poetically challenged

dark ’til dawn

poetically challenged — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:16:40 +0000

Looking for Essays by Poets

poetically challenged — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 13:43:31 +0000

Amsterdam Press has a call for submissions out just for poets, but writing prose.

It’s all about the craft of writing poetry. They are looking for a good variety of types of writing and topics. Have a look at the link for more information.

If you are an emerging poet, this is the place for you. Amsterdam Press is wanting to showcase the voices of emerging poets on the topic of their craft. Do pop in to have a look, and perhaps get something together that will suit what the anthology is seeking.

Lowest Number of Contest Entrants ever

poetically challenged — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 12:46:14 +0000

Check out the contests at Utmost, a site for Christian poets.

There are an especially low number of entries for this year’s contests, and they are hoping for more responses soon.

All awards will be paid out, regardless of the number of entrants. And the award amounts are NOT BAD! Take a look at the site, and see what you think.

Recently Received

poetically challenged — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 10:14:31 +0000

I recently received my copy of the 2009 Poet’s Market. This is a really useful book for finding suitable markets for publishing one’s poetry. It was in the 2007 edition that I first came across Sam’s Dot Publishing, a place that has helped me get off the ground as a poet. I have found the Poet’s Market to be an invaluable guide, and would recommend it to anyone who hopes to see their poetry in print on a regular basis. I’ve more than made back the money I spent on BOTH editions already, so I can attest that it is very useful, especially for the poet just getting started.

Prayer Blog

poetically challenged — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 08:29:41 +0000

My blogging friend has started a new blog called Prayer Corner. You can go there and request prayers, “no strings attached.” Stop in if you are needed a prayer offered on your behalf.

Some of the prayers will be posted on the site. I believe it will be quite an inspirational place to visit. Do stop in if you get the chance.

Back to Routine… I hope

poetically challenged — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 17:32:23 +0000

December was a very odd, very stressful month for me, and that weird schedule kept me from posting regularly here. But, I will begin posting more frequently again now, with updates on poetry markets and other poetry- and writing-related news and thoughts as I get them.

Thanks for your patience, and check back often, as I do intend to keep the updates coming.

Poetry + Video = ?

poetically challenged — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 22:40:46 +0000

Todd Boss has given me permission to post his most recent project here. It is putting video to poetry. He’s interested in getting feedback. So… what do you think?

Tai Shan

poetically challenged — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 22:59:10 +0000

I’ve been invited by Sloth Jockey to begin a new blog there. I am excited about this, and have agreed to set up a new blog called Tai Shan.

At this new blog, I’ll be writing about my experience in and with China, and about all things Chinese. I think it should be lots of fun, and I hope you will come along and enjoy the experience with me!

Scifaikuest November 2008

poetically challenged — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:29:13 +0000

Good news — I am the featured poet for this issue (Nov 2008) of Scifaikuest! I am very pleased about this, as Scifaikuest is one of the best poetry magazines around. If you’d like to have a look, you can visit the Scifaikuest website. You’ll find a link there to order the print magazine, which is where you will find 15 of my poems in the Nov 2008 issue. Also, if you’d like more updates about what is going on in the world of speculative poetry, you can see my regular update on my main blog.

Productive Pain

poetically challenged — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:40:54 +0000

I’ve done some difficult work with my writing this past week. Generally, I write my poetry in series or collections. There is a natural grouping in my work as I write it, but then, as time wears on with revisions and rewrites, etc., the shape of the original collections naturally changes. Over time, I’ve put together 5-6 different groups of poems, ranging from 25 +/- to over 50 in a collection. Over the past 2 weeks, I dismantled all but one of the collections, planning to regroup the better poems as collections that might work for publications. (The one that I didn’t dismantle is almost ready for publication as it is grouped.) It was a tough decision to make, but I think it has been good. By only including the stronger poems, the work is much better. And, one longish collection (nearly 40 poems) has emerged, and one short collection (under 10). Both are much more even in terms of quality, and the themes are much more tightly developed as a result. I have actually even found a market that suits the shorter collection (in fact, the market determined the length of the collection).

Perhaps feeling a bit emboldened by the success of dismantling the collections, I finally managed to rewrite two poems I’d written very early on in my experiments with poetry. I knew the ideas in the poems were good, but somehow they didn’t work in the forms in which I had them. When I reworked them this week, it was a bit scary, something I wasn’t sure I wanted or was able to do. But now that it is done, I am very, very pleased.

Sometimes, growing pains can be a good thing.