More Workshop Talk
I finished my poem for this week’s workshop and am going to send it to my fellow poets tonight, so they can read and comment for Saturday. This one I struggled with a bit– I began three different poems, finished one, left one in draft form for the moment, and then did several different drafts of the ultimate winner. I had an idea about how I wanted to approach it, but really had trouble putting into words. After struggling so, I lost some confidence in it, but after some encouragement from a friend, have decided to let it stand for this week. It’s based on a David Hare photograph, and I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.
I also had two poems come back to me in the mail this week and promptly went to my online writing group to crank and complain. One fellow writer commiserated on the injustice of the pre-printed rejection slip, and another sent me this great quote from Barbara Kingsolver:
This manuscript of yours that has just come back from another editor is a precious package. Don’t consider it rejected. Consider that you’ve addressed it “to the editor who can appreciate my work” and it has simply come back stamped ‘not at this address.’ Just keep looking for the right address.
This is why it’s important to have writer friends!

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