poetry in focus

First published in The New Writer Autumn 2011

MIW: My new campaign

Where did the phrase “make the ordinary extraordinary” come from? It’s something I hear myself saying over and over in workshops. When I say it, I just mean dazzle me; bring me something unexpected; hit me in the gut with a “wow line”. Sometimes it’s all we need to spin our poem on its head and make it remarkable and astounding. So, how do we write “wow lines”?

First thing to do is buy a thesaurus; the second is to use it. Plenty of lazy words appear in our poems. I’m as guilty as the next person. But why walk when I could amble, lope or lurch; or push when shove, jolt or cram is more exciting. In an early draft of my poem Now He has Left, I wrote:

Sliding grief under her pillow,
she watches it gasping for air;
pillow moving up and down.

I’ve noticed in my work slide, curl and slip seem to be overused words and watches here seems particularly dull. In order to find new ways of saying things look at each word carefully and ask yourself, “Did I really try hard enough? Is that the best I can do?” After several rewrites I finally came up with something much better:

She stashes the tears under her pillow.
They gasp for air. 

And I don’t think stashes appears in any of my other poems. But you’ve probably spotted the abstract noun. The poet Bill Greenwell has single-handedly rid me of my tendency to use them. Greenwell – 1, Morley – 0. Which is great, I’m glad I lost. On my last Arvon course we were all so well trained not one abstract noun slipped into our sentences (there’s that slipped again!)  Maybe someday there will be an Abstraction Renaissance, but until then I’ll continue to boot, shed, eject and heave them from my poems. And as you can see, I expelled grief.

So my new campaign is to use more interesting words or MIW as it shall now be known. Going back to the example of my poem, I had also crossed out scream – a bit too much perhaps?

Memory presses her tongue
pulling it back silences screams.

If she’s that grief-stricken, then I guess we’d expect her to scream. Is that too ordinary? The rewrite:

…her tongue
is pressed between grave clothes.

Now that’s more like it. I expect the reader is surprised and it works much better. Somewhere there’s probably a list of words we should avoid. I know in a previous editorial I mentioned some words that I and other magazine editors would rather not see in our submissions, but I think we can list our own no-no words that are unique to us. A way of doing this is to put all your poems into one Word document and do a search for a particular word. At the top of my list is slip. Click on Find and then be prepared to be amazed (but not in a good way). Next, haul out your thesaurus and pluck the best words you can find. Instead of hold, try grab, instead of grab use clench or clutch. I could go on, but I think you’ve got the general idea.

If you want to see Now He has Left in its entirety see below, and whilst you do that, I’ll re-read this editorial and highlight all my lazy, work-shy words.

Now He has Left

She stashes the tears under her pillow.
They gasp for air.

She presses, keeps pressing down
until the only movement
is the tremor of her hands,
the pulsing in her neck.

By day she stuffs them in her purse as
loose change —
turns heads, then tails
over and over,
metallic. Her tongue

is pressed between grave clothes.
She feels his pillow,
puts grief beneath it. In the morning
she clears his name from her throat.

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First published in The New Writer Summer 2011

Head to Head with Our Poetry Competition Judge

A stack of individual poems and collections arrived at my house in a rather large box a few weeks before Christmas – an unusual and wonderful present. In true Christmas spirit, and after an initial reading by members of The New Writer’s editorial board, the finalists were parcelled up and sent to Norwich as a gift to our judge, Helen Ivory. As an Academic Director for Creative Writing for Continuing Education at UEA she was an ideal choice for this year’s competition; she can spot a well-crafted poem at a 100 paces. So what does she think about the competition process?

What was the first writing competition you entered?

It was actually the Eric Gregory award, to pre-empt your next question. It was all kind of new to me, that I could write – I had come from an Art School background and was 29. You need to be under 30, and I just slipped in the door at the last minute. I don’t tend to enter many competitions – though I did enter the Mslexia the year before last and was commended.  Perhaps this should encourage me to enter more…

Can you tell me a little bit about the Eric Gregory Award?

