All notifications sent for form issue

Well, at long last I have finally completed all the acceptances -- and rejections -- for the issue dedicated to form.

The rejections are always the toughest.

We received far more than we could use, though I have to admit most of it was good stuff. I spent considerable time going back and forth with some of them. There were tons of sonnets. Ultimately I had to pass on good work simply because I am striving to present a variety.

Included in the mix are sestinas, villanelles, pantoums, sonnets (of course), as well as some collaborative work, invented forms, poems patterned after other poems... you get the picture. It's not all formal verse. My goal was to present as many of the ways that form can be, is, used, to frame a poem's contents, amplify it.

Hopefully you all will like -- or at least appreciate -- what I've tried to do with the issue.

Submissions period over

The deadline for submitting work for the issue dedicated to form has passed. I am now deep into the process of reading of all the submissions and putting the issue together. I should begin sending out notices within the next couple of weeks.

The newsblog is now up and running at top speed, which means whenever I get news of books, events, awards, etc. (no calls for submissions -- sorry; you'll need to go to CRWOPPS for that) I will add it to the newsblog, where you can a.) subscribe to the feed via the link at the bottom, b.) subscribe to it in e-newsletter form, or c.) just visit the site and read it from time to time to see what Poemeleon contributors are up to. HINT: you can check the headlines at the bottom of this page for a glimpse of what's been recently added.

I also have some exciting news: the journal is growing, and I've taken on two new editorial staff members. Stay tuned for more about that in a future post!

Updates, and Male/Female Ratio

In my travels around the web searching for all things Poemeleon, I found a post in a poetry-discussion forum saying how much they like the journal, but wondering why the 80/20 ratio of female to male poets.

Well, the answer is pretty simple. I don't get enough submissions from men.

I am not biased in any way, and would prefer it be more balanced. But of course, it's the quality of the work that counts -- I'm not going to publish junk just to include more men. That would be wrong for so many different, but obvious, reasons.

Now that the ekphrastic issue is live, I am going to take a breather and focus on the looming holiday, turning my attention again to Poemeleon, and to the form issue, after the first of the year.

The submission deadline for the next issue is the last day of February.

Also, I am going to host another Poemeleon reading next summer. More than likely it will again be in July at the Riverside Art Museum. I am hoping to include contributors from both the form issue and the ekphrastic issue, with contributors' books available for purchase. Something to look forward to...! I'll keep you posted as things progress.

Hope you are all having a wonderful holiday. I'll be back online after the New Year.

Cati

Poemeleon Volume I Issue 2 Launched!

Dedicated to ekphrastic poetry, it features new work by:

Maureen Alsop, Tony Barnstone, Deborah Bogen, Rachel Dacus, Ann Fisher-Wirth, Jeannine Hall Gailey, Alex Grant, Eloise Klein Healy, Roy Jacobstein, Shin Yu Pai, Chris Tusa, and lots of others.

It is a feast for the mind -- and the eyes. Scroll down to the bottom of each poem for a link to the artwork that poem is responding to.

Thanks to all of you submitted work for this issue. Please submit again -- I'm now reading for Volume II Issue 1, which will be dedicated to form.

Inlandia reading/regional event

Inlandia reading/regional event scheduled for this Saturday, December 9th, at the Riverside Public Library located in downtown Riverside across the street from the Mission Inn (which, if you've never seen it, is well worth the drive on its own, but is now spectacularly bedazzled with millions of twinkly lights).

Poemeleon contributors Gayle Brandeis and Sholeh Wolpe will be reading and discussing their work, along with eleven other inland-area poets and fiction writers, including the award-winning novelist Susan Straight.

During the event I will be (wo)manning a book table, where I will have chapbooks from the inaugural issue launch reading available for purchase at half-price ($4). If you can't make the reading but still would like to purchase one, they're $5 including S&H. Contact me for more details: editor (at) poemeleon (dot) org.

Check out my other blog for complete information.