look i pull no punches, right. i write in a certain style. in a certian way. well, i get rejected a lot too. most editors are okay and simply reject the poems. some, like this one i'm printing, try and be wise. so here's the rejection i received today, and here's my response, which i sent, but altered here in poetic form.
the letter:
Dear John,
Thanks for your submissions. You write well, but there’s this fella Bukowski and that’s our problem.
He nicked this shtick and beat you with it and what’s more he wrote a whole bookcase.
And I’m tired today.
Sorry. We’re nothing if we’re not inconsistent though, so send us some work for a future issue. You can write and we can change our minds.
my poem:
oh no, you got me
dear editor
yes there was a fella names bukowski,
and he did beat me to the punch
in terms of writing in a direct style..
but, if i'm correct, people are allowed
to express themselves as they see fit.
if you think i'm nicking bukowski, that's fine,
if you want to pinpoint me.
i guess i should start writing poems
about whores and the racetrack now,
to say nothing for the hundreds of poets who,
i guess, are "borrowing" styles from other poets.
and gee, i always thought i was ripping off
ray carver anyway.
you see,
i never write these notes back to editors and the like.
ive learned to take the punches and roll with them.
but i don't know.
maybe you've struck a nerve this time,
as was evident in what you wrote to me.
maybe i'm tired too, and sick of bullshit
maybe it's the wine getting to me today.
but i've read your mag,
and that's the most i can say for it.
so thanks for the compliment
disguised as a critique of my writing.
i will take it and i will think about it.
and who knows,
maybe i will send more poems to you.
or maybe i'll just send them
to a better rag next time,
or just wipe my ass with the paper.
good luck anyway,
john
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