What feeds our imagination: the lives of others or our own lives? My impulse is to say a healthy dollop of each, but it is always interesting to see what someone else has to say. Poet Nikki Giovanni says,
I want to be clear about this. If you wrote from experience, you’d get maybe one book, maybe three poems. Writers write from empathy.”
In contrast the Dominica-born British novelist Jean Rhys wrote five stunning novels milked from her own life. Autobiographic elements are even in Wide Sargasso Sea, Rhys’ post-colonial drama in which travesties of racial inequality, patriarchy, displacement and assimilation are themes. This book, a much-lauded prequel to Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, evolved from Rhys’ dissatisfaction with Brontë’s treatment of Antoinette Cosway, from Rhys’ own life experience of rejection and emotional turmoil, and from her observation of and distress with how the people of Dominica were viewed and treated by colonizers. The book is her (re)vision of Antoinette Cosway, a Creole heiress, married for her money to an unnamed English gentleman who changed her name and pronounced her mad. Antoinette does not fit in with the Europeans or the Jamaicans. In her own life Jean Rhys never felt that she fit in.
Jean Rhys was an astute self-observer, scrupulously honest. She worked hard to avoid both self-pity and self-aggrandizement or congratulation. If you’ve read her work you know she largely succeeded.
In one of Rhys journals she imagines herself in court:
It is in myself.
What is?
All. Good evil, love, hate, life, death, beauty, ugliness.
And in everyone?
I do not know everyone. I only know myself.
And others?
I do not know them. I see them as trees walking.
Counsel for the Prosecution: There you are! Didn’t take long, did it?
Clearly Jean Rhys felt her own life was what she knew best, the podium from which she could speak. She did what she felt called to do, what was natural for her. By being careful and conscious she avoided the pitfalls of self-pity and self-aggrandizement. Certainly to one degree or another writing is therapy. Most of us agree on that. At its best, however, it doesn’t read that way.
BLUE MARBLE REVIEW “is a quarterly online journal for young writers ages 13-20. Its name is inspired by the view of earth as seen from the Apollo 17 spacecraft. This colorful and iconic image known as the Blue Marble provides continued inspiration for dreamers, discoverers and explorers everywhere.” This magazine publishes fiction, nonfiction, poetry and art. $20 per published piece. Details HERE.
PRETTY OWL POETRY asks that we send “something shameful. something surreal. a deluge of desire. confessions of crimes & hearts teeming with rattlesnakes. a merry-go-round that makes you dizzy.
send us your yellowed sweet tooth in a plastic bag. or lockets filled with tiny twig hairs. tell us everything we don’t want to hear. say it in a way that’s sweet to the ear. send us a flash, a jolt, a tickle in your belly. something simple but ahh. give us something that slaps & stings. keep the quiet for the mornings & make us dance, twist, shout, & fold around our bodies. send us something to slink into. show us a basket full of molded fruit & take a picture of your mother’s grey, stained socks. tell us about the time you dreamt & flailed. keep us up in words. tell us every little thing. Submissions HERE.
BLACK WARRIOR PRESS is reading submissions of general fiction, nonfiction and poetrythrough September 1. There is a submission fee of $3 and payment is a one-year subscription and “a nominal lump-sum fee for all works published.” Details HERE.
STILL: THE JOURNAL has one annual reading period each calendar year: December 1-31. The magazine’semphasis: “is on the literature of the Southern Appalachian region, and we are committed to publishing excellent writing that does not rely on clichés and stereotypes. We want to feature writing that exemplifies the many layers and complexities of the region or that is written by an author with a connection to the region. We accept submissions of fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction. Details HERE.
HIPPOCAMPUS MAGAZINE accepts submissions of memoir, personal essay, and flash creative nonfiction. Details HERE.
WEST BRANCH, a publication of Bucknell University, welcomes “submissions of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation. We read unsolicited manuscripts between August 1st and April 1st. We print only original, unpublished work. For accepted work, we purchase First North American serial rights.Payment is awarded for accepted works in the amount of $50 per submission of poetry, and $.05/word for prose with a maximum payment of $100. Additionally, we provide each contributor with two copies of the issue in which his/her work appears and a one-year subscription to West Branch.” The magazine is HERE. The submission guidelines are HERE.
FJORDS REVIEW, a literary magazine, publishes book and art reviews and essays. Details HERE.
GEOMETRYis a new magazine getting ready to publish its first issue. It is an “international literary endeavour. We seek to publish outstanding literature from our home country, New Zealand, and from around the world. We are a digital and print publication dedicated to featuring work by both established and emerging writers. We place no limitations on style or content. Our criterion is distinctive and intelligent writing. We seek fresh voices. We seek diversity. We seek work that captivates and challenges.” It plans to publish stories, creative nonfiction and poetry. Payment promised is $10-$50 for poetry, artists $10-$50 per page, and 1-3 cents per word for fiction and nonfiction. (USD) Contributors will also receive one free copy of the printed journal. Deadline for Issue 1 is September 1st. Details HERE.
COLLABRATIVE WRITING CHALLENGE’s fiction“stories are built by participants who have no contact with each other. Each week, four or five writers will submit a chapter of roughly 2000 words, and one will be selected as part of the story. Each chapter writer will receive the full chapter 1, the full chapter prior to the one they will write, and a synopsis of every chapter in between. The writers will also receive thorough notes containing a list of characters, locations, and highlights. By using this method, the writer does not get bogged down by the entire story. They receive relevant information, and any errors arising from that can be tidied up later by the story coordinator. More HERE. There is also a short story contest attached to this. Details HERE.
