Each nominee will receive a handmade dragonfly card from Cha. The cards are made by a former contributor.
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*Voting is now closed.
Cha co-editors Tammy Ho & Jeff Zroback will nominate the following poems for the Pushcart Prize 2010.There is one more slot: we have several pieces in mind but would love to know your thoughts. Which piece from issue 10, issue 11 and issue 12 of the journal do you recommend?
Cha co-editors Tammy Ho & Jeff Zroback will nominate the following poems for the Pushcart Prize 2010.
1) Eddie Tay, "Night Thoughts" Read "A Cup of Fine Tea: Eddie Tay's "Night Thoughts"" here. (issue #12, September 2010) .
2) Phill Provance, "St. Petersburg Has Many Churches" Read "A Cup of Fine Tea: Phill Provance's "St.Petersburg Has Many Churches"" here. (Issue #12, September 2010)
3) Rosanna Oh, "Etude" (issue #11, May 2010)
4) Anuradha Vijayakrishnan, "Suicide Note" Read "A Cup of Fine Tea: Anuradha Vijayakrishnan's "Suicide Note"" here. (issue #10, February 2010)
5) Papa Osumbal, "A Bum's Demise" Read "A Cup of Fine Tea: Papa Osumbal's "A Bum's Demise" here. (issue #10, February 2010)
6) The sixth nominee is revealed in this post
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Congratulations to all the nominees. We wish you the best of luck and thank you for letting us publish your wonderful work.
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Wow! Thank you guys so much!!! And I 100 percent agree with the decision to go with 'Night Thoughts.' Let me read the rest of #12 and get back to you with a suggestion.
ReplyDeleteOK, my vote for the sixth nom. goes to "Bones" by Rumjhum Biswas. That is one hell of a poem too.:-)
ReplyDeleteI am deeply moved by Kim-An Lieberman's poems.
ReplyDeleteI especially love 'Harvest'
This song of a daughter
Still in her innocence
Collecting fragments
Beads, Buttons and Twigs
With oracular prescience
Reminds us of our earlier selves
That disappeared from most of us
When we stopped seeing dreams
In the world we inhabit daily
Beautifully written
And the ending
Twists around
To the loss
That comes
Inevitably
Please nominate 'Harvest'
yamabuki
Daniel Bowman Jr.'s "April Poem", published in the February 2010 issue of Cha, has just received a vote. Our reader said: "Loved it for the depth and frivolous nature, a tough act to combine, I thought..."
ReplyDeleteFrom a new contributor: "I was very impressed with the work of Kim-An Lieberman, Fiona Sze-Lorrain and many others in your current issue."
ReplyDeleteDefinitely 'Night Thoughts' by Eddie Tay.
ReplyDeleteHenry Daquipel
Robert E. Wood's "Li Po Admiring the Waterfall at Lo-Shan Hokusai" has a fan. We received an email from a reader saying "I loved the imagery in the poem."
ReplyDeleteWe saw this comment on Rumjhum's "Bones". Thank you, Troy!
ReplyDeleteThere were so many terrific poems this year, as always....My favorite poem this year was was "Suicide Note". That said, I would consider for a sixth nomination "Chrysanthemum" by Fiona Lam, "Bones" by Rumjhum Biswas and "Li Po Admiring the Waterfall..." by Robert Wood.
ReplyDeleteA reader said: "Also, loved loved loved "Country" by Eddie Tay... He's such a wizard.:)"
ReplyDeleteThanks again for the nomination!
ReplyDeleteAfter rereading the issues multiple times, I vote for Robert Woods's "Li-Po Admiring the Waterfall." Though the poem is spare, the sparseness suits the poem-- and I especially admire how the elements of Chinese poetry appear as authentic, rather than imitative.
I would like What I Said to Her Was Not a Lie" to be nominated too.
ReplyDeleteA reader told us: "Eddie Tay's poems are good. They are interesting to study as postcolonial texts. His language is plain but forceful. The pieces are authentic to me as someone from Hong Kong."
