the contest.

Harry Gilleland’s poetry has been included in four multi-author print anthologies of poems and short stories, in several poetry e-zines, and on numerous Internet poetry forums, in addition to his own three published collections. His storoems (story-poems) and poems are readily accessible to all readers, including those who do not regularly read poetry. Harry views the world with a poet’s eye.


To see Harry's books: http://www.lulu.com/harry
To see Harry's book covers and samples of his poetry: http://www.gillelands.com/poetry/
Harry's books are available for purchase at: LuLu.com, Amazon.com, and Barnes and Noble.com

Family and More- Enemies or Friends? by Helena Harper

Family and More: Enemies or Friends? by Helena Harper

Who influences us in our lives? How do they influence us? Whom do we call an enemy? Whom do we call a friend? And why? Why do we have relationships at all?

These are the questions Helena Harper eloquently asks in her collection of poems that examines the relationships in her own life. She has had to rethink her definition of 'enemy', not least because her father was English and her mother German and they met in the aftermath of World War II in Germany. She has also been forced to rethink her definition of 'friend'. If we learn something from someone that helps us to grow and develop as human beings, becoming more understanding and compassionate in the process, then surely most people we meet in life will be our 'friends'?

Through the memories and experiences of the people in Helena's life, others can hopefully reflect on their own and maybe come to understand themselves and their relationships better.

Review of “Family and More – Enemies or Friends?”

Family and More – Enemies or Friends? is more than a collection of poems, it is a story I enjoyed and learned from. As you read this book, it becomes clear that the author put a great deal of time and effort into the choice of every word used. Each poem has a melodic flow that moves smoothly into the next.

Family and More enlightens the reader to the conflicts and confusion that exist in a family divided by war. Being the child of a German mother and English father in the aftermath of WWII, the author delves into her family’s history by examining the lives of several family members as well as other personal relationships. Each poem is an intertwined life. With descriptive imagery these people come alive; you see their struggles and triumphs.
This wonderful poetic story goes beyond a family history; it depicts the futility, frustration and hardship of war, along with the frailties and strengths of the people that make up each of our families.

Family and More – Enemies or Friends? is a beautifully written book. I highly recommend it.

Karen Cioffi, Author and Freelance Writer DKV Writing 4 U (http://dkvwriting4u.com/)
http://karenandrobyn.blogspot.com/Co-author of Day’s End Lullaby


Contact details/more info:

Email: webmaster@helenaharper.com
Helena’s website: http://www.helenaharper.com/
Helena’s authorsden website: http://www.authorsden.com/helenaharper
Helena’s blog: http://helenaharpersblog.blogspot.com/
Follow Helena on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/helenaharper

Family and More- Enemies or Friends? is only available was an E-book from the publisher Eloquent Books.

Stay tuned on Monday for more information about Helena!

The Poet in ME?

I sometimes refer to myself as an ex-poet. I've had some people, mostly poets, give me strange looks and say that's not possible. Once you become a poet, you start thinking like a poet, and you can never think differently.

And I guess that's true. I have never stopped looking at the world differently than the average person. I still see the beauty in everything. I guess the difference is, I'm directing those thoughts into different places now. Instead of writing a detailed, descriptive poem about a young boy and his grandma riding a city bus, I work it into a picture book. I tend to focus my attention more on children than adults. I also tend to focus on the outside world, not inside my own head. My poems tend to be self-reflective, but my picture books and novels examine the larger picture. Of course, I still use my own experiences when I write for kids, but they are mixed with things I've seen or heard kids do while out and about in the "real world."

I wonder sometimes if my lack of poetic moments lately is because I'm not living enough. I'm not out doing things and experiencing the world as much as I would like. I spend most of my time teaching or writing.

