Category: Blog

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Tears in the Fence: a no-tears rejection

Tears in the Fence

A few months ago I sent some poems to David Caddy at Tears in the Fence. Although he didn’t take any of them for the magazine, his reply was prompt and very civilised, so much so that it didn’t feel like a standard rejection. Polite, interested, business-like, a suggestion that I send again, not a hint of condescension.

Yes, he invited me to buy a copy of the magazine (or subscribe), but not in such a way that I was felt under pressure, or even scolded in some way. I had read a copy of the magazine, know some people who’ve been published there, and have a reasonable idea of its style. I don’t think my work I was a hundred miles away.

What happened was that I did indeed subscribe, and the Spring issue was soon through my letterbox. It’s small but dense, and one of those mags that pulls you in for a big read rather than inviting a flick-through. Perhaps one of the nicest surprises is that there are many names I’m not familiar with. One that stood out for me was Cherry Smyth, with her poem ‘Connemara Swim Diary, August 2015’. The biog in the back of the mag, and a subsequent dig, tells me that Cherry has published three poetry collections and a novel. Great to have her on my radar.

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‘The future of poetry’ – Coffee House Poetry at the Troubadour

Troubadour Coffee House Poetry 6-6-16

So, to the Troubadour last night for poetry, discussions about poetry and the big bad world of digital – a ‘colloquy’ of five poets from diverse backgrounds. In the first half we had readings from Carrie Etter, Hannah Lowe, Gregory Leadbetter and Richard Price, and in the second they formed a round table chaired by C J Dallat.

I’ve not been to a Troubadour colloquy before – it wasn’t as packed as the themed nights can be, but then again it was up against several other events including the launch across town of Luke Kennard’s Cain (Penned in the Margins).

The format was a good balance – very different poets, none of whom I’d heard read before (except Hannah Lowe, but I’m not sure if I’d seen her live or on video). I particularly enjoyed Carrie’s short but electrically charged set. When I said hello to her in the interval it turned out she reads this blog (thanks, Carrie!) …it was also a pleasure to meet Richard Price and to thank him for recently selecting my poem ‘The Houses are Coming’ for Poetry News (yeah, just thought I’d get that in – I’m learning!)

So what’s the future of poetry, in a time when the internet and technology such as print-on-demand put publication in the reach of just about anyone?

There was some agreement that print publication still carries more kudos than online, with Cahal Dallat even suggesting that magazines have gotten so big and so numerous that maybe they’re just publishing everything they’re sent, with no sense of gatekeeping. (Although I wonder if he hasn’t had to go through the magazines submissions process recently?!)

Richard Price bemoaned the fact that digital just isn’t fulfilling its potential yet, and that as a creative person he wants to do more stuff differently. It’s true that just replicating online what print does perfectly well does seem to be the slightly disappointing standard at the moment.

Cahal then brought up the idea of links within digital text (or lack of). I have to agree with him, but sadly the positioning of links within (for example) news stories was hijacked a while back by advertisers who thought it was a jolly way to insert more ‘information’ (ie ads) in a piece. It did remind me of a project I did for my Digital Media MA sixteen years ago, which was an alternative website for The Royal Pavilion in which internal hyperlinking allowed the viewer to explore the building and its history in a non-linear fashion. Typical media degree stuff and probably not commercial. But maybe I need to get my poetry thinking cap on and be more creative in this way. Then again I’m sure it’s already happening and that digital creativity has gone way beyond throwing in a bit of video or animation. Someone did mention hyperreality but let’s not go down the whole Baudrillard road now although this is quite an entertaining video if you’re curious (but do not watch if you are of a nervous disposition!)

One thing I was burning to say but missed my chance (and then went off the boil) was that I don’t think it’s helpful to characterise young people as ‘digital natives’ and somehow innately tech-capable, which was suggested at one point. The flip side of this theory is that anyone who didn’t grow up with mobiles and touch screens is incapable of getting their heads around anything digital. I know from my work with people my age and thereabouts (sometimes a lot younger) that there is a ton of defeatism when it comes to tech. Completely intelligent and utterly capable people throw up their hands when it comes to mobile phones, computers not doing what they expect or any mention of Snapchat. But kids! They can do it their sleep! Oh yeah?

