poem – OLD SCRATCH PRESS

Thank God I’ll Never Be Famous Enough for a Biography.

Published on March 9, 2026March 9, 2026 by diannePLeave a comment

This week in the New York Times there is an article about Mark Oppenheimer writing Judy Blume’s biography. When he began the project, so he says, she liked him and gave him access to her life and her circle, etc. When he sent her the draft, she no longer liked him or the book he was writing about her. Apparently she sent him quite a big pile of notes, and contact ceased soon after that. He published the book anyway. He, and book’s narrator, Molly Ringwald, feel like Judy has to put up with his book, and that Mark did a fine job. According to the NYT article, Molly said, “There might be moments that Judy doesn’t like or agree with, but overall I think it’s a respectful treatment of her and her literary significance.” And, “If Mark didn’t show Judy’s flaws or humanity, it would be hard to feel invested.”

At what point does your life stop being your own? I might argue it’s when you become a parent. But, eventually they grow up, and you get to pivot back to yourself somewhat. Mark could have written the book with, or without, Judy’s help, and that’s the danger of being that level of author, but the fact that she gave him permission at first, and then was unhappy with what he made of her life, gives me pause. How much do we own our own life story?

The NYT made the main photo of the piece one of Mark sitting in a bunk bed. I don’t like this. He’s not at the age, or in life circumstances where he would actually be the person who sleeps in that bed. To me it is a ploy to make him look more innocent. I don’t think he is. I’m disappointed in Molly. For full disclosure, I read a bit of Judy Blume as a kid, from Margaret to some of the adult books, most of them for the sexy bits, honestly. Hey, I was in middle school. But, with apologies to Judy, I have seldom thought of her since. I tried reading Margaret to my daughter when she was in middle school, and we both found it didn’t age well. Plus, my daughter was not raised with the same religiosity I was. So there’s that for the longevity of the book in my life. And anybody can write a biography of anybody. The trick, like it is with our own books, is to get people to read it.

Still, do Mark, Molly, and his publishing company have the right to own Judy’s story, to make the truth of Judy’s life Mark’s version of the truth?

I say no. I say this is another woman losing agency over her own body, life, and body of work, to a man and a corporation. And it seems her only recourse might be for Judy to write her autobiography, to set the record straight. I cannot imagine anything as boring as writing out my own life story. And believe you me, I’ve had a fascinating life. Ha! Whether I have or I haven’t, I’m not ready to relive it all like I’ve had a near death experience. No, no no.

So, whose life is it anyway?

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Dianne Pearce is the chief editor and bottle washer at Current Words Publishing, and the half-cocked imaginer behind Old Scratch Press and Instant Noodles. Pearce loves helping writers realize the dream of having their work published. I mean she is really crazy about doing that for some reason. To that end, to join in the fray, to look at the thing from the other side, to stand in another’s shoes, and all of those things, she is fully expecting and promising to publish her first collection of poetry, In the Cancer Cafeteria, spring of 2026. Please don’t hold your breath. For very long. Happy 2026!

Congrats to Gabby and Morgan!

Published on March 3, 2026March 6, 2026 by diannePLeave a comment

Gabby and Morgan are part of the featured selections from the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses for Women’s History Month!

Check it out here:

And pick up a copy of these great books!

NO OCEAN SPIT ME OUT is a captivating debut collection of poetry by Gabby Gilliam that delves deep into the intricate tapestry of family dynamics and personal evolution. Within its 30 poems, the collection embarks on a profound journey through the stages of coming of age, navigating the complexities of familial bonds, grappling with organized religion, and ultimately, embracing the essence of self-acceptance.

Each poem in NO OCEAN SPIT ME OUT serves as a poignant reflection of the human experience, capturing moments of vulnerability, resilience, and growth with eloquence. Through lyrical prose and emotive imagery, Gilliam paints a vivid portrait of the joys and struggles inherent in the process of self-discovery.

