Artist Journal

I have moved my blog to my website: http://rhettlynch.com/artist-journal/

Please continue to follow me there.

Thank you. Love and Blessings – Rhett Lynch

Mad-claps to my phenomenally gifted, match-made-in-Heaven-above, dreamy-novelist-boyfriend Brian J. Svehaug- who has maintained for years refreshing and cultured content here on WordPress. I am so happy to support him as he has shifted his past works and future posts to a new space. You can subscribe your email easily to his site-content on the righthand side of the home page.

How can I best say this? Mr. Svehaug (my mentor, my muse) inspires a large percentage of what I write, the music I create, my design and the visual art I drum up. He is golden, purely- truly. Brian is a visionary, a proactive dreamer, steadfastly gulping the best of our time and times past, a student and teacher of classical music, and often on the side dabbling full-heartedly in a business-venture or two. The man is downright fascinating. Whether it may be his superb hunger for and taste in literature, his unique and riveting writing style, or his killer forehead kisses- I’m struck by lightening over this young- dare I say- man of genius.

You need not forgive me for gushing, beloved readers, as I am affectionately unapologetic.

xx, a

FUCK WHY DID I SEND IT.

I instantly regret and wish that I had waited to talk to him in person.

I think it was a relatively well crafted email (I’ve been reading and re-reading it for the past 20 minutes). And basically the most important thing is I just don’t want him to be stewing, and I miss him and I can feel that his heart is mad at me still so I want him to know that I won’t make that mistake twice.

Ugh. We’ll see what happens when he reads it!

I remember my complete obsession with stationary sets—diaries and journals that came in all different shapes and colors. I would open my eyes wide and bat my lashes until my dad would give in and buy me all the stationary that I wanted. I don’t ever remember writing in them. I thought they were too pretty to write in so I wrote in several 99 cent composition notebooks; it was almost as if I thought less of my writing. I never wanted to fill a beautiful notebook with ribbon and a fuzzy cover with my cheap thoughts, ideas, and ramblings about my teenage life. I quickly filled up every line of that composition notebook—mostly with my middle school angst and woes, and stories about the imaginary adventures I had. I obviously did not get out much—and why would I want to? I was completely enamored with the life I had spent writing about everything and anything. Soon after came the online journaling phase— Greatest Journal. It was a split image of what I wrote about in my many composition notebooks. It was an online journal that thankfully no longer exists, and I can no longer access my past journal entries which consisted of nothing more but my thoughts and feelings as a middle-schooler. It’s quite unsettling to think back on that.

Since then, journaling has been something that I did inconsistently—on and off—just whenever I was in the mood. However, now that I have completed my first year of my undergraduate studies and summer vacation has started, I have all the time in the world to catch up on my physical, spiritual, emotional, and creative health. Even when school starts back up in about three months, I hope I find the time and the creativity to maintain a blog with content that is much more than a recollection of my daily life. Though the theme of this very blog is quite unclear as of now, I hope to continue to generate new ideas to write about throughout the course of the duration of this blog. Its purpose I see very clearly—to exercise my creative writing skills and to dedicate my time to something that I have been having an unstable love affair with–writing .

So I successfully fucked things up on the weekend, of course. Why wouldn’t I. When Friendlove and I went to the dj show on Sunday night, I made friends with some dudes and I guess I was being too flirty with them. Well I don’t GUESS I WAS. I didn’t see the big deal at first, at the time. At the time when he got mad at me I said i was sorry but didn’t quite mean it. I did feel bad that he was upset, but I was thinking to myself “this is dumb, what, am I not supposed to talk to guys!?!” I talked with my sister and best friend about it. And basically they totally agreed with him, which is how I learned that I’m seeing things a little ass-backwards. They said, of course I can talk to guys, but give them my number? No (which I did do on Sunday – to two guys) and give them hugs? Probably not a great idea. And just generally being me means when I’m drunk I get too close to people sometimes. All that plus the fact that my past recent boyfriends would not have given any fucks if I was doing that, which is (now obviously) a bad thing, but it was a normal thing to me for so long. I’m not used to being with someone who actually cares this much about me. And I can’t believe I did something like this, so insensitive, and so soon. How rude of me. Seriously.

