Yesterday, I posted a poem by Franz Wright from a recent New Yorker in which I completely botched the formatting. There is no excuse for this. I've offended someone whose work I treasure. The formatting has been corrected and I apologize to Franz Wright and to all the readers of this blog.
This is the 20th year of publication of Lilliput Review and I have made many errors along the way. This is the most egregious.
Right now, I'm having trouble seeing my way forward.
Don
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15 comments:
Don:
"Issa's Untidy Hut" is not a symptom of the dumbing-down of the arts via the internet. Quite the contrary, as anyone knows who views the site regularly. Your site is expansive, energetic, creative, interactive, interesting and accurate, just to name a few things off the top.
I don't know how you do all what you do, but an occasional boo-boo is allowed in the Midwest! We make em' all the time . . .
Carry on!
Jeffery
Hey Don:
hang in
just about everything else (blogs, zines, etc) on the net just ego-blather and well, just plain boring! ..
and concerned with "credential-gathering and friends fawning over friends!
well unlike you ...
I am
perfect
/just as I am
and
sometimes
it's not so easy
being my self
keep on truckin!
Ed
Right On Ed!
J.L.S.
Well, 1) are you sure Franz Wright wrote that post? Personally, it seems a bit of a harsh response. Simply asking you to correct it and indicate the correction might have sufficed.
2) mistakes happen. I've had poetry printed incorrectly in magazines more than once. It can be frustrating but all we can do is understand that people's intentions may be good but perfection is very hard to achieve.
3) you have a wonderful site here that has done much, for me and for others, to further the causes and the enjoyment of poetry. You can stand on your work with pride.
Ed & Charles & Jeffery each said it well: carry on!
Hey Don, I'm with the rest of the folks here - your blog is a treasure. I've written several times thanking you for bringing to my attention books and authors of which I was unaware. Your posts are thoughtful, well-written (which is a rarity in the blogosphere - I won't read blogs where little to no attention to the art of writing is paid), intimate, honest, and real. If Wright actually did write to you, well - he didn't bother to edit his own post (and it needs editing), and there's a whole lot of EGO going on there in being so rude and angry toward your mistake. Like Charles wrote, he could have simply pointed out the error and asked you to correct it. Had he bothered to read anymore of your blog (other than the post about himself and his poem) he would have discovered what a dedicated advocate of poetry you are. Please do not let this little blip set you back in anyway. I am amazed by how much you juggle in the name of poetry.
peace.
just imagine
she said to her 8 year-old daughter (whilew I was sitting next to the little girl) "You were a mistake."
there are no "mistakes" (accidents)! period;
what did Cid say (he had "a million of them" and he got 1/2 of them fro Uncle Miltie):
perfecting intentions
is the only thing that
matters"
[so far I really like what Obama is doing. I just hope that it's not just symbolism and orchestrationing].
The poems at your blog are often the highlight of my day, Don.
-- Glenn Cooper
wow!
they didn't find his body for three days?
and the note: "messy, huh?"
and all them messages on the answer phone!
and then I read Ianthe's chapter Cannibal Carpenters! geeze. later in The IBM
now I gotta figure out who this Franz Wright is?
well, I know a bit about James Wright ...and , what's his name... Helmets... James Dickey!
got a neat call tonight from a poet...
Thanks, Don. And sorry if I sounded harsh about it--I very much appreciate your printing my poem. Franz
Thanks, all. Still trying to shake this off but ...
Don
Don,
Mistakes happen all the time. I've had untitled poems printed with titles, poems completely forgotten about by editors until I remind them 6 months later, and twice I've been credited as the wrong name.
Your blog is a well-visited stop for many a writer, where we find inspiration, education, and motivation. Like Sokan's frog, we're all "hands to the floor/offering up a song."
Ok, I'm on my feet, dusted off and heading back out there, hopefully a little wiser ... mostly due to your kind words and a lesson in humility ... thanks Ed, Charles, J.L.S., Lisa, Greg and all.
Don
Late to the party, but no less sincere: accidents happen. You've done due diligence here in correcting and apologizing. Please, please, please don't this overshadow the joy you bring to so many people with your blog.
Just sayin'
LAV
LAV, shaken and stirred but still standing ... thanks. I'm gonna try to plod on ... everybody has been very supportive.
Don
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