I’m going to do something I said I don’t do and have only done once before. It’s not often and as a general rule, I don’t publish my poetry on this blog or elsewhere until it has found a home in a journal or publication somewhere. I’m making an exception here, the reason of which…
Three New Book Reviews
Have you seen World Class Poetry’s new book reviews? Last week we published two and just today we published a third. Synopses of the reviews follow: Warhorses – Pulitzer Prize-winner Yusef Komunyakaa’s latest book, tackling the issue of war through myth and history. I don’t want to spoil the end, but you’ll have to read…
First Friday Video: Potato Chips And Coffee
I’m going to try something different. Starting today I’m going to upload a new video of me reading a poem every Friday. It won’t always be a poem I wrote. It may be a classic poem or just a poem I like. But I thought it would be a good way to preserve some of…
How to get your poetry published
By Jack Peachum Guest Author I cannot tell you how to write poetry – no one can do that. I honestly believe that all poets are self-trained – as are most other artists. Oh, someone can point out the essentials to you, but you must have the capacity in yourself to turn an inspiration into…
Psychological Distance And Poetic Excellence
I’m convinced that there is nothing more important to a good poetic than craft. It isn’t publication. Sure, publishing credits are great for the ego. But I’d much rather have one great poem than 100 mediocre ones. I’d much rather publish one great book of poems than 100 mediocre books. I think that too many…
How Wrong Can You Be? Thomas Gray And Two Of His Critics
By Jack Peachum Guest Author I recently took the opportunity to comment on the poem “Ode On A Favourite Cat (Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes)” by Thomas Gray at Poemhunter. Don’t be put off by the title– I said it there and I’ll say it again– this is one of the jewels of…
A Great Book For Reluctant Poetry Readers
Reluctant poetry readers often feel intimidated with talk of poetics. All that talk about extended metaphors, trochees, and enjambed feminine endings can get confusing. So why bother? Alice B. Fogel, herself a widely published poet, has written one of the best primers to poetry in recent years. While I wouldn’t say it’s a perfect book,…
The Future Of POD (Or Why Vanity Publishing Will Get More Vain)
Google Books has been getting a lot of bad press in recent months due to its intentions to build the world’s largest library of stolen books. The controversy has centered around a clause in its agreement with prominent book publishers and authors over what to do with orphan works. The settlement will allow Google to…
What Drives Poetry Book Sales?
I’m not sure that I buy that 1980 is the pivotal year in the turn to corporatization in the publishing business, but Scott Esposito writes about a striking observation made by Nina Siegal in a post on sales and quality at Conversational Reading. The interesting thing here, though not surprising, is that the nature of…
Call For Entries
One of the few independent bookstores left in the country, The York Emporium, located in York, Pa. not far from where I am, is sponsoring a science fiction writing contest. The owner, Jim Lewin, has asked me to help him get the word out. The title of all stories, plays, and poems entered in the…
