Category: Poetry

Going To The Moon!

~ Lynne Burnett ~ 4 Comments

Well, I’m not going to the moon but my poem “Luna” is, as part of The Polaris Trilogy anthology, specifically commissioned for the Lunar Codex – the first significant placement of contemporary arts on the Moon in over fifty years. The Polaris Collection will be launched in 2024 via the Astrobotic Griffin/NASA VIPER mission, landing in the Nobile Crater, in the vicinity of the Lunar South Pole. A poet’s dream! – at least one poem surviving my earthly passing lol. I’m in good company too – writer friends Stephanie Harper and Robert Okaji plus much-loved poets like Ted Kooser, Marianne Boruch and Rhina P. Espaillat are included. The book is wonderfully diverse; if you’d like a copy, you can purchase it here in Canada or here in the USA. My “Luna” was written a very long time ago and I’m thrilled to have it onboard this mission. Many thanks to Lead Editor Joyce Brinkman for her stellar work in putting this together!

Poem Up at Blue Heron Review

~ Lynne Burnett ~ 9 Comments

LYNNE BURNETT

Back in Puerto Vallarta

We arrive at the hotel like royalty—
remembered, waved through
the sea breeze of halls and floors
to our room, a welcome platter
of fruit, chilled bottle of wine,
a card—that’s all it takes to
pull off our clothes, shower,
sit on the balcony white-robed,
watch the waves rolling toward us
until they roll all the way in and
we let go the body that struggles,
let anything and everything swim
out of us, follow a dark fin far
and away from the old shore,
the sea surging, filling my mouth
with its need to be tasted—salt lick,
tongue slick with the eloquence
of stars.

I’m so happy to have this poem appear in Blue Heron Review’s Issue 16, whose theme was Sanctuaries & Places of Peace, along with almost 50 others! Big thanks to editor Cristina Norcross! I’ve pasted my poem here for ease of reading (since my poem is nine from the end) but here is the link to the whole issue, so many nourishing poems to enjoy: https://blueheronreview.com/bhr-issue-16-spring-2023/

Good News

~ Lynne Burnett ~ 5 Comments

For anyone who wanted to attend my virtual poetry reading last Saturday – and couldn’t – there is now a link to the video, hooray: Fluid Vessels Poetry Reading. Many thanks to the Montreal PP staff and all the work they do behind the scenes! It’s one hour and first you see the poster, then an inset of the director of the Montreal PP and then it automatically goes fullscreen. I’m first up. There’s 10 minutes at the end where we all answer questions and I’m asked a question after that at the very end by a viewer, about “Date Night”. Thanks so much for your interest and support!  

My First Online Poetry Reading

~ Lynne Burnett ~ 8 Comments

After a few months away in Mexico (fabulous!) I am back home, ready to catch up and post updates on my writing life etc. First up is this Fluid Vessels event in one week! It’s one hour with the three of us reading for about 12 minutes each and a Q & A after. We were all finalists for the 2022 Montreal PP. Interestingly I have on my bookshelf one of Miranda Pearson’s earlier books (“Harbour”) so it’s a thrill to be reading alongside her – and I’ve come across (and liked) Khaty Xiong’s poems in various journals along the way.  I hope you can join us! Here’s a link to event registration – and a thousand thank yous if you’re able to listen in!

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/fluid-vessels-7-montreal-international-poetry-prize-reading-series-2023-tickets-568184363727

As I Think Of Kelp, How It Lies In The Shallows

~ Lynne Burnett ~ 10 Comments
Image by Alan Robb from Pixabay

the birds begin their evening declensions,
note by note, the grammar of praise.

The air cools. I close the window to a crack,
the pale sky falling out of sight, yoked

now to darkness. I write at my desk by the light
of a lamp: a small moon turning the tide.

How fathom the mysterious waters
in which my soul swims, finning stars?

The clock ticks but time sleeps
until I return to the bone-white shore,

a wave from far away, heartbeat of the ocean,
tugging at the wagging brown tongues of words.

This poem appeared in the Crosswinds 2019 Poetry Contest Anthology.

Best of the Net Nomination!

~ Lynne Burnett ~ 8 Comments

Thrilled to receive the news that my poem “Prawns” which appeared in the June issue of “Halfway Down the Stairs” has been nominated for Best of the Net 2022! Many thanks to editors Jeannie E. Roberts and Phillip Watts Brown! You can read (or reread) the poem here

Poem Up at Thimble Literary Magazine

~ Lynne Burnett ~ 13 Comments
Photo by Aswin Raj on Unsplash

I’m thrilled one of my oldest poems has finally found the perfect home in Thimble Literary Magazine! My deep thanks to editor Nadia Arioli and her staff, who promote their contributors in as many ways as they can – they are a poet’s dream team! There will be a print version of the issue but my poem can be read now in their online one here 

Great News!

~ Lynne Burnett ~ 17 Comments

I’m thrilled to report that my poem “Ladies’ Night Out” was one of 57 finalist poems for the Montreal International Poetry Prize 2022 and will be published along with the winner and other finalist poems in a contest anthology! My poem can be read here 

I did share this news in a Facebook post a couple of weeks ago when I briefly had wifi. I am still away on our boat but at last have some consistent wifi coverage! The winner was announced yesterday and you can read her poem and the judge’s commentary here 

It’s a win-win in my book when a contest (and this was a big one with a huge purse) offers publication to the finalists as well as the winner. My poem is one dear to me, I’ve tweaked it a few times over the years and I’m so pleased it finally gets to go out into the world in such an honorable way.

Two Poems Up At Crowstep Journal!

~ Lynne Burnett ~ 10 Comments
Photo by G-R Mottez on Unsplash

I’m thrilled to report that my two poems – “The Fog Lifts” and “Seagull”  can now be read/viewed at  Crowstep Journal Collection 2. My deep thanks to editors Sujatha Menon and John Herbert – such a beautifully crafted issue! Plus they have a Library section with links to authors’ books (like mine) and under Articles you can find a two-part Q & A that poet extraordinaire Robert Okaji did with me a few years ago!

I’m heading off on our boat again soon. Hope everyone is having a great summer!