When I talk about why I pushed poetry aside, a few reasons keep creeping up:

• The need to be someone other than "me" in my work. Persona poems couldn't do it. People still thought I was being me.
• The inability to please myself and an audience at the same time. The audience at that point was mainly professors and other students.
• The feeling of being confined in twelve or so lines. It's odd, I used to never be able to write poems longer than fifteen lines. Now, I can't seem to get away from writing whole novels worth of stuff. It's liberating.
• The realization that I probably will never make money off of, or even publish, a book of poetry. Sad as it is, it's true. Publishing poetry is one of the hardest things to do, and if I couldn't do it "right" then I wasn't going to do it.
• The feeling that I needed to fit a "mold." Poets are picky. As a poetry student, I was told to follow all kinds of unwritten, contradictory rules. It was frustrating, and it sucked creativity out of me. Writing for kids is much more freeing. Just think of all the areas you can experiment with: non-fiction, picture books, rebus stories, poetry, middle grade fiction, YA novels, chick lit, fantasy, povels, the list goes on and on.

So the fact that I haven't finished a poem in over year doesn't really scare me. That I'm moving beyond 6+ years of doing the same thing every day excites me.

I'm Having Issues

I've been told that the last rhyming picture book I wrote was not a picture book, but a poem.

I've also been told that my rhythm in this poem is all off. Everytime I think I understand how to fix it, I mess it all up again. Despite four years as an English major and two years in an MFA program I WILL NEVER GET IT!

Yet, I keep insisting on writing rhyming picture books, which is ironic because I despise adult poems in rhyme. I find "regular" narrative picture books boring and harder to write.
I cannot make myself work on this poem. Nor can I make myself write one word of anything else. But I'm so bored I don't know what to do with myself. So, I'm just sitting here staring at the computer screen and letting my brain rot. *sigh*

Love's Chance?

Anyone know how I can get some recent copies of Love's Chance magazine? Apparently, they're so small that they can't afford to pay for publication in copies. I feel kind of dumb not knowing what kind of quality the magazine is, even after I've been published in it. Especially because it seems like they published me so quickly. I'm going to write a letter, but if anyone knows anything about the publication, could you please let me know? Thanks.

Rectangle

Today in the mail I received my two copies of the Rectangle as payment for publication! For those of you who don't know, the Rectangle is the literary journal of Sigma Tau Delta, the English Major Honor Society. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was among a great group of poets, including Cameron Conaway, former PSU-A classmate, Chatham MFA grad Nimi Finnegan, and current Chatham MFA student Meghan Tutolo. Congratulations to all of you! I'm honored to be listed among your talent. :-)

Submission Opportunity, Thesis Update, and More

Ok, so it's been a long time since I've written here. So, it's about time I do a complete update of everything that's been going on.

I'm finding myself, at this point in my life, much more challenged and entertained by writing for children than poetry. Maybe it's because I work with children and children's books every day. Maybe I was just ready for something new. Poetry has lost its novelty for me-- I no longer feel like I'm a master of it, nor do I enjoy sitting down and reading a poetry book as much as I do a children's book or YA novel. . .

An online friend of mine has created a site for children which includes poetry, short stories and activities. It's absolutely amazing the amount of work that has gone into this thing! She's now accepting submissions from children's writers, so if you are one please check it out at http://raenidaystorystation.com/default.aspx . You won't get paid for your work, but you will have the satisfaction of knowing it's being read and enjoyed by children everywhere.

Anyway. . . I'm going full spead ahead on my "povel" as my thesis. I've been busy reading lots of povels and examining what works and doesn't work about them. I have my proposal submitted and have actually started the manuscript! More about that later, though.

I'm also currently working on a non-fiction piece for children about the invention of the ferris wheel. This paper is the first time I've ever written non-fiction for children, but the topic is interesting and the process has been so much fun!

In other news, the issue of Rectangle (Sigma Tau Delta's literary magazine) with my poetry in it is coming out next month! Yay! Now I have to get my butt moving and submit some more. I want to really start trying to get my picture books published.

Woo-hoo!

