Offering Rights To Your Poetry

When submitting your poetry to magazine or ezines the editors will usually stipulate what rights they acquire. I’m going to explain each of these so you’ll know exactly what they mean.

1. First Serial Rights. This means that the poem has never before been published and the poet is offering their poem for publication for the first time to the magazine.

2. One Time Rights or Simultaneous Rights means that the publication has nonexclusive rights to publish the poem once. So, basically you can submit your accepted poem to other publications at the same time. It means you retain all rights to your poem.

3. Second Serial Reprint Rights. This means that publications will accept your poetry which have been previously published elsewhere. With these rights you will have to indicate the name of the publication which first published your poem.

4. Electronic Rights. This means online magazines, CD poetry readings etc… Some online magazines also archive their issues.

5. Relinquishing all Rights. There are instances where a magazine or publisher will ask for “all rights” which means that you basically turn over your rights to the publisher and cannot publish that particular poem anywhere else. It’s not a good idea to relinquish all rights however there are instances when you can. It’s up to you. Example: Last year I entered a poetry contest where the winner received a round-trip ticket to Hong Kong. I won the contest and as a result had to give up my rights to that poem. Normally I never give up rights to my poetry but this was a free trip to Hong Kong so I gave up my rights to that particular poem. You have to do what is right for you and work with the publication on that issue. You normally won’t find many publications asking you for “all rights.”

Let me know if you have any questions regarding these rights.

Upcoming Performances With Sony Holland

Here is a listing of Sony and Jerry's performances for May and early June. Cafe Divine is a great venue and has wonderful food so I hope to see all you out there this month. Thanks, Jo

Sony and Jerry's new blog: http://lyricandmelody.blogspot.com
New Videos: http://sonyholland.com/sony_holland_002.htm
New Reviews: http://sonyholland.com/sony_holland_009.htm

A TIP for the budget conscious…(aren’t we all!)
http://www.goldstar.com sells discount tickets for many concerts, plays
and events in the Bay Area.

Performance schedule for May and early June:
* Please note the CONCERT at the Peninsula JCC on June 6th.

PLAZA BISTRO, 420 1st Street East, Sonoma, CA, (707) 996-4466
Friday, May 1st, 7:00-10:00

CAFÉ DIVINE, 1600 Stockton Street @ Union, San Francisco, (415) 986-3414
Sunday, May 3rd, 7:00-9:00
Sunday, May 17th, 7:00-9:00
Sunday, May 31st, 7:00-9:00
Sunday, June 7th, 7:00-9:00

CAFÉ ROYALE, 800 Post Street @ Leavenworth, San Francisco, (415) 441-4099
Sunday, May 10th, 6:00-8:00

RICKEY’S, 250 Entrada Drive, Novato, CA, (415) 883 9477
Friday, May 29th, 7:00-10:00

* PENINSULA JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER
800 Foster City Blvd, Foster City, CA, (650) 212-7522
Saturday, June 6th
Doors: 7:30 p.m.
Concert: 8:00 p.m.

http://www.sonyholland.com

Those Dancing Days Are Gone

This song from the poem by William Butler Yeats, composed by First Lady of France Carla Bruni - Sarkozy and sung by vocalist Sony Holland is an absolute favorite of mine. This video was taken at the Sony Holland Rrazz Rroom concert in San Francisco a few weeks ago.
Enjoy!

Those Dancing Days Are Gone

Come, let me sing into your ear;
Those dancing days are gone,
All the silk and satin gear;
Crouch upon a stone
Wrapping that foul body up
In as foul a rag:
I carry the sun in a golden cup
The moon in a silver bag.

Curse as you may I sing it through;
What matter if the knave
That the most could pleasure you,
The children that he gave,
Are somewhere sleeping like a top
Under a marble flag?
I carry the sun in a golden cup
The moon in a silver bag.

I thought it out this very day,
Noon upon the clock,
A man may put pretence away
Who leans upon a stick,
may sing, and sing until he drop
Whether to maid or hag:
I carry the sun in a golden cup
The moon in a silver bag.

