Someone once consoled me
in a rejection letter from a magazine,
'we're publishing ____ _____ instead.'
I was supposed to realize I shouldn't be hurt
because ____ _____ was so famous.
Only I'd never heard of her.
Learned friends are always reeling off
names of famous poets I've never heard of:
that's how I know I'm a dilettante.
I leave the name blank above,
because now I know
the person really is famous,
and I don't want to embarrass myself.
Twenty years later, I still
haven't read her poetry, though.
that's too bad, Max, because that's how I educated myself in poetry. By looking people up I'd never heard of and seeing if I liked their writing or not.
in the end the very end too many words clutter the mind until all day with the other not how much but how deep a delightful poem
Love it! The smack in the face is when they say they're publishing so and so instead of you. Even worse is when they say 'this is very good, but not good enough for us'. Well done, Max: a true poet's lament.
Dear Max, All respect for those prestigious publications that we are supposed to be in awe of is totally lost on me. I have been on this site for 6 weeks now and lo and behold, am witness to far superior material than one shall ever set eyes on in the majority of CanLit publications. Beginning to believe that it is better not to be connected to their 'high standards of sophistication.'
Hello Max, this made me think of 'starving poets', those two words just kept running through my mind as I read through your very intriguing poems. Perhaps we won't be read/discovered until after we are dead....Take care, and I look forward to reading more of your poetry :) Kim
thank you, Max, for now I know I am not alone. So many poets, so little time...
Nicely written and I do agree, even a writer like myself have such a hard time to get my story publish, a constant battle with others who most of the time are not such good storytellers. I enjoyed!
Sometimes I wonder about our creative community. I think some 'artists' are lauded because a publisher is putting spin so they don't have to admit the embarrassing truth that they were wrong about talent. This site is refreshing for that reason, the space is up for grabs by those that want to fill it.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
I think this is funny. You guys mention many 'famous poet's' names that I have never heard of! Sometimes I'll look them up, most the time I don't. I enjoy the work here too much to worry about 'famous' poets. Great poem. Sincerely, Mary