To believe or not to believe, that is the question
Being a henotheist, I generally have some measure of belief in any myth I’m writing with (at least in the pantheon the myth is grounded in), but writing my particular god is different than writing other gods. For one thing, though I pretty much always present gods as sensual beings, with my god it’s a disembodied physicality.
When writing a myth-based poem or story, is how you write it shaped by whether or not you believe the myth? If so, how?
Tapestry of Bronze Fall 2009 Contest
Thanks to FM contributer Stephen Mead for sharing this:
The Tapestry of Bronze is sponsoring a series of poetry contests to celebrate Greek and Roman mythology and the Olympian gods. The subject of the fourth contest is Demeter (also known as Ceres), the Goddess of the Harvest.
All poems remain the property of the authors. However, Tapestry of Bronze reserves the right to post winning poems and those receiving Honorable Mention on the Tapestry of Bronze Web site. Furthermore, interest has been expressed in setting the poems to music.
E-mail your poem (no more than 30 lines) to tapestryofbronze (at) yahoo (dot) com.
Please, NO ATTACHMENTS! Paste the poem into the e-mail instead. Don’t get fancy with formatting—pretty pictures and peculiar fonts are distracting and may irritate the judges. Please limit creativity to the poem.
Make sure your poem is about Demeter/Ceres. They received a surprising number of irrelevant poems during the last contest. These are guaranteed to irritate the judges and are all discarded.
Please also include your real name and your alias if you have one. Make sure they can respond to your e-mail. If you are entering the contest for those under 18, please include your birthdate; otherwise, simply indicate that you’re an adult.
No entry fee. Entries will be evaluated by the owners of the Tapestry of Bronze and additional experts at their discretion. It costs nothing to submit a poem to the contest, but each contestant may enter only once, so take time to make your poem your best.
The first prize winner in each age group (’Under 18′ and ‘18 and Over’) will receive $50. Honorable Mentions may be awarded as well, but without cash prizes. If no poem is of sufficient quality, no prizes will be awarded.
tapestryofbronze.com/OdeForm.html. Deadline: November 30, 2009.
FM Nominees for Best of the Web
Fickle Muses nominated three outstanding contributors for the the Best of the Web Anthology:
Sean C. Hayden for “The Cobbler of Buttercup”
Israel Wasserstein for “Stepping into the Woods”
and Kean Kaufmann for “Reverse Persephone”
Call for mythology submissions from Negations
Negations
An Interdisciplinary Journal of Social Thought
Expanding the Realm of Discourse
Negations explores the nature of civilization and society including the ethical theory that underpins
civilization. The journal is indebted to the writings of thinkers including Herbert Marcuse and Albert
Schweitzer. Their seminal ideas inspire our vision of a conversation that expands the realm of social
discourse. Negations publishes diverse interdisciplinary social criticism to awakens readers to the
irrational character of the established rationality.
Special Call for Works on Mythology
Throughout history, Mythology has been central to civilization and society. It has defined (and been
used to define) individuals, groups, societies and countries and it has been used to motivate people to
acts of great good and justified acts of great evil. While common usage restricts the term Mythology
to something almost synonymous with fairy tales, the Editors of Negations understand that the term
has much more depth and breadth and in its many incarnations continues to be a central actor in the
realm of Social Discourse.
During the 1960’s, it was famously proclaimed that both History and God were dead, Mythology
was publicly irrelevant and pragmatic rational materialism became the order of the day. Beginning in
the 1970’s, that thinking collapsed. While it is arguable that Mythology was ever dead (any more than
History or God), beginning in the 1970’s, much of what has happened in the public realm can not be
adequately explored without the recourse to different types and uses of Mythology.
Our website includes a more general lists of suggested topics. Some possible topics in regards to
Mythology include:
- The implications of “clashes of civilization” and the use of mythology to create national identity and concomitant propaganda
- The appropriation and construction of Mythology to shape discourse
- The use of Mythology in transformative political campaigns (and responses to that use)
- Possible uses of Mythology to expand the realm of discourse
- Analysis of thinkers with respect to the use of the Mythology in the context of civilization and social discourse
- Explorations of Mythology within the evolution of and revolution in communications technologies, particularly the growing range of new media (e.g. blogs, YouTube, Twitter)
- The use of Mythology vis-a-vis potentially catastrophic change (e.g. climate change, economic collapse, geopolitical revolution)
- The reshapping of Mythology in response to the changing range of what is acceptable in social discourse
Submissions
Negations accepts submissions of critical analysis, poetry, essays and other appropriate formats via
our website (www.negationsjournal.org). We welcome you to our conversation and look forward to
reading your work.
