Tag: poetry magazines

Angst/

Submissions – to enquire or not to enquire?

Submissions - to enquire or not?

First of all a huge thank you to Matthew Stewart of Rogue Strands who has once again mentioned my blog in his ‘Best UK Poetry Blogs of the Year’ roundup. It’s exciting to be in there with such great company, and always very nice to know this blog is read and enjoyed. I think all bloggers have those days when you’re writing something and you suddenly think “what if no-one reads this, am I just sneezing into the ether?” or whatever.

Now we have those crazy last two weeks before Christmas which, in a musical household, tends to mean every spare moment is taken up with concerts and the myriad jobs they involve. Poetry has to take a secondary role. Having said that, tonight is a last huzzah of the year with the Brighton Stanza having a seasonal evening of readings, magazine-swapping, socialising, celebrating and commiserating. I’ve managed to delegate the compering to two fine poets with big personalities and am looking forward to hearing a wide variety of poetry styles and performances from our eclectic mix of members, Brighton-stylee.

overwhelmed editor
I do sympathise. Honest.

Submissions news: no news (and not necessarily good news). But I did come across a very handy tool put together by Nathaniel Tower on his blog Juggling Writer – it’s a spreadsheet for keeping track of submissions. (The link to it is about halfway through this article.) My own submissions tracking started off very well but has gone a bit scruffy lately, and having inputted my current ‘out’ poems into Nathaniel’s nice clean version, I can see at-a-glance that I have 13 poems that have been out for 34 days, 4 for 50 days, 2 for 61 days, 4 for 89 days and 4 for a whopping 114 days.

I did recently enquire about the four poems that were submitted 114 days ago (August 16th) – a very polite enquiry of the magazine in question, asking where they might be in their reading schedule to give me some idea of how much longer before a response. I was brief, and about as friendly, humble and self-effacing as I could be within the confines of human dignity. But it didn’t surprise me not to get a reply, which in itself makes me sad.

I’m trying very hard to see it from the magazine’s point of view. I’ve read all the articles about how editors are overwhelmed, losing money and hair, besieged by poets who don’t read the magazine or the guidelines, who pester and get shirty if they’re rejected and so forth. The magazine editors I know or have met are nice people with a difficult job. I do understand and generally speaking I know you just have to wait, and when you get a ‘no’, you move on and send it elsewhere. I obey the ‘no simultaneous submissions’ rules and am prepared to tie up poems for months on end, that’s just what poets do.  I rarely enquire – but when I do, I wring my hands and think and think about the wording. I try to be as considerate as possible. But I don’t think it would be unreasonable to submit elsewhere after five months if a gentle query brings no reply.

Do you agree? Do you ever enquire about a submission, and if so, at what point? Do you get a response?

Meanwhile, a quick plug for the next Telltale Press event at the Poetry Cafe in London on Wednesday 7th January at 7pm – please come if you’re anywhere near London. It’s FREE! On the bill are Catherine Smith, Canadian poet Rhona McAdam, Siegfreid Baber plus Peter Kenny and myself. There’s a Facebook event page, let us know if you’re coming and hope to see you there.

Mags & Blogs/

In praise of the ‘zine

Poetry zines

I love the idea of giving birth to an arts/literary magazine. I dream about it and go through possible plans for it, in the same way some people do kitchens, or dream homes.

Whenever I come across some quirky ‘zine I keep a copy, for future reference, in case there any ideas I can borrow from it. Every aspect is fascinating – size, paper weight/finish, typefaces, layout, colours, how many printed, distribution channels, who’s behind it, contributors, whether there are ads or sponsors and if so, who they are. And that’s before I even get to the actual content. I don’t have any system for gathering my research material other than a box file, and I tend to lose things so not everything makes it into the box file.

Some examples stand out, such as the very high spec (yet with an independent vibe) neighbourhood literary/arts magazine I came across when staying in Clerkenwell a few years back. Can I lay my hands on it now? No. And when I google it all I find is a somewhat shiny corporate version produced by a media company which just wasn’t it. Maybe the original idea got taken over.

Then there was the surprise of receiving a copy of Fuselit, with not one but two micro-magazines falling out the envelope together with three little fridge magnets and a mini-CD. Extraordinary attention to detail and surely many man- or woman-hours in the making. It was like a one-off.

