Second Poem Up For Publication!

Hey everyone!

Hope all is well with you today. I'm back with more excellent news: a second poem of mine is getting published this summer as well!! The poem is called "The World Is Not A Bowling Ball", and it will be published by the journal Arsenic Lobster. They've got some really fascinating work in their journal, so you should check it out here.

I remember the day I wrote the very first draft of this poem. We were reading Matthew Dickman in my Poetry Writing class, and I had to write a response to one of the poems from his collection "All-American Poem". I loved Dickman's poetry (and still do), but I was struggling to find even those initial stumbling words. I didn't even know what I wanted to write about, much less how to write it. On a Tuesday morning that September (the day the assignment was due), I stumbled out of bed and decided that I would respond to his poem "The World Is Too Huge to Grasp", the last poem in the collection and the one that most resounded with me. I was tired (not enough sleep) and a little bit frustrated. (How can I write this poem? I have no idea what I'm doing!!) Finally, with that idea of "I have no idea what I'm doing!" blazing in my head, I began to write to two people: I wrote to the poet himself, for the most part, while the very end seemed to be addressed to a friend. Then I thought: This poem is either really good, or extremely terrible. It's probably not "average". With that, I turned it in.

When I got the assignment back, my professor declared: "Courtney, Matthew Dickman set you free!" I replied happily as I received my assignment. A plus. When I went to talk to my professor a few weeks later about my poetry aspirations (and frustrations), she told me I'd blown the roof off with that poem. Her words ignited a tiny fire of hope in the midst of a week to which darkness had clung like cobwebs and mold. I kept working on my poetry, and felt the liberation spread from that day forth.


A huge thanks to my Poetry Writing teacher and fellow poet classmates, who also gave remarkable feedback on this poem and others. Another huge thanks to friends, family and all those who have supported me throughout this tumultuous but wonderful and rewarding process. I love you and thank you endlessly for helping me pull through.

All best,

Courtney Justus





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Poetry Getting Published For The First Time!!

Hi everyone!!
I have officially finished my first year in college, and bring you exciting news:

MY POETRY IS GETTING PUBLISHED!!!

For months I've been waiting to get that first 'yes' from a literary magazine. The magazines I'd submitted to back in the winter were all saying 'no', even to what I thought were my better poems. I was tired and frustrated, asking myself why they were saying no and if I'd ever be good enough to get published. Sounds a little harsh, but they say most authors are their own worst critic, and that just might be my case.

Anyway, moving forward a little bit, I heard about this literary journal called Eunoia Review through Authors Publish Magazine, which I subscribed to a few months ago. They send me an email every week with journals and other publishers accepting submissions, plus inspirational material for writing. When they sent information about the Eunoia Review, I looked at their main page and decided to give it a shot. Their content was excellent, and they had a commitment to respond to all submissions within 24 hours, which I think is spectacular,

I revised several poems and sent them off, feeling a little bit jittery. When I couldn't sleep that night, I checked my phone and saw I had a new email. It was from them! I opened the email, and it was a YES.

That's right. A short, sweet response in which they agreed to publish my poem "Petition on a Concrete Bench Saturday". Lauren Berry, author of The Lifting Dress, actually saw the very first draft of this poem and liked it!** I am so grateful for her support, and for the help and support given to me from my family, friends and the members of my Poetry Writing class last fall. I am also extremely grateful for the Eunoia Review for agreeing to publish my poem. I'll always remember the moment I saw their email and cried. It's only the beginning. If I got this yes, I can get another one.

For those of you who are struggling to get that first "yes", or simply trying to find a place for their work, know that you can do it. Your work deserves a place and, if you search enough, you can find it. I know I might receive more rejections after this. Okay, I know I will probably get rejections in the future. But I will also get acceptations, and in the long run, aiming for those acceptations, fighting for them and getting them is what matters.

It might sound funny, but I feel like this first "yes" wouldn't have meant as much if it had come earlier on. I remember this poem actually got rejected by the first literary magazine I sent it to, which felt especially awful, since it had been heavily workshopped in my Poetry Writing class, and I regarded it as one of my better poems. But I knew in my heart that this poem deserved a place in a literary journal. Now, it has found that place. And it feels absolutely perfect.


Thanks for reading my blog and supporting my work. I will post links to my work once it is published in late July. In the meantime, you should check out some of the other work they publish here. And keep an eye out for my work!! Late July will be here before you know it!


;)

Courtney

**For more information on how I met Lauren Berry, see this entry.



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