Volume VI, Issue 28 July 10, 2017 Word of the Week: rejection Dear ,
Rejections. They're the bane of a wants-to-be-published writer's existence, and at times the fear of them keeps us from even trying.
Rejections are on my mind this week, partly because of a fabulous talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly about her own rejections by writer Laura Maylene Walter at
Chautauqua (more about this in a minute) and because I got to read with one of my favorite Chautauqua Literary Arts friends, Fred Zirm, and he read a very funny (he says grumpy) poem about not winning a poetry contest, which is one kind of rejections we writers have to deal with.
Fred very kindly agreed to my sharing his poem with you. It was, Fred says, "published in the late, great The Rejected
Quarterly. They accepted only work that either had been rejected 5 times (you had to send copies of the rejection letters) or were about rejection. I chose the latter, less ego-bruising route – and made the only money I’ve ever received for publishing a poem ($5!!!)."
I guess the moral of this story is that sometimes rejection pays! And that, as I told my fabulous memoir class, pictured below, your life is full of experiences worth writing about: get your stories told!
And now, before you see what's coming up and take in Fred's wry humor, a few links to some of Laura Maylene Walter's thoughts on rejections. First, she shared the story of her worst rejection, which you
can read here. And she reassured us that having an actual physical reaction to rejection is perfectly normal for us humans from a biological standpoint. Then she told us that we can actually build up "rejection immunity." Here's one way she suggests: a literary rejection contest. She also told us that rejection can be a gift, giving us more time and more perspective that can help us make a piece of writing stronger. And there's more! (Laura somehow, along the way, has turned into an expert on rejection—not because she gets rejected more than other writers, but because she's generous enough to tell the whole truth about them.
What to do with rejections? Read about them, share about them, gather them, get used to them, learn from them, and even laugh about them (as Fred does below) on your
way to getting your work out there in the world. Upcoming WordPlay
RETREAT AT OLMSTED MANOR
MEMOIR: TELLING THE TIMES OF YOUR LIFE
Our life stories are a precious legacy. Writing them is a gift, not only to ourselves, but to those who love us. They will be treasured for generations to come. Come learn engaging tools and techniques to retrieve and record your adventures, loves, losses,
successes, and more with ease and enjoyment, no matter where you are in the process.
Participants are asked to bring along photos of people, places, or events that are significant to their lives to be used as inspiration for writing.
WHERE: Olmsted Manor. 17 East Main Street.
Ludlow, PA 16333
WHEN: Friday, August 4th – Sunday, August 6th, 2017
COST: $230.00, which includes class, 2 nights stay, and 6 meals
TO REGISTER: To register by phone, call 814-945-6512. You can also register by sending an email to olmstedreservations@gmail.com or online at www.olmstedmanor.org/events.
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FALL WRITING RETREAT
Renew and delight yourself. The Fall Writing Retreat is an opportunity to create new pieces of writing and/or new possibilities for our lives. Enjoy various seasonal prompts; they elicit beautiful material that can be shaped
into essays, poems, stories, or articles. After a communal lunch, you’ll have private time which can be used to collage, work with a piece of writing from the morning, or play with a number of other writing prompts and methods. You’ll take home new ideas, new drafts, and new possibilities.
$97 includes lunch and supplies.
WHERE: South Charlotte area. Details will be provided upon registration.
WHEN: Saturday, September 23rd, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
More WordPlay opportunities here. Fred Zirm is a retired English and drama teacher with a B.A. and M.A. in English from Michigan State and an M.F.A. in playwriting from the University of Iowa. His poetry and flash fiction have been published in
various journals, including Voices de la Luna, Still Crazy, The Rejected Quarterly, Red Wolf Journal, Silver Birch Press, The Rainbow Journal, Form Quarterly, cahoodaloodaling, and NEAT, as well as in the anthologies Greek Fire. Objects in the Rear View Mirror, and Poeming Pigeons. His poem "The Cactus on the Acropolis" was nominated for a Puschcart Prize. He currently lives in Rockville, MD with his wife Robin and his daughter
Sara. He has been coming to Chautauqua since 1998.
"My only thought about writing off the top of my head," Fred says, "is that some people take photos to help them slow down and pay attention to moments in their lives. I write
poems."
Featured Writing
On Losing Another Poetry Contest
By
Fred Zirm
Does this race go to the swift, with the first poet out of his writer’s blocks and into a
blazing metaphor winning the day?
Or does strength prevail, and the heavyweight who lifts love and death and time over the head of his audience is the one who
gets to give a victory grunt and drop his subjects to thud and bounce on the floor?
Or is it sheer endurance as the last poet standing goes on and on about some crushed flowers
or Grandma’s cooking and staggers across the line to embrace the prize?
More likely, though, it comes down to artistic impression and all the
judges are from East Germany.
WordPlay Now! Writing
Prompt This is WordPlay—so why not revel in the power and potential of one good word after another? This week, it's
"rejection."
PROMPT:
Write about one of your rejections, in or out of the writing realm.
MAUREEN RYAN GRIFFIN, an award-winning poetry and nonfiction writer, is the author of Spinning Words into Gold, a Hands-On Guide to the Craft of Writing, a grief workbook entitled I Will Never Forget You, and three collections of poetry, Ten Thousand Cicadas Can't Be Wrong, This Scatter of Blossoms and When the Leaves Are in the Water. One of her long-held dreams came true in July of 2015 when Garrison Keillor read one of her poems on The Writer's Almanac. She believes, as author Julia Cameron says, "We are meant to midwife dreams for one another."
Maureen also believes that serious "word work" requires serious WordPlay, as play is how we humans best learn—and perform. What she loves best is witnessing all the other dreams that come true for her clients along the way. Language, when used with
intentionality and focus, is, after all, serious fuel for joy. Here's to yours! |
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