None of these fit with us

None of these fit with us

some of those magazines

noses in the air,

the joy of rejecting

poet's lives upended

pens throttled

imagination awash

reigned away by the 

rulers of editing esteem

to a belittled nothing

some of us withstood

some of us bided our time

some of us are still here

many of them faded

their thrones imploded

now they are barely a glint

in memory's eye

a passerby's inkling

wrinkling yellow pages

now defunct

to attic boxes

but 

some of us are still here

still writing

still thriving

our pages not brittle

from the belittle

but strong and turning

with readers yearning

for more.

erin-cilberto

9/29/22

Reviews

[keith]

i have never submitted any write of mine to any publisher
some suggested i do so ... but the authors and writers i knew had been rejected so many times it was a dark cloud looming about them ... and they were still poor like most artists

you captured the essence of failures fed by those with their noses in the air, the experts they say, the conniving lawyers with contractual screwings ... all well hidden by hope and dreams of those submitting their words to the slaughterhouses of publishing

well done jacob you might make it yet!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, keith,
j.

[Chris Shaw]

I gave up sending off poems for magazines. Too many rejections, but I didn't give up on writing because that is as much part of me as my family and friends are and I don't give up on them. I have inner resilience and that comes from my mother and it is a strength and something I cherish when the going gets tough. Let the writers be read I say, that's what they want.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

you certainly do have resilience....and much of it.
thank you, Chris,
j.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

I'm just a poet. What the world thinks of my writing is no concern of mine. I just do what I do. I shall continue until I can't.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

and you do it very well....
thanks,
j.

[Ken e Bujold]

Editors. As gatekeepers, suspect one and all. As sage advisors, some better than others. As writers, mostly soulless.
But, as you so rightly note, we writers are still here, regardless of whatever their little blue black and red pencils had to say

ken

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Yes, we are, and proud of it.
thank you, Ken,
j.

[John the Baptist]

Having had some of my offerings accepted over the past few months, I can attest to the fact that you are at the editor's mercy. I was certainly grateful to be published, but I know in my heart that my original versions were superior to what appeared in print. Unless you start your own journal, though, you have to follow the house's rules.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Yes, I am not good at that following thing...
Most often if they want to change the piece...I will just say "thanks, but no thanks"
appreciate your visit,
j.

[Betty Hermelee]

I get it! Editors think they are something special; a certain breed that can reject at the blink of an eye... but poets are creatures that pursue and persist, no matter what the magazine editors think. I've gotten lots of rejections and I still love to write and get much joy our of it, even if they don't like it. We write becuase we love our trade and our creativity. To hell with the haughty magazine breed.
P.S. Back from the Azores and Portugal, I hope you missed me!!!
Best, B

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Sure did miss you...glad you are back...how were those places?
j.

[Betty Hermelee]

fantastic, both the islands and Porto!!! Sure did drink a lot of port wine!!!! Best, B

[Robert Haigh]

You are right, Jacob. Some editors take a perverse delight in saying no to proffered poems - good or bad. History has proved that those who attain the lofty right to judge and reject artistic works often get it wrong! Van Gogh couldn't even sell a painting during his lifetime, and the Beatles were rejected by the Decca record label! Small consolation for those whose work is turned away, but we unknown (or lesser-known) poets must lean on our self-belief, and carry on. A fine poem, by the way!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, Decca regretted that for sure...and yes, we carry on...thank you, Robert,
j.

[Patricia Wedel]

Some of us are Full of Fear.. losing all that we hold dear. Tenacity of Autumn leaves 🍁keeps Hummers Sipping the Nectar of new Birth. gently, Pat

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Tenacity a necessary part of being a poet.
j.

[Patricia Wedel]

Hanging on… like Ice Cycles in Winter… breathing the Air of Propriety… thank you…. Jacob… Pat

[red93]

Excellent Jacob. A very insightful reflection on Poetry Magazines generally. I had some luck on the UK Scene in the 1990s/early 2000s and eventually 'qualified' for a Book from a Small Press Publishers. I made the not very princely sum of £20 on the whole deal - but at least I did not have to pay for it. IMO the Amazon KDP EBooks are a vast improvement on the UK Small Presses and so far I have made about £500 in Royalties since the first Publication in 2013.

I enjoyed 'None of these fit with us' very much.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

that is doing quite well, red...
continued good fortune.
j.

[red93]

👍👍👍👍👍

[W. Barrett Munn]

Submitting to literary magazines is a lesson in mathematics; one gets to see the reality of the meaning of less than 3 per cent acceptance rate.

Excellent presentation, Jacob.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

very true...and I ain't too good at math..ha ha.
thanks, Winston
j.

[W. Barrett Munn]

Seriously, would you risk driving to buy groceries if 97 times out of 100 you would die before you reached the store?