AN OPEN INVITATION TO THE JERSEY JAZZ POETRY CONTEST
This is to invite you and anyone you know who loves jazz, to enter the JERSEY JAZZ Noteworthy Poetry Contest. Your entry shouldn’t be longer than the first one below. It need not rhyme or be a list of names.
Garrison Keillor, host of the NPR flagship show “A Prairie Home Companion,” will judge entries and pick the winner. First prize is a one-year membership in the New Jersey Jazz Society and subscription to the print journal, Jersey Jazz. New deadline: December 15, 2013. Sure you can!
Fradley Garner
International Editor, Denmark
“THE FANTASTIC NAMES OF JAZZ” is a poem by the late Syracuse University professor Hayden Carruth, reprinted in Garrison Keillor’s 2002 book, Good Poems. It grabbed my eye and sparked this contest.
Zoot Sims, Joshua Redman,
Billie Holiday, Pete Fountain,
Fate Marable, Ivie Anderson,
Meade Lux Lewis, Mezz Mezzrow,
Manzie Johnson, Marcus Roberts,
Omer Simeon, Miff Mole, Sister
Rosetta Tharpe, Freddie Slack,
Thelonius Monk, Charlie Teagarden,
Max Roach, Paul Celestin, Muggsy
Spanier, Boomie Richman, Panama
Francis, Abdullah Ibrahim, Piano
Red, Champion Jack Dupree,
Cow Cow Davenport, Shirley Horn,
Cedar Walton, Sweets Edison,
Jaki Byard, John Heard, Joy Harjo,
Pinetop Smith, Tricky Sam
Nanton, Major Holley, Stuff Smith,
Bix Beiderbecke, Bunny Berigan,
Mr. Cleanhead Vinson, Ruby Braff,
Cootie Williams, Cab Calloway,
Lockjaw Davis, Chippie Hill,
And of course Jelly Roll Morton.
Here’s an entry from a jazz radio show hostess in Flemington, NJ. Created from actual song titles.
It Was A Very Good Year
By Gloria Krolak
My Funny Valentine, It Might as Well Be Spring
Up Jumped Spring, Waters of March
I’ll Remember April, April in Paris
Spring is Here, Joy Spring, You Must Believe in Spring
Afternoon in Paris, Some Other Spring
Easter Parade, Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most
Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year
Summertime, The Summer Knows, The Things We Did Last Summer
Summer’s End, Indian Summer, Early Autumn,
Tis Autumn, Autumn Leaves, September Song
Autumn in New York, September in the Rain,
Blue November, The Christmas Song, Winter Wonderland
White Christmas, Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Baby, It’s Cold Outside
Auld Lang Syne, What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?
Send your poem to Fradley Garner.
This is to invite you and anyone you know who loves jazz, to enter the JERSEY JAZZ Noteworthy Poetry Contest. Your entry shouldn’t be longer than the first one below. It need not rhyme or be a list of names.
Garrison Keillor, host of the NPR flagship show “A Prairie Home Companion,” will judge entries and pick the winner. First prize is a one-year membership in the New Jersey Jazz Society and subscription to the print journal, Jersey Jazz. New deadline: December 15, 2013. Sure you can!
Fradley Garner
International Editor, Denmark
“THE FANTASTIC NAMES OF JAZZ” is a poem by the late Syracuse University professor Hayden Carruth, reprinted in Garrison Keillor’s 2002 book, Good Poems. It grabbed my eye and sparked this contest.
Zoot Sims, Joshua Redman,
Billie Holiday, Pete Fountain,
Fate Marable, Ivie Anderson,
Meade Lux Lewis, Mezz Mezzrow,
Manzie Johnson, Marcus Roberts,
Omer Simeon, Miff Mole, Sister
Rosetta Tharpe, Freddie Slack,
Thelonius Monk, Charlie Teagarden,
Max Roach, Paul Celestin, Muggsy
Spanier, Boomie Richman, Panama
Francis, Abdullah Ibrahim, Piano
Red, Champion Jack Dupree,
Cow Cow Davenport, Shirley Horn,
Cedar Walton, Sweets Edison,
Jaki Byard, John Heard, Joy Harjo,
Pinetop Smith, Tricky Sam
Nanton, Major Holley, Stuff Smith,
Bix Beiderbecke, Bunny Berigan,
Mr. Cleanhead Vinson, Ruby Braff,
Cootie Williams, Cab Calloway,
Lockjaw Davis, Chippie Hill,
And of course Jelly Roll Morton.
Here’s an entry from a jazz radio show hostess in Flemington, NJ. Created from actual song titles.
It Was A Very Good Year
By Gloria Krolak
My Funny Valentine, It Might as Well Be Spring
Up Jumped Spring, Waters of March
I’ll Remember April, April in Paris
Spring is Here, Joy Spring, You Must Believe in Spring
Afternoon in Paris, Some Other Spring
Easter Parade, Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most
Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year
Summertime, The Summer Knows, The Things We Did Last Summer
Summer’s End, Indian Summer, Early Autumn,
Tis Autumn, Autumn Leaves, September Song
Autumn in New York, September in the Rain,
Blue November, The Christmas Song, Winter Wonderland
White Christmas, Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Baby, It’s Cold Outside
Auld Lang Syne, What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?
Send your poem to Fradley Garner.
