Diary of a Mad Editor

Archive for July 23rd, 2008

Sometimes Talking to a Wannbe Poet Makes Me Feel Like a Dumb Polack

Q: How do you drive a Polack crazy?

A: Put him in a round room and tell him to go stand in the corner.

With all due respect to Poles — I certainly mean no offense, but talking to aspiring poets does sometimes make me feel like I’m the dumb Polack in one of those old jokes.

Case in point: The other day this guy I know reads me this poem of his that he had just written and asks for my opinion about it. It’s a short poem but I listened closely. As far as I could tell from his reading of it, it’s about the environment and war and about how we are destroying our planet. Or, at least, I thought the one image of a beast devouring the earth (aside from it being a bit of a cliche) was intended as a metaphor for mankind’s own appetite for destruction. I’ll admit that I didn’t quite understand why this guy pluralized the word “planet.” I told him what I thought the poem was about and asked him why he chose to say “planets” instead of “planet.” Instead of giving me a simple answer, he dismissed my interpretation and started talking about the Book of Revelation.

“Okay,” I said. “So this is not intended metaphorically. This is a literal biblical reference of an event depicted in Revelations.”

“No. It’s not,” he said. “It’s about personal struggle . . . blahblahblah, etc.”

“Well,” I replied. “I’m not getting that at all. There’s just this one image floating loose in the air. Where’s the personal struggle come in?”

“It’s not about personal struggle,” he says.

Now I’m getting kinda pissed-off. Is this guy fucking with me or what?

“But you just said it was about ‘personal struggle’. Now you are not only contradicting me, you’re contradicting what you just said about you’re own poem. Look, I –”

He cuts me off: “I don’t write poems for other people. I enjoyed writing this poem. If you don’t like it, tough.”

“But you read it to me and asked me to respond. You don’t want to hear what I got to say or answer my questions, why’d you bring it up? And I never said anything about whether I liked it or not. I’m just trying to get a handle on it.”

“That’s the point,” he said. “It can be interpreted many different ways. However you think . . .”

“No. I told you what I thought it was about and you said I was wrong. So, obviously, it doesn’t have multiple interpretations. So, what the fuck man — throw me a lifeline ‘cuz I’m drowning in a bucket of shit!”

He stormed off in a huff, having nothing more to say on the matter.

Me? I was getting a beast devouring headache.

Projection Word Drops

Projection Word Drops is a relatively new online magazine (or magazine-style blog) promoting global awareness and a free exchange of ideas. The articles posted on this site cover a wide variety of topics — everything from education and religion to politics and creative writing.

I found the slant of this online publication to be a refreshing change. Although I would most definitely classify this site as being a part of the Netroots movement, it is not overtly political and has a much more benign tone than other, similar sites do.

And, being true to it’s roots, this site doesn’t appear to be written by professional writers. Some of the articles do not even appear to be written by individuals who speak and write in English as their primary language. Since this site is directed at an English-speaking audience, it might be a good idea to have an English-language editor go through the articles before they are posted to give them some polish.

Be that as it may, I enjoyed this site overall, and believe in its positive message. So, you guys might want to check it out if you have a few spare moments.

Looking for a Quality Display Set-up for Your Next Trade Show? Try the Godfrey Group

Let’s face it. We in the small press know how hard it is to market our books, chapbooks, zines and comics. Participation in book fairs and trade expos is just about mandatory these days. What many don’t know is that you need a little more than a card table and a handmade sign to grab attention — you need quality display units that can provide the showcase your hard-earned creative labor deserves.

You might want to consider a truss trade show display. The Godfrey Group provides a wide range of stock and custom display components for your every need.

I was impressed by their website and the quality of information provided there. And, judging by the virtual gallery of their display designs, these are not your run-of-the-mill supermarket displays. Their displays are sleek, sturdy-looking and elegant.

So, if any of you are planning a trip to a book fair or comic expo in the near future, you might want to see what this company has to offer and see if it’s in your budget.