June 21, 2011 -- The world’s original online poetry bar, The Camel Saloon, opens its doors today to the creation of digital poetry chapbooks with the publication of its first two Books on Blog™, First Poems from Viet Nam, edited by Michael H. Brownstein, and Safety First, by Darryl Price. Operated by Russell Streur of Johns Creek, GA, the tavern is ranked as a top-ten publisher of poetry on the web.

First Poems from Viet Nam features poems written by 18 students enrolled in a first-year English class taught by Michael H. Brownstein at the University of Agriculture in Ha Noi. The selections are the first poems ever written by the students in any language. Themes range from the happiness of drinking tea with friends on sunny mornings to the imagination of life as birds and lizards among lotus blossoms and cay buoi trees. First Poems from Viet Nam is located at: http://theeyeoftheneedlevietnam.blogspot.com/

Safety First is a new collection of poems by Darryl Price. Laced with images of blue snow, ancient hunger and eternal mystery, Price’s work celebrates love and loss along the highways of modern civilization. The road is dangerous but the destination is worth the risk. Safety First is located at: http://thecamelsaloonbook1.blogspot.com/

About Michael H. Brownstein
Michael H. Brownstein taught elementary school in Chicago’s inner city for years before retiring. In addition to teaching English in Ha Noi, he studies African instruments and records performance and music pieces with grants from the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs, the Oppenheimer Foundation other cultural organizations. Brownstein is widely published throughout the small and literary presses.

About Darryl Price
Darryl Price was born in Kentucky and educated at Thomas More College. A founding member of L. Jack Roth's Yellow Pages Poets, he has published dozens of chapbooks, and his poems have appeared in many journals, including Pudding, The Bitter Oleander, Cornfield Review, Allegany Poetry, Out of Sight, Fireweed, Paper Radio, The West Conscious Review, Four Paper Letters, LITSNACK, Ramshackle Review, Metazen, Prick of the Spindle, Blue Five Notebook, Istanbul Literary Review, THIS Literary Magazine and The Camel Saloon.

About The Camel Saloon
The Camel Saloon welcomes submissions of poetry, short fiction, photography and works of art from dromedaries, malcontents and jewels in the world. It is operated by Russell Streur, an internationally published poet and born-again dissident residing in Johns Creek, Georgia. Streur, the story goes, was hit over the head by a baseball bat swung by an insistent muse from Crete in 2004 and has been just fine ever since. Duotrope Digest ranks the speakeasy as a top-ten publisher of poetry on the web. The bar is located at http://thecamelsaloon.blogspot.com/

Contact:
Russell Streur
Barkeep, The Camel Saloon
Johns Creek, GA
414 331 1495
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http://thecamelsaloon.blogspot.com