Diane Lockward's Blog, page 32

What I Look for in an Online Journal

I'm sure you've noticed, as I have, the demise of a number of print journals or their transition to an online format. At the same time, I've also noticed the proliferation of online journals. There are several factors contributing to this proliferation—money, ease of building and maintaining, the ability to reach a wider audience, ability to respond in a timelier manner, and so on. But because anybody can create an online journal—even for free—not all of these journals are of equal quality. Because I believe that it's a good idea for a poet to have both a print and an online presence, I've been gathering a list of online journals I like.



But first I want to share with you the criteria I used in assembling my list:



1. No blogs masquerading as websites. The blog format doesn't have the feel of commitment and permanence that a real website has.



2. Absolutely no scrolling down in order to find the next poet and his / her poems. Each poet must have his / her own page. Scrolling is one problem frequently found in the blog masquerading as a journal.



3. Looks matter. Must have aesthetic appeal. Good design.



4. No black background. This is horrible. Initially, it makes a strong impact, but turns out to be really annoying to read.



5. No image behind poems. Completely distracting. Why would any editor do this? And yet some do.



6. Easy to read. No fancy font stuff going on. No weird stuff with colored fonts. Nothing that jumps up and down such as a typewriter with moving keys.



7. Don't want a bunch of messages on the front page. Don't make me jump through hoops to get to the poems.



8. Don't want a lot of busy stuff in sidebars, stuff that distracts my attention from the poems.



9. Appreciate the Contents on each page but not smashed up next to the poems. Very distracting. The poem feels squashed.



10. Ease of navigation—return link to home page, previous, next. Don't make me use my Back Button. Don't make me have to return to the Contents page to get to the next poem / poet. It's annoying to have to keep starting over.



11. All of one poet's poems together or at least with a forward button.



12. No pdf format. Some editors think this is a cool format as it sort of mimics a book, but it's more annoying than cool.



13. Bio note with poems. Prefer not to have to go somewhere else to find that information.



14. Must notify of either acceptance or rejection. Big fat zero to those editors who don't notify for rejections. Insufferably rude.



15. No complicated, idiosyncratic guidelines—I always read and heed but don't want to spend huge amounts of time figuring them out.



16. Share Buttons for each poet's page. This is a great way to expand the journal's / poet's / poem's reach. It is really foolish not to include these. Really.





In a few days check back here for the list of online journals I like. In the meantime, you might want to check out The Benefits of Publishing Online.

Invitation to a Poetry Festival

Full Information and Directions















Schedule of Readings (times
are approximate)




1:20-1:30—Welcome




1:30-1:40—Lips: Linda Cronin, Jim
Gwyn




1:40-1:50—Tiferet: Mark
Hillringhouse, Linda Radice




1:50-2:00—US 1 Worksheets: John
McDermott, Sharon Olson

(20 minute break)




2:20-2:30—Raintown Review: David M.
Katz, Rick Mullin




2:30-2:40—Schuylkill Valley Review:
Grant Clauser, Sean Webb




2:40-2:50—Journal of NJ Poets: Tina
Kelley, Charlotte Mandel

(20 minute break)




3:10-3:20—Edison Literary Review:
Deborah LaVeglia, David Vincenti




3:20-3:30—Paterson Literary Review:
Susan Balik, Francesca Maxime




3:30-3:40—Painted Bride Quarterly:
Miriam Haier, Susanna Rich

(20 minute break)




4:00-4:10—Adanna: David Crews, Lynee
McEniry




4:10-4:20—Exit 13: Jessica deKoninck,
Adele Kenny



4:20-4:30—The Stillwater Review: Robert
Carnevale, Madeline Tiger

Creating Luck

As you know I recently debuted my first e-chapbook, Twelve for the Record. Somewhere along the way I mentioned here that I'd had some help from others who had already done this. Without those people, I'm not sure I could have figured out the challenges of the correct formatting. At the very least, it would have taken me more time. I'm very glad that I did take on this challenge as a number of nice things have come about as a consequence.



One of the people who helped me was Joanne Merriam who runs Upper Rubber Boot Books, a press that does e-books only. She also has a blog at the website called Couplets where this past Poetry Month she ran a huge blogathon. She invited poets who would be posting interviews with other poets or related pieces to send her their links which she then compiled into single list. Joanne also did some interviews herself. As a result of our new connection, she invited me to be interviewed. Check out this 4-question interview HERE.



