Truth or fiction redux
Well, I've done research... I've made inquiries... and the results are...
Ambiguous. Uncertain. Questionable.
The National Library of Canada has holdings put forth by the Poetry Institute of Canada in its archives, as per the national publication submission policy for Canadian publications.
The Better Business Bureau lists the Poetry Institute of Canada as a member in good standing.
Yet at the same time the pattern seems to match the descriptions of these "vanity scams". So as far as the Shadow-writer, yours truly, is concerned, all I can say on the matter is I have some reservations, but in all honesty I don't know... and in this day and age, some would say truth is what you believe it to be. Are these contests legitimate? Maybe. Certainly it does look like you will get your work published in them, even if it does cost you a little money. Does anything get in provided it gets paid for? I suppose one could test that in a future contest by deliberately submitting rubbish and see what gets said.
I'll be honest, too, I got mad when I thought I'd been scammed. And when I get mad, I fly off the handle... I suppose unstable emotional states are often associated with artistic minds, and I am no exception. Perhaps I over-reacted... perhaps I just-enough-reacted.
As far as Nightmares and Nameless Fears goes, and its appearance in the Departing Day next month, I'll let you know what comes of it in terms of the book itself... beyond that, all I know is that I thought it was a good piece of writing, and ultimately still do. Whether it got accepted for print because it has merit or because I paid them a typesetting fee and bought the book, the fact is that I wrote it and I'm proud of it... just as I'm proud of the other pieces I've written (except maybe In the Darkness, which bears revision at some point... but I've already expressed my perspective on that here and won't beat it futher to death here).
Nobody else can do anything to take away the fact that I wrote that poem and that I'm proud of doing so. Nothing would ever make me ashamed to slap my name on the page where it appears, so what does it matter if it may or may not be seeing publication in a "gray area".
Horror lives for gray areas after all... and in them... and those Nameless Fears are more than up to the task of suviving in such a place indefinitely, until such time as they are ready to rise up and seek a new place to dwell.
Trust your own judgement, in this and all things... ask yourself just who's in charge of your life and your decisions. A wise person once said the reason we fall down is so that we can get up again.
Oh, wait a minute... that was Bruce Wayne's dad in Batman Begins who said that...
Well, wise words nonetheless.
Happy holidays, everyone!
Ambiguous. Uncertain. Questionable.
The National Library of Canada has holdings put forth by the Poetry Institute of Canada in its archives, as per the national publication submission policy for Canadian publications.
The Better Business Bureau lists the Poetry Institute of Canada as a member in good standing.
Yet at the same time the pattern seems to match the descriptions of these "vanity scams". So as far as the Shadow-writer, yours truly, is concerned, all I can say on the matter is I have some reservations, but in all honesty I don't know... and in this day and age, some would say truth is what you believe it to be. Are these contests legitimate? Maybe. Certainly it does look like you will get your work published in them, even if it does cost you a little money. Does anything get in provided it gets paid for? I suppose one could test that in a future contest by deliberately submitting rubbish and see what gets said.
I'll be honest, too, I got mad when I thought I'd been scammed. And when I get mad, I fly off the handle... I suppose unstable emotional states are often associated with artistic minds, and I am no exception. Perhaps I over-reacted... perhaps I just-enough-reacted.
As far as Nightmares and Nameless Fears goes, and its appearance in the Departing Day next month, I'll let you know what comes of it in terms of the book itself... beyond that, all I know is that I thought it was a good piece of writing, and ultimately still do. Whether it got accepted for print because it has merit or because I paid them a typesetting fee and bought the book, the fact is that I wrote it and I'm proud of it... just as I'm proud of the other pieces I've written (except maybe In the Darkness, which bears revision at some point... but I've already expressed my perspective on that here and won't beat it futher to death here).
Nobody else can do anything to take away the fact that I wrote that poem and that I'm proud of doing so. Nothing would ever make me ashamed to slap my name on the page where it appears, so what does it matter if it may or may not be seeing publication in a "gray area".
Horror lives for gray areas after all... and in them... and those Nameless Fears are more than up to the task of suviving in such a place indefinitely, until such time as they are ready to rise up and seek a new place to dwell.
Trust your own judgement, in this and all things... ask yourself just who's in charge of your life and your decisions. A wise person once said the reason we fall down is so that we can get up again.
Oh, wait a minute... that was Bruce Wayne's dad in Batman Begins who said that...
Well, wise words nonetheless.
Happy holidays, everyone!
posted by Shadow-writer at 1:42 p.m.
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