June 2014 – Mid-American Review Blog

Accepted: “At the End of the Street” by Jeff Oaks

In our “Accepted” column, Mid-American Review editors discuss why they selected stories, poems, or essays for publication. In this post, Assistant Poetry Editor Jenelle Clausen discusses a poem that appears in our Spring 2014 issue.

Genre: Poetry
Title: “At the End of the Street”
Author: Jeff Oaks
MAR issue: Vol. XXXIV, Number 2 (Spring 2014)
First lines: “In the old parking lot. Where there’s enough / darkness and distance to be struck by / the night sky…”

This poem, which is both short and poignant, deals with love and loss, and its central images are celestial bodies. Each line resonates with a compelling image, and the line breaks are skillful and meaningful. Just to read the final word in each line gives one a sense of the poem and its emotional content. This memorable poem is an example of word economy at its most impactful.

Oaks uses his poem’s title, “At the End of the Street,” to lead into the first line: “In the old parking lot….” We immediately have a sense of place. Oaks then goes on to mention the “night sky”—now we know the time of day. Thus grounding the “we” in place and time within the poem, Oaks shows us Venus, the Moon (capitalized to suggest its importance and that it’s specifically Earth’s moon), and Jupiter, describing them succinctly in terms of shape and colored light. These celestial bodies are “…Millions of miles away / and in opposite directions from us.” We’re not just in a parking lot anymore; we’re in the midst of a vast, unreachable (and thus unknowable) universe. Oaks has already said a lot in a small space.

It’s then that the poem takes a turn, and we move into the first complete sentence of the poem. It’s a casual question that segues into a serious declarative sentence that gets at the heart of the poem and features the two biggest and two of the most emotionally resonant words in the poem: “annihilates” and “responsibility.” What is this grief and its aftermath? In the final two lines of the poem, the author connects the inconceivably distant planets and Moon to a confession of human grief and aloneness: “We were talking about our parents dying then, / the grief of orphans hanging over us.”

Though this sonnet—which almost slips by unnoticed as such—is written in unrhymed free verse, the final two lines echo the Shakespearean tradition of the ending couplet. The speaker actually says very little about his or her shared grief; the visual description of the planets and Moon situated in the universe builds to inform those final two lines, and we feel their emotional impact.

What MAR editors said about “At the End of the Street”:

“The word choice was great. I can tell that the author chose every word carefully, like there couldn’t have been an alternative. And those final two lines really sneak up on you, but they’re not just thrown in—the whole poem builds up to them.”

“A lot of sonnets fall short, but not this one. The form—which is not strictly formal in the traditional sense—and the content are both really working, and they work together. Basically, the form seems inevitable. I can’t imagine this poem as not a sonnet.”

Jenelle Clausen, Assistant Poetry Editor

Photo: Sparky

MAR Announces Inaugural Art Contest

Calling all artists! MAR announces a new art contest for work inspired by writing published in our recent issues.

Prize: $500, display on blog and website, and share in proceeds of print sales
Final Judge: Artist Daniel Merriam
Entry Deadline: January 5, 2015
Entry Fee: $10 for up to three entries (combined in one submission)

The Finer Details:

Choose from among these six pieces from recent issues of Mid-American Review to inspire your artwork:

Fiction:
Mollie Ficek, “The Harvest Queen” (XXXIII.2)
Ryan Habermeyer, “In Search of Fortunes Not Yet Lost” (XXXIV.1)

Fineline:
Anika L. Eide, “Some Parents” (XXXIV.1)

Poetry:
Erin Lyndal Martin, “Colony Collapse—Aristaeus” (XXXIII.2)
G.C. Waldrep, “On Protestantism” (XXXIV.1)
Jude Nutter, “The Shipping Forecast” (winner of the 2013-2014 James Wright Poetry Award, XXXIV.2)

We invite artists to compose new work inspired by the writing of their choice from the list above. Medium/form may be painting, drawing, collage, sculpture, photography, textile, ceramics, metals, carpentry, glass—anything that may ultimately be translated to a two-dimensional image. Images may be submitted by post or on our submissions manager, as pdfs or jpgs. Cover letter/message should include brief biographical and contact information, and a 50-100 word artist’s statement about the method of composition and the inspiration behind it. Entries and cover letters need not be left anonymous.

