GotPoetry is seeking submissions for a chapbook length book of poetry about violence, survival and hope. The book, Beth's Legacy, will be published in memory of Elizabeth Spence Cann of Norton, MA, who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, and all proceeds will benefit Brittney and Danielle Cann, her daughters, who were critically injured in the attack that killed their mother.
Beth's Legacy
On the morning of August 27, 2007, Elizabeth Spence Cann was found shot to death in her own bed. Two of her daughters, 12 year old Brittney and 15 year old Danielle, were found on the floor of the hallway leading into her room. Both girls had been shot in the head and left for dead. The shooter, Beth's estranged boyfriend, took his own life early that morning.By some miracle, both Danielle and Brittney survived the senseless attack, but both face a long, long road to recovery. A third daughter, their oldest sister Amanda, was not home at the time. She faces a future of questions and grief.The girls are a part of Gotpoetry's extended family.
Beth was the niece of Gotpoetry staffer Deb Powers, and deeply loved cousin of regular member and contributor Cara Powers. In the week that followed the shooting, the Gotpoetry community reacted to the news with an outpouring of sympathy, love and support for which the family is extremely grateful. Many also privately asked if there was something more, something tangible, that they could do to show their support for the family and the injured girls. There is.
Gotpoetry is seeking submissions of poetry for a chapbook length anthology to be called "Beth's Legacy". We're especially seeking poems that speak to surviving loss, recovering from violence and ending domestic abuse. There is no restriction on form or length. All styles of poetry are welcome, though poems of less than 60 lines will be more likely to be accepted.The selection committee for Beth's Legacy will include the staff of Gotpoetry and representatives of Beth Cann's family.
The finished book will be available for purchase through Gotpoetry and a variety of other outlets, with all proceeds from the sale contributed to the Cann Family Hope Fund set up for the support and aid of Brittney and Danielle by Beth's church in Norton, MA.
Deadline for submissions is September 30, 2007.
Submit up to three poems for consideration in the body of an email to :bethslegacy@onlythebest.info by September 30.
Please submit only original poetry to which you hold the copyright.Because the book is a fund raiser, we can not pay for the poems accepted, but we will make the book available for download to any poet whose work appears in Beth's Legacy. Your submission to Beth's Legacy grants to us one-time print publication rights to your submitted work. You retain all other rights to your work.
If you would like to make a donation directly to the fund, you can do that by sending your donation to:
Danielle and Brittany Cann Hope Fund
Bank of America
574 Foundry Street
South Easton, MA 02375
Showing posts with label truth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label truth. Show all posts
September 12, 2007
January 08, 2007
from the producing director of the lark
Daily Creator J.E. sent this out via his monthly newsletter but I thought it was worth sharing on this site, particularly given our current search for the identity of a country:
I absolutely love the magical, suspended moment at the end of the December holidays, just before the downbeat of the New Year. At this time each year, I try to rediscover some crucial perspective about the things that matter to me most. In this spirit, I want to share my latest epiphany about the Lark's work and the importance of supporting the unheard voices and new ideas of playwrights.
This year's revelation was prompted by a book I picked up by chance from a table in my mother's house in Madison, Wisconsin, where my wife and I traveled with the kids last week. The book is called 1421: The Year China Discovered America, and I read it straight through like a child reading the latest Harry Potter release.
The author, Gavin Menzies, a retired British submarine captain with a passion for the maps and charts of early European explorers, stumbled upon a Venetian map from 1424 that strangely contained far more information than it should have. By this, I mean that the map in question actually predates the journeys of Bartholomew Dias, Vasco da Gama and Christopher Columbus; yet it describes, in uncanny detail, the regions that each of these explorers is later reputed to have first charted.
In the book, Menzies presents compelling evidence to prove that Columbus and other European explorers arrived in the New World much later than Chinese fleets dispatched by Ming Dynasty Emperor Zhu Di in 1421. Zhu Di dispatched 800 ships, in what may have been the largest armada in history, to gather knowledge, seek trade partners and create colonies on every continent. Menzies' case is even supported by scientific research that suggests "recent gene flow" may explain the close links between DNA of the Chinese and Native Americans in various parts of the New World.
Of course, fortunes turn quickly in life as well as fiction. Two months after the great armada's departure from China, lightning struck Zhu Di's Temple of Heaven and burned his glorious new city to cinders - a bad omen for an Emperor anointed by the gods. The nearly bankrupt state collapsed, the people rebelled, and the Emperor despaired and died soon after. His reactionary successors adopted a fierce isolationist policy, even to the extent of burning a swath of "no man's land" nearly 100 miles wide all along the state's borders. The entire navy was dismantled, international trade was forbidden and all records of the great armada's exploration were ordered destroyed.
