Author: Nadja Maril

Nadja Maril’s prose and poetry has been published in literary magazines that include Change Seven, Lunch Ticket, Thin Air, and The Compressed Journal of Creative Arts. She is the author of Recipes From My Garden, a chapbook published by Old Scratch Press that includes both poetry and creative nonfiction prose. Author of two children’s books illustrated with paintings by her father Herman Maril, as well as Who IS Santa? for which she did her own illustrations, Nadja is also the author of two reference books on antique American Lighting, published by Schiffer. A former journalist and magazine editor, Nadja has an MFA in Creative Writing from the Stonecoast Program at the University of Southern Maine. To read more of her work and follow her weekly blog posts, visit Nadjamaril.com https://nadjamaril.com/

Want to Get Published? Where & How to Submit Your Work

Published on November 16, 2023 by Nadja Maril1 Comment

By Ellis Elliot

Sharing your work by submitting it for publication can be a daunting task in many ways, not only because it causes a vulnerability hangover, but also because it can be overwhelming and hard to figure out where to start. I’m hardly an expert, but I have submitted dozens of poems to literary journals and contests, and found a good bit of success, and this is what I’ve learned.

First, begin by stalking online and print literary journals. Find some you like and respect. Consider the type of writing you want to submit. You would not submit your Southern Gothic short story to a literary journal for Christian Sci-Fi (yes, that’s a thing). Find the right kind of “fit”, as far as genre and theme, for your work. See if the journal resonates with you. And while it is never wrong to “shoot for the stars” and submit to the New Yorker or another of that ilk, it also makes sense to spread your net wide, over a variety of journals, big and small.

How do you even find these journals in the first place? Maybe your school has one, or you can broadly search online for ones in your genre, and then read some. Read to get a sense of specific journals, and what all is out there.

Also, there are numerous free and paid websites that have lists of journals, and some can even narrow it down for you based on your preferences. A few I use are: Submittable, Duotrope, Poets and Writers magazine, Writer’s Digest, and Authors Publish. (See links below) These provide lists of publications, along with dates and details. Always check if there are fees involved, and choose wisely. I’m the first to admit, it is a lot of work to wade through the sea of lit journals in order to filter down to the ones you want, but once you find them, your list has begun, and from there you can only add to it. Plus, once those algorithms get in your computer, you’ll be getting all sorts of lit-related stuff, like it or not.

Once you’ve narrowed it down to the journals you want to send your work to, be sure to read the guidelines carefully. You don’t want your work tossed because you sent five poems when they asked for one, or sent a 500-word bio when they asked for 50.

Be prepared with a good cover letter, short biography, and a photo. Your cover letter should be addressed to the editor of your genre in that publication. It should be brief and can include references to the journal you’re submitting to, like how you enjoyed their recent issue on butterfly migration, but don’t overdo. They are there to read your writing, not your cover letter. Be sure to thank them for their time and effort, because it does require a lot of both.

The bio should also be matter-of-fact, including salient facts, like where you live, what job you have, or family and pets. Include any writing-related experience you’ve had, whether it’s school, workshops, or clubs. If you’ve been previously published, be sure to include those titles.

You can always throw in a little personality and add things like, “in my spare time I like to taxidermy butterflies and run on the beach.”

Finally, the photo. I recently paid for a headshot, but that was only after years of using shots I made my husband take of me immediately after I got home from the hair salon. Just be sure you have something ready to go.

Once you’ve sent your best work in the best way you can, you wait. Most lit journals get a boat-load of submissions and turn-over time can take months. When you get an inevitable rejection, know that the process is entirely subjective. If it is your best, then it is art, and no two people necessarily will see your art in the same way. If you get accepted, let that feeling cover you like syrup, do a happy dance, then get to work withdrawing from all the journals you sent that piece to. Most journals allow “simultaneous submissions” with the caveat that you alert them if it is accepted elsewhere. It’s a good problem, but necessary to maintain good

I write all of the above only after having made every conceivable mistake and had innumerable rejections. But, I have learned a lot along the way. Like anything, submitting is work, and a job unto itself. It is also well worth it when you have the satisfaction of seeing your work in print.

Ellis is one of our founding collective members. Her poetry collection, Break in the Field, is available for purchase here.

