Kelli Russell Agodon's Blog, page 91

Friday & Women who Love Poetry...

The lovely women I read to and talk with Thursday, January 13th




Above are some of the beautiful people who attended my reading at their retirement and assisted living residence.  My best friend from high school is a social worker here and I visit every so often to talk about poetry, writing, publication, and read some poems.



We classed it up a bit this time with wine (or white grape juice) and cheese, and the ladies were thrilled.



I always hope for audience participation as this generation knows a thing or two about poetry and many have memorized poems (one woman came up to the mic to share what she remembered from grade school).  And honestly, I am never disappointed with the humor and opinions from this group.



These ladies have the best stories and my favorite comment was from a delightful woman who said, "We had Carl Sandburg come to our school and he looked like a hobo, but when he recited 'Chicago,' we all wanted to become poets."



I tell you, that comment completed made my day.



~



Coming up in next couple of weeks, an interview with Jeannine Hall Gailey on micropresses and other ways to publish your mss.





See you next week!

Request: What Are Your Favorite Contests to Submit your Poetry Manuscript to?

The Emily Dickinson Trophy, Of Course...




Here are some of my favorite poetry book manuscript contests (that require entry fees).



This list was made from the very top of my head and may be forgetting some good contests.  I'll include a note about any specifics about why I like the contest as well.



And a note on entry fees--

I know entry fees aren't fun and they can add up, but I have always viewed entry fees as a donation to my favorite small presses to keep them afloat for another year.



I admit, I didn't always see these fees that way, but now as an editor of a small, indie, non-profit press, I realize our yearly poetry contest helps us stay alive in the world each year, and I'm guessing these contest fees may also play an integral part to helping these presses continue to publish poetry.



This is why I suggest, only submit to presses you love and want to support.  If there's a press that brings you down because they only choose poets from the East coast and you're on the West, or they only choose men and you're a woman, or they don't respond to even let you know you've won (or not won!), etc., etc., don't support them.



Send your money to the presses you feel are doing the best work.





*

Also, I need to be quite honest about this as well-- I like presses based on their integrity (I realized this as I kept using that adjective to describe their editors).  I like many of these presses people and editors behind them, because of the work they do and their commitment to poetry.



Every press I've listed here may not be the best decision for you if you view poetry as a "career" and are a) looking to make a lot of money  b) want the highest most status-conscious prize available.



I choose these presses because I admire the press, the books, and the people behind the press.  These are people and places I'd want to work with and support (whether I had a book with them or not).  They are the places I'd submit to (and have) because these are presses I'd want to publish my book.  For me, that is what it comes down to.





With that said, here are my top picks, presses, and a few notes why--





White Pine Press Poetry Prize (deadline July-November):  This was the press that chose my book and over the last year and 3 months, my experience with them in publishing my book has been excellent. Dennis Maloney is the editor, who I've found be very supportive of his authors, and to have both integrity and kindness. Based out of Buffalo, New York, will publish poets from all over the US and world.



~



Pitt Press Agnes Lynch Starlett Poetry Prize (first book - Spring, I think) & Open Submissions for published poets in September/October:  Ed Ochester publishes 5 am (one of my very fav literary journals) and this press publishes so many of my favorite poets.  When I submitted to this press, Ed sent me a personal note saying he liked my work and to submit to 5 am.  This press has always been a favorite of mine.



~



Tupelo Press Dorset Prize (november):  $3000 cash prize and another favorite press of mine.  They publish Aimee Nezhukumatathil (Lucky Fish & her 2 other books), Ilya Kaminsky Dancing in Odessa, and Megan Snyder-Camp (The Forest of Sure Things), who I just read with. And Megan even had a CD of work that Tupelo did of her reading the whole book.  And their books are beautiful.   Actually, so far, all these presses produce beautiful books!



~



University of Wisconsin Brittingham and Pollak Poetry Prize - (September) -- Enter once for 2 prizes!  This is another favorite press with an editor I admire.  I have consistently enjoyed the books from this poetry prize, way back to Olena Kalytiak Davis' first book, And Her Soul Out Of Nothing (Brittingham Prize in Poetry).



