Saturday, March 31, 2007

 

Poetry Publication Database


The poetry publication database I've been toying with has changed URLs so it's now on my site. If you used the old database, please update your bookmarks. If you want to be involved, sign up as a user and let me know, and I'll upgrade your account so you can add and edit journals (there's not a whole lot of functionality for the user-level yet, though there are vague future plans to add it). It's important that you e-mail me, though, because if I don't know who you are, I'm not upgrading your privileges.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

 

Ta daaaa


The 2007 issue of The Eleventh Muse contains an outstanding variety of 63 poems by 46 poets.

The complete list of writers appearing in this issue:
Emily Wong, Sean Trotanta, Larissa Szporluk, Danielle Sellers, Margaret Ronda, Doug Ramspeck, Carsten Rene Nielsen, Jeff Newberry, Cindy May Murphy, John McKernan, Nathan McClain, Gary L. McDowell, John Mann, Sheryl Luna, Tim Lockridge, Timothy Liu, A. J. Patrick Liszkiewicz, Sarah Lindsay, Steve Langan, David Keplinger, Genevieve Kaplan, Charlotte Innes, Joseph Hunt, H. L. Hix, Alex Grant, Noah Eli Gordon, Jeannine Hall Gailey, Suzanne Frischkorn, Gina Franco, Jason Fraley, Kelly Madigan Erlandson, Ellen Kirvin Dudis, Diane Elayne Dees, Jehanne Dubrow, J. P. Dancing Bear, Tom Daley, Gary Joseph Cohen, Patrick Carrington, Joel Brouwer, Gaylord Brewer, Paul Benton, Sandra Beasley, Jeffrey Bean, Danielle Aquiline, Maureen Alsop, & Mary Alexandra Agner

The issue is available for $8. For ordering instructions, samples, and much more, visit http://www.poetrywest.org/muse2007.htm

(Copies will begin mailing over the next couple weeks for contributors and poetry contest participants. Please be patient.)

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

 

Busy beaver bee


I have so much going on over the next few days. Need to give the ol' manuscript a good once-over to make sure it's as strong as I can make it right now, need to finish up a review of Susan Tichy's Bone Pagoda (good book), really close to finishing a draft, Aaron's book release reading party in Denver on Saturday, Steve Mueske in Denver a week from Friday, Aaron and Steve in Colorado Springs April 1. Outside writing, we have tax time coming up, plus a trip to St. Louis in April, plus upcoming notification of the last outstanding MFA application, plus a trip to the optometrist Friday (good thing, too, because my everyday-wear glasses [the beater pair, if you will] actually broke today, so I have to wear my good frames all this week and be very careful with them, until I get a new pair in a couple weeks, and these become the everyday pair). Never had a set of frames actually break before, as in snap right in the middle of the frame. Had screws fall out and lenses fall out, but never this. I really rode that pair hard. Oh yeah, and (getting back to the busy theme) work is a bitch this week because my boss was on vacation last week and had limited e-mail access, so she made up for it by dumping a ton of stuff on us on Sunday and Monday.

Thought of the day: is there any currently-in-vogue poetry form that overwhelms its content more than the double abecedarian? The verbal gymnastics are often impressive, but the poems always always leave me empty. Did you know that double abecedarians were selected for the Best American Poetry series in both 2006 and 2007?

Monday, March 19, 2007

 

New Tattoo


I don't think people realize how hard it is to take a picture of their own shoulder until they actually try.
Brain Tattoo

Sunday, March 18, 2007

 

Questionable


I question the legitimacy of Verse Daily running two poems by the same person, from the same journal, in a little over a week, especially given that both the person and the journal are consistent sponsors of Verse Daily. Understand that it pains me to say this because I like the poet and the journal (and they've both published poems of mine), but I'm also not holding them responsible for something here. Of course, Verse Daily has published both me and poems from my journal as well, but I'm afraid I don't approve of this particular decision. Just thought someone should know.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

 

13 Print Journals with Excellent Websites


A print journal ought to have an attractive website that's easy to navigate and has plenty of samples of work (the samples are critical). Bonus points for things like updating the site frequently and quickly, offering online submissions, and Paypal ordering links. I'm also leaving out some big magazines with good websites, such as The Atlantic Monthly, because they're not primarily literary journals. As always, these are journals I like as well.

1. Ploughshares. Wins in basically all the areas I mentioned above: looks nice, lots of easy-to-find features, online submission system, and tons of work (almost all of it) from back issues. Plus it has a page with a random selection of work each day.

2. Beloit Poetry Journal. Good all around. The treasure is the complete index of authors from back issues, with most of the poems included. Great resource.

3. Pebble Lake Review. Proof that a much smaller journal than Ploughshares can have a really excellent website. One standout feature is the audio of poems, even if yours truly's unfortunate gravel voice is on there too.

4. Rattle. It's funny: Rattle could have been on a list of the worst print journal websites until their redesign last year, and now it's just top notch.

5. Redivider. Something's in the water up at Emerson, because they've got two journals on this list (it's also another that's redesigned in the last year to its great benefit). Clean design, nice news section, and plenty o' samples for this one.

6. Cimarron Review. If you want a good website without a lot of flash (upper case or lower case) and without spending a lot of money, think something like this. Touches all the bases except online purchasing/submissions.

7. Poetry. I know their ethos isn't the most popular, but the website itself has numerous worthwhile things, along with the Poetry Foundation sister site. It's not the easiest to navigate, however.

8. Burnside Review. Simple, clear, and elegant but still plenty to read. Easy to order, easy to send work.

9. Tin House. A little slow to load, but looks highly professional and has a wide array of features and sample work.

10. Caketrain. One area where little journals (lest you misunderstand, that's intended in fondness, not as a pejorative) can really get one back on the big journals is the website, as you can see on much of this list.

11. Passages North. Perhaps a little busy, but still lots of good information, poems, and a healthy sense of humor about itself.

12. Smartish Pace. Good site, especially the Poets Q&A feature, but loses some points for not enough samples and what seems like really slow updating--contests listed well after their deadlines, few new Q&A's, etc.

13. AGNI. I'm reeaaalllly not a fan of light-text-on-dark-background sites, but there's still lots of quality material, and I also want to encourage the print/online hybrid they've got going on.

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