Yesterday I received my copy of Contemporary Haibun 21. I may have mentioned a few months ago that I wanted to buy a poetry book from the USA but didn’t want to pay $30 for postage on top of the $30 cost of the book.
My Orange Parker Pen
However, I checked an old email account and found an email with the offer of a $10 discount on the book, because I am in it. Vanity got the better of me, and despite the combined costs being enough to buy two takeaway meals for the two of us, I gritted my teeth and paid the price.
It is “an annual anthology of English-language haibun (and haiga) gleaned from the best practitioners from around the world”. (Haiga are pictures paired up with a haiku for those of you who are lost in the sea of foreign words that begin with hai).
It’s not a bad thing to be in, but when I look, I can’t help thinking about the people who are in it three times where I am only in it once. Are they three times better than me? How much better do I need to become? Three of them are editors who have been very active in rejecting me over the years. They are also editors of the anthology, so it makes it miraculous that I actually made the cut. One of them seems far too enthusiastic in rejecting me when I submit to the journal where he is a newly appointed editor. He’s new to this job, but I wonder if his zeal will be reflected in the selections next year. If it is, I may be able to save a lot of money.
Two pens – one made by my wife
On the other hand, if they left out the last 50 pages, which are reprints of articles I have already read, it might have been cheaper to print and post.
Tricky.
How much do I crave publication? How much is it worth? Is it worth worrying about when a significant number of the editors are generally not keen on my work? Why does something I should be happy about become a matter for deep thought and depression? If I were Roman general I would have someone next to me whispering in my ear to bring me down to earth, but I don’t, and I can do it all by myself.
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I hope you consider it money well enough spent
It doesn’t feel so bad now – it is a good book and nice to see myself amongst the big names.
Let’s be some reward for the arduous job of being the editor of a book of poetry, and in this case it seems to be the ability to put three of your own poems in to one of the really good stuff which the contributors provide. Chin up, keep sharpening the biro.
By the way, if I was numbered among the best practitioners in the world, I would be happy to shout it from the rooftops and not have people bothering me by whispering in my ear.
Even though we write because we write, I think most writers want to be read, which is why publication is such a big deal.
I bet the editor is a university graduate, with no life skills and full to the brim with his lecturers opinions. See, there’s the cynic in me. It’s your fault for bringing me into politics again. 😂😂