Anyway I feel awful. I really want to see Friendlove so I can apologize again – because this time I really mean it. I think I’m going to email him. My bff told me not to because she thinks it’s better to say it in person, but I think it might be okay to email. It’s kind of my thing anyway.I’m better at writing and I tend to be a big note writer when it comes to relationships. Although an email is not a note, I think it will be okay. Anyway, imma try to write it now, and see if it feels right to send.

4shot, no scone. Victory. Small, but still a small forward.

Hope I’m not trapped in tr all day.

Cave still from yesterday..

Sneaking away to write in bathroom.. Can’t wait for my office.. Glad I brought printed pages to edit.

What will be the Petit Verdot verdict?? Just want to use it once.

Already ready for day to be over, for my run.

Opening caves.. I volunteered –

Cave tour.

Nice couple of ladies from So Cal.

Biz concept written in napkin… Story told by guest.

Woman from Ohio, smitten by everything. Everything. Thinking everything was “cool.” It was adorable, her enamored state.

So nice out. Should be tasting, writing, shooting..

Got some pictures on lunch, and permission to use a little pv on Merlot.

In VIP room, covering for coworker leaving early.

Home, looking through pictures. (7:36pm)

Dear Mayor,

First and for all, I am obliged to extend my congratulation for winning the mayoralty seat of our humble municipality somewhere here in Eastern Visayas. So cheers for 3 more years of public service, and maybe perhaps another 3 should fortune favors your way. You are once again living up to your monicker as a true king of our town. The King or The King from the North or maybe The King of the North (with matching opening hymn of Game of Thrones)! That’s so cool mayor.

But forgive me Your Highness, I believe I must confess for I have sinned did not vote for you in the elections. But don’t worry mayor I’m just a single vote and it’s not really going to affect anything from your total tally even if I voted a thousand times, it still would not be enough. But the race was tight right? I heard you lose some grounds on some key precincts or even key barangays around the town proper. I guess you expected it as you focused your campaigns on the mountainside and the hinterlands (not along THE controversial river). And by the time your campaign reaches it’s climax into the very heart of the town, you put some serious truckloads of people just to make the meeting de avance look like a sold-out concert. Oh I was there, and I thought where am I? Who are these people?

My point here is certainly not to complain why you won because you really did win (fair and square), nor to accuse you of vote buying, nor to put you in a harms way in front of anyone who’ll read this. I just want to tell you, as a townspeople to a tribal leader, that you may have won the election but in the hearts of many you are losing so much support, loyalty and trust from us your constituents. Listen, there’s no denying you are our King, mighty and strong, but we don’t want to see a King without a throne (or a Town Hall to be precise), who lacks control and respect from the people and most importantly a King who doesn’t know how to rule properly.

Now lets focus on the reasons of your not-so-pleasant love affair with the People:

The Quarry -  The People Is Not a Big Fan of your decision to allow a large scale quarrying operation. We don’t want businessmen and foreign investors taking away tons and tons of our sand and gravel from the Salug River (which is by the way very close to the town proper) with their big toys (i.e. your their dumptrucks, payloaders, crushers and whatever the hell those equipment are called) hovering around our river and in our streets like giant sentinels in X-men. We are pissed, yes, and we are fucking scared of their guns, of their influence, and their ability to suck the life out of our lands and river. And to sum it all, You Mighty King from the North allowed it to operate. Never-mind the rumors that you and one of your lieutenants councilors has some business interest on it, never mind the DENR report that the quarrying is actually “good” for the river, and never mind what you’ve said in the meeting de avance that you could face prison sentence if you try to stop IT (as if we know nothing about bureaucracy). You signed their Business Permits mayor, because they said the quarry is a sign of progress but to us it meant you allowed destruction to happen in our hometown.

The House - We all know that you are from North, up there where the river runs through beautifully, cold and pure (lovely ladies out there too ^_^), you may have owned a house and  a few lands out there. But we all know too that you are building (present tense) two houses, all while you are still seating on your throne for a term in three years? You even claimed that beautiful looking two-storey house only cost P.5 Million (half million not 5 million). My God, I don’t know if that’s a form of showing-off luxury or a display arrogance or just plain stupidity but for God’s sake there’s an unwritten rule in politics that never build a house while you’re still in the seat. People will talk, of course that’s our right, and subjects like ill-gotten wealth is such a hot topic.