Actually, I’ve heard my husband say MANY times how surprised he is that his sixth form students can be clueless when it comes to technology – they lack basic digital skills such as how to search for information online or how to assess what they do find. They don’t know how things work. At all. But what young people have is a lack of fear. They don’t fear tech and they don’t fear gadgets, and they don’t fear the consequences of messing about with tech. They have the attitude ‘I don’t know how to do this but I’ll fiddle around until I find a way’ – something that is as rare as rare can be in your average over-40-year-old. I really think that fear is the key inhibitor to our full exploitation of new technologies, not age. Please can we pass this idea on, and thereby liberate us oldsters once and for all from the shackles of ‘we’re not digital natives so it’s harder for us’ ? Thanks.

Oh dear, not having taken notes last night I seem to have turned this post around into a bit of a rant rather than recording faithfully what the panel came up with… sorry.  But it was genuinely stimulating and the audience was lively. Great stuff.

Big thanks as ever to Anne-Marie Fyfe for organising these Coffee House Poetry nights, they are gems.

A shame that Southern Rail are still keeping up their go-slow, which meant I didn’t get to my bed before 1am. The price to pay for living by the sea…

 

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Some poetry magazine submissions windows now open

windows-scales-weights

For behold! Some windows are now opening, namely…

Agenda – opens today, June 1st – with the promise of a 12 week turnaround time. Submit by email only.

Bare Fiction – submit now for Issue 8, deadline 10th July.

Popshot – is announcing its theme for the next issue tomorrow (June 2nd)

Long Poem Magazine – opens today for the whole of June.

The Interpreter’s House – open for the month of June. Submit by email or post.

Good luck, and don’t forget to check the guidelines as they vary from magazine to magazine.

Most editors suggest you read the mags first before submitting (not unreasonably!) Although it can get expensive you could always take out subscriptions on a rota basis, which is what I do – subscribe to, say, 3 mags per year but change to 3 different ones when the subscription period is up. It seems a fair way of spreading around limited funds and also gives you a good overview of the different styles of magazine. It also exposes you to poets and (reviews of) collections you might not otherwise encounter.

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A few poetry comp deadlines coming up

be in it to win it

This is the post I set out to write before I got sidetracked with my last one! So enough with the musings. I just wanted to mention some poetry competition deadlines coming up. Like London buses, they all seem to come at once, so I hope you’ve got a nice bagful of competition-winning poems at the ready.

Frogmore Poetry Prize – you’ve got to be quick because it’s postal submissions only and the deadline is Tuesday 31st May. Judged by Catherine Smith, first prize 250 guineas and a 2-year subscription to The Frogmore Papers, entry fee £3 per poem. A pedigree comp with an impressive list of distinguished former winners.

Bridport Prize – also closing Tuesday 31st May, but you can enter online. Judged by Patience Agbabi, first prize is a whopping £5,000 and the entry fee is a correspondingly fat £9. One of the big ones and famous for its long longlist.

South Bank Poetry Competition – closes 15th June. Judge is Mimi Khalvati, first prize is £300 and entry fees are £4 for the first poem, £3 for the second and £2 for the third and each subsequent poem (discounts for subscribers to the magazine). This is a new competition, just in its third year, and although although the entry free to prize money ratio isn’t great, there are good reading opportunities for winners, plus publication. And the money supports the magazine.

Mslexia Women’s Poetry Competition – closes 13th June. Judged by Liz Lochhead. First prize £2,000 plus a week’s writing retreat and a mentoring session, entry fee £7 for up to 3 poems.

Troubadour Poetry Prize – closing Tuesday 21st June. Judges are Glyn Maxwell and Jane Yeh. First prize £5,000 and a £5 entry fee. Another of the big ones – the deadline is earlier than usual this year, but at £5 a go it’s good value from a comper’s point of view.

Plus there are more listed at the Poetry Library. Good luck!

Angst/

Thank you, Dr Upadhayay

lift off

I was one of those lucky people who enjoyed school, and whose English teachers (and I will name them, by way of a belated thank you – Dr Upadhayay and Mr Jennings) believed I had some writing ability and encouraged it. But I couldn’t see what they saw and thought it was utterly ridiculous to have any kind of creative writing ambition. Looking back on this in my forties I was ashamed of how I’d refused their encouragement, and (perhaps by way of atonement) decided I would try to find out if I did have any talent for poetry.