A $10 entry fee for up to three pieces (combined in one submission) may be paid by check for postal submissions, or online for online submissions. Each entrant may choose to receive either a print of the winning piece or a one-year subscription to MAR. Our winning artist will receive $500 and display on the MAR website and blog. We will also produce a run of prints in various sizes for sale at events and on our website, and the artist will receive a share of these proceeds.

Contest is open to all artists, except those associated with the judge or Mid-American Review. Our judge’s decision is final.

For online submissions and online payment, please use our Submissions Manager. Send all postal entries with check or money order to: Mid-American Review Department of English Bowling Green State University Bowling Green, OH 43403

About the Judge: Daniel Merriam, a native of Maine, is an artist of the fantastic and the surreal. His watercolors have been exhibited across the country, and compiled in three books. His imagination blends the unexpected, the dark, the airy, the curious, and the luxurious with vibrant color and depth. His work graced the covers of MAR XXI.1, XXI.2, and XXV.1.

Good luck — we can’t wait to see the MAR-inspired art that comes our way.

Accepted: “Close Enough to See” by Roger Sollenberger

In our “Accepted” column, Mid-American Review editors discuss why they selected stories, poems, or essays for publication. In this post, past Fiction Editor Jason Marc Harris discusses a short story that appears in our Spring 2014 issue.

Genre: Short fiction
Title: “Close Enough to See”
Author: Roger Sollenberger
MAR issue: Vol. XXXIV, Number 2 (Spring 2014)
First line: “We know how it goes: no one sits next to the fat kid; the fat kid sits next to you.”

From the first line of Roger Sollenberger’s “Close Enough to See,” the narrator, Sol, manifests a continuum of interesting qualities: intelligent, self-deprecating, sarcastic, comedic, defensive, honest, even-tempered, and needy. Sol is thoroughly ambivalent about himself and the people around him. These characteristics are developed further when Sol encounters Nikki, who gravitates towards him because of his academic prowess in their community college statistics class. She wants to cheat off him, and he’s a virgin who has never had a girlfriend, but their rapport crosses into many dimensions beyond mutual opportunism. The progress of their relationship explores ethnic identity, sexuality, and class tensions. Besides Nikki, the story offers a range of other characters, such as Sol’s father, a retired geologist obsessed with catching a bear in their backyard. The light ironic tone of the narrative often belies the profundity of the topics the story delves into.

Many of our editors remarked on the use of the setting in this story. In particular, we see the Blue Ridge Mountains of West Virginia, which delineate the physical space these characters inhabit, but also imply how the lives of Nikki and Sol are bounded and dwarfed by rhythms and measures of the natural world that are nearly infinite. Sol and Nikki are part of a larger landscape and trajectory of change: “Nikki said her house smelled like a hell of a lot of cigarettes. She sat me instead on the couch on the porch, which sagged, then ran a hand under my chin and went inside for beers. I drummed my heels on the wood, looked out across the yard, settling into the light evening chill. Above the trees on the other side of the road I could make out the blue Appalachian mountains, half a billion years old and once higher than the Himalayas today, now worn down to these hills, these arcs, featureless and smooth and perfect.”

The sense of that sublime attrition over the immense scale of geologic time extends into the narrowness of Nikki’s house, and those looming ridges help define the interior worlds of Nikki and Sol as well: “The Appalachians rose way off to my right, which was west, land so dark it seemed part of the night itself, and it would have been impossible to tell where the mountains ended and the night began if it weren’t for the radio towers on the ridge, a line of red lights that marked the limit of the land, and I shivered once and lowered myself to my knees.” In this scene, Sol has accepted Nikki’s dare to attempt to meet the Devil at the crossroads. The revelation he experiences is not supernatural but deeply personal, and he learns more about himself and Nikki, a private world within the unknown darkness of the collective human psyche that their relationship explores.