If it is true, Menzies' story is almost impossible to reconcile with my 21st century American world view, shaped by a collectively misunderstood history. Furthermore, this astounding case begs some important questions that relate to many contemporary controversies over land, ethics and so forth: How can we most effectively respond when bedrock ideas and prevailing truths are challenged in this way? How will we maintain an open forum for the discussion and reconciliation of inconsistencies in received history? Is it even possible for society to function in a just and orderly manner while, at the same time, remaining flexible and embracing new ideas?
As these questions raced through my mind, my New Year's epiphany struck with sudden force: The only way to support a strong and adaptable civilization is to practice debate and free expression in every possible way, and, in my opinion, the theater is the best platform ever invented for this purpose. It is every playwright's job to postulate her own revisionist history or imagined world, and every audience's responsibility to accept and respond honestly to this information. It is every theater artist and producer's obligation to assure that this work is strong and it is in the community's best interest to continually challenge itself with new and expansive ideas. Each foray in the theater is a training mission for a time when real-life conflict will arise. The more imaginative and challenging the play, the more prepared we will be when our values are truly tested. As I put down the book, I thought, "Yes! That is an epiphany of some value! That is an idea that can definitely fill the Lark's sails for the next stage of our journey! 2007 will be the best year ever!"
Warm wishes,
John Clinton Eisner
Producing Director
The Lark Theatre
I absolutely love the magical, suspended moment at the end of the December holidays, just before the downbeat of the New Year. At this time each year, I try to rediscover some crucial perspective about the things that matter to me most. In this spirit, I want to share my latest epiphany about the Lark's work and the importance of supporting the unheard voices and new ideas of playwrights.
This year's revelation was prompted by a book I picked up by chance from a table in my mother's house in Madison, Wisconsin, where my wife and I traveled with the kids last week. The book is called 1421: The Year China Discovered America, and I read it straight through like a child reading the latest Harry Potter release.
The author, Gavin Menzies, a retired British submarine captain with a passion for the maps and charts of early European explorers, stumbled upon a Venetian map from 1424 that strangely contained far more information than it should have. By this, I mean that the map in question actually predates the journeys of Bartholomew Dias, Vasco da Gama and Christopher Columbus; yet it describes, in uncanny detail, the regions that each of these explorers is later reputed to have first charted.
In the book, Menzies presents compelling evidence to prove that Columbus and other European explorers arrived in the New World much later than Chinese fleets dispatched by Ming Dynasty Emperor Zhu Di in 1421. Zhu Di dispatched 800 ships, in what may have been the largest armada in history, to gather knowledge, seek trade partners and create colonies on every continent. Menzies' case is even supported by scientific research that suggests "recent gene flow" may explain the close links between DNA of the Chinese and Native Americans in various parts of the New World.
Of course, fortunes turn quickly in life as well as fiction. Two months after the great armada's departure from China, lightning struck Zhu Di's Temple of Heaven and burned his glorious new city to cinders - a bad omen for an Emperor anointed by the gods. The nearly bankrupt state collapsed, the people rebelled, and the Emperor despaired and died soon after. His reactionary successors adopted a fierce isolationist policy, even to the extent of burning a swath of "no man's land" nearly 100 miles wide all along the state's borders. The entire navy was dismantled, international trade was forbidden and all records of the great armada's exploration were ordered destroyed.
If it is true, Menzies' story is almost impossible to reconcile with my 21st century American world view, shaped by a collectively misunderstood history. Furthermore, this astounding case begs some important questions that relate to many contemporary controversies over land, ethics and so forth: How can we most effectively respond when bedrock ideas and prevailing truths are challenged in this way? How will we maintain an open forum for the discussion and reconciliation of inconsistencies in received history? Is it even possible for society to function in a just and orderly manner while, at the same time, remaining flexible and embracing new ideas?
As these questions raced through my mind, my New Year's epiphany struck with sudden force: The only way to support a strong and adaptable civilization is to practice debate and free expression in every possible way, and, in my opinion, the theater is the best platform ever invented for this purpose. It is every playwright's job to postulate her own revisionist history or imagined world, and every audience's responsibility to accept and respond honestly to this information. It is every theater artist and producer's obligation to assure that this work is strong and it is in the community's best interest to continually challenge itself with new and expansive ideas. Each foray in the theater is a training mission for a time when real-life conflict will arise. The more imaginative and challenging the play, the more prepared we will be when our values are truly tested. As I put down the book, I thought, "Yes! That is an epiphany of some value! That is an idea that can definitely fill the Lark's sails for the next stage of our journey! 2007 will be the best year ever!"
Warm wishes,
John Clinton Eisner
Producing Director
The Lark Theatre
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