It”s been five years since the morning that I stood in front of a television set watching in stunned horror as the news services replayed over and over and over the footage of a plane crashing through the second of the twin towers at the World Trade Center. I have yet to write about it. The enormity of it staggers me still, and there is a part of me that whispers, “You weren”t there. This isn”t your story to tell.”

I”m not sure why I have this reluctance to write about that day, or what came after it. The notion of trying to put so much emotion into words humbles me, makes me wonder what hubris would allow me to imagine I could shape a poem to convey even the tiniest bit of it. That, however, isn”t the case for many others – and that is a good thing. Poetry has always offered people a way to seek solace and comfort and begin healing. In recognition that tomorrow should be a day of commemoration and healing, I”m offering something a little different – a list of as many sites devoted to poetry surrounding 9/11 as I can find. Read, share, take comfort, heal.

september11victims.com
The site was online at 11 AM the morning of the attacks, and posted the names of victims as they were confirmed. In the five years since, the site owner has added photos, profiles and information about those that died that day, and opened it to comments. There are a few dozen poems posted here for the victims and their families. The one that brought tears to my eyes was this one.

Robert Pinsky reading his poem 9/11. Former Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky was commissioned by the Washington Post to write a poem commemorating 9/11. He read it September 12, 2002 on the MacNeil Lehrer News Hour for PBS.

About.com poetry guides, Bob Holman and Margery Shaw, solicited poetry for 9/11 after the attacks. The anthology is collected here, along with a sidebar of links to other collections of 9/11 poetry on the web.

Poetry for 9/11 at www.coping.org. Along with the poetry are videos, links to virtual memorials, slide shows and more.

A tribute from the UK in the form of a poem to be read by Simon Armitage, widely believed to be in line to become the next Poet Laureate of the UK. He”ll read the poem tomorrow evening on a national show, on the anniversary of the tower attacks.

Ten poems from poemsforfree.com that are free for any personal or non-commercial use.

The Internet Remembrance Campaign at worldatwar.org collected – and still collects – poetry and artwork inspired by the events of 9/11.

A memorial Syrnu posted at Authorsden.com, a moving combined work by over a dozen poets.

Something I didn”t know about my favorite quick-fix for poetry news and views, GotPoetry, is that they also do book reviews. GotPoetry is a thriving community of poets who post their work, critique each other, publish finished poems on the site, offer a ratings facility (and John Powers, one of the site managers and the head code cruncher, is always making improvements to make it easier and more useful – you can, for instance, snag a quick-n-easy bit of html to put a “Rate My Poem” button on your own site to direct readers from your site to rate your poem at GotPoetry – without leaving your site). There are several great monthly/weekly/biweekly/sporadic columns (including Tony Brown”s Zero Point Zero, Victor Infante”s How To Succeed As a Failing Writer, Sou MacMillan”s Chrysanthemum, a serial novel, and columns by Ryk McIntyre, Scott Woods and Zork. It is bar none the single BEST source of news about the Spoken Word and Slam scene across the country – and apparently, they accept poetry books for review. If you”re interested in having your book or anthology of poetry reviewed at GotPoetry.com, you”ll find contact information and address at the Contact page for GotPoetry.

A few other sites that accept poetry books for review (check site for reading periods)

The Danforth Review (next reading period: November, 2006)
Absinthe Literary Review (next reading period, January 2007)
Boxcar Poetry Review (First books only. Query for instructions on submitting a review copy)

I”ve been waiting for September! So many of the journals that publish poetry regularly are the product of universities and colleges, and consequently, their reading periods run from September through May. All summer long, I”ve been collecting links and submission guidelines so that I could keep my promise and only post publications that are actively accepting submissions. So. It”s September, and I”ve got a few places where you can submit your poetry NOW.

New England Review
New England Review is one of the country”s most respected literary publications. Recent contributors to NER have included David Roderick (winner of the 2006 American Poetry Review/Honickman First Book Award), Lucia Perillo (winner of the $100,000 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award 2006), Carla Panciera (winner of the 2005 Cider Press Book Award), Michael Ryan (winner of the 2005 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award), Patrick Phillips (winner of the 2005 Kate Tufts Award), David Baker, Jane Hirshfield, Kimberly Johnson, Laura Kasischke, Eric Pankey, and Mark Wunderlich (recipients of the National Endowment for the Arts poetry fellowships) – the list could go on for several pages. Suffice to say that you would be in good company if your poetry is accepted for publication by NER. NER pays $10 per published page, and two contributor copies. Submission Guidelines can be found here.

