Tag: Halloween

The Halloween Edition of The International Imaginarium For Word & Verse (October 25th, 2022)

~ Paul Szlosek ~ 4 Comments

Dear Readers,

Here is the link to the Halloween edition of The International Imaginarium for Word & Verse posted last Tuesday night on our new Imaginarium website for you to hopefully peruse and enjoy at your leisure: https://internationalimaginarium.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-halloween-edition-of-international.html

I want to thank my fellow bloggers A. J. Wilson (AKA poetisatinta), and Tom Ewart (AKA tommywart) for graciously accepting my invitation to participate which I previously posted on this blog. Although the Imaginarium ended up being much shorter than usual, I decided not to repost the entire Imaginarium here on this blog as I have often done with previous editions of the Virtual Poetorium because I feel that it is probably still too long a read, and thus far too overwhelming for most of my readers (as a result, some really excellent poetry might be skipped, and that would be a real shame). So instead, I will just post this month’s Imaginarium group poem (which is probably one of my favorite segments of both the Poetorium and the Imaginarium). This month, we requested people to send us one to eight lines starting with the phrase “Halloween is…” All contributions were then compiled into the following poem which I’m afraid. like the entire Imaginarium, is also rather shorter than usual this month since we only received submissions from just Karen Durlach and A. J. Wilson (aka poetisatinta) besides myself (I hope you enjoy reading it!)…

Just What Is This Thing Called Halloween?

Halloween is the night of scary things
of witches’ brews and flying brooms
of hissing cats and screeching bats
of chills and mists that pierce the soul
and whispering winds that keep you cold
so stay alert, away from witchy spells
then you’ll be safe from the hounds of hell.

Halloween is hanging
by a thread, from a web,
the rattle of bone, in the dark, alone,
a fluttery sheet that has no feet,
a headless hat, a phantom cat,
a spooky night, such a fright delight.

Halloween is a holiday marked by the consumption
Of confection, commercialism crass as Christmas,
A celebration of contradictions when the so-called innocent don masks
to extort the neighborhood, where the ominous and the whimsical
Dance cheek to cheek at a costume ball, and you never know
Either to expect a sack of candy corn or a bag of human bones.

—The October 2022 Imaginarium Halloween Group Poem

An Invitation to Participate in a Special Halloween-Themed International Imaginarium For Word & Verse For October 25th, 2022

~ Paul Szlosek ~ 6 Comments

Dear Readers,

After mulling it over for a few days, I am very pleased to announce that, in spite of having a very hectic schedule filled with numerous poetry events this month (including our live Poetorium at Starlite show on October 27th in Southbridge, Massachusetts), I will be producing a special Halloween-themed edition of the International Imaginarium For Word & Verse (which I am tentatively dubbing the Scarynarium) and would like to open it for anyone who would like to participate, inviting all my fellow bloggers and faithful readers (or just anyone just happening to read this) to be a part of it. Unlike a regular edition, there will be no featured poet but instead will have an extra-long open mic to be divided into two sections. Because of this, we are requesting that you send us up to three of your own original poems or stories (ones that are scary or have a Halloween theme are preferred though not required) either in a Word document file or pasted in the body of an email along with your name, any opening remarks you care to make, and where your poem has appeared if it was previously published to poetorium@mail.com by Sunday, October 23rd. Also if you like, you can send us a photo of yourself (extra brownie points rewarded if you are in costume) to be posted above your poem, but that is totally optional.

Like always, we also need contributions to this month’s Imaginarium Group poem. To participate, please send us one to eight lines starting with the phrase “Halloween is… “. All contributions (which will remain anonymous unless otherwise requested) will be compiled and included in this month’s Halloween edition of the Imaginarium Group Poem. Once again, the deadline for submissions is the night of Sunday, October 23rd.

We will also be reviving (at least for this month) the monthly writing challenge which we once did with the Virtual Poetorium where we invited you to write in a different flash fiction or poetic form each month. This month’s challenge will be to write a six-word story (your story can include a title or not, the choice is up to you), and once again, a Halloween theme is suggested. In case you are not familiar with this popular flash fiction form, you can read about how to write one @ https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write-an-unforgettable-six-word-story#3-examples-of-sixword-stories. Please send us your best efforts by Sunday, October 23rd to be included in this month’s Halloween-themed Imaginarium.

Also if you wish, please feel free to send us any of your own original scary or Halloween-themed artwork or photos to be displayed and shared during our virtual intermission! Our new Imaginarium website has the ability to embed videos, so if you have any links to any scary or Halloween-themed videos you have created hosted on YouTube or other sites, please feel free to send them to us as well.

If you have any questions about submitting to the virtual open mic, the group Imaginarium poem, or anything else about the International Imaginarium itself, please drop us a line, and we will try to answer them right away.

Thank you so very much, my dear friends! We really appreciate your help and look forward to your participation. Please take care, and stay safe, but try to have a very scary but fun October!