ReplyDeleteArthur told us: "I just read the poems of the new issue, which were nicely selected. The two poems by Kim-An are particularly awesome."
ReplyDelete"What I Said To Her Was Not A Lie" should be nominated. Definitely nominated, yeah.
ReplyDeleteFrom the most recent issue (because of an attention span of a squirrel) I liked Shirley Lee's Letter to a Prominent Korean Man And to You, partly because it mashes together Eastern and Western cultures in a way that forces the reader to decipher and dive into the allegories of the poem, and partly because I am not much of a connoiseur of poetry and I thrive on the mere promise of a puzzle.
ReplyDeleteIs there any chance that "What I Said to Her Was Not a Lie" can be nominated too?
ReplyDeleteMy vote goes to a write in: Dera Ghazi Khan, 1925 by Nabina Das http://www.asiancha.com/issue/11/nabinadas
ReplyDeleteI vote for Dera Ghazi Khan, 1925 by Ms Nabina Das. Beautiful and soulful.
ReplyDelete"Dera Ghazi Khan, 1925" by Nabina Das.
ReplyDeleteMy vote goes to :
ReplyDeleteDera Ghazi Khan, 1925 by Nabina Das http://www.asiancha.com/issue/11/nabinadas
My choice is "Dera Ghazi Khan, 1925" by Nabina Das. Her poem is subtly evocative. It moves beyond self and into a cultural mysterium. Reading a work like this, my imagination quivers with new experience. Surely, this is a prize-worthy creation.
ReplyDelete'dera ghazi khan', definitely.
ReplyDeletePapa told us: "I like "Bones" by Rumjhum Biswas. It is the kind of poety I wish I had written. It came close to and slightly ahead of "A Talk with Mao Tze-Tung". Anyway, I iterate "Bones" gets my nod."
ReplyDeleteA reader told us: "I choose Daniel Bowman Jr.'s "April Poem". It's musical, the ending is dreamy and yet the content is not... whatever poem you choose is going to be great, regardless, as the general quality is so good... All of the poems which've been mentioned're wonderful... "
ReplyDeleteViolet Glaze sent us an email:
ReplyDelete"Dear editors, I saw you were nominating poems and I have to say I really loved "Dera Ghazi Khan, 1925" by Nabina Das.
Please nominate it! It would make me so happy."
A reader told us: ""Bones" is an incredibly emotional and moving poem. The poem is full of feelings and the more I read it the more I love it... thank you so much for writing it..."
ReplyDelete'Dera Ghazi Khan, 1925' by Nabina Das.
ReplyDeleteone vote to The Dera Ghazi Khan!
ReplyDeleteDera Ghazi Khan 1925 by Nabina Das for the
ReplyDeleteI vote for "Dera Ghazi Khan, 1925"
ReplyDeleteby Nabina Das. Excellent work!
Royston (guest editor of Issue 12) said:
ReplyDelete"I've been following the Puschart nominations on the blog. All good selections.
I give my vote to these three poems (from September's issue):
"Bones" by Rumijhum Biswas
"Cities" by Eddie Tay
"After Ten Years in America" by Kim-An Lieberman
.....in that order."
NOTE: Votes from our guest editors (including Bob's and Arthur's) are especially important and we consider them weightily.
"Dera Ghazi Khan, 1925"
ReplyDeleteby Nabina Das. It is a beautifully written and very moving piece. What I believe poetry should be?
My vote goes to "Dera Ghazi Khan" by Nabina Das.
ReplyDeleteGillian (guest editor of Issue 10) said:
ReplyDelete"three that spoke the most to me:
Copernicus for a Singaporean Grandmother
by Wena Poon
Paramour
by Ocean Vuong
Options
by Elizabeth Schultz"
Sam (guest editor of issue 11)'s favourite is Robert E. Wood's "Edo: the Seasons After the Printmakers"
ReplyDeleteA reader wrote us: "I read the poems that came out after the issue with Papa Osmubal (and I'm glad that poem is on your nomination list), and thought "Bones" by Rumjhum Biswas was really good. The lines were concise enough to show (not tell) and we loved the surprise emotive of the last few lines. Shocking, these lines tell a lot of stories. It has my vote."
