Your poem today dovetails nicely with the subject of my blog, "Memories are Forever," on copyright and fair use. How would you feel about me reposting/using one of your poems in my blog?
I was going to drop a comment on your post today, but you seem to have disabled comments.
I had to learn about copyright and fair use as one aspect of my job, so I can tell you that it's definitely a violation of both to post other people's poems without permission. I can also tell you that people do it all the time, and nobody cares.
When I say "without permission," I mean without permission of the copyright holder, often not the poet but the publisher (usually of a book). It's understandable that a book publisher might object to people's having free access to material that the publisher spent time and money producing for a paying audience. At the same time, the publisher might also consider that exposure to a single purloined poem could drive sales of the book. And I'm pretty sure the poet would be happy for the additional readers.
I've had people tell me, after the fact, that they've taken one of my Substack poems and posted it to their Facebook wall. On the one hand, I would have liked to be asked. On the other, once I put a poem out there, if someone likes it enough to share it on another platform, that's great. It's true that somebody could take the poem and publish it elsewhere under their own name. That's unlikely, but if it were to happen, it would be further grist for the Diary Poems mill. So I'm not losing any sleep.
I hope this answers your question about how I would feel if you reposted or used one of my poems on your blog. And if you're asking permission, please help yourself.
I love this! Some of your phrases are so familiar, even with my relatively brief foray into submitting my work. And I will have to listen to that Becky Tuch session.
Just having read Green's 2023 interview, I wonder: Other than enjoying it, and saving $, why would the lead in a literary publishing enterprise want to "wear every hat"? Perhaps his view will change as it becomes evident that the existence of Rattle depends, perhaps overmuch, on him?
UPDATE: I found the interview, at the second Tim Green link, so that clears up my earlier question. Yes, he does describe himself as wearing "every hat," but with support from those listed on the masthead. Tim does set the overall vision for Rattle, though, where "poetry without pretension" means you won't be reading avant-garde work, but you will find a preponderance of (often very long) narrative poems. This vision is articulated quite explicitly in a recent episode of The Poetry Space (podcast co-hosted with Katie Dozier), where the poet George Bilgere joins the hosts in a discussion of what constitutes "hospitable" (that is, accessible) poetry.
I've had work both accepted and rejected by Rattle, and either way I think Tim was not the first reader--or a reader at all, to judge from form rejections I've received.
Yes, some people draw the line at paying a submission fee. Some draw the line at being asked to provide trigger warnings. And you draw the line you've mentioned. We all get to draw our own lines in the tiny universe of writing and publishing poems.
I feel you. This is why I don’t go for contests any more. There is a lot of cronyism in the literary world., same folks showing up all the time, judges all know each other. That’s also why I decided to be here on Substack, just so somebody would read what I wrote.
I started writing poetry in 2020, so I’m fairly oblivious. I generate lots of boring radiology reports every day, and I spend a great deal of time editing and correcting my resident’s agrammatical ramblings, which isn’t exactly literary genius. They roll their eyes at me Thanks for sharing the interesting link. Someone’s getting rich off all of these contests with piecemeal fees, and perhaps Foetry should be resurrected. Sorry about all those rejections and disappointments. I enjoy your work, for what that’s worth.😊
Thanks, Carole. I'm not suffering under a burden of rejection and disappointment. It's a numbers game, and sometimes I play. Odds of getting published in almost any environment are about 4 percent at best, so it's wise not to get too invested in the notion that publication = validation. It's very nice when it happens, but it's a by-product of something you're doing for other reasons.
Your mention of your job reminded me of the short story "Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams," by the poet Sylvia Plath. Have you read it?
X. P., may your days be well-caffeinated. This piece is a double espresso for the writer’s brutalized soul. Caustic, bracing, always brilliant. Come on, folks. You need your daily X. P.
I could hear the rhythm in the piece, but was so taken with both how funny and how on point it is that I didn't try to figure it out.
