Interesting Links

Interesting take on the men v women debate from Sheenagh Pugh's blog, with particular emphasis on reviewers. Men often do not want to review women's books. Why?

I adore these anonymous book sculptures that have been appearing in Scottish literary institutions recently. I, for one, want them to remain mysterious.  More pictures here

And how about this? Poetry bombing, sewing poems into clothes donated to charity shops.

Almost as good as IPYPIASM International Put Your Poem In A Shop Month – 3rd year this December.

Interesting Links

The hard working Seven Towers on how to publicise your book from writing.ie

Five telltale signs of an amateur writer from a former editor at HarperCollins at The Art and Craft of Writing Creatively. To be honest, there's nothing I haven't heard before but maybe it's news to someone. She did say she could reject a manuscript in 8 seconds which is disheartening.

50 of poetry's most poignant lines here. Read 'em and weep.

Poems for politicians from the New York Times. Which would you choose?

Interesting Links

You can make your own newspaper, based on your tweets (Could be random) and who you follow (also random) Mine here

Here's one based on the popular #amwriting hastag.

Weird writing habits of famous writers on Flavorwire (US biased) ...Prone...

Tongue in cheek - How to sell a gazillion eBooks (or not) from Russell Blake

The 10 Stage of Revision Emotions. I hear you Roni Loren

From Madeline Ash, some wise words on the dreaded synopsis

Thoughtful post from The Intern on the seven pots of writing fame. Where are you?

Should authors review books? Arguments on both sides from Sarah Crown at The Guardian and Erin Keane at Salon. including the point that novelists don't earn much purely from writing books...and if you want me to review your book here, let me know.

Poetry Apps

First posted on writing.ie.

Inspired by this piece by the poet and fiction author, Nick Laird in the Guardian (can't be doing without my Saturday Guardian) I've had a look at some of the online poetry tools he mentions.

Wattpad - a website to share your stories and poems. You can perhaps read the most popular (What's Hot) but having a quick scan through showed nothing of interest to me. 1 millions reads? Romance gets a lot of reads here; poetry doesn't. There's an app to read on your mobile too. Wiki here tells you how it all works. I've uploaded an old short story of mine up here and will see what happens.

Portapoet for

• Easily writing and sharing rhyming poems
• Finding rhymes for words
•  

Available as an app on iPad etc. Not a huge fan of rhymes for rhyming sake myself.

Another is Erotic Poems where you can, for 99c, once you successfully complete the structured poems in this program, create more complex work, learning to:
-excite all five of your lover's senses
-identify formulas for creating structured forms of poetry
-enjoy the fruits of prewriting and revision
-use figurative language to entice someone special
-create a sustained image to captivate the person of your desires

Right, so.

The Poetry Foundation in America has some apps. It is said to turn your phone into a mobile poetry library. But only if it's an iPhone. I have an HTC. I love my HTC.
Poetry Ireland take note. A great way to promote Irish Poetry. Also the Poetry Society in the UK. Get over yourselves and get out there.

Prose with Bros again for the iPhone, competitive poetry with random words. Each player is given the same 50 words to construct their prose, and after submitting the results, other players vote on which is best over the course of the next 24 hours. As described here, pretty smutty.

On my HTC, if I search Marketplace for Poetry I get 1,046 results, mostly other people's poems for free, people I haven't heard of as well as Bill Shakespeare and his buddy, Goethe.

Refrigerator Poetry is there as an android app and there are rhyming dictionaries too.

Interesting Links again

What do you think about this? Unbound, a fund raising platform for authors BEFORE they've finished the book. A bit like fundit for books.

Beta readers for your book at Glass Cases

You know there is a league of literary magazines. Premiership or third division? Check out the (poetry specific) recommendations from Happenstance Press. Irish magazines mentioned are Poetry Ireland Review and The Shop. (What's missing? Stinging Fly for instance.)

Really interesting article with American writer and editor Robert Gottleib at salon.com

5 Openings to Avoid from Nathan Bradsford I've seen them all in my time, and also written some! Writers take note.

Poet Meg Peacocke, has her words cut in stone via Padaig O'Morain's blog.
I'd love my words cut in stone, or wood or metal. I can see it now...

Google Analytics for emerging writer blog

You can while away many hours when you should be writing in looking at your Google analytics numbers.

