"The Golden Hour" Wins AQLF Broadside Award!

I'm thrilled to announce that my poem "The Golden Hour" has been selected by judge Mark Doty as winner of the Atlanta Queer Lit Broadside Contest!  Here is what Doty said about the poem:

"This beautiful poem evokes a city landscape lit up with the possibility of new love. But it's also tense with the speaker's awareness that this hope may never be realized. In this way 'The Golden Hour' captures how love and desire lead us forward, but can also hold us hostage."

Here is more information from the festival website:

"The winner of the 2011 AQLF Broadside Contest chosen by poet Mark Doty is Brent Calderwood. His limited edition, signed broadside will be for sale during the festival. We are excited that Calderwood will be joining us in Atlanta to read his winning poem during the Keynote Addresses on Friday, June 24, 7:30 p.m. at the Decatur Library. See the full schedule of events at this link."

Friday, June 24, 7:30 p.m.

Keynote Address at Decatur Public Library

Host: Franklin Abbott

Keynotes: Bryan Borland and Theresa Davis

Broadside Contest winner Brent Calderwood

Out of Necessity: A Lit Event this Sunday at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts

The brilliant African-American poet/activist/novelist Audre Lorde once said: "We write because we must." This has guided my own writing ever since I heard it, when I was 17, the year she died.

This Sunday's event, part of the National Queer Arts Festival—a monthlong powerhouse of cultural innovation that descends on The City every June—promises similar insights and inspiration for writers seeking community and purpose, and also for anyone with a heart..

Out of Necessity features award-winning and emerging poets: REGIE CABICO, CHERYL CLARKE, ACHY OBEJAS, VANESSA HUANG, SUZANNE DEL MAZO, NAJVA SOL; moderated by Camille Dungy, curated by Cole Krawitz and Arisa White. If you haven't heard of all these people, look them up, or better yet, go! This is the real thing, folks. 

Sunday, June 5 · 5:00pm - 7:00pm
Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts
2868 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA
Tickets: $12-20 sliding scale (advance tickets recommended)
For more info: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/174170

Want more? Regie Cabico and Achy Obejas will be leading follow-up workshops for writers to develop their skills in a more focused, intimate environment. I can't wait!! 

 June 4, 12-3pm: "Conflict in Fiction" with Achy Obejas: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=100663470028502
June 5, 12-3pm: "Verbal Fire" with Regie Cabico: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=125212524225742