GULF COAST POETS CHAPTER OF THE POETRY SOCIETY OF TEXAS

PRESENTS

Jasper KerkauNovember 10, 2018

Jasper Kerkau, in his own words, is ‘a father, a seeker of truth, and a sometimes good person just trying to make it through the day.’ In reality, Jasper Kerkau is a writer, an edi-tor, an entrepreneur, and a publisher who debuted two best-selling poetry books straight out of the gates of Sudden De-nouement Publishing.

He is a tireless advocate for poets and the written word and this passion is what pushed the idea of the Sudden De-nouement Literary Collective from a conversation piece on his front porch in Houston into existence in 2016. With the help of his cofounder, Rich Crandall, the Sudden Denoue-ment Literary Collective has branched into several sites and has morphed into a fully functioning publishing company with over thirty writers in thirteen countries.

Kerkau’s writing is informed by beat sensibilities, and, while he works a great deal with form, he has a keen interest in short poetic, personal narratives. In his own words Jasper describes his work as “an attempt at unpretentious articula-tion of my experience”, he writes because he has to.

His work is featured on Suddendenouement.com and Jasperkerkauwriting.com

I Die in The Water I died again. In the waters as usual. It is always the water. Somehow it all makes sense. It is always the minor things. The minutia that pulls me under. The little, wet idiosyn-crasies, stuffed words, distant miscommunication. I die over and over again. Each time, I emerge from the waters, gasping for air. Shedding my wet skin, warming myself by imaginary fires. There is always a new life, new thoughts springing forth from moist soil. But, the disappointment is daunting. The little, sad failures leave me paralyzed in bed, stomaching churning, limbs seized. I stand in the grocery store, gazing at nothing, avoiding mediocre con-versations with a neighbor about apple trees. There is a scream boiling up inside me. A smile creeps across my face and I nod, backing away slowly. There is nothing I understand about their world. My days are secret disas-ters giving birth to revelations, new lives excreted through the pores of despair. I am not normal. I can’t swim with the happy people. The little conversations are lost on me. I stare blankly at the triviality of their little pleasures. I live with death. I am pulled out of swimming pools, elec-trocuted by hair dryers in bath tubs. I dig holes and send out esoteric messages to tortured souls. Life comes from ascending, stretching and evolving in the darkness. I find God in broken people. There are others, as wet as I am. Brought back from the brink. Eating the water of life. Dy-ing on the bread of the masses. I died again, but I find new life. Touch the beauty of the universe, I carry a beautiful song in my heart. It is all very sad. The cycle of death is annoying. Next time I will be normal. I will dive into a big smile which will release me of my burdens. Everything will be alright. Even in death, everything will be alright. Today I live. Today, I dry off and live a secret life.

Pool Party At some point, towards the end of the night, I get into the pool with my clothes on. Adults are on the patio talking in hushed tones about divorce and lost nights from the early-nineties. Kids laugh and squeal, chasing each other through the house and around the pool. I hold my breath and float to the bottom, think-ing of the mess I have to clean up. My life is falling apart. I gave my debit card for someone to get orange juice an hour ago. I ponder this and pull myself back up and repeat the process several times meditating on the mess, the residue from ribs, beer bottles, mistakes, dead ends. Eventually I sit on the edge of the pool and try to light a cigarette. My fingers are wet. The cigarette breaks. My f’ing luck! My son waves with a big smile, he is elated. I love you daddy. I lean over and hug his small, wet frame in the pool. My mind races. I have to get up. I have to get up. Everything will be okay. Everything will be okay. Eventually the house empties. I put the kids to bed and darkness washes over me. There is no path. I have to start over tomorrow. I have to keep moving.