Highlighted by the title, the story is also about blindness, physical and spiritual. Nikki, we learn, has trouble with her eyes, and both she and Sol have much to learn about each other and themselves. “Close Enough to See” is a deeply humane story, always engaging with its substantial characters and entertaining because of the comedic and insightful narrative voice.

What MAR editors said about “Close Enough to See”:

“The characters are interesting and well-drawn. Setting is beautifully rendered.”
“Story really drew me in.”
“Gritty.”
“There is a pathos here that I liked.”

Jason Marc Harris, Fiction Editor (2013-2014)

Fineline Deadline Extended to June 15, 2014

Let our Fineline contest give you wings.

It’s summer and you’re busy — and whether “busy” means traveling, working, catching up on some reading, or simply lounging around in a baby pool with a margarita in hand, we get it. Mid-American Review is therefore happy to announce that our Fineline deadline has been extended until June 15 for our MAR friends. (As a reader of our new blog, that includes you!)

The Fineline Competition for Prose Poems, Short Shorts, and Anything In Between is the place to send your best short work. Each piece must be under 500 words; no line breaks in poems, please. Lindsay Hunter judges. First prize is $1,000 and publication in our special 35th anniversary issue. In fact, this issue will celebrate the prose poem/flash form in general, so we hope to publish several Fineline finalists as well as prose poems/short shorts that we accept through our general submission pool. So if you like short, send it to us!

Each Fineline entry packet of up to three pieces costs $10. We suggest you enter online using our submissions manager, but mailed entries are also accepted if received by June 15. Need more info? Go here. Otherwise, we look forward to reading your work!

Laura Maylene Walter, Fiction Editor

Interview with MAR Editor-in-Chief Abigail Cloud, No. 1

Abigail Cloud is Editor-in-Chief of Mid-American Review. A native of Bath, Michigan, she holds a BA in English from Michigan State University and an MFA in Creative Writing-Poetry from Bowling Green State University. Her debut poet collection, Sylph, won the 2013 Lena-Miles Wever Todd Prize and was published by Louisiana State University Press in April. With a background in dance, Abigail is interested in combining choreography with poetry and the effect that forms of the body have on the written word. A longtime faculty member at Bowling Green State University and advisor for the Graduate Writers Club, she also advises Mid-American Review and Prairie Margins, the university’s undergraduate literary journal.

Abigail is here today to kick off MAR’s new blog by answering a few questions.

Quick! Describe your vision for Mid-American Review in 10 words or fewer. Extra points if your answer rhymes.

Traditional to experimental, with twists to make it temperamental.

What makes MAR special and sets it apart from other journals?

We care about writers as a community. We always talk about “Friends of MAR” and we’re serious—we establish relationships with people through the journal and events like Winter Wheat: The Mid-American Review Festival of Writing. We work with writers of all levels. Yes, we have national standing and even international distribution. Yes, we are approaching our 35^th anniversary year. Yes, we have an eye-catching journal with as much awesome work as we can cram in. But the majority of our subscribers and “lifers” are people with whom we’ve had personal contact, and we’re always widening that circle. That’s actually the reason we continue to accept postal submissions and checks in addition to our online systems; I know we have regular submitters and subscribers who need those facilities.

From a content perspective, another unique trait is our translation chapbook, wherein we print both the original language and the translation, side by side. Our translations editor, George Looney, does a brilliant job finding these and working with translators. We also have an interest in genre-bending. The Fineline Competition, which Michael Czyzniejewski and Karen Craigo started in 2001, is for flash fictions, prose poems, and anything else that blurs the genre line, in 500 words or fewer. It’s one of my favorite MAR elements.