More recently I was attracted to Belgium-based Miel Books’ 1110/7 micro-journal – I think I followed a link to the website and fell for the design – and I had it by my bedside for some time, re-reading its contents, mostly what I would call avant garde – certainly no villanelles or poems about dementia. I quite like a mixed diet, whether or not I respond to all the individual poems themselves.

And today (what prompted this post I guess) the first edition of ‘The High Flight’ arrived.  It’s a new ‘100% independent fanzine’ being distributed around Edinburgh and Glasgow mainly. I’m probably on the outer edges of their market (in all senses!) – I think I must have made a donation via Kickstarter, anyway my name is listed as a benefactor, which makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, and pleased to be supporting a bit of genuine grass-roots, lets-get-it-out-there, take-it-or-leave-it grunge-lit post-expressionism. I enjoyed it – some short pithy poems, one or two colourful and/or random graphics, an essay on why we need to start getting angry again, an amusing tale of pill-taking and a smattering of what my mum would call language – and applaud those who’ve got it off the ground.

I’ve too many other projects at the moment to think about launching a lit-zine, but one of these days…!

Mags & Blogs/

Mammoth list of literary journals

Worth bookmarking – the Poets & Writers database of lit mags (litmagz?) Salivate over this if you dare –
“listings for 977 journals, providing details about the kind of work sought, authors previously published, submission guidelines, payment policies, tips from the editors, and more”

US literary magazines at Poets & Writers

WOW – nearly a thousand mags?? Why does this kind of list make me feel like I’m in a branch of Staples the size of Wales…

Not that I’ve actually submitted to any yet, but it’s the window shopping that’s fun …

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.

Angst/

Waiting on, working on, poems stock-take

I’m sat here with a number of scribbled-on poems around me, trying to decide which one(s) to resume work on and which to re-file for now. They’ve all been workshopped at some point, some of them to the extent that I’ve fallen out of love with them and not looked at them since. But surely there’s a grain or two I can rescue and use.

poems in progress
Everything here appears to be in tercets – hmmm.

I’m also checking what I’ve already got sent out, what hasn’t been sent anywhere yet, and what’s recently come back and awaiting re-sending OR filing for now OR re-working.

Currently in the ‘no response yet’ folder are:

  • Four poems sent to The North in May
  • Three to Poetry London in June
  • Five to Envoi in August
  • Five to Shearsman in September

At least three of these 17 poems I’ve since revised, which is sometimes what happens if I secretly think there’s a high probability of rejection. I know you’re supposed to only send out poems when they are the BEST THEY CAN BE. But how do you know when that is? Even stuff that’s been published I sometimes look at later and want to change.

And if you’ve substantially revised a piece, does it then constitute a new poem for the purposes of ‘simultaneous submissions’, and therefore legitimate to send elsewhere while waiting for the first magazine to reply? I haven’t done this yet (ahem! in case any of the above editors happen to read this!) but I’m thinking on it.

At the moment I’ve got one poem forthcoming in fabulous The Rialto, but nothing else. It’s not that I’m not very excited to be in The Rialto, but this year having made an effort to write more and send out more, so far I’ve had fewer acceptances. So I suppose I’m just wondering if I’ve become too hung up on quantity and the quality has slipped.

In a couple of weeks I’ll be on a poetry ‘masterclass’ at Ty Newydd, and I’m hoping it will be a kick up the bum/reality check/inspirational boost… or preferably all three. Will let you know.

Courses/

Social media for writers, ‘Orgasm Management’ etc

Iona Jette

This is not the blog post I started writing this morning – but that turned into a cod philosophical/ psychological discourse that I eventually decided wasn’t going anywhere. So I’ve saved it for another day when I might be able to better whip my thoughts into a proper shape.

Instead, more of straightforward diary entry. This week I’ve been a bit restricted by a sore leg – I’ll spare you the details but just to say I managed to strain a calf muscle a couple of weeks ago and as a consequence I’ve been limping about and avoiding walking any sort of distances. It’s definitely getting better though.

