Poets & Writers – July-August 2019

11 POETS & WRITERS

Poets & Writers Magazine welcomes feedback

from its readers. Please post a comment

on select articles at http://www.pw.org,

e-mail [email protected], or write to Editor,

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accepted for publication may be edited for

clarity and length.

L E T T E R S

Feedback from readers

I cannot think of a more compelling or lucid expression

of the struggle to remain connected to our writing lives

than the essay “Say Yes to Yourself: A Poet’s Guide to

Living and Writing” (May/June 2019) by Camille

T. Dungy. Not only was her message to fellow writers

insightful, inspiring, and in all ways affirming, but the

virtuosity of her prose had me gasping, as I followed her

personal chronicle of actually drafting the essay that

we all ended up reading. Her cautionary notes about

surfing the web or answering e-mails hit close to home.

I am now committing to my twenty minutes each day

to put something (anything) down, with my best effort,

before all else. Thank you.

MARK RUSSELL GELADE

San Francisco, California

Camille T. Dungy’s “Say Yes to Yourself” provided me

with a key to breaking open my time crunch. Instead

of spending half an hour after breakfast reading the

newspaper, I work on one of my many poems in process.

So I don’t know what the weather forecast is? Can’t tell

who won the Mariners game last night? So what? Many

thanks for the new way to think about time.

TRINA GAYNON

Portland, Oregon

Thank you for Camille T. Dungy’s “Say Yes to

Yourself.” Brilliantly entertaining and useful. I don’t

think any piece in Poets & Writers Magazine has ever

resonated with me as strongly as this one.

MICHAEL TENBRINK

San Francisco, California

There I was, late at night, feet up on the ottoman,

reading Camille T. Dungy’s “Say Yes to Yourself,”

enjoying it, laughing out loud, admiring her writing,

envying it even. And in the back of my mind, a little

voice kept saying, “Wait for it, wait for it.” And boom!

There it was: her thinly veiled reference to despondency

after the last election. Now I am in no way suggesting

she shouldn’t write her truth. That’s what writers do:

share their truth. The question is, did it serve the essay?

For me, the answer was no because it distracted me

from the rollicking romp of encouragement to writers,

which was, I believe, her intent—an encouragement

that was definitely working for me. All I’m saying is

that when I’m reading an otherwise terrific piece, it is a

disservice to distract me in the middle of it. Writing can

be political, of course; but writing about writing doesn’t

need to be, unless that’s what you’re going for. Which

would be fine. Except when it isn’t.

PAMA L. BENNETT

Sioux City, Iowa

Following the excellent, albeit a bit idealistic, “A

Look Inside the System of Competition: What Really

Happens After You Hit Submit” (May/June 2019)

by Joey Franklin, you present six winners of literary

contests (“Winners on Winning”). I look at their faces,

and it appears there is not an author over forty in the

bunch. It looks like a youth contest. Does it mean that

the doors are closed to authors with more experience

and a more mature voice? In other words, is there

age discrimination? If so, Joey Franklin would have

to rethink his article and investigate literary contests

f urt her.

MARIE-JO FORTIS

St. Petersburg, Florida

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