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Frivolity from Quality
Her works of elegance and style create frivolity,
When book producers cluelessly reject such quality.
But witless word her work is “not the right fit” holds no slight,
Their dreadful publications prove ironically they’re right.
.
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Memories
The million lovely things I’ve said—
Most memories have left my head.
But words that brought severe regret—
Those I’m unlikely to forget.
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On the Other Hand
He grew up with self-doubts as to most everything life brought.
It partially was age-related, but the bulk was taught.
Thus many things he did not try, for fear he’d end up “curtains,”
With insecurities one sees poor outcomes wholly certain.
But in the years to follow that got largely turned around,
As blessings in most ways were what increasingly he found.
Re-learning led to confidence, so courage got a jolt,
And not surprisingly perhaps, success was the result.
If only he had understood his virtues way back when,
Accomplishments he savors now could all have started then.
Were that the case his retrospectives would be much revised,
And thus of most resentments life would not have been comprised.
But on the other hand the special feelings he has now,
From knowing that he greatly raised his confidence somehow,
Brings massive pride and joy today, which might not be as strong,
If triumph seemed routine from what occurred his whole life long.
.
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Russel Winick started writing poetry after ending a long legal career. He resides in Naperville, Illinois.
Russel, you are so right about book agents and publishers these days who seem to gravitate towards the lowest class denominators and fail to discern and welcome the works of class or least reject them as applying only to those who have good taste. Memories certainly seem as you describe in the second poem. Reticence as a young person due to lack of self-confidence and latter flowering as a mature adult is a widespread affliction. As always, you poems are filled with wisdom.
And you are always kind! Thank you, Roy.
I enjoyed these poems, particularly the first and last, the first for its Popian wit, and the third for its patience with a nuanced matter of life, confidence, experience. Thanks.
Thank you Arthur – I enjoyed these comments. Much appreciated!
Book agents and commercial publishers today are only concerned with two things: whether a submitted manuscript promises a massive profit (not a small profit or even a moderate one), and whether the material toes the line in terms of adherence to current politically correct opinions. In addition, the work of reading manuscripts and making preliminary selections for further consideration is now largely left to Gen Z or Millennial graduates with a very limited knowledge of literature, and whose only criteria for judging a text are whatever is buzzing on social media.
Thanks. What do you think are the chances of a publisher of formal poetry books coming into being?
As my father-in-law used to say, “There are two chances — slim and none.”
Many unknown poets go to small job printers to publish a limited run (maybe 100 copies) of their book. This is at their own expense, and there is no publicity at all other than word-of-mouth among your friends and acquaintances. The poets might sell a few copies at readings, or give the books away to fellow poets and some family members.
Only big-name poets get published by major publishers, and even in those cases the publishers print such books at a financial loss. They are only printed as a “prestige” statement — i.e. “Look at us, we’re big and rich and sophisticated enough to publish poetry that practically no one buys.”
That’s the crucial issue. There really isn’t any commercially viable market for published books of new poetry, except among the captive market of students who can be compelled to buy a book because it is assigned in a modern literature class that they’re taking.
Are there a few small presses that will take your manuscript and publish it? Yeah, sure. But usually you have to be friends with somebody at the press, or be a favorite of the editor, or do a lot of networking and sucking up. If you have been published widely in many magazines and websites, your chances are of course better.
Thank you for the education, Dr. Salemi. It’s too bad that more people don’t get exposed to good poetry. I can’t count the number of people who have told me that they “hate poetry,” but then when I show them work by various folks that’s been posted on SCP, they say, with surprised voices, that they “like THAT poetry!”
I follow the rule of Aristotle on poetry. People like poetry that is pleasurable and entertaining, and that satisfies their expectations of intelligibility and coherent order. They are generally turned off by poetry that is preachy, didactic, hortatory, moralizing, boring, or arrogantly impenetrable and shapeless.
That’s why so many people today say that they “hate poetry.” Who can blame them?
Russel, there was a short-lived scandal now some years back, because high-prestige Oxford University Press fired editors to employ marketers. The quality of any published text is up to the author–unless he hires an editor at his own expense, or relies on collaborating authors who have a stake in the book. This is usual for authors who native language is not English. Should anyone employed by the publisher read a book before publication, that person’s expertise will be in business. Except for popular books bought by bookshops that need wares to display, no copies will be printed from the digitized version, until payment is received and processed. It does save paper and storage space!
Thanks Margaret. From you and Joseph I now better understand why the relatively few new poetry books that I see in bookstores are what they are.
Sharp and witty, really enjoyed it!
Thank you Christian – very kind of you to let me know!