Fall Manuscript Class, All is Forgotten, Nothing is Lost, Foetry, Poetry Champions, Poetry Careers
Still a few days left to sign up for my Fall Poetry Manuscript Class (read more about it at this link) so if you’re still looking for a little motivation, a few exercises, a little encouragement and critique, e-mail me at jeannine.gailey@live.com.
Just finished the new novel All is Forgotten, Nothing is Lost, a kind of moral fable about two male poets in an “Iowa Writers Workshop-type” MFA program in the eighties, one of whom has an affair with his “Jorie Graham-type” professor and subsequently is awarded prizes by said professor that lead him to a great career, while his more pure-minded classmates ends up dying in obscurity, despite, perhaps, being the better writer. It’s kind of old-fashioned in that it lacks an ironic take on these proceedings, and, I think, ascribes old-fashioned moral suffering to a main character who doesn’t seem to have any morals. It was written by the current director of The Iowa Writers Workshop, and seems to support the “Foetry” view of the Poetry Universe – unless you get a champion early on, preferably by sleeping with someone famous, you are doomed to a life of artistic unrecogniton. Which is, for me, since I’m someone who has never slept with any famous poets, kind of depressing. (Hey, I got married early to a cute guy I still really like! It’s really a sleeping-with-your-professor deterrent.)
It makes you wonder about the way poetry “careers” – teaching jobs, awards, grants, etc – are still made today. Do you think increased scrutiny has lead to less nepotism today? Do you think a young emerging poet needs a older, more famous poetry “champion” to get any notice, and if so, how do we go about getting such a “champion?” (Without, you know, the sleeping with part.) I know the internet is a great equalizer, and I’ve met so many nice poets with great personalities and great writing out there, poets who deserve more recognition…And don’t give me the old saw “Only the writing matters, don’t worry about your poetry career.” Because I don’t believe many writers write who don’t also want to be read, and often, getting those “boosts” – awards, jobs, grants, reviews in the right places – is the difference between getting read and not getting read.
New Fall Manuscript Class
Well, my summer poetry manuscript class is winding down, and it went really well, so I am going to offer it again for the fall.
Wish you had someone to read over your poetry manuscript before you send it out to this year’s contests and open submissions? This eight-week class is limited to five writers and will start October 1. It’s run on a private blog and discussion board (so your work can’t be searched or googled) and you will get feedback on your poetry book (or chapbook) manuscript as it develops over eight weeks from both me and your classmates, and you’ll be reading and commenting on your classmates’ manuscripts as well. We’ll cover topics like organization, style, publishing, and filling in the gaps in your manuscript. We’ll do some writing exercises and one (short) book review. It’s going to be $300 for eight weeks. Any questions? Leave a comment! If you’re interested, send a short bio and a sample of your work – a couple of poems – to me at jeannine.gailey@live.com.
Oh yes…you want to know who I am? Well, let’s see, here’s my bio: Jeannine Hall Gailey is the author of Becoming the Villainess, published in 2006 by Steel Toe Books. Poems from the book were featured on NPR’s The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor, Verse Daily, and in 2007’s The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror. She’s also the author of the upcoming She Returns to the Floating World, which will be published by Kitsune Books in late 2011. She won the 2007 Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Prize and was awarded a 2007 Washington State GAP grant. She teaches part-time at National University’s MFA program, volunteers for Crab Creek Review, and has published reviews, interviews, and articles for Poets & Writers online, The Poetry Foundation web site, and the 2010 and 2011 Poet’s Market.
