Friday Find: Smartish Pace’s Poets Q&A

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

One of the best aspects of my still-nascent poetry practice is my rediscovery and new enjoyment of poetry-only journals. One of these publications, Smartish Pace, runs a wonderful online feature, “Poets Q&A,” in which readers can submit questions to prominent practitioners of the craft; the poets respond, and a full set of questions and answers appears online.

Until November 6, you can submit a question for Carol Muske-Dukes. In the meantime you can enjoy the archive of questions and answers. I haven’t made it through the entire list quite yet, but the respondents include Eavan Boland, Bob Hicok, and Robert Pinsky, among others.

Have a great weekend, and see you back here on Monday.

TBR: Five Titles On My Nightstand

by Erika Dreifus on
8

Literally, these five books are stacked on my nightstand. I’d love to say that sometime in the near future I’ll have read them all, and will be able to blog about each one, but let’s face it: I have no clue when I’ll have read them, let alone reflected sufficiently to write about them.

So, as dubious a substitute as it may be, here’s a photo of the fab five. I don’t know what to think of the fact that this group represents an all-fiction feast. On the other hand, let’s celebrate the presence of independent/small press titles, as well as fiction in translation (you can’t see the translators’ names, but the de Winter book was translated by Jeanette K. Ringold, and Rasskazy [the title means “stories” in Russian] features the work of many translators, including Keith Gessen, Ellen Litman, and Douglas Robinson).

Care to share your own current tbr list?

How Old is Too Old for a Traditional MFA Program?

by Erika Dreifus on
13

As a group, you have proven to be such a wonderful source of knowledge (see, for instance, the recents posts on prose poetry and reading Dickens) that I am going to turn to you once again for your wisdom and advice.

An anonymous reader recently left this comment:

I have a question. What age is too old for a traditional MFA program? Everybody seems to be in their 20s. I’m currently in an excellent low-res program for what is but I crave a more full-time program that more mimics the life of a student, and I’m 46, only now discovering creative writing after a lifetime in journalism.

Back when I was applying to (low-res) programs, low-res definitely had the reputation for appealing more to the older set, those more likely to have careers and family commitments that made it seem very difficult, if not impossible, to consider the range of possible programs across the country that the recently-out-of-college set favored. But just as it’s true that the more recent grads are also turning to low-res programs (there were many in my program as the semesters went on), I know of older students who have decided to go the traditional, “full-res” route. What about the rest of you? Any comments to offer our anonymous colleague?

By the way, since we’re speaking of MFA programs, I should probably point out that Poets & Writers has just added a searchable MA/MFA/PhD program database to its site as well as a feature listing literary journals associated with MFA programs. I don’t really want to get into the new set of rankings the magazine has also published, but I will say that based on what I’ve read so far about the methodology behind it, I’m really not sure how useful these rankings are.

Friday Find: The Secrets to Publishing Success

by Erika Dreifus on
4

That post title sure grabbed your attention, didn’t it?

Well, Jane Friedman, publisher and editorial director of the Writer’s Digest brand at F+W Media, has compiled a set of extremely helpful posts from her There Are No Rules blog (which itself has appeared on our list of frequently checked blogs and links for quite some time). Subtitled “Jane’s 2009 Tough Love Guide,” “The Secrets to Publishing Success” covers a lot: editing and revising, querying/submitting, audience development/platform building, online audience building, indie (self) publishing, and “big picture” ideas. You’re bound to find some information that you can use in your writing practice.

Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

Genre Confusion: Help Wanted!

by Erika Dreifus on
16

In many ways, I am not at all suited to be a fiction writer. I am not one of those lucky souls who is “taken over” by a character who demands to have a story written. I am not someone to whom plot comes naturally. My work is often idea- or circumstance-driven, which, I’ve (finally?) begun to realize, often makes it more suited to essays or poems. Or prose poems. Maybe.

Without getting far more bogged down in details about two new pieces I’ve been struggling with, I think that each one may ultimately find its true destiny as a prose poem. But I’m not sure. Yet.

Here’s where you come in. I’d be very grateful for comments and advice from my fellow practicing writers on these questions:

1) How do you “know” the form a given work of yours should take?

2) Please recommend some online (or offline) guides to prose poetry that you’ve found useful in mastering the form. What I’m really seeking with this question are thoughtful craft lessons and background materials.

3) Can you recommend (again, online or offline) favorite prose poems, for inspiration and/or education? Do feel free to “self-nominate”!

Thank you in advance!