Pearl Magazine is a 96-160 page, perfect-bound magazine featuring poetry, short fiction, and black & white artwork. We also sponsor the Pearl Poetry Prize, an annual contest for a full-length book, as well as the Pearl Short Story Prize, an annual fiction contest. Our annual poetry issue contains a 12-15 page section featuring the work of a single poet. The magazine is the love child of editors Joan Jobe Smith, Marilyn Johnson and Barbara Hauk. Pearl”s three femme editors, with their three very different poetic points of view, try to make Pearl an eclectic publication, a place for lively, readable poetry and prose that speaks to real people about real life in direct, living language, profane or sublime. To that end, they offer wonderful submission guidelines that contain some interesting quotes from a few famous poets. Do take the time to read about The Editors, just because it”s fun.

Prairie Schooner, a national literary quarterly published with the support of the English Department at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Nebraska Press, is home to the best fiction, poetry, essays, and reviews being published today by beginning, mid-career and established writers. PS has been published for over 80 years and has published the work of Eudora Welty, Octavio Paz, Tennessee Williams, Weldon Kees, Joyce Carol Oates, and Rita Dove, Richard Russo, Reynolds Price, Julia Alvarez, Sharon Olds, Cornelius Eady, plus scores of others. Find their submission guidelines here

Random web searches sometimes turn up some lovely finds – and this is one of them. Todays-Woman.net is an active portal for poets – and despite the name of the site, it”s not just for women poets. Named one of Writers” Digest”s Top 101 Sites of 2006, Todays-Woman.net welcomes both men and women – in fact, nearly half of their members are of the opposite gender. They bill themselves as an interactive writing community for men and women 18 and older. They”re more than just a community forum, though. A free account – registration only requires an email address and a statement that you are over 18 – allows you access to the community forums, helpful articles from published expert writers, news and calls for submission, the right to submit your own articles and poetry for inclusion and lots more.

Like another of my favorite resource sites, GotPoetry, what makes Today”s-Woman.net so special is the commitment of its owner, Rose DesRochers. In her own words, she takes

a real passion to the site and an active role. This is something you do not receive on other communities. Most communities the administrator stays hidden in the background. I like to be on a first name bases with the members and get to know them.

That commitment shows in the variety of help and encouragement you”ll find at Todays-Woman.net. From honest critique of your work on the forums to a section of classifieds where you”ll find calls for submission and want ads for writers of all sorts, the site is designed to be supportive to writers and poets. One of the best features – and a feature I haven”t seen anywhere else – is their Writers Warnings section, a growing database of reports from writers about scams, unethical publishers and things to watch out for in poetry contests and publishing. They name names and give details, making it easy to avoid the pitfalls of trying to get your work published.

Besides the usual community based forums, you”ll also find a few things you won”t on other community sites – the Members” Books, for instance, where members can list their own works for sale to other members and the general public. There”s an excellent resource section with several hundred listings in over 30 categories – and some just-for-fun features like daily horoscopes, games and e-cards. And of course, there are excellent articles about every aspect of writing poetry, from where to submit to how to beat writer”s cramp.

This is a definite add-to for your list of poetry resources. If you haven”t visited it, check it out and let them know where you heard about them!

Where do you go when you”re looking for information about upcoming poetry events? Calls for submissions? Calls for papers? A list of blogs that feature poetry? Something new to read? If you”re like most people, you”ve got a list of your own of places to check in for each of those things, but at The Poetry Kit you can find it all rolled into one. Simply put, The Poetry Kit is the single most comprehensive resource for finding almost anything about poetry that I have found anywhere. In addition to maintaining a frequently updated list of poetry events happening in ten different regions around the globe (Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, Central America, Europe, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK and the USA), The Poetry Kit features listings of blogs, poet”s web sites, poetry magazines, calls for submissions of poetry, calls for submissions of papers on poetry, a poetry blog of their own Poetry Kite and so much more that it won”t fit into a single post.

Of special interest to poets are the calls for submission and the calls for papers, as well as the listings of poetry magazines by country, including a new section of online poetry magazines. You can join The PK discussion list, one of the longest running email poetry discussion lists on the internet, read the PK list”s own poetry journals, Transparent Words and Caught in the Net, or indulge yourself in a fingerwalk through literally dozens of poetry blogs from around the world.

There are lists of poetry contests (arranged by deadline – so handy!), poetry organisations, poetry publishers, poetry magazines, poetry courses, poetry workshop groups (arranged by area – most are in the UK, but there are some from other countries),funding organisations and grants for poets – are you beginning to get the idea? Good! Drop by The Poetry Kit and check it out for yourself – I can guarantee you”ll find something there to wet your whistle – or quench your thirst.