Response Burger: A Story of Rejection : Ada Limón : Harriet the Blog : The Poetry Foundation
Ada Limon sheds some inspiring light on rejection here. I've been excited about rejection letters lately. It's a little ridiculous, but it makes me feel like I'm in the game. (Which--for once, since I'm not sporty-- is nicer than just watching from the sidelines and wondering what it would be like to play.)
I don't know if you guys (and by guys I mean women, and Ryan) saw this data http://vidaweb.org/the-count-2010
ReplyDeletefrom VIDA. It is surely depressing, but after tuning into a few internet conversations, I repeatedly heard it said that women were also submitting less, or at least waiting longer after being rejected. That, with exceptions of course, men are more likely to immediately submit to a publication they've been rejected from. I don't think this addresses all sexism in publishing, but I also don't want to dismiss it, as it's something I can be proactive about. I saw this as a call to action, and resubmitted to a publication that said they liked my work and to submit again (and I discounted this encouragement until I read the VIDA article. Then I decided it didn't matter if they meant it or not. They said it). So I submitted again and received a polite e-mail asking me to wait a few more months. That's my response burger. So to all of you I want to say, on one hand, don't push yourself, "honor your talent", but also send out your poems! For the rest of us!
Congratulations on the good-response burger!
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