(By the way, wile away means to trick someone)

Top search terms in the last 12 months that aren't emerging writer variants include:

• Literary agents Ireland (and variants)
• specular poem (that's another name for a mirror poem. Great fun to write.)
• last years Guardian short story winner (David Constatine)
• International women's day (write on sisters)
• Listowel writers week competitions (want to buy an ad? Listowel?)
• Canadian Literary magazines (there are loads)
• ginko (a character in Mushishi or a character in the Italian comic Diabolik or more likely, a haiku walk)
• Dave Lordan (Hi Dave! Did you know you are trending on my blog?)
• Power Whiskey Short Story Competition (very populat recently)
• lonely (ahh)
• How to look good on TV
• river meander
• the stinging fly rejections 2011 (that would be me then)

Most popular blogposts in the last twelve month (in reverse order)

10. Whiskey - The Powers Whiskey Writing Competition 
9. Literary agents in Ireland (This from 2007)
8. RTE Guide/Penguin Ireland Short Story Competition - (2010)
7. UK Publishing House Guidelines (from 2007, so it will be out of date)
6. More UK Literary Magazines (a part II from 2008)
5. Ireland's Own Short Story Competition (2010)
4. International Women's Day - call for submissions
3. Literary Agents in and around Ireland (more up to date from 2010)
2. MA Creative Writing Courses in Ireland (from 2008)

and the Number 1?

1. Literary Agents in Ireland (from 2008. Please see Number 3 readers)

So everyone wants to get published.

Interesting Links

A wonderful selection of new poems written for wedding occasions in the Guardian selected by Carol Ann Duffy.

A Tower made of books in Buenos Aires World Book Capital 2011

15 Writers With Lives More Interesting Than Fiction

I often wonder whether they would be published if they'd been quiet gardeners.

Is it worth entering writing competitions (from the winner of a competition so guess what the answer is)

Classic Poems read aloud

Poethead seems to be a collection of articles with particular emphasis on women poets.

Where Neil Gaiman really gets his ideas from.

Interview with Upstart blogger and writer LA Speedwing

So the elusive and expansive and intrepid blogger and writer LA Speedwing agreed to an interview quid pro quo for mine. 

Welcome to emergingwriter blog, LA.

How did you get involved in upstart?
I read on the writing4all.ie website that they were looking for a writer blogger. I jumped on the occasion and applied.

Why?
I felt it was a sign. Only 6 months ago, I would have never considered the idea of blogging. But with the new year and the need to break up from the Fantasy Novel I was writing, I created my own blog. I set myself to write an entry post every day and I quickly started to enjoy it, so when I saw that position as a blogger writer for Upstart, I thought to myself :"What a great project! Blogging and promoting arts in Ireland? This is it!"
It seemed like a sudden and wonderful opportunity to me.

What did you want to get out of it yourself?
I wanted to contribute in a small way to do something positive and innovative for the Arts. Also I was looking forward to meet with other writers and get to hear their unique experience on writing. Writing comes in so many forms: novels, poetry, playwriting, song writing, screenwriting, radio script writing. It is interesting to know what every artist gets out of it.
Thanks to Upstart, I have discovered a lot of Poets and I must say the world of Underground Poetry is very active and vibrant in Dublin. I was most impressed by it. The experience was an eye opener for me and I certainly hope to discover the other worlds of writing in Ireland.
In fact if song writers, playwriters, novelists are looking to share their works and views with Upstart, they can contact me.

What are your highlights as far as upstart is concerned so far?
I guess that would be the first night we met with the other Upstart volunteers. Also I had a great time meeting with my first three interviewees who were Sarah Maria Griffin, Anne Tannam and Cliff Horseman and the first poetry underground event I went which was the Glor Session in town. That was an exciting time.

And what events/whatever in the underground poetry movement do you recommend?
If you are looking for experimental poetry, then the Tongue Box in the Cobbler Pub is for you. It is happening every last Tuesday on the month.
If you are looking for a bit of a kick then The Glor Sessions is great. They have a weekly night of music and poetry. It is happening every Monday in the basement of the International Bar.
And last but not least, the Brown Bread Mix tape has a lineup of poets, musicians and comedian and every event is blended to the occasion with a theme. It is happening every Wed of the Month in the Stag's head. Those event usually start around 8.00 p.m but you can check their details on Facebook.

You write, yourself, don't you? What do you write?
I do. Because I liked any forms of writing, at first I tried a little bit of everything. The attempts were far from being successful but I gave a go at writing picture books, one act plays, short stories, poetry before I set my heart on writing this Fantasy Novel for young adults I am writing now. It took me nearly two years to come up with the plot and another full year to write/edit it. I am now at the fun part of writing the synopsis. Another completely different writing exercise  but a necessary one.

What is it about?
It is about an outcast sixteen years old teenage girl who runs away from home and discovers that she has an inner ability to connect with the wind. As she faces all sorts of elemental dangers, she learns how to use her gift and embarks on a journey to self discovery.

