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Happy pub day to HINGE. Please indulge me in this thread of gratitude.
(As I wrote it, this thread became ridiculously long. Please clap for my restraint: I posted the long version on my blog instead of here. Tl;dr: This book was rejected over 100 times; I persisted because people I trusted believed in me and my work.)
(You can read the blog post here: https://mollyspencer.wordpress.com/2020/10/20/happy-pub-day-to-hinge-tldr-this-book-was-rejected-over-100-times-i-persisted-because-people-i-trusted-believed-in-me-and-my-work/)
I began writing this book (although didn't know then that I was writing a book) when my kids were very young—not even all in school yet. They are now 19, 17, and a few days shy of 15.
I did not conceive of myself as a poet then, just as someone who wrote poems. I was a middle-aged mom of three who was trying to write in small scraps of time (still am, tbh). I wanted to write good poems, but I never imagined that I could be a poet.
I was lucky to have friends and, eventually, fellow poets who believed I could be. Thank you to the earliest and most steadfast believers: Mary Garcia, Drew Myron @SandyLonghorn, @SallyRKindred, Jen Richter, @poetkellycm, @LKTuffaha, and Billie Swift.
This book was rejected over 100 times. I kept sending it because these folks told me over and over again: “I believe I will one day hold this book in my hands. I’m saving a space on my shelf.” They believed when I could not.
A few things I want to say: 1. Just because you can’t imagine a dream coming true doesn’t mean it can’t come true. 2. Surround yourself with people who believe in you, even when you can’t.
I want to say: you don’t need an MFA or a degree in writing or literature to be a poet. HINGE was at least 95% finished before I started my low-res MFA program. Thank you, though, to @BarotRick at @PLU_RWW whose advice helped me bring it into its final form.
Thank you to my colleagues and students at @fordschool (& a special shoutout to @BethChimera) where I teach. These policy wonks have also supported my poetry, and I am grateful.
I want to say: thank you to everyone else who's supported my writing, who saw me as a poet, who helped me see myself as one—I am grateful for all of you. And thank you to the editors and journals who believed in these poems.
To wit: @thebhreview @BPJTweets @VCUBlackbird Calyx @CaveWallPress @CrabCreekRev @coppernickel Country Dog Review @GeorgiaReview Heron Tree Massachusetts Review @memoriousmag Mid-American Review @Missouri_Review @NERweb @NorthAmerReview @ronslate's On The Seawall
saltfront San Pedro River Review @thrushjournal @TinderboxPoetry @versedailypoems. Thank you, also, to @vtstudiocenter for time and space to bring the ms. into its final form.
I am grateful to everyone at @COSPoetry, especially Jon Tribble (of blessed memory) and Allison Joseph. I am grateful to the good people at @siupress who brought this book into the world so beautifully.
Anyway, time to go back to my glamorous life of not being a poet: making breakfast for the kids, teaching policy writing, thawing the ground beef for tomorrow night's dinner. Write on, fellow poets, write on.
Oh, oh—one more crucial thank you to @briankspears and @marisasaystweet and all my colleagues at @The_Rumpus. And to my friends at @LiteratiBkstore. I am grateful for all of you.
