Some Useful Links Regarding Lit Mags

 

The process of submitting your writing to literary journals can be utterly daunting. One of the most popular databases, Duotrope, now charges a fee for its services, and unless you know what you’re looking for, it won’t yield much for a basic search. Another well-known resource, Poets & Writers magazine, has a classifieds section available online and in the back of the magazine. Some of my publishing credits came from resources I found in that classifieds section. However, that section can be hit or miss, and lately, it features more ads for conferences and grants than it does for literary magazines.

Recently, I started submitting new work to various magazines, and I’ve discovered two wonderful resources. One of the resources is called The Review Review, a website which publishes reviews of various magazines, thus providing information to writers about what the mags are looking for and the type of creative work they typically publish. Furthermore, the website includes a database of literary journals, and I’ve been mining the database every few days for new publishing opportunities. Check out the site and bookmark it. New reviews are published frequently, and new magazines are added to the database.

I also discovered a website created by Jeffrey Bahr, a poet whose work has been published in some of the most prestigious literary journals in the country, such as Iowa Review, Indiana Review, and Black Warrior Review. Basically, Bahr has a list of lit. mags on his website and provides short blurbs about their submission process. He rates them  in terms of difficulty, and Poetry magazine and The New Yorker top the list.  Keep in mind that just about every single publication on his list is fairly well-known, and even the journals at the bottom of the list, such as Main Street Rag, Tar River Poetry Review, and Spillway, have low acceptance rates. (Both Main Street Rag and Spillway rejected my work multiple times before I finally got an acceptance recently in each of those mags). But the list is worth checking out, especially for mid-level writers looking to break into some of the more well-known magazines.

Happy hunting!

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An Opportunity for Short Fiction Writers

I received a press release/call for submissions from Pixel Hall Press worth sharing. Later this year, the press plans to start a series entitled PHP Shorts, a “series of stand-alone short stories and novellas that will be published as eBooks. Some PHP Shorts may also be collected into print anthologies.” The press already publishes print and e-books, but wants to launch this new series because of the proliferation of Kindles, eReaders,  iPads, and tablets.

Here is more specific information on the submission process:

Before submitting a story to Pixel Hall Press, send a query email to Info@PixelHallPress.com. Wow the editors with a summary or synopsis, then tell them a bit about yourself. They will respond to all queries, but please be patient, since it may take a few weeks. Also, please understand that, as a small boutique publishing house, they cannot say “yes!” to every query, regardless of how good it is.

I know the editorial team behind this press, and they work hard to promote books they publish, so if you write short fiction, this is well worth checking out.

A Little Plug

I’m entering the summer on a positive note, with a few poems forthcoming in solid literary magazines. First, I want to mention that my poem “R.F. Post” appears in the most recent issue of the UK-based art/literature magazine Popshot. This magazine is available at most Barnes ‘n Noble stores and online. What’s especially interesting about this journal is the way the editors combine art, fiction, and poetry. Each issue has a special theme, and the editors invite artists to illustrate some of the written work. Here is a picture of my poem and the accompanying illustration from the most recent issue, with the special theme of “imagination.”

 

The journal’s website has a PDF of some of the content from the new issue. You can check that out by clicking here. However, I encourage you to purchase a copy through the journal’s website or at your local Barnes ‘n Noble because it is a really cool magazine, one which blends different art forms.

Later this summer, my poem “Temp Worker” will be published in The Oklahoma Review, and I have poems forthcoming soon in Poetry Quarterly and Spillway. I’m also currently working on an essay for Poets’ Quarterly about T.S. Eliot and William Carlos Williams, specifically the influence of Ezra Pound and Imagism on their work. The essay comes out of a longer paper I did for one of my Ph.D. classes this semester. In other news, I’ll be doing a few weekend readings over the summer,  specifically in June and July. I will post more details about the readings here when the dates are finalized.

Happy May!

Why People Hate Poetry

I came across this article (http://mobile.onmilwaukee.com/ent/articles/poetryhate.html) posted on the website OnMiluakee.com. It attempts to answer why people hate poetry. Some of the reasons given are simplistic, such as poetry is hard, but I do think the article comes up with some sound explanations, including that people have been exposed to a lot of bad poetry. Ed Makowski, the author of several poetry collections says, “There’s a lot of bad poetry. Much of it sounds like written down babble from a support group that somebody got on stage to talk at people. ‘I’ve got my five minutes here on this open mic and I want to make sure I confess every failed relationship or each time I was disappointed in my life, thanks for sitting there and taking it.’” I’ve been to too many open mics where this is true, where the poetry was written five minutes before sign-up time, or the reader goes way, way over the allowed time.

