J2

Covering Letter

Joana Meehan

University of Roehampton

Erasmus House – Stuart Lodge

SW15 5PU – London

+447 542 872 770

Amy Acre

Bad Betty Press

Dear Ms. Acre,

I am writing to you to share my poems for your consideration. 

In my poetry I attempt at one of your main objectives: making space for more and varied voices. However, the voice I intent to make space for, in many ways, is the reader’s.

I find myself fascinated with what one can say without saying as well as the balance between guiding the reader and allowing them to ‘take the lead’.

I am approaching you as I feel that my work may be a good fit with you as publishers.

It is my understanding that your main focus is on pamphlets and full collections by emerging authors. I believe, that in particular Joel Auterson’s work titled ‘Unremember’ you published in 2017 resonates with me as a writer. 

I feel that these poems are fitting for our current time in their simplicity allowing one to read and instantly take something from it and perhaps later, if it disturbs something they can see reflected in their own lives, reflect more upon it and digest it for what it actually is: a snapshot of modern life and what it means and feels to be in it.

These are poems of how people are a result of their experiences. Their everyday, their pain, their questions, the things that they leave unsaid. This collection of poems is an attempt at saying it. Without doing so.

Thank you and all the best,

Joana Meehan

Statement of Intent

Poetry CAN BE BOTH?? is in equal parts unbelievably frustrating and incredibly rewarding. FOR ME WRITING MEANS ((To write poetry)) one has to observe and reflect about themselves as well as the world they are part of and the role they play in it. ((Whether when writing or reading,)) poetry allows us to look closely at something, at times making it clearer and other times making it unclear and unfamiliar (DELIBARTELY AMBIGIOUS??)) . It is in this unfamiliarity that poetry happens.??? The exciting possibilities the unpredictability of poetry provides CAN?takes us somewhere we had not planned for.
NP

The work I find myself drawn to is poetry that encourages me to reflect. At its most self-indulgent, writing poetry is a calming, peaceful activity even when it is exactly the opposite of that: every frustration or sombre mood resulting from it welcome as FOR ME?? it is the only way to process the anxiety of living. I enjoy exploring different aesthetics, techniques and themes and seeing how these can stretch the meaning of what one is writing. It is fascinating how the literal and figurative meanings come together to allow us to continuously unravel a poem and reflect on the different angles we can consider.

In my opinion poetry is a form of creative writing that focuses just as much, if not more, on how things are said ASWELL AS??? rather than just what is being said. My poems tend to rely heavily on the unsaid, at times this being JUST??? almost as important as what is said. In my personal statement written for my application to university my first line was: ‘a blank piece of paper is as exciting as it gets’. At the time, what I meant (((by this))) was that alLLLL the possibilities available were exciting to me. 
WHY NP??

Now, however, I realize that perhaps my interest is not only in all the possibilities of how to fill the piece of paper but how to utilize it. (((What I mean by this is that))) finding the agreement between writing and omitting. The negative space, pauses and silences VERB MISSING possibilities in their own right. The challenging question of what one can say without actually saying is DIF WD!! a question I reflect on while??? and with my writing. The quest to find balance between sharing too much and saying just enough guiding my work NO VERB.

My interest in poetry was actually something that was made clear to me only while at U?u??niversity. A poet that sticks out as having had an influence on my writing is John Cage and the way he uses other peoples’ writing to generate his own work as well as his interesting take on spacing in some of his work. Another IS?would be Gertrude Stein and her exploration of possibilities which HAS??inspired me to be more experimental and being bolder. AndPPP lastly, poet Samiya Bashir who made me reflect on how I consider and work with structure and lineation. In a performance attended in my second year of university her reading, her)) pauses, her))AND? emphasis on certain words brought to my attention the importance of the placement of the words inON the page and how this too contributes to making a piece of work more engaging. 

In my poems I tend to favour simple, colloquial?? language, AIMING?? my attempt is to write in a straightforward manner, being general while being specific, the focus being on the reflection the reader is invited to do. I find WOespecially fascinating focusing on everyday life and language and utilizing pauses and silences. NP??In our current world where our senses are constantly assaulted my poetry aims to provide relief. The reader is encouraged to take a moment, to pause, and rather than BEtold what to think: left to fill in the blanks himself THEMSELF. 
Np????

