Welcome Our New Poetry Editors

We here at Split Lip Magazine are thrilled to introduce not just one, but two amazing new poetry editors to the rockstar team. They’ve already gotten to work at killing it, just like I knew they would, and I’m so thankful for their enthusiasm and some new blood to liven up this place.

Poetry Editor Christina Drill

Christina Drill is a writer and poet based out of Brooklyn, NY. Originally from Fair Lawn, New Jersey, Christina’s work focuses primarily on the adolescent experience and what it means to “grow up female” in America. Her chapbook NEW BOWS was published by Five/Quarterly in 2013, and her poems have been published in places like Word Riot, Dogzplot, CHEAP POP, and Two Serious Ladies. She currently works as a program coordinator for Girls Write Now. You can find her (occasionally) on Twitter @stidrill and at www.christinadrill.com.

Poetry Editor Tafisha A. Edwards

Tafisha A. Edwards is a Guyanese-Canadian poet who lives and works in Washington D.C, but can infrequently be found in New York City and certain other palmetto dotted cities on the Eastern Seaboard. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in publications such as Bodega Magazine, The Little Patuxent Review, Fledgling Rag and Stylus among other journals. She is a Cave Canem fellow, a graduate of the University of Maryland’s Jiminéz-Porter Writers’ House and a former educator at the American Poetry Museum, where she taught poetry to primary school children. She has received scholarships to the Juniper Summer Writing Institute, The Minnesota Northwoods Writers’ Conference and Cave Canem. She is currently penning her first collection of poetry, Confusing the Wind and has read the entirety of the A Song of Ice and Fire series to date, which is an accomplishment she feels is great enough to share. You can find her on Twitter at: @ThePetiteTaff.

I couldn’t be more excited to have these amazing women/poets on board. Please welcome them warmly by sending your best poetry submissions our way! (The free reading period is now open.)

Happy New Year! So many good things ahead in 2015 for Split Lip, both the magazine and the press. We can’t wait to share them all with you!

xx

Amanda

From the Desk of the New Editor-in-Chief: Some Notes On Editing and Lip Splitting

Confession #1: I have never had a split lip 1) because I’ve never been in a real physical fight and 2) because I am near religious about my lip balm application in all seasons.

Confession #2: Even though I am the newest editor of Split Lip magazine, a publication known for its edge and grit, I’m actually quite tenderhearted. But fiercely so. As in:  if I love you, I am ready and willing to kick someone’s ass if they hurt you, and I’m incredibly loyal once you’ve won me.

Confession #3: I am easily won by things like: kindness. humor. well-chosen gifts. well-chosen words.

At the heart of my editing is my…heart.  I want to be moved by your work. The direction doesn’t matter. Break it or make it swell.

And I’m still looking for the things Split Lip has always been looking for: sting. torque. bite.

A favorite line from a song by Father John Misty (video NSFW) that I often end up singing to myself in my head (okay, sometimes out loud if I’m all alone) when I have a a rough day goes: Oh, pour me another drink/and punch me in the face/You can call me Nancy. 

When it comes to writing: Sometimes I want a slow burn like liquor. Sometimes I want the chance to be somebody else. And sometimes, I just really want to be punched in the face.

So, come on over here and split my lip. (You’ll have to get through my team of stellar editors first).

x
Amanda

 

IMAGE: FLICKR

An Interview with Kristina Marie Darling

4 Books Publishedin One Month? Unheard of.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve been a fan of Kristina Marie Darling for a couple of years ever since poet David Tomaloff turned me onto her work. As a writer who favors short fiction by folks like Richard Yates and Raymond Carver, and poetry by folks like Stephen Dobyns and Richard Hugo, it’s kind of surprising I’m a fan of Darling’s approach to writing. It was weird. She sent me a review copy of Brushes with, and though intimidated by its cerebral nature, I dug in. I mean, I really, really dug in. Her work makes me want to read closely and critically, something I’d rather not do with most poetry. Whatever she’s doing, and despite my poor interpretations of her material, it’s working in her favor. She’s on fire, too! 17 published books with 3 more forthcoming. Let’s ask a couple of questions and see what’s up with her.

So, congratulations on your newest three books! When can we expect their release? What can you tell us about each title?

First, thank you for the kind words about my work! Although I’m excited about all three of these new releases, I’m especially thrilled about the publication of Scorched Altar: Selected Poems and Stories 2007-2014. The book includes excerpts of my previous collections, which include Night Songs, Compendium, The Body is a Little Gilded Cage, Petrarchan, Vow, and more. Scorched Altar is available from BlazeVOX Books and can be purchased here.

I’m also delighted about the publication of my flash fiction collection, The Arctic Circle, which is available from BlazeVOX Books too. The collection includes linked stories about a woman who gets married to the man of her dreams… only to find that his first wife was found frozen inside the house. A short excerpt from the manuscript is online at Tupelo Quarterly. Get your copy of the book here.

