Category: Pamphlets

Angst/

So bad they rejected it twice

Just raising my head above the parapet to report that I’m about 20k words into my book and now at the point where I have to start printing pages off and going through everything with post-its, before I lose my many threads. It’s amazing how I can be convinced I’ve already covered something, or filed something, or penciled in a name and a quote, and then suddenly nothing is as it should be. Ack! I’m trying to do this one on my own, having had some research help with the last book. Remembering all the people I’ve contacted, and where I wanted to use a quote from them, is the hardest thing, despite it all being on spreadsheets.

Anyway, poetry is entirely gone from me at the moment. Although I’ve got stuff out, half of it is to competitions which is akin to playing those fixed odds betting machines. Entering one more comp won’t do any harm! Hey, I might even win! And next thing the (metaphorical) bailiff comes knocking. And for the first time in ages I’ve nothing forthcoming in magazines.

Then, having been rejected by The London Magazine, two weeks later they send another email – we’re sorry to tell you… you mean, you haven’t changed your mind? Or were those poems so bad you had to reject them twice? I did try having a little joke with the sender of the email, but (no doubt in the spirit of not engaging with possible nutters) she declined to respond.

A couple of good things though: the Heavenly Bodies anthology which I’m proud to be a part of is out on April 30th, although I won’t make the launch as it’s the other end of the country from me. Can’t wait to see it! Plus, my pamphlet should be arriving this week. I made some amends after seeing the proof, including changing the cover title and name from all caps to sentence case, as all caps seemed A BIT SHOUTY.

Would be nice to now go out for a walk in the sunshine, but … those post-its are calling to me.

Books/

Friday update

It’s been a good week in many ways, but the not-so-good things first: a rejection from the London Magazine (not unexpected) and no new poetry writing done at all 🙁

Good things: the first of our Brighton Stanza small group workshopping sessions was on Monday, and although there were only three of showed up in the end (of the others one called in sick, two were delayed on the train, one got the date wrong) I took away one excellent insight (thanks to Tom Cunliffe) which I know will have far-reaching consequences for me. More good things: I sent my pamphlet off to print!! Cover reveal:

The Great Vowel Shift cover

 

I’m very pleased with the cover illustration by Hannah Clare, who I will use again for future pamphlets as I want to establish a brand look. My only reservation is whether I shouldn’t have gone for a dust jacket. I like the traditional feel of one, but if it gets detached from the booklet it does mean the booklet cover has no markings. Anyways, that’s what I’ve opted for at the moment, as I liked the look of the pamphlets by Smith Doorstop.

Next nice thing was an evening at the Redroaster in Brighton last night for Pighog poetry readings – top of the bill and clearly the big draw was fine poet John McCullough, who I always love to hear read, but sadly he had to wait until about 10pm due to open mic-ers being given too long. After the first half I was remarking how I liked the fact that the open mic had seemed relaxed and gave people more time than usual, with just 3 readers. But I didn’t realise there were about 10 more readers to go in the second half, many intent on hogging the limelight for as long as possible. It seems that saying ‘one poem’ is fair enough but you need to add ‘no more than ONE sheet of A4 paper’ too, otherwise you’ll sure as dammit get ‘Paradise Lost’.

Anyway I had a good catchup with poet Marion Tracy and very jolly to see so many familiar peeps from the Stanza group and elsewhere.

Other than that I’ve been nose to the grindstone or rather bum on seat typing, skimming my way through a myriad blogs and websites etc all in the name of this blogging book I’m working on. Around 15k words written so far and a weekend of graft to look forward to, probably on my own in the office taking hundreds of screenshots,  getting Photoshop-itis and trying not to re-use the same cheery phrases too often.

Sorry for the brief post … off to celebrate my husband’s birthday this evening so twill be nice to turn the computer OFF. Have a nice weekend 🙂

Mags & Blogs/

Quick writing update

This is probably displacement activity, as I should be working on the book which I have until Easter to write. Yikes! Quick update on a few things.

