Zuva is one of our newest contributors to A Cornered Gurl and she comes to the publication with strength, power, brutal honesty, and “black excellence” in her bones. I love reading this young one and she decided to answer the “Young Minds of Medium Inspiration Call” with the following piece entitled: The Making of a Government Manifesto–Erasure Piece. At nearly twenty-three years old, Zuva is already making waves with her work and if you are in her way, you will be moved. And now, for her poem as our featured work for the week:
It’s that time again, time for the second submissions call for young ones ages 15-25. I posted this on Medium as it is a call for users there, but I will always share the submissions call here also. If we do not give our young ones space to express themselves in ways they feel that are helpful and also allow them to be vulnerable, they will more than likely turn to other ways to fill that void. And oftentimes, those ways are not the best. Below is the call for submissions.
This is a call for submissions. Young Minds of Medium — this is your challenge. I am looking for work from the young Writers here on Medium, ages 15–25. Submissions will be reviewed and posted on Mondays and Fridays during the month of July. THIS IS YOUR TIME TO SHINE! I want to hear from you. I want to feel, connect with, and fall in love with the words you would like to share with the world.
Your theme: “Who or What Inspires You?”
What am I asking?
Who or what inspires you? What drives you as a young Writer, as a human being? If you had to think of a positive role model, who is that person? If you have more than one, get creative with your submission and mention them. You think you can’t put what you’re feeling into words, try me — let’s make it happen together.
I am looking for:
Poetry Micropoetry Fiction (no more than 850 words) Non-fiction (no more than 850 words) And, your heart. ❤
•You will need to be a current user on Medium for this challenge. Request to be added as a Writer by emailing me at acorneredgurl@gmail.com with “Please Add Me” as the subject line. For the young ones, ages 15–25 already contributing to ACG, please submit your work in draft-form directly to A Cornered Gurl for review, scheduling, and/or publishing. You can submit twice per week, your works will be published on Monday and Friday of that week. Please have a suitable image for your work with notable credit to its source/artist (Please include the link!). You can find plenty of great images via Unsplash, Pixabay, and Pexels. If you are the source for your image, please caption that.
Please subtitle your entries “Young Minds of Medium Inspiration Call” and tag your pieces with the following “Growth” & “Inspiration.” CHALLENGE SUBMISSION BEGINS NOW!
The start date for publishing the YMOM pieces is Monday, July 1, 2019, and the end date is Friday, August 02, 2019. Other contributors to ACG, please, no worries. You can submit as you normally would to A Cornered Gurl and your work will be published as well, however, a total of three pieces will be published on Mondays and Fridays for all other Writers, leaving the floor wide open for our young ones. I hope you will understand and accept this.
*Please remember that A Cornered Gurl is a read-for-all community and there will be no metered paywall or locked pieces published here. Thank you.
And now, a little inspirational music: David Bowie/Heroes
Every once in a while, I come across a young Writer who surpasses what I expect from that young one–Braden is exactly that type of Writer. He does not back down from a challenge and can flip micropoetry into long form and back to micropoetry without missing a bit. He is this month’s feature. Braden is in his last year at the University of Georgia and was just recently accepted to complete his Master’s as well. He is one of my favorite Writers to collaborate with and each time our minds meet, we make something so very special.
There will be two of his works published here today; one, a 5-word response to the topic of “Rejection” and the other is a superb poem that highlights the torment of humanity, the possible fall of love, and the gods who rule the world, but still let it crumble among its men.
humans turn their
worlds
belly-up, barbed branches
tearing apart their
seams. watch them fight a war now,
play-things enamored with the indefinite —
losing their minds over
elusive and tormenting
humanities
because they once had a taste
of such heavenly ambrosia.
watch from the skyline,
eagle-eyed overhead with underhanded
magic, lancets slice through
pseudo-divine blood pacts.
wonder the questions, wander
for answers —
why do they eat up the inevitable?
piece apart timelines, time
zones separate then and now isolation is human nature.
with a flicking wrist
we could decimate
anything, anyone
would cower at the thought.
but in their ignorance exists
unfeigned fortitude, solidified
by their thirst for ungodly
indeterminate joys.
I am posting this here as well just in case there are some young, active users on Medium who may not receive letters from A Cornered Gurlor may not know how to begin their writing journey with a publication. WordPress, you are family–I know how you are about our young ones, how we have to raise them up, give them their space, and allow them a chance to step foot into this world the way that they need to by sounding off… Here is just one opportunity. There will be more.
This is a call for submissions. Young Minds of Medium — this is your challenge. I am looking for work from the young Writers here on Medium, ages 15–25. Submissions will be reviewed and posted on Mondays and Fridays during the month of April. This is your time to shine. I want to hear from you. I want to feel, connect with, and help you bring to light what you have held inside for so long — what you want to write about but may not know how to.
Your theme: “Let Me Hear You Roar!”
What am I asking?
Give me the anger that’s swelling deep inside you, channel it and let’s get creative with it. You think you can’t put what you’re feeling into words, try me — let’s make it happen together.
I am looking for:
Poetry
Micropoetry
Fiction (no more than 850 words)
Non-fiction (no more than 850 words)
And, your heart. ❤
•You will need to be a current user on Medium for this challenge. Request to be added as a Writer by emailing me at acorneredgurl@gmail.com with “Please Add Me” as the subject line. For the young ones, ages 15–25 already contributing to ACG, please submit your work in draft-form directly to A Cornered Gurl for review, scheduling, and/or publishing. You can submit twice per week, your works will be published on Monday and Friday of that week. Please have a suitable image for your work with notable credit to its source/artist (please include the link). You can find a host of great images via Unsplash, Pixabay, and Pexels. If you are the source for your image, please caption that.
Please subtitle your entries “Young Minds of Medium Anger Call” and tag your pieces with the following “Growth” & “Anger.” The other three tags, you can choose at your own discretion. CHALLENGE SUBMISSIONS BEGINS NOW!
The start date for publishing the YMOM pieces is Monday, April 1, 2019, and the end date is Monday, April 28, 2019. Other contributors to ACG, please do not fret. You can submit as you normally would to A Cornered Gurl and your work will be published as well, however, a total of three pieces will be published on Mondays and Fridays for all other Writers, leaving the floor wide open for our young ones. I hope you can understand and accept this.
Please remember that A Cornered Gurl is a read-for-all community and there will be no metered paywall or locked pieces published here. Thank you.
A Cornered Gurl 
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