Daring to Fail: How to Begin and Sustain a Poetry Submission Practice

Interested in learning how to get your poems published, individually in journals and as book-length collections? Come and hear from a poet with experience on both sides of the publication equation. Francesca Bell has been avidly collecting rejections (and acceptances) for more than twenty years. She has served as the poetry editor of River Styx, a guest editor for B O D Y, and is a current translation editor for Los Angeles Review. She'll share what she's learned about the importance of researching your target publishers, how to format submissions, how to write a cover letter, how to choose which poems go together, how to interact with editors, and, most importantly, how to manage the inevitable disappointments along the way and use failure to your advantage. She will even share some of her voluminous submission logs so you can check out her vast rejection history firsthand. 

Space is limited. Please, register at the San Rafael Library’s website in order to save a spot.

Perhaps you’ve always wondered what people see in poetry. Maybe you’re already a practicing poet in need of camaraderie and outside inspiration. Either way, this free, generative, welcoming poetry workshop is for you. Each session, we will read and examine some poems. We will discuss what the poems are doing and how they are doing it. What literary devices has the poet employed to make the ideas and emotions of the poem accessible? In what ways can the poem deepen our understanding of ourselves and others? How can looking through a poetic lens help us to better understand our own lives? Each discussion will be followed by a timed free-write inspired by the poems in that class’s handout.

Please, join Angelika Quirk, Gerald Fleming, Petr Hruška, and me at beautiful and beloved Books By The Bay in Sausalito for a reading in honor of new translations of Petr’s poems and the poems of Max Sessner. All poems will be read by native speakers, as originals and as translations, and we will enjoy delectable snacks, a view of the Bay, and a chance to browse the deliciousness of the bookstore! (Easy parking next to store or in public lot just steps away.)

Ives Hall 24

Panel: The Joys of Translating and Being Translated

Czech Petr Hruška, Hungarian Ági Bori, and American Francesca Bell engage the world of translation in different ways. Petr Hruška is primarily a poet and writer who is usually the person being translated. Ági Bori is a Hungarian translator specializing in the work of Miklós Vámos. A long-time citizen of the United States, Bori is fluent enough to translate in both directions. Francesca Bell is a poet and translator who has co-translated from Arabic and translated on her own from German. Her work has been translated into Italian, Hungarian, German, and Czech. Hruška, Bori, and Bell will bring these perspectives together to engage in a lively discussion of the importance of translation and of its many pleasures. The panel will also feature a few brief, bilingual readings. 

I’ve started an open mic series at the gorgeous Mill Valley Library as part of my Marin County Poet Laureate programming! Doors open at 6:15 for this warm and lively event to give people time to sign up to read and to nibble on the scrumptious refreshments. Please, bring no more than THREE MINUTES of daring, big-hearted material to share, or just come out to listen. Either way, it’s a wonderful way to spend an evening! We appreciate it if you register your attendance on the Mill Valley Library website, so we have an idea of how many people are coming.

I've always wanted to see Chicago, and now I get to read at the University of Chicago with two wonderful international poets, Petr Hruška of the Czech Republic and Rob A. McKenzie of Scotland. If you're in the area, come out and hear us read our work and talk about being a poet and about translation. 

I'm thrilled to be reading with two fellow Marin poets I admire, Catharine Clark-Sayles and Shelley Chesley, and if you've not been to Rebound Bookstore yet, you are missing a lot! 

Perhaps you've always wondered what people see in poetry. Maybe you're already a practicing poet in need of some camaraderie and outside inspiration. Either way, this free, generative, welcoming poetry workshop is for you. Each session, we will read and closely examine a selection of poems. We will discuss what the poems are doing and how they are doing it. What literary devices have the poets employed to make the ideas and emotions of their poems accessible? In what ways can the poems deepen our understanding of ourselves and others? How can looking through a poetic lens help us to better understand our own lives? Each discussion will be followed by a timed free-write inspired by that class's poems or another prompt.

Poetry Flash presents an exciting reading by ANDERS CARLSON-WEE and FRANCESCA BELL,

Visit Poetry Flash (http://poetryflash.org) for reviews, interviews, literary events, and more. See our readings on the Poetry Flash YouTube channel. Thank you for continuing to support the Poetry Flash reading series. The featured books will be available at the event, and  also at http://bookshop.org/shop/poetryflash. 