So I set myself a deadline – get a poem published in a ‘serious’ poetry journal before my fiftieth birthday, or … or what? Stop writing? Stop submitting? Keep writing ‘for pleasure’ and always wonder if any of it was any good? Get to my old age and feel bitter for not having really tested myself? I don’t know – but I made the deadline (just!) so I never had to find out. If it had all gone pear-shaped I like to think I would have just set a new deadline, and not ‘settled’, but who knows?

I guess I’m not one of those people who has to write, like having to scratch an itch. The world would still turn for me even if I never wrote another poem. But I get great satisfaction from doing something well. In fact, anything I do I want and expect to do well. I know I’m setting myself up for disappointment. I know it’s not fashionable, wanting to excel, especially at something creative. “It’s all subjective! We shouldn’t set store on the judgements of other people!” OK, but there are standards on which many people agree, and I don’t see the point in pretending there are not. If there are standards, I want to at least reach them. Then there’s the school of thought that says you should only write for yourself, and if you admit to wanting the affirmation that being published or winning a prize can bring, then you are a bit sad and probably not especially talented. I understand that viewpoint, but it is in itself judgemental.

Getting a single, unremarkable poem published in respected poetry magazine was important to me. I needed that one thing because it provided the motivation to get me going, to start me off – which is of course the bit that requires the most effort (I’m thinking rocket launches here).

Then a funny thing happened. After the honeymoon period of getting some poems into magazines, winning a few things and thinking I was going to conquer the poetry world, I’m now more realistic, and I’m strangely OK with that. I have goals, but they’re reasonably modest and they feel attainable. Writing poetry is part of my life, but I’m no longer on a one-track mission. I’m enjoying all the other aspects of ‘taking poetry seriously’ – being inspired by people I meet and work with through poetry, other people’s writing and all the great poetry I’ve yet to discover. I still have goals and I set myself deadlines, but they’re not all-or-nothing. Or to return to the rocket analogy, I haven’t reached the moon and maybe never will but I’m comfortably in orbit.

Importantly I also feel I’m delivering on the promise my teachers saw. I wish I could tell them how I still remember and appreciate the push they gave me, and although I couldn’t act on it then because I was too timid and immature, I’m doing something about it now.

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Coffee-House poetry workshops with Anne-Marie Fyfe

Coffee-House poetry workshop

Last weekend I was at the Troubadour in London on a Sunday afternoon for one of Anne-Marie Fyfe’s themed writing workshops. It was intense without feeling like hard work – I felt I’d been challenged and came away with a number of useful seedlings of ideas that may one day make their way into poems or other creative writing. Which is, I think, the best possible result.

Writing workshops are a funny thing – as a participant, I often quickly get irritated or restless when invited to do a piece of ‘free writing’ or ‘imagine you’re five years old and you’ve just seen your first elephant’ or whatever. More often than not, nothing comes into my head, or else I just write reams of nonsense which just makes my hand ache. If it goes on for too long I look around at everyone else furiously writing and feel a bit resentful that I’m wasting precious writing time trying to write about ‘a time in my life when… [insert insignificant episode here].’ And then I get fed up with the silences when the open questions come, and get annoyed at those who never say anything.

I realise this all sounds very snitty and you’re right to be thinking ‘well don’t go to any bloody writing workshops then!’ But I’m ever the optimist, so I do still occasionally put myself through it. And when I’ve had a really good experience I want to tell people about it.

There are a number of reasons why Anne-Marie’s sessions are so good. The time is well-organised and the sessions run to enough of a pattern to make regular participants know what to expect. Exercises are open enough to allow for individual interpretation but focused enough to pull you into the task. And they come thick and fast – so if one exercise doesn’t resonate you don’t have time to start wishing you were elsewhere, because something different is then sprung on you. As well as her considerable experience and sense of fun, Anne-Marie brings a big range of material to trigger thoughts – images, books, poems, even music – and has a wonderfully inclusive manner. There is a good chunk of time in which you are left alone to work something up. And everyone is encouraged (gently but firmly!) to take part – in reading things aloud, talking about their responses to the exercises or the source material and commenting on other people’s work.

