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- The March Weird Circular
The March Weird Circular
Holly Lyn Walrath
March 07, 2023
This month's Weird Circular is live with submission ideas, prompts, and more!
Welcome to the Weird Circular
Dear Weirdos,
I hope your 2023 is creatively fruitful so far! I've been hard at work on a secret project for the last two weeks. I'll be putting out my first solo art exhibit of my large-scale erasure poems!
When I started writing erasures, people told me they were "plagiarism", that they were "a fad", that no one cares about poetry, and poetry doesn't make money. For me, writing blackout poems is about engaging with books, words, and text in new ways. As an art form, blackout poetry has a long and rich history. It is a form of resistance, a form of experimentation, a form of homage.
But since I started, I've sold custom-commissioned poems, had poetry videos go viral, and sold my art. "Ambition eats right through you". I don't write to be successful, I write it because I love it
This is my message to you: Don't take in the negative. Only let that in your heart which makes it fly.
Save the date for April 8th, the opening reception for my exhibit of poems at Sabine Street Studies in Houston, TX. The theme of the show is "
".
Your corporeal host,
Holly
News From Your Corporeal Host
I have a new book coming out from Aqueduct Press in April 2023: Numinous Stones--A Chapbook of Horror Pantoums about Grief, Queerness, Gender, and Feminism
Check out my self-paced workshops:
SAVE THE DATE: "Poetry Between the Lines" Art exhibit at Sabine Street Studios April 8th
Submission Calls
Upcoming Submission Windows:
March
The Deadlands, Deadline 3/14: Speculative Poetry
Lightspeed Magazine, Deadline: Varies through the Summer: Sci-fi: Short Fiction (1.5k-10k) BIPOC only 3/24-3/31, all: 4/1-4/7
Fiyah! Deadline 3/31: Theme: Carnival: Short Stories (2k-15k) for writers from the African diaspora and the African continent.
Podcastle: Deadline 3/31: Theme: Fantasy Short Stories (up to 6k)
April
Cast of Wonders, Deadline: 4/1-4/14: Theme: Banned Books Short Stories (up to 7.5k)
khōréō, Deadline: 4/1-4/30: Theme: Flash Fiction (up to 1.5k): For writers of immigrant and diaspora backgrounds.
Check out
! They are open to pitches for novellas and novels. I recently had a lovely editor Q&A with one of the editors and they are publishing some really cool stuff.
Need more submission ideas? Check the
newest markets, Duotrope's
,
, SFPA's
, Moksha's
or Literary Mama's
.
Coming in 2023: My new poetry collection from Aqueduct Press!
YOU SHOULD BE WRITING
Exercise
: Write a description of a place that you've been before. Describe it from your character's point of view. Use taste, sight, sound, touch, and smell in the description.
Bonus Round
: Now try writing a description of a place you've never been. Maybe it's an imaginary world. Be as luscious and descriptive as possible. Compare the two pieces of writing: Does one seem more powerful? Why or why not?
Exercise: Write a story or poem where a flyer plays an important role. Maybe it takes your main character to a new place or interesting situation.
Bonus Round: Give the story an unexpected twist, either in setting or a character's unexpected choices.
Exercise: Write a story or poem where a craft is important to the story. Maybe it's weaving, writing, visual art, sewing, or gardening.
Bonus Round:
Bonus points if magic plays a role in some way :)
Editing tip of the month: What is one thing you want to accomplish this month? Write it on a post it note and stick it somewhere you can see it every day.
Join the conversation