The article also provides some good advice for those unsure about poetry. Jennifer Benka, the former managing director of Poets & Writers, says, “It’s helpful to think about a poem as more like a painting. It is an art object that requires reflection, which requires a willingness to investigate and empathize and time.” Her quote is probably my favorite piece of advice given in the article. Yes, poetry does require a lot of reflection and time. Don’t expect meaning after one shallow glance.

There is one explanation left out of the article that I wish was explored, and that is the way poetry is taught. Too often, especially in high school and sometimes in college, poetry is taught like a math equation, where it is reduced to a mere series of beats and meter, pinned to the board and dissected. I have found this teaching method to be used by teachers or professors who have very little knowledge of poetry, but still have to fit it into the curriculum, so they teach nothing contemporary and reduce the craft to pure technique and equation. A few times I have taught an intro to literature course, and my students groaned when I told them we would be spending weeks on poetry. When I asked them to write about their experience with poetry, they wrote down horror stories of previous college classes or high schools classes in which all they did was dissect meters or circle metaphors in poems. No discussion of how they could or could not relate to the poem. No background given on the poet. Nothing taught to them other than the typical canonical poets. No opportunities given to write their own poems.

There are so many poetic schools out there that it’s likely something will click for the student and reader after more exploration. As poetry professor Susan Firer says, “There are many poetries. When someone tells me they don’t like or ‘get’ poetry, I just assure them they haven’t found their poetry yet.”

Berks County Bards and the Reading Scene

If you live anywhere in Central, PA and you’re interested in finding a literary community, check out the Berks  Bards. The organization hosts several literary events each month, including a reading series at Reading Area Community College called “Poetry at the 6.” The reading often includes a featured reader or two and then an open mic. Last night, I was the featured reader, along Scott Thomas. This was my first time reading for the Berks Bards, and I was impressed with the turnout, especially for a Monday night. The organization provides wonderful support and community for Reading area writers. In addition, the work read during the open mic portion was polished and strong, a pleasure to hear. The audience members were attentive, and they will buy your book if you give a good reading.

Reading has some other cool events, including writing workshops that are held on Saturdays at the Pagoda and an open mic series held at the Wise Owl Bookstore in West Reading, just across the bridge from downtown Reading. I suppose the best way to find out about events in that area is to like the Berks Bards on Facebook by clicking here , or simply check the group’s website. The organization has several events yet to happen for National Poetry Month, almost an event a day, into the beginning of May.

It’s All About Community

Yesterday, I took part of a panel discussion at the Osterhout Library in Wilkes-Barre in celebration of National Poetry Month. I could talk for hours and hours about my relationships with poetry and why I love the genre, but that’s not why I enjoyed this event. I liked it because I looked out and saw young people in the audience, including one high schooler with a stack of books, and an elementary student. Both have an interest in writing, and they were wide-eyed and on the edge of their seats while we talked about the writing process and our key influences.

After the event, I thought about how lucky I am to live in an area that has events like this. Throughout April, Osterhout is running a series of free poetry workshops. The library has also held various poetry and prose readings, and it publishes a literary magazine, Word Fountain. A few blocks down from the library, there is a reading series the third Friday of every month at ArtSEEN Gallery in Wilkes-Barre, and Scranton includes the Prose in Pubs series and the New Visions series. As I chatted with the two young members of the audience yesterday, I thought about how important community is to writing, how we need mentors and friends involved in the writing process because no one outside of such a community cares that we write.

Students in one of my creative writing classes this semester understand the importance of community, since they decided to create a writing workshop outside of class. I’m also starting to see more and more students at various literary events in the community. That’s what it’s all about, supporting each other, guiding each other, and forming something bigger than one’s own writing.

Two National Poetry Month Events

I meant to post news earlier about two events I’m doing for National Poetry Month, but this has been a busy month for me. Anyways, here is the info about the events. On Saturday, April 2o, I’m going to be part of a panel discussion about poetry and craft at the Osterhout Library in Wilkes-Barre. The event begins at 2 p.m. and will be held in the Reading Room. Local writer and library employee Rachael Goetzke will moderate the event.

On Monday, April 22, I’m reading at Reading Area Community College with Scott Thomas. That event starts at 6:30 p.m. and is sponsored by the Berks County Bards as part of their month-long celebration of poetry.

Both of these events are free. If you’re in the Wilkes-Barre or Reading area, I hope to see you there!