Whether you’re seeking solace in the shared experiences of family relationships or searching for introspective insights into the nuances of identity and faith, Gilliam’s collection offers a profound and thought-provoking exploration of the human condition.

From the mighty pen of artist and author Morgan Golladay comes The Song of North Mountain, a transformative collection of poetry and art celebrating the famous and mystical North Mountain of Appalachia.

North Mountain, a wildland in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests of western Virginia, has been recognized by the Wilderness Society as a special place worthy of protection from logging and road construction. The Wilderness Society has designated the area as a “Mountain Treasure.”

Morgan Golladay brings her readers to dwell in the reverence of this wonderful wilderness.

Golladay is an award-winning author who was raised on North Mountain and lives in coastal Delaware as part of a thriving artist and author community. All words and art in this book are by Golladay.

The Song of North Mountain is National Book Award nominee!

Exploring E.E. Cummings: Poems That Can Dance

Published on March 1, 2026February 28, 2026 by Nadja Maril2 Comments

by Nadja Maril,a founding member of Old Scratch Press Collective

Many decades ago, I choreographed a dance to accompany a poem. I selected a poem by E.E. Cummings, “In Just—” Which in my mind I titled, “In Just Spring.”

I picked that particular poem for its exuberance. I could imagine myself interpreting the verse with movements that were both fast and slow, languorous and springy. The challenge was to select movements that I could execute while reciting the words.

Photo by Jimmy Elizarraras on Pexels.com

[in Just-]

By E. E. Cummings (1894-1962)

in Just-
spring          when the world is mud-
luscious the little
lame balloonman

whistles          far          and wee

and eddieandbill come
running from marbles and
piracies and it's
spring

when the world is puddle-wonderful

the queer
old balloonman whistles
far          and             wee
and bettyandisbel come dancing

from hop-scotch and jump-rope and

it's
spring
and

         the

                  goat-footed

balloonMan          whistles
far
and
wee

This poem was written in 1923, over one hundred years ago.

Cummings was an experimenter who developed his own personal style. Although classically trained, with multiple degrees from Harvard University, he used punctuation as it suited him. Spaces on the page were seen as opportunities to spread out the pacing or to combine several words into one breath. Conjunctions were sometimes nouns and selected words might take on additional assigned meanings.

Hailed as one of the most influential and important poets of the 20^th century, Cummings embraced the concept of Visual Poetry. Words were placed on the page to create shapes and images that serve to reinforce the mood of the verse.

You can read more about E.E. Cummings in this article published on the Poetry Foundation website. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/e-e-cummings

It was easy for me to dance the role of the goat-footed balloon man, after seeing the words establishing his presence “skip” across the page.

The line “whistles far and wee” is spread out, which enabled me to say the individual words with enough time to run from one side of the stage to the other side.

In writing poetry, thought is often devoted to line breaks and capitalization. Traditional or avant garde, the last word in a line typically takes on greater importance. By choosing not to capitalize the first word of a line, emphasis is softened.

Try changing the line breaks on a poem you are working on. How do your changes impact the poem? Try adding extra spaces between words or merging them together. Once again, how do these changes reshape a poem’s texture and meaning?

In contrast, when you write a prose poem using sentences, it is the order and sound of the words that must create the poetry. No one approach is better than another. It all depends on what you are trying to achieve.

Photo by Kampus Production on Pexels.com

In a few more weeks it will officially be Spring, here in the Northeast USA where I live. I look for birds returning from the winter vacation in the south and I hear “in-Just” recited inside my head. Crocuses begin pushing up through the muddy soil. Bicycles are pulled out of storage and pastel chalk pictures are drawn on the sidewalk. No balloon man, but it is the start of outdoor birthday parties.

The idea of adding movement to your recitation of a poem, may inspire you to choose different words when writing verse.

WRITING PROMPT: Try writing a poem about a season, place, or time. Maybe your piece is about a mood such as anger or maybe it is about a feeling such as being satiated. Often a poem focuses on the visual, but instead think about movement. Use active verbs. In Cummings short poem the wind and the balloon man whistle. The children run and dance.

