While designing and typesetting our recently released Coffee Table Book, I came across this most amazing and intriguing concept in Poetry, which is known as Pollages. You must be all wondering what are Pollages! And how you go about it...
Well, let me first inform you that we have tied hands with one of the acclaimed International writers from California, Ellaraine Lockie and she is also one of the interviewees in our latest Coffee Table Book, Monochrome Verses.
And it is only then that while working on some of her poetic pieces she introduced me to this new modality of expressing Poetry through Pollages. She is also the creator of this art form in which she combines poetry and collages together on a piece of paper by decorating with various things like buttons, laces, ribbons, or even old postcards and paper cut-outs.
Hoping that by now you must have got some idea of what I am talking about and doesn't this sound interesting already!
Yes! you got it right Pollages are poetry and a collage combined on a piece of paper and we are going to name this Project 'A Coffee Table Book of Pollages'.
I am sharing her full interview link in which she has explained the full details about how she does it and you will also find some sample Pollages too which I am sure will be of great help to you all.
Now that you have read this interview let me give you the briefing so that you have a better understanding of how you will make the submission and then after you have submitted and your poetic piece gets selected, you will have to change your poetry into Pollages.
Sharing one of the sample Pollages which has been published in Monochrome Verses...
But there is a twist to the Pollages that you all will do...you all will have to write the selected poem in your own handwriting on a piece of A-4 size paper and then decorate that paper with all kinds of creative things that you want to use. It's your imagination that you can use for making the paper and poem look alluring as these will be published as it is in our upcoming Coffee Table Book. You can use ribbons, laces, buttons, or anything eclectic to make your Pollages look beautiful.
How to submit:
First, send any two unpublished poems that you wish to make part of this new Coffee Table Book Project to editorialmagazinecc@gmail.com with 'Pollages Poetry Submission' in the subject line.
There is no theme restriction since you have to decorate your poems in the second phase of this project, you can choose accordingly as your decoration should be in sync with the poetry.
The length of each poem should be not more than 50 lines, if you wish to write a longer piece then it will be your task to write it on the paper and then decorate each page separately where the poem breaks and from where it starts on the new page.
Once the poems get selected, you will be notified, then will begin the fun part. You can rush toward your old chests, storage boxes, or closets and conjure up those old things that are not in use anymore and start sticking them on an A-4 size paper to make your Pollages. Psst... you can use new props too, its your wish how you want to go about the decoration part.
You have to first write the poems in your own handwriting, cursive only, they must be neat, readable and keep the font size big enough as these Pollages will go as it is inside the Coffee Table Book.
You can use any good quality handmade paper or pastel sheets, but it should be A -4 size only.
After you have made your Pollages, you will have to mail them physically to our office address which will be provided to each selected poet in their mail id.
This book will be published with your handwritten and hand-designed poetic pieces, the most unique concept by far in the literary fraternity, so give wings to your imagination and think of the two poetic pieces you would want to submit.
The book will be priced at INR. 4200 and you will have to pay the amount in advance once the process of its typesetting will begin. You will be given two Author Copies and a certificate of Publication.
International writers will have to make a payment of 70US$ that includes the delivery of their two Author Copies at their doorstep.
The last date to submit your poem is 15th May 2023, after that the selected poets' names will be declared on 5th June. Once we have given out the names, all the poets will have to gear up for the next step of designing their own Pollages.
Are you ready to go back to those school or college days when you used to make scrapbooks or decorative journals and preserve them, this time it's going to be your own handwritten poem and will be published as it is in the 'Coffee Table Book of Pollages'. Excited ??
Happy Submission,
Founder, Director & Chief Editor
Monalisa Joshi
In Collaboration with Ellaraine Lockie
Ellaraine Lockie is widely published and awarded as a poet, nonfiction book author and essayist. Her fourteenth chapbook, Sex & Other Slapsticks, was recently released from Presa Press. Each poem in this collection has received a contest award.
Earlier collections have won Poetry Forum’s Chapbook Contest Prize, San Gabriel Valley Poetry Festival Chapbook Competition, Encircle Publications Chapbook Contest, Best Individual Poetry Collection Award from Purple Patch magazine in England, and The Aurorean’s Chapbook Choice Award. She also teaches writing workshops and serves as Poetry Editor for the lifestyles magazine, Lilipoh.
Contributions to Humans & Nature:
City Creatures Blog posts:
Every Squawk an Upbeat, a Hallelujah
Offerings to the Green Gods
Sew a Few More Stitches of Life
Noteworthy Links:
Poems by Ellaraine Lockie
Two poems by Ellaraine Lockie published in Cultural Weekly.