ReplyDeleteYes, my vote for the sixth nomination is definitely "Bones" by Rumjhum Biswas. I also like "Etude" by Oh a lot.
ReplyDeleteA reader told us: "I was reading the three issues again - most of my favourites are already in your list. One other writer/piece I particularly liked was Ocean Vuong's "Paramour"."
ReplyDeleteDera Ghazi Khan, 1925 by Nabina Das http://www.asiancha.com/issue/11/nabinadas
ReplyDeleteIt has a very soulful and ethnic feel to it. Painted pictures in my mind
Robert told us: "I like "Another City Which You Leave" in issue 12. It's ambitious, it seems to work over the three cities, and I like the imagery, the play on the words, and it lingers in my mind in the way that others do not. I also liked "Diaphragm", too.
ReplyDeleteI vote for "Dera Ghazi Khan, 1925" By Nabina Das
ReplyDeletehttp://www.asiancha.com/issue/11/nabinadas/
Excellent work Nabs. Very soulful.
Dear Tammy,
ReplyDeleteI don't know if this poem can be nominated, as it seems from some collection, but if it can be, it's a stunningly powerful poem, and with a force that I seldom come across in poetry; I am talking about "A Talk with Mao Tze-tung" by Fiona Sze-Lorrain.
If it can't be nominated, then my other choices, in the order I like them, would be any of these:
The Harvest Shaman by Angela Eun Ji Koh (this is also just such a wonderful poem!)
Dera Ghazi Khan, 1925 by Nabina Das
Displaced by Selina Libi Bjorlie
I must say it was highly difficult, as almost all poems on Cha are just so good. Also, because there are many Asian writers, one hears voices one is unused to; new rhythms, new gazes.
Ankur
"Dera Ghazi Khan, 1925" by Nabina Das has another supporter. A reader told us:
ReplyDelete"All the other stanzas having been written in the past tense, with the last stanza – written in the present tense – one finally realizes the existence of an interplay between the past and the present. As also one understand s on reading the middle (from “Older than…” till “…never were”) that “stories” from the past about crossing over the “border lines“ are quite literally at the center of this poem. How poignant indeed to read of forced migrations (“not the footsteps both ways”). The “coarse”ness of the beginning contrasts the richness of the brass jar. But, so do the life movements (weaving, milking) carried out with this coarseness contrast the desire for stillness of water, also for containment of history within the brass jar.
What then do we make of the last line – standing as that extra line in this four-line stanza that is part of a poem made of three line stanzas? Mirroring both the title of the poem – Dera Ghazi Khan - and the last word – jar – of the preceding line, this very last verse produces a circular effect when it reads: “From a Dera Ghazi Khan” to the “doors left ajar”. The similarity between jar and ajar reminding us that the containers of the present can only be understood retrospectively through those doors forced to be left ajar in the past. There is no doubt in my mind that Dera Ghazi Khan is the poem that deserves nomination. It is a beautifully sad poem."
My vote goes to 'Dera Ghazi Khan, 1925' by Nabina Das. All my best wishes to her.
ReplyDeletepriti aisola
A reader told us: "There are many good poems in Cha but my vote definitely goes to Ocean Vuong's "Paramour". Vivid imagery and authentic feelings. This stanza is just too good:
ReplyDeleteBehind these walls, we are allowed
to be no one, and it's easy
to dive into sheets that reek
of urine, the sweat of whores,
our shoulders wrapped
in printed roses, eaten through
by cigarettes."
