Amy King has put together a thoughtful response to David Orr's hubbub-inducing essay on "greatness" that ran in last Sunday's New York Times Book Review, and asks for me to join the fray. I'm game, but I need to go home, curl up, and let my mind comb through the discussion before I venture an answer here. Stay tuned.
Before I wander anywhere near the topic of greatness, let me be petty. One of my first jobs was administering scholarly prizes. (Not selecting winners, just managing the process.) So much energy was spent photocopying, tracking down missing paperwork, mailing evaluation packets, and nagging my judges in the days leading up to the conference call or ballot or however the prize was to be decided. THAT was the juggernaut. Once we had our winner there tended to be a lull. Sure, we needed to actually notify folks of the results (those same folks who had just driven me half-mad with incomplete applications). But the real work was done, right? We were beat. What difference would a couple of days make before we did the mass mailing to applicants, or updated the website with the winner's name?
I am so sorry. I get it now. And karma is a cruel mistress.
Every day people apply for fellowships, jobs, book prizes. And a week later they apply for more fellowships, jobs, book prizes. The cycle never ends, as we try to crab-walk out way through this world as writers. Periodically we are put in the maddening position of having to make critical career or publishing choice without all the facts in hand. Sometimes the waste is just $25 in moot reading fees. Sometimes it is much more. So if you have an inbox with a winner's name in it, please, please, please and with sympathy for your under-appreciated service: get the word out with no delay. It's hard enough to make this work without flying blind through life-altering decisions.
February 27, 2009
February 23, 2009
Here & There
There seems to be a twinge of disappointment in the industry that sales figures for the commemorative chapbook of Elizabeth Alexander's Inauguration Poem, "Praise Song for the Day," aren't higher. 6,000 is usually a great number for a volume of poetry...but in the context of Graywolf Press's very public announcement of a first run of 100,000, it's a little anticlimactic.
Here's my question: is this perhaps one of those rare cases where the wide availability of a "book-length" text on the internet nipped sales in the bud?
*
This morning over at Harriet, a blogger surfaced whose name was probably unfamiliar to most in the poetry world: Cathy Halley. If you're curious about Cathy, the new web director for the Poetry Foundation site (replacing Emily Warn), you can find the record of her last gig, the "Scrappy Girl Decorates" blog over at the now-defunct Domino. She also has a personal blog, "Maison d'Etre," here. I think it's interesting that they chose somebody whose primary savvy comes through the web versus the poetry world, and I'm hoping she brings a youthful spirit to the Foundation's site. Welcome to the job, Cathy!
*
I'll do a bigger push in another two weeks, but I would urge those in DC to SAVE THE DATE for a killer reading coming up at the Arts Club:
Tuesday, March 10 - 7:00 PM
The Arts Club of Washington presents "Flirting with the Masters: Poets on Elizabeth Bishop," featuring poets Jehanne Dubrow and Michael Collier, the former Poet Laureate of Maryland. Free and open to the public, with reception and booksigning to follow.
Arts Club of Washington, 2017 I Street NW, DC. (703) 994-3166.
Jehanne has been on fire lately, with the debut of her first book THE HARDSHIP POST (chosen by Peter Pereira as the winner of the Three Candles Press Open Book Prize), followed by the news of two more books coming down the pipeline: From the Fever-World, which won the Washington Writers' Publishing House Prize, and Stateside, which will be released by Northwestern University Press in 2010.
Michael Collier is a nationally recognized poet; The Ledge was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His latest book, DARK WILD REALM, is now available in paperback. He's not only the director of the annual Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, he is also a mainstay of our local scene and a longtime professor of creative writing at the University of Maryland.
You must, must, must come hear this pair read if you haven't heard them before. Not to mention the excuse to celebrate Ms. Bishop, who has recently been a hot topic because of Words in Air: The Complete Correspondence Between Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell.
Here's my question: is this perhaps one of those rare cases where the wide availability of a "book-length" text on the internet nipped sales in the bud?
*
This morning over at Harriet, a blogger surfaced whose name was probably unfamiliar to most in the poetry world: Cathy Halley. If you're curious about Cathy, the new web director for the Poetry Foundation site (replacing Emily Warn), you can find the record of her last gig, the "Scrappy Girl Decorates" blog over at the now-defunct Domino. She also has a personal blog, "Maison d'Etre," here. I think it's interesting that they chose somebody whose primary savvy comes through the web versus the poetry world, and I'm hoping she brings a youthful spirit to the Foundation's site. Welcome to the job, Cathy!