What did you create? Maybe you’re on to something you like. Keep playing with the concepts and see where they lead you. Part of the enjoyment of writing, is discovering what works and what doesn’t work.

Read the work of other poets, and as March is Women’s History month, I am going to suggest three women poets:

Rae Armantrou ( B. 1947).

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/rae-armantrout

Mina Loy (1882-1966)

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/148476/love-songs-5bec636568b82

Gertrude Stein (1874-1946)

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/gertrude-stein

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Nadja Maril is an award winning writer and poet who has been published in dozens of online and print literary journals and anthologies including: Lunch Ticket, Spry Literary Journal, Invisible City Literary Review, Instant Noodles and The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts. She is the author of Recipes From My Garden, published by Old Scratch Press (September 2024), a Midwest Review California Book Watch Reviewer’s Choice. An Anne Arundel County Arts Council Literary Arts Award winner, her work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and The Best of the Net. She has an MFA in creative writing from Stonecoast at USM.

Check out Nadja’s chapbook below and here.

What Do You Think of That “Poet Voice?” You Know the One.

Published on February 10, 2026February 10, 2026 by diannePLeave a comment

If you’ve ever been to a poetry reading, you’ve probably heard it. The slow cadence. The dramatic pauses. The slightly mystical tone. The voice that signals: I am now doing Poetry.

In fact, when I think about that sentence read in “poetry voice” it would be read like this:

The voice
that signals
I am now
doing
poetry

And each line would end with an up tone, as if the performer was asking a question.

The recent New York Times article digs into this phenomenon, often called the “poet voice,” and asks why many poets fall into the same stylized way of reading their work aloud.

For some listeners, the article says, that way of reading feels comforting and familiar. For others, awkward, distancing, or makes the poem feel like a performance ritual rather than a piece of language meant to connect.

The article points out something important: this isn’t just about aesthetics. It’s about how poetry exists in two worlds at once. On the page, poetry is quiet, private, intimate. Out loud, it becomes physical, embodied, communal. Voice, breath, pacing, silence, and tone all reshape meaning. The same poem can feel completely different depending on how it’s read.

And yet, many readings sound strangely similar.

Why?

There’s also a bigger tension here. Poetry has deep roots in oral tradition. Long before books, poetry lived in voices, memory, and storytelling. But modern literary culture often treats performance and “serious writing” as separate worlds. Spoken word, slam, and performance poetry are seen as different categories entirely, even though they’re doing what poetry has always done: using voice to create meaning. They also might sound different, as performance, when compared to how people read on the performance evenings in your MFA program.

I remember, from the first time I saw poets read aloud, at a bar in Philadelphia in the 1990s, thinking that it was weird that many of them read their work in the same way, and wondering why they did. When I was in my MFA program, and we would read our work at student readings, us poets, fellow students, often read that way. I remember it as mainly the other white women, and that the students and teachers/established visiting poets, could be people who did it. Not that all of them did it, you understand, but that it happened at times among student readers, teacher readers, and visiting poet readers, and it was, in the main, done by my fellow white women. I don’t remember the guys reading that way. I also remember that the teachers (minus a few) and the students in the poetry track were incredibly serious about the writing and performing of poetry. I don’t know that I ever got quite that serious, which is probably a character flaw. You know I’ve got me some of those.

On Threads people are losing their minds about the article (slow news day?) so, let’s talk about it:

• When you hear poetry read aloud, does it deepen your connection to the work or pull you out of it?
• Do you think “poet voice” is a real thing, or just a stereotype we’ve internalized?
• When you hear poetry read aloud, does it deepen your connection to the work or pull you out of it?
• Have you heard “poet voice?”
• How do you read your own work aloud? Casually, dramatically, flat, musical, conversational?
• Should poetry readings sound like performance, conversation, or something else entirely?
• Is hearing the poet’s voice an added layer of meaning, or an intrusion on the reader’s imagination?

