of rejections, acceptances and other celebrations

Posted by Daniela Elza on Aug 01 2012

It is August 1st. The days are long and laid back, and even lazy. Kids are out playing, laughing and chasing each other with urgencies they only can attend to. The crows fly overhead each twilight when I am on my roof deck with dinner, a glass of wine, with a neighbour, or with Dethe and/or my books and my writing. And life still goes on and spins us, but it is not as tight as other times. It is a good time for contemplation. Good time to pull back a bit and look at the bigger picture to regain some perspective. So that is what I thought I will do.
Earlier in the year I got discouraged that I had not had an acceptance for a while. I did get a number of rejections in a row (about six to be more precise) which were beginning to be a bit of a drag. In the last thirty days I am happy to say I have received three acceptances. And an invitation to participate in a book.

  • A poem accepted in Planet Earth Poetry Anthology (forthcoming with Leaf Press, 2012 and launching sometime in the Fall)
  • Four poems accepted for Wildfire:75 contemporary B.C. women poets (edited by Susan Musgrave and Published by Mother Tongue Publishing (April, 2013).
  • Most recently I got three poems accepted in Cascadia Review, which will be launching its inaugural issue this Fall.

Also earlier in the year I found out that a photo portrait and the poem the weight of dew will be part of this feast of 111 West Coast Literary Portraits. (Photographs by Barry Peterson and Blaise Enright, Text by BC Authors, Introduction by Alan Twigg. and published by Mother Tongue Publishing, 2012). The book will be launching this fall.

Recently, in their latest issue (May-August), Press 1 had the weight of dew reviewed. This is the first review from abroad, and across borders. They also published one of my new poems not sure what to say.

I have to admit the most exciting news this year is: In May Ursula Vaira (Leaf Press) accepted my next manuscript. I refer to it as my crow manuscript and the title currently is Milk Tooth Bane Bone. I thought it was going to be my first, since it was the first one I put together. It has been circulating for a couple of years. Most publishers prefer excerpts and this book does not lend itself well to excerpting. Partly because I think the whole amounts to something more than the individual bits/images/fractals. It is a love that has grown over time. It is meant to be encountered in its wholeness.
It is planned to be published for Poetry Month next April (2013). These crows have been looking for a home and they finally found it.

Thank you to all the publishers who looked at it and got back to me and even to those who did not get back to me. Thank you Ursula for spending time with my crows and for putting your trust in them. Now, on to the next manuscript.

And of course there was that medal earlier in the year.


[at the Chancellor’s Awards Dinner at the Diamond Alumni Centre, SFU. Photo courtesy of SFU].
Guess who attended the special dinner with me? (Another photo of me and Dethe to add to my celebrating Dethe collection)


[the Chancellor’s Dinner at the Diamond Alumni Centre. Photo courtesy of SFU]

Why stop here? I seem to be working my way back to the beginning of the year. I should mention my book tour in June (click on the link if you have missed reading an account of it) and the publication of the weight of dew in March.
In February my poem accidentally buying a painting in Chinatown won second place in Pandora’s Collective Poetry Contest (thank you to the judges Fiona Tinwei Lam and Rob Taylor).

One more exciting news (and a first) was getting my first writing grant from the BC Arts Council.

Thank you to all of you who were in some way involved in selecting, awarding, and/or highlighting my work this year so far. Thank you for your support and trust in my work.

I guess this ended up being another thank you post. But, hey, we need to remember to do that more often. We may give ourselves credit for what we do, but, in the midst of all that, there are so many people who make what we do possible. It is not a one-man-band. Or a one-woman-band. And while I am plucking the thank you note>

Thank you also to the student who drew my portrait while I was giving a talk at Robert’s Centre and the Gathering Place in May. Here it is, I finally got it scanned.


2 Responses to “of rejections, acceptances and other celebrations”

  1. Ann Blackwell Says:
    August 1st, 2012 at 10:16 pm

    Wow! What an amazing list of accomplishments. I knew of some of these, of course, but when all put together it reminds me of what an amazing woman you are. And I do feel like a sloth! Work on my memoir goes along slowly – partly because I am editing bits shared in my writers group as I go, and partly because it is a lot of work to immerse myself in my own history. Also getting a bit of art done along the way. Have a couple or three shows upcoming starting this fall. LOVE the student drawing of you. It captures something a bit fey in you – meant as a compliment.

  2. Daniela Elza Says:
    August 2nd, 2012 at 9:52 am

    Thank you, Ann.
    Fey? Interesting.
    Yeah, writing is a multidirectional activity. I cannot imagine a novel or a memoir. All I get is time for one poem at a time. Go where the energy is, that always help me get through. And never forget to seek the joy and the pleasure in the doing.