Whistling Maid, Cackling Hen

The forget-me-nots and blue lobelia are blooming on this Blue Monday that is blissfully cool compared to last week: 20 degrees cooler + blue sky. Time for the 100 Rejections recap/tally, as the morning began with an email rejection, but of the nice sort, the "close, send again" sort!

Since September 1, when this tally began, I've sent out 101 official submissions, had 49 rejections, and 28 acceptances (several already published, thanks to the comparative speed of online publications). I see I am only halfway there if I plan to get 100 rejections by September 1, 2012. Ack!

It's been a great summer for print issues: SRPR (Spoon River Poetry Review) and Nimrod arrived recently; still awaiting Slipstream, among others. Likewise, recent online publications include Hobble Creek Review* and Menacing Hedge, with Poemeleon pending, among others. So I feel active even in stasis, which aids patience. And the near misses are good, and there have been a few withdrawals, due to simultaneous submissions, a nice opportunity for poets these days.

*Notice the new call for submissions at Hobble Creek, re: Gulf Coast issue. More about that, from the editors, here.

And this morning, able to sit outside again, I drafted a poem at the picnic table, and designed next week's poetry workshop, creating assignments based on poems from Whistling Past the Graveyard, by Kristin Berkey-Abbott. Find out more about her here, but don't click the book cover, as it takes you to a business site in Japanese. Ack! Have I just clicked on a virus?

She's the whistling maid. I'm the (c)ack(l)ing hen. For a Superior Cackling Hen, click here (Bourbon Tabernacle Choir CD). For more on chickens, click here. Thanks to Andrei Niemimaki for the happy couple above. Ack! This has officially become a Random Coinciday.