The Throne - Oops sorry to hear that there’s currently no throne for you to sit upon, our Municipal Hall just got demolished mere weeks before the election (I wonder why are there so many infrastructure projects during elections?). And you can only imagine how our jaw dropped when our beloved town hall went down to the ground. Oh Your Highness, we loved that building and we are proud of it. But you chose to destroy it because you got yourself a piece of paper from DILG that merits good housekeeping? Good Housekeeping mayor, not House Destruction. It’s not even worth millions of pesos of grant to construct another building, but rather it’s just another paperwork for a goddamn LOAN (Utang ba). A loan to construct another Town Hall, when we already had a great one. A loan which your kingdom the townspeople will have to pay for years and years to come. And the last time I looked at the Kingdom’s Financial Statements.. there are still MILLIONS of outstanding loans; unpaid and demandable.

Ok, I have to stop there because those are the major issues your reign faces and have to settle with in the next three years. Nevermind the issues of inefficiencies, ineffectiveness and general lack initiative for progress.. those are not issues I like to tackle but it’s for the People to judge. That’s your problem too.

But listen mayor, I am not here to criticize your administration, I only narrated those issues that’s been plaguing your governance and maybe perhaps to offer you some perspective. I am not your enemy, nor my parents, nor my family nor the thinking class of citizens I represent because we too are public servants – paid and entrusted to promote progress and help create a better life for the community. We too have our issues, we have our vices and ugly sins that we have to live with. But hey, Nobody’s perfect! Sometimes the best and the worst things in life are not the ones from the past, but in the promise and hope that we can do a lot better in the future. And that future starts now Mayor.

We can still win back the trust of the people.  We can still stop the imminent  destruction coming from the quarry. We can still make a better future for the townspeople. “We” means you Sir, me, the private sector, the professionals, the businessmen, the farmers, the students, the tambays, the vendors and everyone under your reign. And you know what? It’s starts with the word “Political Will“, and it asks you personally: “How passionate are you to help the town? How much do you want it? How ready are you to face the adversities and the critics? How strong are you to become the leader our hometown needs and deserves?” It could never ask you “How much money are we going to take?”

Dear mayor, your quest for redemption starts now. Today I saw you and the people around me saw you with dismay, betrayal and perhaps a trace of hatred and disappointment. But that can still change, a mayor’s legacy isn’t judged in the first 3 years of his reign, it is counted by how much you’ve done for the people, how much good works paved the way, how much money you put in the treasury (not in your pocket, obviously) and to how much progress you’ve given into our homeland. We have six years to fix things up.

Tonight I will curse no more “Mayor, mayor what have done?”, for tomorrow I will ask you “Mayor, mayor what can we do to our hometown?”

Mayor, mayor…

It is susceptible to disagreement if others disagree with your methods, your analyses, or your interpretations. Part of that disagreement should not be because you had access to something secret, or your critic had access to something secret.

This is why you need to resist the temptation to refer to data you are not sharing at this time, or to communications that are not public. Science does not work by deferring to authority. It advances with data, analysis, and interpretation. These three things reveal theories that are supported. These three things are the way in which we reject theories, no matter how eminent the person advancing them is.  This is a wonderful thing about science. It is the source of all its power.

But life is complicated and you may have a piece of a puzzle that impacts a publishable study that itself is not quite ready for publication, or that belongs to a different set of co-authors. You may want to say personal communication to acknowledge an idea that was not yours. But you should not do either of these things. Restrict your story to the facts that are revealed. Save the rest for later.

I really like it that the US Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PNAS, explicitly disallows these practices: “Data not shown and personal communications cannot be used to support claims in the work,” from PNAS editorial policies.