And next?
Well I would like it to be a trilogy so I would love to write a sequel. If I get lucky, maybe it will happen.
And apart from all that, I would also love to try my hand at a chick lit novel in the distant and blurry future.

Thanks very much LA and good luck! You can read the Upstart blog here

Interesting Links

How some publishers make cover pages - Windmill Books. (Others just reused stock photos which is why some books look familiar. Yes, you have read a book between those covers before)

Poetry Digest - Submit your short poem with an apple theme and have it baked on a cake. Delicious!

Why Philip Henscher thinks we as a society don't value poetry enough to buy it. Do you agree?

A story of editing from Dalkey Archive press from Mima Simić

Famous writers as Lego men and women from Flavorwire. Nuff said.

Interesting Links

Absolutely fabulous street photos here and an even more fabulous story of their origin and recent history. Vivian Maier.

Various TS Eliot shortlistees read their poems here.Who do you fancy?

Don Peterson on poets and publicity in the Guardian
"any middle-aged editor who doesn't talk to poets in their 20s about the contemporaries they're reading is in danger of publishing only young poets who sound like the now-middle-aged ones they grew up with."

Interesting Links

How geeky are you? Even a little bit? You'll like this xkcd.com. Why did no one tell me about this before? Hover over the images for more...

Death to The Death of Poetry from Harper Magazine. Everybody today knows that poetry is "useless and completely out of date"--as Flaubert put it in Bouvard and Pécuchet a century ago.

Fascinating essay at Magma on words out of fashion in poetry. Shards? Gossamer wings. Nominations please?

Why it's worth checking amazon for your proposed book title - Similar Titles at She Reads and Reads

Links of Interest

At least to me:

Anagram map of the London tube. Let's see, start at Pitosleer Revolt, change at Crux for Disco, alight at Chronic Grass

Do you know what an Epithalamium is? (Clue, it is a type of poem)

How to Perform Poetry - enthusiasm and arms.

How to perform in a poetry slam - repetition, rhyme and rhythm.

11 Tips for Spoken Word Beginners - Love your audience

Fascinating and open interview with a hero of mine, Alan Bennett

Interesting Links

Stephen Fry on the Language Nazis.

An engineers' guide to cats. Check out the yodeling at about 5 minutes in.

Thoughts on  visiting writers' homes here and here. Emily Dickinson's chamber pot? Fake maps of Tom Sawyers fence? Personally I think the money could often be better spent grants to living writers and events.

Reader's Reviews on  Amazon for famour books at Rachelle Gardner's blog.

What Editors do at Bookhugger.

The Manchester Review an online mag with heavyweight names.

Interesting Links

Yes another post with interesting links (at last for me)

Take your pick:

Spoken word/Open Mic nights prove very popular in Nairobi, Kenya from The Entrepreneur

Sound advice from the tremendously bubbly and funny Meg Cabot on how to put your bullying experience to good use. Plus a very funny childhood diary youtube episode.

Poetry school workshops available online and to download here.

Top10 Fictinoal Feminist Icons here.  Who would be on your list.

This suits our current needs.  Why I love Peanuts

Interesting Links

On subjectivity when judging short stories from Robin Black

Chris Hamilton-Emery from salt on why to publish poetry ... Most volumes of poetry sell under a thousand copies, many sell less than 300...Statistically, most poetry sold in bookstores is sold to women, most of that is sold to people over 50 years of age, and most of that sold has been written by dead authors.

OK so if most poetry is bought by women, why are the reviewers top heavy with men?

The Problem with American Poetry from Bookslut...Our poets are not tearing down the fetters of our imaginations so we can dream and then create the next American society. Nor are they inventing the lexicon that will define how the next generation of Americans will think, believe, and feel...

Why are there so many poems about death and dying and getting old? The Truth about Lies ...The Poetry Foundation archive alone contains 928 poems about “Death.” Compare that to 65 about “Birth and Birthdays,”

Why not to date a writer from a grammar
Roadside Haiku - love it from Bandit Haiku Atlanta-based artist John Morse. New Yorker via Poetry Foundation. More from Baroque in Hackney including a readl photo.

CASH 4 YOUR OLD GOLD
The Value of Memories
Measured by the Ounce.

7 Things Memes

Thanks to the lovely Orla Fay. 7 things about me that aren't all that common knowledge.

1. um. I secretly like memes like this. I rarely get them

2. I spent all last week resenting things, like having to go to work, having to do bank accounts, having to go to Tescos.