Well, it was all a very long time ago…I don’t think I took full advantage of winning it because I promptly disappeared into a field with chickens for eleven years. I think it probably drew me to Neil Astley’s attention at Bloodaxe, though – and it’s a very nice thing to have in your biog, especially when you look at the roll call of other winners.

What other competitions have you judged and how did The New Writer’s compare?

I have judged a few local poetry competitions, and was a short-listing judge for the 2011 Hippocrates Prize. The New Writer’s compared very well, I think.

If a poet is new to sending work to competitions, how should they begin?

They should begin with the crafting of poems before they send them off into the world on their own.  I tend to think there is a kind of poem that stands more chance of winning in many competitions – poems which are overtly about big subjects, yet are deftly handled. Though a neatly drawn poem about a bird’s flight might win you the National. As Fleur Adcock says in The Prize-winning Poem:

What is required is simply the masterpiece we’d all write if we could.
There is only one prescription for it: it’s got to be good.

Do you think the fee for entering puts people off sending in their work?

It can do if it is too high, but the prize needs to come from somewhere.  Most small literature-based organizations have no money, and the people who run them do it out of love.

What one piece of advice would you give a poet who is about to enter a competition?

First make your poem the best it can be. When poems don’t work is it usually for the same kind of reasons  – examples being: too much telling, not enough showing; inconsistency of metaphors; use of abstract nouns when an image might do; use of archaic ‘poetic’ words.  It is probably good advice not to second-guess what the judge might like, and don’t try to imitate the judge’s voice.  Yes, I know that’s more than one piece of advice…

Anything else you want to add…

It was a pleasure to read all of the submissions and I wish everybody good luck with their writing.  Competitions are an excellent way of unearthing new talent, but I seriously believe that writing is an individual journey, and not a race.

Helen Ivory’s third collection The Breakfast Machine has recently been published.

First published in The New Writer No 106, Spring 2011

As The New Writer is girding its loins, embracing the web and moving towards online poetry publication, I have been looking at what is out there and gathering some ideas. The Poetry Library has an impressive and extensive list of e-magazines, blogzines and other online poetry sites “that follow an editorial policy similar to that of traditional printed poetry magazines.” In other words, they have weeded out the unmediated and provided a list worth exploring.

Todd Swift of Eyewear suggests you look at what the sites ask for, and what they offer before sending your work. “If a site doesn’t ask for money from the poet, offers them proper credit for their work, and presents the poetry in an attractive format, with other poets (some of whom are respected, published and recognized as serious) then all should be well.”

So once you’ve done that, what can you expect from publication on these sites and why send your work for online publication rather than print? At Ink, Sweat and Tears they have an enormous international readership, something not achievable with a conventional publication. How enormous is enormous? Charles Christian who launched Ink, Sweat and Tears has a monthly visitorship of 16,000 readers (measured as distinct URLs) and 55,000 page views, so on average each reader visits the site about once every 8 days. Approximately 60% of his readership is located outside the UK. Eyewear receives 17,000 visits on average per month and Michelle McGrane reports that Peony Moon receives between 100 and 200 hundred daily hits.

I find it quite difficult to keep up with all the poetry out there and am currently more comfortable with a printed magazine. But now realise I need to make room for both in my life. Do they co-exist or compete? Charles Christian suggests poetry sites do not compete with printed magazines. “There is still a lot of snobbery associated with printed magazines but this is really a generational thing. The world is changing, dead-tree publications, postage stamps and fountain pens are giving way to digital publications. We are committed to the iPod Generation, we are the future”.

It is not just the young who are online readers. Todd Swift sees everyone becoming more tech-savvy and interested, but thinks “under-40s are more comfortable reading online and more likely to consider an online journal the equivalent (at least) of one made of paper.” Peony Moon has readers from twenty to seventy leaving comments on the site and thinks “online sites and internet stores have made poetry more accessible, particularly to readers who live in places where bookshops don’t stock poetry beyond Keats and A New Anthology of English Verse.”