Conservation Bulletin, (English Heritage), Issue 70: Summer 2013
Special issue: Heritage Crime
- Working Together
Tacking crime against the heritage is not just a job for the police-it is a battle that depends on everyone working together  pp. 3- 15
- Enforcement and Deterrence
Preventing heritage crime depends on understanding the risks – and on knowing hoe to take firm enforcement action when it does occur. pp. 16-23
- Communities Fighting Back
Each kind of heritage crime needs its own solution – and those solutions are best initiated by the people most directly affected. pp.24-41

Back issues available:
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/conservation-bulletin/

Print Quarterly, Vol.30, No.2, June 2013
Contents
- The Chiaroscuro Woodcuts of the Master ND at Fontainebleau by Catherine Jenkins  pp.131-143
- An Etching of the Cappella dei Principi in Florence by Mario Bevilacqua  pp.144-154
- Ivan Shishkin as Etcher and his 32 States of Gurzuf by Galina Mardilovich  pp.155- 164
Shorter Notices
- Girolamo Mocetto and the Antique by Gert Jan van der Sman  pp.165-170
- Inflammatory Visions: Charles Wade Crump’s Cawnpore Massacre Prints by Peter Harrington  pp.170-179
- The Arts League of Service in London, 1919-28 by Martin Hopkinson pp.179-182

A quick reminder that we can supply photocopies of  journal articles, chapters from books, and conference papers, that are held in the Chantry Library collection. (Icon members are entitled to claim 10 free articles each year, so please quote your membership number with your requests). Articles can be provided either as scanned pages, or in hard copy.

To request items, just contact  Ros Buck, Librarian at chantrylibrary@icon.org.uk, or  tel: 01865 251303

Travel, on mind.  Journaling everything I see.. capturing all characters.  IF a reader walks away with anything, from this log, it’d be that I love writing, and I want to see the world.. so I can WRITE about IT.  My birthday, in 9 days.. already dreading confirmation I’m 1 year older.  Maybe I should allow an all-out Gatsby, this Saturday.  Yes, I’ll record, but I’ll partake as well.  OR, I could stay home, enjoy whatever incredible red bottle I want, over a meal ordered in, from 1 of my preferred SR spots.  No idea how to play.. but I have to suit Self as if it’s the last.  Appreciate each day, especially ones I’m expected to celebrate.

Need that water, now.  Tired.  Going to watch the news, then bed.  Can’t wait for coffee.  Don’t know what it is about that morning ingredient– of course I do, it’s deliciously assuring, a multi-colored melody for my inward telepathy.  Tornado in midwest, Oklahoma, destroying anything.  Think it was Oklahoma.. anyhow, it was unreal, what I watched.  Would love to cover that, as a journalist, writer.  Starting to see new visions for Self.. in the who, what, when, why, where, how.  NewJournalism–

(5/20/13)

She spoke of changes.  ”Every two years,” she said, “things change or you die.”  In her own life, things have changed many times over.   She was born in Chile in the 1940′s, and she grew up feeling shy and never quite fitting in.  Now she is an American citizen and a best-selling novelist.  Still, though, there is still that quiet little girl inside her somewhere no matter how far she gets from that point in her life.  ”You are always in your skin,” she said.  You change, or life changes around you, but you are still you with your hopes, fears, and passions.   Just stronger and happier–hopefully.

Those magical sagas Allende wrote early in her career?  They aren’t her anymore.  She said she can’t even read The House of the Spirits now.  The worldwide bestseller that launched Isabel Allende’s career is “overdone” as she put it.  ”Too baroque.”  I know how she feels.

My current journal is almost full, and in a few more pages, I’ll add it to my stack of old journals that I am afraid to look at again for fear of finding them “overdone.”  Perhaps even a bit “baroque.”  I’ve been keeping a journal since I was a teenager.  There are ups and downs of all sorts contained in those pages.  Maybe one day I’ll read through them, even the cringe-worthy teenage journals full of bad poetry, but for now they are better left in a stack gathering dust as I move on to a new book of blank pages.

I can’t help but wonder what the next two years will bring.

–

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.  A portion of purchases made from these links may benefit this blog.  Thanks for your support! :)

I think that it’s interesting to think about what we decide to write on. I mean, physically write on.  I was looking at a wall of fancy journals today and thinking about buying a new one to add to my ridiculous amount of blank ones. I love pretty journals; I have a drawer full of them.

But I don’t like writing in them. I’m always intimidated by their prettiness and I never want to ruin the clean white spaces with my scribbly handwriting. I’m always pressured into thinking that my writing has to be perfect if I write something in them in order to match the perfectness of the pages themselves–which is never a good thing to think while writing.

Nothing should ever be perfect, especially if it’s coming fresh from your mind. Beautiful writing is beautiful not because it’s perfectly phrased, but it’s perfect in the fact that it speaks a perfect truth.

tea-noir.net

I always find that I do my best writing on the back of old receipts, napkins and post-it notes. (They should probably create a notebook filled with old napkins.) Maybe that’s because the best thoughts/writings always come when you least expect it, not when you’re forcing it onto perfectly pressed paper.

