October 2015
E d i t o r ' s N o t e
Dear V-V Poets and Friends,
November 11th is Veterans Day. I am informally dedicating the November 2015 issue of Verse-Virtual to veterans. Contributors are invited to submit poems that have to do with veterans, military service, war, and so on. But you certainly may send poems to me which have nothing whatsoever to do with those subjects (that's what I mean by "informally").
November 11th is Veterans Day. I am informally dedicating the November 2015 issue of Verse-Virtual to veterans. Contributors are invited to submit poems that have to do with veterans, military service, war, and so on. But you certainly may send poems to me which have nothing whatsoever to do with those subjects (that's what I mean by "informally").
Many famous poets were born in October: Wallace Stevens, e.e. cummings, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Dylan Thomas, Sylvia Plath, and others. I thought to honor one of these poets but realized it would be so much better to honor someone less well-known. I looked at an online list of October-born poets and chose Jupiter Hammon.
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Jupiter Hammon (October 17, 1711 – before 1806) was a black poet who in 1761 became the first African-American writer to be published in the present-day United States... Born into slavery, Hammon was never emancipated. He was living in 1790 at the age of 79, and died by 1806. A devout Christian, he is considered one of the founders of African-American literature. (Wikipedia).
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Here is an excerpt from a recently-discovered 25-stanza poem by Jupiter Hammon:
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An Essay on Slavery...
by Jupiter Hammon (1711 - 1806) Our forefathers came from Africa Tost over the raging main To a Christian shore there for to stay And not return again. Dark and dismal was the Day When slavery began All humble thoughts were put away Then slaves were made by Man... Read the complete text here: http://slavenarrativeanthology.weebly.com/an-essay-on-slavery-jupiter-hammon.html |
Our new V-V group page on Facebook [www.facebook.com/groups/verse-virtual] is becoming very popular. So far we have about 70 members. Even if you're not a social media person you might enjoy reading the various and interesting offerings there.
As always, thanks to all of you for helping me build Verse-Virtual into a vital, exciting, and enthusiastic community of poets who not only share a venue but care about each other.
Sincerely yours,
Firestone Feinberg