Could you….
drop your thoughts….
in the comments?

Collaboration with Who?

Published on January 30, 2026January 30, 2026 by wyn001100Leave a comment

by ROBERT FLEMING, Founding member of OLD SCRATCH PRESS – a poetry/short-form collective | estd. 2023

In January, 2024 I wrote a blog on Hybrid Poetry which is an integration of two or more art forms, where one form is text.

If you create a hybrid work, who should you collaborate with? If you choose another person you will have to coordinate with them and all their peculiarities. Such a Drag! Why not collaborate with yourself? Only have to deal with when you are in a good or bad mood.

My hybrid blog showed my first visual poem, at age 11, I integrated poetry and visual drawing with crayons.

Figure 1.

Do you have two or more skills that can be integrated? Pick them from this list.

writing poetry
writing prose
creating visual art
music: playing an instrument
singing

When you join two skills, it might have been given a name:

prose poetry = writing prose and writing poetry
visual poetry = writing poetry and creating visual art
performance poetry = (playing an instrument or singing) and writing poetry

If you have integrated two skills before:

How did it go?
Would you do it again?
Consider not just the quality of your work but did you enjoy it?

In deciding whether to collaborate with yourself:

Comparatively at what skill level (beginner, intermediate, advanced) are your two skills? Are they at the same skill level or different? My two skills of writing poetry and creating visual art are at the same level.
- If your skills levels are not at the same level (e.g. intermediate in writing poetry, beginner in playing an instrument), can you accept that your work produced is likely to be at the lower skill level?
- What will you do with your work: celebrate it and share it with others, share it with yourself, or trash it?

Mem So CA / Hole in Head Cover – seesaw 2

Cycling between genres: At the current time, what is your inspiration for creating different types of work? I cycle through different time periods where I am motivated to spend a different percent of time on each genre (25% poetry, 50% visual art, 25% visual poetry). In 2022, when I was producing my visual poetry book, White Noir, 75% of my time was in visual poetry.

What’s it going to be?

Collaborate with yourself?

No: stick to one genre
Yes: try it as an experiment

Collaborate with others? Read Robert’s upcoming blog.

Robert Fleming, a contributing editor of Old Scratch Press

OLD SCRATCH PRESS – a poetry/short-form collective | estd. 2023

who published an Amazon best seller visual poetry book: White Noir

an editor of the digital magazine Instant Noodles

About – INSTANT NOODLES

Recent Robert Fleming publications and art

visual poetry

visual art

text poetry

Follow Robert on Facebook

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Pop Star Poets

Published on January 25, 2026January 25, 2026 by virginiawattsLeave a comment

Bob Dylan famously called himself a poet first, then a musician. It’s often been said that every poem is a song. Many famous musicians also published poetry including Patti Smith, John Lennon, Joni Mitchell, Lou Reed. More recent examples are Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Drake, Halsey, Tupac Shakur, Kelsea Ballerini, Alicia Keys.

Jewel published her first book of poems in 1998 A Night without Armor. She sold over 2 million copies, and her book remains one of American’s best-selling poetry collections of all time. The poems were inspired by the journals Jewel kept throughout her life. She has talked about writing poems since childhood, that it’s not music she needs, but “poetry.” That poetry reflects who she really is and unlike pop music, it allows people to get her. There are poems in the collection about human life, family, her Alaskan childhood, heartbreak, healing, divorce. It’s one of those collections that feels brave as an open heart. Here is Jewel talking about her poetry and her process with Charlie Rose.

I focus on Jewel here because when I first heard her music, I immediately thought of it more as words on a page. The words led for me, and the tune came after. The images were so clear and inspiring. Poets should listen to music, because music can teach us about cadence and rhythm. Music helps with pacing. Sound is important in poems. Music also has structures that help with poetic structures such as refrain and verse. Also, listening to songs can be inspire us. Music evokes emotion. Boosts mood and creativity. Music takes our minds from where we are into another space and that often leads to words on a page. Here is a song by Jewel that demonstrates why songs are poems and poems are songs and why poets need music. We wouldn’t be at our best without it. We were meant for each other.