Don’t be pressured into writing something that’s perfect simply because everything around it is. Write what’s true, what’s real, and what’s in the moment.

What do you write on?

Spread 0129 – I Scream 

20 May 2013

Nova color acrylic paints, plaster of Paris, Adirondack color sprays, personal and handmade photos, Acrylic pens.

I am more than all of this.

Due to the Internet, the entry barriers to promote creative works have diminished greatly.  That is a good thing.  Sometimes it takes years for the creative works to be discovered by an audience that appreciates it.

Check out Randy Blythe’s Instagram account.  This dude, takes awesome photo’s and then adds a story to each photo that he takes.  He personalises his creativity.  You don’t have to be a fan of Lamb Of God, to appreciate the creative work of Randy Blythe.  He doesn’t even advertise that he is the singer of Lamb Of God, all he has are the words, “In some band. I try and be a good man.”  Make sure you check out his photos from Prague, during the court case.

Nikki Sixx is another, that is creating quite a few different creative outlets.  Apart from Motley Crue, he also has Sixx A.M.  On top of that, he is a book author, photographer, web show DJ and many more.

Check out the photos on his Tumblr account and on his Instagram account.  Even Nikki Sixx has started adding stories about his photos, in a similar vein to Randy Blythe.

There are others, like Claudio Sanchez from Coheed and Cambria and Corey Taylor from Stone Sour, that released concept albums and are branching out into graphic novels, comics and movie deals.  Robb Flynn from Machine Head is another that is building connections with his fans, by posting his Journals/Ramblings up once a week.

That is what it takes these days to make it.  You need to be creative 24/7.  You need to remain in the public eye.  You need more than just one outlet.  Selling music is a zero sum game.  Having all your eggs in the one basket, is not good risk management.  Spread out, diversify.

You need to connect with people.  It could take years or it could take days, so be prepared to put in time.  You probably will not be paid and any monies you are paid, would not be enough to support a family, but then again, all creative people create because they love it.  It is an outlet to them.  Somewhere through the years, this changed to people creating just to be paid, which is a shame.  Look back at all the masters of history, from Beethoven to Bach to Dali and Monet.  They created music and paintings, not to be paid in the millions, because they wanted too.

So don’t buy in to all of the piracy and copyright infringement bullshit, put forward by the entertainment industry’s lobby groups like the RIAA or MPAA or the labels/studios themselves.  Creativity can bring back many financial gains, you just need to be prepared to put in the time.

For the first time in nearly five decades, a Burmese president will cross the steps of the White House. Thein Sein, the head of the Burmese government since the fall of the junta in 2011, is scheduled to meet Monday in Washington, U.S. President Barack Obama.

This visit is a new strong signal sent by Washington to Burma, which gradually takes the path of democracy. In a year and a half, the country has made spectacular progress: the censorship of newspapers has been greatly simplified, hundreds of opponents have been released and former opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, for years under house arrest, entered Parliament. A "Burmese Spring" that Washington has strongly supported.

Relations between the two countries have therefore experienced a net warming. The United States and the European Union and in April 2012, just months after the end of military rule, a survey of the financial sanctions imposed on that country in Asia Southeast.

In September last year, Aung San Suu Kyi, icon of resistance to the military regime, was received with great pomp in the United States at the beginning of a three- weeks during which she met Barack Obama. U.S. President himself visited the Burmese capital two months later, where he met with Thein Sein. It is now up to the president of Burma, the former Prime Minister in the last three years of the junta and craftsman "Burmese Spring" to go to the White House.

Thien Sein seeking legitimacy

"For the United States, this merger is in the line of reorienting its foreign policy towards Asia," David Camroux analysis, political scientist specializing in Asia Southeastern Center for International Studies and Research (CERI). "But Thien Sein, this displacement has three objectives: it gives it legitimacy in his role as president, both domestically vis-à- screw the military and on the international scene and allows him to seek investment and aid, as Burma is rich, but it has no infrastructure, and this combination appears with Washington allows Thien Sein lead rebalancing his country's relations with China, which was relatively dependent during the junta years. "…… ..

