[T.S. Kerrigan]

Let me be the first to confess that I am as guilty as the rest of you in engaging in this practice. But I am a football fan and when I read day after day about the appearance of some poet's work on an obscure web page (and God knows there are millions of them on the Net these days) it is a little like reading the sports page of my local newsapaper today and learning the results of the Meinke Car Care, Beef O'Brady's, Little Caesar's Pizza or any of the other endless bowl games played around this time of year. Who really cares that I had a poem accepted by the Eastern New Mexico Literary review.com?

[Mary Meriam]

I care. So where's the link?

[Roger Slater]

That's a hard nut to crack, Tom. Congratulations.

[T.S. Kerrigan]

Your too fast for me, Mary. It's, of course, a made up name (at least I think it is).

[Mary Meriam]

Roger's right. That's one of the fanciest, most exclusive, preeminent literary journals in the world today. Uses heavy-stock paper even. Even though it's online only.

[Maryann Corbett]

In my usual thick-headed fashion, I'm going to take Tom's question seriously. Here goes:

1. If we can't celebrate our little successes, where's the fun? (Yes, this is the most important.)

2. If you workshopped the poem here and I helped, I appreciate being thanked.

3. If you didn't workshop the poem here, but this is a new venue to me, it might be one I'll appreciate knowing about. It might help the editor too, by bringing in a wider variety of subs. If I happen not to like the venue, at least I've learned.

4. If you waited patiently and announced the publication rather than just the acceptance, and if I have liked your work before, I'll be glad to know about the pub so I can read the poem. I might also read the work of other poets in the issue and like them. That's especially valuable if I didn't know about them before. (Cf. the new issue of 14 by 14.)

It's certainly wonderful to be able to point readers to your publication in, say, The New Criterion. But while we wait for the near-impossible to happen, let's not neglect the small stuff.

[Janice D. Soderling]

What Maryann said. I concur 200 percent.

[David Landrum]

Tom--It's just nice to be able to tell you published something to people who 1) know what the hell you're talking about; and 2) know you and seem sincerely glad that you had a publishing success.

For years I taught at a school where scholarship and creativity were not valued much. When I would tell one of the administrators, or even some of the faculty members, I had gotten a poem published, they would congratulate me, of course, but look at me like I'd told them I had just been initiated into an Innuit tribe or joined the Order of the Golden Dawn--they supposed it was something good but were not sure exactly what I was talking about or why I was happy about it.

The Eratosphere family appreciates these successes and celebrates them, whether it's Poetry Magazine or some obscure blog site. Nice to have someone with whom to share good news.

dwl

[Allen Tice]

Originally Posted by David Landrum

... but look at me like I'd told them I had just been initiated into an Innuit tribe... dwl

Natch. What else? They wanted to hear Nunavit !

And you gave them the painful Agenbyte of Inuit.

[Carol Taylor]

First, congratulations to all of you I never congratulated because I never read the threads, and congratulations on all those future publications that I won't read about either. I don't mean to be rude, but hey. Aren't most of us publishing on a fairly regular basis, at least those who submit? For me the big hurdle was getting the first poem in print, especially since I aimed high. After that if stopped being a big deal. If we were sending out lots of stuff and NOT getting anything published, an acceptance might still be worth mentioning.

I do peek in if I notice that someone has won the Wilbur or the Hecht or the Nemerov or has published a full length book. If I ever reach that level I'll probably be the first to brag about it. Meanwhile, congratulations! congratulations! congratulations! congratulations! ...

Carol