I received some good news via e-mail a couple of days ago. The Rectangle, the literary journal of Sigma Tau Delta, the International English Honor Society, accepted my poem "The Bradley Family Secret" for publication! Although I was a little surprised that they decided to publish that one (boy, do I feel like my poetry has matured since I wrote that poem!) out of all five or six I submitted, I am more than happy to be published again, especially in a journal that will be read by students and professors all over the country (including some at Chatham as well as my alma mattar).

Experimentally Unexperienced

So, my goal this past week was to write an "experimental" poem, a poem written in whatever style is experimental to me. Basically, I've been trying to write a poem that goes against my usual style. It hasn't been too successful so far. It isn't so much that I don't want to play around with my style, it's just that I can't come up with a topic that I feel deserves it. Or, I can't come up with a form that's perfect for any of my topics.

So, after two false starts, I was laying in bed last night thinking when I came up with this incredibly complex, interwoven subject. I already had an opening stanza that I loved, so I started building off it. Basically, the poem is a series of numbered stanzas interweaving mother/daughter relationships with my current state as a 20-something girlfriend and the complexities of sexual relationships. Yeah. . .

It's still in fragments and I have until approx. 6:30PM to finish it. I don't know how "experimental" it is, but at this point I don't care much. . . I'm happy just to be writing something at this point, and the fact that it's something I really believe in is a plus.

As Promised

"The 30-something man sunbathing in a speedo in Mellon Park" poem. I've been told that my poems tend to throw an unexpectant twist at the reader somewhere in the middle or at the end. The truth is, the twists are unexpected to me as well. I tend to start out a poem based on a small event or image, often from my real life, and the true nature of the poem only unfolds itself to me through the writing process.

That being said, this poem goes a lot of places. A lot of intimate places that I'm not sure I originally wanted it to go. As presented here, this poem is very rough and needs a lot of revision to clarify its purpose.

So, now that I've done all but apologize for this poem, (I will never apologize for my work, no matter how crazy it may seem) I leave you to enjoy "Stranger in the Park."

You lay there in Mellon Park in your black Speedo,
your skin burning to a brilliant shade of flamingo pink.
I watch you from the picnic table where I write,
wonder your age and sexual orientation.
Not because I am interested in you, but because I
have never seen a 30-something man sunbathe in a Speedo before.
I fantasize about replacing you with my own man, his legs
stiff, straight out in front of him, his eyes blissfully closed.
I would lean over him with my bare knees digging into the dirt,
press him into the earth, run my tongue over his lips.
I can’t, so I watch.

You are sitting up now, your legs pulled to chest,
your head cocked to the left.
I think you almost catch me. I look away.
When I glance up again you lay back, pull your shorts
up your toned legs, over your nearly naked hips in a way
that would make me blush had I never seen a man dress before.
I look down at my legal pad, watch you out of the corner
of my eye slide your shirt over your head, fold you towel
into threes, stuff it into your backpack.
You leave with your back turned to me; I don’t have a chance
to transpose Mark’s face onto yours, to miss your presence like I miss his.

I have nothing to say

Ok, so that's not entirely true. I have lots to say, but it's mostly coming out in the form of poetry this week. Since this blog is about my writing news, and I have no writing news at the moment, I have no new blog entries. I haven't submitted poetry anywhere. I haven't been published again. I haven't gone to any open mics or have been featured in any readings. In short, the writing life has been a little boring.

I have my first poetry workshop of the semester tonight. I am also taking a class on writing children's picture books, so that'll be an interesting challenge. In my last children's writing class, I started out writing picture books, decided it wasn't for me, and switched to the YA novel Ice Girl. Maybe being forced to write picture books will help me learn to like writing them.

I have also been thinking about my thesis project. I'm starting a semester late, but I want to get a head start. Just the thought of it is making me crazy. Right now, I'm thinking of running with Lauren Alleyne's title suggestion of Summer of No Fear.