Below are some links to get you started on sending out your work.

https://www.submittable.com/

https://duotrope.com/

https://www.pw.org/

Why and Where You Should Start Submitting Your Writing This September

Favorite Poet Ted Kooser

Published on November 9, 2023 by Nadja MarilLeave a comment

By Virginia Watts

When people hear that I try to write some poetry, I can tell they are thinking, formulating the common question. I stiffen and get ready for it. “Who is your favorite poet?” I used to respond with the complete truth, that I have many favorites. Sometimes I’d tick off a list of names they didn’t ask for and wouldn’t remember.

Now, I tell them first that a favorite poet is someone a reader returns to when they need them most. Your favorite poet is a companion, a friend’s voice in the dark. Poetry gives us laughter when we need it. Poetry comforts us when we are afraid, sad, lost. I tell people this because I hope they will search for a favorite poet of their own. I know once they find one, they’ll understand.

My favorite poet is Ted Kooser, a former United States Poet Laureate and winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 2005. He has published numerous books of poetry as well as children’s books and works of nonfiction. Kooser’s poems are drawn from midwestern landscape and everyday rural life. I read poetry often, as much as I can, but Kooser’s poems are the ones I return to like home’s fire to sit with again.

IT DOESN’T TAKE MUCH

BY TED KOOSER

Maybe an hour before sunrise, driving alone
on the way to reach somewhere, seeing,
set back from the highway, the dark shape
of a farmhouse up against deeper darkness,
a light in one window. Or farther along

into a gray, watery dawn, passing
a McDonald’s, lighted bright as a city,
and seeing one man, in ball cap, alone
in a booth, not looking down at his table
but ahead, over the empty booths. Or

maybe an hour farther, in full daylight,
at a place where a bus stops, seeing
a woman somewhere in her forties,
dressed for cold, wearing white ear muffs,
a red and white team jacket, blue jeans

and Muk Luks, one knit mitten holding
a slack empty mitten, her bare hand
extended, pinching a lit cigarette,
dry leaves—the whole deck of a new day—
fanned out face-down in the gutter, but

she’s not stooping to turn over a card,
but instead watching a long ash grow
even longer at the ends of her fingers.
Just that much might be enough for one
morning to make you feel part of it all.

From The Path to Kindness: Poems of Connection & Joy.
Forthcoming from Storey Publishing, 2022.

Thank you for reading. Follow us on Facebook and X. We’d love to hear about which poets inspire you.

Looking for a good read as we head into winter?

Published on November 6, 2023July 17, 2023 by Nadja MarilLeave a comment

Old Scratch Press founding member, poet and novelist, Anthony Doyle has a few suggestions:

“Science fiction envisions the future. The best way to imagine future change is to look at how and when change occurred in the past.

The drivers seldom change: climate, war, and famine. None of those indicators are looking particularly good for humanity right now. Dudley Young’s masterful, poetic, and irreverent scholarly work about the origins of the sacred in human history is the most enjoyable and rewarding book I have read on human evolution and development. So many things began to make sense to me after reading it.”

Read all about it at SHEPHERD.

OLD SCRATCH PRESS SUPPORTING MNI SOTA THIS WEEKEND!

Published on November 3, 2023December 22, 2023 by Nadja MarilLeave a comment

Participate in the Reclaiming Mni Sota Indigenous Writers Grant 24-Hour Fundraiser!

Join us for a dynamic online event: the Reclaiming Mni Sota Indigenous Writers Grant 24-Hour Live Fundraiser, starting on Friday, Nov 3, at 7pm (Central Daylight Time). This event is dedicated to supporting and elevating Indigenous writers in Mni Sota (Minnesota).

Over the course of 24 hours, we’ll host a series of captivating interviews featuring distinguished guests from the writing, editing, and publishing realms. You’ll have the opportunity to connect with accomplished writers, delve into their experiences, and gain insights into their creative processes.

By participating in this fundraiser, you’ll be making a meaningful contribution to the Reclaiming Mni Sota Indigenous Writers Grant, an initiative promoting literary diversity by aiming to raise $10,000 for a Minnesota-based Indigenous writer. Your support can have a significant impact on nurturing Indigenous voices and storytelling.

Make a note on your calendar and be part of this extraordinary event. Together, let’s celebrate and pay tribute to Indigenous writers, their narratives, and their invaluable contributions to our communities.

