And those "Amerika" people thought they were saying something too. Some of them did. But now it says "Seventies much?". It's the Harvest Gold of poems. Talent like yours needs to think long-term. And, Jesse, you are right. I didn't even think of that.

I liked it, RL. The abbervations are an issue I'm not going to comment on. I felt it was slightly 'jerky'... um... how to put this? It's not clumsy, which is what I'd say about similar things, but it has things in it that jar the reader and not in a good way. You know: some things jar you into thinking more deeply about a poem, and some things jar you out of understanding it. It may be that I'm not getting the allusions, or that the expericence I'm drawing on is different, or something, but I'm not enteirly sure I've understood what you were trying to say. As soon as I got hold of the meaning, the sense as I saw it, something jarred me and I lost it again.

Did any of that seem not-crazy?

I'm old-school hard core about spelling and grammar stuff, so the "yr" jarred a little, but the poem itself was just so, so far above the kind of writing I usually see cre8if spelling in. It's not my favorite thing about it, but I won't throw down my keyboard and stomp away.

What I loved above all else was the rhythm of it-- how lines like

The forgotten broken-bottled
Ink spreads stains across the piles of clean laundry."

were so deceptively simple, and yet still very complex in rhythm and structure. If half the writing we got in litmag as half as good as this, I would never say anything bad about teen poetry again.

Unless I ever have to listen to the horrible aabb forced-sounding too-long-lines-and-no-sense-rhythm poetry again. Because a girl can only hold back her homicidal grammar rage for so long.

wrod, Holli.

Thought that the writerly types might be interested in this, well, if any of you are writing screenplays.

I grew up with non-trad poetry, one of the bigs ones being (god, what's the whole name) "On a Gift of Watermelon Pickles". I'm sorry you felt attacked, I tried to phrase it merely as one not-very-avant-garde-person's reaction to what I perceived as a new influence in language. I've never felt poetry had to adhere completely to the rules of grammar and spelling. I believe that you choose every word with care, that ever variant has a purpose, and if I'm not catching all the nuances, that's a lack in me, not you. That may be the definition of art, that you have to stretch your perceptions to pick up all the meanings.

That said, Sophomore English teacher Miss Closser in the back of my head is still twitching her blue-haired head and pursing those weirdly thin lips in disapproval. I'd have liked to sic you on her.

Edit: And I find it oddly cool that we're having disagreements over language. I feel so coffee-shop and intelligentsia.

You've all gone a-WAY! It was just getting invigorating!

Ms Lizard's abbreviations -- I think I agree with the people who said they will be misinterpreted as attempted cuteness, despite your intentions otherwise.

OK I know this is a high-minded and literary thread, but I want to ask a question about money.

Call me big-headed, but I think I can write.

I've been employed to write articles and (sort of) books before.

They were about subjects I know about, like web publishing.

Now, I'm thinking "where can someone who can write earn money?" and the "earn money" thing is key.

If I don't care what it is -- the first-five-minutes 'plots' in porn movies, speeches for right-wing politicians, Hallmark cards for people who've successfully passed a kidney stone -- are there places I can get money as a freelance writer?

Someone has to write the blurb in the catalogue of Palm Pilot accessories after all:

Lost the stylus for your PalmPilot? Need a spare for the car or boat? Never be without a stylus again with this pack of durable plastic thingies (contains three).

so, where do I start looking?

If you think this post should really be somewhere else, please say so, but I'd be interested in your answers.

Go to the library and look for a big book called Writer's Market. It comes out every year, and the latest will be in the Reference section. You may have to promise your first born to the ref librarian, because I hear this book has a tendency to walk.