It’s probably no coincidence that these workshops seem to attract a lot of ‘serious’ poets, often from quite a distance – and serious poets want to be in workshops with people they perceive to be at least as serious about it as they are. So the whole thing becomes a virtuous circle.

Anne-Marie’s Troubadour workshops are always full and as result she tends to repeat them later in the season. The one I went to, on the theme of ‘Invisible Cities’, is running again next Sunday 29th May, and I would highly recommend it – £28 well spent.

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Bare Fiction, Marion Tracy’s new book & other news

Chronicles of Eve & Bare Fiction magazine

It’s gone a bit quiet here as I’ve been preoccupied with all sorts of things – our new flat is taking shape, so I’ve been spending time choosing paint colours, painting, filling, putting putty into windows and all kinds of decorating jobs. There are tons of boxes all over the place, and the thing you want is always in the bottom of the bottom box. I’ve finally moved my desk, filing cabinet and everything out of the office space I’ve rented the last three years, and into a corner of the bedroom. It probably doesn’t sound ideal but the room is big, I get a lovely quiet workspace and a view out the window and it’s a joy to have everything in one place.

On the poetry front I was very pleased to receive my contributor copies of The Chronicles of Eve, an anthology from Paper Swans Press, and Bare Fiction Issue 7.

The Chronicles of Eve is a kind of testament to womanhood, its joys and (mostly) tribulations. Eighty or so poems from a wide range of poets, many of whom were unknown to me. It’s hard to pick out my favourites but I really enjoyed Marcia J Pradzinski’s ‘When I Ask My Father To Sign College Prep Forms’, Victoria Gatehouse’s ‘Burning Mouth Syndrome’ and Claire Walker’s ‘Pisces’. A great job done was done by Sarah Miles in putting the book together, and the cover design is stunning.

Bare Fiction is still a relatively new magazine but it ‘punches above its weight’ (sorry, that’s just too much of a cliche not to need quote marks) thanks in great part to its editor Robert Harper. Robert puts a huge amount of time and dedication into producing and promoting the magazine, with its unique mix of poetry, prose and plays. Not only that but he really supports and gets behind those he publishes, whether in the magazine or in book form. In my experience it’s very rare for a magazine editor to ask questions about the poems s/he has already accepted, or suggest light edits.

The selection process for Bare Fiction is anonymous and there’s a willingness to take a risk with slightly unusual material. And the format of the magazine is equally unusual with its big, easy to read typeface and poets’ names almost embarrassingly large on the page. I’ve tried to get in here a couple of times with no success but I’m glad I persevered.
what I'm reading

On my bedside table at the moment I have two books borrowed from Eastbourne Library (which appears to have a small but not too disgraceful poetry section) – Jackie Kay’s Fiere (Picador 2011) which I’ve read right through and loved, and Sean O’Brien’s November (also Picador 2011) which I’ve been dipping into. Awaiting my perusal is Les Murray’s New Collected Poems (Carcanet 2003) which is an absolute tome. I plan to read it in chronological order, as advised by John McCullough (whose New Writing South course I’ve been attending this year, and who has introduced me to all sorts of interesting poets).

Marion Tracy Dreaming of our Better SelvesI want to also give a shout out to Marion Tracy‘s first full collection, Dreaming of Our Better Selves (Vanguard Editions) which is hot off the press. Marion is a friend and we’ve participated in many workshops together, and I also enjoyed her excellent Happenstance pamphlet Giant in the Doorway (2012).

Marion’s style refuses to be categorised – Dreaming of Our Better Selves contains poems of great depth and sadness, but a certain amount of hilarity too. She knows how to employ a kind of deadpan surrealism that a less confident poet wouldn’t get away with, but there’s lyricism here too. There are riddles, parables and some poems feel like they may almost be jokes at the reader’s expense, rather like the ‘Messages way above my head / I’m not supposed to understand, like x loves y / or the word eternity traced on a beach…’ (‘Pictures placed on high shelves in hospitals’). The poet’s mother is never far away – sometimes in disguise, sometimes a figure on a bed, or asleep, or in the punningly-titled ‘La Mer’ – (‘I feel a kind of guilt / that I didn’t stay closer to the sea, / as she was drowning…’)

On the jacket blurb Neil Rollinson speaks of ‘a vibrant imagination… slightly bonkers, off kilter but always fascinating’ and I’d agree – a rich read. Congratulations to Marion and to Richard Skinner at Vanguard for snapping Marion up.