A couple of days ago, I started a poem about a 30-something, lobster red man sunbathing in a Speedo in Mellon park. Perhaps I will share it when it's finished.

Pittsburgh Poems and More

So, I've started to write "Pittsburgh Poems." I suppose it's a sign that I'm becoming more comfortable with my surroundings, but I'm not so sure about that. I think I heard someone say once that every writer that lives in Pittsburgh eventually starts writing about the city. I don't find that I have a particular connection to a lot of places here, so I'm not sure why I feel the need to write about it, but I do.

In other news, I'm really enjoying my class with Jim Coppoc, even if it is mostly online. It has been more productive so far than many of the workshops I have had in grad school ever were. I don't know what that says about the quality of those workshops. (I'm thinking about one in particular.) I believe that a professor has a duty to make his or her students see and think in different ways, about their writing, themselves, and the world. When a professor fails to do that, he fails his students.

Just my two cents.

Buy Mark's Book at Amazon.com!

Click on the link below to purchase Mark's new book of poetry, Writing Poems in the Rain, at Amazon.com!

http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Poems-Rain-Mark-Bradley/dp/1424180872/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-6526037-1336067?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179412206&sr=8-1

Here's the link where you can find Mark's new book of poetry, Writing Poems in the Rain: http://www.publishamerica.com/shopping/shopdisplayproducts.asp?Search=Yes It was published by PublishAmerica. Enjoy!

Disappointment and Celebrations!

It's been a long time since I've posted. I've been meaning to write about my disappointment last month. Mark, Sarah and I were supposed to go see Ted Kooser read in Pittsburgh. Sarah and I even got our tickets for free. But Mr. Kooser got sick and couldn't make the trip. I was rather upset for awhile. Those of you who know me well know that I absolutely idolize Ted Kooser. It has been my dream since I was an undergrad to meet him. I hope he's feeling a lot better now, and understand his situation, but I feel like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity has passed me by.

Now, for some great news! Mark's book "Writing Poems in the Rain" is now available from PublishAmerica! I'll try to get the URL where you all can order it later, because I've seemed to misplaced it. It's worth it, trust me!

And more great news: Two of my poems have been chosen to be published in Love's Chance Magazine next year! Yay!

Open Mic-ing it again.

So, I read at the open mic at school on Friday night. There was a small group of MFA students collected in the Mellon Livingroom. It was so small and comfortable, really not menacing at all. I read the three poems I wrote this semester that I actually like, without the aid of wine! Woohoo. And I had three or four people come up to me afterwards and tell me that they liked my work. That made me feel good. I'd like to be a featured reader next semester. We'll see if that happens.

Making Connections

I've been super busy. The end of my first year in grad school is coming up fast, so I have a lot of projects and papers to finish in a short period of time.

Last Friday night, March 23, my friend Sarah and I went to this place called Connections in Oakland for an opening of Sarah's friend Moshe's art show. They had delicious food, wine, and an open mic. Sarah and I were the only two people to read poetry. I must say, Sarah rocks at delivery. She really wants to get into slam poetry, and I can see why. She's a natural. I was nervous about going on after her, but things went pretty well. I read some old work, written for a poetry workshop last year, that I have already read in public, so it was the cliche piece of cake.

I'm not normally a public reader. This was the first time I have ever read to a room of almost complete strangers. But afterwards I had a guy come up to me and started talking to me about my poetry, and I started to think maybe I should go out and read more. Although I don't think my poems are meant for oral delivery as much as Sarah's are, just knowing that their are intellegent people out there who want to hear and discuss poetry is amazing, and Pittsburgh is a hub for poets. So, watch out! I may be coming to a venue in the Pittsburgh area near you sometime soon.

I've come to realize that making connections is a major part of being a writer. A lot of writers are, by nature, shy and reserved. But to really make it, one must break through that, travel outside their usual four walls, and take risks.