07.21.08
The submission process, it’s not unlike a pumpkin patch.
I’ve been going through the poems I’ve written over the past year in an attempt to select the ones I want to submit for publication. It’s a daunting process. I wrote two weeks ago about reviewing poems to read at the open mic, and how I was revising them up until 2 hours before the meeting began. Today was no different, and worse.
When you submit poems to an editor, you have to consider the journal you are submitting to, and what if any experience you have had with that editor, be it success or failure. With Rosemary Cappello, I’ve had both. I mentioned Rosemary in my July 8, 2008 post. Last year she accepted two of my poems for the 2009 edition of the Philadelphia Poets journal out of more than a dozen I submitted last year, and on the eighth I was putting the finishing touches on them. Today, I tried to select some of my newer poems to submit to her. When I reviewed my poems to read at the open mic, I chose ones that had particular meaning to me. For Rosemary, I had to choose the ones I felt would fit with her journal from the list I put together to read. It took hours. Tomorrow, I’ll go through each one and probably revise them all. After this, I’ll compose my submission letter and format the selections to fit her criteria, print them out, recheck them, probably find typos, revise them again, reprint them, and then mail them in a protected oversize envelope.
I forgot to mention yesterday that Daniel rototilled the garden before we went to his company picnic. He told me he’s always wanted a pumpkin patch. He had intended to plant a vegetable garden this past spring. In April he rototilled the ground in preparation to start planting, but two days later I had to take him to the hospital. This was his second hospitalization this year. Then again in May he rototilled the garden, and was back in the hospital 36 hours later. The first six months of this year have been tough. Late yesterday afternoon I received a weather alert for an approaching storm. When I mentioned it to Daniel, he rushed out to the garden and began planting. He wanted to get the seeds in before the ground was wet or he’d have to wait a few days. As it was, we barely got any rain at all. Tomorrow I’ll water the garden with the pond water. We’ll have pumpkins; zucchini, yellow & green; spaghetti squash, patty pan squash.
I thought about going through his pumpkin patch this fall to choose which pumpkins we’ll use to decorate the front porch and walkways, and which ones we’ll give to family and friends. Selecting the perfect pumpkin for the right spot and the right person, each with its unique qualities, size and shape, and character, not unlike selecting poems.
O.P.W.