Rejection 132

I received a rejection from Columbia: A Journal of Literature & Art today letting me know they really enjoyed my "piece," but that it wasn't right for them.  This might be the standard rejection form now, or it could be the encouragement form.  The reason I think it could be the rejection rather than the encouragement form is that I sent 4 poems, and they rejected my "piece."  I would think if they were being encouraging they would try to accurately reflect the work I sent them.   I still like them a whole lot. Wait time = about 3 months.

Side Notes:

If you  missed picking up a copy of my ml Press Chapbook, a limited number are available at Powell's

Also, 20 Days Until AWP! (I keep forgetting to add the countdown to my posts.)

Rejection 131

Jill Di Donato, from Drunken Boat, wrote letting me know that they really enjoyed a piece I sent, but it wasn't right for them.

Kudos on the quick rejection though.  I sent it on the 14th and just 6 days later, while I was watching Obama parade the streets of Washington, there it was.

Story Live at Bearcreekfeed

One of the longest stories I've written is live now at bearcreekfeed.

Rejection 130

JMWW sent a very nice rejection saying they enjoyed my pieces, but they weren't quite what they were looking for.  They invited me to submit again.

It has suddenly occurred to me that maybe some editors are actually reading the bio I send along with my submissions and are being nicer to me than they might normally be, because they know I am going to write about it. 

That would be pretty pessimistic though, and I am going to continue operating under the worldview that most people are kind by default.

Fancy First Issue of Corduroy Mtn.

Oh boy, the first print issue of Corduroy Mtn. arrive today. The work in it is really spectacular and the design is gorgeous.  You should buy one. It contains work by these lovely people:

Peter Berghoef, Shane Jones, Brooklyn Copeland, Forest Roth, Blake Butler, Mandy Billings, Brandon Shimoda, Sommer Browning, Adam Maynard, Joshua Ware, Drew Kalbach, B.J. Love, Kevin Wilson, Kendra Malone, Jac Jemc, Eric Amling, and James Iredell

Go here to get it.

What piece are you rejecting, Conjunctions?

I got a fancy little rejection card from Conjunctions today - red letterpress on creamy card stock.  Aesthetically, a beautiful rejection.

But what is Conjunctions rejecting?  Is it the piece I sent in July '07 and withdrew in July '08 or the piece I sent them in October '08 and withdrew in November '08?

I don't know, Conjunctions. Either way, it doesn't count.

Rejections 128 & 129

Two new rejections in the mailbox, today: nothing like a nice set of  SASEs to welcome you home on a subzero day.

Also in my mailbox were a threatening letter from the gas company, that appears to have already corrected itself, the new Calamari Press book, Blake Butler's Ever, and a pair of new fake glasses I ordered, after I lost my previous pair at a party during the Jac Jemc Social Extravaganza Parade of Wild Nights Out.  Apparently the exchange rate for my Homebody Card is one pair of thick-framed fake glasses, that I like to wear to become another person, and some hazy regrets that I am now attributing to that glasses-wearing individual who took me over.

2 out of 5 pieces of mail were positive, but I paid for them, so that's sort of like giving yourself a pat on the back for getting laid when you call a hooker. Nonetheless, I will enjoy putting on my new fake glasses, becoming a new someone else, and reading Ever as soon as I finish reading Kathleen Rooney's Live Nude Girl.

Rejection 128 is a bittersweet half-sheet of paper which both informed me that my work was not found suitable for Another Chicago Magazine, which was not very good news, but also provided proof that they are still alive.   Their website hasn't changed in about a million years, so I was beginning to mourn their loss, when indeed they are just a bit behind. They scooted their rejection over to me just short of 11 months after I sent the submission, for the record.

Rejection 129 was sent from The Cincinnati Review, which in all honesty, was probably submitted in some other drunken haze.  Why I bother sending work to "The Insert City or State Name Here Review" is a little beyond me in my present, coherent state.  Maybe I read a thing or two from one of them that I like?  Maybe I think if someone regularly reads The Cincinnati Review (Are there people out there that regularly read The Cincinnati Review?) and reads my bio, it might bring more people over to the smaller print and online magazines? Do I want that?  Would that be a good thing? Maybe I just want to crack that egg for some unknown reason?  It's rare the urge overtakes me, but here's proof that anything can seem like a good idea with a little bit of ambition and a tumbler of Maker's Mark by your side.

I think I'll start an AWP countdown.  Maybe that will be the thing to finally kick my ass into writing my story for Quickies. 26 Days before I turn in my Homebody Card again.

Stay warm, folks.

Rejection 127

Another rejection from the Nashville Is Reads Project, unfortunately.

Highlights describing the poems I sent include:

"the device makes it easier to pay attention"

"too serious"

"skeptical of such grandiosity"

"I'm not believing it."

"juvenile"

"Poems of such magnanimity require levity or they come off pompous."

Mr. Robinson also says that there are some nice lines and that he liked how the poems inform each other, and then he noted that he saw some of my other poems elsewhere and remains my fan. I feel all confused. I know I'm supposed to say it was nice of him to give such thorough feedback, but in all seriousness, I feel like he called me a phony in about a dozen different ways.

Oh, man. Maybe I am full of it. This is the first really unsettling rejection I've gotten in a while.

Rejections from the Illinois Arts Council and The Broome Review Poetry Contest

Two unnumbered rejections today.

Numero Uno: The Illinois Arts Council has chosen not to hand me $7,000, sight unseen, even though I am awesome. That said, there were approximately 6 fewer fellowships and honorary awards given out this year, about a third fewer than last year. I'm not saying one of 'em would've been mine, but chances are slimmer. Just another miraculous move on the part of Rod Blagojevich.

Numero Dos: I did not win $1,000 from The Broome Review for their Stephen Dunn Poetry. I don't know as much about New York governor, David Paterson, but I will get back to you when I find a way to blame him for this loss.

Rejection 126

I should know by now: You ask for something, you get it.  Last night I sent out a round of emails checking up on submission from July through September I hadn't heard from.  Sure enough, I received an email today saying that Harp & Altar had put my story in the wrong file, so it was good I checked up.  He read it, and though he liked "some of the writing," he didn't take to it.

Hopefully a few more rejections will roll in, in the next 24 hours or so, for my blogging pleasure.  I have a feeling from looking at websites though, that a few places have been napping for a while now, if they haven't gone into permanent hibernation.

RIP those those don't respond.