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Andrew McMillan’s ‘Physical’

Physical by Andrew McMillan

Even though we have NO bookshelves at the moment and about 40 boxes of books we can’t unpack, I had a bit of a poetry book-buying splurge lately (this – AND even though I’ve just taken out two poetry books from the library, having discovered the poetry section at Eastbourne Library isn’t too shabby). And EVEN though I’ve two other collections on the ‘have read’ list, waiting to be written up, I’m letting this one jump the queue as it’s fresh on my mind.

Physical, Andrew McMillan (Cape, 2015)

This collection has of course won much acclaim– including the Guardian First Book Award, (the only poetry book to do so)–and there are plenty of great reviews to be read. But I can’t help wanting to put down my own thoughts on it. A layman’s review, if you like, along the lines of the ‘Reading List’ project I ran last year.

Straight into the guts of the collection, the first poem ‘Jacob with the Angel’ is a retelling of the Biblical encounter in which an exhausted Jacob is wrestled all night by a character who only reveals itself as an angel the following morning. Although without the title (or knowing the story straight away – I had a vague idea but had to look it up) it sets the scene for what’s to come – ‘grappling with the shifting question of each other’s bodies’ … ‘the tasting of the flesh and blood of someone/ is something out of time’. Trying to make sense of the intense intimacy that can exist between strangers – ‘not giving a name because names would add a history’. And at the end, the page-turner promise: ‘he says writing something down keeps it alive’.

There’s a wonderful frankness to so much in this book – celebratory, pained, questioning, and always rooted in the flesh– ‘sighing out the brittle disappointments of the bones’ (‘Yoga’). ‘Unflinching’ is an overused word and I hesitate to use it here, because it could sound like a euphemism for ‘explicit’ when so many of these poems are about love in a variety of forms, always surprising, sometimes messy, often very moving–

… when he learned the baby
wouldn’t wake           there might have been a tray of food
still in the room            or a balloon trying to climb the wall  (‘I.M.’)

or strung through with irony and humour –

here we are         a man holding a boy above him
horizontal       like an offering to the artex ceiling
not even a minor Greek would see as fit to sculpt (‘Strongman’)

Growing up, masculinity, sexuality, familial relationships are threads throughout the book – ‘go to the other room computer television/ … laugh harder than you should have or wanted to’ (‘How to be a man’).

I really loved the layout of these poems with their lack of traditional punctuation, the many ellipses and exploded lines which, for me, were utterly in the service of the writing and not for flimsy effect. The use of compound words – strengthofbody, deadheavydrunk, spinebroken, slowpunctured, lonelyhaircut and so forth – suggested to me a poet who takes delight in both exuberance and precision in language, borne out by so much beautiful lyric writing (‘the lighthouse throws its face and catches it / night slicks in over the water’ (‘When loud the storm and furious is the gale’). It worked for me.

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A (tell) Tale of Two Collectives

Telltale infiltrates Sainsburys

I’m fortunate to be a part of two writers’ collectives, one is of course Telltale Press and the other The Needlewriters.

Needlewriters is based in Lewes and consists of about 6 or 7 of us (not entirely sure how many at the moment!) and we’re all writers of prose, poetry or both. We host quarterly events at the Needlemakers cafe (geddit?) at which there are generally three readers – two prose and one poetry, or the other way around. In the interval we sell books and have a raffle, the cafe is open and it’s a well-supported evening. We’ve also produced an anthology featuring work by many of the writers who have read at the event over the years. (The online version can be read for free here.)

Last Thursday we had our Spring reading which for the first time was a Poetry Special, with four readers: Lucy Cotterill, Jemma Borg, Janet Sutherland and Vanessa Gebbie. I was struck by the range of subject matter and styles we witnessed. And each of the poets read so well – although the voices were quite different they all seemed to exude a kind of relaxed authority. No wonder we had such good feedback at the end of the night.

