Dispatches from the Front

(Lebanon Junction, Kentucky. Thanksgiving 2006. Near my birthplace, Fort Knox)

I've been thinking about how a cover letter to a literary magazine should be like an artists' statement. Maybe I should try stating what my goals are with the stuff I'm writing. All of my poems, more or less, I am seeing as emotional journalism--dispatches from my heart, me out here on the front lines, dodging bullets, lobbing grenades, all in matters of my heart and soul.

So that's my new goal: briefly stated when I send anything out. Perhaps it'll help with acceptance. I don't my letters so far have really helped any editors or readers get to know me. I've always preferred to let the work speak for itself. But hey, who doesn't need a little help whereever they can get it? Why not turn on the charm when it comes to presenting myself on the page? I am better on paper--I just need to find a way to smile on paper and shake a hand on paper. Yeah, I think it will help.

And I'll post some of my emotional reportage soon; the likes of which have been rejected by such magazines as Black Warrior Review and Crazyhorse. Still so many more to hit up. Why does the submission process take so damn long? I'll just keep my post, watching the field for enemy fire, and blast out a few more shots of my own to let them know I'm still alive.