The Runaway Anthology results are in at long, long, last. We had hoped to make this announcement three weeks ago. However, the universe conspired to slow us down with dreadful things like illness, injury, surgery and several deaths in our families, but we are gathering our wits at last. We are ready to announce the stories our judges have chosen to include in our 2020 short fiction anthology, Runaway Stories: An Anthology [working title]. *
Here are the judges’ choices:
“The Stones” by Richard Shelton
“Neighbor Boys and Cousins” by Jodi Angel* honorable mention $100
“Kansas” by Emily Chiles
“Ritual” by Albert Aden* #1 $200
“Running Toward Away” by Richard Jay Goldstein
“If That Isn’t a Sign From God, Then I Don’t Know What Is” by Philen Bradford
“Sugar” by Misty Skaggs
“The Whiskey Monkey” by Maureen O’Brien
“Vivian Delmar” by Louise Marberg
“Nothing to Light Our Way” by Emily Hoover* honorable mention $100
Congratulations each of these fine authors. All of us at Madville along with our judges, Luanne Smith, Michael Gills, and Lee Zacharias wish you all the best!
The 2018 AWP Conference in Tampa, Florida blew by like a whirlwind. Kim Davis was in attendance along with her colleagues from Texas Review Press, The Texas Review, and the Goliad Review & Press. Kim moderated a reading with her friends from Goliad, Joseph D. Haske and Michael Gills entitled, “The Places America Forgot: A Reading of Rural Fiction.” She got to spend time Goliad editors John Molina, Joe Haske, and Daniel Mendoza as well as Goliad author Ron Cooper and his wife Sandra. Sandra Cooper then provided a conduit to an amazing group of women writers all connected to Luanne Smith. Meals were consumed, alcohol was drunk, and it was a lot of fun. The high point, however, was a panel on Saturday arranged and moderated by Luanne Smith: “Writing Bad Ass & Nasty Women.” The speakers for this panel included Pam Houston, Kim Addonizio, and Bonnie Jo Campbell all amazing authors who spoke with inspirational fire that pulled the audience to its collective feet.
The tall blond at the back is Lisa Lanser Rose, to her right is Kim Davis, to her right is Suzanne Heagy, then in front are Luanne Smith and Laura Lee Morris. All were invited into the wine cellar at the Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City, Tampa Florida. The Spanish food was delicious, and the wine list was more comprehensive than Webster’s Unabridged!
Madville Publishing, LLC, was not quite an entity when Kim attended AWP in Tampa in 2018. The conference for Creative Writing Programs is a huge annual event, that creative writers should all attend at least once. 2018 was no different, and Kim saw many of her writing friends in Tampa in 2018. She was either at the The Texas Review Press Booth, or the Goliad Review & Press table, both presses where she worked at one time.
Kim’s schedule at AWP 2018:
Thursday 3:00 – 5:00 PM
Author signing–Curt Eriksen, A Place of Timeless Harmony (Kim had the pleasure of editing this book and doing the layout and design for it.)
Thursday 4:30-5:45 PM
Kim moderated the panel, “The Places America Forgot” (Michael Gills and Joseph D. Haske read their fiction.)
Friday 1:00-3:00 PM
Author signing–Theodora Bishop, On the Rocks
(Kim had the pleasure of editing this book and doing the layout and design for it.)
Friday 3:00 PM-5:00 PM
Author signing–Michael Gills, The House Across from the Deaf School and The Death of Bonnie and Clyde and Other Stories
(Kim had the pleasure of editing Michael’s most recent book and doing the layout and design for it.)