Poetry writing is currently going through a dry patch. I missed out on my Mimi Khalvati fix at the weekend as I was under the weather, but did have a good Stanza meeting on Monday night and the first of our ‘small group’ workshops is next week, so I’m looking forward to that. I’ve been digging around my archive of unfinished and ‘in need of work’ poems, of which there are A LOT. One or two I’ve actually managed to re-write, and as I’ve not got much out in the pipeline at the moment I sent a few things out quickly before I changed my mind.

I’m trying Ambit again … surely they can’t still be holding against me that incident at the Betsey Trotwood in 2012 …?

I had another rejection from Poetry Review … still plugging away!

A couple of new RED ALERT cautions that are currently top of mind – on Monday the redoubtable Antony Mair warned of the ‘portentous last line’ – and of course I knew exactly what he meant as I’ve been GUILTY of said practice more than once! Then today I was reading an interview with Rob Spillman, editor of US magazine Tin House, who was complaining about how too many submissions ‘lack engagement with real world issues… there’s a stunning amount of navel-gazing with tiny emotional epiphanies.’ Ouch! Be gone from my poems, o tiny emotional epiphanies!

Meanwhile, talented illustrator Hannah Clare has come up with a striking design for the cover of my pamphlet. I have a week or so before the ISBN numbers come through, which is when I can create the barcode and finish off the rest of the cover. At the moment there are 13 poems in the pamphlet but one of them I’m still not sure about, so it may end up being 12. Probably a luckier number.  All very exciting!!

And now…back to the writing that actually pays!

Pamphlets/

Publish and be damned

Telltale Press logo

Call it ‘self-publishing’ if you will, call it an unhealthy desperation, frustration or whatever –  I’m not sure exactly what my prime motivation is but it feels good to be taking charge!

Here’s what’s happened …. I have named my new poetry press. I’ve named my pamphlet. I’ve (almost) decided on the content and order, thanks to some super insightful comment and expert suggestions from an experienced poet. I have applied for my first batch of ISBN numbers. I’ve had several print quotes, and have juggled various options regarding size/format. I’ve pored over many pamphlets to see how they’ve been made, the typefaces, line height, paper weight, where the acknowledgements go, etcetera. I’ve done most of the typsetting and layout myself in Illustrator. I’ve decided what I like and don’t like in terms of cover designs, and have briefed a talented artist to come up with something beautiful.

So far I’ve really enjoyed the process and haven’t had any big problems. I realise it’s still a novelty for me. And I’m doing this as an investment, not to make money or even cover costs, although that would be nice, and not utterly impossible. So I guess the difficult thing about publishing must simply the business of money – where it comes from, how not to lose it, and how to finance the next project and stay sustainable.

My own pamphlet is being financed by moi. But in so doing, I’m getting excited at the prospect of publishing other poets. That was the point of creating a new press – to publish my own first pamphlet alongside a few other people in the same position as me, namely, those feeling ready to publish but as yet unlucky in winning a pamphlet competition (because that seems to be the only way to one’s first pamphlet). What does this mean? Am I setting myself up as a publisher? Yes and no. I see the pamphlet projects as being fairly collaborative and ‘self help’. I don’t have the experience to be an editor. And I don’t have the funds to publish endlessly out of my own pocket. So any fellow poets coming on board have to be prepared (as I am) to share the financial burden of production (although on the positive side this means sharing the sales income too.)

That said, being prepared to PAY is not the only criterion – too much like a vanity press. And I do (of course) have strong feelings about the kinds of collections I’d like to be published alongside. So there are artistic criteria, if you like. And quite a few other criteria also, the nuts and bolts of which I’m still working out. Most of all I think of a Telltale pamphlet as being a first step, maybe a springboard. It feels important to me that it’s for first pamphlets, because it gives newcomers a chance. (But will I change my mind once I’ve done one, and can’t get anyone else to publish me? Ha! We’ll see!)

