I’m terrible at submitting work for publication, so the fact that I’ve ever had anything published has always amazed me. It’s been a long time since I’ve submitted anything anywhere but in this recent wave of writing I’ve been doing, I’ve kept it in the back of my mind as a goal.
The November 3rd Club is a unique online literary journal for a few reasons — not the least of which is their overt political bias; a more intelligent Air America perhaps? — but from a personal perspective, I remember the moment (vaguely) from which it sprang, as a group of left-leaning writers fed up by the state of politics leading up to Dubya’s re-election sought to find ways to more effectively inject their political beliefs into the national consciousness via their own writings. Editor-in-Chief Victor Infante and his editors have featured a great mix of interesting work over the past few years, and I participated in one of their “Conversations” a couple of years back, a panel discussion on the politics of V for Vendetta, from which I cobbled together a review of the graphic novel and movie which still stands as my favorite review I’ve ever written.
Their latest issue includes my poem “Bittersweet Reunion”, the first poem I wrote earlier this year after getting back on the horse, and while I’ve already spotted a couple of edits I want to make — a poem is rarely ever finished, IMO, but you have to cut the cord at some point and let it live its own life — I’m excited to be included in such a solid mix of work. I’ve only gotten through the poetry section so far, but specific standouts I highly recommend are Michael Cirelli’s “Congo” and Jackson Wheeler’s “Acts of Terror”. Save Patricia Smith’s “What to Tweak” for last because it’s as good as you’d expect it to be and will dominate your mindshare for a couple of hours afterwards.
