The weekend is history. I hate how that sounds so final.I was able to tinker with a couple of rough drafts and also brainstorm for some new ideas. Nothing new submitted, and no rejection letters for that matter.
To the right, Barry at the dog park on Saturday. Barry is not well socialized where other dogs are concerned. He looks pretty happy go lucky here, but in truth he hardly interacted with any other dogs and was mostly annoyed at those who wanted to check him out.
Submissions to the first issue of Rogue Poetry Review have been coming in. There is still time to submit. More details here.
Listened to a podcast of Janet Holmes being interviewed by Amy King and I found it particularly interesting. Also Holmes read form of her Dickinson Erasure poems. I found them to be quite resolute and efficacious. Talk about no wasted words.
Just throwing this question out for people to be thinking about. If taking risks is a sign of a true artist, then what do you consider risk taking as a poet and how well do you fair by your own standards? I've been thinking about this myself and will blog more in depth on it soon.
Tags: Janet Holmes Amy King Rogue Poetry Review Poetry and Writing
To me taking a risk is even having the strength to attempt to publish, I suppose it's very relative. I havn't done well at all.
ReplyDeleteRisk taking for me involves vulnerability--being willing to let the poem take me where it will, even if that means revealing more of myself than I'd originally bargained for, both to others and to myself. This is probably the most difficult thing about writing for me and the most intimidating/frightening. Ignorance can indeed be bliss when it comes to self-knowledge.
ReplyDeleteDeciding to send a poem out is also risky. I rarely, if ever, am satisfied that a piece is "done," and I'm sure to find something else to tweak just as soon as the mail lady whisks that submission out of the mailbox.
Tell us more about Rogue Poetry Review, Michael. What's its purpose? How did you decide to start it? What kind of stuff are you looking for? Where are you hoping to take it? I'm intrigued.
Cindy thanks for sharing your vulnerabilities. You did touch upon something I too struggle with at times. There are two aspects the issue of revealing things about yourself in poetry that I have found I struggle with. The first being simply allowing myself to “go there” when writing. Feeling uninhibited enough to follow the poem as opposed to trying to lead it. That seems to be kind of what I believe you were referring to. The other aspect is less subliminal and more to the point of intentionally trying not to write about things you believe will automatically lead others will automatically assume that the work is purely autobiographical and therefor you are reluctant to go there. A more active form of self-censorship that the first, but both are difficult for me to come to grips with.
ReplyDeleteI too, have experienced the “wish I could have the envelope back” syndrome, but I have in the past year pretty much managed to move past that.
Thanks for asking about Rogue Poetry Review. This is something I first considered perhaps a year ago. At that time I was involved in several writing groups in the Kansas City area and I was exposed to a wide range of writing styles and quality of work. It is not difficult to find people in the mid-west that write or want to. What I have found is that for many there is a geographical stigma that many have concerning publishing. I suppose it follows the idea that the east and west coasts comprise the cultural center of the country and that there us just this big gully here in between. I wanted to be able to help add one more voice, among a small number here that could help create a different perception.
My origional idea of course was a print journal. That would involve capital that I am not in a position to commit at this point. So my thought was that if I could successfully edit an on line journal (quarterly) and attract the kind of work that would give it a respectable image, that perhaps at some point, a year down the road, we might be able to do a print version as well. Or at least look at an annual “Best of Rogue Poetry” kind of anthology.
I am not looking for regional poetry so to speak. Yes, I’d love to have many mid-western writers, but the kind of work I am looking for is literary writing that clearly has an artistic value to it. I like stark images, work that is capable of walking on an edge, as opposed to cozy, flowery rhyme. I am not opposed to strict form, but I tend to find free verse appealing. I would hope that the final product would feature writing from persons all over, including the mid-west and dispel the notion of a cultural gully.
I realize there is a risk in doing this. There is that “R” word again. I am not sure how successful I can be at attracting quality work sufficient to pull this off. I have been pleased that submissions have been coming in. Still, much of what I have seen is not quite what I am looking for so there is that feeling of being out on a limb of sorts. Hope that helps feed your curiosity about Rogue PR, Cindy.