Foetry

Perhaps you’ve heard the rumors. It’s true: I’m retiring from Foetry.com! The great news is that there’s a new team in place to take over the duties. And we all expect big, exciting changes. Matt Koeske will be chief administrator, and there are many others that I expect will take on roles as moderators in the forum. Others will be obtaining open records from the contests under scrutiny. Still others will be contributing in different capacities.

I want to thank everyone who visits this site, provides information, and challenges the status quo, which so many poets and universities seem to think is the acceptable way to do business. I have really enjoyed the two years on the site and I’ve made some incredible friends.

I will be working on a new project for the next six months or so, and then I hope to return to Foetry.com as a participant in whatever form it takes. I believe it’s going to be the premier place for poetry on the web and it’s in excellent hands!

P.S. Iowa’s prize guidelines and deceptive practices still suck. If you enter their contests, you help to perpetuate fraud.

As I feared, the CLMP “ethics” guidelines, endorsed by numerous presses, has generated the first faux-winner in a contest. Joshua Kryah’s Glean was the talk of this year’s AWP conference because it’s the alleged winner of the 2005 Nightboat Poetry Prize, selected by “esteemed” poet, Donald Revell. Strangely enough, Kryah is a PhD student in the creative writing program at UNLV, where he surely knows and/or studies with Revell’s wife, Claudia Keelan.

Start saving your money to enter next year’s Nightboat contest. Esteemed foet Brenda Hillman’s judging. You know, because there are no other poets in the country. She just doesn’t get enough chances to pick her friends at your expense.

I’m the guest, along with Radical Librarian, Jessamyn West, on Moby Lives Radio. Today I speak about my concerns with the CLMP Ethics Guidelines for contests.

Part two of the interview with 1/2 of Poetry Snark is now available.

Featuring Jim “Banned from Poetry Snark” Behrle in a sneak preview role and part one of a two-parter with Poetry Snark and his Crew.

For the second time in my memory, Reb Livingston, editor of No Tell Motel has fired off a disingenuous snipe at Foetry.com. I called her on it the first time, and I’m doing it again — this time with statistical evidence.

Here’s what she says:

Oh and I think now would be a perfect time for Foetry to start it’s [sic] own press with it’s [sic] own contests . . . Perhaps it’s time to show how it’s done by example? Instead of the relentless picking on individuals. That’s getting SO tired. You’re setting some pretty high standards — show the “foets” how to live up to them.

If you’re interested in reading more, that’s taken from the comments in a post about the current “Anthology Wars.” If you’ll read my comments there, you’ll see I was being fairly nice to Reb. Sure I mentioned she had a few Foets in her anthology, but I was praising her for her approach — only to be met with comments like, “Instead of the relentless picking on individuals. That’s getting SO tired” and “I consider myself a good and honest and hardworking person . . . ” So I’ve decided to take it upon myself to force Reb to be a little more honest.

For someone tired of the actions of Foetry, she sure visits the site a lot. The excerpt from my statistics above shows that she consumed 198 pages of Foetry.com in January in 697 hits. She used 11.32 MB of bandwidth that month. Reb, I hope you’re visiting my sponsors to pay for all that! Now let’s look at the next data set:

Here are Reb’s total pages, hits, and bandwidth SO FAR in February. The person ranked just below her is Monday Love. ML, you know I love you, so this is not a criticism. I’m just pointing out that Reb Livingston has visited Foetry this month MORE than Monday Love.

This final screencapture shows her most recent visit at just past Midnight my time. Reb, what on earth are you doing visiting a site you claim to deplore in the middle of the night? It’s clear you’re an addict.

So I leave you with your own words, nothing will ” . . . stop me from calling bullshit when I see it.” Bullshit indeed. Reb Livingston can’t stop soaking in Foetry!

The Patricia Smith Prize (formerly The Paris Hilton Review Prize for Self-Promotion) goes to Shanna Compton. You all remember Shanna, right? When she’s not hosting readings for book contest judges at her home, she’s an editor at Soft Skull. Conveniently, all of her Amazon recommendations were published by her. Transparency. It’s a good thing. TM

The Sexy Award (formerly the Louise Glück circa 1980 Prize) goes to Jim Behrle. Not so much because I think he’s sexy, but more because he assed for it.

Are you thinking of sending your poetry manuscript and a check for $30 to the National Poetry Series? You might want to save your money.

First, take a look at the questionable record of the “contest.” Second, realize they do not name their five “celebrity” poet judges in advance — often a sign of foul play. Third, the contest does not explain the screening process.

Finally, and most important, I contacted the National Poetry Series to request an interview. I never received a return call. Where is Daniel Halpern? They are hiding something and I think it’s your money.

Foetry.com has issued a press release calling for transparency in the National Poetry Series. Feel free to distribute.

Discussion of the NPS is here.

Fauxcast, the Foetry.com Podcast, launched yesterday. The first guest is Red Hen Press Managing Editor, Kate Gale, in coversation with Alan Cordle of Foetry.com. Topics include Red Hen’s contests, potential problems with book prizes, and a reading of work written by author, Peggy Shumaker.

The Paris Hilton Review Prize for Self-Promotion goes to forum member WRDWM who spent a month this summer on the site asking eager questions about the National Poetry Series winners and listing underrated poets, one of whom was Patricia Smith, the fired Boston Globe reporter turned slam poet turned serious poet. Within days of her first appearance on the site, WRDWM announced the winners of this year’s NPS, including none other than Patricia Smith.Recently a LiveJournal turned up by Patricia Smith. Her username: pswordwoman. Coincidence? You decide.

The Linda Tripp Award for Backstabbingest Bitch goes to C. Dale Young, who both practices medicine and edits the New England Review. If you are his friend, maybe you’re not. Foetry’s just sayin’.

The Ricky Schroeder Silver Spoon Prize goes to John Casteen IV. You haven’t heard of him, either? Well, his big daddy is the president of the University of Virginia (and presumably the III), known to themselves as “The University.” Casteen went to “The Workshop” at Iowa and is more than a little pissed about foetry.com because it’s ruining his chances to get a book published by someone from Iowa. Maybe his daddy can make it right.

The Corn Husks Cup, sponsored by former Foet headquarters, Iowa, is presented to the Creative Writing Department at Missouri, home to Foets including, but not limited to Scott Cairns, Sherod Santos, and Karen “Cottonmouth” Holmberg. And someone please explain how a husband and wife, both in the program at MO both won the National Poetry Series. Again, coincidence?

More awards later this week.