Tag Archives: critiquing

Make Friday Write

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I’m ducking my head in as my first week (well half week) of classes finishes up. I have some notes that I want to work on for a possible poem, but I don’t actually have a new poem to share with you. Sorry! That happens :)

I did have some poems rejected recently from another journal I really love that had personal comments so that was terrific news to receive. Funny the one they commented on I still felt was strong so I sent it back out without any other revisions. I think the right editor will take it, someday.

I had double good news from “Wild Goose Poetry Review” this week in the form of one of my own poems appearing in their virtual pages, and a review of An Amateur Marriage. You should stop by to read the issue, and I bet you’ll find some other very familiar names there. I also read the latest issue of decomP online. But, mostly I’m just getting back into the swing of the semester. My last class of the week is in 30 minutes, and then I need to finish some prep work before I can head home and start on one of my other jobs which involves laundry. LOL.

I still hope those of you who might have poems to post this week (or other genres) will feel free to share in comments. I will still take them down a week from today. I’m also looking at potential textbooks for new writers so if you have ever used a multi-genre (or two-genre say fiction and poetry) book that you thought was just awesome how about give it a shout out here?

Hope everyone had a great week, and I’ll “see” you soon :)

Make Friday Write

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Sorry I missed out on posting last week guys! We actually drove back from vacation last Friday instead of Saturday so I just didn’t quite make it. I have updated the post from two weeks ago so your work in progress is down :) I’m posting a newish poem below to get your feedback on. Feel free to post your work in progress (and/or links to your work in progress) in comments, and I’ll take my work and yours down a week from today.

–and now I’ll go work on da poem!!

This has been a bit of an odd week as I got back into the swing of being at home. I was also feeling a little under the weather which means I’ve cancelled my attendance at the NCWC this year. It is starting today and is five hours away. I just didn’t think I could handle that drive by myself this weekend since I’m feeling a little blah (for lack of a medical diagnosis) so instead I’m staying in to write, read, reflect etc.

I did submit some poems this week, and they were accepted! Yay! More details when they come out, but I also received a rejection which prompted me to pull a poem from the next full length manuscript I’m working on. Always plucking away at a new project.Actually that manuscript has over 50% of the individual poems already accepted for publication somewhere, and I’m just organizing the poems right now before I do another read-through. I need to decide if I want to continue sending the individual poems out. I usually stop sending them after the manuscript has been accepted somewhere so maybe I shouldn’t be premature . . . hmmm

I’ve already reported in on some reading and watching, but I am finishing up Loria Taylor’s poetry collection SOB from Sibling Rivalry Press, and before my husband headed off to his anime convention (yearly adventure with his brother the weekend I’m normally at the above mentioned writer’s conference) we finished up Sasuke 26 and 27 which meant hours and hours of watching people try to complete an obstacle course. Just simply fun to watch :)

This all has me almost up to date although I finished two books last night, a movie, and I’m starting a new pile of books. Nothing like having a bit of time to yourself to give you the time to do whatever ya want. I’ll celebrate that as I head into my extended weekend. Hope you have a good one as well!

Thursday Poem Share

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And, we are back! For one of the last Thursday poem shares . . . don’t worry though because it will be moved to either Wednesday or Friday!

First up I want to share a poem I read via my Poetry Daily app on my iPhone. Great feature! And free.

For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, Chef E and Vox Annmarie helped me to make a short poetry vid for my upcoming chapbook release. Some of the audio is a little quieter than others so feel free to crank it up!

You can read the text of the poem by clicking HERE. Pre-orders will be starting soon but I do have a few author copies. What will I do with them! Well the lovely blurbists (Helen Losse and Scott Owens) will be receiving copies soon and then I’m sending both of my sisters copies because they don’t even know it yet but they are in the dedication :) That leaves 3 copies . . .

I’m going to share a really new poem with you today. I typed it up maybe yesterday and I think I hand wrote it on Monday.

poem is off to be revised!

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As always feel free to comment on what I’m working on and/or to post your own work for comments. I’ll take them down a week later.

I’m also working on typing up quotes from my quote notebook so I can have an electronic version because I like using them for writing prompts so why don’t I borrow one.

Write to find out what it is that you know. -Margaret Gibson

I hope everyone is continuing to have a great week!

MFA Monday

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It is that time again, MFA Monday bloggers, to post a poem in our Google Group. No rush, but look forward to see what you guys have been up to.

I will note that if we were hypothetically setting this up as a low-residency program we’d be on Thursday by now of a week residency and you would be splitting off into small groups (at least that’s what we did in our program) but since there aren’t that many of us, I think we can continue doing the group discussion of poems.