Virginia Watts is the author of poetry and stories found in The MacGuffin, Epiphany, CRAFT, The Florida Review, Reed Magazine, Pithead Chapel, Eclectica Magazine among others. She has been nominated four times for a Pushcart Prize. Her debut short story collection Echoes from the Hocker House was short listed for 2024 Eric Hoffer Grand Prize, selected as one of the Best Indie Books of 2023 by Kirkus Book Reviews, and won third place in the 2024 Feathered Quill Book Awards. Please visit her.

Virginia’s new book is now available from Old Scratch Press:

Her prior poetry chapbooks Shot Full of Holes and The Werewolves of Elk Creek

are available from Moonstone Press. And her debut short story collection Echoes from the Hocker House is not to be missed!

Hurray for Dr. King~

Published on January 19, 2026January 19, 2026 by diannePLeave a comment

Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, Gwendolyn Brooks, Joy Harjo, Claudia Rankine, Ocean Vuong, Elizabeth Acevedo, Terrance Hayes, Frank O’Hara, Audre Lorde, Allen Ginsburg, all poets who have enhanced the canon of American writing with their writing and their diversity. Have you read any of them? Which ones have you tried? Which diverse poet is your favorite? What poem do you like that you can share with us?

Did you know that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. believed deeply in the power of voices, especially voices that had been ignored, dismissed, or pushed aside? That belief matters just as much in literature as it does anywhere else.

The literary canon is not a fixed monument. It is a living body of work that grows stronger, more truthful, and more beautiful when it includes diverse authors and perspectives. American literature is incomplete without the poets and writers who reflect the full range of American experience. Reading these voices does not diminish the canon. It expands it, strengthens it, and makes it more honest.

It may seem as if diverse authors exist on the margins of literature, but they don’t. They are central to it. They shape language, challenge assumptions, and help us see both history and the present more clearly. I have enjoyed so many authors who are so different from me, especially when we count the wealth of male writers we read in school. They are all wonderful writers, and I am also glad school now includes more writers who look like me, as well as writers who look like my daughter and my friends.

So today, as we celebrate Dr. King, let’s also celebrate the voices that widen our understanding of who we are. Pick up a book. Read a poem. Listen closely to someone, anyone, different from you, or simply listen to someone in need. How can you share your light?

On a slightly off-topic note, I was visiting my sister this weekend, and we each chose a stand up special to watch that is a pretty new special. I chose Mohaned Elshieky’s special No Need to Address Me, and my sister chose Marcello Hernandez’s special American Boy. Both were incredibly funny. Comedy benefits from diversity too.

I am happy for this day. Hurray for Dr. King and his marvelous legacy. Hurray for all poets. And hurray for a literary world that makes room for all of us.

~Dianne

Dianne Pearce is the chief editor and bottle washer at Current Words Publishing, and the half-cocked imaginer behind Old Scratch Press and Instant Noodles. Pearce loves helping writers realize the dream of having their work published. I mean she is really crazy about doing that for some reason. To that end, to join in the fray, to look at the thing from the other side, to stand in another’s shoes, and all of those things, she is fully expecting and promising to publish her first collection of poetry, In the Cancer Cafeteria, spring of 2026. Please don’t hold your breath. For very long. Happy 2026!

“Pink Dress” from the Forthcoming ~ In the Cancer Cafeteria~

Published on January 10, 2026January 11, 2026 by diannePLeave a comment

Happy Saturday everyone.

