"To bring the poem into the world / is to bring the world into the poem."

Thursday, November 3, 2011

ANONYMOUS

WHAT IS (PART OF) YOUR GREAT RECESSION EXPERIENCE?

Neither of my books accepted for publication in 2008 will be issued. Three books I accepted for publication on my own press have yet to come out.

We are selling our books and CDs, and trying to sell collectibles and art and antiques. We have to sell our beautiful house -- the second in a row I've restored as GC [general contractor]. We sell as soon as I finish, not because we're upside down, but because we have to cash out our equity. I'm so tired.


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HOW HAS THE GREAT RECESSION AFFECTED YOUR POETRY?

I haven't written since this Spring. There seems to be no point; I have more than ten unpublished manuscripts. My husband stopped writing and publishing fiction. After his novel came out, I did the p.r., and couldn't get him a reading tour. I spend most of my time sleeping; I blame it on the cancer, but that's not true (although it is hard to come to terms with that in the poetry). I have to start medication again tomorrow, and I will go crazy again. When I was crazy on the medication in the Spring, I filled four notebooks with writing I have yet to transcribe. I did start to revise a lot of poems toward addressing cancer, and submit them to presses, but they were pretty soundly rejected. But now I have to be crazy and get the house ready to sell and find a job.


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PLEASE SHARE A POEM(S) ADDRESSING YOUR GREAT RECESSION EXPERIENCE:

I haven't written anything recently, and I have to fix my computer to access anything old. I'm using my husband's old laptop to type this. I missed BKS' California Telephone Book deadline, as well as the Dusie chapbook deadline. I didn't even finish August postcard poetry month.


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ABOUT THE POET:

This Anonymous is author of eight books published on well known national and international presses. As editor and independent scholar, she's specialized in women's writing, technology and writing, and innovative poetry.




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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

i found this response poignant...i also agree with its basic idea...that we as writers and people that care are shunted into a corner of society...it's defintely what we need to confront in our writing...