It's summer! That means time to catch up, and I have to begin with a string of publications that I'm totally stoked about. Here they are, in the order in which they got to my house:
Zymbol published one of my "wacky poems"! Take
that, Rafael (my husband, who first referred to my poems as such)! In all seriousness, it's pretty hard to publish experimental poetry, in my experience, at least, but
Zymbol--just a few issues old--is especially interested in symbolism and surrealism. Thus, "Magic Trick," my highly experimental nonce sonnet crown, finally found a home. A great publication story: originally I sent them a bunch of shorter poems, having totally given up on the idea of anybody even considering a sonnet crown. On a whim, I decided to mention that I had a sonnet crown to send if they were interested. Magically, they didn't want any of the poems I had selected, but they asked to see the sonnet crown, and they liked it! It's a gorgeous issue, with haunting artwork from Carrie Anne Baade and an amazing piece called "Ways to Become a Druid" by Larry Lefkowitz. You can get a copy of this issue
here.
I'm also in
Obsession: Sestinas in the Twenty-First Century, a new collection of poems in my favorite form. Edited by Carolyn Beard Whitlow and Marilyn Krysl, the anthology also features an afterword by Lewis Putnam Turco! The 152-page book features sestinas on Americana; Art; Love and Sex; Memory, Contemplation, Retrospection, and Death; The Natural World; Sestinas about Sestinas; Sestinas with Irregular Teleutons; and Unconventional Sestinas. Mine, "Lizards," which originally appeared in
Poets and Artists, opens the "Natural World" section (note to aspiring poets: change your last name to something beginning with "A"--you have no idea how important that tiny detail is!). I could spend days dropping names here on all the amazing people in this anthology (you can read the ToC
here), but the only one I will mention is Maxine Kumin--got into an anthology with you one more time, Maxine.
I've got two poems in
Drawn to Marvel: Poems from the Comic Books, edited by Bryan D. Dietrich and Marta Ferguson. Another great publication story: "Wonder Woman Goes through Menopause" actually won a prize back in 2008, but the awarding magazine,
HereThere, collapsed before publishing it. The other poem, "Superman Confronts Me about Dinner," is one of my Lois Lane poems. (Someday I hope these will all be together somewhere, even if it's just a chapbook.) Both are in a section of the anthology called "The Bronze Age," about aging superheroes. Lots of familiar names in this anthology, too, so I won't play favorites by naming just a few. Suffice it to say this is now
the definitive anthology on superhero poems. Check out the ToC
here.
Lastly, my old favorite, two new poems in the latest issue of
Iodine, which also happens to be the 15th anniversary issue.
Iodine published my first poem ever, and I hope it will publish my last. I've come to trust editor Jonathan K. Rice's judgment, who convinced me that "Never" is actually a very good poem, even though I wasn't sure when I sent it to him. I also have another sonnet, "Maria's Sonnet," in this issue.
I've also gotten a poem accepted for
How to Live on Other Planets: A Handbook for Aspiring Aliens, although that won't be out until next year, The ToC is already up at Upper Rubber Boot Books, however, so you can get a preview
here. It will reprint "Malibu Barbie Moves to Mars," which originally appeared in
Eye to the Telescope. I'm excited--this officially makes me a sci-fi poet!
Hoping that the summer will bring more opportunities for writing and sending out stuff. I have been neglecting my writing, a lapse for which there is no excuse. I did have a great creative writing class last semester, so I am raring to go, and hoping to get this blog back at the center of things again, so check in every once in a while and feel free to nag me if you think I'm letting the summer go by without posting. I would love to hear what you think of any of these pubs if you check them out. My thanks to all the editors who have given me some much-needed encouragement. To all my anthology and issue buddies, I lift a virtual glass of sugar-free lemonade: cheers!
