Welcome to Masque Publishing.

Welcome to Masque Publishing - Home of Decanto poetry magazine, poetry books, music and self-publishing service.

Issue 41 of Decanto out now!

Please follow the link below or follow the Decanto button on the left for full details of this issue including which poets are included, and some examples of their work. Details of ordering current and back issues can also be found on these pages.

View Latest Issue of Decanto Issue

Issue 42 of Decanto is scheduled to be completed in August 2009, when David R. Morgan takes the centre stage.

Decanto Open Poetry Competition

It gives me great pleasure to announce the launch of the 2009 Decanto Poetry Competition. I am, as always, in anticipation of receiving some more of your outstanding poetic offerings, and if the past 2 years are anything to go on, it will be another very pleasurable task reading through your entries. For those of you who might be tempted we are offering this year, a years Decanto subscription plus 3 copies of the December edition which will also have a featured section on the winners. There will also be 3 copies each for the 2nd and 3rd places along with 1st 2nd and 3rd winners poems featured in the special edition, along with commendations. The closing date for last entries is: 3rd October 2009. The winning entries will be notified later in November 2009. Please see this link for more details or contact us at the Masque Publishing address. Good Luck!

Subscriptions:

We are pleased to announce that we will now be offering readers the chance to subscribe to Decanto magazine. The price for a years subscription (6 issues) is currently £19.95 (UK & EU) / £22.45 for the rest of the world. All prices include P&P. Please contact us if you require a subscription form or any other details, or go to the Decanto page to setup a subscription via PayPal.

More News

We now offer poets the opportunity to purchase the latest copy of Decanto via paypal. The price to purchase this way is £4.49p for non EU poets and £3.99 for EU poets.  Please link to the new issue page for details.

I must also mention Anthem for Green Land, a song written by David Francis and the Global Village, to bring awareness to the fight against developers building on our countryside in England, and the USA. David is, as some of you will already know a regular contributor to Decanto, and you can support this worthy cause by downloading the song at: indiestore.7digital.com/stores/indiefault.aspx?shop=-117369&g=b9663  All proceeds will go to Cafe (Communities Against Ford Eco Town)  in West Sussex.

Ben Stainton, who some of you will recognise as a regular contributor, has recently released a new book.  Ben’s new collection The Jealousies published by BeWrite Books is a collection of restrained and evocative poems that cover everything from childhood reminiscence to nostalgia for a past that never was. There are echoes of Eliot, Pound, and other famous poets here, and their heritage is well continued. For more details please see  - www.bewrite.net/bookshop/excerpts/the_jealousies.htm

I would like to mention the following book which has been brought to my attention:  
Echoes, by John Haines. “…bears the mark of true poetry… it shows us a new way of looking at the familiar.” Don Barnard. -  Birmingham Poet laureate 2004/5. “…refreshing and entertaining… sometimes mischievous… the accessability of the poems make them fun to read.” Laura Sheridan. - Editor, Pennine Ink magazine. To find out more and how to order please email poetrymonthly@btinternet.com

I must mention the following, that might be of interest. I have been given a sneak preview of a new novel by Ray Succre a newcomer to Decanto. The story of Tatterdemalion is one of discovery, loss, fantasy, and reality, and where these meet in and beyond the mind of a man vanished within his times. More info at www.cauliaypublishing.com, or go to Amazon. Worth a read.

I was also given a copy of Vivienne Romilly-Weightman’s first novel. The Seed. A compelling novel of one woman’s joy at rediscovering love, tangled with another woman’s dark and sinful secret. If you would like more info go to www.penpress.co.uk price £6.99. Where you can order a copy.

My name is Michaela Sefler and I am an esoteric poet, I now Offer a review service of other authors, metaphysical, spiritual and poetry categories in exchange for a review, feature or other means. Please follow the link for more details. www.msefler-inspiration.net/reviewsofauthorsbymichae.htm 

I would like to also mention Kudos, an online resource for poetry competitions, all the information you need about forthcoming competitions to get you inspired. www.kudoswriting.wordpress.com
 
I also have another announcement to make. Alan M Kent, a regular contributor to Decanto, and his new poetry book Druid Offerings. In Druid Offerings, he has drawn together a collection of poems which engages with modernity and the environment, and questions whether we have to offset our spiritual and cultural heritage in the age of global warming and the desire to be carbon neutral. A seventh collection, and available through Lyonesse Press, Wheal Bull, Foxhole, St Austell, Cornwall, United Kingdom PL26 7UA. Worth a read.
 