Joanne also asked if I'd be willing to be interviewed by another blogger-poet, Wendy Brown-Baez. I was indeed. So that resulted in a second interview on a wide range of topics, such as how I warm up to write, the use of humor, the making of a trailer, and the future of poetry. Check it out at Wendy's Muse.



Joanne's entire list of 133 links is available HERE.



Then Jama Rattigan, who purchased the chapbook, did the lovely feature at Alphabet Soup that I blogged about recently. And that led to several of her readers purchasing the chapbook.





I've also received several nice emails from people who either purchased the chapbook ($3) or took advantage of Amazon's free download promo. A few people have also thanked me for helping them figure out how to download the free e-reader.



All good things and proving once again how important it is to take
advantage of opportunities. You never know where they'll lead you or who
you'll meet along the way. 

Feasting on Good Fortune

At her blog, Jama's Alphabet Soup, Jama Rattigan—fantastic author of children's books, foodie, and poetry lover—has posted a lovely feature in her weekly "Friday Feast." Entitled Talk Almost Dirty to Me, Diane Lockward, the piece is a write-up of my new e-chapbook, Twelve for the Record, of which she says, "You just never know when you’ll get a sudden craving for an exquisitely
crafted poem that gleams and glistens; it’s nice having a few choice
nuggets in your back pocket."



The feature also includes "The Best Words," a poem from the chapbook. As she always does, Jama has beautified the feature with some wonderful pictures. Check out the picture of Humpty Dumpty's very original fan note!



In addition to her generous and enthusiastic discussion of the chapbook and my other books, Jama has created a very useful resource for anyone interested in checking out some of my other poems. She includes links to six other poems that were previously featured at Alphabet Soup. She also includes a link to a recent interview at Wendy's Muse and a link to last April's podcast at Dave Bonta's Via Negativa.



Thank you, Jama Rattigan!

Free Download Two Days Only

Click Cover for Amazon


My e-chapbook, Twelve for the Record, is available this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, April 28 and 29, as a free download at Amazon. That's right, free! Just go HERE to instantly download. But do it right now as this promo will end Sunday at midnight (Pacific Time).



Here's the chapbook description:

Twelve for the Record originally appeared in print as part of the Greatest Hits series. The collection gathers together a dozen of the poet's most often requested poems, all of which have previously appeared in print and online journals, including Harvard Review, Prairie Schooner, and Spoon River Poetry Review. Several of the poems have appeared on Poetry Daily, Verse Daily, and The Writer's Almanac. Readers familiar with Lockward's work will find favorites such as "My Husband Discovers Poetry," "The Missing Wife," and "Linguini." The collection ends with an essay in which the poet traces the history of the poems. Teachers may find this a convenient and cost-effective resource for poetry students.    



Don't have an e-reader? No problem. You can also download a free e-reader for your desktop, laptop, or iPhone.




Here are two early comments from readers:



"Every poem in this tight collection is a winner."

        —Heather Kamins



"There's a righteous anger burning through these funny, sharp narratives which will entertain and devastate those new to poetry and long-time readers alike."

        —Joanne Merriam

Print Journals That Accept Online Submissions

Time to once again update the list of print journals that accept online submissions. The list has grown by another dozen journals. I am happy to save paper, envelopes, and stamps—and even happier about conserving gas. Thank you, Journals!

Cider Press Review has been removed as it has become an online journal. 

Greatcoat and roger have been removed as they've gone out of business. 

Tygerburning has been removed as I cannot find its website and assume that it's gone out of business.

Journals new to the list (not necessarily new journals) are indicated with a double asterisk.

The number of issues per year appears after the journal's name.

The reading period for each journal appears at the end of each entry.

Unless noted otherwise, the journal accepts simultaneous submissions.

As always, please let me know if you find any errors here. And good luck.



