Here’s my contribution to “Get Your Poem On #97″ from Read Write Poem. I’ll let prompter, Nathan Moore , explain it:
The idea is to choose some text — a poem, a newspaper article, a memo from your supervisor — cut out each word, drop the words into a container, shake the container vigorously, then write down each word as you draw it from the container.
I cut-up chunks from the submission guidelines of a few literary journals. I focused on ones I found particularly poetic, amusing, or outrageous (disclaimer: I chose journals to which I’ve never submitted writing, so there’s no lingering resentment over rejection). I allowed myself to rearrange a bit here and there but mostly followed the logic (or lack thereof) of the randomly chosen words. I added commonly used submissions jargon, such as “what we’re looking for…”, plus articles, prepositions, conjunctions and a few verbs to create a flow.
This is written in the spirit of fun and not meant to offend any hard-working editors out there. Any resemblance to submission guidelines for real literary journals (living or dead) is, of course, random.
Submissions For the Gods
What we’re looking for:
creative entrails,
guerilla scandals,
tablets of memoranda,
advertisements for people.
Our bugaboos?
Poems on vacuums,
redactions of work,
good phrases,
visions only seen in literature.
Give us instead:
clay conjunctions of truth by vulgar men,
oddities,
vicious laughs
(but not in prose).
Jettison participles and syntax
then send your muddy fallacies
in 7 1/2 lines (with commas)
of cuneiform.
And please include viagra for our old (but not pathetic) gods.
Reductive, funny. Much like creative entrails. Viagra was a wicked postscript. Great cobbling Liz. (PS my birthday today. The one you wrote on your birthday was memorable and I’m wondering why I don’t have great thoughts and inspiration, yet.)
Thanks, Irene, and Happy Birthday to you. The birthday of inspired poetry has only happened to me once, and it caught me by surprise. I’m curious to see what you’ll come up with.
This is great fun! 7 1/2 lines (with commas) of cuneiform. Marvelous!
Ha! Very Very witty and a good knife in the ribs to those who “think” they know so much! I loved it!
Wonderful outcome. I especially like What we’re looking for and Give us instead.
You certainly did a fine job of cobbling together the random bits since this does make sense. I had a good laugh at your last line. How true. I like your poem.
Regards,
DH
Thanks for all the kind comments. I had fun with this one.
The title really makes it! You could start a new religion. I’m amazed at how well the random words hold together and make a coherent image. It must have been the good choices of what to throw in the hopper.
Thanks, Sonia. I’ve heard new religions are pretty lucrative. I’ll give it some thought.
About the words — yes, I did choose chunks filled with really outrageous “guidelines” so that give me a good start.
nicely done…..very witty….thanks for sharing
Thanks, Wayne.
I like the wry humor of this, the idea of the editors with their imperious and arbitrary power, as gods, and the opposite interpretation, real gods and their interest in the submissions people make in and of their lives.
David – You’re taking this deeper than I did, but I like you’re interpretation.
Fantastic! This made me laugh.
Thanks, Nathan. I do love to make folks laugh.
Extraordinarily delightful! Thank you!
Thanks Deb.
Hilarious! I loved the “submissions for the gods” which reminded me of sacrifices to the gods — our poems are like sacrifices we offer for rewards! Also I loved the interplay of “gods” with the subtext of “muses” — poets are supposed to be divinely inspired or helped by muses, but sometimes muses fail us mere humans, and then the gods blame us, not our muses. (A few years ago I wrote a poem like this, inspired by The Poet’s Marketplace, but your poem is better!)
Therese- Love your interpretation. Thanks for the comment.