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Poetry Magnum Opus

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tonyv

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I've always viewed PMO as a publication of sorts. What individual members choose to make of it is up to each member, but I myself want my work out there, to be enjoyed by members and guests alike. As I have no other outlets, for me a bulletin board is an extremely useful vehicle that serves a personal purpose that's more valuable than a blog. It's more far-reaching, because its design encourages interaction. And while a blog may attract some fans, a bulletin board attracts others who can also benefit from participation. We have a fantastic, enthusiastic membership, and I would like to see the board be even more useful to its members as a place for growing as writers, a repository for works, and an outlet for garnering individual exposure.

 

Collective exposure for the board can be useful in augmenting members' individual exposure; if people are drawn to the board, they will also be drawn to the members' works. We're not sure if we're going to try this yet, but we would like to see what our members think about a new category at PMO: a category for monthly or quarterly submissions. Submissions would be accepted from members and non-members alike (in accordance with guidelines tolerable to us) and published in a new category, established for that purpose, at the discretion of an editor we appoint. (We have a member in mind who might actually like this unpaid position, lol.)

 

Take a look at the Red River Review, which styles itself as "A Fully Electronic Literary Journal." I don't see any reason why we couldn't provide a similar outlet for our own members (in addition to the board) and to non-members who would care to submit work. Of course, the monthly or quarterly "published" submissions would have to meet the editor's standards, and as such would be limited in amount (in order to be taken seriously), but nurturing such a section for "published" works could prove to be advantageous to the board itself and all its members. We might even be able to do what the linked literary journal does and submit some of the "published" works to the Pushcart Prize. (Pushcart Prize -- Wiki Link)

 

Just looking for some thoughts on this for now. Please do chime in.

 

Tony

Here is a link to an index of my works on this site: tonyv's Member Archive topic

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Just looking for some thoughts on this for now. Please do chime in.

 

Tony

 

My dos pesos:

 

Likely, most of us here visit and contribute to several other forums. Kudos time--PMO is my current favorite. Here, the rules are simple and few and don't seem to intefere with contributions. I don't know that following others' practices would improve this site, but the idea of a special, judged section sounds fine, but membership opinions and participation, to me, would be essential.

 

No doubt we each write for different reasons and have different goals to pursue. When my paltry work is "published" here or on other forums, I am happy to snag a few responses, good or bad. I'm sure Tony is too tight-fisted to hand out remunerations; I'm just glad he doesn't charge a fee to print my stuff. I feel comfortable posting here and would soon leave if too many restrictions were imposed. (What's "too many?") That's another personal judgment call. I'm old, but relatively new in learning to write. I regret not starting sooner.

 

My one bit of advice for you, Tony, is to do what you think best, and if it flops, dump it. Thank you for giving me a place to prop up my feet, sip a smidgen of wine and read some damn fine stuff.

 

FDH

Edited by fdelano
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I think this sounds fantastic!! Though I do agree with Paco about the participation and opinions of the members here being of utmost importance.

 

I look forward to hearing more about this and what others have to say. It would be exciting to be part of something so new to this forum, being one of those things, myself.

 

Tammi

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goldenlangur

Hi Tony,

 

This excellent idea seems like a logical progression for PMO. We have had some moons of posting here and the works of the members are a rich resource of creative energy which a new category for submissions for publication would tap effectively:

 

... Collective exposure for the board can be useful in augmenting members' individual exposure; if people are drawn to the board, they will also be drawn to the members' works. We're not sure if we're going to try this yet, but we would like to see what our members think about a new category at PMO: a category for monthly or quarterly submissions. Submissions would be accepted from members and non-members alike (in accordance with guidelines tolerable to us) and published in a new category, established for that purpose, at the discretion of an editor we appoint. (We have a member in mind who might actually like this unpaid position, lol.)

 

Thank you for the link for this online journal. It represents the contemporary trend for online publication with many print journals gradually moving to this mode of publication. Yes, I think PMO will need editor/editors who have some modicum of experience in publishing, ideally editing a successful online journal or at least publication of their own work. This is important to garner some recognition for PMO submissions.