I agree that Ocean Vuong's "Paramour" is very good and the stanza below is one of the strongest in that issue:
ReplyDeleteBehind these walls, we are allowed
to be no one, and it's easy
to dive into sheets that reek
of urine, the sweat of whores,
our shoulders wrapped
in printed roses, eaten through
by cigarettes.
"hello dear Tammy,
ReplyDeleteamong the poems recently published in Cha, Papa Osmubal's 'A Bum's Demise' (sept. 2010) is my most favourite piece. The language is simple but effective, the character of the bum is homorously presented and, most important, the subject matter is cleverly chosen and well explored. a highly intelligent and enjoyable poem. i hope to read more of this kind in the upcoming issues. thank you editors for having chosen such delightfuy work!
have a great national day as well as a nice weekend!
-changming"
"Diaphragm" by Annie Zaidi is quite exceptional.
ReplyDeleteThe descriptions of the body and the intimacy between bodies is true true and true.
-O
Thank you, Ocean, for dropping by.
ReplyDeleteAnnie Zaidi's "Diaphragm" is indeed beautiful. It is, as Royston said,'as taut as breath held'.
The more I keep re-reading Bones, the more I like it. The last two lines in particular put the whole poem into a new light, as the reader gets a glimpse of the relationship between the narrator and her mother.
ReplyDeleteFrom a reader:
ReplyDeleteTammy, these are all very strong poems you and Jeff are nominating. I enjoyed discussing them with you immensely.
After re-reading the recent issues, I'm going to give my 'vote' to "Bones" by Rumjhum Biswas.
This is my interpretation of the poem: the persona and her mother had a strenuous relationship. The daughter never did anything sincerely and she did not respect her mother. But after the latter's death, she picks those memories of her that she despised, that made her mother so disrespectable. She lets them sink into the Ganges, in a way to forgive her mother and her misgivings.
This is of course inspired by your own interpretation, which is succinct and insightful.
Thank you for this wonderful new issue.
Dear Tammy,
ReplyDeleteI consider Papa Osmubal's "A Bum's Demise", published in your Sept. 2010 issue, as a true winner. The simplicty of the words used blends well with the deep and meaningful message it conveys powerfully narrated with scenarios and images that a reader could easily identify him or herself with. The piece got my vote.
Trevor Barnes told us: "I would like to cast my vote for your sixth Pushcart nomination slot: Daniel Bowman Jr’s “April Poem,” with its understated clarity and subtle magical realism, is easily one of the most beautiful pieces I have read this year. I have been a fan of Bowman’s work for a while now, having discovered his poems in several of my favorite journals (including your own). It would be wonderful to see such a deserving poet gain some further recognition."
ReplyDeleteI loved Daniel Bowman's poem, "April." The speaking through images reminds me of haiku. The form itself, the references to the cycling of the seasons, reinforces one of the themes of the poem.
ReplyDeleteNick told us he likes Papa's "A Bum's Demise" best.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading "Suicide Note," "A Bum's Demise," and "Stone Fruit." Congratulations to the nominees and I look forward to reading more of their poetry.
ReplyDeleteJonathan told us: "Phill Provance's "What I Said to Her Was Not a Lie," one of the poem in your latest issue of Cha, is stunning. Some striking imagery. Just left him a note on his site. But thanks for sharing. You guys rock!"
ReplyDeleteA reader told us: "Of all the poems mentioned here, I vote for Rumijhum Biswas's "Bones" and Ocean Vuong's "Paramour". "Bones" is beautifully written and the ending prompts you to re-read the entire piece. "Paramour" – just because of the stanza from the poem singled out by Tammy."
ReplyDeleteCHA's Pushcart Nominations for 2010
ReplyDeleteBecause every year we do this!
"April Poem" from Issue 10
Ocean's 'Paramour' all the way!!
ReplyDeleteEddie Tay's "Country" has just received a vote.
ReplyDeleteParamour gets my vote!
ReplyDeleteEddie Tay's "Country" is my favorite one from here, the last 2 lines do it for me.
