Mary Bennett of Portland, Oregon has an installation of interest to us at 23 Sandy Gallery on May 20th. According to the promo material, the artists
"examines the personal qualities of perseverance, deliberation, consistency and belief that were possessed by one woman, a poet and a dedicated writer. The unknown, anonymous poet believed in herself so much that she sent out 1,986 submissions to literary journals from 1973 to 1978, all recorded on yellowed and tattered index cards. As the cards document, she received 1,983 rejections and only three acceptances. Her dedication is the inspiration for Mary Bennett’s exhibition, which includes the found index cards, which will cover the gallery walls plus a re-creation of the poet’s imagined writing studio." Can't find a link to the show yet, so I'll keep looking and add, so everyone can read the rejections.
6 comments:
I feel like her although I have some poems published ,yet only thanks to the internet.
The good new is that I'm taken composition class again to become a even better writer, but maybe skill don't weight in as much as Ithought.
How Is ahe doing today....??
if she is no longer with us we should find her a publisher for her lost poems.
sometimes the only thing keeping us going is the belief which we live off.
Was the poor women berrying a grave of rejection ? :( how come its so hard to get published even in the smallest of national journals?
I don't have it too bad my-selfs.
I got 9 acceptance in different places within a year.
if she wasn't sending out anonymous,would she have been just a little more successful ?
http://bukowski.net/poems/aftermath.php
I'm hoping in 1978 the three acceptance were her last submissions. Because at-lest it would of made a happier ending then more rejection.
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