On Thursday I made it into Brighton for the last of my ‘Build your social web presence’ sessions for New Writing South (next course starting September). It’s been really interesting to work with a group of writers on this. Clearly, publishers are putting pressure on authors to share the publicity load and demonstrate their social media reach and influence. I’ve wanting for a while to pull together my interests in social media/ communications and writing/publishing and this is one of the strands that seems to be coming to fruition. I’m also talking to a large children’s publisher at the moment about social media training, and am working with a literary agent to help support their authors in building their online presence.

There’s also a strong possibility of a book on this subject, before the end of the year – I’ll keep you posted.

Something else I’m working on is an up to date list of UK poetry magazines, print and online, together with details of their Twitter & Facebook etc. Although there are a number of lists around, including the excellent Poetry LIbrary list, I’ve found that their Twitter or Facebook accounts aren’t listed, or they’re not always kept up to date – magazines tend to come and go, and I’ve often wasted time by seeking out (and sometimes submitting to) magazines that have clearly gone under but not told anyone. Anyway, it’s a bit of a mammoth task – I’ll post the first draft when it’s ready and hope you can help me by telling me of any you know to be ‘dead’ or others that I’ve haven’t heard of that ought to be included. Then if I can keep it up to date it could be a useful reference.

And last but not least, on Friday I went to see my very funny performance post friend Iona Jette perform her new one-woman show The Orgasm Management Monologue in the Brighton Fringe. I filmed it on a DSLR camera, my first attempt at such a thing and great fun to play with all the gadgetry involved. I’ll post a link to it when it’s up!

Angst/

Submissions: this week’s yays and nays

Poetry Wales rejection and Obsessed with Pipework

Poetry Wales rejection and Obsessed with Pipework

Oh OK I might as well admit it – there are no new YAYs to report. But issue 62 of ‘Obsessed with Pipework’ arrived, including my poem ‘Calamity’ which just crept in at the back. It’s a bit of a weird one (the poem that is) and I’m grateful that Charles Johnson at ‘Obsessed’ has a keen eye for the quirky. In the magazine I spotted some nice work from a couple of people unknown to me but who I’m now tempted to seek out – more of that in another post.

Elsewhere in the mail, a nice note ‘I was interested to read your poems but not enough to offer publication’ from Poetry Wales. As usual, I look at the sorry poems squished into the SAE and wonder what milligram of merit I once imagined they contained. I’m hoping I may not be quite so ashamed of them once they are refiled and separated from the negative vibe of the no-thank-you note. Once dusted off, I may just send them out again. Or they may be destined for the ‘revisit one day’ folder.

Thank you to everyone for your lovely notes of sympathy by the way. I was really touched by messages of support from people I’ve not even met. Testimony to the power of social media – if I didn’t already believe that it’s all about people and NOT technology, I certainly would now. My mum’s funeral is planned for next week.

Meanwhile I’ve a couple of things to look forward to at least – on Thursday morning I’m leading my first workshop for New Writing South, on the subject of ‘Feel the social media fear (and do it anyway)’ – for writers who are reluctant to use social media for whatever reasons. I’m expecting some tough opposition – wish me luck!

Then on Saturday I’m attending a workshop with George Szirtes in Swindon on Saturday courtesy of BlueGate Poets. And I’m excited to be finally meeting Josephine Corcoran IRL after much lovely correspondance via this blog and various social media.

Books/

Where were the ‘Best of British’ poems first published?

Best of British Poetry 2012

Best of British Poetry 2012

Poet friend of mine and soon-to-be-blogger Jo Grigg mentioned she had been reading The Best British Poetry 2012 so I invited her to write about it here. It is Jo’s first guest blog post on Poetgal.

The second volume of this British version of a longstanding US anthology has now thundered through my letterbox. Hurrah! Its 70 poems are selected from the year’s UK poetry magazines.

As with any anthology, how much you enjoy them depends on how much you have in common with the editor. This year’s is Sasha Dugdale and I’m enjoying many of them so far. Along with the poems come each poet’s remarks given in the second section of the book following a brief biog. Some of these remarks are enlightening about the writing process. Others are odd, which is (oddly) reassuring. In the US version you sometimes read ‘the poem should stand on its own without me having to explain it’.

One of the reasons behind the anthology is to draw attention to poets who are not yet published in pamphlet or collection form, because the big prizes select mostly from published collections. There’s also a good showing of established poets. It demonstrates the variety within the poetry mag business, and draws attention to individual magazines.

