The theme for the summer Avocet is “A Time to Nurture.”
They ask that poets please read about the essence of the Transcendentalists message and try to incorporate that message in every poem you send their way.
Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that developed in the late 1820s and 1830s in New England.[1][2][3] A core belief is in the inherent goodness of people and nature,[1] and while society and its institutions have corrupted the purity of the individual, people are at their best when truly “self-reliant” and independent.
Write poems that deal with how the warmth of summer nurtures one’s soul, one’s young ones, one’s garden, how we spend time in and on and around the water during the Summer months…
Write poems that deal with wild creatures nurturing their young one. Show how your favorite wild creature teaches their young ones how to survive in the wild, how important it is for a young one to survive the Summer months to get ready for the colder months to come. Summer nourishes us!!!
Think of the Season when you send us your work. We want Summer-themed poems for the Summer issue, but, of course, there are those Saving Mother Earth poems that transcend the seasons, they are always welcome at any time of the year. We love poems with animals in them, even better, poems with humans interacting with animals out and about in Nature. Send poems written about the beginning of a new season and the end of a Season. In each issue, we try to present a cubistic view of a season, to display Nature in all her splendor… We use your poems to tell the story of each season… from beginning to its end.
We are looking for poetry that moves the reader through the beauty, the peace, and the fury of Nature in all its glory. We love poems that have people interacting with nature. We love poems that have animals in their element. We love poems that have a message! We believe the purpose of poetry is to provoke thought!
Read the definitions below and incorporate them into your poems.
nur·ture n.
a. The action of raising or caring for offspring: the nurture of an infant.
b. Biology The sum of environmental influences and conditions acting on an
organism, especially in contrast to heredity.
c. The fostering or overseeing of the development of something: the nurture of an
idea.
2. Something that nourishes; sustenance.
tr.v. nur·tured, nur·tur·ing, nur·tures
a. To raise or educate (a child, for example).
b. To encourage or help develop; cultivate.
2. To provide sustenance for; nourish: the meadow that nurtures the cattle.
Guidelines for the Summer printed issue of The Avocet
Submission Period is from March 23rd to May 23rd.
Submit your work on-line to: cportolano@hotmail.com
in ONE Word Attachment, please no pdf files
or you can send in the body of an email,
or you can send by snail mail:
The Avocet, a Journal of Nature Poetry
Charles Portolano, Editor/Publisher
P.O. Box 19186
Fountain Hills, AZ 85269
We welcome previously published poems.
But no simultaneous submissions.
We will not read submissions that are not addressed to us – Charles and Vivi.
Only one batch of poems submitted per reading period.
Please no religious references.
Send no more than four poems, all in one attachment.
No more than 39 lines per poem. (spaces between stanzas count as lines)
Do not use fancy font, which only confuses the scanner.
All poems must be left margin formatted.
Use single spaced lines.
Do not use all Caps in the title.
Please, please type your name/town and state/email address underneath each poem, thank you.
Please, we want a short bio so we can get to know you, the poets, of the Avocet community better! We don’t care to hear where you have been published before. Please tell us of your love of Nature.