I’m working on bringing out my poetry collection this year, and I thought I’d share one of my poems with you.
For the past year I’ve been traveling with my little sister to her cancer appointments. Luckily I do not have cancer, but I am cancer-adjacent, and that has its own challenges. When I want to say worrying things, when I read case studies, which I do, when I am by myself as she naps through a treatment and I wait, when I drive in and out of West Hollywood alone, sometimes in the threes and fours in the morning depending on treatment time, and I ruminate, I try to put it on paper, rather than on my sister. I’m also a clothes lover and a people watcher from back in junior high with my then boyfriend and bestie Joe Perna. We called ourselves the fashion police in 7th grade, like we were such good dressers. Joe and I observed details, and made guesses based on what we saw. In general the thing I am most curious about is the lives of other people. I think I am (possibly) overly empathetic, and I imagine stories for strangers all day long. I also tend to notice the small things happening around me. As I sit and wait for my sister, or drive alone, or struggle to make small talk (as I do without cancer! I have never been good at it), my brain is humming away wondering about people, and making stories to go with them, and wondering if their cancer is curable and how it will all play out. Most people I see only once, even though we go the same time and day quite often. It is my curse to want to know everything, and to never be able to know, purely because I am a nosy so-and-so. When cancer comes to town your ability to be quiet in the never-knowing is mightily tested.

I also don’t want this to be a totally maudlin book about being upset about my sister. I don’t want it to be a book about my sister. Though I love her dearly, her story is hers, and I don’t want to steal it, which would add, in my view, insult to injury. It’s important when you write about real-live people who are not famous people that you be considerate and kind. I am not able to do that when talking if a joke comes to mind. If I think of something funny about something you’ve said or how you look, etc., it’s coming out unfiltered, that second, and I’m going to laugh. Yeah. Kind of a shitty trait, but what do they say, “At least all the trauma made me hysterical.” Yup. But when I write about anyone who I will see again, it is important to me to serve my needs while not disregarding theirs. There are compromises. My sister may not want me announcing she has cancer, for example, but she has told the people in her life, and I need to be able to discuss it too, so she loses that bit of control, just another thing cancer steals, privacy. For that she has to allow me the book as a coping mechanism. Sorry sis.

Another thing to note, as I assume most people who read this blog are authors: you have to be careful where you put your work before you publish your book. I am publishing my book through OSP, so I can put this poem here, and OSP will not disallow it from the book. If another publisher was publishing my book, they might not be happy for me to stick a poem out in public on a blog. They may or may not be happy for me to publish a poem somewhere in advance, because that anthology or lit mag where the poem is published may hold rights that conflict with the publishing company then using the poem when publishing my book. So there’s that. You have to be careful. You can always post a question here, and one of us will try to answer it. In fact, I’ll run a monthly post that offers a chance for you to ask questions, and reminds you that you can do it.

This book has a theme that runs through the whole book. Some collections do have a theme, but often the theme is that all the poems are written by the same person. The theme in my book is cancer, but, more drilled down, my reactions to cancer, my observations on the cancer experience, which I am holding together in the idea of the cafeteria at the clinic. People who are going through cancer as patients or support are often in the cafeteria as a place to stop being wrapped up in the cancer events and procedures. It’s the downtime place, and, because of that, people drop their masks a bit there. I am not telling anyone’s secrets as much as I am interpreting what I see, which changes the observation from what it is, to what I see. There is much intrusion from observers, so don’t worry that I am revealing anyone’s truths besides my own.

I have trouble tapping a poem with my scepter and declaring it complete. I expect many poets are the same. Sometimes a poem comes out almost fully-formed, but most still have growing and shrinking to do.

I write longer poems. I write narrative poems. I tend to write personal poems. Sometimes my poems are true, and sometimes they are true in the sense that they are true, for me. That doesn’t mean they would qualify as legally true. If the person was a brunette, and brunette doesn’t work, guess what, red hair is what I am going to write.

This poem, “Pink Dress,” is pretty much done. I will say it is an uncorrected proof here, as I may change it a bit before it hits the book galley. But it feels good to me as it is, and I was able to read it aloud to myself without having major anxiety, so I feel like it is okay.