If I do this whole set up again, I am wondering about using Google Sites instead of Google Groups but I’m always toying with new ideas.

Now if I could just find some poems of my own to write!

Oh – and for those of you who might want something to think about for your Monday even if you aren’t submitting to the group then why not this documentary I watched called The Nature of Existence ?

MFA Monday

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It is MFA Monday again and I’m asking my BlogMFA participants who are in the critique group to post a new poem. I’m a bit swamped this week with the RCCC LitFest but I will get in there to comment on your poems as soon as possible! As always, comment on each others poems as well.

For those of you who aren’t in the critique group but are stopping by to say hello I’ll give you a thought: When reading a poem first just read to take it in, 2nd ask yourself what did the poem say and then third how did they say it?

Food for thought in the critique world or just for your own enjoyment!

I’m trying to keep up with posts so hopefully I’ll be back for some shout outs tomorrow, especailly if I can find a USB cord on campus because I have photos and video from today’s LitFest events! More tomorrow, Wed and Thurs :)

Have a good week everyone!

Thursday Poem Share

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So glad so many people took a peek at the Writing Wednesday prompt. Since that will be a new series on the blog, it might take a while before I really get into the groove with it. So, bear with me!

So what do I have for you today? Well, a poem of course! Written last month in my notebook and typed up this week so not much in the way of revision but definitely more than the one I posted last week.

–and the poem is gone! Thanks guys!

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as always, feel free to comment on my piece and to post your own poems (or links to your own poems) for discussion. I always pull poems posted here the following week.

Also wanted to mention that I have a poem titled Without a Will published in Fox Chase Review. Some of you might recognize this…

And, I’ve apparently been one of many nominees for the SIBA award. WHAT! I think Barnhill’s Books may have nominated me. If they did (or did not) they are still awesome. What an honor!

Now, this isn’t all about me so why don’t you check out a poem by Jenny Billings Beaver over at Girls with Insurance. Jenny and I went through the same MFA program (though at different times) and I had the pleasure of publishing her in Referential last year.

Okay that’s probably enough of the linkage for today but ya know I’ll have more for you in the coming weeks. Feeling pretty good about 2011 already!

Wait – came back for one more mention. I recently finished an anthology of NC poets titled The Language They Speak is Things to Eat which I think NC writers and non-NC writers will enjoy. There is much I could mention but with two former NC poet laureates in it. Isn’t that enough? And one of them is an avid blogger Kathryn Stripling Byer and the other I took a class with as an undergrad – Fred Chappell – not a writing class but a literature class. Man I loved hearing him read “The Wasteland”

Ok – really gone now!

Right Poems. Right Time. Right Place.

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Random Rupert Photo (he's the cat)

Rosalyn, one of our regular readers posed several questions to me such as: What’s your process for deciding the right poems for the right lit magazine for submissions. Can you break it down. How many times do you submit a poem out and it’s rejected before you decide it needs rewriting? How many people do you ask to critique a poem and decide that’s enough? I decided that all of this issues, for me, related to one another.

I shall explain.

When I start writing, I’m not really thinking of publication, audience or anything. I’m thinking: I have an idea for a poem and I just want to write.

So I write.

And I revise.

And then revise some more.

Sometimes if I am not making any new changes to the poem and it doesn’t feel quite done, I then send it to one of the readers I work with for critique.  I at most ask 3 people but usually just one. I also like to have specific questions about what is irking me with the poem. I tend to use about 40% of what is suggested on average.

Then back to revising until I don’t “hear” any changes that need to be made. I say “hear” because I always mutter my poems to myself while I am working on them. Even though I am more of a page poet than a performance poet, the sound of the poem is still very important to me.

At this point I have to decide if the poem feels like something I want to see published or if it is one I need to tuck away because, while it might have started with a good idea, it didn’t finish with a good notion.

If the poem is ready to start submitting I go to a list I keep of publications that I admire. My theory is that if I admire the publication it is because something in their pages (or virtual pages) resonates with me, meaning, I think I might also belong in their pages. This isn’t always true. Like I mentioned in another post, I like BOMB but my poems don’t really fit in there.

Every time one of my poems is rejected, I revel in the time it was gone, the distance that gave me to reconsider the poem. I re-read it out loud to myself and decide if it still “sings.” If I am no longer feeling the poem I try to revise it again before sending it out or I retire it away for a while until I feel like working on it again.

This is kind of how my process works. Hope that helps you guys along, especially as we approach Thursday Poem Share tomorrow!