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Celebrating
Earth and the Universe
As You Never
 Imagined!
Sublime
Planet
Celebrating Earth Day and
the Universe
A USA
Book News Finalist
Featured in the Earth Day Issue
of Pasadena Weekly
Co-authored by
multi award-winning poets
Magdalena Ball and Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Sublime Planet is an e-chapbook and paperback
published in the time-honored
tradition
of poets everywhere.
This collection of
ecologically oriented poems traverses a wide terrain, moving
from the loss of species to the beauty of the natural world,
from drought to the exploration of alternative planets. It's
an exhilarating collection that breaks boundaries and leads
the reader deep into the personal heart of perception.
Released by award winning poets Carolyn Howard-Johnson and
Magdalena Ball to celebrate Earth Day, this is a collection
of poetry that weaves the personal with the universal.
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Endorsements:
"Sublime Planet
begins with Carolyn Howard Johnson's love poems
to the living world, rapturous poems, expansive
in spirit yet precise in detail: ‘An impossible
moth,/dark eye at its center, opaque//helicopter
blades buzz and blur... .’ In Magdalena Ball's
darker meditations, hurt and thirst have entered
the world facilitated, in part, by the
machinations of civilization. While Howard-Johnson's
poems praise, Ball's seem to sound a low
warning. I recommend Sublime Planet
particularly to those individuals who reside on
the planet." ~ Suzanne
Lummis, UCLA poetry instructor and LA's unique
contribution to the poetry world
". . . a
breath-taking book of poetry . . . "
~ Joyce A Kovelman, Ph.D., author |
Paperback and e-copies may be ordered from
Amazon.
As Featured
in the Pasadena Weekly
As
Featured in Delta Gamma's Anchora Magazine
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About the Authors |
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Magdalena Ball runs
The
Compulsive Reader. Her short stories, editorials, poetry, reviews
and articles have appeared in a wide number of printed anthologies and
journals, and have won local and international awards for poetry
(including the Roland Robinson literary award), and
fiction. She is also the author of two critically acclaimed novels
Sleep Before Evening
and
Black Cow, a nonfiction book
The Art of Assessment: How to Review Anything, and two other poetry
chapbooks
Quark Soup,
and Repulsion Thrust. She also collaborates with Carolyn
Howard-Johnson on poetry chapbooks like
Cherished Pulse
and others in the Celebration Series of chapbooks. She runs a monthly radio program podcast
and put out a very literary review newsletter.
Carolyn Howard-Johnson's writes award-winning fiction and creative
nonfiction. They appear in national
magazines, anthologies and review journals. She speaks on culture,
tolerance, writing, and promotion and has appeared on TV and hundreds of
radio stations nationwide. She was an
instructor for
UCLA Extension's Writers' Program for nearly a decade
and has shared her expertise at venues like
San Diego State's world
renowned Writers' Conference, Dayton University's
Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop, Greater Los Angeles Writers Association
conferences, and SPAN's (Small Publishers Association of
North America) annual conference. Carolyn was
awarded Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment by the California
Legislature; her home town's Character and Ethics Commission honored her
for her work on promoting tolerance and the Pasadena Weekly named
her to their list of "San Gabriel Valley women who make life
happen" for literary activism. Her nitty-gritty
HowToDoItFrugally books are multi award-winners including , USA Book News'
awards, the Irwin Award, Next Millenium awards and more.
Tracings, was honored by the
Military Writers' Society of
America for excellence. Published by Finishing Line Press it is
available on
Amazon.
She blogs at
Sharing
with Writers, a Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites
pick, and on
The Frugal, Smart, and
Tuned-In Editor. |
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About the Photographer |
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Ann Howley
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Ann Howley came to photography through her love for travel.
She photographs nature, landscape, and travel and has
adventured on all seven continents in search of her images.
She has trekked on the Inca Trail, to the top of Mount
Kilimanjaro, to Mount Everest base camp, and walked 500
miles along the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain.
She has been up close and personal with penguins in
Antarctica, polar bears in Canada, and mountain gorillas in
Uganda. Ann received a Culture and Arts Honorable Mention
from Smithsonian Magazine and has been featured twice in the
Member Showcase of North American Nature Photography
Association. Her photography was included in Suenos/Yume—Fifty
Years of the Art of Dora De Larios which won for Best In
Show Book Design by the American Advertising Federation. Ann
graduated from University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB)
and practiced as a Certified Public Accountant before moving
on to explore photography full time. She is studying graphic
and web design at the University of California at Los
Angeles (UCLA) Extension. She has designed a perpetual
calendar based on her nature images.