Perhaps you've always wondered what people see in poetry. Maybe you're already a practicing poet in need of some camaraderie and outside inspiration. Either way, this free, generative, welcoming poetry workshop is for you. Each session, we will read and closely examine a selection of poems. We will discuss what the poems are doing and how they are doing it. What literary devices have the poets employed to make the ideas and emotions of their poems accessible? In what ways can the poems deepen our understanding of ourselves and others? How can looking through a poetic lens help us to better understand our own lives? Each discussion will be followed by a timed free-write inspired by that class's poems or another prompt.

In all my years of admiring him, I've somehow never read with Gerald Fleming—until now! Hua Xi, and Zoe Young will also be reading. Come out and hear us at Bazaar Writers Salon!

Join Anders Carlson-Wee and Douglas Manuel as they read from their new collections, Disease of Kings and Trouble Funk. The reading will be followed by an in-depth conversation moderated by Marin County Poet Laureate Francesca Bell centering on disparities of income and opportunity, living with deprivation, and how artists can survive late-stage capitalism in America.

Registration highly recommended.
Adults and high school students only! Free wine reception at 6:30pm for pre-registered guests. Waitlist line opens up at 6:45 on a first come, first served basis.. 
Register here: https://millvalleylibrary.libcal.com/event/11139544?hs=a

I'm thrilled to be reading at Litquake Out Loud this year with the amazing James Cagney, Kimi Sugioka, and Dashaun Washington, and Matthew Zapruder!!

Bilingual reading of Chilean poetry w/Poet Laureate Francesca Bell and Friends.

Civic Center Library & Anne T. Kent California Room. Join us!

Join Marin Poet Laureate Francesca Bell for an evening of poetry and conversation. In speaking with storyteller Neshama Franklin, Francesca will read from her latest work, talk about her powerful and personal poetry, and answer questions from the audience.

Perhaps you've always wondered what people see in poetry. Maybe you're already a practicing poet in need of some camaraderie and outside inspiration. Either way, this free, generative, welcoming poetry workshop is for you. Each session, we will read and closely examine one poem. We will discuss what the poem is doing and how it is doing it. What literary devices has the poet employed to make the ideas and emotions of the poem accessible? In what ways can the poem deepen our understanding of ourselves and others? How can looking through a poetic lens help us to better understand our own lives? Each discussion will be followed by a timed free-write inspired by that class's poem or another prompt.

11:00am - 1:00pm PT | 2:00pm - 4:00pm EST

I'm thrilled to be teaching an online class for the wonderful Jacar Press!

In this generative workshop, you will be introduced to the practice of writing persona poems, poems written in the imagined voices of others—real people, conjured people, animals, even inanimate objects. We will look at some examples of the use of persona and will discuss how to navigate the ethics of using other voices to say what you want to say. There will be time for generating material for new work using a wide assortment of provided prompts.

See website to sign up and pay (just $100 for all 5 workshops):
https://jacarpress.com/the-gathering/

Come on out and hear three Red Hen poets read from their new collections at Book Passage's beautiful Marin store! I'm wild with excitement to read with the amazing Brynn Saito and Douglas Manuel, and this will be the first reading I'll give from my translation of Max Sessner poems, Whoever Drowned Here.

I'm thrilled to be reading for 2nd Sunday Readings hosted by the amazing Sîan Killingsworth! Registration required at https://secondsundayreadings.com/.

Poetry on Saturday with Connie Post.

Red Hen Salon w/Ilya Kaminsky and Katie Farris. This is a PRIVATE EVENT.

I can't wait to head to Santa Cruz to read for The Hive!

Details coming soon. 

Francesca will read from her new book, What Small Sound, a collection of poetry that examines, with unwavering tenderness and ferocity, the perils and peculiarities of womanhood, motherhood, and our difficult, shared humanity.

Go to Kinsale Arts Weekend website for full schedule.

The official book launch for What Small Sound is coming to Sausalito! Douglas Manuel, Joe Zaccardi and I will read from our brand new Red Hen Press collections in this gorgeous, beautifully-stocked bookstore in downtown Sausalito. There is plenty of parking, some of it free, and we will enjoy delicious refreshments and celebrate poetry and in-person readings! And I will bake you all some most excellent treats!

Sausalito Books By the Bay Website:
https://www.sausalitobooksbythebay.com/

Francesca will be reading with Andrea Hollander, Alyssa Graybeal and Douglas Manuel.