Also another offering from Steve Langley The Quest is a work that flows off your mental tongue with ease due to its  polished rhythmic construction. This is an epic poem of profound personal insight: a poem you do not merely read once and maybe go back to at a later date. £5 + p&p = £6.50, and you get it by sending chq (payable to S Langley) at 12 Tewkesbury Drive, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 0HG. Worth a read.
 
Writer’s Market UK 2009 (David & Charles, £14.99 ) is the new and popular comprehensive guide for all writers. It’s the go-getting guide for aspiring and established writers and includes all the up-to-date contacts you need to get your writing noticed. There are top tips on many aspects of writing: from penning a radio play to crafting a newspaper article: from having your poetry published to successful online writing and networking: from preparing a synopsis to working with a publisher once your work has been accepted. Over 15 experts write friendly, down-to-earth articles about their specialist area: and include writers such as Simon Brett, Philip Gross, Elizabeth Kay and Sam Murphy together with a foreword by Joanne Harris. The Writer’s Market is available from the 15th May 08. (David & Charles at £14.99) For more details please see; www.writersmarket.co.uk

http://sonettopoesiahome.homestead.com/index.html Regular contributors to Decanto are invited to submit of formal rhymed poetry, above all sonnets, but also quatrains, villanelles, triolets, rondeaux and the like, to Sonneto Poesia ISSN 1705-4524, a quarterly journal in print. You may send an initial submission of up to 6 formal rhymed poems by e-mail only, and as attachments only, one copy in .rtf (rich text) and the same in .txt (plain text) to Richard Vallance, Publisher and Editor at vallance22@gmail.com with subject ‘formal poetry submission’.

Beyond the Beaten Track: Offbeat Poems from Gujarat. An anthology of over 200 poems translated from Gujarati into English by Pradip Khandwalla, himself a poet who writes in English. Gujarati is spoken by nearly 55 million people in western India. Gujarati Sahitya Parishad, the foremost literary body of Gujarat is publishing the book to bring Gujarat‘s poetry and the diverse voices, visions, and passions of its poets to the attention of the world’s English-speaking poets. The poems for translation were selected for their offbeat quality, and after sifting through some 4000 poems included in various anthologies and publications. For more information email; beyond.bt@rediffmail.com

I would also like to mention ‘Ready made Bouquets’, a new poetry book available from Robin Lindsay Wilson, who is a regular contributor.
Review;
‘There are poets who take the everyday and present it in a manner so fresh that the ordinary becomes extraordinary. There are poets who take inspiration from visual art and paint word pictures so vivid that the images are almost palpable. There are poets who transform landscape or cityscape into narrative meaning. And there are poets whose senses are so open that they open the heart of things for others. Rarely, there are poets who do all of this and more; Robin is such a poet.’
If you would like more information about the book please contact; Dr Jan Fortune-Wood - Cinnamon Press - Ty Meirion - Glan yr afon - Tanygrisiau - Blaenau Ffestiniog - Gwynedd - LL41 3SU or see; www.cinnamonpress.com.

Poems by David Francis: I would like to take this opportunity to mention a new CD collection by David Francis entitled ‘Poems’ which is a collection of poems and music. Singer-songwriter David Francis held a residency at the BMW Bar in NYC from 1999 until its closing in 2001. Giorgio Gomelsky, original manager of the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds, frequented the BMW and wrote the first serious criticism of David’s music. David has composed music for plays at LaMaMa, ETC, while earning a following for his solo gigs in the East village. If you would like more information about David's CD please visit: (This link is also on our Music page) www.cdbaby.com/all/davidfrancis

Journal for the State of Tennessee: John D. Gosslea will shortly be creating a journal for the State of of Tennessee and for the blind and deaf readers of poetry. They would like to receive works from all over the world and so far have had submissions form Jamaica, India, Australia, and the USA. If you would like further information on this project, please visit www.ttspl.org

What Makes Poets Tick? Dee Rimbaud has written to let us know that he has added yet another section to his website, "What Makes Poets Tick?" This is a series of interviews with poets who are at the latter or intermediate stages of their writing careers. He asks each poet the same questions, about their backgrounds, their education, their success (or lack of), their attitude, what advice they have for young writers and even if they would participate in a reality television show.

A new publication by Raymond Humphrey. Checkpoint is a collection of speculative fiction, seventeen stories ranging up to 6,000 words in 190 pages. Most of the stories have been published before in magazines (one, Wish Man’s Wood, in an anthology published by Accent Press), but there are 4 or 5 new ones, including three especially written for the volume. The post-inclusive price is £7 (£8 overseas). Details of how to order are on the website: www.benybont.co.uk

If you have any poetry news or events that you would like others to know about, please contact us with the details and we might be able to help you spread the word!