Wednesday (Sent Submissions) Musings

I sent out 17 hard copy submissions today and submitted 3 online submissions. This brings my grand total to 20. Most of the journals have a 3-4 month turn around, so I’m going to try and put them out of mind for now. Most of the places I sent to I feel good about. I read samples online and in print, so I tried to send certain poems to certain journals. I also try to send to one or two long shots. In a way, this another way to torture myself, but I also think it can’t hurt.

I know that it is impossibly hard to get work accepted. The poetry world is flooded with a lot of mediocre poems but there are also a lot of wonderful, emerging writers out there. I know that out of these 20 submissions, it is a very real possibility that none of them will amount to anything. If that happens, then you send again the next submission period. Persistence is an important part of the battle.
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This is fascinating. I used to live in Texas…

Hundreds, if not thousands, of poetry enthusiasts, cowboys and the downright curious have come to Sul Ross State University for shows in the past, he said.

This troubling at the least. I’ll probably post more about it later this week, but for now here is the link:

But in this new era of lengthening unemployment lines and shrinking university endowments, questions about the importance of the humanities in a complex and technologically demanding world have taken on new urgency. Previous economic downturns have often led to decreased enrollment in the disciplines loosely grouped under the term “humanities” — which generally include languages, literature, the arts, history, cultural studies, philosophy and religion. Many in the field worry that in this current crisis those areas will be hit hardest.

Tuesday (Poetry, Envelopes, and Stamps) Musings

As today’s title suggests, I spent all afternoon putting submission packets together. I’m already starting to doubt myself, so it is best to get these out tomorrow before I tear them open and throw the contents into the garbage.
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Economic crisis getting you down? Why not buy a Matisse?

PARIS — Despite the global economic crisis, a lot of money seems to be left over. On Monday, the private collection of Yves Saint Laurent and his partner became the most expensive one ever sold at auction, bringing in more than $264 million on the first night alone.

Friday (Submission) Musings

As I mentioned earlier this week, I’ve been preparing packets of submissions to go out. I’ve noticed a couple of things while researching journals that I think are interesting.

First, as far as I can tell, not as many journals are moving to online submission as you think. I still have to send hard copies to most places. In fact out of the twenty some journals I have as possibilities, I think only two or three use online submission. Also, those two or three are online journals.

Two, who doesn’t take simultaneous submissions? Not many people, but there are still a few. I know my opinion doesn’t count for much, but I think not accepting simultaneous submissions is a mistake. I know that if I come across that line in the submission guidelines, I don’t even bother to send my work. Let’s face it, it still takes many journals a couple of months to read through submissions. I’m not going to let someone hold my work hostage. Especially when there are no guarantees. As a side note, I noticed a lot of places will accept simultaneous submissions from prose writers but not for poets…

Three, the “what we’re looking for sections” on most journal websites are still frustrating. I genuinely appreciate it when journals try to give writers and idea of what they’re looking for. But, (you knew it was coming) this is only useful when it actually tells you something about the journal. All journals want to publish new and unique poetry. Who doesn’t?

I’m sending packets out next week.
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Ms. Rosalia, 54, is part of a growing cadre of 21st-century multimedia specialists who help guide students through the digital ocean of information that confronts them on a daily basis. These new librarians believe that literacy includes, but also exceeds, books.

UNC creative writing professor and poet Michael McFee has won the 2009 James Still Award for Writing About the Appalachian South.