Change of Style

                         I wrote two poems recently in a very different style  from what I usually write. I brought one poem to a writing workshop tonight. Three of my colleagues in class cried. (They said it was a good thing.) It was a poem about the changing seasons and when I got to the line about when summer returns to autumn? I heard sniffling.

I think I’ll play around with the poem a few more times and make it better. Then submit it somewhere.

***Done. Worked a lot on this poem and submitted with the other one.

And what’s with speech to text that it does not recognize POEM? It types it as POME. Isn’t POEM a common word anymore?

Thanks for reading!

  6 wordle    Shameless self promotion.(But the rejections have been many recently, so bear with me! Writers, you get it!)

I am pleased to learn that “Stopped,” a poem I recently wrote, will be published by Spillwords Press on July 19, 2018.  As this poem was declined elsewhere, I am glad it has found a home. I enjoyed writing the poem, something rather out of my comfort zone! It was written as a response to a painting as a prompt.

**Note: I found this journal via the “Discover” feature of Submittable.com.

Thanks for reading!

Laura Lee

Taking the Twitter Plunge

twitter     Taking the Twitter plunge. I may regret this; I do not like writing that shouts.  We shall see…

I am usually YEARS late in trying new social media; I realize Twitter is “old” by now.  I much rather prefer well-thought out writing that doesn’t shout or use a bunch of weird code thingies…but some of my favorite literary journals post there.

So I will give it a try.

If interested, follow me: https://twitter.com/LauraLe97942016

Thanks for reading!

 

 

My “My Documents” (or) Documents Folder Disappeared

Website    My “My Documents” (or) Documents folder has disappeared from my computer. Very weird. Luckily I have nearly all of my tens of thousands of documents saved on flash drives, etc. From what I’ve been able to see, this is not unusual. I don’t understand the coding needed to restore.

It was there on my desktop a few days ago, with literally tens of thousands of word documents, pdf’s, and images.

Very strange!

Some ideas using Word Clouds

6 wordle        Sometimes it’s interesting to just write down words I’m thinking about… what a surprise! I am thinking about writing, poetry, reading, teaching, nature.  Hmmm.. I suspect themes.    No surprises, but I do like Word Clouds.  To create your own word cloud, go here: Wordle.

It’s tricky using the program there.  I have found using Internet Explorer is best for using Wordle to create word clouds.

Enjoy, and thank you for reading.

 

 

35 submissions this summer—and the rejections roll in…

blog word cloud       Since late spring, I’ve made 35 plus submissions just using Submittable.com.  I love using this vehicle since it helps me keep track of my submissions in one convenient location.  I’ve also made email and US mail submissions.

My goal in submitting work is yes, to be published, but also to encourage me to improve my writing and to feel a part  of a writing community.  I am not a great writer, but I can be a good one if I work at it!

It’s obvious there are more poets than poetical publishing opportunities.  I am receiving a number of rejections after an early spring run of four acceptances, and so yes, I am feeling the sting a bit, even while the editors are quite kind in their notes.  Just doesn’t fit, not right now, etc.  No one has said I should seek solace on another planet.  Yet.

Poets, you know this is mostly unpaid publication anyway, and it’s the joy of being published that urges us onward.

While I’ve submitted mostly poetry, I’ve always worked on some mini-dialogue experiments and one short story.

In the meantime, I am enjoying revising my writing, and submitting more.

I am glad I am not trying to support myself with my writing, but I am also glad I write.  It’s been a part of who I am since I was an angsty pre-teen, writing my wretched “woe is me” type broken-hearted poetry.

Now it’s time to get back to work; I have a lot of writing to do.

Thanks for reading!

(Some of my) Published Writings

cropped-be-creative-creative-creativity-256514                         Some of my poems, short stories, and nonfiction articles are included in books and magazines published in the UK, Greece, New Zealand, and the United States.

*Spillwords Press, July 19, 2018, “Stopped,” a poem
Spillwords Press

*Tuck Magazine, June 2018

Tuck Magazine

*Tuck Magazine,  May 2018

Tuck

* Southernmost Point Guest House (UK)

* Journal of Modern Poetry 21 (Volume 21)

JOMP Volume 21 Dear Mr. President

* Journal of Modern Poetry 20 (Volume 20)

JOMP Volume 20 Poetry Writer’s Guide to the Galaxy

* Journal of Modern Poetry 17 (Volume 17)

JOMP Volume 17

* Magazine (New Zealand) , Raewyn Alexander, Publisher

Raewyn Alexander NZ

* Fiction in: http://staxtes.com/2003/ “Between the Sunlight and the Skipping” in English Wednesdays

* Illinois English Bulletin, a publication of the National Council of Teachers of English, nonfiction.

What does it mean to be American?  Read Ms. Bailey’s insightful blog post. Click on the link:

https://baileylaurajean.com/2018/07/12/a-mistaken-appeal-to-selfishness/comment-page-1/#comment-76

I so agree.  These are trying times to be American,and vital that we uphold the very highest ideals.

One of the main arguments I hear in favor of allowing undocumented people to live freely in the United States is that “they” take jobs that American citizens do not want such as backbreaking, physically demanding housekeeping and agricultural jobs. This is the wrong argument for immigration-rights activists like me to advance because it perpetuates […]

via A Mistaken Appeal to Selfishness — Laura Jean Bailey