Adanna: a journal about women, for women—1x Jan 31 - April 30

Agni—2xSept 1 - May 31

The American Poetry Journal—1xFebruary 1 - May 31

Barn Owl Review—1xJune 1 - November 1

Bat City Review—1xJune 1 - November 15

Bateau—2xall year

Bellevue Literary Review—2xall year

Bellingham Review—1xSept 15-Dec 15

Beloit Poetry Journal—4xall yearno sim

Black Warrior Review—2x all year

Boston Review—6xSept 15 - May 15

Boulevard—3xNovember 1-April 30 



**Breakwater Review—2x

November 15 for the January issue;

April 15 for the June issue

Caesura—2xAugust 5 - Oct. 5

Caketrain—1xall year



**Carbon Copy Magazine—2x

May 1st through September 1st, November 1st through March



**The Cincinnati Review—2x

Sept 1 - May 31

Columbia—2xSeptember 1 - May 1



**The Common—2x

February 15 and extends through May 1

Copper Nickel—2xAugust 15-October 15 January 31-March 31

**Crab Creek Review—2x

 Sept 15 - March 31

Crazyhorse—2xall year

Cream City Review—2xAugust 1 to 1 NovemberDecember 1 to April 1

CutBank—1-2xOctober 1 thru February 15

Edison Literary Review—1x all year

FIELD—2xall yearno sim

Fifth Wednesday—2xno Jan, Feb, June, or July

The Florida Review—2x ($3 fee)August thru May 



**Flyway—2x

September 1 and May



**Fourteen Hills—2x

September 1 to January 1

March 1 to July 1

 Gargoyle—1xmost recent reading period was June 1, 2011-August 1, 2011

Grist—1xAugust 15 - April 15

Harpur Palate—2xdeadlines: Winter issue: November 15 Summer issue: April 15

Harvard Review—2xSept 1 - May 31

Hawk and Handsaw—2xAug 1 - Oct 1

Hayden's Ferry—2xAll yearpays

The Hollins Critic—5xSept 1 - Dec. 15

Hunger Mountain—1xall year



**The Idaho Review—1x

Sept. 1 to April 15

 Iron Horse Literary Review—6xrolling for 3-4 weeks at a timecheck website for dates

Jubilat—2xSeptember 1 - May 1

Kenyon Review—4xSeptember 15 - January 15no sim



**Knockout Literary Magazine—1x

check website for submission dates

 The Literary Review—4xAll year 



**Little Patuxent Review—2x

check website for submission periods

 The Los Angeles Review—1xSubmit to Poetry Editor: lareview.poetry@gmail.comSept 1 - Dec 1

Lumina—1xAugust 1 - Nov 15

The MacGuffin—3xall year

The Massachusetts Review—4xOctober 1 - April 30

Measure—2x no simall year

The Mom Egg—1x July 15 - Sept. 30

Meridian—2x ($2 fee)all year

Mid-American Review—2xall year

The Minnesota Review—2xall year

The Missouri Review–4xall year

Naugatuck River Review—2xfor the Summer issue January 1 through March 1for the Winter issue July 1 through September 1 (contest only)

New England Review—4xno simSept 1-May 31

New Madrid—2xAugust 15 - November 1

New Ohio Review—2xSept-May (summer okay for subscribers)

New Orleans Review—2xAug 15 - May 1

New South—2x all year

The New Yorkerweekly magazineall year

Ninth Letter—2xSeptember 1 - April 30

Parthenon West Review—1xJan 1- May 1 (but on hiatus for 2012)