Upcoming Events

Inprint First Fridays — Readings begin at 8:30 pm, Inprint House, 1520 West Main (two blocks south of The Menil Collec-tion, one block east of Mandell): December 7, 2018–Andre De KorvinJanuary 4, 2018–Outspoken BeanFebruary 1, 2018–Julianne Tran

Poetry FIX: Stewart Hadley & Gretchen JohnsonNovember 13, 2018 6:30pmFix Coffebar415 Westheimer Rd, Houston, Texas 77006https://www.facebook.com/events/172176460395702/

The Gulf Coast Reading Series, featuring Hanif AbdurraqibNovember 16, 2018 at 7:00pmLawndale Art Center4912 Main St. Houston, TX 77002

2018 EMILY DICKINSON B’DAY GATHERING OF PO-ETS DINNER READINGDecember 6, 2018 at 3:00pmLone Star College Montgomery G-102Dinner at 5:30pmhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/531569780249952/

People’s Poetry Festival-Corpus ChristiFebruary 28-March 2 2019Texas A&M University-Corpus Christihttps://www.facebook.com/events/164857131123343/

NeoSoul Poetry Slam ft Deep (Houston Poet Laureate)Novembe 10, 2018 6:00pmWild Magnolias 15424 FM 1825 STE 240Pflugerville, TX 78660https://www.facebook.com/events/378196222583873/

Write About Now - Every Wednesday at 7:30pm Avante Garden411 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77006

NOKturne Poetry Reading Series - Every 1st Monday of the month at 7:30pm, Hosted by Z.M. WiseNOKturne17062 Saturn Ln, Houston, TX 77058

Poetry FIXFix Coffeebar415 Westheimer Rd, Houston, Texas 77006https://www.facebook.com/groups/115591455775073/

Barnes & Noble Poetry Reading Series - Every 4th Tuesday of the month at 7:30pm, Hosted by Z.M. WiseBarnes & Noble1029 Bay Area Blvd, Webster, TX 77598

Call for Poetry Submissions

Selena Anthology 2019Seeking Art, Poetry, Prose, and Short Stories reflecting the spirit of Selena. Send all submissions to FlowerSongBooks@gmail.com by January 31, 2019.

Shantih Journalan online literary magazine published twice a year, is seeking new works of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, flash prose, drama, art, and photography. There is no fee for submissions. SHANTIH Journal explores the meaning of peace in the modern world. For more information, visit shantihjournal.org.Deadline: January 1, 2019

Anthology Naughty Nuts & BoltsNo Cost Entry Fee - Author Retains All Rights! We are currently seeking poetry and short stories about Blind Dates, Bad Dates, Strange Fetishes, and about what it’s like to date in today’s society. Tell us your dating stories . . . Click for more details! Submissions Close November 30th, 2018 - Book will be published in early 2019!https://creativetalentsunleashed.com/2018/06/24/now-accept-ing-anthology-submissions-naughty-nuts-bolts/

Into the VoidDeadline: December 7, 2018Pays $3 CAD per magazin page + Contributor copyNo Feehttps://intothevoidmagazine.com/submissions/

Masque & Spectacle is open for submissions! We’re looking for fiction, non-fiction, poetry, weird hybrids, drama, visual art, sound and video art, and reviews! See the guidelines below. There are no fees for submissions.https://masqueandspectacle.com/submission-guidelines/

3Elements Review is now accepting submissions for Issue 22! The elements are METRONOME, GASLIGHT, and SLIP. All three words must be used in any poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction submissions. Art and photography submissions must represent at least one of those elements.We have published new and well-known writers and artists from all over the world. Due January 31. Issue will be released April 1.http://3elementsreview.com/

Thurston Howl PublicationsSeeking full poetry collections. Accepted poets will receive royal-ties on profit earned from their book. THP is a liberal/progres-sive thinking publisher. Email: thurstonhowlpub@gmail.comhttps://www.thurstonhowlpublications.com/submissions

Speculative Poetry (Paying) Market List: http://fiendlover.blogspot.com/p/pro-paying-speculative-fic-tion-poetry.html

More Calls for Submission Daily at https://www.facebook.com/groups/156020074604805/

Helpful Resourceshttps://trishhopkinson.com/http://www.duotrope.comhttp://www.newpages.comhttps://www.pw.org/https://www.facebook.com/groups/35517751475/

Gulf Coast Poets Treasurer Report for Nov 10, 2018 General Meeting

Report Period: Sept 1 – Oct 31, 2018 -- with 2018 Year-To-Date totals This report covers the two month period since last report plus the 2018 summary

Cash Flow: Sept 1 – Oct 31, 2018 2018 YTD Contests………………………….……. Dues (all types) .…...…..……...……. Speaker Expense…………………..