Poetry is sometimes criticised as elitist. Can online sites break through this barrier by making it more accessible? Todd Swift hopes “that poetry retains some of its elitist image, because any art form that is ‘for everyone’ is likely to be watered down.” Charles Christian suggests that poetry is not elitist but that it is a fringe activity that will never appeal to as wide an audience as other art forms and entertainment. “What I think is the value of online sites is that they are accessible … they allow us to publish digital/experimental forms of poetry that could never be reproduced in a conventional publication.”

So, it’s time to judge for yourself: follow the links to the sites mentioned. Once you’ve done that, I suggest you visit The Poetry Library online and trawl through their list. You might be surprised how many online poetry sites are out there.

Since writing this article Helen Ivory is now sole editor of Ink, Sweat and Tears.

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First published in The New Writer N0 105, Winter 2011

Recipe for Success

Take 3 editors, 10 questions and stir. My brief: to provide you with the top ten ingredients for successful poetry submissions, and with the help of Jan Fortune-Wood, Rod Burns and the editorial team and Anne Stewart and Dilys Wood hope to give you a well-baked plan.

What are the main criteria you use when deciding what to select?

Envoi: We look for well-crafted poetry that has something to say and says it in a fresh way. The magazine has built up an eclectic ethos over 53 years of publication so the emphasis is on the quality of the writing from both established and new authors.

Other Poetry: Quality, originality and variety of writing. Other Poetry is a very eclectic magazine, with 5 co-editors contributing from individual perspectives.

Artemis: We invite established women poets and have a different poetry editor for each issue, who selects from submitted poems. We believe this keeps the selection varied and of a high calibre, and that it offers our contributors a greater chance to be selected over time.

How do you deal with the good, the bad and the ugly?

Envoi: We have space to publish around 5% of what we receive and many submissions are doggerel or work that clearly shows very little acquaintance with poetry as a medium. I always reply as people have put something of themselves into the work. The harder category is the decently crafted poems that don’t quite make it through the selection process. I hope the letter I send conveys that the poems were read with serious attention and occasionally I try to add a small comment.

Other Poetry: On both electronic and postal sifts, an initial screening is done by one editor; good (as well as potentially interesting) submissions are passed through for consideration at a scheduled editorial meeting; rejected work is returned with an accompanying note/e-mail, encouraging repeat submission if the work shows promise.

Artemis: Our resources are limited, so we don’t make any response to those whose work is not selected. Instead, we include a “you will know by” date in our submission guidelines. This effectively means that we don’t offer any criticism on work that isn’t selected – poets who “aren’t quite there yet” will get a message, and all are aware of the limited poems that can be chosen for each issue and the differing tastes of the poetry editors. For the most part, we receive a consistently high calibre of entries.

What turns you off?

Envoi: Poems that use formal devices with a heavy hand definitely come into this category. We welcome poems of all styles and a good sonnet or a rhyme scheme can work wonders, but these devices are not always easy to wield and when they clunk and crunch through a poem it can kill the effect. I’m also not a fan of overly ‘poetic’ language, the sort that piles up adjectives or abstract nouns, or uses unnatural word order or employs words like azure, cerulean or shards.

Other Poetry: Modish, flat and unoriginal writing. Free verse/traditional forms done badly and without respect for the form.

Artemis: Too aggressive/accusatory poetry, the merely ranting and self-indulgent without wit, can be a turn off and of course, anything technically weak. Poets (we do it ourselves too often) who send out work before it’s really finished; when it’s so new that they’re too close to it to see that.

What turns you on?

Envoi: Precise, clear language that communicates something with freshness and energy; poetry that shifts the reader’s perception. If you are aiming high look at the poetry of Philip Gross, Pascale Petit, Ruth Stone, CD Wright, Galway Kinnell or Mario Petrucci – very different, but all brilliant.