3. I have a degree in Physics, specialising in Atomic and Optics.

4. I adore Doctor Who, not just David Tennant but also Russell T Davis' writing and Stephen Moffat's writing. The new guy's quite good too. Amy Pond is better though. I haven't seen any of the much lauded Sherlock Holms.

5. I prefer Earl Grey tea

6. The first band I saw live was Ian Dury and The Blockheads.

7. I have a tattoo. But what? And where? Answers on a postcard. Answers in the comments. There may be prizes.

My favourite blogs have probably already been mentioned.
- Various Cushions
- Michael Farry
- Barbara's Bleeuugghh
- TFE
- JoAnne at Titus the Dog
- Rachel Fox at More about the Song
- Peter at The Stammering Poet

More Links

Bookshelf porn (we can but dream)

The lovely Dermot Bolger on writing a novel

Crap at my parents' house.com

Slushpile Hell or what not to say to an agent.

Poetry T-Shirts from silkwormsink. These could take off (!)

And this discussion on how magazines view taking poetry that has been previously published online or specifically on the blogosphere from Very Much Like a Whale, Anne Carson, a Canadian poet. And here's a more up-to-date US biases list from Lynne Hudson.

I do occasionally put poems up, particularly for the Poetry Bus, but take them down again after a while for this very reason. Plus there are some nefarious people out there ...

...
That's the kind of thing that's being done all the time by poets,
from Homer to Tennyson;
They're always comparing ladies to lilies and veal to venison,
And they always say things like that the snow is a white blanket
after a winter storm.
Oh it is, is it, all right then, you sleep under a six-inch blanket of
snow and I'll sleep under a half-inch blanket of unpoetical
blanket material and we'll see which one keeps warm,
And after that maybe you'll begin to comprehend dimly
What I mean by too much metaphor and simile.


From Very Like a Whale by
Ogden Nash

More Links - Poetry and magazines

Some Interesting Links on What Poetry is For (if it is for anything) What is music for? What is art for? What is air for? What is Football for? What is the internet for? What is Amy Winehouse for? What is licorice for?

What it says on the Tin from Baroque in Hackney also goes into the hairy topic of who we should be reading. Young, old, white, not white, man, woman, sausage. Faber or Salt? Commercial/ on BBC, performance or I only write in my back room for my pet parrakeet?
I do adore Simon Armitige but I also read people I never see profiled in the Guardian. And if you mentioned their names at a cocktail party (really, who goes to cocktail parties? Maybe a barbecue) it would leave blank, condesending expressins all round.

The inimitable George Szirtes on What's Poetry For. He suggests Poetry is about trying to capture a reality that is deeper than language.

And from the Independent (UK) an article on underground Poetry Magazines which mentions popshot recently highlighted in these very pages. Scoop or what! Also mentions Penpusher, Five Dials and Litro, Stingray, Gutter, The Drawbridge and Ambit.

Also from Jessica Mayberry, more mags that pay.

Interesting Links

Macsweeney's on Social Networking.

"I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by brevity, over-connectedness, emotionally starving for attention, dragging themselves through virtual communities at 3 am, surrounded by stale pizza and neglected dreams, looking for angry meaning, any meaning ... 

Significant Objects. Geegaws and Short Stories for sale on ebay. The Guardian digs out an interesting story. You can see all the goods, read all the stories and the amount paid for each listing at Significantobjects.com. Or, if you prefer, you can wait until 2011, when the American publishers Fantagraphics Books are due to bring out an anthology.

Suffering from the Am-I-Crazies? Am-I-Shite? Why is it so hard to tell? From Nathan Bransford

82-year-old lands first book deal. Myrrha Stanford-Smith makes novel debut with The Great Lie with Honno Press in Wales. There's hope for us all. (I hope it's good)

27 Reasons why Eclipse the film is better than Eclipse the Book.

I Write Like

You know you want to...

Put some of your writing on this website and see in whose style you write. It's designed by software developers Coding Robots, lets you paste in a section of your prose and analyses your vocabulary, sentence-length and punctuation. It then compares this to a list of 40 famous writers, and comes up with the closest comparison to your style.

It's been so popular that Margaret Atwood, one of the authors included in the site's database, was prompted to try it out. Unfortunately, Atwood revealed, she writes like ... Stephen King. A second attempt told her she wrote like James Joyce. The site's creator is now promising to "train the database" with more of her works so it'll be able to recognise her in the future.

This blog is written in the style of David Foster Wallace.
(I confess I've never read him)

My Poetry Collection (currently out for consideration) is in the same style. (Who'd athunk it?)

My novel, I'm gutted to tell you, comes out as Stephen King. Really? Hm.

You?