Critical thought strives to define the irrational character of the established rationality….and to
define the tendencies which cause this rationality to generate its own transformation.
— Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man
Contributor News: Stephen Mead
Stephen Mead’s new book of art and poetry, “Our Book of Common Faith,” is now available from Amazon.com.
Mead says, “The book is an exploration of world cultures/religions (including atheism as a form of belief) as an impetus for union as opposed to violence. (That is, if human beings would just stop to think and reflect a bit.)”
See Mead’s art on Fickle Muses:
“Circus Cave Drawing”
“Tree Dream Encaustic”
“Ode to Vulcan”
Best of FM 2009?
It’s that time again, when Leslie and I will be going back over the past year’s poetry & fiction to select our nominees for online & small press awards. Which are your 2009 favorites so far?
To Publish Or To Self-Publish?
I’ve been thinking lately about the real value of getting published vs. self-publishing. Of course, as a poet, it’s a different question than it is for fiction or nonfiction prose writers, who have more paying options (though also more competition). So I hope some prose writers (as well as poets) will chip in their views in the comments.
It’s the general wisdom that getting a book published by a press is worth more than putting the book out yourself. But what exactly is this value?
In terms of economic value, a press can supply professional support in marketing, editing, design and production. There are a few better-funded presses that take out ads in widely-read journals or other major venues, that set up well-attended readings, or that have connections to get well-placed reviews. But most poetry publishers (especially those open to emerging poets) have neither the money nor the staff to play a significant role in publicizing a book. In most cases, whether self- or press-published, the writer’s going to be responsible for sales.
With the availability of low-cost, professional-looking print-on-demand (often automatically distributed through popular shopping Web sites), the production support presses supply is of minimal value. In a way, it can even be limiting. The press run for poetry books is generally quite small, so a poet who’s good at marketing hir book might be better off with an open-ended print method. (Some publishers do use print-on-demand).
As far as editing and design goes, I think in those areas presses retain their value, although there do seem to be an awful lot of writers who make their living as graphic designers.
Of course, the main supposed benefit of getting published by a press isn’t economic – it’s prestige. Being chosen by an editor or contest judge tells readers this book is better than a book merely self-selected by the author, right?
But how much does the editor’s/judge’s choice really mean? Arguably, when you pay an entry fee for a book contest (or a reading fee for non-contest submissions), you’re just playing the lottery (at least, if you’re good enough to make the first cut, I expect it’s pretty much a lottery of taste after that). Although in this case, instead of paying a couple of bucks for a chance at millions, you’re typically paying $20 for a chance at $1,000. When you pay a reading fee to a publisher who doesn’t pay for the books or only pays minimal royalties with no advance, and who does nothing to help publicize or promote the book, what are you paying for but the off chance of a stamp of approval (often by editors/judges with limited, if not downright dubious credentials)?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful to the many fine authors who have given their work freely to Fickle Muses. I too am more concerned with bringing my poetry to people who’ll get something out of it than with making money. I’m also grateful that FM’s contributors are willing to forgo prestige as well as money – I certainly wouldn’t contend that there’s much honor in being chosen by a couple early-career writers for a journal with a modest, though steady readership. We only promise to publish work that moves us and endeavor to bring it to others. (Our new art editor, whose selections will begin appearing in the spring, is in a different class. See her bio to the right.)
Personally, I’m still sending my first book out to contests & presses. For the time being, I’m still a sucker for the stamp of approval (and the chance of getting a few bucks I can use to promote the book on my own – though I might have saved as much not paying the fees).
Still, it seems a question worth asking – Is press-publishing really any better than self-publishing?
Electric Literature
Literary zines providing content in a variety of formats I’ve heard of. Literary zine paying writers $1,000 per story? This you’ve got to check out: http://flavorwire.com.
Should FM Tweet?
I got a request for Fickle Muses to start a twitter stream, and I was wondering how many fans would be interested in that sort of thing. So what do you say; would you like to see FM on Twitter, Facebook, etc.?
You can find me on Twitter & Facebook (MySpace too, but I haven’t been there in ages):
http://twitter.com/sarikro
http://www.facebook.com/sarikro
Question of the Week
If you were modernizing a myth, which would you choose and what setting would you put it in?
Question of the Week
What god, saint, etc. would you add for the modern pantheon?