As for this
poetry
spelunking
the liminal space
between the surreal
and the lip
of eternity
Isn't that every poem ever written? I mean really, it's the entirety of The Cat in the Hat, Howl, and the collected works of Shakespeare. And the monkeys with typewriters.
Your poem today dovetails nicely with the subject of my blog, "Memories are Forever," on copyright and fair use. How would you feel about me reposting/using one of your poems in my blog?
Hi Celeste.
I was going to drop a comment on your post today, but you seem to have disabled comments.
I had to learn about copyright and fair use as one aspect of my job, so I can tell you that it's definitely a violation of both to post other people's poems without permission. I can also tell you that people do it all the time, and nobody cares.
When I say "without permission," I mean without permission of the copyright holder, often not the poet but the publisher (usually of a book). It's understandable that a book publisher might object to people's having free access to material that the publisher spent time and money producing for a paying audience. At the same time, the publisher might also consider that exposure to a single purloined poem could drive sales of the book. And I'm pretty sure the poet would be happy for the additional readers.
I've had people tell me, after the fact, that they've taken one of my Substack poems and posted it to their Facebook wall. On the one hand, I would have liked to be asked. On the other, once I put a poem out there, if someone likes it enough to share it on another platform, that's great. It's true that somebody could take the poem and publish it elsewhere under their own name. That's unlikely, but if it were to happen, it would be further grist for the Diary Poems mill. So I'm not losing any sleep.
I hope this answers your question about how I would feel if you reposted or used one of my poems on your blog. And if you're asking permission, please help yourself.
In a parallel track, I have been sending out a spoof, but will save the specifics.....
Looking forward to that, for sure!
Your range is just wonderful. I always look forward to your work.
Thank you, Lev.
I love this! Some of your phrases are so familiar, even with my relatively brief foray into submitting my work. And I will have to listen to that Becky Tuch session.
Just having read Green's 2023 interview, I wonder: Other than enjoying it, and saving $, why would the lead in a literary publishing enterprise want to "wear every hat"? Perhaps his view will change as it becomes evident that the existence of Rattle depends, perhaps overmuch, on him?
UPDATE: I found the interview, at the second Tim Green link, so that clears up my earlier question. Yes, he does describe himself as wearing "every hat," but with support from those listed on the masthead. Tim does set the overall vision for Rattle, though, where "poetry without pretension" means you won't be reading avant-garde work, but you will find a preponderance of (often very long) narrative poems. This vision is articulated quite explicitly in a recent episode of The Poetry Space (podcast co-hosted with Katie Dozier), where the poet George Bilgere joins the hosts in a discussion of what constitutes "hospitable" (that is, accessible) poetry.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-73-poetic-hospitality/id1675796320?i=1000665646767
*****
Hi, Deborah. Where was that interview? Curious--not sure what Tim said (or where) about wearing every hat, but here is the Rattle masthead:
https://www.rattle.com/info/contact/#:~:text=%EE%80%80EDITOR-IN-CHIEF%20Alan
I've had work both accepted and rejected by Rattle, and either way I think Tim was not the first reader--or a reader at all, to judge from form rejections I've received.
Oh, I thought it was an article you'd linked-to, X.P. Here it is: https://substack.com/@timgreen/p-126686710
Yes, just updated my reply, before I found this latest comment from you. Sorry for the confusion.
I love this! I refuse to submit where they will not accept the work I've enjoyed publishing via my own 'stack.
Yes, some people draw the line at paying a submission fee. Some draw the line at being asked to provide trigger warnings. And you draw the line you've mentioned. We all get to draw our own lines in the tiny universe of writing and publishing poems.
Oh, I've got those other lines too. ;) It's so fun drawing lines, I'm not sure I can stop. Truth is that I don't need publication to have fun.
I feel you. This is why I don’t go for contests any more. There is a lot of cronyism in the literary world., same folks showing up all the time, judges all know each other. That’s also why I decided to be here on Substack, just so somebody would read what I wrote.