Her greeting cards and calendar are available at
etsy.com/shop/AnnHowleyPhotography
and matted and frame prints are available through gallery
shows and can be individually ordered by contacting her at
ann@annhowley.com. |
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Reviews for Sublime Planet |
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Reviewed by Karen Cioffi
Gearing up for Earth Day, Carolyn
Howard-Johnson and Magdalena Ball are releasing a brand new
collection of poems titled Sublime Planet. The
collection features relevant poems by Carolyn and Magdalena
that demonstrate the interconnections of the world around
us, including life, family, and love, along with the growing
concern for the earth’s preservation.
This is a beautifully written
collection that allows the reader to pause and take note of
the world around her.
One of my favorite poems in the
collection is one by Carolyn titled “The Giraffe:”
A tongue generous
as my head he reaches
for me, barriers no match
for his long neck, sniffs
my hair, kisses my face.
He unaware
he is endangered.
I unaware he might
be dangerous.
This poem is a powerful, yet simple
tribute to a majestic creature that is now an endangered
species. Can you imagine a planet without the giraffe?
Another poem in the collection that
struck me is “Tipping Point” by Magdalena Ball:
“[. . .] you eat and eat through four billion years of
evolution now held loosely by one thread. [. . .] The future
waits impatiently your decision.”
Again, powerful, and revealing.
Sublime Planet offers moving
insight into the world around us and into a world that is in
need of attention, and it certainly honors Earth Day. I
highly recommend it.
For those who aren’t aware of what
Earth Day is, Senator Gaylord Nelson created this special
day in the spring of 1970. The purpose behind it was to make
everyone aware of all the toxins being spewed into the air
and dumped in nearby streams or other waterways by
manufacturing companies.
At that time, there were no regulatory
or legal safety nets to protect our planet, our environment.
Senator Nelson took a stand and his cause quickly caught on.
The earth is our planet, our home, our
responsibility, and we’re not doing such a good job
protecting it.
Sublime Planet is the perfect
celebration for Earth Day (April 22nd).
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Karen Cioffi is a multi-award-winning
author, freelance/ghostwriter, and author online presence
instructor. Give your writing and marketing efforts a boost
with The Writing World newsletter. Get weekly tips and
guidance, plus updates on free webinars, and TWO ebooks! |
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Sample Poems
from
Sublime Planet |
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Meanwhile,
skin peels back
cold
beneath
that smooth primate façade.
The lizard smiles
knows
truth
so tell me again
until it makes sense
why, when
the mirage of reality
shimmers so brightly
rich greens and melting yellows
insect and rain
birdsong and flower scent
a million sensations
raising goosebumps
of wonder
do we wait
amygdala
in overdrive
fear and disappointment
nudging for primacy
imaginary pain
blinding us to
trembling beauty.
~Magdalena Ball (c) |
An
Offering for Malibu
Canyon’s Trees
Charcoal trees.
After this fire
season you thrust upward
blackened-bark
arms,
knuckles bare, twisted fingers dark,
reaching as if
to grab what life
might let down from clouds
certain to flood
gray.
Look down, not up. Grasses.
save mountain
sheep
after San Jacinto’s drought, mule
deer before
Mohave blooms soft,
the selfsame green of tulip spears
before they
stretch tender. Here
is what feeds you, the dark
DNA you gave up
in ashes, nature’s hardiest gift
grows there
green
between
your toes.
~Carolyn Howard-Johnson (c)
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Buy Links for
Carolyn's Books |
"Careers
that are not fed die as readily
as any living organism
given no sustenance."
~
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Studio photography by
Uriah Carr
3 Dimensional Book Cover Images by iFOGO
Logo by
Lloyd King
To
subscribe to Carolyn's FREE online newsletter send an
e-mail.
Learn more about Carolyn's
newsletter and blog.
Read
past issues of Carolyn's
Newsletter.
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Frugal
E-Book Tip |
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Kindle E-Books
Aren't
Just for Kindle Anymore
Did you know that Amazon’s Kindle
e-books are a low-cost/no-cost way to access books
even if you don’t have a dedicated Kindle reader?
You can read Kindle's e-books on smartphones,
desktop computers and any e-device in between. You
can even store the books on the Amazon cloud.
~
Quote from
Diana Schneidman, author |
Special
Blooming Red Christmas Chapbook
Greeting Card Offer
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Subscribe to
Carolyn Howard-Johnson's Sharing with Writers Newsletter
and get a FREE copy of
Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers
"I have been a professional writer 40 years, and am also a
tenured full professor of journalism. Carolyn's Sharing with
Writers newsletter is most useful for me--and for my
students. I emphasize to them that while research is 90% of
writing, and the actual writing is about 10%, there's another
100% out there called promotion. Carolyn shows numerous ways to
get the message to the mass media."
~Walter Brasch, author
and educator
"A decade of bettering writers' careers
with how-tos, tips, and publishing news."
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Proud to be Instrumental in
Helping Other Poets |
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Poetry Mystique: A modern
text edited by Suzanne Lummis with commentary from the
editor.