The way I see it, there’s room for all kinds of publishing enterprise. This one has yet to earn its stripes. But it’s fun to try.

Angst/

On Heavenly Bodies and feeling empowered

Publishling cartoon
Copyright Cartoonstock.com

A few interesting things on the go at the moment. ‘Heavenly Bodies’ which I wrote about last week is gathering momentum, and there’s talk on Facebook of having a launch in Preston, or somewhere points North, which will mean I’ll have to miss it, alas. Anyway, at least I’ve written my ‘constellation’ poem, although I think I’ll look it over a few more times before sending it off to Rebecca Irvine.

Although I’ve been a bit dry lately in terms of producing new work, one thing I’m pushing forward with is a promotional pamphlet. I’ve given this a lot of thought. The purpose is twofold – firstly to have something to send/give to people which showcases some of my (previously published) poems, and perhaps to sell at readings, and secondly to shake off the feeling of passivity that going in for endless pamphlet competitions engenders in me.

Maybe I’m too impatient, but I lost a good poet friend last year, very suddenly. Life is short, to take action is empowering, and what have I got to lose? (Apart from the cost, but at least it’s all under my control!) It’s a very small collection, and doesn’t impact on my newer unpublished work, nor does it overlap with the pamphlet submissions I’ve got out at the moment. Plus I’m really enjoying the process of learning about publishing, print and all the other mysteries!

Meanwhile, with the help of my ‘loose committee’ I’ve been working out plans for the Brighton Stanza this year, which has grown considerably and we now need separate workshopping meetings as the monthly ‘open’ meetings have become so large. There’s a vibrant and wide-ranging poetry scene in Brighton, and although one of our aims is to encourage fine writing through close reading and critiquing, many people prefer to hone their performance skills, or read and share their work without scrutiny, or simply listen, learn and gain confidence.

There’ve also been various work-related things that have taken me away from poetry the last couple of weeks (curses!) as well as music-related things, such as turning pages at recitals, co-ordinating rehearsal dates and availability of singers for choir gigs.

But in between times I’ve been enjoying Michael Symmons Roberts’ Drysalter which just seems to ‘keep giving’ as they say.

Books/

Links to useful poetry resources (publishers, magazines, competitions etc)

The Saison Poetry Library

I thought I’d post some links to poetry resources I’ve been bookmarking. I’m sure these are just the tip of the iceberg so if you know of anything similar to add to this list please let me know in a comment – thanks. These are mostly UK but I’ve included one good US resource also.

Write Out Loud Poetry Directory – this is an Aladdin’s Cave of links, to magazines, small presses, courses and regular competitions. Lots of publications I’d never heard of. Recommended.

The Saison Poetry Library on the South Bank in London has a list of UK poetry magazines, although it isn’t up to date (eg it still has old details for Poetry London, Ambit, etc and lists several publications that are defunct) so best to double-check the info you find there. The Poetry Library’s Competitions listings are useful.

The Poetry Can is a site for poetry development in the South West but it features a national list of Poetry and Literature Festivals. This could be useful if you’re looking for gigs to promote your books, or planning to organise an event of your own. The site’s Resources page contains a number of useful poetry links.

The Scottish Poetry Library has an excellent website with resources and opportunities for poets, teachers and families and lots of useful poetry links. I’ve never visited the library but it looks brilliant.

On the Literature Wales site there is information about courses at Ty Newydd, competitions, events and opportunities for writers.

What Editors Want: A Must-Read for Writers Submitting to Literary Magazines by Lynne Barrett in The Review Review. This is a great general resource for writers wanting to research lit mags, although it’s focused on the US there are still many relevant articles here. And if you’re looking to crack the US scene here’s a listing of links to over 600 US print and online literary magazines.

Here’s Carrie Etter’s list of UK Pamphlet publishers currently accepting unsolicited submissions – although it dates from March 2012, so again, not guaranteed to be up to date but a good starting point.

