My opinions, with respect

As an addendum to Susan’s post in response to some criticism we’ve received as of late, I felt the need to speak out to help clarify what we’re trying to do here.

I respect people who think differently about what I’m trying to say in this entry. My opinions are my own, take them or leave them.

We ask for writing that artfully focuses on the female experience. What is the “female experience” anyway? There's not one label we can wrap around it or one set of ways to describe what it means because every woman experiences being a woman differently. It could mean periods and the moon and bar fights and shopping to one woman, and comic books, hair gel, and minivans to another. My point is that our call for writing that stems from the "feminine experience" is something that should elicit a wide range of writing. The pieces that we receive should all have different definitions of the feminine/female experience.

I also think that it might be worth it to define what we mean by writing that examines the “feminine” experience. We are not necessarily asking for poems that talk about skirts and heels and lace and purses. "Feminine" also means "of or relating to women", which many things that aren't skirts or Jimmy Choos, do. The other definition of “feminine” is “having qualities or appearance traditionally associated with women”. Well, okay, traditionally we are told that to be “feminine” is to be delicate, to be gentle, etc. But when was that dictionary definition decided upon? How long ago? Wouldn’t it be more interesting to think about the things that we consider as relating to women of today? Does the traditional definition even make sense anymore without opening the word up to incorporate other aspects of what it means to be a woman? To be feminine, I think, does not mean the same thing it would’ve meant in the Victorian Era or the 1920’s in New York City or even ten years ago. The definition of what it means to be a woman is something new altogether, and that’s our whole point here. Shouldn’t we, as women or as men who value women, acknowledge that the definition of “feminine” has evolved over the years? Is it possible, as society progresses – and we have progressed, at least in the U.S., to a certain degree – that what we consider and define as “of or relating to women” should progress too?

I think it’s also worth talking about why Susan and I decided to open submissions up to both men and women when some would’ve preferred for blossombones to be a women-only outlet for creative expression about the feminine/female experience. Whether you agree with us or not, women, people of various gender configurations, and yes, even men, can still have very valid and important things to say about and in support of women. I hands-down believe that. Not all men are scum; some are, but some are just as open-minded and progressive as us women. In fact, some men are even more so. I absolutely agree that men have it better in this world and they have for ages. That’s an understatement, really. But I don’t see the point in telling a feminist male – that’s right, they do exist – that the work he produces in support of women, women-centered writing, and writing that explores the feminine/female experience is not worth considering simply because he doesn’t have a vagina. We ultimately decided to include men in our artistic discussion not because we were trying to appease men, because we need men in order to legitimize the work we choose. To suggest that is absolutely ludicrous. Rather, we as editors are affording men the opportunity to explore their idea of feminine/female-centered writing BECAUSE MEN CAN BE FEMINISTS TOO. Shouldn’t we encourage that? Or is my definition of "feminism" too broad? I don’t think there’s such a thing as the quintessential feminist; the only real requirement is that one advocates for women’s rights. Should feminism be some exclusive club you can only join if you’re a woman? And a particular “type” of woman at that? And should I as a feminist and as someone who promotes feminism deny the voices of men who want to speak out in support of feminism? To exclude men from the conversation completely is equivalent to saying that I shouldn't be allowed to speak out about rights for gays and lesbians because I'm not a lesbian myself. That's just absurd.

Ultimately, the decision for what does and does not make it into our journal is Susan’s and mine. That’s what is so cool about starting up your own journal – you can feature the work that you like to read! I highly suggest it. We have a great respect for writing, for writers, and we will only publish the best of what we receive. Susan and I both have preferences, things that we look for when we’re reading a piece. If you don’t like the same things than we do, it’s okay – that’s the beauty of it! And if you feel that a particular stone is being left unturned by the literary community, then turn that stone over by starting up a journal or a press of your own! It says a lot to take action in that way, just as it says a lot when anyone writes in the first place. Writing, as Susan talks about in her entry, is a very political act, and so is selecting what writing to publish and not to publish.

Here is my advice: we like the concrete. Show us; do not tell us. We like the sincere, the specific. We like the subtle, the strange, the vivid. We like things that break the mold with language. If you love sensory language, then we love you. If you write something that makes us smell the burnt toast, taste the cough syrup, or hear the creaking of your father’s old suede slippers as he paces in the back hallway of the taxidermist’s office, then rock on. We like the grotesque and the beautiful equally, writing that sparkles whether it’s covered in sequins or crusted in puss. We’d rather publish something that isn’t afraid to take risks than something we’ve seen before. We don’t care if you’re well-published or completely new to the scene – good writing is good writing, and we can’t wait to read yours!

Susan, this will make you laugh....

Definition of Melissophobia

Melissophobia: Fear of bees.

A phobia is an unreasonable sort of fear that can cause avoidance and panic. Phobias are a relatively common type of anxiety disorder. Phobias can be treated with cognitive behavioral therapy using exposure and fear reduction techniques. In many cases, anti-anxiety or anti-depressant medication proves helpful, especially during the early stages of therapy.

