At My Desk On A Saturday Night
By Samuel Vargo
()
About this ebook
One of the things I've learned by writing and submitting poems, stories, creative nonfiction and even journalism articles is how to handle rejection. If you write and want what you're writing published, it will be rejected. Maybe not most of it, but much of it will be sent back - usually accompanied by a polite form letter. Sometimes the editors of literary magazines and small presses invite a writer to submit again, but other rejections aren't as cheery and no such an invitation is given to submit again.
Believe it or not, most of what lies in this collection met with some nice comments by literary magazine editors, but little caveats like: "The work you're sending really doesn't fit with our magazines' aesthetic" or, "Although we think this poetry has promise and another press will surely grab much of it up and absolutely adore it, it's not the kind of work we publish." And they invite me to submit again in the future, and I oftentimes do. And a little note is thrown back my way in a month or two that reads something like, "We like what we see here and would like to see more of your work in the future. Unfortunately, none of the poetry you've sent made the final cut for Issue #5. Keep writing and keep trying. - The Editors".
Rejection form emails are a lot like fortune cookies. They tend to be hopeful, if not full of promise, but they really don't say much. At one time I tried to read into them but never do these days. At best, they're syrupy and sickening, at their worst, they are dreadfully snarky.
But most are positive, albeit unsung and obscure. Editors of literary magazines are brokers of poems, stories, and other literary work. Their mission is not to critique or give writing improvement advice, although some lit mags these days will offer a bit of such painful rhetoric for a small fee, or sometimes, just if you ask them to give you a bit of advice. But most editors don't want to get into such a quandary, which oftentimes turns into a quagmire of ugly emails being passed back and forth. Who needs it, these poor editors just want to find some really good lit for their next issue. So most feel that keeping rejections noteless and even a bit aloof is a good way to get away from an Internet barroom brawl with a very outraged writer. Normally, such misfits give up the ghost on writing poetry and fiction and get into the martial arts, ballroom dancing, or stand-up comedy. There is actually a bit of money in these other avocations, by the way. . . .
I've never opened a fortune cookie that read "You're going to be run over by a bus this afternoon" and I've never received a canned rejection from a literary magazine that reads: "Bug off, loser. Quit sending us your stupid poems. Get a life and give up on writing. You have no talent and you'd be better suited to getting a job in a textile mill."
Anyhow, this collection of poetry might not be an earth-shattering poetic achievement, but as a collection, taken as a composite whole, I think it's a strong work. The poems and flash pieces that have been previously published have their publishing credits listed after the poems. There are two quirky short stories included, too, off-the-beaten-track short stories, about middle-length. They're both literary and entertaining. I wrote both of these in the past year or so; and the poetry and shorter prose, well, most of it has been lying dormant in old Submittable and email files for a long time now, in sort of "literary cold-case status".
Samuel Vargo
Samuel Vargo writes on a freelance basis for a few liberal, online, national magazines that headline daily. He also writes for a few comedy and satire magazines with international readerships that headline daily. Vargo has written poetry and short stories for print and online literary magazines, university journals and a few commercial magazines. He worked most of his adult life as a newspaper reporter and taught as an adjunct English professor for about a decade at a number of community colleges, state colleges, and state universities. He has a BA in Political Science and an MA in English (both degrees were awarded by Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio, USA). These days, Vargo doesn't write much poetry, but instead, concentrates on writing detective mystery novels under the pseudonym Stanley Gladden. His two latest works are "Woodside" and "Welcome to the Horror Show". Vargo was a curator and editor for a string of eight commercial online magazines for almost a year, but a few years ago, he gave this up to work on his own writing pursuits. Vargo was the fiction editor of Pig Iron Press, Youngstown, Ohio, for 12 years. A book-length collection of Vargo's short stories, titled "Electric Onion Head and the Rotating Cyclops of the Month", was published by Literary Road and had a web presence for seven years from 2007-.2014.
Read more from Samuel Vargo
WHY? An Experimental, Avant-Garde, And Sometimes Absurdist Novella Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJust Another Bozo On The Bus Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBrownfields, Brokering Boards, And Scrap Haulers Dreams: And Other Short Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Stranger In This Town Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWay Past Midnight On The Other Side Of Real Estate Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to At My Desk On A Saturday Night
Related ebooks
It Was Funny On Paper Poems A E Miller Wrote Before The Internet Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpire City, Season One: Infected Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRealms: The First Year of Clarkesworld Magazine: Clarkesworld Anthology, #1 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Bazaar of Bad Dreams: Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Poetry Collection by someone who hates poetry collections Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSmith's Monthly #1: Smith's Monthly, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSmith's Monthly #1 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Tales of the Vuduri: Year Three Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBest of the Web 2010: Travels in the Footsteps of the Commodore Who Saved America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRemembrance: Remembrance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Write Brilliant Beginnings: Crafting Your Novel's Opening Chapters Made Easy: Write Better Fiction, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Autobiography of a Super-Tramp (The life of William Henry Davies) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Modest Magical Magazine Proposal (Volume 1, Issue .1 Prospectus) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings30 Days to Your First Poetry Chapbook Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5A Novel in a Year: A Novelist's Guide to Being a Novelist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Without a Home Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTom's Two Cents: A Collection of Columns Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Canister X Transmission: Year Three - Collected Newsletters Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Writing Year: Making Sense of Being a Writer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLittle Bird Stories, Volume 10 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Be a Literary Sensation: A Quick Guide to Exploiting Friends, Family and Facebook for Artistic Gain Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsApril: A Love Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Coffee with Ghosts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Meteoric Rise of Simon Burchwood Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mozart's Brain: Number 10 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Way None Of This Happened Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWriting Myths: The Write Mindset, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Viagra Diaries Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5And the Stars Were Shining: Poems Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChicken Feet: Poems Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Poetry For You
Daily Stoic: A Daily Journal On Meditation, Stoicism, Wisdom and Philosophy to Improve Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beyond Thoughts: An Exploration Of Who We Are Beyond Our Minds Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Prophet Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bedtime Stories for Grown-ups Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Way Forward Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Love Her Wild: Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Things We Don't Talk About Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Selected Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Edgar Allan Poe: The Complete Collection Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Poems of John Keats (with an Introduction by Robert Bridges) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dream Work Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Japanese Death Poems: Written by Zen Monks and Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Inward Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You Better Be Lightning Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Divine Comedy: Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dante's Inferno: The Divine Comedy, Book One Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leaves of Grass: 1855 Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Odyssey Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTao Te Ching: A New English Version Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Twenty love poems and a song of despair Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Odyssey: (The Stephen Mitchell Translation) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Iliad of Homer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Canterbury Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Iliad: The Fitzgerald Translation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Road Not Taken and other Selected Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Collection of Poems by Robert Frost Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gilgamesh: A New English Version Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for At My Desk On A Saturday Night
0 ratings0 reviews