Other Poetry: Original, vibrant use of language, forms and ideas.

Artemis: The fresh, the unexpected with evidence of technical skill beyond the merely mechanical. We’ve been pleased to see our poetry editors select a whole range of topics and approaches, from the playful or song-like, through bare-faced cheek, to the bravest, toughest and most painful or taboo topics, and all this in a wide range of styles from traditional forms, through contemporary and their own created forms to free verse and the experimental.

What are your Dos and Don’ts for submissions?

Envoi: Simply read the guidelines. We ask for up to 6 poems so I don’t feel well disposed to poets who send a web link and invite me to browse, or poets who send a huge stack of hard copy poems. Poets also need to make sure we can contact them, either with an SAE or current (legible) email address. I don’t need a CV; poems are judged on their merits. Pet hates: staples are a menace and origami isn’t my thing, so please don’t fold every sheet of your submission individually.

Other Poetry: Do follow the instructions to the letter (we spell them out on the website). Do query a reasonable time after our 6-8 week deadline (sometimes we get behind with submissions, or things go astray in the post or electronic ether). Do send a reasonable number of poems (4-5). Don’t send your life’s work. Don’t forget the SAE for postal submissions. Don’t send any more information than is necessary. Don’t send attachments where pasted-in poems are requested (this clogs up systems and significantly slows down the editing process).

Artemis: Read the submission guidelines and stick to them. Don’t send long CVs and don’t feel you need to give yourself a pedigree – the work will speak for itself. Sending poems by recorded delivery or even sending off in multiple wrappings causes annoyance and endless trouble, though we do not let it affect our judgement of the work.

How many submissions do you receive?

Envoi: Each issue features 20 to 30 poets, but around 400-500 will have sent poems – anything up to 6 each. I constantly think I’ve got on top of the submission pile only to discover it’s enormous again.

Other Poetry: Approximately 3,500-4,000 a year in total. We publish perhaps 200 poems from this total. We also receive regular submissions of uncommissioned articles, artwork and other correspondence.

Artemis: Artemis is just becoming known; about 200 per issue, likely to increase.

How long have you been editing the magazine?

Envoi: I took over in 2007 from Roger Elkin. Envoi first started in 1957 and has been in continuous publication for 53 years.

Other Poetry: Personally, since February 2000. The magazine was founded in 1978, apart from one gap in publication in the 1980s, has been publishing regularly since then.

Artemis: Two and a half years.

What is your unique selling point?

Envoi: We rarely publish just one poem from a poet, but look for a small group to give readers a real feel for each voice. The ethos of the magazine centres on high quality production so the magazine uses large format, a clear font and good layout. We have a strong reviews section, featured poet, poetry interviews and poetry in translation as well as an annual poetry competition.

Other Poetry: We aim to showcase the best work, from whatever source. This means the magazine is very eclectic and remains unpredictable, as well as accessible to new writers.

Artemis: We focus on women’s poetry, which has traditionally been academically under-valued, and statistics suggest that there is still a need to keep women’s poetry buoyantly visible.

What does a new poet have to do to get noticed?

Envoi: Write good poetry. When poems are selected it is the poem, not the name that counts.

Other Poetry: Write poems that are specific, focused and original. Keep writing and submitting them widely. Develop a very thick skin.

Artemis: Send us a good poem. We have no selection agenda other than to publish the best of women’s poetry.

If you weren’t a magazine editor what would you be?

I found out this was a daft question as all the editors I asked had “day” jobs. At Other Poetry the editorial team is made up of volunteers and during the day work in other areas – the civil service, the NHS and adult education and Jan at Envoi is the Poetry and Fiction Editor of Cinnamon Press. Artemis is part of Second Light Network of Women Poets and the members organise and teach courses, and if they have any time left, they are busy writing their own poetry. So when it comes to submitting it is essential to follow their guidelines. Editors are busy people, so help them out.