I looked at which magazines the poems in Best British are taken from – would this represent a ‘best magazines’ list, and if so, might I investigate and then subscribe to one or two of them? Though does having a poem in here mean they are ‘better’ than the many magazines not represented? It is at least a starting point for those unable to get to the Poetry Library at London’s South Bank to spend time submerged in magazines, pamphlets and collections. Here’s my listing:

Magazine / Number of entries

10th Muse 1

13 Pages 2

Agenda 1

Ambit 2

Blackbox Manifold 1

Brand 1

Brittle Star 1

Cambridge Literary Review 2

Clinic 2

Dark Horse, The 1

Delinquent, The 2

Edinburgh Review 1

Fuselit 1

Halfcircle 1

Horizon Review 1

London Review of Books 2

Magma 4

Modern Poetry in Translation 4

New Linear Perspectives 1

New Welsh Review 2

North, The 2

PN Review 7

Poet’s Calendar, The 1

Poetry and Audience 1

Poetry London 9

Poetry Review 5

Poetry Wales 2

Rialto, The 4

Stand 2

Warwick Review, The 2

White Review, The 1

Wolf, The 1

The Best British Poetry 2012, edited by Sasha Dugdale, series edited by Roddy Lumsden, published by Salt, 2012. Cover price £9.99.

Mags & Blogs/

A triptych of poetry blogs

Triptych of poetry blogs

Triptych of poetry blogs

I love the way you can come across a poetry blog that’s new to you and then suddenly two more jump out – just like a row of Routemasters. So here’s the first of what may become a regular feature – a triptych of enjoyable poetry blogs. Let me know if you have any recommendations for future Triptychs.

Fuselit– the editors’ blog. Fuselit describes itself as half magazine, half collaborative art project – a London-based journal of poetry, short fiction, art and sounds. I remember sending off for their ‘Aquarium’ issue and was amazed at the package that arrived – not one, but two little hand-made booklets, a mini-disc of music and three micro fridge magnets of sea creatures. I would call it ‘charming’ if the word hadn’t been horribly corrupted. Anyway, do take a look. Plus there is a new spur word for submissions, FOSSIL. Great fun and many thanks Kirsten Irving et al.

Anthony Wilson – This was a ‘rediscovery’ – after reading Anthony’s touching tribute to Smith’s Knoll I realised I was already subscribed to this blog. Apart from his fascinating musings, super in-depth reviews, recordings of his poetry readings and other numerous projects (such as the ongoing Life Saving Poems) Anthony offers us a huge blogroll and rich resources list. Fantastic.

Kim Moore – I really like Kim’s natural tone of voice, I feel like we’re having a conversation when I read her blog posts. Her blog features anecdotes, readings, reviews, a Sunday ‘featured poem’ and MORE (sorry). I’d love to go on the writing weekend Kim’s currently promoting, in Cumbria, but it’s February half term and clashes with the recording my choir is making. Shame, because the poetry course sounds fab.

(PS I recently blogged about three other poetry blogs I enjoy, over at Blogging for Creatives.)

Mags & Blogs/

It’s my birthday! Hurrah! I think

Children love having birthdays. I quite enjoyed them myself until I got to about 30, then I went through a period of getting a bit grumpy about the whole birthday thing. But these days I don’t mind them at all. So far today:

Woke up with migraine that had been brewing up all night – boo

Husband presents me with a copy of Hilary Mantel’s Bring up the Bodies which I’ve been itching to read since it came out, but was waiting for the softback version – hurrah!

I have to go to work for half the day, and the office is freezing – boo

Finish with a meeting at our local friendly cafe, Pleasant Stores, and am treated to a veggie muffin – hurrah!

Jeans are feeling a bit tight and am reminded of urgency of nipping middle aged spread in the bud before I start looking like a veggie muffin – boo

Get home to find the lovely Charles Johnson at Obsessed with Pipework wants one of my poems for April 2013 issue – hurrah!

I see husband has hidden a bar of chocolate in the fridge for later – hurrah!

After popping the pink and yellow pills, migraine is now downgraded to mild headache – hurrah!

So overall a pretty good day. I might even try to write a poem.