IanLeTourneau.ca

So, they e-mailed back and said the same thing again just with the right title (see previous post). So now, where to send it? Frontenac and Thistledown are my contenders. And, Frontenac isn’t accepting submssions at this time. So, I’ll probably send to Thistledown.

I received a rejection in the mail yesterday from McGill-Queens University Press for Terminal Moraine. Actually, I received a rejection in my name for Book of Secret Medals. That’s right, they didn’t even get my tiitle right. As you can imagine, it is a form letter where all the person is required to do is change my name and address and the title of the book. They couldn’t even get this right. Does this mean they didn’t read it? Does this mean that some pour soul who wrote Book of Secret Medals is waiting for a response? The letter is unprofessional and I was dissapointed that MQUP would send it out. I wrote them an e-mail this morning to confirm that Terminal Moraine was, indeed, rejected. I’ll keep you posted.

So now I have to figure out where to send it next. Frontenac, according to their website, is still not accepting submissions. Maybe I’ll e-mail to see when they are planning to accept submission again. Brick Books doesn’t accept until January. There’s two Saskatchewan I could try as well: Thistledown & Coteau.

In other news, the doctor said on Monday that the baby could come this week. Sherry was effaced more than last time and dilated a bit more.

And one of my friends from Banff 2005, Russell Wangersky, was long-listed for the Giller Prize for his book The Hour of Bad Decisions. He’s in good company: David Adams Richards and Wayne Johnston, among others, are also on the list. Coincidentally, his book is published by Coteau–maybe I should send Terminal Moraine there.

Well, I’ve been pretty busy. But here’s (finally) an update.

I still haven’t recieved my chapbook yet, but according to this, I’m guessing that’s going to happen soon. It’s pretty exciting. When my copies arrive (all 150 of them), I’m going to organize a small self-organized tour. Probably just Edmonton, Calgary and Athabasca. Maybe Red Deer? And I’ve always wanted an excuse to go see Fort McMurray. Maybe, just maybe Banff, too. And this Christmas when I’m home, maybe I can swing a Fredericton reading. I’m guessing there’s a concentration of my readers there (Nancy, Dave, Ross, I’m talking to you). And remember: only $4.95. How can you not buy one? If you’re worried they’ll sell out before then, you could always send me $6 and I can mail you one.

How to write pithily (from Slate).

Been way busy with wedding. Now that that’s over look for more regularity next week. I’ll have a wedding photo posted plus all kinds of stuff.

Yesterday, I drove into Edmonton to interview for a great job with the Writers Guild of Alberta. Should know by the end of the week. Needless to say, I’m hoping I can make the move to the City of Champions.

Here’s a great link to the CBC story about the awarding of the Bulwer-Lytton literary prize, which seeks the worst opening line to a novel. The winner’s line:

Detective Bart Lasiter was in his office studying the light from his one small window falling on his super burrito when the door swung open to reveal a woman whose body said you’ve had your last burrito for a while, whose face said angels did exist, and whose eyes said she could make you dig your own grave and lick the shovel clean.

I’d also like to remind you that you can leave comments now without registering or logging in.

…from where I returned today. We had a great stay, landing on Sunday and getting back late this afternoon. We stayed in the middle of downtown and walked around a lot. I must rest blisters on feet now. But first, the list:

I found a great used book store, where I limited myself to 5 books. (Very hard to do. I thought of putting one back but if you buy 5 then you get 20% off, a deal which I couldn’t resist.)

Poems of Akhmatova, translated by Stanley Kunitz.
Field Guide, Robert Hass.
Praise, Robert Haas.
Nights and Days, James Merrill.
Invisible Listeners, Helen Vendler. (Critcism, not poetry.)

Sherry also found a uncollected works of Stevie Smith, with a letter inside the front and back covers written by Stevie Smith. A chatty letter that seems authentic.

Here’s a few I bought new:

Field Marks: The Poetry of Don McKay. Ed. Meira Cook. (Uninspiring selection and introduction.)
Without Title, Geoffrey Hill.
Collected Poems, Donald Justice.

And then, here’s a list of the books I bought at a book warehouse, called the Book Warehouse, full of remainders:

Clasburyon, Mark Abley.
Notes Toward a Family Tree, John Barton.
Drivers at the Short-Time Motel, Eugene Gloria.
The Speed of the Wheel is Up to the Potter, Sandy Shreve.

Each of those cost 99 cents. And the gem, the hidden treasure found in the endless bins of remainders:

Unmarked Doorways, Peter Trower. (Just $5.99)

I interviewed David Hickey about his new book, In the Lights of the Midnight Plow, and other poetic things in June for Northern Poetry Review. It’s just been posted. Check it out.

You can buy his book from Biblioasis. You should ’cause it’s good. Here’s a few tour dates I plucked off the site:

August 3rd: David Hickey will launch his book In the Lights of a Midnight Plow in Windsor, TBA.

August 4th: Mike Barnes and David Hickey will read at the IV Lounge series in Toronto

If you live in any of these places, you’d be a fool not to go. My only question is: when’s he coming to Edmonton??

…my friend, Rhonda Douglas.

Congratulations, Rhonda! Read the press release here.

By next year, us lucky Albertans will be able to hoist mugs of mead, a drink the Beowulf poet probably sipped on as he composed his epic (and perhaps the reason he forgot to sign his name).

Alberta beekeepers can now make mead, a honey wine that is the oldest known alcoholic drink. The wine was approved last week for production and sale in Alberta after a year of lobbying by the province’s honey industry. The Alberta Gaming and Liquor Board is allowing farmers to get a cottage winery licence to produce and sell mead.

What’s taken so long?

Read the history of mead here.

Mmmmmm… mead.

Yesterday, I finally heard officially from Goose Lane Editions. Ross Leckie had informed me by phone in April when I was in Fredericton that GLE wasn’t taking my book, and said I should hear from Sue Sinclair soon if I hadn’t already. Well, she finally e-mailed me yesterday and she didn’t give me much to work with. She said I was reaching for something and in fact reached it in several poems. So, not very much useful comments. Not that I expect loads of comments. Just that if you’re waiting months and months and months, at least have some concrete comments. Oh well.

The kicker was when I checked the mail at noon, my rejection from Wolsak & Wynn was there. It was a page-long very nice and encouraging rejection. (The publisher even asked me to send it again next January if it wasn’t taken elsewhere.) So now I’m faced with where to send next. I have a shortlist of places I’m considering: Signal, McGill-Queens, Frontenac, and Anansi. I might chop a few older poems out and put a few newer ones in.

Thanks to John and Dave for some helpful comments.