Annual limerick contest looking for a theme
It’s mid-January, which should have all those interested in clever word play thinking one thing.
Limericks contest.
Yes, just as St. Paddy’s Day is rolling inexorably toward us, the 10th-annual Spokesman-Review contest is slowly approaching. And, as always, we urge all of you with senses of language – particularly when matched with rhythm, humor and style – to participate.
That especially includes all you teachers who are trying to drum the lessons of language into the minds of your students, no matter their age.
But first we have to have a theme. We do this for a couple of reasons.
One, we’re an Inland Northwest publication, so why not celebrate that fact by writing about it?
Two, it’s the best way to make sure that entrants are working hard to come up with original work.
So … any ideas? From our first contest in 1998, which had writers opining on the general topic “life in the Inland Northwest,” we’ve tackled such other region-themed subjects as news events and newsmakers, the new millennium, area landmarks, GU’s basketball team and even an Inland Northwest guide to celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.
Send me your suggestions. E-mail them to danw@spokesman.com, or send them by post to: Dan Webster, The Spokesman-Review, 999 W. Riverside Ave., Spokane, WA 99210-1615.
Our tentative schedule at this point is to begin accepting entries by Feb. 5, then cutting it off March 12. We’ll set up a special e-mail address for the contest. We’re also planning on doing a public reading at Auntie’s Bookstore for all those whose work we run in the paper. Tentative date: March 16.
More awards
Jess Walter may have lost out on the National Book Award, but his novel “The Zero” was one of six books given 2006 awards by the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association.
Walter, a former Spokesman-Review reporter who won an Edgar Award for his novel “Citizen Vince,” was joined by: Portland poet David Biespiel, editor of the poetry collection “Long Journey: Contemporary Northwest Poets”; Seattle novelist Ivan Doig for his novel “The Whistling Season”; Montana author David James Duncan for his book “God Laughs & Plays: Churchless Sermons in Response to the Preachments of the Fundamentalist Right”; British Columbia children’s author Iain Lawrence for “Gemini Summer”; and co-authors Greg Mortenson (Bozeman) and David Oliver Relin (Portland) for “Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace … One School at a Time.”
To get more information, go online at www.pnba.org.
Vandal with a handle
The Moscow, Idaho, bookstore BookPeople passed on word that University of Idaho creative writing student Lucas Howell (“The Lonely Crowded West”) had two of his poems printed in the November issues of Poetry. For a short feature on Howell, go online at www.uidaho.edu/feature. Or to read his poem “Primitive Roads,” go to http://poetrymagazine.org/magazine/1106/poem_178745.html.
Reimagining Austen
Coeur d’Alene author Pamela Aidan will present the third segment in her “Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman” trilogy, “The Three Remain,” at two different area locations over the next week. See reader board below for specifics.
Aidan’s books, which use Jane Austen’s novel “Pride and Prejudice” as a basis, have attracted good reviews, and “These Three Remain” is no different.
“The storied romance of Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet (they of ‘Pride and Prejudice’) reaches its conclusion in the strongest entry in an already impressive trilogy,” wrote a reviewer for Publishers Weekly. “As ever, Aidan keeps her narrative taut and her characters conflicted. Fans of the series won’t be disappointed; the uninitiated will be hooked.”
Color the rainbow
Children between kindergarten and third grade are invited to get literary, thanks to KSPS Public Television and the “Reading Rainbow” show. The 13th-annual “Reading Rainbow” Young Writers and Illustrators Contest, which gives children the opportunity to write and illustrate and original story, will begin accepting applications on Monday.
Deadline is March 15.
Go online at www.ksps.org to learn more or call (509) 354-7800. To pick up applications in person, go to 3911 S. Regal St.
The writer’s block
On Sacred Grounds, the coffee, tea and bookshop, is starting up a writers’ group. The store is at 12212 E. Palouse Highway, Valleyford.
Space is limited, but there’s no fee to join. Meeting times will be negotiated. Call (509) 747-6294 for more information.
Book talk
“Dark City Mystery Book Club (“Just One Look,” by Harlen Coben), 7 p.m. Monday, Auntie’s Bookstore, Main and Washington. Call (509) 838-0206.
The reader board
“Pamela Aidan (“These Three Remain”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Auntie’s Bookstore; signing, 2 p.m. Saturday, Borders Books, 450 W. Wilbur Ave., Coeur d’Alene. Call (208) 762-4497.
“Kathleen Finley (“Prayers for the Newly Married”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Auntie’s Bookstore.
“Poetry slam, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Caterina Winery, 905 N. Washington St. Call (509) 328-5069. Note: Sign-up for poets wanting to read begins at 6:30 p.m.
“Mark Matthews (“Smoke Jumping on the Western Fire Line: Conscientious Objectors During World War II”), reading, 7:30 p.m.Thursday, Auntie’s Bookstore.
“Nolan Lewis (“Clouds Are Always White on Top: Flying the Box the B-17 Flying Fortress Came In”), signing, 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Auntie’s Bookstore.