The OSP group has become my friends as well as my colleagues, and, based on schedules and etc., we often ask each other to look at each other’s work. That’s part of the deal with this collective. So far I have shared some of my writing for this book with Robert, Anthony, Gabby, and Ginny. I cannot express how much I have appreciated them and their taking the time to give me really helpful, kind, and actionable feedback.

Here, without further ado, is one of the poems destined to be released later this year in the collection, In the Cancer Cafeteria.

Pink Dress

Her pink dress is too tight too short
the old sneakers don’t go
hair twisted up and split
two rolls of mussed-up teddy ears.

He is all belly
under his big and tall polo
up top tangled hair needs
a brush run through
but beard is spun silk.
He is the one who gets up
moves around
paces because he’s in the cancer cafeteria and who doesn’t pace?

She doesn’t.
She smiles at the screen in her hands.

Whenever he gets up
he runs his finger down her bicep.
Her chubby thighs
twitch back at him against the tight pink hem.
The dress is a mini
I can see her cotton crotch and I don’t tell her
because each time he slides his finger down her arm
her smile goes wicked at the corners
for a second
as her thighs twitch
call and response
and it’s not my song to sing.

I shut up I pretend I don’t see.

When he manages to sit
his chair is up against instead of across from
his long tangled curls try to nestle under her neck
wheedle around her earlobes.
I can’t tell for certain who is victim
who is victim support.
Some secrets are not for me to know.

He needs to move again
gets up abrupt
clumsy all the other chairs
tables reach for his legs
stepping around best he can into the hall
gazing in confusion at the baby grand
sitting there
playing “Wichita Lineman” by itself
from 1968
a year him and his girl know only as a number, and not real.

He stares at the piano
rocks on his heels in his shoes as he has rocked since he was five years old
knees bend out to the sides
a boy just learning how legs work
walking through a day’s same endless agenda
treatment, wait, consultation, wait, scan, wait.

Head nodding at Jimmy Webb’s F major D major
he tries to find his way to the tune
gives up, moves back to her
comes in for a landing
finger trails down and up
bare meaty skin.
She ripples in response.
Appearing now on all her bare places
languishing goose pimples
long only to be released
to go home
so two may unzip the tight pink dress together.

Get Published: Submit to Instant Noodles Literary Magazine 2026

Published on January 1, 2026December 19, 2025 by Nadja MarilLeave a comment

by Nadja Maril, a founding member of Old Scratch Press Collective

Happy New Year to readers and writers around the world. May your New Year 2026 be happy, safe, and productive. If one of your New Year’s Resolutions is “get more writing done” you’ve come to the right place. In our Old Scratch Press blog we will continue to discuss different kinds of short form writing, provide instruction and prompts, and share publishing opportunities.

First up is to tell you about our own publication Instant Noodles Literary Magazine. A member of CLMP (Community of Literary Magazines and Presses), we nominate for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net.

Planes, Boats, Cars, Trains is our theme for the Spring Issue 2026 of Instant Noodles Literary Magazine.

Maybe you love to travel or maybe you like to stay at home, but when you venture out— what kind of transportation takes you on your journey? Are you invigorated by the open water, frantic following road signs, anonymous on a plane, or comforted by the train station whistle? In the process of getting to your destination, how did the vehicle you’re traveling in affect the outcome?

We’re looking for flash prose (up to 500 words) fiction and nonfiction, as well as poetry, drama, visual art, and multi-media submissions. Deadline: March 15^th.

When you send in your submission, as you should with any submission, the piece should be polished and complete with no grammar mistakes and no misspellings.

Also included should be a brief cover letter. The remainder of this blog I’m going to talk about what I think is the appropriate cover letter for a Literary Magazine. (Each magazine is slightly different so always read their guidelines).

Editors at Literary Magazines generally use the cover letter that contains a very brief biography ( 50 to 75 words) as the same biography they use in the publication, if you are lucky enough to have your story or poem accepted. Thus, even if writing is a new found love or second career, you want to keep it “professional.”

