"Self Portrait in a Yellow Suit" appears in the fall/winter 2015 issue of NORTH BRIDGE MAGAZINE

The CONNECTICUT REVIEW supports writers of poetry, fiction, and essays.

14th NATIONAL POET HUNT
THOMAS LYNCH
POET HUNT JUDGE

COMMENTARY

Of the several poems in this batch that were far more than admirable, "Sprung Rhythm" is the one that caused that catch in the breath that always signals poetry to me. There is about it such a transport -- a sureness of diction that moves the reader from the invisible air observed to the visible woman never observed and connects, quite magically, the natural, the spiritual and the carnal. These elements of creation make the homage to Hopkins, in title and text, more than merely artful accessories, for certainly the tension between nature, soul and flesh were essential in-spirations (wind heaves, frets of limbs) to that poor, chaste Jesuit, as they are to most of our kind. It is a pied beauty, my first place and favorite.

SELECTED POEMS


Helen has two poems, "Remains," and "Then Lock the Door" in 34.1
This is a Louisiana Literature Press Publication.

Helen's ekphrastic poem, "My Lady Greensleeves", appears in this gorgeous publication of the Poetry Loft.

The PATERSON LITERARY REVIEW is available now.

Helen's poem "About the Azalea" appears in Maria Mazziotti Gillan's gorgeous PATERSON LITERARY REVIEW Issue 42/​2014-2015

This poem is one in a chapbook-sized series of family poems.

THE WORCESTER REVIEW, Volume XXXIV, Numbers 1 & 2 2013 contains Helen's ekphrastic poem, "Her Bath," Second Place Winner in the Frank O'Hara competition.

Helen was among the prize-winning poets to read in Worcester on September 22, 2013.

The Worcester Review celebrates the rich literary history of Central Massachusetts.

This issue of Adanna is dedicated to the spirit and work of poet and critic Adrienne Rich.

"Marche Funebre" appears in the current issue of ADANNA LITERARY JOURNAL: Women and War.

"About Heaven, My Father Was Always Unsure" is part of a series Helen is writing about her mother and father. It appears in the current issue (2013) of CADUCEUS.

A reading will occur at the Yale Bookstore on May 4th from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.


The CONNECTICUT REVIEW is one of New England's premier literary journals.


SPRUNG RHYTHM

Wind heaves through the oaks. Limbs on the lilac fret.
Pines lean, their canopies like sailors when waves crash,
the sails swing, and the man in the crow's nest considers
the depth of the long drop. "I never saw a naked woman,"
Gerard Manley Hopkins confessed. He said he wished he had.
What might that have done, his poems embers,
his God a bellows, the naked woman nothing but herself.


The MacGuffin Poet Hunt Winner, Winter 2010 SPRUNG RHYTHM

On the Day Your Leg Is Amputated


This is the season of compromise
wind contorts the trees
maples, oaks, and elms lift their limbs
they dance as if they are made for wind
grackles lift from the stubble,
cacophonous, a great black exit
as if they know what winds can do,
as if they know the meaning of the dance,
and you tell me, as I lean to you,
If it has to be, well then, it has to be,
the way you will tell me, years hence,
We all have to go up on the hill some time.


Tiferet: A Journal of Spiritual Literature, Issue Eleven, 2009

AWARDS: Helen Marie Casey's "Sprung Rhythm" was the 14th National Poet Hunt winner, judged by Thomas Lynch. Her poem, "The Loneliness of the Heart Is Forever," won The Frank O'Hara Prize of The Worcester County Poetry Association.

Contemporary poetry. Poetry of Witness.
This work is highly recommended not only to literature lovers but also to politicians, ethicists, historians, and students of international relations. It is protest poetry at its bst.
Helen has two poems in this superb publication, "All Those Bodies" and "Aunt Helen".
These poems are part of a collection-in-progress about three generations of an Italian- Catholic family.
History
The author visits post-Civil War racial history in the school system in Portland, Oregon.
Poetry
Casey’s poems are compelling. Throughout, Casey’s lyrical voice resonates.
--Vivian Shipley
Deft. Real, honest, terse, sinewy, searing, passionate poems of emotional and sensual immediacy
--Brian Doyle

Quick Links

Finishing Line Press specializes in poetry books of distinction.
http://finishinglinepress.com
See the April 10, 2011, blog entry in celebration of National Poetry Month for one of Helen's poems and a brief interview.
Black Lawrence Press is a highly respected small literary press
http:/​/​www.blacklawrencepress.com
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