Dear Poets,
We’re just beyond the solstice, now deep into the holidaze (yes to this spelling) but I have to pause to write to you. For one, I still want to share my post-Tufts thoughts. Our all-day deliberation was postponed (thrice!) yet I want to get this out before we turn the page into the new year. I’m going to call this Part One so I send it before heading eastwards and let Part Two arrive when it will. If anyone would like the more in depth write up I did after last year’s judging, let me know and I will gladly send along.
A few takeaways (in no particular order):
I’ve come to see 75-85 pages as about the right amount for a full-length book. Those over 100 pages often seemed long; those just over 50 seemed short. Like Goldilocks, somewhere in between seems enough to develop themes, circle back, add new notes, chords, fugue-like repetition. Whatever the metaphor you choose, for there to be a sense of development in the book, this page range seemed about right. Books that stood out often had a sense of depth, or ‘fullness’ (as vague as that might sound) and you need length to achieve that, yet a tight enough structure that by page 70 or so, the tension still holds. I’ll add there is a formula (that I can’t locate quickly) for how a manuscript printed out on 8 1/2 x 11 paper ‘translates’ to standard book size. On the whole, you’ll have more pages in book form than you have printed out.
As expected, books in this batch (published in 2022) touched on Covid and the pandemic, some more successfully than others. I read a number of ‘medical’ themed narratives — some not about Covid but other issues — and asked myself if these are gripping because the stakes are instantly high? I’m not sure, since these themes often have an immediate hold. I think it comes down to the writing, ultimately, to make a poetry book with this theme transcend beyond just being about illness, though there is an arresting quality when this is the central theme.
It really is a matter of taste. One reader will marvel how a writer is deconstructing language by leaving out the vowels in every third word and creating new post-modern meaning. Another reader will scoff at this as contrived nonsense. What is innovative and daring to one person will be scorned by another as gimmicky and inauthentic.
Which brings me to the realistic? pragmatic? conclusion that oftentimes the ‘middle’ book wins. This is not necessarily good nor bad, just true. One thing to remember is that all the books I read (138 for the Kate, 220 for the Kingsley) had already weathered a publisher’s scrutiny and been published — no small feat, i.e. they have already been deemed worthy. Now it’s another set of people (deliberately with different tastes) who have to agree on one choice for each award. People have strong feelings about what constitutes a winning title, and since there has to be consensus, often the ‘middle book’ that everyone can agree on is likely to take the prize. I don’t think that’s a bad thing — every book on the shortlist is an excellent one — but in different ways — yet it reinforces to me how arbitrary it can be that one book wins over another.
I’ll stop here and send Part Two in Jan. If anyone would like a bundle of books sent to them (and is willing to cover postage) please let me know. Though I never thought I’d say this about books, I’ve got a surfeit.
I have to thank my fellow screener and poetry workshop mate, the inestimable Lois P. Jones for inviting me to contribute to the online journal Verseville which she edited. I’m thrilled to have my prose essay “Girl in a Forest” currently up on their site.
Sharing with you:
I didn’t know that Robin Coste Lewis (former L.A. poet laureate) had a new book out but I’m glad I do now.
Indeed, we are deep into list season. Here are a few that caught my attention. “Poetry Books That I’m Excited About” on the LAPL website by our current L.A. poet laureate Lynne Thompson. And a poetry recc list from SPD (Small Press Distribution — when I lived in Berkeley, their holiday warehouse sale was a bonanza!).
I like perusing gift guides — some offer such a satisfying sense of precise (if aspirational) curation. I’ve mentioned the #AmWriting podcast before. Here is their #WriterGifts list. BOMB magazine’s Small Press Gift Guide has some nice surprises.
I’ve been revisiting Austin Kleon’s blog of late. Speaking of gifts, I was excited to call Book People in Austin and have them send a signed copy of Keep Going directly to a writer friend as a holiday present. Kleon will also personalize inscriptions, given enough time.
If, like me, you fall down a rabbit hole each time this year deciding what planner will be the magic key to unlocking a productive year (maybe it’s just me? though a few people have asked for suggestions), I’ve come to rely on Amanda’s Favorites as the apex of planner wisdom.
I also like to pick one ‘reboot’ class to take in Jan. I’ve been meaning to read Oliver Burkeman’s Four Thousand Weeks for eons and just signed up for his Zoom weekend workshop “The Art of Imperfect Action” on Jan. 14 & 15th.
Finally, Jane Friedman’s courses have always been of fantastic value. “Get Your Writing Life Organized” seems another January reboot worth considering. I noticed she has a “Gifts for Writers ‘Tech Savvy and Traditional Options’” from a few years back that has some good ideas.
I was sorry to read of Bernadette Mayer’s passing. She was such an influential, yet undersung, poet. There was a Zoom reading of her classic book Midwinter Day on the solstice, and here is one write up in the spirit of her book.
In Surreal Life is a kind of online poetry program hosted by Shira Erlichman. Another cohort starts in January and I saw her post “there are 9 tuition-free spots still open for BIPOC poets, with priority given to queer & trans writers — so nominate a scholar (including yourself) today! 💫” Just noticing (like Austin Kleon) she also publishes visual work on her blog.
Welp, this is a long one. As ever, I hope to hear from you! ✍️ Wishing you a good celebration season, whatever that looks like and a poetic year yet ahead! ✨