~



National Poetry Series (january):   Despite the higher entry fee ($30), I like this contest because one entry gets you 5 chances at publication with 5 different judges.  I was a finalist here (and I can tell you I know absolutely no one who runs this series) and I found the person who contacted me was very helpful and kind, and I was impressed with them.  Now, while I didn't win, I still think it's a good contest because it opens your work up to 5 different judges with 5 different styles/choices/opinions.  And they have some impressive presses that will go on to publish your work if you're chosen (Last years publishers included: Publishers currently include HarperCollins Publishers, Coffee House Press, University of Georgia Press, Penguin Books, and Fence Books)





~





Crab Orchard Poetry Prize and Open Submissions:  Another favorite press and literary journal.  I've always been impressed with this press and this journal, and find that editors Jon Tribble and Allison Joseph have a lot of integrity and passion for the poetry world.  Some favorite collections from this press are Oliver de la Paz's   , Victoria Chang's Circle (Crab Orchard Award Series in Poetry), and Julianna Baggott's This Country of Mothers (Crab Orchard Award Series in Poetry).



~



Autumn House Press (June):  Another small press that publishes good books. My favorite being Nancy Pagh's No Sweeter Fat.  Nancy was chosen with no connection to the press or the judge, but based solely on the quality of her work.   I don't know too much about this press personally, but they are one I've been impressed with as an outsider looking in.



~



While not currently accepting submissions, a smaller indie press I'd recommend is Steel Toe Books.  My two biggest reasons are that I was an undergrad with Tom Hunley and he is  kind, honest, has much integrity, plus he has always carried a huge passion for poetry.  They've also published three favorite books of mine:  Jeannine Hall Gailey's Becoming the Villainess, Martha Silano's Blue Positive and Mary Biddinger's Prairie Fever.





~



Hope this helps if you decide to go the contest route.



My next blog request post will be for those of you who don't want to submit to poetry contests and will offer ideas on submitting to presses that don't have reading/contest/entry fees (or really discounted ones) as well as some info I've learned from Jeannine Hall Gailey on micro-presses.



Thanks for reading!  I'm hoping you're finding this info useful.

Washington State Poets: Call for Chapbook Submissions by Floating Bridge Press - Poetry!

This was the press that published my first book (aka chapbook) back in 2003.  

If you're a Washington State Poet, I highly recommend this--





For Immediate Release:

The 16th Annual Floating Bridge Press Poetry Chapbook Competition is open for submissions until February 16, 2011.  If you are a current resident of Washington State, you may submit a chapbook manuscript of up to 24 pages of poetry with a $12 entry fee.  The winner receives $500, a Seattle reading in September, and 15 copies of the prize-winning chapbook.  Our books are beautiful, archival-quality, perfect-bound, and collectable.   

Previous winners include Joannie Kervran Stangeland, Nance Van Winckel, Donna Waidtlow, Molly Tenenbaum, Bart  Baxter, Chris Forhan, Joseph Green, Kelli Russell Agodon, Michael Bonacci, Timothy Kelly, Annette Spaulding-Convy,  Holly J. Hughes,  Nancy Pagh, Katharine Whitcomb, and Laura Read.

Floating Bridge Press considers all individual poems for inclusion in our annual journal, Floating Bridge Review.

For complete guidelines and a look at our titles, please visit http://www.scn.org/floatingbridge/submit.html.

How to Have More Time: Take a Break from Twitter & Facebook

So after I made my New Resolutions of only checking Facebook on Fridays, I find this article in one of the blogs I read (yes, I'm a little behind on some of my blog reading as you can see this is from December 7th!)



This is from Simple. Organized. Life:





Do you ever log onto Twitter or Facebook at odd times and still see the same people online?





If you are truly interested in simplifying your life, getting rid of all the physical "stuff" only goes so far if you are just filling up your brain with a constant stream of noise and clutter. You need some virtual space too, and I am not talking about the RAM in your computer.





Think you will miss too much by taking a day off? Try it, just once. Do your regular Twitter and Facebook stuff one day and then take the next day off. When you log back in the day after, I can guarantee you that you won't have missed anything of any importance. In fact, I guarantee the same people will still be there talking about the same topics.





***While I think it's good for people to be checked in and not completely living in their own world, I do think there are certain activities that can rob us from our time.  And actually, they don't "rob" us, we voluntarily give our time away.





As I've said, this year I'm trying to make sure my actions and in sync with my priorities.  And losing some much needed writing time because I checked Facebook and got lost in someone's vacation photos at the Happiest Place on Earth, really isn't helping my writing life.  And it's funny because I actually like Facebook and do not plan to quit it because I like how it keeps me connected with friends, family and writers.  