*
I'll do a bigger push in another two weeks, but I would urge those in DC to SAVE THE DATE for a killer reading coming up at the Arts Club:
Tuesday, March 10 - 7:00 PM
The Arts Club of Washington presents "Flirting with the Masters: Poets on Elizabeth Bishop," featuring poets Jehanne Dubrow and Michael Collier, the former Poet Laureate of Maryland. Free and open to the public, with reception and booksigning to follow.
Arts Club of Washington, 2017 I Street NW, DC. (703) 994-3166.
Jehanne has been on fire lately, with the debut of her first book THE HARDSHIP POST (chosen by Peter Pereira as the winner of the Three Candles Press Open Book Prize), followed by the news of two more books coming down the pipeline: From the Fever-World, which won the Washington Writers' Publishing House Prize, and Stateside, which will be released by Northwestern University Press in 2010.
Michael Collier is a nationally recognized poet; The Ledge was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His latest book, DARK WILD REALM, is now available in paperback. He's not only the director of the annual Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, he is also a mainstay of our local scene and a longtime professor of creative writing at the University of Maryland.
You must, must, must come hear this pair read if you haven't heard them before. Not to mention the excuse to celebrate Ms. Bishop, who has recently been a hot topic because of Words in Air: The Complete Correspondence Between Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell.
February 17, 2009
It's coming...It's coming...
Can you write under pressure without breaking a sweat?
Always telling friends that a crown of heroic sonnets comes easy?
Do you dream of perfect line breaks?
...& Do you dream of impressing a chick who digs poetry?
-Project Verse-
Dustin Brookshire, through I Was Born Doing Reference Work in Sin and Limp Wrist, is proud to announce Project Verse, the self-proclaimed "Project Runway" of the poetry world.
Project Verse is a free competition set to be a grueling but fun competition for poets. It's a 10-week competition, and the winner will be announced week 11. Each Monday, an assignment will be posted in I Was Born Doing Reference Work in Sin. Poets will have to complete and submit the assignment by noon Friday of the same week. The judges will read and score the assignments over the weekend, and the judgment will be posted in I Was Born Doing Reference Work in Sin the following Monday.
Who are the judges? Dustin Brookshire, Beth Gylys, and Dana Guthrie Martin are your weekly judges; however, it wouldn't be fun without a little variety. Each week, except for the first week of the competition, there will be a guest judge. Although their names are being kept secret for now, they range from Pushcart Prize nominees and winners to a Lambda Literary Award recipient to National Endowment for the Arts fellowship recipients.
And a competition wouldn't be complete without a prize! The winner of Project Verse receives the following prize package:
-a contract for a limited edition chapbook published by Limp Wrist
-a weeklong residency at Soul Mountain Retreat* (for the poet to revise and finish his/her chapbook)
-an interview with Joe Milford of "The Joe Milford Poetry Show"
-a review of the chapbook that will be published in Ouroboros Review & Limp Wrist
How do you apply to compete in Project Verse? See the complete guidelines here.
Deadline? March 1, 2009. Get to work!
Always telling friends that a crown of heroic sonnets comes easy?
Do you dream of perfect line breaks?
...& Do you dream of impressing a chick who digs poetry?
-Project Verse-
Dustin Brookshire, through I Was Born Doing Reference Work in Sin and Limp Wrist, is proud to announce Project Verse, the self-proclaimed "Project Runway" of the poetry world.
Project Verse is a free competition set to be a grueling but fun competition for poets. It's a 10-week competition, and the winner will be announced week 11. Each Monday, an assignment will be posted in I Was Born Doing Reference Work in Sin. Poets will have to complete and submit the assignment by noon Friday of the same week. The judges will read and score the assignments over the weekend, and the judgment will be posted in I Was Born Doing Reference Work in Sin the following Monday.
Who are the judges? Dustin Brookshire, Beth Gylys, and Dana Guthrie Martin are your weekly judges; however, it wouldn't be fun without a little variety. Each week, except for the first week of the competition, there will be a guest judge. Although their names are being kept secret for now, they range from Pushcart Prize nominees and winners to a Lambda Literary Award recipient to National Endowment for the Arts fellowship recipients.
And a competition wouldn't be complete without a prize! The winner of Project Verse receives the following prize package:
-a contract for a limited edition chapbook published by Limp Wrist
-a weeklong residency at Soul Mountain Retreat* (for the poet to revise and finish his/her chapbook)
-an interview with Joe Milford of "The Joe Milford Poetry Show"
-a review of the chapbook that will be published in Ouroboros Review & Limp Wrist
How do you apply to compete in Project Verse? See the complete guidelines here.
Deadline? March 1, 2009. Get to work!
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