LETTER VII: Remember to Breathe

 LETTER VII: Remember to Breathe

Margaret Rhee

To hear poetry and to read poetry are different acts.

Reading poetry makes me feel calm.

And you, dear reader, I wonder if

you also feel this way.

Consider this articulation.

Reading poetry: You must gaze upon, pay attention to words, and

consider pacing,

an attentiveness not usually asked

in our contemporary world.

I gaze into your eyes, we remember to breathe.

Turn the page.

Reading poetry is the opposite of eating with

your phone

Without thought to the

opening and closing of one’s mouth

The taste and texture of the food on the edges and tips of

one’s tongue

Warmth of the food, and how it envelops you.

A different kind of information than the Scroll.

*** OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYWRIGHTS ***

 

The East Carolina University School of Theatre & Dance is seeking submissions for its Uncharted Series of new plays with dynamic roles for college-aged actors. We are seeking plays that center the experience of late adolescence/early adulthood – where it is important that the characters are in that specific age range, rather than plays with characters that could be played by actors of any age.

***

The NJ-based Swan Dive Theater Collective seeks submissions of 10-minute plays by women, non-binary, and trans playwrights from New Jersey and the New York City metropolitan area for its Third Annual Short Play Festival, to be held on March 7, 2027. Swan Dive is a Montclair theater collective dedicated to advancing the stories of women and other marginalized gender identities by introducing new works and fostering community.

***

Savage Wonder is accepting submissions for our 10-minute playwriting competition.
Submissions may include plays or musicals.
Playwrights must meet one of the following criteria:

Current or former: US military, law enforcement, fire service, EMS, foreign service, intelligence service, DoD employee, DoD Contractor; or Immediate family of the service member.

We are looking for work that is whimsical, intimate, absurd, and surprising. Unlike some past competitions, we are not looking for straightforward dramatic realism or non-fiction storytelling. Bring us something that takes a risk — something that could only have come from you.

The Mosquito Knows/ D. H. Lawrence

 The Mosquito Knows

D. H. Lawrence

 

The mosquito knows full well, small as he is

 

he’s a beast of prey.

 

But after all

 

he only takes his bellyful,

 

he doesn’t put my blood in the bank.