Ploughshares—3xJune 1 - Jan. 15

Poetry—11xyear roundno sim

Poetry Northwest—2xSeptember 15 - April 15

Post Road Magazine—2xcheck website for submission dates

Potomac Review—2xSept 1-May 1



**Prairie Schooner—4x

Sept 1 - May 1

no sim

Puerto del Sol—2xSeptember 15 - March 31

The Raintown Review—2xall yearconsiders previously published

The Raleigh Review—1xAll year

Rattle—2xyear round

Redactions—1xyear round

Redivider—2xall year

Red Rock Review—2xNo June, July, August, or Decemberno sim

Rhino—1xApril 1 - Oct 1

Rosebud—3xAll year

Sakura Review—2xyear round

Salt Hill—2xAugust 1 - April 1

San Pedro River Review—2xJan 1 - Feb 1 / July 1-Aug 1

Slice Magazine—2xFeb. 1 - April 1

Smartish Pace—2xAll year

Sonora Review—2xAll year

The Southeast Review—2xAll year

Southwest Review—4xNo June, July, August$2 fee

Sou’wester—2xAugust 15 - May 15

Spinning Jenny—1xSept 15 - May 15No Sim

The Stillwater Review—1x deadline Nov. 15

poetrycenter@sussex.edu

Sugar House Review—2xAll year

Tampa Review—2xSept 1 - Dec. 31no sim

Tar River Poetry—2xvia emailSept 15 - Nov. 1no sim

Third Coast Review—2xSept 15 - April 30

Tiferet—1xSept 1 - December

Tinhouse Magazine—2xSeptember 1 - May 31

Upstreet—1xSept 1 - March 1

Versal—1xSept 15 - Jan 15

Verse Wisconsin—4xAll year

Washington Square Review—2xAugust 1 - Oct 15Dec 15 – Feb 1

Weave Magazine—2xApril 15 - July 31

West Branch—2xAug 15 - April 15

Willow Springs—2xall year

April Is the Guiltiest Month

Oh boy, it's that time of year again. April. The month when we're all supposed to be cranking out a poem a day. But here I am, workless, poemless, idealess. I'm not even going to pretend that I've tried to get into this poem-a-day thing. I haven't. At least not this year. I did try a few years ago—and failed. I tried harder the next year—and failed better.



Frankly, I've accepted that this just isn't the way I write. No can do. I love William Stafford, but a poem every single day—and before he even got out of bed? That just makes me feel inadequate. So I've thrown in the towel and admitted that my process isn't that process. I can go days at a time—hey! weeks at a time—without writing a poem. But then things begin to happen, stuff comes out of my head, and lands on paper. Poems get revised and finished. Not prolific but that's how I do it. One of the most important developments in my growth as a poet has been coming to an understanding of my own process. (I'm getting sick of the word "process" but can't come up with a better one right now, so it will have to do.)



Still, even armed with this self-knowledge, I see all these other poets around me posting poems and progress reports on their blogs, on their Facebook timelines, and in the various online groups that have sprung up like daffodils. So I can't help feeling a bit like a slug.



What a relief, then, to come across others like me. Donna Vorreyer, for example, freely admits that while she will pay attention to poetry each day, she's not going to insist on a poem a day. She says, "I will count revision work as a day’s work on a poem. I will count preparing a submission as a day’s work. I will count reading a significant amount of a poetry book as a day’s work. I will count attending and / or giving a poetry reading as a day’s work. And, of course, drafting a poem will absolutely count." Great. I'm off the hook. I just wish she didn't sound quite so productive in subsequent blog posts.




Then there's Martha Silano who says, "I have not been writing a poem a day this month, but every day this month I have either started a new poem, worked on editing my manuscript, worked on an essay about Adrienne Rich, or conducted research for as-yet unwritten poems. Yesterday I began this poem below in my car on the way to chaperoning a field trip with my son's class at Tiger Mountain." 



So there's one more poet who is counting poetry-related activities as having met the April goal. Good. I just wish she hadn't mentioned a new manuscript (she's just had a book published) or posted that draft. I wonder if she wrote it while she was driving?



I guess there's no escaping a bit of guilt. But I'm also going to focus on other aspects of poetry. Last Thursday I went to a reading. I was one of only 9 people in the audience. I felt especially bad for the poet who'd driven in from NYC. Where was everyone else? I wonder if they were home writing poems?

Then I'm giving a reading in two weeks. The very next night I'll be taking a friend to a contest reading where she will read her first place poem. I get points for that, don't I?

I've also just finished and submitted a proposal for a poetry presentation for a 2013 festival.

Last week I submitted some poems to a new anthology. One poem accepted. Yay!

And like Donna and Martha, I have revisions underway. Yesterday morning I went through all my yellow legal pads and marked the pieces that seemed like they might have some potential. I bought new legal pads. New pens. It's only mid-April. I may yet get a new poem or two written. To tell the truth, I'd be delighted with one or two.

Maybe I'm not so bad after all.

The Fine Art of the Blurb

The Parnassus blog recently posted a piece entitled The Trouble with Blurbs. The writers lament the often sad state of the blurb.




The post begins with an example of a good blurb: "'This is just the book to give your sister—if she's a loud, dirty, boozy girl.' Thus spake Dylan Thomas on Flann O'Brien's novel, At Swim-Two-Birds. And they are fighting words, indeed—an author would be hard-pressed to find a better endorsement for her book-jacket."




