Today I had another valuable reminder of the necessity of doing diligent research before submigging your writing, and of trusting your instincts. Becky Tuch, in her invaluable Lit Mag News newsletter and Substack, wrote about her research into C&R Press, which appears to have some shady business practices, along with Steel Toe Books, Fjords Review,Continue reading “Do Your Research Before Submitting”
Author Archives: Kendall Dunkelberg
How to Write a Pantoum
Lately, I’ve been challenging myself to write more formal poetry. Not a lot, mind you, but I’ve tried out a couple of forms and with some success. Awhile back, I described writing a ghazal, and I thought I’d do the same for the pantoum. This is a form that has stymied me for awhile, yetContinue reading “How to Write a Pantoum”
How to Write Your Third-Person Bio
This ought to be self-explanatory, but I’m always surprised at the number of submitters to Poetry South who either ignore the bio that we request or don’t write it in third person. There are times when I simply don’t read a submission if it doesn’t have a bio because I don’t want to have toContinue reading “How to Write Your Third-Person Bio”
Cover Letter Advice
Since we’re talking about submitting to magazines, let’s talk cover letters for a moment. As I said the other day, I don’t know that they help all that much, but the can hurt, so while I wouldn’t advise spending too much time trying to get it just right, I also would advise taking enough careContinue reading “Cover Letter Advice”
Letter to a Young Poet
The other day, I received an email from a poet, I don’t really know his age, asking about what he could do to get his work published. From his message, I gathered he was submitting to magazines, but hadn’t been accepted yet, or hadn’t been accepted much. I thought I could use that as anContinue reading “Letter to a Young Poet”
New Year’s Resolution for Writers: Keep Better Track of Submissions
Often writers make a New Year’s resolution to submit more of their work to magazines. The goal to have 100 rejections in a year (i.e. to submit to more than one hundred places) is a good one, since it emphasizes putting and keeping your work in play more than judging yourself by how many acceptancesContinue reading “New Year’s Resolution for Writers: Keep Better Track of Submissions”
My Wordle Strategy
I do not claim to be the greatest Wordle player ever, though my stats are pretty good: 98% win and a max streak of 45 days. I’d like to say that after 45 days, I skipped a day over the holidays, which I did, but in fact, it did beat me once before that. OhContinue reading “My Wordle Strategy”
How to Write a Ghazal
I feel like I’ve finally had a breakthrough with the ghazal. Now, I won’t claim to be an expert—it will take writing many ghazals before I would begin to think I was even approaching that level—but I do believe I have the beginnings of a ghazal and a strategy for tackling the form. Ghazal’s don’tContinue reading “How to Write a Ghazal”
Book Review: Steve Yarbrough’s Stay Gone Days
Stay Gone Days by Steve Yarbrough My rating: 5 of 5 stars Yarbrough’s novel Stay Gone Days tells us a story that spans four decades in the lives of two sisters from the fictional Delta town of Loring, Mississippi. Their stories begin with their adventures in the town’s private high school in the 1970s. ThoughContinue reading “Book Review: Steve Yarbrough’s Stay Gone Days”
Updating My Poems Page
When poem of mine appeared this month in the fabulous River Mouth Review, I realized I needed to update my Poems page.
Kendall Dunkelberg 