As the full-time editor-in-chief of MAR, you have what many writers and aspiring literary editors would consider a dream job. So set the scene for us: How did you come to be the editor-in-chief of the Mid-American Review?

As a graduate student in the BGSU MFA program, I worked first as an assistant editor, then as assistant poetry editor, then as Winter Wheat coordinator, then as Associate Editor for a few years while I was teaching full time post-MFA. Karen and Mike trained me in the ways of MAR, but also on the software we use. I got a feel for the traditions as well as the editorial work, and got to use my gifts as a copyeditor.

When Karen and Mike took up positions in Missouri, the English Department created a new position, teaching editing, creative writing, and lit classes and working with MAR. Naturally I applied—there are very few other jobs on the planet that are as suited to my skills and interests as this one. I particularly enjoyed my interview, when I got to lay out a number of projects for MAR, including this blog and our upcoming art contest. I could not have been happier to be given the position. Even with all I knew coming in, I have spent a year and a half learning more and more, which is something I need as a worker. You’re quite correct: It’s a dream job.

What do you love most about this job, what do you find most challenging, and what’s your go-to snack of choice when spending all day cooped up in the MAR offices working on an issue?

I’ll start with most challenging: It’s tempting to say raising funds, but I actually like budgeting. No, it’s patience: I’m a person who likes to get things DONE once a decision has been made. There are times when I want to do something for MAR quickly and efficiently and it just isn’t possible. This is usually because it has to go through university channels outside our department; there is a trade-off there, because the university environment gives us so much, but the hurry-up-and-wait necessary is not my area of giftedness.

There are so many things I love about this job, but I have to say that the actual assembly of the issue is one of my favorites. I love accepting pieces, but I also love the nitty-gritty of setting that work, copyediting, putting the issue in order, designing the cover … Even though so much of it is on the computer, there is still a physicality there that I enjoy. The latter two bits in particular are like doing a jigsaw puzzle. I love it. I feel born to it.

Snacks: It’s widely known that I try to keep a lot of snacks in the office, though we’re running low at present. I admit to an addiction to the General Foods International powdered chai and coffees (and, by the way, an electric kettle is a must-have for an office). I also have a fondness for Nerds candy and usually keep my own box separate from the staff goodies. My [2013-2014] Managing Editor, Katrin, and I are really bad about regular meals, so we’re focusing on that this spring instead of the Oreos we ate last fall.

All right, spill it. Can you share any wacky, funny, or surprising stories from the journal’s history?

A few fun facts:

When we were preparing our Unpublished Writers issue for the 25^th anniversary year, we got some of the best submissions we’ve ever had.
Some of my favorite times with MAR were in June sometime in the early 2000s, when the East Hall air conditioning broke, and I hung out in the sweltering building with Karen Craigo, reading Fineline entries. Those were the days!
Our usual printer, Bookmasters, is in Ashland, OH, (2 hours away) and we used to go pick up our many boxes of books in caravan, with a stop at Ponderosa on the way back. I only went once. It suddenly terrified me to have our entire editorial staff on the road at the same time. I’m a worrier.
MAR actually started out as a journal called Itinerary, and was dedicated to publishing BGSU MFAs. It became Mid-American Review in 1980. I usually claim that I am a year older than MAR, but if you include Itinerary it’s six years older.
When we’re having a rough day in the office, we spend time watching the Friends of Felines Rescue Center web cam. The center is in Defiance, OH, and I’ve been there, but the free-range center has a 24-hour web cam on their main room. If we need a break, our go-to is FFRC.

A genie sprouts out a stack of MAR issues and grants you one wish. You choose: A) a lifetime supply of free chai lattes; B) every original My Little Pony toy, in mint condition; or C) the ability to magically and instantly catch up on all MAR submission reading.

