Category / Publishing credit

by J.L. Smith

Throwback Thursday: Da! – Peeking Cat Poetry

OK, so this is late.  It is barely Thursday Alaska time, but hey, it is still Thursday!

This one was published in Peeking Cat Poetry in October 2015 (8th issue).  Yes, it is about my little girl.  No, really I am not turning her into a Russophile, but really, would it be a bad thing if I did? Ha ha.  Just like mama! 🙂

Da!

My ten month baby girl says “da”
like a good Russian comrade.
Her hands flap in the air, beat her chest
with the conviction of Lenin presenting
his April Theses in Petrograd in 1917.

I tell my husband “da” counts as a word,
as it means “yes” in Russian.
He shakes his head: in English
it is short for “dada” or “daddy.”
Yet, he knows his Russophile wife better:
You’ve been speaking Russian to her, he insists.
I’ve been too tired to speak to her in anything
other than English, I tell him.

But that is not true:
ne pravda.
I have read her tales of babushki and koshki—
Grandmothers and cats—
because it interests me.
Makes reading to a seemingly disinterested
audience easier, more productive.

Yet, I wonder, as she sits in my lap,
her corn silk hair thick like mine,
her lips open wide,
her hands clap patty-cake,
as I reach for the bottle.
Bringing it closer to her,
I pause before I can say khochesh and
use English instead:
want your bottle?
She smiles with her two front teeth,
“Da!”

by J.L. Smith

Happy 2016 – A look back; A look forward

Happy New Year, Everyone!

First of all, I want to thank you so much for being a part of my blog and supporting my work.  I am humbled to have my blog supporters.  Your support encourages me. It means a lot to me.  Thank you so much!

I also want to extend a great big thanks to all the editors and journals that I have worked with over the past year (and into 2016, as well!).   I have had 23 acceptances this year.  17 of which were published in 2015; 6 will be published in 2016.

If you have a moment, please check out these great editors and their journals.

Thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your year.  I hope to share more writing with everyone in 2016!
Creative Nonfiction:
“The Important Things” – Alaska Women Speak – Winter 2015 issue

Fiction:
How to Eat a Bagel – 50-word Stories – Sept 15, 2015

Poetry:
“Femininity” – Cirque – Summer 2015
“Sitting in the Bathroom” – Yellow Chair Review – July 2015
“A Happy Poem” – Eunoia Review – August 2015
“Willow Rebuilds” “Spectators” “Fire Angels” – Alaska Women Speak– Fall 2015
“Dark Clouds Descend Low” – Three Line Poetry – Issue 33 – Sept 2015
“Da!” – Peeking Cat Poetry – 8th issue – Oct 2015
“Three times my baby’s stroller passes by” – Eunoia Review – Oct 2015
“Babushka’s Samovar”, “If I May Speak”, and “High Tea and Fancy Things” – Alaska Women Speak – Winter 2015 Issue
“Joanna’s Child” – Cirque – Winter Solstice issue 2015.
“Away with the Bitterness!” – Peeking Cat Poetry – 9th Issue – Dec 2015
“Away with the Bitterness!” – Alaska Shorts (49 Writers blog) – December 22, 2015
“The Reflex”, “The Drop Off”, and “Crossed Eyes” – Eskimo Pie – Feb 2016
“The Fragments You Carry”, “The Fireweed Dies”, and “Crabapples” – 13 Chairs – Spring 2016

 

by J.L. Smith

Throwback Thursday – Three Line Poetry

Throwback work:  This one was published in Three Line Poetry‘s 33rd issue back in September.  Enjoy!  Brief, haiku-inspired.

Dark clouds descend low
Mountains like whipped topping
The July morning cools

by J.L. Smith

13 Chairs Publication: 3 Poems

I’m pleased to announce that 3 of my poems have been accepted for publication in 13 Chairs‘ first issue, due out in Spring of 2016, published straight out of JBER.  I am excited to be a part of this new journal.  Accepted poems include The Fragments You Carry, Crabapples, and  The Fireweed Dies.

More details to come as I receive them!

Jennifer

by J.L. Smith

Throwback Thursday: How to Eat a Bagel

Last post of the day, seriously.  When do I make all of these posts, lol.

This one was published by 50-Word Stories back in September.  Enjoy!

And, Happy Holidays, everyone!

How to Eat a Bagel

Eat like this, mama demands, nibbling the bagel like a caged gerbil with a toilet paper roll.

The boy giggles, taking his like a harmonica, raises it like a singer reaches for that final high note. Cream cheese squirts out for the audience’s enjoyment.

She rubs her expectant belly. “Kids.”

by J.L. Smith

Cirque is out! Winter Solstice Issue!

Hey Everyone!

Cirque‘s winter solstice issue is up!  My poem “Joanna’s Child” is on page 63.  Check it out!  Issues are available via subscription, as well as Barnes & Noble here in Anchorage, as well as other stores.  Take a look!

by J.L. Smith

Alaska Women Speak’s Winter Issue: Publication

Hi everyone!

Just got my copy of Alaska Women Speak yesterday.  I was so excited to see my four (yes 4!) works in their latest issue, which centers around drinking coffee or tea.  Alaskans, you can get your copy via subscription (of course) or at Barnes & Noble in Anchorage, or in my other fine retailers listed on the website.

Works included:

Nonfiction:  The Important Things

Poems: Babushka’s Samovar, If I May Speak, and High Tea and Fancy Things.

Check it out!

Jennifer, who adores drinking tea, loves writing about her favorite beverage!

 

 

by J.L. Smith

49 Writers: Away with the Bitterness

On December 22nd, the 49 Writers‘ blog is going to feature my poem “Away with the Bitterness” as an Alaska Shorts feature!  A Christmas theme poem, it was originally published in Peeking Cat Poetry‘s 9th issue! I am so excited to see it reprinted on our local writers’ blog.

Will post when it goes live!

 

 

by J.L. Smith

Throwback Thursday – Alaska Women Speak

This one was published in Alaska Women Speak‘s 2015 Fall Issue:  Fireweed theme.

Fire Angels

Girl with corn silk curls twirls

in the meringue sundress into

a field of fireweed.

Her hands slap the magenta petals

like a propeller, spinning the fluffy

cotton until she collapses,

but does not stop,

making fire angels in the weeds.