Lastly, I’m so happy to see my collection of astronomy poems in print. The Sun & the Moon is available from BlazeVOX Books, and invokes the astronomical clock as its central metaphor. As the book unfolds, a marriage between astral bodies crumbles, and the constellations become into ghosts, their dresses covered in ice. The book is available here. It’s worth purchasing even if only for Noah Saterstrom’s beautiful cover art.

I hope you’ll check out any or all of these new books!

I’ve seen several different sides of your writing. I mean, you’ve done straight narrative like the lovely “Self Portrait, Evicted.” Erasures as found in some of your books. Then you do footnotes, glossaries and whatnot like “A History of Transcendence.” Now I’ve been hearing about all sorts of hybrid work you’re putting out. Tell us. Why do you seem to be interested in everything poetically possible? How do you afford your voice to so many different writing methodologies?

That’s a great question. For me, each book is its own idea, its own concept, so it usually calls for a style that’s different from the ways I’ve written before. This is good because it keeps me from getting too comfortable in any one way of writing. The poems I’m the happiest with usually feels like a process of discovery while I’m writing them. I have no idea where the poem, the idea, or the style of writing will take me. Because each book is its own idea, though, that means that the prospect of starting a new project is very intimidating. But once I do, watch out! That project usually takes over my life until it’s finished.

With a publication history of now 20 books and a CV that contends with the length of the old testament, how do you manage to get it all done? The writing, the revising, the editing, the submission process, reaching out for reviews, et cetera.

I get asked that question a lot, and the answer is always the same: I don’t have a one-year old baby. I have a one-year old nephew. If I were a parent, I think my priorities would be much different, and poetry would take a back seat. But for now, I can have fun with my adorable nephew and still write tons of poems.

While on the subject of publishing, how would you advise one who is trying to get their first book published if they approached you about it? The literary world is like the porn industry. A lot of people want in, but most don’t get to play. That sounds harsh, but I think it’s fair to say. Dunno. Anyway, I’d love your thoughts regarding getting a publisher to pick up one’s manuscript. I’m asking “for a friend.” 🙂

It’s good to publish in magazines that are attached to small presses. Like Thrush Journal and Thrush Press. Or Prick of the Spindle and Aqueous Books. Or BlazeVOX Journal and BlazeVOX Books. Or Anemone Sidecar and Ravenna Press. And Wicked Alice and Dancing Girl press for the ladies. The list goes on and on. But it’s always great to test the waters with a magazine submission, then build a relationship with the editors, and later approach them with a manuscript. At least, that’s how it worked for me. I was a contributor to the Gold Wake Press E-Chaps Series for years, and when the editors started a print series, they graciously agreed to take a look at my project.

Now that you have all of those books, are in the process of earning your Ph.D. in poetics, and get a billion search results when Googling your name, what’s next for KMD?

Gainful employment, hopefully. I’m finishing up school, traveling, and getting ready to apply for jobs. I’m hoping to find something that’s a mix of teaching and editing, but I’m open to many different possibilities: curriculum development, arts management, higher education administration, or just about anything else that involves books.

One last question. A fun one. Would you ever consider writing a mainstream or young adult novel? I’m asking since your career reminds me of Julianna Baggott’s, who has 18 published books of poetry, commercial novels and children’s books. Is that a realm you think you’ll ever enter? I heard there’s money in it. Imagine it–– “Footnotes to Hunger Games,” a trilogy by Kristina Marie Darling.

First: Thank you for the flattering comparison! I love Julianna Baggott’s work. Second: You are a mind reader! I’m working on a novel about a woman who’s in love but can’t speak. It’s called Frances the Mute. Because I never really stopped being a teenager, I have a feeling that the book is something teenage girls would really love. Hopefully once I get a working draft in order, anything will be possible.

Julia Kolchinsky Dasbach Reads Her Poem “Origin”

All sorts of awesomeness has us at Split Lip Press all filled up because we’re privileged to have Uppercut Chapbook Award winner Julia Kolchinisky Dasbach on our roster. Her new chapbook, The Bear Who Ate the Stars, will be released by Split Lip Press on November 1st, and we’re eager to deliver it to you all. Julia has a poem called “Origin,” and it won Burlington Book Festival’s 2014 Short Works Writing Contest. It’s included in her forthcoming chapbook and is read by the poet below. Take a look, a listen and delight in her brilliance.

“Punch for Punch” Read by Jared Yates Sexton

Split Lip Press is happy to bring you a short video of Jared Yates Sexton reading “Punch by Punch” (first published by PANK) from his book The Hook and the Haymaker, which is scheduled to release by Split Lip Press in early 2015. Take a look, give it a listen and enjoy this masterful storyteller do his thing.