Spoon River Poetry Review, Where are You????

Just when I think I'm "over it," someone reminds of why I got involved in Foetry and then Post Foetry...

Today, I received the following email from a poetry contest entrant:

I decided to e-mail you to ask about the Spoon River Poetry Review.

[Note from Bugzita: by the way, the SRPR contest rules seem waffly and incomplete, although offering a subscription in return is a step in the right direction, although it looks as though our correspondent has not been receiving his issues. In any case, the judge should be announced before entrants send in their money.]

I have received no word from that publication since I submitted poems to its annual poetry contest. I e-mailed them to find out and did not get an answer. It has been since April 15th since the deadline, meaning it is now going on eight months. Maybe that is typical of poetry contests?

I understand that things take time but since SRPR does not allow for simultaneous submissions I can't submit my poems elsewhere in the meantime. Why do they take their merry old time to get back and keep me from submitting elsewhere? It doesn't seem fair to me. Or else I should "get over it" as that may be the world of poetry - slow as glacial ice!!

I have noticed that there has been no Fall issue of SRPR in which the contest winners will be published. Winter comes and the Fall issue is nowhere to be found. None in the mail and none posted on SRPR's website. I guess I'm either impatient or a sucker. Do you have any insight into this?

Thanks for your time and indulgence.

First of all, you're not a sucker; you have done all the right things: followed the rules and waited patiently for an announcement of 2007 winners. Secondly, I think that the "no simultaneous submission" rule is complete and utter BS, which is mostly ignored, anyway. Trust me, as a former editor, I have first-hand knowledge of this.

However, if your personal ethics dictate that you follow contest rules that dictate no simultaneous submissions, then I would say that you are off the hook after six months. It's your work, after all. Who are editors to say that you must wait an eternity for their answer?

Evidently, they have yet to announce the 2006 contest winners, so, my friend, you may have a very long wait.

It troubles me that your email was ignored--if the people running this contest are taking money from entrants, then they owe their paying-customer base answers. At the very least, the editor or other representative should post a message on the website, explaining the reason for the backlog and apologizing for the delay. Otherwise, they just look like another fly-by-night outfit.

How about it, Spoon River Poetry Review?

1. Answer your customers' questions.
2. Post an explanation/apology on your website homepage.
3. SRPR editor: feel free to email a response to me, which I'll post here.

In the future, contest entrants should take care and consider contests that incorporate these guidelines.

Best,

Jennifer

About Press Releases on Post Foetry...

When posting a press release on this blog, Post Foetry is not necessarily endorsing or speaking out against the event or the people involved.

I have just posted a press release from poets.org that arrived in my mailbox. On the surface, the event looks straight forward enough: the event is free and open to those who wish to attend. As to what poet got favors from such-and-such organizations, I don't know.

In any case, the "comment" section is open to anyone who wishes to express opinions about organizations and individual writers featured in the press release. Opinions expressed by individuals do not necessarily reflect my opinion or that of my team members.

I plan to post select future press releases related to poetry and writing in general as they arrive in my inbox, but they will be clearly marked as press releases, which means that the text has not been changed or edited in any way. Thus, when you see "Press Release" in the title line, you will know that, at the time of posting, we have taken a neutral stance on the event and/or people involved.

That could change, of course, so anyone submitting a press release here is well-advised to keep that in mind.

We will not post the following kinds of press releases:

• Announcements of any literary contests, both free and fee-charging
• Vanity press "contest" announcements
• From publications that charge a reading fee
• From known foets and foet vanity presses
• Announcements of paid editorial services and/or fee-charging literary agents
• Announcements selling certain enhancement products (okay, just checking to see if you're still with us)

However, by submitting a press release to any team member's email box, you are granting us permission to quote from it and write up a news clip, which may or may not be favorable to you or your organization.

Kind of well-written press releases we will consider posting:

• Announcements of upcoming FREE and/or charity literary events
• Press releases from individual writers (not presses), who have published a book (novels, stories, poems, and creative non-fiction) and could benefit from a little buzz and exposure; self-publishers are welcome too. Just be aware that by publishing your release, we are not addressing the overall quality of your book.

While Post Foetry would like to keep an eye on certain foet organizations and foets, we also want, whenever possible, to emphasize what's good about the literary arts.

Jennifer

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