I’m experiencing a lot of rejection.

Probably no more than I’m due, but for a while there I was ratioing acceptace:rejection about 1:4 or 1:5, which felt really great. I barely even noticed rejections for a while. But it’s actually been a really long time since I’ve gotten an acceptance for some of the poems I’ve mailed out this year.

I’m still waiting to hear back from places I sent to in April. But I guess that’s a better sign because when the answer’s a For-Sure no, it’s NO right away, not no eight months later. That’s more like an Almost-Yes no.

I’m probably just not sending to the right places. But I am sort of tired of my poems appearing in tiny, tiny journals. When I got into the Colorado Review, I thought I was entering a new phase or something. Moving up. But I’ve been static.

So, let’s open up the circle, folks:

How much rejection is healthy for a poet?

Who was your favorite rejection?

Which rejection hurt the most?

Who surprised you most by NOT rejecting you when you were sure you would be?

I’m looking for blood.