Poems by selected students from Suzanne's
many poetry classes.
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Carolyn's Blogs |
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Sharing with Writers
All things publishing with
an emphasis on book
promotion. Named to
Writer's Digest
101 Best Website list.
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The New Book Review
Great way for readers, authors, reviewers and publicists to get more
mileage out of
a great review.
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The Frugal Editor Blog
This is the Frugal, Smart
and Tuned-In Editor blog.
Covers editing, grammar, formatting and more.
Get the answers you need.
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Carolyn's Awards |
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Awards for Carolyn's Books, Blogs and More The New Book Review
Named to
Master's in English.org Online Universities'
101 Essential Sites for Voracious
Readers
Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites
for Sharing with Writers blog.
Best Book Award for The Frugal Book Promoter (2004) and The Frugal Editor (2008)
and the Second Edition of The Frugal Book Promoter
(2011).
Reader Views Literary Award for The Frugal Editor
New Generation Award for Marketing and Finalist for The Frugal Editor
Book Publicists of Southern California's Irwin Award
Military Writers Award of Excellence for
Tracings, A Chapbook of Poetry.
A Retailer's Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotion wins author Military
Writers Society of America's Author of the Month award for March, 2010
Gold Medal
Award from Military Writers Society of America, 2010.
MWSA also gave a nod to
She Wore Emerald Then,
a chapbook of poetry honoring mothers.
The Frugal
Editor
Named #! on Top Ten
Editing Books list.
Finalist
New Generation Book Awards 2012,
The Frugal Book
Promoter; Finalist 2010
The Frugal Editor;
Winner 2010 Marketing Campaign for the Frugal Editor
The Oxford Award
recognizes
the
alumna who exemplifies the Delta Gamma precept of
service to her community and who, through the years,
devotes her talents to improve the quality of life
around her.
The Frugal
Book Promoter is runner-up in the how-to category for
the
Los Angeles Book Festival 2012
awards.
Winner Diamond Award
for Achievement in the Arts
Glendale
California's Arts and Culture Commission and the City of
Glendale Library,
2013
And more than a dozen other awards for Carolyn's novel, short story collection and poetry.
See the awards page on this site.
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Site Sponsor |
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Chaz
DeSimone is my book cover designer, logo whiz, and
marketing partner. He is always right there with his poster
program, too. He always has one that fits
my most recent efforts--poetry, promotion, or about anything
else!
Check out
his free Ampersand posters.
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Celebrating Holidays with Poetry Chapbooks
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Cover art by Vicki
Thomas, Poetry by Magdalena Ball and Carolyn Howard-Johnson
"Cherished
Pulse is full of poems that describe love from the eyes and
hearts of young and old. We see love in its youthful stage, stirring the
hearts of man and woman alike and tying a bond that even death cannot
break. As we continue reading, we understand that love deepens into an
awesome, but quiet joy as the couple grows older. These poems renew our
faith in love as they remind us of our own experience with this most
sought after emotion."
~
Lucille P Robinson for
Alternative-Read.com
Third in the Celebration
of Chapbooks with Magdalena Ball,
Imagining the Future is written expressly for fathers "and
other masculine apparitions."
She Wore Emerald Then is a book of Moods of Motherhood:
thirty poems by award-winning poets Magdalena Ball and Carolyn
Howard-Johnson, with original photography by May Lattanzio. A
beautifully presented, tender and strikingly original gift book, ideal
for Mother's Day or any day when you want to celebrate the notion of
motherhood in its broadest sense. Share this collection with someone
you love.
More on
Blooming
Red: Christmas Poetry for the Rational on this Web site.
Sublime Planet
is an e-chapbook and paperback
published in the time-honored
tradition
of poets everywhere.
This collection of
ecologically oriented poems traverses a wide terrain, moving
from the loss of species to the beauty of the natural world,
from drought to the exploration of alternative planets. It's
an exhilarating collection that breaks boundaries and leads
the reader deep into the personal heart of perception.
Released by award winning poets Carolyn Howard-Johnson and
Magdalena Ball to celebrate Earth Day, this is a collection
of poetry that weaves the personal with the universal.
Photograpy by Ann Howley.
“Whatever your age these
poems celebrating women will
speak to you of times to look forward to or to remember. These are not
poems to be read once. They will stay with you forever.”
~ Nancy Famolari, author.
Also by
Carolyn:
Tracings is winner of the Military Society of
America's Award of Excellence and named to the Compulsive Reader's Ten
Best Reads of 2005
 Imperfect Echoes is
Carolyn's newest poetry book. Writing Truth and Justice with Capital
Letters, lie and oppression with Small.
Cover and interior
art by Richard Conway Jackson
All proceeds go to Amnesty International |
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