Burma is no longer ostracized by the international community and the U.S. support should not be long in coming. However, many opponents – mainly representatives of exiled Burmese ethnic minorities – believe the official invitation Thien Sien Washington premature. Because in many provinces of Burma, the rights of minorities are still largely ignored. In the east, along the borders with China and Thailand, the hostilities between the military and members of ethnic Kachin, Karen and Shan have not stopped.

Minorities held in margin reforms

Among the minority who do not benefit from the "Burmese Spring" are particularly Rohingyas. These stateless Muslims are targeted since 2012 by waves of violence that have caused nearly 200 deaths in space a few months, and the displacement of 140,000 people in western Burma.

Today, the situation of the Rohingya, considered by the UN as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world, is particularly worrying. Displaced, crowded into camps, live in unsanitary conditions, lack of food, drinking water and medicines. Cyclone Mahasen that affected the coasts of neighboring Bangladesh on May 16, has transformed the camps in mud fields, giving refugees a taste of Calvary awaits during the monsoon .

"Minorities are not the priority of politicians in Burma, said David Camroux. Nor Thien Sein, or for Aung San Suu Kyi, who is also very ethno-nationalist discourse and defend theses on the supremacy of the Burmese ethnic majority. Leaders of ethnic minorities feel that congratulations to the international community come too fast, and you can not blame them. Indeed, there are reforms in size, but they concern only the territories of the majority ethnic Burmese. In contrast, in the periphery [of minorities in the territories, Ed], nothing happens. "

Yes and yes.

I won’t go into detail about this since I’ve already stated my reasons in the previous post about what our planet would look like in the next couple decades and I touched on this a bit with my thoughts about globalization.

Though I should say what I’m doing to be part of the green movement. I simply chip in whatever and however I’m able. I try to recycle, change out bulbs with those compact florescent bulbs, use environmentally friendly cleaning products, etc. Plus, since I have yet to own a car, my current modes of transport are walking, biking, or carpooling. I don’t try to seek out ways of going green, but I try to do my part and what has been known to work.

Mixed in knot translation.

Complications, seemingly something I like

2do.  What if I just stopped?  Hating

technology more with each

new calendar square.  Need a cup of coffee.

But it’s late.  Have to stick with pattern.

(5/20/13)

* * *

Since I was a kid I liked the idea of keeping a diary, documenting your epic adventures to recite to crowds of enthralled listeners in later life. Unfortunately, I never kept a diary because I was too busy trying to make it through school without going mad or running off to join the circus. I’m at a point in my life now though where I’m making the effort to note things down, whether they be to-do lists or random thoughts of the day. Thanks Moleskine.

Over the last few years I’ve been trying to find my rhythm,  the right blend of work and leisure that allows me to be financially comfortable while at the same time enjoying life and what it has to offer. I can confidently say that I have failed in this endeavour, mainly due to my inability to manage my finances! But it’s been a decent ride so far, with plenty of near misses and heart-pounding visits to my online-banking account (“Insufficient funds” has to be one of the worst sentences a person can ever read).

The main issue for me is figuring out what I want to do for a living. I’m not talking about the near-minimum-wage job that’s convenient simply because it’s 20 minutes from your house and the interview process was easy. I’m talking about the job that allows you to really challenge yourself, do something you love and above all else end your week with that warm fuzzy feeling that you have accomplished something. So far I’ve worked in a warehouse, sold clothes, managed a store, sold more clothes and served my time doing door-to-door sales. Currently I work in a call center. I can confidently say that none of these are my calling in life.

“So what is?”

Honestly, if I knew that I wouldn’t be here. I’d be pulled in on the side of some random highway, eating some food and smoking a cigar with my wife. But I’m working on it.

As for the leisure side of things, I have had the chance to experience a few things (although nothing close to the adventures of Tyler Tervooren of Advanced Riskology or Alex Chacón of Modern Motorcycle Diaries). Again, I’m working on it.

As I write this I’m still trying to decide on the angle of this blog, what my mission statement is. I guess I’d like to document my experiences, but in a way that people can enjoy and relate to. Some personal insights, cool topics and inspiration for adventure…Yeah, that will do.

