I Have Become Accustomed To Rejection

Outstanding Submissions: 12

Rejections: 2, personal

I received very snappy rejections from NY Tyrant (no but the story had great moments) and The Nashville Review (not quite right but send more). I can live with this.

If you have an impossible, unrequited infatuation for someone and you are over the age of 16, is crush still the appropriate terminology?

I was a semi-finalist in the Rose Metal Press Chapbook competition. Considering my fellow semi-finalists and finalists, I am really quite thrilled. This was a genuine and much-needed surprise.

I recommend a song for the Wigleaf winter playlist. There are also really interesting recommendations from writers like Lauren Becker, Kirsty Logan, Elizabeth Ellen, Angi Becker Smith and Jim Ruland among others.

I had a campus interview at a mid-sized Midwestern University. The faculty made me feel at ease and things went really well I think but that could also be delusion talking. I really enjoyed the day and the people I met. I did the best I possibly could. I could be happy there.

I spent Saturday in Chicago and last night I had dinner with Tadd Adcox and Rebekah Silverman, editors of Artifice Magazine and Tim Jones-Yelvington. I was, of course, super nervous becauze I’m a spaz but ended up having a grand time. It was the first time I’ve relaxed in weeks. They were very… urban and sophisticated but also very smart and witty and kind. I felt like a hick a little bit. I wore big hoop earrings. I like big hoop earrings. We went to an Argentinian steakhouse called Folklore that was super trendy. The bathrooms were gorgeous and immaculate. There were NO ugly people in that restaurant. It was like a central meeting place for beautiful thin people wearing black clothing, perfect makeup and expensive shoes. The hipster quotient was high. I was wearing black and expensive shoes. The food was fantastic. Massive quantities of meat were eaten with this magical topping that involved a shocking amount of garlic. I drank a delicious Mojito. It was  the most delicious concoction ever in a glass with lots of party favors like ice, mint and lime. If all alcohol tasted that good, I would drink regularly. It was very exciting to meet new people and have great conversations. I felt like an adult. I also learned about a Russian Orthodox church, an evil condo building, saw a beautiful apartment and commiserated about unreliable printers. Can’t wait to do it again.

Several of you have asked how you might help with Haiti. I would like to do a fundraiser for Edna and Hans. If you’re interested in participating, please feel free to send any amount you wish, via PayPal, to rgay74 at gmail dot com. This is an option if you’re interested in donating to a family who can and will benefit directly and use all of your contribution immediately. All contributions will go directly to Hans and Edna to help them begin to rebuild their lives. Feel free to share this information with others who want to do something more personal than contribute to a major charity (which is also an excellent alternative). I’m going to kick in $150 but any amount would help. The US dollar goes a long way in Haiti.