here's one I got back rejected from the Atlanta Review

[crazy a]

("Heartsongs" was also rejected by them.)

bird in the cage

the bird in the cage looks out
sees the inviting sun
pouring through the trees

the bird in the cage looks out
sees velvet chairs
mahogany tables

the bird in the cage looks out
sees smooth faces looking in
wrinkled faces looking in

the bird in the cage looks out
sees blue eyes and brown eyes
thinks of pecking them out

the bird in the cage
dreams in green
with black bars imprinted
over it all.

[machinery]

yr last stanza is the finest. that's where the punch is...but the swing, which being the previous stanzas....didn't hit me much....didn't get me ready for the hit...didn't anticipate much, didn't flinch as they say...


but i love the last stanza...


i just wanted to say that...

[Hannibal]

I liked it - regardless of if it got rejected or not. It's nice.

[Hannibal]

Crazy a - do you submit a lot of works to various places?
Or was this just a seperate one time attempt?

call me curious...

[crazy a]

A few years ago I started sending stuff out, did that for maybe two years then just sorta stopped. Then while going through my rejection slips last month, I decided to send some out again. There was a handwritten note on a slip from the Boston Review suggesting I keep submitting to them, so I sent one to them and another to one here in NC. No response from those two yet.

[Hannibal]

As far as sending stuff out goes, if they do publish it, does it become "their" work, with just your name labeled on it, or do you still retain the "rights" to it?
(punch me if that makes no sense)

Also - did you send to anyone? like magazines, newspapers, book publishers? or was it just a few in particular types of media you sent to?


I've always toyed with the idea of sending something out, but have never found the time to stick it in an envelope and send it. (ok ok, partially because I wouldn't know who to send it to, etc)

[crazy a]

Well, first I went to the Writer's Market site (you know, the people who put out the yearly writer's/poet's/etc. market books) and compiled a list of publications that I figured I could send stuff to. Now mind you, I was mainly getting names whose guidelines were primarily "send your submission with a SASE" because I personally think that stuff about query letters and cover letters is a bunch of nonsense.

And so I would pick a publication, type up the poem(s) per their specifications, and mail it in. Then wait for a yea or nay.

I was pretty much just sending to magazines and literary journals, from the New Yorker to various university reviews to little mags I'd never heard of. And of course they all say "in order to see what we're looking for, we suggest you read a couple issues to see if your work fits..." But who the hell has time for THAT? I could be working on my own writing instead. So for me, it was all shots in the dark.

As far as IF it gets published, it's my understanding that upon publication all rights revert to the author. Your payment could be money, but most likely it'll be in copies.

So if you're interested, you may want to look at www.poetrysociety.org for a listing of mags and publishers and their submission guidelines. The last time I tried to use the Writer's Market site, you needed to subscribe or something to see a similar listing.

[Hannibal]

I once bought one of those "poets markets"
for two reasons..
a)I worked at the bookstore and got great discounts (i bot a LOT of books in that time.. i have my own little library - not a very good one, but a library none-the-less)
b)I figured "hey, i'll just send out my works and see if I can make some pocket money!"

I think I opened that book maybe twice.
[img]tongue.gif[/img]
Thanks for the site - I'm gonna probably check it out during work today :-D
*shhh, dont' tell my managers*