Poetry Best Sellers

I occasionally look at what Amazon lists as the "poetry bestsellers." But I do wonder if it should be poetry "bestsellers" (how well do they sell?) or if it should be "poetry" bestsellers (since some are perhaps questionable as poetry). I suppose the list does give a sense of what people are buying and perhaps even a sense of what people (or perhaps just Amazon) considers to be poetry. 

It is nice to see The Iliad & the Odyssey on the list along with The Divine Comedy. I suspect some of the classic titles are due to assigned reading lists. 

I am not surprised to see some Mary Oliver books because I know she is very popular. Then there are the titles by Dr, Seuss and Shel Silverstein. Both authors may be a child's introduction to poetry and rhyme. But there are a good number of authors that I have never heard of or read that might be classified as "pop poetry" or even "poetry light." (Argue amongst yourselves...)

I had a discussion in a literature class recently where I am teaching short stories. A student asked what distinguishes fiction from literature, and who gets to decide. There is that distinction in many bookstores. In my local library, it's all together. Dewey decimal puts Harlan Coben in the same aisle as Joseph Conrad. Amazon groups those two together in bestsellers but also breaks this down into many categories, from Action & Adventure to Women's Adventure Fiction.

My short story students never did settle on overall definitions for fiction and literature, but they agreed that we were reading "literature" and thought that perhaps certain authors were just automatically literature, while others were relegated to fiction.

What do you think?

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The Kenyon Review Short Fiction Contest

Is there a story in you that's too long for a poem?

There's still time left to enter The Kenyon Review Short Fiction Contest

Submissions must be 1200 words or less. There is no entry fee. Ron Carlson, celebrated author of four novels and five short story collections, will be the final judge.

The Kenyon Review will publish the winning short story in the Winter 2012 issue, and the author will be awarded a scholarship to attend the 2011 Writers Workshop, June 18th-25th, in Gambier, Ohio.

Submission Guidelines
* Writers must be 30 years of age or younger at the time of submission.
* Stories must be no more than 1200 words in length.
* One submission per entrant.
* Please do not simultaneously submit your contest entry to another magazine or contest.
* The submissions link will be active February 1st to February 28th. All work must be submitted through our electronic system. We cannot accept paper submissions.
* Winners will be announced in the late spring. You will receive an e-mail notifying you of any decisions regarding your work.


http://www.kenyonreview.org/krsubmit/shortfictioncontest/

New Jersey Writers Exchange Contest

Poets & Writers is now welcoming submissions for the 2010 Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award. Initiated in 1984, the Writers Exchange Contest was created to introduce emerging poets and fiction writers to literary communities outside of their home state, and provide them with a network for professional advancement. To date, 78 writers from 31 states have participated.

One poet and one fiction writer from New Jersey will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City, where they will meet with agents, editors, and prominent writers, and give a public reading of their work. The winners will be selected by Sophie Cabot Black (poetry) and Nahid Rachlin (fiction).

The contest is open to poets and fiction writers who:

• Have never published a book, or
• Have published no more than one full-length book in the genre in which they are applying, and
• Have resided in New Jersey for at least two consecutive years prior to the date they submit their manuscripts.
  

An application must accompany all manuscripts and be postmarked no later than December 1, 2009.

For complete guidelines and an application, please visit:
http://www.pw.org/files/WEXApplication09.pdf.