In a culture that lives in a fast paced, overwhelming environment focusing on silence is challenging, especially when we consider our short attention spans and need for instant gratification. Nevertheless???, I FEEL ?? this (strenuous task?) is an important exercise absent from our lives. This is whyDW? I seek publication, to provide readers, in some small but hopefully significant way with a moment of silence: a moment of reflection.  

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Covering Letter

Joana Meehan

University of Roehampton

Erasmus House – Stuart Lodge

SW15 5PU – London

+447 542 872 770

Amy Acre

Bad Betty Press

Dear Ms. Acre,

I am writing to you to share my poems for your consideration. 

In my poetry I attempt at one of your main objectives: making space for more and varied voices. However, the voice I intent to make space for, in many ways, is the reader’s.

I find myself fascinated with what one can say without saying as well as the balance between guiding the reader and allowing them to ‘take the lead’.

I am approaching you as I feel that my work may be a good fit with you as publishers.

It is my understanding that your main focus is on pamphlets and full collections by emerging authors. I believe, that in particular Joel Auterson’s work titled ‘Unremember’ you published in 2017 resonates with me as a writer. 

I feel that these poems are fitting for our current time in their simplicity allowing one to read and instantly take something from it and perhaps later, if it disturbs something they can see reflected in their own lives, reflect more upon it and digest it for what it actually is: a snapshot of modern life and what it means and feels to be in it.

These are poems of how people are a result of their experiences. Their everyday, their pain, their questions, the things that they leave unsaid. This collection of poems is an attempt at saying it. Without doing so.

Thank you and all the best,

Joana Meehan

Statement of Intent

Poetry is in equal parts unbelievably frustrating and incredibly rewarding. To write poetry one has to observe and reflect about themselves as well as the world they are part of and the role they play in it. Whether when writing or reading, poetry allows us to look closely at something, at times making it clearer and other times making it unclear and unfamiliar. It is in this unfamiliarity that poetry happens. The exciting possibilities the unpredictability of poetry provides takes us somewhere we had not planned for.

The work I find myself drawn to is poetry that encourages me to reflect. At its most self-indulgent, writing poetry is a calming, peaceful activity even when it is exactly the opposite of that: every frustration or sombre mood resulting from it welcome as it is the only way to process the anxiety of living. I enjoy exploring different aesthetics, techniques and themes and seeing how these can stretch the meaning of what one is writing. It is fascinating how the literal and figurative meanings come together to allow us to continuously unravel a poem and reflect on the different angles we can consider.

In my opinion poetry is a form of creative writing that focuses just as much, if not more, on how things are said rather than just what is being said. My poems tend to rely heavily on the unsaid, at times this being almost as important as what is said. In my personal statement written for my application to university my first line was: ‘a blank piece of paper is as exciting as it gets’. At the time, what I meant by this was that al the possibilities available were exciting to me.

Now, however, I realize that perhaps my interest is not only in all the possibilities of how to fill the piece of paper but how to utilize it. What I mean by this is that finding the agreement between writing and omitting. The negative space, pauses and silences possibilities in their own right. The challenging question of what one can say without actually saying is a question I reflect on while and with my writing. The quest to find balance between sharing too much and saying just enough guiding my work.

My interest in poetry was actually something that was made clear to me only while at University. A poet that sticks out as having had an influence on my writing is John Cage and the way he uses other peoples’ writing to generate his own work as well as his interesting take on spacing in some of his work. Another would be Gertrude Stein and her exploration of possibilities which inspired me to be more experimental and being bolder. And lastly, poet Samiya Bashir who made me reflect on how I consider and work with structure and lineation. In a performance attended in my second year of university her reading, her pauses, her emphasis on certain words brought to my attention the importance of the placement of the words in the page and how this too contributes to making a piece of work more engaging. 

In my poems I tend to favour simple, colloquial language, my attempt is to write in a straightforward manner, being general while being specific, the focus being on the reflection the reader is invited to do. I find especially fascinating focusing on everyday life and language and utilizing pauses and silences. In our current world where our senses are constantly assaulted my poetry aims to provide relief. The reader is encouraged to take a moment, to pause, and rather than told what to think: left to fill in the blanks himself.

In a culture that lives in a fast paced, overwhelming environment focusing on silence is challenging, especially when we consider our short attention spans and need for instant gratification. Nevertheless, this strenuous task is an important exercise absent from our lives. This is why I seek publication, to provide readers, in some small but hopefully significant way with a moment of silence: a moment of reflection.