I believe that when we are born we are given three precious, finite, unsubstitutable treasures. These are time, body and mind. We need all three in order to write or to lead fulfilling lives, which, for so many of us means the same thing.
Only while we have all three at the same time can we write our poems, get ideas for amazing novels, or conduct mental arguments with our own characters. I thought I’d share a few of my thoughts on how to take care of these three resources.
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It is so exciting for me to share three translations of poems by Vanya Angelova, Petar Tchouhov and Krassimir Vardyev. I am thankful to poet Claudia Serea for including samples from the Accents Publishing’s upcoming anthology of contemporary Bulgarian poetry in the National Translation Month of The Writing Center at PCCC.
Read the poems here .
(Audio clip from a live Accents show on 2/22/2013)
I am a Bulgarian poet. This may not seem like a big revelation to you, but I just found out. I found out through reading poems in Bulgarian for an anthology of contemporary Bulgarian poetry that I am currently editing. I found out not by reading the really good poems, for all really good poetry has something universal in it that seems to transcend language and place. No, I realized I’m a Bulgarian poet by reading really bad poems in my native language.
Read the rest here: http://www.diodepoetry.com/v6n1/content/stoykova-klemer_k.html
Poet Steve Cope surprises radio host Katerina Stoykova Klemer with a poem dedicated to her. Clip from Accents – a radio show for literature, art and culture on 2/15/2013.
After several conversations Lisa and I had about the importance of poetry book reviews, we decided to create a new segment on Accents radio show. This segment is called “Accents on Books with Lisa Williams.” Lisa will appear periodically on the show to share with the listeners her thoughts on several poetry books of her choosing. Please click below to hear the first installment of “Accents on Books with Lisa Williams.”
Clip from Accents – a Radio Show for Literature, Art and Culture on 2/15/2013.
Lisa Williams reviews Mary Szybist’s new poetry book, “Incarnadine” by Graywolf Press and Sarah Arvio’s new book “night thoughts: 70 dream poems & notes from an analysis” by Knopf.
I used to think that one of the hardest things I had to do as an editor was to reject the work of my friends. It turned out, though, that I discovered something harder – sending a “no thank you” note to a poetry mentor. I don’t regret doing it, but I dreaded answering his email for quite some time. This prompted me to write a few words about possible ways to feel less guilty when rejecting people you know, love, or feel obligation to in one way or another.
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I had the honor of appearing on J.P. Dancing Bear’s long-running poetry radio show “Out of Our Minds.” It was so much fun! I read many poems from my latest book, The Porcupine of Mind (Broadstone Books), as well as a translation of a poem by Petja Heinrich.
The podcast can be heard here:
http://outofourminds.posterous.com/out-of-our-minds-wjp-dancing-bear-guestkateri
Yes, the high-paying, packed-with-perks job of an editor for a literary publication is fraught with landmines.
Well, maybe not fraught, and maybe not landmines, but there are times when you, the editor, dread opening your email. Especially during the days after sending out a long round of rejections. Because, more often than not, that’s followed by a few responses by mortally wounded writers.
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For good or bad, rejections are the rule rather than the exception when submitting unsolicited literary work for publication. Below are some thoughts on what to do, what not do and what to remember when confronted with another “no, thank you” note.
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