If you’re looking for something a bit more quirky, essential reading is this list of 15th century collective nouns. Excellent tweet-fodder.

*** [added 5-12-13] Thanks to Carrie Etter for pointing me to a list of poetry publishers compiled by Helena Nelson at Happenstance – it’s a downloadable PDF available from this page. Last updated August 13, so pretty much up to date, although as Nell acknowledges, it’s dependent upon people letting her know about changes in circumstances or new publishers.

*** [added 7-1-14] Wonderful piece here on putting together a collection – On Making the Poetry Manuscript, by Jeffrey Levine – check out the rest of his blog while you’re there, it’s a great resource.

Photo: The Saison Poetry Library

Close readings/

Kim Lasky pamphlet launch

… or rather ‘pamphlets’ launch – not only did Kim Lasky win the Iota Shots competition last year, she did a double whammy with the Poetry Business comp – now that’s just greedy!! Although, to be fair, I don’t know Kim personally but I’m told by several good friends that it couldn’t have happened to a nicer person and more deserving poet.

Anyway, imagine my surprise to get a Templar email alert last Monday to say a pamphlet was about to be launched not only here in my home town of Lewes, but three doors along from my house. How convenient!

kim lasky pamphlets

Kim’s two pamphlets are Petrol, Cyan, Electric (Smith Doorstop) and Eclipse (Templar), available on the night for just £8 for the two – too cheap! And as always from these presses, lovely production values. Kim read from them both, Eclipse accompanied by a beautiful film. (If I’d had my reading glasses and with a teensy bit more light I’d have read along from the copy while listening. I often have that feeling when listening to poetry being read – I want to see it on the page at the same time. Is that something to do with how our brains process information – maybe there’s a word for being more able to absorb the written rather than the spoken word ?)

I haven’t yet read Eclipse properly, but I’m very much enjoying Petrol, Cyan, Electric. I wasn’t quite sure I connected with the subject matter at first (pioneers and early experiments in electricity) yet in fact I’m finding so much that I like in the poems, such as ‘Cut’ in which the silence of a power cut throws what light there is into sharp relief: ‘The moon lays a white sheet / on the bed’ and later ‘the odd spotlight / of an upturned torch / like a ringed planet.’

Elsewhere, in ‘In the Mood’ we’re offered a glimpse of ‘the father I have in photographs’ who ‘took five sugars in tea’ imagined in an empty aircraft hangar, leading the narrator in a 1940s dance –  ‘In your arms I smell the man I never knew / Brylcreem, the chemistry of petrol.’

The collection features many more delicately described incidents, imagined happenings. There is a sense of wonder about it.  I love the way Kim brings real (his)stories to the fore without it feeling like a backwards take, preserving the magic and the mystery of things which, like electricity, are still never fully explainable.

Petrol, Cyan, Electric is on the shortlist for this year’s Michael Marks Pamphlet Award, with results being announced tomorrow.

Mags & Blogs/

Submissions update

Good news and bad news!

Quick update first of all to my October ‘working on, waiting on’ post: Poetry London – standard rejection slip. Shearsman – standard rejection email. The North – a very nice personal reply, but no. Envoi – yes (yay!).

I’ve also just heard that The Interpreter’s House (now edited by Martin Malone and with a shiny new website amongst other things) is taking one of the poems I wrote at Ty Newydd, which I’m very pleased about. It’s a bit of an homage to Ian Duhig. Martin also leaps right to the top of the ‘speed of response’ chart, having replied within a few days. Douze points!

After a sending spree I’ve currently got 6 poems out to Ambit, 3 to Antiphon, 3 to Lighthouse and 3 to Poetry Review. Plus a number of pamphlet submissions. Will post updates to all this as and when.

Books/

A day at the (Poetry Book) Fair

poetry book fair 2013

Having answered a call for volunteers on Facebook, I found myself yesterday at Conway Hall in London, donning a blue badge and helping out at the Free Verse: Poetry Book Fair.

