How many times do you submit a poem for publication / competitions before finally putting it out for pasture?Personally, if I really like it, I might give it three goes. Usually, after that, I've written more anyway and I usually think my newer stuff is better (whether it is or not is debatable) so I let it go and graze freely on my C Drive.
But if I really really like a poem, should I stick with it, through thick and thin, until some editor / judge sees the brilliance of my work? When is it time to say 'enough is enough'?
Good question. As I'm new to poetry I really couldn't say. But on the script side of things I've hung onto scripts in full, in part becusae I've really been attached to them and reused them successfully in another script or sometimes even using another medium. Perosanlly if you really love a piece and have faith in it, keep it
ReplyDeleteI'm not a great submitter - a couple of the big competitions and a couple of magazines a year (this shall change!) - but I have a poem "Olduvai Core" which I sincerely believe to be the best thing I've ever written or am likely to write. I'll be submitting it to 2050 until someone, somewhere, recognises its genuius.
ReplyDeleteIt's the only one, though!
Basically, if you ever write a poem and think "Yes, that's it" (which has happened to me the once, as detailed above) I would never, ever give up on it.