Poetry Superhighway Contest
Poetry Superhighway’s annual poetry contest opened yesterday, with entries due by Sept. 25. The fee is super cheap – $1 per poem – and everyone gets a prize – top three divvy up the entry fees, and others get prizes donated by poets and publishers – poetry books & services, generally.
Contest@PoetrySuperHighway.com
Contributor News: Howard Camner
Howard Camner’s autobiography “Turbulence at 67 Inches” is now available from Xlibris.
To order call 888-795-4274 ext. 7876. Available in hardcover ($34.99) and softcover ($23.99).
Read Camner’s poetry on Fickle Muses.
Question of the Week
If you could invite any person(s) and/or god(s) from any myth(s) to dinner, which would you choose, why, and what would be on the menu?
Welcome to the New Blog
As you’ll see now that you’ve made it here, the FM blog has moved to a new format. That’s right, I’ve finally gotten over my squeamishness about Web 2.0 and set up a space where folks can comment and interact like proper 21st century inhabitants.
We’ll also be making an effort to update the blog more regularly (as we have of late been sadly negligent in that respect), including a weekly discussion prompt. This week:
What is your favorite myth-based/themed book?
Originally posted May 19, 2009
FM isn’t featured, but it’s still pretty neat that there’s an annual anthology recognizing all the great work published online.
Originally posted May 18, 2009
A couple weeks back Kenneth P. Gurney released his 2nd book: Writers’ Block.
The book is available at Bookworks on Rio Grande in Albuquerque and through Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Writers-Block-Kenneth-P-Gurney/dp/1441437142/
$10 price, 140 pages, firm bound. Writers’ Block contains poems written between 2001 and 2006.
Read Kenneth P. Gurney’s poetry on Fickle Muses:
http://www.ficklemuses.com/poetry/2008-11-30.html
http://www.ficklemuses.com/poetry/2008-03-16.html
http://www.ficklemuses.com/poetry/2007-09-30.html
http://www.ficklemuses.com/poetry/2007-06-24.html
Originally posted May 1, 2009
Poetry Super Highway’s fifth annual E-book Free-For-All is on for today only, with 65 E-books available free until midnight: http://poetrysuperhighway.com/pshffa.html. I’m hoping to find to good poets I didn’t know about before.
Sari
Originally posted April 19, 2009
Dionysus has been toying with me lately. Maybe it’s just the spring air, but I have the overwhelming urge to kick my shoes off, run screaming through the maze of cubicles where the adjunct faculty slave, grading endless stacks of composition papers, and out into the sunshine. I recently read the “Bacchae,” by Euripides, for a class I’m teaching and am consequently, it would seem, possessed by the effeminate, upstart god. I feel irresistibly drawn to the abandonment of reason, the throwing off of social mores, and complete surrender to the irrational. Don’t get me wrong, the idea of rending flesh with my teeth is not in the least appealing. A wild, naked run through the forest, on the other hand, is extremely enticing. Rationality is not really doing it for me today. I have the urge to be swept away, caught up in Bacchic frenzy, and driven to the brink of madness by animal urges—all without repercussion, of course. That must be it, why we struggle against the irrational side of our nature, stick with the rational. It’s safer, nothing to explain the next morning.
Leslie
Originally posted March 1, 2009
Annie Dawid’s new book, “And Darkness Was Under His Feet: Stories of a Family,” is available on Amazon.com
Editor
Sari Krosinsky lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her partner and two cats.
She received a B.A. in religious studies and a M.A. in creative writing from the University of New Mexico. Her poems have appeared in Poesia, Pebble Lake Review, The American Poetry Journal, Arsenic Lobster, Verse Daily, and others. Fiction Editor
Leslie Fox lived in Central America during her formative years and in New Mexico since the mid-70s – before it was cool.
She writes novels, short stories, plays, screenplays and creative nonfiction. Some of her short fiction has appeared in The Medical Muse, red. a journal of arts, Earth’s Daughters and Earthships: A New Mecca Poetry Collection. She has a M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of New Mexico.Art Editor
Dianne Schlies is a practicing artist and has taught studio art since 1986. She received her M.F.A. from SMU at Dallas, Texas in 1990. She has studied or worked with David Bates, Mel Bochner, Squeak Carnwath, Harmony Hammond, Ed Harris, Joyce Kozloff, Mary Ellen Mark, Duane Michals and Robert Rauschenberg. Schlies presently teaches Drawing and 2-D Design in Albuquerque, New Mexico.