 

Take a look at the Red River Review, which styles itself as "A Fully Electronic Literary Journal." I don't see any reason why we couldn't provide a similar outlet for our own members (in addition to the board) and to non-members who would care to submit work. Of course, the monthly or quarterly "published" submissions would have to meet the editor's standards, and as such would be limited in amount (in order to be taken seriously), but nurturing such a section for "published" works could prove to be advantageous to the board itself and all its members. We might even be able to do what the linked literary journal does and submit some of the "published" works to the Pushcart Prize. (Pushcart Prize -- Wiki Link)

 

Re the Pushcart prize nominations - again an excellent idea but I think this will take some time to achieve. Most of the journals which nominate poems for this prize are already established ones. PMO will need to establish its niche and place before nominations from it will have a fair chance of competing with those of other established journals.

 

 

Just a few thoughts ...

goldenlangur

 

 

Even a single enemy is too many and a thousand friends too few - Bhutanese saying.

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Take a look at the Red River Review, which styles itself as "A Fully Electronic Literary Journal." I don't see any reason why we couldn't provide a similar outlet for our own members (in addition to the board) and to non-members who would care to submit work. Of course, the monthly or quarterly "published" submissions would have to meet the editor's standards, and as such would be limited in amount (in order to be taken seriously), but nurturing such a section for "published" works could prove to be advantageous to the board itself and all its members. We might even be able to do what the linked literary journal does and submit some of the "published" works to the Pushcart Prize. (Pushcart Prize -- Wiki Link)

 

Just looking for some thoughts on this for now. Please do chime in.

 

Tony

 

I am all for it, but will it meet the ideals propounded in RRR's

 

Statement of Purpose

Our purpose has always been to publish well-crafted poetry using the best electronic means available. Our highest priority is the quality of writing. We will also post companion media pieces such as artwork, video the published poem being read by the author and other mixed media items that the editors agree are relevant. Again, our highest priority is the written word. Everything else is secondary.

 

How is the BB to be separated from the forum? The total of the two could be overwhelming.

 

I do think this forum is high quality, but could a serious BB overshadow it?

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Thank you, all, for giving your thoughts about this. I'll address some of the main points.

 

Here, the rules are simple and few and don't seem to intefere with contributions. I don't know that following others' practices would improve this site, but the idea of a special, judged section sounds fine, but membership opinions and participation, to me, would be essential.

 

No doubt we each write for different reasons and have different goals to pursue. When my paltry work is "published" here or on other forums, I am happy to snag a few responses, good or bad. I'm sure Tony is too tight-fisted to hand out remunerations; I'm just glad he doesn't charge a fee to print my stuff. I feel comfortable posting here and would soon leave if too many restrictions were imposed. (What's "too many?") That's another personal judgment call. I'm old, but relatively new in learning to write. I regret not starting sooner.

 

My one bit of advice for you, Tony, is to do what you think best, and if it flops, dump it. Thank you for giving me a place to prop up my feet, sip a smidgen of wine and read some damn fine stuff.

 

FDH

I think this sounds fantastic!! Though I do agree with Paco about the participation and opinions of the members here being of utmost importance.

Franklin and Tammi, you've both mentioned that membership opinions and participation would be essential. I agree. The participation's a no brainer: anyone who wants to could submit. The opinions? Well, that's another matter. As imagined, the new category would be a submissions forum. What happens when writers submit to a normal publication? Their works are either accepted or rejected at the discretion of the editor(s). (That would not be me; I don't want the job. :)) ) Will all members be pleased with the appointed editor's decisions? I doubt it, but that's the nature of submitting works for publication.

 

As for how a submissions category would affect the rest of the board, it wouldn't. Everything else would stay the same. It wouldn't impose any other restrictions on the normal participation that members are accustomed to; it would simply be an added value -- something extra for those who want to give it a try.

 

I'm game, I like the idea of attracting others to the work here. Whatever it takes. ~~Tink

Yes, Tink. You've said this before. While I see nothing inherently wrong with increasing the ranks, and I have various other ideas for doing just that, I've been dragging my feet with it. Is that what we really want? Would hordes of newcomers be a good thing? I'm only saying this because the status quo is nice, too; there's a harmony that's inherent here now in our small, participating membership. We'll have to consider and plan growth carefully.

