In the Spirit of Poetry Has Value | May 2016 Report

Here are my May statistics:

Poetry: Sent to 12 journals (Pedestal, Minerva Rising, New England Review, Bennington Review, The Common, Boxcar Review, Poet Lore, US 1 Worksheets, Arroyo Literary Review, Reservoir, Mom Egg Review, Prime Number), one acceptance (honorable mention and publication for a contest entry—more on that when the winners are officially announced), three rejections (PoemMemoirStory, Reservoir, New England Review). 

Short fiction: A story rejected 18 times has been accepted by the Michigan Quarterly Review, whose editor was the first person I thought of for this story. It will be published in January 2017. The most recent rejection came from the Southern Indiana Review.

Creative nonfiction: No action here in any direction, including writing. Now that my contract as Visiting Assistant Professor of English/Nonfiction is ending, I feel no compulsion.

I spent ten glorious days at the Highlights Foundation facilities in Boyds Mills, PA. I led the 2016 Writing Jewish-themed Children’s Books for the first few days, did an “Unworkshop” for the next few days, and wrapped up my time there participating as a student in the Novels in Verse workshop, during which I had at least three epiphanies. Although this required trashing my entire manuscript, I was so excited about the possibilities that I got goosebumps.