And of course I have to give a plug to Telltale Press – we also hold regular readings, the next of which is on Wednesday 13th April at the Lewes Arms: special guest Abegail Morley, plus Telltales Sarah Barnsley and myself are joined by Rebecca White. Rebecca is a name you may not know, but she’s very talented – a recent graduate of the University of East Anglia Creative Writing MA. We’re all very excited to hear her read, and we hope the poetry-lovers of Lewes will turn out.

Now I’ve got to decide what to read – some newer stuff, certainly – and perhaps see if I can work up one or two from memory. Eek!

The following week I’m the ‘featured poet’ at Poetry at the Underground Theatre Cafe on my home turf here in Eastbourne, which is sightly nerve-wracking (I’m not sure how many will come, and I don’t yet have many friends in Eastbourne) but I know I’ll enjoy it.

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UPDATED – List of poetry magazine submissions windows

Windows

**UPDATED 28-4-16 – new listings in red, with thanks to those who have contributed.**

Many UK poetry magazines have now adopted the ‘submissions window’ model, and it can be tricky to keep track. I’ve started making a note of these, and also those that welcome submissions all year round, and thought you might find it of interest. I may even keep it updated (but I can’t promise!)

It’s not an exhaustive list by any means – if you know the submissions details of others, please do add them in the comments – thanks. There’s quite a wide range of styles and tastes represented here – I’ll leave it to you to do the research as to whether your work will fit a particular publication – if you’re new to submitting I do recommend reading a copy first!

NB – the links take you directly to the relevant page about submissions (where possible) so you can check all the guidelines.

Acumen – open all year (thanks to Rebecca Gethin)

Ambit – February 1 – April 1 & Sept 1 – Nov 1

Butcher’s Dog – currently closed, keep an eye on website

Carillon – send any time

The Frogmore Papers –  April 1 – 30 & October 1 – 31

The Interpreter’s House – October, February & June

Orbis – submit any time (thanks to Aidan Baker)

Lunar Poetry – submit any time (thanks to Alice)

South Bank Poetry – submit any time (thanks to Peter Raynard)

Envoi –  February, May & October

Poems in Which – open all year (thanks to Peter Raynard)

Poetry Salzburg Review – submit any time

Poetry Scotland – submit any time

Poetry Wales – submit any time

Popshot – next window opens June 1st 2016

The High Window – currently open until July 31st 2016 (thanks to Peter Raynard)

Structo Magazine – unclear, but currently closed to submissions (thanks to Peter Raynard)

Gutter Magazine – window recently closed, keep an eye on website (thanks to Peter Raynard)

The Stinging Fly – window re-opens in the summer

Tender – unclear, keep any eye on website (Thanks to Fiona Larkin) – window just closed 22/4, sorry!

The London Magazine – submit any time

Long Poem Magazine – next submission month is June 2016 

New Welsh Review – unclear, but submissions currently open

New Walk Magazine – submit any time

Three magazines from Indigo Dreams:
Reach Poetry,  The Dawn Treader, Sarasvati – all open all year (thanks to Ronnie Goodyer)

Wasafiri – submit any time

Shearsman – March & September

Under the Radar – 14 March – 30 April,   14th July – 30 August, 14 Nov – 30 Dec

Bare Fiction – varies, sign up for the newsletter to be kept informed of deadlines (you also get a free PDF copy of Issue 1 when you sign up)

Agenda – varies, sign up for the newsletter to be kept informed of windows

Magma – deadlines at end of January, March & September. (They call them ‘contributions’ rather than ‘submissions’ which I rather like!)

Tears in the Fence – unclear, but open now

The North – unclear, but open now

Lighthouse – open all year but they have deadlines – connect on Facebook or Twitter to hear of them

Antiphon – submit any time

Ink Sweat & Tears – submit any time

Obsessed with Pipework – submit any time

The Poetry Review – submit any time

The Rialto – submit any time

Prole – submit any time

Brittle Star – submit any time

Poetry London – submit any time

The Moth – submit any time

PN Review – submit any time