The silent auction, featuring numerous exclusive prizes, begins on Tuesday, October 10, and concludes on Saturday, November 4, just an hour before the 24-hour live fundraiser ends. The winners of the silent auction items will be announced during the final hour of the event. All proceeds from the auction will directly benefit the Reclaiming Mni Sota Indigenous Writers Grant. To view and place bids on the items, visit this link: https://historythroughfiction.betterworld.org/auctions/reclaiming-mni-sota

Poetry Contests You May Want to Know About

Published on October 30, 2023 by Nadja MarilLeave a comment

Poetry contests are a great way to achieve recognition and several have deadlines coming up soon. Submitting your work, is the first step, so what are you waiting for?

Photo by Dziana Hasanbekava on Pexels.com

Westchest University Poetry Center sponsors the

Donald Justice Poetry Prize

Deadline: November 15, 2023

The distinguished American poet Donald Justice is recognized as one of the finest poets of the late twentieth century.

• Accepts – Poetry • Fee: $25 • Prize: $1500

Munster Literature Centre sponsors

Gregory O’Donoghue International Poetry Competition

Deadline: November 30, 2023

The competition is open to original poems in the English language of 40 lines or fewer that have never been publicly broadcast or published. The poem can be on any subject, in any style, by a writer of any nationality, living anywhere in the world.

• Accepts – Poetry • Fee: €7 or €30 for 5 • Prize: €2,000

Frontier Magazine Award for New Poets

Frontier Poetry Contest

Deadline: December 1, 2023

They are looking to uplift an up-and-coming poet, with no more than one full-length collection forthcoming or published at the time of submission. “We award $3,000 for the winning poem, selected by our guest judge. Our second- and third-place winners receive $300 and $200, respectively. All three winners will be published”

• Accepts – Poetry • Fee: Yes • Prize: $3000

Slippery Elm Literary Journal

Slippery Elm Poetry Prize

Contest Guidelines

Deadline: February 1^st

Entry is $15. All entrants will receive a copy of their 2024 print issue.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

Elizabethtown College

Joy Bale Boone Poetry Prize

Deadline: December 1, 2023

We are honored to host the annual Joy Bale Boone Poetry Prize whose winners and finalists will appear in the following Spring issue of The Heartland Review.

• Accepts – Poetry • Fee: $10

Prize: $500 GRAND PRIZE GIFT CARD, $140 SECOND PLACE GIFT CARD, $100 THIRD PLACE GIFT CARD.

Read contest rules carefully. Most contests require your name be removed from all work and many have specific requirements for formatting. Do not wait until the last minute and check your work over carefully before sending. Good Luck! May Your Words Resonate With the Judges! Please sign up to follow the Old Scratch Press blog so you never miss submission opportunities.

Simple Poems That Pack A Punch, Make a List

Published on October 23, 2023December 22, 2023 by Nadja MarilLeave a comment

By Nadja Maril

Today I was attending an online workshop led by CNF writer and poet Nicole Breit and she was talking about different writing forms. One of those forms was the list format, which Nicole has used in her essay entitled, Atmospheric Pressure, published in Room Magazine. Her lyric list form essay jumps backwards and forwards in time to convey the cycle of grief

The mention of lists, immediately brought to mind flash prose. Plenty of flash fiction and CNF flash stories use the list form. Just think of what kind of story you can tell with a curated shopping list, a packing list, or list of desired skills in the Help Wanted section of the classifieds.

Before Nicole began focusing on writing memoir, she was writing poetry, Many of her creative ideas for creative nonfiction come from poetry, which got me to thinking about List Poetry.

Simply stated, a list poem consists of a list of images or adjectives. The compilation of the items as a group creates the poem. By their nature, List Poems use repetition. They also often use what is called anaphora, the reoccurrence of the same sound to create a driving rhythm.

An old favorite poem of mine is by Alice Duer Miller (1874-1942) who was very active in the American suffragette movement.

Why We Oppose Pockets for Women

By Alice Duer Miller

1. Because pockets are not a natural right.
2. Because the great majority of women do not want pockets. If they did they would have them.
3. Because whenever women have had pockets they have not used them.
4. Because women are required to carry enough things as it is, without the additional burden of pockets.
5. Because it would make dissension between husband and wife as to whose pockets were to be filled.
6. Because it would destroy man’s chivalry toward woman, if he did not have to carry all her things in his pockets.
7. Because men are men, and women are women. We must not fly in the face of nature.
8. Because pockets have been used by men to carry tobacco, pipes, whiskey flasks, chewing gum and compromising letters. We see no reason to suppose that women would use them more wisely.

