Kortney Garrison

Whatever my submission goals shake out to be in the coming year, whether or not a particular poem gets published is not something I control.

It’s my job to be learning and growing and sending things out. But then that’s where my work ends. I can’t manhandle editors into publishing my poems!

I first learned about this idea from the #AmWriting Podcast–an excellent listen all around. In Episode 140 they were talking about goals in the new year and mentioned this concept of things you control and things you don’t.

They weren’t advocating shirking responsibility or a lackadaisical approach. These writers are committed and driven. But they were advocating a clear headed look at where all that drive settles down into something deeper.

A softening, an open hand, the boat moving freely in the current.

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In my Homeschool MFA it all counts–daily writing practice, reading, journaling, watching movies, reading craft books, taking classes. Because I don’t have great swaths of time to devote to this project, I aim to use every bit of my life to build up my writing.

But how can I be sure that I’m not just covering the same ground? How can I be sure that I am growing as a poet? Well, in a lot of ways I can’t be sure! I’m in it for the long haul and am working on habits that will be with me through time. I don’t want to just put in the hours, but also grow horizontally–to develop my craft while putting in the time. Here’s how I’m doing that.

Take Classes

This doesn’t come as a surprise does it? I love the accountability and passion that a class stokes up. I love learning from someone who is a few steps further down the path than I am. I love the small serendipities that develop as my work intersects with a teacher’s offering.

Meet with Friends

Something happens when you talk to other people who are doing the work you want to do. I do this online primarily. But every once in a while I get to see people in person. In a couple of weeks my writing group will meet over bowls of soup and glasses of wine. There will be music and laughter and deep conversation. I can’t wait…though this morning on a walk I realize that I should probably bring poems to share. That made me a bit nervous! So there’s my assignment between now and the cold night’s moon.

Submit Work

Sage Cohen says that you can’t get published if you don’t send it out. This month I’ve heard back from three publishers–two said no and one said yes. Hall of Fame numbers! Regularly submitting work keeps me returning to the work in revision. It honors the first heat of creation. I don’t know what my submission goal will be for this coming year. Maybe 12 submissions over the 12 months? I do know that I want to spend more time and thought in the revision process and learn better how to move poems forward.

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“I want to consider what William Stafford’s daily writing pages contained and how they worked for him–
how something like his approach might work for any of us who choose to give such daily writing practice a try.”

He would write something like a poem…or notes toward a poem…or just an exploratory set of lines that never became a poem.

He had taken a few steps up the ladder from silence in the general direction of song.

This can begin a process for distilling from ordinary experience the extraordinary report of literature. Nothing stupendous may occur…but if you do not bring yourself to this point, nothing stupendous will happen for sure….

and you are likely to spend the balance of your day in reaction to the imperatives of the outer world–worn down, buffeted, diminished, martyred.

–Kim Stafford
Four Elements of a Daily Writing Page in William Stafford’s Practice

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I live in William Stafford country. His words and work permeate this place. And it is a goodly inheritance.

His collection on writing called Crossing Unmarked Snow came out while I was in school, so it became our unofficial textbook. Come January, I think it might be my first re-read of the new decade.

Often when I’m writing I hear his advice over my shoulder: if you get stuck, lower your standards and keep going. I think sometimes when people encounter that axiom, they focus on being stuck or lowering their standards. But I think our attention should be to keep going.

That’s where the magic starts.

In the daily return. The simple companionship of attention and a notebook. A way to discover what we didn’t know.

Click here to see all the Listening to My Life :: Homeschooling an MFA in Poetry posts.