Neuroses, Curiosity, & a Call to Action

In the spring, the poem which this blog is titled after was accepted to The Brooklyn Review. Between then and now, a few things have happened with relation to this poem and this journal and journals in general.

1) The poem has taken on new heights in my mind, not because it’s a stellar work of art in my estimation, but because I think it, and its title, represent what I try to do in my work (this, in large part, was pointed out to me by my professor Austin Hummell—I believe he was right). I’m a back-talker, and I like it.
2) Also, the poem has been revised…and, I like that, too? (I am Lisa Coutley?)
3) So, when I emailed the editors, two times (enter the Neuroses section of the title), because I hadn’t received the contributor’s copy (which I never did receive, unfortunately), I thought, well, maybe that’s okay…the poem’s all different now anyway.
4) Then, the other day, at an end-of-the-semester reading “party” for Passages North, a fellow poet said, hey, this submission reminds me of the kind of poems I’ve read in that big (size-wise) journal…The Brooklyn Review (he did not mean this in a kind way).
5) So yesterday, on the first real day of break, doubly a break day as it was a snow day, since I had time on my hands, I decided to check the site for the updated issue (enter the Curiosity section of the title). Lo and Behold, there it was.

Therefore, I’m here to say a few things about the review itself. First, I’m glad that my poem found its way into this issue; I’ve enjoyed perusing it, so I guess my second point is that perhaps it’s gotten a bad rap. Seriously, I’ve never read a journal from cover to cover and thought, oh yeah!, this one’s the BEST! They are always hit or miss, some things you’ll like, and others you just won’t. That’s the norm, I think. And this issue was no different.

In The Brooklyn Review’s 25th issue (which you can view in .pdf by clicking the handy link I created), you’ll find an interesting blend of drama, art, fiction, and poetry. Now, I’d be lying if I said that I’ve read all the drama and fiction, but I have read the poems and viewed the art. Some interesting stuff, I say, why yes I do.

And I thought of the following friends—what you (they) might like: Tony and Holly, the Walt-Disney inspired art, and Aubs (the poems, of course, but also), the “Fifty Favorite Books” list—only because each reminded me of you guys/gals.

So, I say: read it before you doom it. Lit journals are so hard to judge, and every year they can change with new editors. We have such a set idea of which journals are good solely based on what’s proven to be good in the past, but I have to say, I’ve read some of the poems in some of those journals and thought, really—why?

This is all to say, read this journal, submit to it (deadline’s Feb 1st for the 2009 issue), or, of course, don’t. I’m throwing my two cents out there to those who are listening as a response to my own reading and to conversations I’ve had with others about journals. If this one could be better, send your work, make it better! If it’s good, read the darn thing (and send your work). Isn’t it all up to those (us) who wield the tools of their (our) crafts?

So…hop to it!