| Hom Raj |
Posted
on 01-Apr-01 10:16 PM
OK, I didn't want to weigh in on this too harshly for fear of hurting Ms. Subba's feelings. But I was the one who first mentioned poetry.com in my questions, and I did so in the hope anyone writing an article would check up on it. ASHU DID SO.
Ashu simply followed links available to the general public, and Barbara Walters definitely knows how media works. Same with the humor writer Dave Barry and other very PROFESSIONAL people who can be found on these links criticizing the site.
I discovered the poetry.com link after being curious to find out what, exactly, she had won. I recognized poetry.com right away after doing a Google search for the contest. My creative writing professor had warned his students about this business.
At the time I asked my own question (revisit the thread if you wish) I didn't know the extent of the scam. I learned that only later, following the above listed links. But I knew two things: (1) poetry.com tends to involve amateurs, which of course is no crime; and (2) it is a business, NOT an honor on a level such as "Best American Poetry 2000" or "Best American Short Stories" (such as Samrat Upadhyaya was included in).
None of this is WRONG. It doesn't make participants bad poets. NEITHER DOES IT MAKE THEM GOOD POETS. People may win 1000 awards from poetry.com but they would not be recognized as poets unless they publish in true journals.
This does not mean Adwiti Subba is not capable of publishing in literary journals. It simply means, to the best of our knowledge, SHE HAS NOT DONE SO YET. If she has, she should have mentioned.
I personally know at least one person who cannot construct a good sentence in English, yet this person has published in poetry.com anthologies. The "honor" is meaningless. The person I am speaking of is NOT an untalented person (in Nepali at least, and s/he also had the sense not to pay her/his $50 to get a copy). But his/her accomplishment should not be considered as a person being "anthologized" in English literature.
This is my reaction to the above posting. The self-identified CEO of H & S wrote:
"Just so you can get some of your facts correct, the competiton Adwiti Subba competed in was as stated; a competition that ranged worldwide and involved thousands."
This is a statement without proof. Probably Adwiti believed/believes this; probably most of the people who participated also believed this; maybe it's even true. But this would not be in line with poetry.com's business mode. If anyone reading this doubts this, just read the links. They are fascinating.
He also wrote:
"Myself and my corporation feel her poetry has tremendous promise. I am moved when I hear her read her work, and others are also very touched."
He and many others may feel that Adwiti Subba is a good poet. But by virtue of participating in poetry.com, which is not interested in promoting literature but interested in making money, it actually discredits the poet's ability. It doesn't DISPROVE her as a fine poet, but neither does it PROVE her. Unfortunately it is not as great an honor as it appears.
He also wrote:
"H&S Publications has released her book “Verses from the Himalayas” on March 18th 2001. Through great response H&S Publications will be printing a second edition."
Great. But again, this does not necessarily mean anything. How many books does H&S Publications publish? Is this a literary house, a vanity press, a husband and wife operation, what is it exactly? I'm a published poet, both in the U.S. and Nepal; would H & S be willing to publish my work? Would they pay me for it, or would I have to pay them? I ask these questions not expecting a reply--actually I don't care about H & S except out of curiosity, we're not talking Houghton Mifflin here--but to notify anyone reading this, PLEASE THINK CRITICALLY.
I don't have the URL here, but if anyone wants to know more about REAL publishing world, one source is Bethesda Writer's Center in Washington, D.C. Just type it into Google. Manil Suri (who wrote the huge bestselleter "The Death of Vishnu," which is being translated into 13 languages) participated in workshops there before his book. Btw, Manil Suri told me this week that he had received FIFTY REJECTION LETTERS before getting a story published. Writing IS NOT EASY and fame doesn't come from contests like poetry.com.
Also:
"She is a true artist and everyone who reads her work has been inspired and more than supportive.So,I ask you how does the alleged fraud of an organisation that Adwiti Subba blamelessly competed in, have anything to do with the quality of her work? She does not have to take the blame for the organisation, the attempt was sincere and so were the majority of the contestants!"
Maybe so. Ashu's statement may not have come out as diplomatic as he probably intended. But his decision to not promote poetry.com or the "fame" coming from it was right. Since it's in the public domain, Ashu himself, as a writer, would have faced greater criticism than deciding to retract from the decision he had earlier made. There are some serious, MFA/PhD trained writers from Nepal both in Nepal and in US. Trust me--they know about poetry.com.
I think everyone on this site would agree with me in hoping that Adwiti will succeed in her poetic endeavors. Many people said they enjoyed her performance. I don't think Ashu criticized Adwiti HERSELF.
But when it comes to poetry.com, like those second grade kids said in the Barbara Walter special, "Give me a break."
Hom Raj
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