I realise that I have been writing and being published for a long time now. I have oodles of small literary journals from here ( Australia) and overseas and this week I have been getting them out of hidden cupboards and shelves and trawling through them. 1995 onwards...
I am amazed at the fortitude I once had to send work out batches of poems, finding every available address/opportunity to send work away that I could. And it brought dividends. I've been published many times over.
But over the last decade my writing interests have changed into writing for children. Still poetry, still stories.
So what do I do with those journals? I have pulled out my poems and recycled the rest- some I have kept- sad, but a refreshing reminder to keep writing, to keep abreast of competitions and opportunities. These were the solid foundations of the step to book publication for me.
And I can't let all that heartbreaking work go to waste. I am writing. In small doses and reading in great over indulgent servings. What a wonderful career.
What do you do with old paper memories?
6 comments:
you should get them scanned, so they last forever. Companies do it for you for relatively cheap.
Like Sam's comment.
It would be nice to have one copy of each of the publications you're published in, but that does depend on the amount that adds up to! Tricky decision! But if they did go, I'm sure you wouldn't miss them?
You're right Rochelle, no won't miss them- but how many there are surpsies me- they are in every nook and cranny... I have written on the torn out poem what magazine it came from and date- it's a dense history of poetry publication but it does have to be sized down.
It comes to that, doesn't it. We work and work to build up and up - and then we have to review and cut and cull to make it workable into our changing/changed lives.
Janeen,
I am finding lots of long lost poems in many journals adn even soem articles and one of my very first short stories! Bittersweet.
scanning sounds like a good idea - I would be hoisting them - although sounds like a good source for a memior too - thinking about the process of writing...
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