Organised by Chrissy Williams and CB Editions, with a lot of help also from Joey Connolly, the Fair is in its third year and apparently bigger than ever. I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was quite a crush – and with something like 700 visitors through the door and 50 or so publishers present, I felt nervously close to the epicentre of the poetry world.

When it comes to events I quite enjoy having a job to do, because otherwise I tend to turn up, wander around, not dare to talk to anyone and leave with a sensation that everyone else knows each other and I don’t know anyone. Actually I still felt like I didn’t know anyone, even though I blatantly did – the ever-friendly Mike from the Poetry Society plus several poet friends including Hilda Sheehan, Marion Tracy and Harry Man. I had very nice chats with many of the publishers and by the end of the day had minded shop for Amy from Seren Books and Sophie from Inpress. I even sold a book for Inpress (thanks, Marion!) I introduced myself to Nell Nelson from HappenStance and discovered a poetry press in my own home town that I’d never heard of. Who’d have thunk it?

I nearly bought quite a lot of stuff but in the end restrained myself. On the Templar table I fell for Matt Bryden’s Night Porter, which has got me thinking seriously about how I might group up some of my poems around a distinct theme and enter them for the Iota Shots pamphlet comp.

Then I spent £3 on a set of 4 microbooks from Hazard Press, witty confections and utterly not what I ought to have been buying, but I couldn’t resist.

On the Roncadora Press table, artist Hugh Bryden told me about the processes involved in producing their beautiful publications, all hand-made. I was so, so tempted by Nest – the photo on their site does not do it justice, the whole thing is a wonderful work of art, and they were selling it for just £6. Blimey, that can hardly have paid for the paper.

Astrid Alben

After the publishers had packed up and left, everyone moved over to the pub for an evening of free readings. Although I didn’t stay for them all, I did catch an enjoyable short set from Astrid Alben, reading from her Arc collection Ai! Ai! Pianissimo (memorable or what?) and later on, with a whole army of young male fans in tow, Chris McCabe who read in tandem with Jeremy Reed from their Nine Arches Press publication Whitehall Jackals. Read his blog post about the making of it here. Sorry about the rather grainy pics by the way.

chris mccabe

Chris was the highlight of the evening for me. I loved his poetry and both he and Astrid were readers with real presence – something that’s hard to define and probably impossible to teach, but you kind of know it when you see it. All in all an enjoyable and inspirational day.

Pamphlets/

Margaret Wilmot pamphlet launch

margaret wilmot

margaret wilmot

What a lovely relaxed evening we had yesterday at the Lewes Arms for the launch of Margaret Wilmot’s Smiths Knoll pamphlet Sweet Coffee. The upstairs room at the Arms is fairly intimate – I’ve seen it packed once or twice on Lewes Poetry nights when there’s been a big name draw, but on the whole it’s well suited to a smallish gathering. Last night was well supported by Margaret’s fellow ‘Green Room Poets’, friends, family and local poets. A spread of food was a very nice touch but unfortunately I had a risotto waiting for me at home!

Margaret is originally from California, and some of the poems in the pamphlet are reflections on her ‘american’ period. I particularly enjoyed  ‘America, life’,  a kind of travelogue poem on leaving California in 1969 and crossing the US hinterland, full of energy and optimism.

There followed a range of poems including some poignant work on theme of old age. Memorable for me were the eponymous ‘Sweet Coffee’ and ‘In my box called the imagination’  – you can read this on Margaret’s Poetry PF page.

We also heard a couple of poems each from Green Room Poets Judith Cair, Celia Dixie, Andie Lewenstein, Mandy Pannett and Penny Shepherd. I really loved Andie’s poem about a mermaid.

I apologise for the quality of the photo – I should really take a proper camera to these dos!

I’m not entirely sure how you can get hold of the pamphlet as Smiths Knoll is now closed, but I would think contacting Margaret directly would be an idea, perhaps via Poetry PF.