Bits and Pieces

A shout out to Jennifer Jean’s intro creative writing class at Salem State College. I had the great pleasure of sitting in last night. I read from Underlife, and we talked a lot about my poems, poetry in general, and the book publishing industry. Very fun.

****


Results from my completely unscientific blog poll, Who Would You Like to See Become U.S. Poet Laureate Someday.

The top vote-getters:

Naomi Shihab Nye 31%
Mark Doty 17%
Nikki Giovanni 11%
Martin Espada/Li-Young Lee 8%
Elizabeth Alexander/Cornelius Eady/Gerald Stern 6%


****


Have you read Dan Nester’s series of articles "Behind the scenes at The Great Paris Review Poetry Purge of 2010"? Read what it’s like to be de-accepted from The Paris Review.


****


Hear audio of poet Jarita Davis on WOMR’s Poet’s Corner.


****


Aimee Nez is blogging at Ploughshares.

****



One word: Storyland!


Comments

Jessie Carty said…
I've seen a lot of people posting about The Paris Review on Facebook but I haven't gone in to actually read the articles was afraid it would just depress and/or upset me as The Paris Review used to be high on my list of places I submitted to each year :)
Jennifer Jean said…
I'm not sure what I think about what the Paris Review did--there was no contract so they were within their rights; however, they had to know they would not be engendering good will with their action. Goodwill and community would be important enough for me to delay accomplishing my personal vision...I think. What's interesting is how public the discussion has become because of writers' extensive use of social media.
January said…
Jennifer, The Paris Review was within their rights. And, from what I understand, this happens a lot in magazine publishing, yet somewhat unusual for a lit journal. I agree, goodwill should play some consideration in their decision-making process. Not sure why poems accepted then unaccepted could not be placed online.

As how this seemingly benign story has become news through FB and Twitter is great. Everything is content and content is king.
January said…
Jessie, I've never submitted to The Paris Review because I don't think my poetry is in line with their aesthetic. I’d wait to see what the next few issues are like before submitting.
Anonymous said…
I just wanted to say thank you for coming to Salem State to talk to us about your poetry and the process of poetry writing and publishing. Sounds like a lot of intense work! Best of luck with your next publishing, and I hope to see you on campus again sometime!

Popular Posts