Here’s one I did about this:
https://open.substack.com/pub/caroleroseland/p/contest-rules?r=3myco9&utm_medium=ios
Thanks for sharing your poem, Carole. I enjoyed it. Are you familiar with the history of the Foetry website?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foetry.com
I started writing poetry in 2020, so I’m fairly oblivious. I generate lots of boring radiology reports every day, and I spend a great deal of time editing and correcting my resident’s agrammatical ramblings, which isn’t exactly literary genius. They roll their eyes at me Thanks for sharing the interesting link. Someone’s getting rich off all of these contests with piecemeal fees, and perhaps Foetry should be resurrected. Sorry about all those rejections and disappointments. I enjoy your work, for what that’s worth.😊
Thanks, Carole. I'm not suffering under a burden of rejection and disappointment. It's a numbers game, and sometimes I play. Odds of getting published in almost any environment are about 4 percent at best, so it's wise not to get too invested in the notion that publication = validation. It's very nice when it happens, but it's a by-product of something you're doing for other reasons.
Your mention of your job reminded me of the short story "Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams," by the poet Sylvia Plath. Have you read it?
https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/files/sept_1968_-_plath_-_johnny_panic_and_the_bible_of_dreams.pdf
This should be some fun reading material! I’ll let you know what I think. I’m not suffering, either. I do this for fun, when the spirit moves.
X.P. In your signature style (razor wit delivered inside highly crafted lines), you skewered the gatekeepers😹 😹😹
LOL. Thanks, Sharon. All the more fun in that I used to be a gatekeeper myself.
That’s how you know where the cutting places are😹😹
"
Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more
9.9.2024
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
X. P. Callahan
Sep 9
READ IN APP
Photo: Annie Spratt
We will not accept
any “work”
you’ve published yourself,
print or online. Try
to keep up
with our reasoning.
First, it must be bad,
that sad thing
you catapulted
past the gatekeepers.
Otherwise
you would have asked us
to say “Not this one”
or “Came close”
or “Try us again”
(if your poem was
not bad bad
but also not good).
Second, and this is
the key point,
we can’t take the risk
your self-published work
may have found
earlier readers
in numbers greater
than our own
modest audience,
meaning those rare souls
who open
our journal’s pages
and don’t simply use
the cover
as a drink coaster.
Further, imagine
the letdown
our readers would feel
were they to find out
your poem
had a history.
Wouldn’t that be like
blowing up
a pizzeria,
only to find sluts
among one’s
celestial virgins?
Which is not to say
we don’t take
simultaneous
submissions—we do,
with pleasure
(and we’re not faking),
not merely pleasure
of the kind
attendant upon
simultaneous
submission
in other contexts
but pleasure also
in knowing
you will have to wait
for gatekeepers spread
far and wide
over the landscape
of literary
consequence
to review your work
and debate whether
to admit
you to the canon.
Even more than this,
we relish
how long you will wait
in your demeaning
posture of
total submission,
for by submitting
you endorse
our authority."
Writers, let us unite in no longer endorsing their authority! Let us take back our power as creators! ✊✊✊
Cool, Mary. Thanks. And, wow, thanks for the paid subscription!
this made my morning! and i'm not even a poet!! xox
X. P., may your days be well-caffeinated. This piece is a double espresso for the writer’s brutalized soul. Caustic, bracing, always brilliant. Come on, folks. You need your daily X. P.
LOL! Thanks so much, Mary!
Oh this is just marvelous. And I certainly do care about, and admire, the precision of your craft.
Thank you, Mike.
Masterful!
Thanks, Kim!
Exploded lunes for the lunatics!
I could hear the rhythm in the piece, but was so taken with both how funny and how on point it is that I didn't try to figure it out.
As for this
poetry
spelunking
the liminal space
between the surreal
and the lip
of eternity
Isn't that every poem ever written? I mean really, it's the entirety of The Cat in the Hat, Howl, and the collected works of Shakespeare. And the monkeys with typewriters.
Thanks for this one, XP - made my day.
LOL!
I love your "work" 😁 😉.
Ha ha! Thank you, Margaret Ann, and likewise.
😁😊
Yes... Yes to all of this! This is sublime.
Ha! It’s too good.