ReplyDeleteA reader told us: "Eddie Tay's "Country" is pitch perfect; assertive but not deliberately reaching for poetry. I find that the toughest part of writing a poem - achieving that window."
ReplyDeleteBones by Rumjhum Biswas and Dera Ghazi Khan, 1925 by Nabina Das are my favourites for the Pushcart
ReplyDeleteAmitabh Mitra
http://www.hudsonview.us
http://www.amitabhmitra.com
I am hoping Rumjhum Biswas' 'Bones' is nominated. A poem that says much sparsely but very evocatively and effectively. In the narration of one life, one death, it speaks for many others. Its very starkness makes it even more memorable.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this space, I am glad I could write this about a poem a liked immensely!
Bones by Rumjhum Biswas is a poem that goes beyond poetry- it becomes your own experience. I relived my emotions and feelings that had flooded through me when my mother died, and every Hindu who goes through the cremation rites for a beloved parent automatically becomes the speaker in the poem- such is the power and strength of this poem that speaks with a low and quiet voice and yet resonates in our hearts. My nomination is Bones by Rumjhum Biswas
ReplyDeleteA reader told us: "I think "Bones" by Rumjhum Biswas fills the slot perfectly.
ReplyDeleteMothers are hard to put into words, especially when they are gone. This somehow captures those bittersweet feelings. I fell in love with it, or rather it haunted me."
I'd vote for Dera Ghazi Khan, 1925 by Nabina Das
ReplyDeleteMy vote is for Bones by Rumjhum Biswas, loved it absolutely
ReplyDeleteBones by Rumjhum Biswas is beautiful and deeply moving.It deserves to be nominated.
ReplyDeleteHema
Ocean Vuong's Paramour, Annie Zaidi's work and many, many other poems that Cha has brought to light
ReplyDeleteIt is a difficult choice; the two poems that speak most to me though are "Country" and "What I Said to Her Was Not a Lie". Both also have a great last two lines (as does "Bones").
ReplyDeleteA reader told us: ""I hope he doesn’t say them quite so well / or that I continue to say them better." gets me every single time!"
ReplyDeleteThose lines are from Phill's "What I said to her was not a lie".
"Harvest" by Kim-An Lieberman earns my vote ;-p
ReplyDeleteRead all the entries and they are all pretty good! But of all the entries "Bones" by Rumjhum Biswas really intrigued me and it deserves a lot of votes.
ReplyDeleteGurleen
We received this message from a reader: "Hmm... tough call. I guess I'll vote for "Bones". Very well constructed!"
ReplyDeleteBones by Rumjhum Biswas is the best
ReplyDeleteVery powerful and evocative narration!
My vote goes to "Suicide Note". I like it's simplicity and the mood the author has created. It's incompleteness is a wise device to illustrate the theme "suicide". I like it!
ReplyDeleteOoops, I made a mistake above - My vote for this year's poems goes to "Bones".
ReplyDeleteWhat usually reminds us of our departed and beloved relatives? Usually it's the remains of their bodies, i.e. their bones. The poet has captured a very wise device (just as Anuradha Vijayakrishnan used various addresses in "Suicide Note") to enhance the power of death.
I really like how the poet uses her nostalgia to influence her readers. Nice poem!
Tammy,
ReplyDeleteMy vote is for Ocean Vuong's "Paramour".
If it matters, Eddie Tay's "Night Thoughts" is a close second.
Surajit
Bob's further remark on "Bones" by Rumjhum Biswas: "One of the finest poems that I have read in some time….it’s concise and troubling and touching all at once… beautiful job!"
ReplyDeleteSo many great poems! I'll have to give three cheers to:
ReplyDelete"Dera Ghazi Khan, 1925" by Nabina Das
"After Ten Years" by Kim-An Lieberman
"April Poem" by Daniel Bowman Jr
p.s. the link to "Diaphragm" doesn't appear to be working.