I'll continue to keep you updated on how my week of Facebook Fridays is going (I was on Facebook Sunday for my bday, which was fun).  But so far, I'm really enjoying the Facebook break!

Emily, a Red Sox Fan...

I just happened upon this image of my favorite poet wearing a hat for my favorite team.  Emily Dickinson is a Red Sox fan.  LOVE IT!

Confession Tuesday - The Year Older Edition

Dear Reader,





I am a year older since my last confession.  But a year wiser?  I'm learning towards... not really.  Maybe I should confess to let you know my many mistakes...





To the confessional--









I confess I think I am a young soul who will learning and relearning the same lessons over life.  While some people arrive in this world with an older, wiser spirit, I feel my spirit is reading The Archies comic books while everyone has moved on to War & Peace.

~





I confess I think I spend a lot of time reminding myself of things I thought I've learned.  For awhile I had the  Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz on a post-it note near my computer--

1. Be Impeccable with your Word2. Don't Take Anything Personally3. Don't Make Assumptions4. Always Do Your Best****While I have these memorized, I constantly need to remind myself of them.  I have always wondered if there is one day I'll just be perfect enough to live without having to run my fingers through the notecards in my brain.Of course, the other day, a friend told me that the Dalai Lama uses an exercise bike, so maybe we all have things we need to work on.~I confess in most important situations and probably all vacations, I have chosen the wrong shoes.~I confess I was excited to see I could write 1-11-11 on all my correspondence today.  These kind of dates make me want to write checks.  Though for the last eleven days I've been writing 2010.  Oh yes, and I confess, I'm the  person in front of you who still writes checks.  (I have never felt comfortable with debit.)~I confess much of my birthday was spent reading Facebook wishes.  THIS is what Facebook was made for-- Birthdays!   Forget every negative thing I've said about Facebook, it makes up for threefold with birthday greetings.~I confess one day I hope to find that I truly am wiser, and not just a wise-arse.  ~I confess I wasn't upset about turning 42 and haven't worried about getting older or what they call "fading looks."  I wasn't really a cute child and was never complimented on being pretty, so for me, I have never had "good looks" to lose and feel I've only become better looking--whether it's true or not.  (Who knew there was a huge benefit of being homely as a kid!?)It's absolutely weird how that happened, but I think there's a part of me that likes myself better.  It's not because I'm smarter, new & improved, or actually better looking, but I think as I've grown older, so has the part of me who looks at the world with compassion.  That person now looks in the mirror and sees she is nowhere near perfect, but thinks hey, she's trying her best-- as really, I think we all are.~I confess a friend of mine has this has her signature quote and every time I read it, it makes me feel good--Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.  ~Plato







I think when we wake in our worst moods, we should remember this for ourselves as well.



Amen.

Blog Request: Are Poetry Contests Actually a "Poetry Lottery?"

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Quote from a friend who is a poet:   I'm getting out of the contest route; it's the poetry lottery.

When my friend commented on entering contests, he was feeling annoyed he hadn't won yet.  He defined a lottery as "any scheme for the distribution of prizes by chance."    While I understand his frustration, I disagree with the word "lottery."

Now while I admit wholeheartedly that much of winning is luck and timing, I don't feel poetry contests are lotteries because you *can* do better by being a stronger writer.  You can do better by having an excellent manuscript.

I know when I buy a lottery ticket at the store I will not have better odds of winning because I 1) did my hair that morning 2) smiled at the cashier and used manners  3) paid with a crisp dollar bill instead of one of those faded one 4) pronounced the word "lottery ticket" correctly and used interesting words to ask to purchase one.

When you submit to a poetry contest, you can do better or have your manuscript chosen as a winner because: 

1)  You write great poems.2)  You put care into manuscript and it is free of errors.3)  You followed the guidelines for the contest.4)  The order of your manuscript is interesting and makes sense.5)  You wrote great poems.

I think if you decide to go the contest route here are the first questions you should ask yourself--

1)  Are my poems strong enough?

***If you're not sure, ask someone you trust who will 1) not harm your artist's heart and 2) tell you the truth.  OR submit your work to journals to see if anyone accepts it-- another good sign your work is well, working.

2)  What is my vision for this manuscript and it is complete?

****If you don't feel your manuscript is complete, you may want to save yourself some $$ and not submit it.  If you're not sure if it's complete, send it to a few of your favorite contests and see how the editors respond.  Was there a personal note? Was it a finalist?  All good info to help you know you're on the right track.



3)  Does this press have a similar aesthetic in what they are publishing to what I'm writing?

