Call for Submissions

SUBMISSION CALL: COON BIDNESS

Greg Tate is starting a journal called COON BIDNESS (named in honor of the great St Louis jazz musician Julius Hemphill and his album of the same name*) in partnership with LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs as the Poetry Editor.

DIYB Publishing

Deadline for submissions is September 9.

First edition will be published on Jimi Hendrix birthday November 27 and feature 15 pages of poetry, 20 pages of essays and 10 pages of illustrations. For real.

Guidelines:

Essays. The essays should all be about black people and rock music. any topic within that frame welcome. entries can be from 300 to 1000 words. every one has to also submit two lists of 5 favorite books and 5 favorite albums by writers and musicians, of any ethnicity they’ve read and heard over the past 5 years. Also include a bio of 25 WORDS OR LESS.

Send essay submissions to Greg Tate at gregorystate@gmail.com

Poetry. Send no more than 3 poems and no more than 4 pages.

Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Previously published work will be considered. Email submissions only. Please as an attachment a MS WORD DOC and PDF if you work outside of standard poetic structure (that is if your shit is all over the place).
Also include a bio of 25 WORDS OR LESS.

Send poetry submissions to LaTasha Diggs at latashadiggs@earthlink.net

Please indicate in subject heading that this a submission to Coon Bidness

*Hemphill formed his own record label Mbari in the early 70s while a member of the progressive multidisciplinary do-for-self collective BAG or Black Artists Group. About BAG founding member Oliver Lake has said that the lack of new-jazz venues and audiences was part of the impetus for forming the Black Artists’ Group: “In St. Louis, it was about doing it or nothing would happen. If we wanted to get exposure for what we were doing, the only way to do it was to make it happen ourselves. Once we did realize that, things happened for us, we were really successful in St. Louis.” Hemphill concurs regarding BAG’s interest in taking a proactive promotional role, saying, “In the ’60s, there was a lot of interest in exploring unfamiliar territory, in putting on concerts instead of waiting for someone else to do it, in playing in places other than clubs.” Members of BAG actively promoted their own productions in response to the lack of established performance venues. For more on BAG see ‘POETS OF ACTION THE SAINT LOUIS BLACK ARTISTS GROUP, 1968-1972’