Another famous poem that also takes the form of a list, is Walt Witman’s (1819-1892) I Hear America Singing.

Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels.com

I Hear America Singing

By Walt Whitman

I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,
The wood-cutter’s song, the ploughboy’s on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.

Thank you for reading the Old Scratch Press blog. Please sign up to follow us if you haven’t already done so, and check out our next chapbook, Robert Fleming’s White Noir.

Visual Poetry or ConCrete Poetry or Graphic Poetry…Try It

Published on October 16, 2023December 22, 2023 by Nadja MarilLeave a comment

Poetry is recited and sung. In some traditions it is committed to memory and orally passed down from one generation to the next. The choice of rhythm, alliteration, words that rhyme, all contribute to the emphasis on how a poem will sound when it is heard.

What happens when a poem is read silently? Poems, often considered sacred, were copied onto parchment and carved into rock. The manner in which the words were placed took on new meaning.

Written in elegant sprawling letters in colored inks or boldly painted, visual poetry is another type of expression which has been around for centuries.

The 20^th century brought what is known as the Concrete Poetry Movement. Influenced by the Dada, Surrealist, and Futurist movements; poets sought to break the rules by challenging how words were placed on the page, how they were spelled. The most famous of these early 20^th century poets was e.e. cumming. Just think about his poem Grasshopper.

Below is a page from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with the “Mouse’s tale” in the shape of a tail.

But take a step back in time further and what you may not know is that there was a English poet at the beginning of the 17^th century George Herbert (1593-1633) who, although formal in approach, started the ball rolling towards the concept of creating a visual statement with poetic verse. A contemporary of poets Henry Vaughn, Richard Crashaw and Thomas Traherne, Herbert was read by the poets who followed him including Gerard Manley Hopkins, T. S. Elliot and Emily Dickinson to name a few.

Here to enjoy are two of his poems, now in the public domain.

The Altar

By George Herbert

A broken ALTAR, Lord, thy servant rears,

Made of a heart and cemented with tears:

Whose parts are as thy hand did frame;

No workman’s tool hath touch’d the same.

A HEART alone

Is such a stone,

As nothing but

Thy pow’r doth cut.

Wherefore each part

Of my hard heart

Meets in this frame,

To praise thy name:

That if I chance to hold my peace,

These stones to praise thee may not cease.

Oh, let thy blessed SACRIFICE be mine,

And sanctify this ALTAR to be thine.

Easter Wings

By George Herbert

Lord, who createdst man in wealth and store,

Though foolishly he lost the same,

Decaying more and more,

Till he became

Most poore:

With thee

O let me rise

As larks, harmoniously,

And sing this day thy victories:

Then shall the fall further the flight in me.

My tender age in sorrow did beginne

And still with sicknesses and shame.

Thou didst so punish sinne,

That I became

Most thinne.

With thee

Let me combine,

And feel thy victorie:

For, if I imp my wing on thine,

Affliction shall advance the flight in me.

(If you place Easter Wings horizontally, the poem looks even more like wings.)

What shape is your next poem inspired to take and when writing a visual poem. It’s an interesting process, one you might want to try. Being a poet is all about following where inspiration takes you, but experimenting with a variety of poetic forms can expand you writing practice. Remember if you decide to submit a visual poem for publication it is important to save it as a pdf to insure that if it is shared with others it will look the same way you envisioned it.

Thank you for reading the Old Scratch Press Blog and please remember to follow us here on WordPress and on Facebook.

GABBY ELLIS & GINNY LIVE AT THE ” Reclaiming Mni Sota Indigenous Writers Grant” TELETHON!

Published on October 10, 2023September 12, 2023 by Nadja MarilLeave a comment

The authors will be live on Saturday, November 4, at 2:25 – 2:50pm Central Time. Tune in to hear what they have to say!

And bid on these great items from OSP parent company Devil’s Party Press:

EDITING:

A DPP BOOK BUNDLE:

Don’t miss this great event and speaking with the OSP authors!

Telling Halloween Stories with Scary Poems

Published on October 9, 2023December 22, 2023 by Nadja MarilLeave a comment

by Nadja Maril

Halloween. The weather turns cool. Leaves on the trees change colors, fall to the ground, and orange pumpkins are set out on porches. As a child it was a big deal to decide, what sort of costume I’d find and wear, for Trick or Treating and parties. But first, it was important to get into the mood and one poem, in my favorite book of poems would always do the trick. In the original spelling, the author wrote orphant not orphan. So I knew the poem as Little Orphan Annie. The illustration showed a young woman in front of a kitchen hearth with small children gathered around her. I loved reading this poem, Little Orphan Annie, which was both fun and scary.