poems by karla. k. morton (2010 Texas Poet Laureate)
ISBN: 978-1-956440-33-1 paperback $19.95
ISBN: 978-1-956440-34-8 ebook $9.99
April 2023
Immediately in karla morton’s poetry collection, Turbulence & Fluids, the tables are turned as the waters of the Earth speak first. Not only do they speak in their power and vulnerability, but in relationship to the humans that use and so often abuse them. This tells us the speaker of these poems is in close relationship to the natural world, especially water’s lifegiving necessity in the dry Texas of the poet’s childhood. In “Fish Multiplication,” with a reverence and gratitude found throughout the book, morton writes, “I hope when they pull their chairs / up to the table, they taste / the prayer of thanks / that flowed through those gills…”
Equally powerful in these poems is the force of the speaker’s voice, which pulses with color, range, passion, and ironic humor. This voice dares us to live fully, to crack open our hearts, to chance it all: “Dare to be lotus. / Dare to live down among this mucked mire. / The world needs the hope of your struggle. / Do not be consumed / rather be the fight, / be your one perfect bloom…” Also paramount for the poet is the family in community, even the four-legged variety: watering new sod beside her father in an unforeseen drought; moving him to a care facility, his guiding voice ever in her ear; making chow-chow in a hot kitchen; lifting and mourning the beloved dog (“be dove-like with his soul”). Equal to this expansive voice and heart is an overarching spirituality, a Christian echo that never proselytizes, but girds and deepens the speaker’s worldview.
It’s fitting that the book flows poem to poem, with no section breaks to interrupt the movement as the speaker recounts not only the geographical but ancestral waters from which she rises, as in “Shine Shine Shine” and “Washita River”: “What magic breaks a river / through earth and flint and time; / what makes our lives eternal / but each legend of bloodline.” We each have this river of time and history and blood within us and, despite being drenched in grief as our losses mount, we—and these poems—travel and sing with it and in it.
—Linda Parsons, author of Candescent and This Shaky Earth
Turbulence & Fluids by karla k. morton is a wonderfully unique collection of poetry. The author’s almost spiritual connection to the surrounding world is evident in every poem. The opening poems give voice to the water, a captivating turn that starts a journey full of introspection and connection. Morton’s lived experiences, especially her Texas upbringing, are a pervasive influence in the collection, tying together hazy childhood memories with a passion for the Earth and the relationship between it and humans. Morton’s gratitude and reverence for the environment are palpable, and many lines showcase her ability to infuse even the simplest moments with a profound sense of wonder. The strength of Morton’s voice resonates throughout, layered with a spectrum of emotions that invite readers to embrace life’s complexities. The poem’s core encourages embracing life fully, even amid challenges, and Morton calls readers to find beauty and resilience in difficult circumstances. The poems reflect a deep sense of community, echoing familial ties and the companionship of pets. These themes are underpinned by an unobtrusive spiritual thread, providing a broader perspective without imposing.
This collection is not broken into sections, so if you’re a fan of more organized books, this might not be your favorite. However, the absence of those section breaks contributes to a seamless flow, mirroring the continuous passage of time and the interconnectedness of life’s experiences. Through poems like “Shine Shine Shine” and “Washita River,” Morton draws parallels between ancestral waters and the river of human existence. This approach effectively highlights the shared journey of history and the individual.
Turbulence & Fluids is a poetic expedition guiding readers through the depths of emotion, history, and connection. Morton’s evocative language and relatable themes create a tapestry of human experience, offering moments of both solace and inspiration. This collection is a reminder that, despite life’s challenges and losses, our stories continue to flow, and we find meaning by embracing them. Rating: 5
Lisa Rose and karla k. morton discuss poetry and AI
karla k. morton is a professional speaker, award-winning author, photographer, the 2010 Texas Poet Laureate, and a member of the Texas Institute of Letters. Described as “one of the more adventurous voices in American poetry,” she has been featured on Good Morning Texas, NPR, PBS, ABC News, CBS News and in countless newspapers, blogs, and magazines. Find her online at kkmorton.com
The Runaway Anthology results are in at long, long, last. We had hoped to make this announcement three weeks ago. However, the universe conspired to slow us down with dreadful things like illness, injury, surgery and several deaths in our families, but we are gathering our wits at last. We are ready to announce the stories our judges have chosen to include in our 2020 short fiction anthology, Runaway Stories: An Anthology [working title]. *
Friday 3:00 PM-5:00 PM
poems by karla. k. morton (2010 Texas Poet Laureate)
