Below is the information from Marj Hahne for her upcoming 30-minute daily workshop, starting tomorrow! Are you socially distanced? Self-quarantined? Cabin-feverish? A little po-lonely? "Literature is the most agreeable way of ignoring life," wrote poet Fernando Pessoa (The Book of Disquiet), so let's ignore life and stay healthy […]
I recently submitted two poems to a magazine (which will remain unnamed due to possible legal ramifications). When I clicked on the 'Next' icon to take me to the 'Submit' page, a wall of words, highlighted in red, filled up my screen. At the time, it appeared to […]
"I wish those editors would hurry up. This is the third day this week I haven't received a rejection email." Then there are days I mentally stamp my foot when I check my sent list and discover how much longer an editor has kept my submission than the […]
Here's a small heartbreak of mine: too many people, at least in America, are turned off by poetry. We practicing poets are sadly aware that, when we step up to a mic, when we publish our poems in magazines, anthologies, or self-authored books, our audience comprises mostly other […]
"I can't walk and talk at the same time." We hadn't seen each other in quite some time and my friend was frustrated with me. I kept having to stop every time I wanted to say something and my body was veering off course. It didn't seem like […]
You are a poet, or rather, you are someone who writes poetry. Either way you call it, good for you. Now, don't get confused. At the most basic level, all it means is that you write poetry. It doesn't make you a special case, or a better-than. The […]
Poets write because we have ideas, passions, and impulses inside of us that demand expression. We are artists. That said, when placing your work you have to be a little more practical--one part artist, one part real estate agent. Finding a lasting home for your poetry can be […]
Political poetry. Protest poetry. Resistance poetry. Civic poetry. Poetry of witness. These terms, while somewhat distinct, all reflect a poet's impulse to express a political self, to be, by extension, a "political poet," a "protest (or resistance or civic) poet," a "poet of witness." But is it possible--or […]
I started writing this book because when I started publishing anthologies at the end of 2017, there were no books or advice columns out there for new publishers. I contacted every single publisher on the Northern Fiction Alliance page (around 50 UK publishers) and offered to work for […]
I've long been a fan of writing prompts and exercises. Back in 2010, shortly before my short-story collection Quiet Americans was released, I described some contributions that prompts and exercises can make to a writing practice, including getting you started, getting you "unstuck," and even getting you published. […]
