The Sandstorm Gallery of Jersey Shore Creative Writers announces that a poem by
John J. Petrolino III of
Middletown has been selected as the featured work for an upcoming national event.
The Sandstorm Gallery, which is an online venture affiliated with the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), has chosen Petrolino’s poem “Fishing on the Navesink River” to be the main feature when the site goes “live” on October 20, 2009, the National Day on Writing. Petrolino, it should be noted, is the author of two collections of poetry, Galleria and Congo Lights .
Steve Peacock of Point Pleasant, curator of The Sandstorm Gallery, says that Petrolino’s piece fits in perfectly with the theme of the gallery.
“The goal of The Sandstorm Gallery is to showcase the talents of creative writers, poets and other lovers of language from the Jersey Shore region,” Peacock says. “As its name implies, this gallery seeks to entice the talents of local artists adept at whipping up and unleashing a storm of language and beauty. Mr. Petrolino’s moving, reflective poem clearly falls into that category. ”
Peacock also announces that are other local creative artists being given extra time to submit their compositions for possible publication, now that the deadline of submission has been extended until Sept. 28, rather than Sept.8. He points out that although registration is required, there is no fee.
As a Local Partner Gallery in the National Gallery of Writing, Peacock and The Sandstorm Gallery will join NCTE in celebrating composition in all its forms and demonstrating how integral writing has become to daily life in the 21st century.
Registrants are permitted to submit one piece—whether it is a poem, short story, essay, or other creative or reflective work—to The Sandstorm Gallery. Compositions accepted for the gallery will be unveiled when the National Gallery opens for public viewing on October 20, 2009, the National Day on Writing. Updates about the local gallery and its participants are featured via the Jersey Sandstorm blog at http://jerseysandstorm.blogspot.com.
Steve Peacock is a former Washington, DC, journalist who late last year completed Georgian Court University’s dual teacher certification program. He now is a state-certified Teacher of English and Teacher of Students with Disabilities. Peacock also is the author of Hotel Dick, a memoir of his earlier career as a hotel detective—traditionally known as a “hotel dick”—of the Helmsley Palace in New York City.
