Weekend Up-Date

Starting today, I am going to cease posting on weekends. Around this time of year I become highly involved with my dance troupe and need the time to practice and sew costumes. So for now, Mondays are Poetry Sites (blogs or web-sites) and Tuesdays will be Featured Poets days. Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays remain unchanged. Saturdays and Sundays will not have posts until after August 1st/ 2nd.
Thank you for continuing to visit my blog and understanding my need for some extra time on weekends…

Poetry Tips Question 5: How do you keep submitting after many rejections?

Jim Murdoch:

I've been receiving rejections for thirty-five years and it never gets easy. The bottom line is: grow a think skin and grow it quickly. Most of the time it is not personal. There are so many places to submit that if what you write doesn’t suit on then try somewhere else. I make a point of keeping a large number of poems and stories out there. Once I get a few replies back I send a few more out normally at the end of each month.

Barbara Smith:

Remember it's the work, not you. Look for a sympathetic editor - i.e. one who publishes work similiar to yours. Do workshops regularly to keep honing and sharpening your critical eye. You do get lucky eventually and one thing leads to another.

Rob Mack:

You’ve got to be persistent. I don’t submit much, I only submit my best stuff, and I only submit to magazines I really like. That cuts down my options quite a lot, but I’ve found it does increase my percentage of acceptances. I’d be lying if I said that rejections didn’t bother me – sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t – but you’ve got to shrug them off.


Juliet Wilson:
The list of what to do is simple. Type up your poems in a clear, legible font on plain A4 paper. Proofread. One poem to a page, please: give them room to breathe. Write a brief covering letter. Be polite, but don't try to butter up the editor. Your poems should do the talking. Mention briefly any previous successes, publications and / or prizes. Make sure you include an SAE and sufficient return postage with your submission, and make sure that your envelopes are a decent size (A5). Be patient when waiting for a response. A gentle email nudge after two or three months (unless the average reading time is stated as being much longer) is usually acceptable.


Ben Wilkinson:

Unwavering belief in my own genius. Seriously? Because sooner or later you'll crack it, or before that, you'll find an editor who offers you some kind, encouraging words out of their otherwise busy, often tiring and sometimes thankless job (bear in mind that almost all poetry magazine editors have other jobs as well). The best favour you can do for yourself in terms of avoiding rejection (aside giving up writing poetry, which isn't a half-bad idea) is to subscribe to as many poetry magazines as you can and get a feel for the sort of publication that includes the work you admire. Then send your very best poems to that publication (before you seal the envelope, ask yourself – would I publish these poems?). Whatever you do, don't send off poems on a whim to a magazine you've never read and know little or nothing about. That's just an invitation for rejection, not to mention a waste of stamps. The simple fact is this: if you're going to write poetry, you're going to have to learn to be pretty thick-skinned. Learn to take criticism, but only when it comes from the people and places you trust. Keep reading. Then read some more.


Cuitlamiztli Carter:

One would hope that after numerous rejections, a poet would find somelike-minded artists to review her or his work. But perseverance iskey, and one must realize that editors receive a staggering amount ofpoetry, and also an editor can be as idiosyncratic as the folksattempting to woo them. A good poem might not connect with a certaineditor, and blind luck may put three or four of those editors in a rowduring a poet's submission process. So, take the Apostle Paul's adviceand persevere.


Hazel B. Cameron

Cut out or copy any good words and comments from the rejection note and paste them in a book to create your very own positive rejects. But do take on board any useful advice and ignore everything else.
Keep a good rota of poems out there so there is always one you’re waiting to hear from, that way you always have hope.


Thanks again to all of the contributors, this is the last piece for the questions for the audience series.

