Sometimes a great “No” is almost as good as a “Yes”
In today’s mail, the warmest kind of rejection from Mid-American Review where the editor as pencilled in his own remarks:
Thanks for the strong poems — “Gift” and “Prodigal” came very close for us. It’s always good to see your work come in — I hope to see it again soon.
As an editor of a journal myself, I really appreciate the time put into such a note. It’s hard to personalize this process, but it is deeply appreciated. I’ll definitely be sending something else their direction this weekend.
November 18th, 2005 at 9:20 am
Neil,
Someone suggested that MAR editors were attracted to to writing of a spiritual ( thogh not mecessarily religious) nature– whatever that means. But I frequently detect that quality in your poetry, so this encouraging response from the poetry editor does not come as a suroprise to me. Nevertheless, these remarks are far more encouraging than most rejections. Give them more!
Ken
November 18th, 2005 at 9:40 pm
Rejection letters can be so impersonal. So this is very nice. I can’t wait to read these poems.