Honorarium Speaker Lunch/Dinners

Donations …………..…………..….. Interest/Dividend…………………. Officer Travel..……………………… 2018 Luncheon ……………………. Annual Web Expense …………..

Net Cash flow, Sept 1 – Oct 31

-60.00 8.95

.00

.00 -68.95

.00 .14

-20.00 160.00 -22.00

49.19

-.00 150.00

-237.87

0.00 .86

-150.00 -240.00

-22.00

Jan 1-Oct 31 -499.01

Account Activity: Sept 1 – Oct 31, 2018 – 2018 YTD

Checking Ledger Beginning Checks written (5) Debit Card Deposits Dividend Ending Outstanding checks(9) Note1

Cash (undeposited checks, cash)

Beginning Inflow Outflow Ending

Savings (seldom changes) Beginning Ending

All accounts Beginning Ending

-88.95 -22.00 160.00

.14

180.00

168.95 -168.95

9/1/2018 10/31/2018

1510.49

1559.68 Bank chk bal=1739.68

0.00

0.00

10.33 10.33

1520.82 1570.01

Jan 1,2018

2018.69

1559.68

40.00

0.00

10.33 10.33

Jan 1/Oct 31

2069.02 1570.01

Treasurer Reports will normally end on the last day of the month preceding the meeting and cover the month(s) since the previous report.

Note 1: Four of the nine outstanding checks were written this year.

Date Reader

July 12, 2018 Sharon O.

August NO MEETING

September 8, 2018 Jonathan Moody

October 6, 2018 Poetry Out of Bounds

November 10, 2018 Jasper Kerkau

December 8, 2018 Nathan BrownGCP Annual Luncheon

January 12, 2019 TBA

February 9, 2019 TBA

Upcoming GCP Featured Readers

Honorary lifetime members 2007 John Gorman 2008 Larry D. Thomas 2009 Robert Clark 2010 Alan Lee Birkelbach2011 Ted O. Badger 2012 Erica Lehrer 2013 Dave Parsons2014 Glynn Monroe Irby 2015 Leo Waltz 2015 Karla Morton 2016 Jan Seale 2017 Gwendolyn Zepeda2018 Robin Davidson

Lifetime members

Nancy BertoncelljGary BorkowskiStella BriceDiana DettlingMary M. CarlisleDaniel CarringtonJane ChanceDavid CowenKay CoxJane CreightonWinston DerdenBillie DuncanSusan EllisLauran P. EnglishPat DixonAnn FogelmanJerry D. FrickFulton FryMary Ann GoodwinCarmen JacobsenSusan MuschBernard PattenRichard PeakeLaura PenaOscan PenaGary RosinSharman SpeedLynne StreeterSandi StrombergMartha M. TomezAdriana Babiack VazquezLuis VazquezLeo WaltzWeaselJoyce Zongrone

Chapter Members

Chris CantuKelly EllisJeremy EugeneBillie HillJean MahavierLeila MerrillJohn MilkereitChoonwha MoonSarah Frances MoranDeandra NewcombJohathan PeckhamMatthew RileyAmir SafiEmily SeayTria WoodJune ZanerRichard ZanerVanessa Zimmer-Powell

PLEASE RENEW YOUR MEM-BERSHIP!!!

In Memoriam 2006 Peggy Z. Lynch - 1st Mem-ber - Honorary Lifetime MemberDavid Hicks - 2nd Member - Life-time Member