Cold here

Book Manuscripts

Since one has already returned, I now have sixteen out:

BOA Editions 9/25/06
New Issues 9/25/06
Brittingham Award 9/25/06
Ohio State Univ Press 9/25/06
CSU Fresno Phillip Levine Prize 9/25/06
APR/Honickman First Book Prize 9/25/06
Bakeless Prize 9/25/06
Walt Whitman Award 9/25/06
White Pine Press 9/29/06
Juniper Prize 9/29/06
Univ of Utah Press 9/29/06
Pleiades Press 9/29/06

Nightboat Books 11/25/06
Tupelo Press 11/25/06
Alice James Books 11/25/06
Bear Star Press 11/25/06

I have wasted my life.

What was want

What was want?

Tupelo Press Newsletter: Tupelo Ethics

(Mon, 20 Nov 2006 17:08:28 -0500 (EST))
Tupelo Press included this msg from J. Levine in an email today:


"Regarding Tupelo Press Ethics


"So that all may be assured of Tupelo’s continuing commitment to the highest ethical standards, it was my thought in offering manuscript reviews to disqualify myself from considering any collection for the Dorset Prize for which I had given a full, written manuscript review. The plan was, if any such manuscript made it to the final round, the ultimate decision on the Dorset Prize would be left to the balance of the panel.

"That seemed a very ethical way to handle the matter. But in thinking further about it, and in order to leave nothing to question and be very clear, I am amending this decision. Therefore, any collection to which I have given a full, written manuscript review will be ineligible for any Tupelo Press book prize. This, then, is our policy.

"Sincerely,

"Jeffrey Levine"

Save the Poudre

Save the Cache la Poudre River from this:




What you can do.

I've borrowed these images from the poudreriverbook site, but it looks like www.poudreriverbook.org is currently defunct (3/18/07). Ok. Now I guess the only place on the web the poudre river book can be found is at Poudre River Book.

The Pulse of the River

The Cache la Poudre River is the last free flowing river on the Front Range.

Can a book make a difference?

Can a poem?

Throat Singing

Love Will Tear Us Apart

Orgasmatron

Yat-Kha.com

Foetry

Yeah, well, I guess there ought to be a link to foetry here.

And here's a link to Tupelo.

Well, one more orphic utterance, but then I'm moving on, & I may move on to cut some lines, shuffle, & submit revised version to the Dorset Prize

Here is what my "personalized" paragraph said:

"Okay, enough about my work, let's get to yours. [Your title here] is quite a strong collection, filled with many wholly original poems that are inventive and, in many ways, beautifully realized. The manuscript as a whole is thoughtful, smart, and often, absorbing. Your voice is wise and captivating, and many of the poems show you to be an accomplished and intriguing poet. There are lots of wonderful poems here. That said, I feel that you can be more rigorous with you language, find more music in it, and that you might avoid closing down your poems--even the short ones, with orphic utterances. I understand that you're making conscious choices, but for my taste, some of the poems do not live up to the exceptional promise announced in your best work. I suggest that you think poem-by-poem about what you need, what you don't, and how to present it so that the language works for you. Re-enter those places where you're doing your best work."

It does ring of generic well-intentioned BS, doesn't it? That's why I compared letters with Evan and Ted.

Now I'm really moving on. Maybe I'll find an editor of a more Eurydicean nature somewhere down the line for this ms.

Hey, whoa, I just realized: BS and ms rhyme.

What Was Tupelo Press Thinking?

My rejection/solicitation letter was almost (minus a phrase or two) exactly like the pdfs of other letters that have been posted at foetry.com. So was Ted's. So was Evan's. I think Don said his was, too. Was it, Don?

In Evan's letter Levine (or one of his associates) mistranscribed one of the primary words of the manuscript title.

Does Levine need money? Is Tupelo in debt? Aren't we all?

I feel like I'm gawking at a wreck.

Ok.

Well, now I'm moving on.

"Orphic Utterances" and Tupelo Press

Oh, and with my recent manuscript rejection, I received my "personal" note/commentary promised by Jeffrey Levine with his call for Open Submissions in July. I know he was swamped with over a 1,000 submissions, but as I compare the brief commentary on my work around with the notes received by other poets I know who were also rejected, I discover that the note about the manuscript is really less than personal. I'll probably send again because it's a great press, and I do understand, but well, I'll leave it at that.

I mean, submission is not like entering a committed relationship or anything like that now, is it?

Nothing like rejection to make one feel alive.

Rejections Mounting

They're still trickling in.

Blue Mesa Review 5/1/06, rej 11/8/06

Also, I'm beginning to think that Cutback, whom I sent to on 9/16/05 and Sonora Review whom I sent to on 4/11/05--and both of whom I've queried without response--are not going to accept my poems. As I recall, something similar happened when I sent to Sonora Review in early '04. And if I'm not mistaken, Sonora Review sent back an empty SASE without a rejection slip the time before. Does it bother me? Not too much. I suspect they mean well. Maybe I'll send again this weekend. Might as well tempt fate.

My Own Messages

Now that the election is over, well, mostly, I'm toying with the idea of preparing a recorded message to leave on my representatives' answering machines. I'm not sure exactly, but I think it'll begin like this: "Hi, I'm one of your constituents and as we leave behind election day, I've become nostalgic for the one truly odd form of communication we shared. You left me many messages. Now I'd like to return the favor..." Perhaps I'll sell the scripts with blank cds, and everyone on your Christmas list will have the chance to-- Well, you get the idea.

Message annoyance aside. It will be interesting to see what the next two years bring. I'm imagining that it will be good.