Every time I teach Creative Writing: Poetry to college students, I spend some time going over how to submit poems for publication, and then they send out two batches of poems to different literary journals at the end of the semester. I set them up for the reality […]
So much has changed since I first started sending my work out two decades ago. Publishers are more open to simultaneous submissions, and I seek out (rather than avoid) online publications. But the biggest shift has been the number of pieces I get accepted each year. Take a […]
There is perhaps no greater mystery than ordering a poetry collection. The decisions can be nerve-wracking: debating which poems will open and close your book, asking which poems pack the most punch to hook the reader, questioning if these poems should sit next to each other for the […]
When I was in art school, I once had a poetry professor who, on the first day of class, introduced himself as a failed painter. Immediately, that proclamation (and others) rubbed me the wrong way and I ended up dropping the class in favor of a film course […]
I. Who is Diane? Are you Diane? I channeled Diane—I don’t know from where. I’ve had Diane in me since I was a child. When I was six, I sat on the top bunk and ripped a twenty dollar bill in half (just like Diane would later […]
Last year for Christmas I asked for An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo, Poet Laureate of the United States. I’m an avid reader and a proud lit. major, but I’ve never asked for a book of poetry in my life. If I could take you back in time, I’d […]
As I brood over my newest batch of poems, and cast a crabby eye on the previous batch, as yet unpublished, it seems to me that editing can be focused on three levels. There’s the level of the text on the page: Are the verbs active and surprising […]
Imagine that you are an athlete, and you’ve been preparing to try out for a soccer team. You’ve worked on your fitness, your directional changes, your speed, your dribbling, your passing, your penalty shots for weeks, for months, and you have a strong desire to be on the […]
In my thirty years of writing, I had only published four poetry book reviews until last year. So ending the year with sixteen reviews written and published took a major shift in attitude and practice. You could do this too. why review Reviewing is certainly about being a […]
Galleyway is an online platform that spotlights opportunities for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) writers in literature, poetry, television, film, and theater. In addition, we produce audio readings, a video interview series, and facilitate weekly virtual writing sessions. I founded the site in 2016 in response to […]