Lyrics - courtesy of www.seeklyrics.com

Sony Holland Quartet @ The Rrazz Room - Review

Photo courtesy of www.sf.eater.com



Photo courtesy of Terry Dudlley and www.sonyholland.com - All Rights Reserved


The Rrazz Room situated within the Hotel Nikko in San Francisco is fast becoming the premier venue for entertainment. It has been opened for a little over a year and has attracted some of the Bay Area's biggest names and talents.

The room itself is located in the lobby area of the hotel with a great little bar and lounge setting adjacent to the concert room. The lounge area is one of those comfortable settings where you can just relax and even doze off on one of those gloriously overstuffed couches. Although I don't drink, I've heard that the bar itself is a "drinker's paradise."

The most important aspect of a concert venue for me is the stage. The stage should be the focal point of the room. When I walked into the Rrazz Room I felt as if I were walking into a huge concert hall. The stage literally speaks to you as you arrive. The room itself has a mixture of small table vignettes which face the stage. There are actually three levels in the room yet no matter where you sit, you can enjoy an intimate setting with fantastic views of the stage. We were there three different nights for the Sony Holland show and had perfect seating each visit. The sound in that room is impeccable. Again, the sound is the same whether you are sitting up front or in the back.

I was so happy with the lighting in the room. I was able to see Sony and the band without any problem at all even while sitting further away from the stage. I was also able to get a decent snapshot without flash which never happens at other venues.

The service is outstanding in that they were not only friendly but available as well without being intrusive. They knew when to approach for your second drink order and had your bill ready by the end of the show. Service is important during these concerts and I have to say that the Rrazz Room has the best that I've experienced.

I also have to mention the seating. We arrived each night about a half hour before the show and received maitre D' seating. Believe me that there are not many venues out there who provide this service and if they do, they normally don't with a smile. The Rrazz Room gets top honors on this one for me.

After the show right outside the room by the lounge area there is a spot where you can meet the entertainer and buy cd's. It's a great little setup. The Rrazz Room gets a five out of five stars from me. I will definitely be checking out more shows at that venue.

SONY HOLLAND
Vocalist Sony Holland and her quartet - Benny Watson-piano, Jeff Buenz-guitar, Seward McCain-bass and Alan Hall-drums, dazzled the audience with their rock, reggae and jazz expertise. With rock classics like You Never Can Tell by Chuck Berry to pop favorites such as Honky Cat by Elton John and jazz standards like My Romance, each tune was perfectly suited to Sony's unique interpretation. Her vocal range and ability to flow flawlessly from one key into another is simply nothing short of perfection. Her passions ignite when performing haunting ballads like Sanssouci by Rufus Wainwright and When I Find You by Jerry Holland. While on the other hand she can rock out with the best of them on All I Really Want To Do by Bob Dylan.

William Butler Yeats was known for his obscure and mystical poetic voice. One of his poems "Those Dancing Days Are Gone" was set to music by Carla Bruni - Sarkozy (The first lady of France). This oddly delightful tune sung by Sony Holland and arranged with a reggae beat is an absolute masterpiece. I love it and it is a favorite among her fans. During her concerts I always look forward to a few special tunes and this is one of them.

The Jerry Holland originals are always a special treat for everyone including Sony. She sings his tunes with a passion in her eyes that can just fill your heart with love. While watching the show on Wednesday night during her performance of "When I Find You" by Jerry Holland, my friend turned to me and uttered "When I hear one of Jerry's new songs, I just fall in love all over again." It's true. That particular song stuck in my head for days after the concert. Being a writer myself, all I can say is I wish I had half his talent.

Seeing Sony perform is always a special occasion for me. Seeing her perform in a top notch venue like the Rrazz Room makes it all the more special. So, as a special treat for all of you here is a video of Sony singing the Rufus Wainwright hit "Sanssouci" during her show.



I want to thank the Rrazz Room for that spectacular concert series with Sony Holland and hope to see her there again soon. For more information on The Rrazz Room and Sony Holland, click the links below.

The Rrazz Room www.therrazzroom.com

Sony Holland www.sonyholland.com

My Photos Of The Dale Chihuly Exhibit @ The DeYoung Museum

Bolivian Rhythms

I remember these tunes
so vividly in my mind
Bolivian rhythms
wafting across the square.

Haunting flutes
echo against
once forgotten senses.

The memories linger
sweet incantations
swirling pulses
throughout my veins.

Ethnic vibrations
chanting strings
tell of the stories

hidden in my soul.