****There some great indie presses publishing some edgy, funky, alternative, experimental work.  This is not what I am writing, so I did not send my manuscript to them.



4)  Am I ready to have this manuscript published by this press?

****I've been surprised to have people tell me (after they've *won* a poetry prize) they are not sure they want the press that chose their work to publish it.  

"But you submitted it to them," I say.  

Well, that was before I thought it was good enough to be taken!  I didn't consider that I'd win!

So a few things to consider as you submit.



And while I don't believe poetry contests ARE a lottery, it can feel like one.  It can feel like you will never ever win.  I have felt this.  Other better poets than myself have felt this too.  But they've kept submitting, either to contests or open submissions.  Even when they have been a bridesmaid again and again.  

It's not always easy. 

Don't believe the Poets and Writers stories where a writer said, "I just submitted it to two presses..."  Writers are notoriously forgetful or fast and loose with the facts.  We can be the unreliable narrators.  We have egos and soft hearts that don't want to remember the rejection, but there was and there will be.  

If someone is telling you getting a book published is easy, don't buy that cow because it's really bull.



So some final thoughts on entering poetry contests--  No, it's not a lottery.Yes, it's competitive.Yes, it's possible.No, it's not the route for everyone.Yes, it can feel good to have a prize-winning book right from the start.No, not all books that go on to greatness have won book awards.No, contests are not the only way.Yes, you too could be a winner.

More on this topic coming this month (along with my favorite contest recommendations...)

Blog Request - What Are Your Thoughts on Poetry Contests? Part 1 of Many...

It seems many of you are interested in poetry contests, submitting to them, wondering which ones are good, which ones aren't, and any inside information on these contests.



In these upcoming posts throughout January, I'll talk a little bit about poetry contests, what I like, what to look for and my feelings about the whole contest thing.  As you know, everything I write about is based completely on my personal feelings and perspective, but I give you my opinion on honesty based on my experience as a poet from the Northwest.



I will try to share as much as I know and maybe in February we can hear from some poetry contest winners and get their take on things.



So before I begin any of these blog posts, I want to give you some info on my experience with contests and who I am, as I feel we each have things that skew, change, or form our opinions.  So here's where I've been...





Facts about me and my life as a poetry book contests entrant:



My book won the White Pine Press Poetry Prize in 2009.  I submitted not knowing the judge was Carl Dennis, but knowing I liked the press.



Before that, I had submitted to over 70 contests over a 5 year period.  I had been named semi-finalist and finalist in several.  I had my manuscript be one of twenty, one of ten, or in a number of other manuscripts given the judge to choose from.  Up until fall of 2009, it had been rejected after being a bridesmaid so many times.



My first book did not win the Cherry Grove Collections Book Prize and instead was a finalist.  The editor asked to publish my book then.  While since I tend not to regret anything because it's brought to where I am today, I might have done things differently with my first book, but more on that later.



While submitting to contests, I had enough money to submit to a certain number of contests each year and still afford, rent, warmth, and food.



I tend to be optimistic, though sometimes that falls a little bit into the realm of magical thinking.



While I do feel there have been some contests and/or judges that tend to be a little shady and perhaps, have given the prize to a friend, colleague or student, I believe most small presses and contests operate with integrity and do their very best to keep things honest and fair.



~



So as you read these posts, please know my history with contests, I had luck in a poetry contest, so my perspective may be skewed or may see them more favorable.  I'm not sure.



~

How I Imagine Pablo Neruda Would Celebrate My Birthday...

I'm celebrating a birthday today and have Pablo Neruda on my mind.



I found this great image of Pablo Neruda while searching through the archives of old LIFE magazines.

It's one of my favorite things I've seen in a long time.

I think if I were having a birthday party in my dreams, this is how Pablo would dress.



This is the image for Bogota's 2008 Book Fair, but this is how I feel when I read Neruda.


In my dreams, Neruda still visits.  And in my birthday party dream, Emily always arrives with a gift.

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Seattle Poetry Reading: Megan Snyder-Camp & Kelli Russell Agodon at Ravenna Third Place Books January 11th

If you're around Seattle on Tuesday, January 11th, drop by Ravenna Third Place books at 7 pm as I'll be giving a reading with poet Megan Snyder-Camp.



She's reading from her incredible book, The Forest of Sure Things





Here's the Seattle Weekly's listing of it if you need more info or a map of where Ravenna Third Place books is in Seattle.