#34 I recall late November holdin' my breath, slowly I said...
A personal anecdote, life updates, article "Rejection Therapy", and more
Hello reader!
What can I say, Taylor Swift (most of the times) somehow finds a way into my life just like through the heading of today’s newsletter, which comes directly from her song “Call It What You Want”, which is one of my favorites from her album Reputation. She as a songwriter stands out in a huge array of contemporary songwriters; most of her lyrics are downright relatable to me. Because of this reason I love some of her songs.
But the line mentioned in the headline above, today strikes me in a way which is completely different from what Taylor had intended to say in the first place. I am applying this line to a different context. The context of my personal life (when my little brother was born on November 19th, 2006).
I recall late November holdin my breath, slowly I said….I said on that chilly, freezing November night, in fact asked my aunt (when she received a call from the hospital informing her of the birth of my little sibling), “Is it a brother or a sister?” She laughed and said that it is a brother.
How much I wanted a sister! Nevertheless, I’ve loved my cutie pie little brother since. He’s been my brother, my playmate, my best buddy despite being 8 years and 8 months younger than me. And I’m happy that this year we got to celebrate his birthday in a full-fledged way. He got a lot of gifts.
I guess having a sibling is a great blessing. When you have a sibling/s, you can share chores, you have someone to play/chat/share views with, you have someone who can help you out in trouble, and you can have a business partner for yourself! Your parents and your siblings are the strongest pillars supporting you. I wish I had more siblings and have felt their absence on more than one occasions in my life. But I am grateful for the one I have 😊 If you have siblings, give them lots of love and don’t tease them 🥺
Some life updates
A.R. Arthur reviewed my poetry collection, A Leaf upon a Book (Leadstart, 2022) for the U.K. based Full House Literary. Read the full review.
“An engaging collection that presents a multifaceted narrative through language itself. … There exists a sense of lyricism within Tariq’s writing that presents an extraordinary melody throughout this collection. This encourages the reader to dig deeper and consider the extended metaphors present throughout this narrative.”
I was a finalist in the U.S. based Lucky Jefferson’s 2023 Poetry and Prose Contest.
I won the Verse of Silence Poetry Contest, part of Verse of Silence Online Fest 2023.
I have got a brand new, blue dyed Kindle!
Titles I am looking forward to read:
1. Death at Crookham Hall by Michelle Salter
2. Murder in the Falling Snow (short story collection)
3. When We Collided by Emery Lord
Give me more recommendations in the comments, especially if you can recommend murder mysteries, historical fiction or nature-based works (or something in the pastoral or post pastoral mode).
Below I will be sharing a short article written by me and featured in SeaGlass Literary’s blog.
Rejection Therapy
Rejections are of various natures — your admission application to a university is rejected, your opinion is rejected, your proposal is rejected, you are rejected and sometimes your submission to a literary magazine is rejected. Oh, it hurts! I know. The first kind of rejection above was the one that hurt me the most. Still hurts. But the more important thing is how you overcome that pang of rejection, that stab which pierces right through your heart, metaphorically. Getting over it is the big achievement which should in fact be celebrated. So, how do you get over rejection? If you have successfully dealt with rejections in your life, then congratulations to you! It is an art which needs wisdom and patience. I will list here a few things that I do to get over rejections from literary magazines, which
you could as well see as ways to circumvent rejections in general:
I remind myself that one rejection is not so big of a deal. Afterall, I possess so many other things, achievements, endowments in life for which I should be grateful.
I try to be patient and wait for good times ahead, acceptance from other magazines, etc., since after difficult times there is ease.
Once I receive a rejection, I take my revenge by submitting to more lit. mags.
To lighten up my mood after such bad news, I watch some series or movie.
Rejections don’t determine the quality of my poetry or prose, so I need not worry about them. My work which is just a rock for one magazine may be a gem for another. I know my art has potential, it has been loved by so many kind readers and that is enough for me.
Also, if I keep on working on my art, I can improve it and become a better writer. I try not to get disheartened or give up writing even after getting rejected by several well-known mags.
I try to submit work to those magazines that are eliciting submissions based on a particular theme. There we have more chances of acceptance.
Before submitting to lit. mags. I sometimes read the kind of poetry they have already published and see if their taste matches mine. It gives me an idea as to whether they will like my style of writing.
‘Keep on submitting’ — that is my motto.
If it’s any comfort, you can check out this Rejection Competition by Reneé Bibby which may be some fun. I have tried it.
That’s it. I hope I helped you lessen your agony!
Quotes
The work of the eyes is done. Go now and do the heart-work on the images imprisoned within you.
— Rainer Maria Rilke
Your direction is more important than your speed.
Recommending you
If you are a PhD student, find useful tools, tips, techniques, and advice @books.and.brooding on Instagram.
2023 poetry collections recommended by Only Poems.
“NaNoWriMo Q&A: ‘It will teach you a lot about yourself as a writer’” - A Q&A about the National Novel Writing Month. A useful read for all writers.
Read the beautiful, sweet, concise poem “Collateral” by Helen Evans on The Friday Poem.
Nominate your favourite literary magazines for Chill Subs Community Best Lit Mag of 2023. I’ve nominated coalitionworks, Lived Collective, and The Chakkar. They’ve published my works :) and I like them!
Bulletin board
Tiny Spoon Lit Mag is open for book review and interview submissions.
SeaGlass Literary has some open paid and unpaid positions. Check out on their website.
That’s it for issue 34. Hope you enjoyed hanging out with me! I intend to nudge you again on Dec. 9 Insha Allah.
I request you to please pass on this newsletter to those you know and to those whom you think will love it. Please share it far and wide, spread the love, the information, the knowledge.
Take care,
Anam
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