Here’s the original version written by James Whitcomb Riley (1849-1916) an American poet who hailed from Indiana, who was also a journalist. Folksinger Anne Hill has done a lovely job in the country bluegrass style, setting this poem to music and you can listen to her sing it here.

Little Orphant Annie

by James Whitcomb Riley

Little Orphant Annie’s come to our house to stay,
An’ wash the cups an’ saucers up, an’ brush the crumbs away,
An’ shoo the chickens off the porch, an’ dust the hearth, an’ sweep,
An’ make the fire, an’ bake the bread, an’ earn her board-an’-keep;
An’ all us other childern, when the supper things is done,
We set around the kitchen fire an’ has the mostest fun
A-list’nin’ to the witch-tales ‘at Annie tells about,
An’ the Gobble-uns ‘at gits you
             Ef you
                Don’t
                   Watch
                      Out!

Onc’t they was a little boy wouldn’t say his prayers,—
So when he went to bed at night, away up stairs,
His Mammy heerd him holler, an’ his Daddy heerd him bawl,
An’ when they turn’t the kivvers down, he wasn’t there at all!
An’ they seeked him in the rafter-room, an’ cubby-hole, an’ press,
An’ seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an’ ever’wheres, I guess;
But all they ever found was thist his pants an’ roundabout–
An’ the Gobble-uns’ll git you
             Ef you
                Don’t
                   Watch
                      Out!

An’ one time a little girl ‘ud allus laugh an’ grin,
An’ make fun of ever’one, an’ all her blood an’ kin;
An’ onc’t, when they was “company,” an’ ole folks was there,
She mocked ‘em an’ shocked ‘em, an’ said she didn’t care!
An’ thist as she kicked her heels, an’ turn’t to run an’ hide,
They was two great big Black Things a-standin’ by her side,
An’ they snatched her through the ceilin’ ‘fore she knowed what she’s about!
An’ the Gobble-uns’ll git you
             Ef you
                Don’t
                   Watch
                      Out!

An’ little Orphant Annie says when the blaze is blue,
An’ the lamp-wick sputters, an’ the wind goes woo-oo!
An’ you hear the crickets quit, an’ the moon is gray,
An’ the lightnin’-bugs in dew is all squenched away,–
You better mind yer parents, an’ yer teachers fond an’ dear,
An’ churish them ‘at loves you, an’ dry the orphant’s tear,
An’ he’p the pore an’ needy ones ‘at clusters all about,
Er the Gobble-uns’ll git you
             Ef you
                Don’t
                   Watch
                      Out!

American poet Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) takes a different approach with this beautiful poem that captures the magic of nature while igniting the element of the unknown.

Theme in Yellow

by Carl Sandburg

I spot the hills

With yellow balls in autumn.

I light the prairie cornfields

Orange and tawny gold clusters

And I am called pumpkins.

On the last of October

When dusk is fallen

Children join hands

And circle round me

Singing ghost songs

And love to the harvest moon;

I am a jack-o’-lantern

With terrible teeth

And the children know

I am fooling.

Fun and intimate, is how I’d characterize this third poem by American poet Sarah Teasdale (1884-1933). Which leads to the question of what kind of poem you’d write, if tasked with writing a “Halloween Poem.”

Dusk in Autumn

By Sarah Teasdale

The moon is like a scimitar,

A little silver scimitar,

A-drifting down the sky.

And near beside it is a star,

A timid twinkling golden star,

That watches likes an eye.

And thro’ the nursery window-pane

The witches have a fire again,

Just like the ones we make,—

And now I know they’re having tea,

I wish they’d give a cup to me,

With witches’ currant cake.

Decorate the outside of your house with scary poems. Instead of fortune cookies give out treats with poetry inside. Halloween is a time for bonfires and storytelling. What a great time to recite poetry. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and follow this blog. Today is October 9th which means there’s less than one week left to submit your Cooold Turkey themed Holiday/End of the Year start of a New Year Winter Poems (2), or very short fiction or fact to Instant Noodles Literary Magazine. Members of the Old Scratch Press Collective are guest editors for this upcoming issue. Submission Link here