*Also, for those who guessed right about the truth behind Poet Hound’s April Fool’s Joke, your poem will be sent in the mail shortly. For those who guessed wrong, well, better luck next year… That’s right! I’m not giving away the answer unless someone else blurts it out on their own site. So you’ll just have to find out some other way…
Thanks for stopping in, please stop by tomorrow…

Octopus Magazine Open Submissions

Octopus Magazine is reading Full Length Manuscript submissions between now and April 30th, so if you have a book waiting in the wings, now is your chance! Must be between 48 to 100 pages long, with two cover pages. One cover page should only the manuscript title, the second should have all of your contact information including the title. There is also a ten dollar reading fee. Include an SASE for notification only, and please check out the rest of the guidelines by using the link below.

http://www.octopusmagazine.com/issue10/main.html

Best of luck to all of you submitting your precious gems and I hope you will stop by tomorrow for another Poetry Tips Friday!

Tomorrow I will reveal the results of the April Fool’s Joke

Poems Found By Poet Hound

http://www.fishousepoems.org/archives/terry_l_kennedy/acony_bell.shtml
Terry L. Kennedy’s “Acony Bell”

http://www.27rue.com/Summer_2007/14.htm
Kristin Abraham’s “Gender-Specific Wings”


Thanks for stopping by, please come by tomorrow...

April Fooled?

How do you like the new photos?
Here’s your April Fool’s Challenge:
Can you guess whether Poet Hound is a Cat owner or Dog owner? The dog’s name is Duchess and the cat’s name is Truman. The dog is female, the cat is male. If you would like to take a guess and shoot me an e-mail I will respond as to whether you are correct or not. If you are correct, I’ll offer to send you a hand-written poem via snail mail if you are willing to include a mailing address. (Offer not available to those outside the U.S., sorry folks, need to save some pennies). You must respond by THURSDAY April 3rd via e-mail poethoundATblogspotDOTcom in order to get the hand-written poem offer. Otherwise, I will only confirm via e-mail whether you are correct or not. Either way, an interesting twist, isn’t it? Good luck, and hope you have a great April Fool’s Day.

Hint: I only own one animal, one person asked if it was a trick question and perhaps both? Nope, only one or the other...
Thanks for stopping in! Please stop by tomorrow for Poems Found by Poet Hound…

Site Up-Date

I’ll be up-dating the Poet Hound site shortly with up-dated photos of yours truly, stay tuned!

Also, sign up on Poets.org if you are interested in getting a Poem A Day for National Poetry Month in April! Use the link below:

http://www.poets.org/poemADay.php


Thanks for dropping in, please stop by tomorrow…

Walter Dean Meyers

Walter Dean Myers has been publishing poetry from an early age but it also known as a playwright, musician, and novelist. I picked up his book of poems titled Here in Harlem poems in many voices published by Holiday House New York. These poems are written from the perspective of people living out their everyday lives whether they be laborers, artists, children, etc. from Harlem. Many of the poems have accompanying photos or memorabilia.
The poem titled “Willie Arnold, 30 Alto Sax Player” is written as though the speaker is playing his instrument in the background and has repeating stanzas like a chorus. A few of the lines in the chorus go like this: “Hot notes sailing/Like soulful birds/Song without words” and throughout is the tune, consisting of “be-bops.” It is a great poem because of the energy just like the alto sax would be playing and wonderful lines such as “As I’m blowing/Really flowing/Up to the moon/With this sweet tune.” I believe Mr. Meyers captures the voice perfectly.
Then there is the poem much more like prose titled “Clara Brown’s Testimony Part II” where a woman recounts her childhood in Harlem auditioning for the Cotton Club with her sister. “When it was time for us to show our stuff, we did it with style! You hear me?” the woman recounts, and as she continues the story you find at the end from the piano player’s mouth “I’m sorry girls…But they only hire light-skinned girls to dance here.” The story in the poem breaks your heart like it does the girl who auditioned. While I wouldn’t call it a poem, as it looks like it has been broken into paragraphs, it is a poignant story to capture a reader’s heart.
To find out more about the poet and his work, please utilize the link below:

http://aalbc.com/authors/walter1.htm

As always, thanks for reading, please come by tomorrow…