COMPOSE: A JOURNAL OF SIMPLY GOOD WRITING “is a biannual, online publication that features work by both established and emerging writers of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction.” Reading period is year-round. Details HERE.
THRUSH POETRY JOURNAL is accepting submissions in September. Poetry only. Non-paying market. Details HERE.
FOCUS ON THE FAMILY – a religious magazine – has an “ongoing need” for features on: faith conversations for couples, parents of teens (13-18), teens excited about faith, teens and doubts, and family stages. Details HERE and writer’s guidelines HERE.
COMPETITIONS/CONTESTS
Opportunity Knocks
THE PROFANE NONFICTION PRIZE has a $10 entry fee and a prize of $1,000. 7,500 word limit and the deadline is August 14th. “Profane is an annual print and audio journal featuring an eclectic mix of poetry, creative non-fiction, and fiction. We record every poem and piece of prose we publish in the author’s own voice. We publish in the winter.” Details HERE.
2016 TINDERBOX POETRY JOURNAL CONTEST does not impose limitations in form or content; “we are interested in everything from traditional forms to free verse to lyric essay to flash fiction. The winner will receive $500 and the runner-up will receive $250.” The contest closes on August 21. Details HERE.
SECOND LIGHT POETRY COMPETION FOR LONG AND SHORT POEMS BY WOMEN/2016Second Light Poetry Competition for Long and Short Poems by Women 2016. Deadline Wednesday 31st August 2016. JUDGE ALISON BRACKENBURY will read all submitted entries. £300 First Prize for each of Long (no upper limit) and Short (max 50 lines) poems; £150 Second Prize (1 poem from either category); £75 Third Prize (1 poem from either category)’ Winning & Commended Poets published (in full or extract) in ARTEMISpoetry. A London reading for winners. Entry: £6 each per long poem. Short poems: £4 each or £9 for 3, £14 for 8. Enter by post (2 copies) or online. **Members are entitled to one free entry into the competition. Join now to be eligible.**
BLACK WARRIOR REVIEWannual contest for poetry and fiction is accepting submissions until September 1. $1000 & publication in each genre. Details HERE.
STILL: THE JOURNAL 2016 annual writing contests in fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction Deadline is 11:59 p/m. September 6, 2016. Contest entries should be in keeping with their stated publishing mission: “Our emphasis is on the literature of the Southern Appalachian region, and we are committed to publishing excellent writing that does not rely on clichés and stereotypes. We want to feature writing that exemplifies the many layers and complexities of the region or that is written by an author with a connection to the region.” Contest Prizes: $200 each for first-place winners of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction, and publication in Still: The Journal, 22: Fall 2016. All other contest entries will be considered for possible publication.” Details HERE.
HIPPOCAMPUS MAGAZINE “is giving away more than $1,200 in cash and prizes this November in our sixth annual creative writing contest, the Remember in November Contest for Creative Nonfiction.” Deadline is September 23. $12 entry fee.Details HERE.
THE BATH FLASH FICTION AWARDhosts two international flash fiction writing competitions; the Bath Flash Fiction Award, and the Bath Novella-in-Flash Award. Entrants have the opportunity to appear in our print and digital books. Deadline 16 October 2016.Details HERE.
to NEUTRALIZE
the CAPABILITY of LOW DOLLAR VALUE ITEMs
like you.
You are what is referred to as
a “CASUALTY.”
excerpt from Personal Effects in Look:Poems by Solmaz Sharif
If you are viewing this post from an email, it is likely you will have to link through to view this video of Fran Lock and Solmaz Sharif on Transatlantic Poetry on Air. This is Robert Peake’s poetry show. Recommended. Details HERE.
THE POET BY DAY SUNDAY POESY
Submit your event, book launch and other announcements at least fourteen days in advance to thepoetbyday@gmail.com. Publication is subject to editorial discretion.
“The life of an artist … differs from the lives of other persons in that its events are becoming artistic sources even as they command his present attention. Instead of allowing each day, pushed back by the next, to lapse into imprecise memory, he shapes again the experiences, which have shaped him. He is at once the captive and the liberator.” Richard Ellmann in James Joyce(Recommended)
American literary critic Richard Ellmann (1918-1987) was also an excellent biographer and wrote about Joyce, Wilde and Yeats. As far as I know, all three books are still in publication.
Joyce photo is in the public domain.
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Introducing Baxter Dedes, the newest member of the family and the new ‘The Poet by Day’ office manager. Baxter is a Rat Terrier and Chihuahua mix … a “Rat-Chi.”
Remembered warmly and with gratitude, Baxter’s predecessors:
Brutus.
“A kind of additional or subsidiary Deity designed to catch the overflow and surplus of the world’s worship . . . The Dog is a survival — an anachronism. He toils not, neither does he spin, yet Solomon in all his glory never lay upon a door-mat all day long, sun-soaked and fly-fed and fat, while his master worked for the means wherewith to purchase the idle wag of the Solomonic tail . . .” Ambrose Bierce,The Devil’s Dictionary
Buddy and his best pal.
“A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down.” Robert Benchley
Xiang Xiang’s Ah Man, better known as “Gus.”
“My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to 99 cents a can. That’s almost $7 in dog money.” Joe Weinstein
Feyd.
“How’s it going, Mr. Peterson?,” asks Woody in Cheers. “It’s a dog-eat-dog world, Woody, and I’m wearing milk-bone underwear.”
What feeds our imagination: the lives of others or our own lives? My impulse is to say a healthy dollop of each, but it is always interesting to see what someone else has to say. Poet Nikki Giovanni says,
Jamie Dedes' THE POET BY DAY Webzine 