Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Little things

I admit it: I dread writing bios. But Robert Lee Brewer has gathered some poet-provided advice here (even including a bit from me).

The new issue of
Pinyon is out, with intriguing artwork (and, among many poems, one I wrote). The link has information, but no sample work from any issues.

The Number One issue of Floating Bridge Review from
Floating Bridge Press arrived in the mail today; it's so new that I haven't even had a chance to crack it open.

Instead, I'm trying to get a few poems ready for poetry group tomorrow night and sending yet another email submission (for a theme of snow and ice—and I'm from Seattle, where the fallen plum and cherry blossoms look more like snow than anything that comes all the way from the clouds).

3 comments:

Billy said...

Thanks, the biography link was great fun; Maureen and I often chuckle over the wide diversity of bios in magazines and dance concert programs.

And why, o why, do poetry editors not realize that they can jumpstart reader interest by putting sample poems on their websites? Are sales so good that they don't want to share? Musicians learned this trick (with audios, of course) long ago.

Joannie Stangeland said...

Wow--you're right! Some presses post sample poems and some don't. My quick survey: Tupelo Press does, Steel Toe doesn't, Wesleyan doesn't, the links on Knopf broke. Admittedly, it's a very small survey.

However, I'll bet that a lot of publishers, even those who don't publish sample poems online, send copies of their books to sites such as Poetry Daily--and I've bought several books based on poems I read on those sites (sometimes, a fantastic find; sometimes, not so much).

But your post gave me another idea: If publishers don't want to print the poem online, why not offer an audio recording of the poet reading the poem? It would give people a chance to hear the poem (and maybe fall in love with it) and the poet's physical voice. I know that when I go to a reading and then later read poems by the same poet, I can hear the poem in the poet's voice, which lends it a rich texture and a bit of intimacy.

Billy said...

Hi, Joannie, audios are a great idea. You can form an instant connection with a poet by hearing him or her read.

Because I don't follow the younger poetry scene as closely as I once did, I'm often relatively clueless looking at the tables of content for small press magazines. With so many writers featured in every issue, it would be could to have any kind of handle to help form new attachments.

From what I've heard and read, indie band musicians have a lot better hand on this than most poets and other writers.