Oh, gosh, C) all the way. You got me. I would gladly pay for my chai (and I’m content … mostly … with my MLP collection) if it meant getting caught up on reading. Part of the problem is that I really do care about the stories being told or the experience being created and have a hard time skimming something, or breezing through. I also find it difficult to set aside reading time when there are so many other things to work on. It almost feels like cheating; I can’t convince myself it really is my job to read read read. I spend a lot of time in our offices, and there is always something to do there that seems more pressing than having a nice read.

True or False: Your MAR staff (which consists of students in Bowling Green State University’s MFA program, along with undergraduate interns) is the best literary journal staff around. And since we already know the answer is “true,” please feel free to elaborate below, along with anything you’d like to share about your experience of managing and guiding the staff.

Obviously that is TRUE, but more than that without this staff the journal would not exist. At the very least it wouldn’t represent the variety of the literary universe. We need a multitude of writers with different preferences and skills to pick out pieces that might be overlooked, to discuss a work’s merits, and to select the very best for each issue. We also need a multitude of eyes to copyedit, and brains to take on projects new and ongoing. And of course we need people to laugh when something ridiculous happens.

With all seriousness, our MFAs and interns here at BGSU are a tremendous benefit. We have smart, active students and they are truly engaged in the process of being better writers, which means they are better editors. Each year half of our MFA staff changes, and the new crop will bring different gifts and interests to the table, which benefits MAR as much as the MFA program. A huge component of MAR is the weekly graduate class meeting, which includes registered students but also several of our volunteers. These people read during the week and at the meeting, and then talk about submissions. When it comes time to copyedit, we spend time copyediting together. We are all active in the same space; I cannot stress enough how important that is. We are constantly talking about writing and adding to each other’s experience and knowledge.

Our in-office intern staff is no less valuable. I am working on an intern guide, actually, to make their experience a little easier. They do so much important work, not just opening and logging the mail but also taking on special projects and doing research. They participate in the MAR class, so they spend time with the graduate students, and they also learn a great deal about the inner workings of a literary journal. They get real career experience and advice, and keep the journal running smoothly.

What can you tell us about your own writing? What are you working on now, and what’s on the horizon?

My book of poems (Sylph) came out recently, and of course I have two more in the hopper. It seems they multiply. One collection is poems playing with the concept of divination. The other is a little more nebulous at the moment. I’m participating in an online writing group right now that is pushing me to write a poem (almost) every day, or at least work on poetry every day. It’s so easy to get buried in my other lives as editor and teacher and forget the writer part.

What do you enjoy doing outside of MAR and writing poetry? We’ve heard rumors about hockey games, dancing, and crafting, but we need details.

My hobby is collecting hobbies. Seriously. I do enjoy attending hockey games (which are a great place to write, by the way), I am a lifelong dancer, and I like sewing, doing puzzles, and baking, along with a whole host of other things. I do baby quilts for close friends, though I am behind by about 7 children. I also have a custom garter business, Rond by Cloud. My house is littered with projects in various states of completion. I also will be learning two methods of lacemaking in the near future, bobbin lace and hand shuttle.

I have actually brought a DIY element to MAR, making things for us to sell and give away, or to decorate our bookfair spaces. It indulges my craft fiend while producing something useful and original. Last year we sold homemade lobster-shaped crayons in boxes we made and banded ourselves. We won the unofficial best swag award, I think.

Last but not least: You’re trapped in an elevator at AWP with a crowd of writers who plan to submit to MAR. What advice do you give them?

MAR likes to see energy and quirk. We’re looking for poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction that give us experiences, through senses and thoughtful language. We’ve seen a lot of adultery stories lately. If that’s the story you need to tell, fine, but what are you bringing to it that makes it stupefyingly new or different? Bells and whistles in your poetry are fine, but what about it will arrest a reader, stay with her so much she has to read it again?

Submit submit submit, but also, please be patient for a response!

Thanks, Abby, for sharing your insight in this blog interview!

Laura Maylene Walter, Fiction Editor

Month: June 2014