Rather than listing everywhere you’ve been published, pick no more than three places. (ex. They’ve been published in Dawn Magazine, Sunshine Press, Dark Days and many other publications.) If you have never been published, that’s okay. Magazines are always looking for NEW TALENT.

In your cover letter, DO NOT SUMMARIZE the work you are submitting. Editors want to read it without preconceived notions. If it needs to be “explained” this is a red flag. DO NOT excessively brag about what a wonderful writer you are or exaggerate your accomplishments.

IF you have one interesting personal fact ( ex. They’re a champion parachutist.) you’d like to include, it can enhance a cover letter, but to tell the story of your life is not recommended. Too long a cover letter can be a turn off.

Links to a book you’ve published and/or your website or blog is always a good idea. If a reader wants to read more of your work it is helpful.

Always be polite and kind in your dealings with other writers and editors. Everyone is working hard and many are volunteering their time because they love the art of writing.

Never give up, if you think you’ve written something good. Often pieces, particularly in a theme call, are rejected because they are not a good fit for a particular issue. Always work to improve unpublished work by revisiting it and revising it, when appropriate. Read and submit to multiple magazines.

HAVE A GREAT WRITING YEAR and keep perfecting your craft. LEARNING is part of the journey.

Thank you for reading. Please sign up to follow Old Scratch Press here on WordPress and on Facebook.

Nadja Maril is an award winning writer and poet who has been published in dozens of online and print literary journals and anthologies including: Lunch Ticket, Invisible City Literary Review, and The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts. She is the author of Recipes From My Garden, published by Old Scratch Press (September 2024), a Midwest Review California Book Watch Reviewer's Choice. An Anne Arundel County Arts Council Literary Arts Award winner, her work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and The Best of the Net. She has an MFA in creative writing from Stonecoast at USM.

Check out Nadja's chapbook of flash memoir and poetry below.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/recipes-from-my-garden-nadja-maril/1145598579

Is Opportunity Knocking?

Published on December 20, 2025December 19, 2025 by diannePLeave a comment

Have you ever considered a writing retreat? Most of them are (I think) outrageously expensive. How about a free one instead?
Consider applying to Yaddo.

Yaddo is one of the most respected artist residencies in the world, offering writers something increasingly rare: uninterrupted time and space to focus deeply on creative work. Founded in 1900, Yaddo was created with a singular purpose, to support artists by removing everyday distractions so they can fully engage with their craft. Located on a wooded estate in Saratoga Springs, New York, Yaddo has quietly supported generations of writers whose work has gone on to shape contemporary literature.

What makes Yaddo especially appealing to authors is its emphasis on creative freedom. There are no required workshops, classes, or public obligations. Writers are given room, board, and a private workspace, allowing them to set their own rhythm and priorities. Residencies typically range from two weeks to two months, offering enough time to make real progress on a project or to rediscover momentum that may have been lost to teaching, work, or daily responsibilities.

Selection is based on the strength of the work itself. There is no expectation that writers arrive with a polished or market ready manuscript, and no requirement to produce a finished piece by the end of the residency. This makes Yaddo an ideal space for experimentation, risk taking, and deep revision. Many writers find that the absence of pressure allows them to work more honestly and adventurously than they can elsewhere.

While solitude is central to the Yaddo experience, a quiet sense of community is also part of daily life. Communal meals and shared spaces offer opportunities for informal conversation with artists working across disciplines, including music, visual art, film, and theater. These interactions are optional but often enriching, providing fresh perspectives without overwhelming the creative focus.

For authors navigating a literary world that increasingly demands constant productivity and self promotion, Yaddo offers a rare and valuable gift. Time to write. Time to think. Time to reconnect with the work itself. For writers serious about their craft, applying to Yaddo is not just an opportunity. It is an investment in the long life of their creative practice.

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