chapbook

You are currently browsing articles tagged chapbook.

Back to school–& chapbook season!

September 1, 2011 in Writing poetry | No comments

Kids in a pile of leaves

So much younger then--possibly the year Daniel started kindergarten.

Remember the anticipation of school starting? New classes, new teachers, new starts?

Over on Book of Kells, Kelli talks about the impending autumn and that rhythm of going back to school.

It’s a ritual–September always feels like time to start something. The kids are pretty grown up now–my daughter starts college in a couple of weeks. And for me, autumn has become time to start a chapbook. And this year, I want it to be just a chapbook–not culled from a larger project and not slated to become a larger project. I want it to stand on its own.

So, with September arriving tomorrow, I’m trying to decide what topics I want to explore. Either I’m finding too many or not enough (I need the baby bear inquiry–the door to an exploration that feels just right).

Then, or when, I get to a starting point, I can think about how. Right now, I’m thinking about “a draft a day,” so I have 30 starts to play with by the end of the month. For another look at drafting, see Sandy Longhorn’s updates. She’s come up with a solid process that works for her.

What are your autumn rituals? What do you like to start? How do you like to start?

Facebook Twitter Email

Tags: , , ,

Chapbook season–and the deadlines approach!

February 9, 2011 in Uncategorized | No comments

Yes, it’s time to send out your manuscripts.

If you reside in Washington State, the Floating Bridge Press deadline is February 16. Here are the details:

  • Washington State (USA) residents only.

  • Simultaneous submission OK. Individual poems may be previously published.

  • Maximum 24 pages of poetry (does not include title page or table of contents).

  • Title page and paginated table of contents. Please include page number and title of manuscript on every page. Standard three-hole punch on left side.

  • Author’s name must not appear on the manuscript. Include a separate page containing title, author’s name, address, telephone, email, and acknowledgements of previous publication, if any.

  • Manuscripts are judged anonymously and will not be returned. Winner receives $500, 15 copies, and a reading in the Seattle area.

  • For notification of manuscript receipt, include a SAS Postcard (optional).

  • For results notification, include a #10 SASE.

  • All entrants will receive a copy of the winning chapbook, and individual poems will be considered for inclusion in Floating Bridge Review, the annual Floating Bridge Press journal.

  • Reading Fee: $12.00 check or money order, payable to: Floating Bridge Press.

  • Deadline: Postmark between November 1, 2010 – February 16, 2011, inclusive.

  • Winner to be announced in May 2011. Reading in September 2011.

  • Mail To: Floating Bridge Press, P.O. Box 18814 Seattle, WA 98118.

  • Questions? Send email to floatingbridgepress@yahoo.com.
  • No electronic submissions at this time, please.

And if you live anywhere and are writing in English, the Tupelo Press Snowbound Series chapbook contest closes February 28.

Facebook Twitter Email

Tags:

Chapbook season

January 19, 2008 in Writing poetry | No comments

It’s that time again.

I know of three contests happening now:

Floating Bridge Press chapbook contest, deadline February 15.
Tupelo Press Snowbound chapbook contest, deadline February 15.
Bateau Press BOOM chapbook contest, deadline January 31.

Do you know of any others?

Facebook Twitter Email

Tags:

And about that whining…

April 12, 2007 in Rejection | No comments

I know that I do it. I’ll apologize right now and probably again and again.

I’ll keep sending out work, the rejections will keep coming (oops—where’s that positive attitude?), and I will sometimes whine.

But I try not to mope and complain—at least, not too much, and I have some history behind this. Back in 1985, I was taking a poetry workshop in New York, and the teacher would spend much of the class time complaining about how unsupportive her friends and acquaintances and the world all were of poets and their work writing poetry. (This amid a flock of earnest poets and a haze of cigarette smoke.)

Okay, she was probably right—but I was struggling to be a Famous Modern Dancer and all of my friends were telling me that I should probably write poetry instead. I was lucky to have such supportive friends, although I still wanted to be the Next Great Choreographer. Finally, in the middle of class, I couldn’t take it any longer, and I walked out. It was out of character. It was my protest (sort of cutting off my nose to spite my face—but at the time it seemed like a good idea or at least a relief). I didn’t go back. (I’m shy enough that I would not have had the guts to return the following week.)

Now when I start to wallow, I do remember that class as a cautionary tale. I slip—as you can tell—but I try to keep it to a minimum and work on that positive attitude. I’m sure it’s here somewhere.

On another note…

The Cranky chapbook contest deadline is Saturday, April 15th. For more information, see www.failedpromise.org.

Facebook Twitter Email

Tags: , , , ,

Writing in a series, or not

January 23, 2007 in Writing poetry | 1 comment

It’s chapbook time again, and deadlines are coming up. The chapbook is such a nice length for exploring one or two subjects, for developing a series of poems—and I feel most comfortable when I’m working on—working my way through—a series.

Usually, I try to start a year beforehand—or, at the latest, in September. The kids go back to school and I begin to think seriously about a chapbook. (I used to be a little more haphazard, but I remember standing on my front porch one warm and luxurious July evening when Greg Hischak turned to me and said, “So, have you thought about your next chapbook submission for the Floating Bridge Press contest?” Or something to that effect.)

I like the idea of exploring one idea, or a couple of related concepts, in a group of poems. I like the way they hang together and, I hope, flow from one to another. I like to try to dig into different textures and emotions and events. And this past year, I have not had a series in sight. At least, not any work that spans more than four or five poems.

What do you do when you have a lot of separate poems? Or maybe short stories? How do you bring them into the same room in a congenial way, as though for cookies and tea?

I’ve heard of linking them together by the titles (discarding whatever titles you had before and creating a theme or even a narrative in the new titles). That sounds cool. That even sounds adventurous, as though inviting a new person in to inhabit your stanzas. I haven’t tried it yet. I guess that I sweat so much over trying to find a title in the first place that I’m reluctant to let it go.

I’ve also thought about trying to pull out some cohesive idea, but sometimes they are just too random. It might be too much of a stretch.

I guess that’s a pretty good sign that those poems don’t belong together. But as I said, it’s chapbook time again, and the deadlines are coming up—and even though contest entries are a long shot, they are also a ritual.

Do you ever have trouble getting your different poems into a collection? Do you have any advice to offer or tricks to share?

Facebook Twitter Email

Tags: ,