1.  Edit.  Make sure you edit your work before you submit it somewhere!  Just like your high-school English teachers, a veteran editor will be able to tell if the writing you’re submitting is polished.  To give you an idea, I went through all of my old poetry this past week to select which poems were remotely publishable.  Of the 70 approximate poems I had stashed away, around 15 of them were of publishable merit (in my opinion).  Many of those poems were edited 6 or 7 times before they reached that point!  Editors appreciate receiving writing that’s been coddled, cared for, and pruned.

2. Research.  Research what the journal or contest you’re submitting to is looking for.  Often times their website will have a short blurb about the kind of writing they’re seeking out.  If their journal is looking for poetry or writing that’s “avant-garde” or experimental (such as one of my favorite online poetry journals La Petite Zine), and your poems are more grounded and accessible, then perhaps try looking elsewhere.  Of course, it never hurts to try.  If the journal’s website doesn’t describe what kind of writing they’re seeking, then take a look-see at their past issues and try to determine what they like from the writing they’ve previously selected.  Often times, journals will publish at least parts of their issues online for public access.

3.  Sell Yourself.  Most of the time, journals ask for a short cover letter and/or bio when you submit poetry to them.   Cover letters can be tricky – you don’t want to bog down the editors with too much to read aside from your creative writing.  A few friends of mine who work in the small-press editing field have let on that cover letters are better kept short and sweet.  They will be judging you by your writing skill, not the amount of awards you’ve received or the plethora of places your writing has been accepted.  That being said, it’s okay to include these things as long as you don’t go overboard.  If you’ve never been published before, then a short description of your “writing life” will do.  Your bio should also include aspects of your writing life.  This will be shown alongside your poetry if the editor selects you for publication.  You may also be able to have a little more fun with your bio.  For example, this is a bio for poet Adam Palumbo, recently published on Spork Press‘s website:

Adam Palumbo is a poet-critic from Annapolis, MD. His research includes rigorous people-watching, too many hours on his computer, and wearing sweatpants in the kitchen. He reads a lot and writes a little. He has published poetry at The Northern Virginia Review and St. Katherine Review and poetry reviews at The Rumpus, PANK, and Rattle

A little humor is okay.  Just research other author bios on each journal site to see what they’re looking for.

4.  Submit.  Once you have all these little ducklings in a nice row, submit your poetry.  Make sure to pay attention to the submission guidelines.  Typically publications ask you to submit anywhere from 1-5 poems.  However, this varies from place to place.  Some places have a page limit instead.  Others have line-limits for poetry.  The places you’re submitting may also ask that you put everything into one document.  Many of them have a PDF preference, to maintain formatting.  If you’re submitting to more than one journal at a time, make sure that simultaneous submissions are okay (i.e. submitting the same poem to several different places).  For the most part, this is an acceptable practice.  The journals you’re submitting to just ask that you notify them if another publication picks up your writing before they do.  And just a little tip – if you are doing simultaneous submissions, make sure you keep track of where and when you submit your poems!  A spreadsheet is a great way to do this.

5.  Patience.  After you’ve taken all these steps, just try to be patient.  Journals often receive a ton of submissions, and it’s difficult to sort through all of them in a timely fashion.  If you’re itching to know the status of your submission, look for the inquiry guidelines.  Editors will often specify that you don’t inquire about your writing until a certain amount of time has passed.  Respect this boundary!  They may be less inclined to choose your writing if you’re pestering them about it every few days.  It’s also important to remain patient when you get rejected.  Rejection is an inevitable part of a writer’s life.  Just keep trying!  You’ll eventually find an editor who appreciates your writing style, even if it doesn’t happen at first.  If you keep getting rejected and you’re not sure why, ask the editor(s) of the journal you’ve submitted to.  Ask them why they haven’t selected your writing, and if they think you need to improve or change anything.  Be open to critique!  Self examination is a great way to grow.

Do you have any other suggestions regarding publication?  What has been your experience with submitting to contests or journals?  Do you have suggestions for places to submit to? Share your experiences in the comments!

staring across newspaper to hills

promising rain — even the cat,

seen sideways, melds the white

of nose and paws into her black,

snoring fur. The BBC plays Bruckner.

My hands run blue.

–excerpt from “The Color of the Universe” from To Sip Darjeeling at Dawn by Donna Pucciani (Virtual Artists Collective, Chicago 2011). First published in Pinyon Poetry.