Absolutely. I already want to read that book though I've never heard of it or Flann O'Brien. I suspect that even if I hadn't heard of Dylan Thomas I'd still want to read the book. 




That example, however, is not typical of blurbs being written lately, according to the members of the Parnassus staff who have noticed a trend in blurb-writing towards "the vague, the hyperbolic, the flat-out useless." 




Editors cite the too-often found use of bothersome words such as "luminous" and its variations. I'd like to add "transcendent" as an equally prevalent and annoying adjective.




The staff also slams the abundant citing of contrasts found in the collection being blurbed. That bothers me less than the use of phony words. For me, one of the marks of a strong collection is its ability to embrace opposites, but I agree that vague terms such as "dark, yet playful" should be replaced by more specific ones.




The staff's third beef: Too often, poetry collections are blurbed as "important," "necessary," or "urgently-needed." Oh brother, I could not agree more. I am so sick of seeing collections described as "urgent" and / or "necessary." What the heck do those words even mean when applied to poetry?




I like blurbs that tell me something specific about the collection, something that will let me know if it's for me or not. I intensely dislike generic blurbs that could have been pasted onto the back of any number of books and give no evidence that the blurber even read the book being blurbed. 




I also dislike hyperbolic blurbs. For example, I had to guffaw a bit when I recently read a blurb for a first book of poetry. The blurber described the poet as "a major American voice." How could the poet of a first book already be major? I can't trust a blurb that overdoes it with the praise. 




Here's my own complaint: The blurb-hungry poet who asks half a dozen or more poets to write a blurb and then plasters them all over the back cover. This always strikes me as gluttonous and egomaniacal. It is also an imposition on the time of too many people, all of whom must spend several hours reading the manuscript and then writing the blurb. Unless, of course, they dip into their bag of generic blurbs.

Girl Talk: The Movie

Each year for the past five years I've run an event at my local library. It's called "Girl Talk: A Poetry Reading in Celebration of Women's History Month." Although my initial intention was to do the event once and then be done with it, the response to it was so wonderful and the requests for another so numerous that I've done one each year since. I've also been lucky to have the support of the library and the assistance of librarian Ethan Galvin.



I invite slightly more than two dozen women poets to come and each read one woman-related poem. This year we had 27 poets read. And I already have requests from several poets to be included next year. The topics cover a wide range: dealing with aging parents, the loss of a parent, childbirth and child-rearing, marriage and divorce, the body, current events, and so on. Although I use alphabetical order for the line-up, somehow the poems play off each other.



When I send out the invitations, I also ask for volunteers to bake cookies for the reception following the reading. This year I had so many volunteers that I had to let a few off the hook. I also had to take home quite a few cookies and eat them myself.



The room holds 80 people and we had it filled. Each poet seems to bring a few people and then lots of people come just to enjoy an afternoon of poetry. Although the audience is made up of primarily women, we do get some men too.



The poets who have recent books out are invited to place them on the book sale table. Sales are managed by library volunteers who each year generously give us their time to support this event. Many books are signed during the reception.



Here's a video I made of the reading. It should give you a hint of Girl Talk.

Kicking Off Poetry Month

How nice to learn yesterday that Michael Snell, owner of the Michael Snell Literary Agency in Massachusetts, is featuring me on his website's Welcome page. There's a photo of me and a recording of my poem, "My Husband Discovers Poetry," read by Betty Rauch. What a delightful surprise and what a great way to start Poetry Month. Thanks to Michael and Betty.



Go HERE to listen to the poem. This will remain in its spot for a week.



If you'd like to see the poem, "My Husband Discovers Poetry" can be found online at The Writer's Almanac.



This poem is the last one in my first book, Eve's Red Dress. It's also the first poem in my new e-chapbook, Twelve for the Record. If you were here on Saturday, you know that Amazon had a 24-hour free download of the chapbook. An amazing number of people downloaded it. During those 24 hours I enjoyed some very nifty numbers in the sales rankings. Check this out:





 And check this out. Yes, number 1!



Now if you missed this bargain, do not despair as you can still get the chapbook for your e-reader. It's only $3 which hopefully won't break your bank. Available for quick download HERE.