I thought when I finished my course (I finished my course!!!) and handed in that last assignment I'd have more time to do things that had been shuffled aside these last three months and for most of 2022 really. But here I am three weeks later and I feel like I'm still struggling to get on with things. I'm unsure if it's a lack of motivation, the lack of a whip encouraging me to move forward or the fact that we're still buried under a dark and snowy winter here in Finland that's holding me back.
It's taken me a week to even write this entry, but here it is, halfway through January and I'm just looking at my submission and writing stats for 2022.
34 new poems written
84 submissions to journals or other opportunities
4 books submissions
66 rejections
4 book rejections
28 acceptances
53 poems published in 26 publications
15 blog posts
Acceptance rate: 32%
Compared to 2021:
61 new poems
144 submissions to journals or other opportunities
3 book submissions
108 rejections
5 book rejections
38 acceptances
68 poems were published in 39 publications
21 blog posts
Acceptance rate: 26%
I submitted and wrote less, so I didn't hit my 100 rejection goal. However, my acceptance rate has jumped up again and I've had a couple of exciting projects over the year. This includes lots of audio work: my iamb poetry page, working with the Helsinki Writers to produce a poetry recording with Helsinki Open Waves and the Eat the Storms poetry podcast.
I've also had work included in Fevers of the Mind, Sunday Mornings at the River, Empty House Press, Black Nore Review, Scrawl Place, Frogmore Papers, Fly on the Wall, The Martello and Black Bough among others. Of course, my poetry collection still wasn't published, but I'm trying not to think about that.
A few books that I've read and enjoyed in 2022:
Karen Campbell's Paper Cup. A total surprise that I picked up in Helsinki. I knew nothing about it but saw the author had worked at the Glasgow City Council, so I was intrigued. The characters were so well-drawn and engaging, and the story was unexpected and fun. I loved the settings of Glasgow and Galloway, the use of Scots that fit so well. The story is a "stramash of memories" for the main character and me, going through Glasgow and university life around the same time I was there. Really worth reading.
I rattled through the three Laidlaw books by William McIlvanney and loved them. Crime novels with a depth of character and Glasgow sketched in such a beautifully realistic way, totally captivating. I also read Docherty which was an insightfully written family saga, but it just didn't grab me in the same way though I could see McIlvanney's deft skill in many places.
Another fave was Merryn Glover's Of Stone and Sky based on a community in the Cairngorms. My reviews of some of these books can be seen in my Scottish Book Tour posts starting here.
I have a pile of poetry books to read, but they require more focus than I've had recently, so I hope to get back into reading them more now that my course is out of the way.
2023 is a year of getting back into the things I love. The course was for my work. I enjoyed it, but it was more to help me move forward in my job and do better for my school kids. Writing is for me, so I hope to focus on that more. A few plans are crawling into motion, so I'll see how they pan out and keep looking for new opportunities.
Welcome to 2023. Enjoy.