 

Hi Tony,

 

This excellent idea seems like a logical progression for PMO. We have had some moons of posting here and the works of the members are a rich resource of creative energy which a new category for submissions for publication would tap effectively ...

 

Thank you for the link for this online journal. It represents the contemporary trend for online publication with many print journals gradually moving to this mode of publication. Yes, I think PMO will need editor/editors who have some modicum of experience in publishing, ideally editing a successful online journal or at least publication of their own work. This is important to garner some recognition for PMO submissions.

 

Re the Pushcart prize nominations - again an excellent idea but I think this will take some time to achieve. Most of the journals which nominate poems for this prize are already established ones. PMO will need to establish its niche and place before nominations from it will have a fair chance of competing with those of other established journals.

I like how you've expressed this prospect as a logical progression, Goldenlangur. I also like how you've pointed out in different words what I said above re "submissions," how setting and maintaining standards in any publication has a direct bearing on submitting works, in this example, to the Pushcart Prize. This means that submissions to the new category would have to meet a knowledgeable editor's standards in order to be taken seriously by the Pushcart Prize. I think if a work is good, that matters more than from where it came (in this case, PMO). And how better to build a name for PMO than to put out good work? After all, how long has the RRR been publishing? According to its site, since 1999. That's hardly Harriet Monroe's "Poetry" (though "Poetry" was once a fledgling, too).

 

I am all for it, but will it meet the ideals propounded in RRR's

 

Statement of Purpose

Our purpose has always been to publish well-crafted poetry using the best electronic means available. Our highest priority is the quality of writing. We will also post companion media pieces such as artwork, video the published poem being read by the author and other mixed media items that the editors agree are relevant. Again, our highest priority is the written word. Everything else is secondary.

 

How is the BB to be separated from the forum? The total of the two could be overwhelming.

 

I do think this forum is high quality, but could a serious BB overshadow it?

Ikars, those ideals should be attainable by any serious publication. The question is, does RRR meet its own stated ideals. We can take a look at some of its works. There are some there that aren't overly impressive. Take a look at THIS one from the February issue. I mean, I like the poem, but wouldn't you have suggested some capital letters, as she's anyway using periods?

 

And as I also mentioned in this post above, the submissions section wouldn't affect the rest of the board in any way; it would simply consist of a new category of forums, one for each month (or quarter) we "publish." So long as the Pushcart Prize accepts submissions from small presses (printed and electronic), I don't see how it could be too tough to submit six works per year to it. (Perhaps we could do five poems and one prose piece?) It's a good place to start. Btw, Ikars, I hope your move will go/is going well. I wouldn't want to hear how it's an impediment if and when editorial duty calls ...

 

Again, I'll say it's just an idea we're tossing around here. Still soliciting new and follow-up replies ...

 

Tony

Here is a link to an index of my works on this site: tonyv's Member Archive topic

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  • 1 year later...
David W. Parsley

Hi, Tony. Reading this brought back memories of my visit to your neck of the woods last September. It is a memory I shall always cherish. Thanks again for your hospitality and fascinating conversation.

 

I am wondering what became of your idea here. It is similar to ideas we kicked around during lunch and since then. Is there still interest in pursuing it?

 

- Dave

 

P.S. Not to be indelicate, but how does anyone find time to visit/use "other sites"? I find this one thoroughly absorbing and rewarding, nearly inexhaustible. I would not even know how to find these other sites, but don't feel a great need to, either.

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Larsen M. Callirhoe

I missed this or i would add some insight as well. i mean if we are looking for more membership i think it is a great idea. but i do feel we have a small tight-knit family here and it might be to diversivied for what most of us here are looking for. no i am not planning to leave, but i am attending college. i am a member of five forms sed to be 8forms bt they are not defunct sadly i might add. i miss the old faces but new ones come around. i am finding less time for my poetry world and friends becase of school mch like aleksandra is busy with her job. poetry is and always will be a passion and love of mine. i jst don't know if any members on this forum have interests in this propasal or the topic would still be alive if you know what i mean. i would really like to hearothers ideas on the thoughts tony has for the possible ftre of this site.

 

victor

Larsen M. Callirhoe

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