The word "melissophobia" comes from the Greek "melissa" meaning bee + phobia from the Greek "phobos" meaning fear = literally, fear of bee(s). Melissophobia is also known as apiphobia.

Is it weird that the fear of bees sounds an awful lot like the fear of Melissas?..... I think so.

writing as a political act

This week, I received a letter concerning a recent blog post, in which I described our editorial tastes by mentioning a preference for the concrete over the abstract, and for language that is inventive and lyrical rather than "political."

I'd like to add a bit of clarification for anyone who might be interested. I believe that all writing is--by nature--political, in the sense that speaking and writing are political acts. What I meant (and probably could have explained a bit more clearly) is that as editors, Melissa and I have a preference for a certain style of poetry (and prose). As a general rule, we are a bit turned off by work that is highly abstract, preachy or didactic. We like work that shows us something, rather than tells us. We adore subtlety. We are not offended by overtly political poems and prose; however, these kinds of works tend to use broad abstractions that are simply less interesting to us than work that appeals to the senses.

That is not to say that there is not a place for this kind of work; we're merely explaining that it's not our style.

We love writing that is unexpected. We are not necessarily stating certain topics are "off-limits" so much as asking that writers consider work that describes women's experiences without limiting themselves to topics that seem inherently (or perhaps stereotypically) "female."

In response to another question raised in this letter, I also want to mention that I don't have a problem with topics relating to the female body per se (in fact, I am very interested in work about the body); however, I don't want writers to limit themselves to work about anorexia or menstruation only because we get a number of submissions about this kind of thing, and we like variety.

Overall, we are very open-minded in terms of both style and subject matter. If you have a knockout piece about any topic you think relates to women's lives and experiences, by all means, send it!

Over these last few months, we have received a good deal of quality poetry and prose. As a literary journal, our primary aim is to promote the work of some wonderful contemporary writers and poets. To all those who read, write and submit their work for publication, thank you!

Check this out!

[GROWLING SOFTLY], a compilation of poetry put out by Blood Pudding Press, is out now! Everyone should go pick up a copy (and not just because I'm in it)!!!!!

about blossombones...

Hello all!

When submitting to a new literary journal, it's often difficult to get a sense of what the editors are looking for. While we've tried (briefly) to describe our aesthetic on the blossombones website, I think a little additional commentary might be useful!

In response to some questions about what kind of work we are looking for (and what we mean when we ask for "woman-centered" writing), I thought I'd post a little blog about my editorial tastes.

Anyway, I'd like to start out by mentioning that while Melissa and I considered publishing only work by women writers, we decided that we''d like to be open to all, but that we love (and prefer) work that speaks to us--thematically--as women writers.

It's not easy to describe what I mean by woman-centered, because I consider this a pretty broad category. While I suppose we are running the risk of being accused of essentialism (by means of defining our tastes in this way), I think I can live with that. Bear in mind we're not looking for work that is stereotypically "feminine" but rather, work that in some way describes things relevant to women's lives.

While topics of gender and sexuality are fair game, we do ask that writers use language that is concrete, unusual, and lyrical, rather than political. I'd rather not receive a manuscript of poems about eating disorders. Nor am I interested in an ode to menstruation. Basically, what I'm trying to say by asking for work that is "woman-centered," is that I hope to see poems (and other texts) that explore the world that we (both men and women) experience in terms of what I might describe as "dailyness." I ask that you make the mundane interesting. Don't tell me what you think is wrong with the economy. Don't send me poems about broad abstractions like freedom or justice (Ack! My personal pet peeve.) Do explore the possibilities inherent in daily life: lipstick on a beer can, fairy tales, your father's pancake recipe, carnivorous plants, renaissance art, comic books, cinema verite. Be strange. Be inventive. Offer a strange juxtaposition of images that startle. Surprise me.

Well, it's another hot October day (lingering somewhere around 90 degrees here in Chicago...) spent primarily indoors, because the aggressive bees around here freak me out. (I almost abandoned some 100+ dollars worth of groceries yesterday, when they swarmed my cart. Horrible.)

A cancelled meeting left me with a good deal of extra time on my hands today (see also: silver lining) so I worked on Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML this morning, and so far, I think I'm getting it. It's a little strange to be writing tags by hand in a plain text editor instead of using Dreamweaver...but it's all about getting to the CSS stuff! Anyway, I'm hoping to be downright skilled with both HTML and CSS by Xmas...We'll see! (Yep. That's REALLY what I do with my free time.)

I'm also hard at work on a new poetry project. More on that later.

Tomorrow, I'm off to the Goodman Theater to see Passion Play: A Cycle by Sarah Ruhl. I'm looking forward to that, and will post my (amateur) review of the play later this weekend...

coming soon!

poetry and prose by

Judith Arcana

Juliet Cook

Sarah Den Boer

Erika Mikkalo

Buzz Pounds

Mike Puican

Lina ramona Vitkauskas


***

As you can see, we have a pretty exciting lineup of contributors for the first issue of blossombones! We are still reading and considering submissions until November 1st for our Fall/Winter issue.

If you're thinking about sending us something, submit!

We look forward to reading your work.