River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1886-10-28
Experience of a Poet.


New York, Oct 1886. In recent
issue of the World, Mr.. Julian Haw-
thorne writes an open letter to the
poets who send verses to the literary
editor of that paper, in which he makes
the following assertion and query:
Moreover, poem can never have
the justice done 10 it in a daily news
paper that it Guild receive in maya
zine. Why not send all poems TO the
Century, Harror's Monthly, or the
Atlantic. ,.lellent magazines OF
good standing end circulation and
anxious above all things TO have a
chance to accept good poetry"
As representative If the poets, who
have sent many poem to many places,
feel called upon to comment on Mr..
HAWTHORNE assertion and to reply to
his query. Evidently Mr.. Hawthorne
has never been veneer of verses, and
fear he cannot be kindly disposed
towards the magazine editors or he
would never ask, why not send all
poems to the Century, Harper's, or the
Atlantic?
1t was my fate for many years TO be
dependent upon the sale of my verses
for a living. As a natural conse-
quence / tried every available period
cal in the land, not once, but innnmer-
able times. | think there were three
or four consecutive years when / sent
a poem every month TO the three lead
ing magazines mentioned by Mr.. Haw-
thorne. These poems came back to
me as systematically as if moved by
machinery in almost every case, al
though many of them are poems which
have since met with most cordial APP
proval and praise from critics high in
authority. One was finally accepted
by the editor of the Atlantic, who kept
it in his possession year, and on its
publication paid me just half the sum |
was receiving every week from the
/ The Chicago Tribune and various other
newspapers. Surely this was not en-
couragiDg an author who wrote for
bread and clothing. 20 "send all her
poems to the magazines!"
I St. Nicholas has now on file five ac-
\ cepted poems of mine. some of them
/ accepted SIX years ago. Not one has
/ yet appeared, although | read a proof
/ year since. The Century accepted
/ one poem and used it after year de-
/ lay; and it accepted another something
/ like ten months since and declined
another with polite note, saying:
'Our only reason for not using this Is
/ that we have enough accepted poetry
on hand to last us six years. The Cen
4 fury and St. Nicholas pay on accept
ance, however, which makes the long
delays in publishing less aggravating to
an impatient author.
/ During the early years of my pro-
/ fessiOn it was my yearning ambition to
appear 10 Harper Magazine. | sent
/ the editors countless poems. They ac-
cepted gratifying number. | have
/ sent them five at one time. and
/ they have accepted three and paid me
most generously for them, but they all
appeared in the Weekly newspaper and
and Bazaar, and never in the MONTY
Magazine. They appeared, too, with
out my signature, greatly to my sol'-
row then. But for the fact that they
were used at all and paid for | owe
thanks, not to the Magazine, but to the
newspapers Mr. Hawthorne may thus
be enabled to understand why poets
annoy the literary editors of newspa-
pers instead of sending all their poems
to the magazines.
If a poet is ambitious for fame he
may as well wait for the glory of an
eulogistic epitaph as from the reputa-
4 ton 10 be derived from the appearance
of his poems in these leading maya
zines. And the prices paid by them to
all save a few-a favored very few-do
not compare with the prices paid by
many newspapers anJ Indicates. Be-
sides this, believe it is a fact that a
poem which appears in the daily news
papers is read by many more people
than those which appear in the maya
zines. The daily journals are eagerly
read in countless homes where the
magazines are luxury not to be af-
/ forded.
Hoping that Mr. Hawthorne will par
don me for replying to his open letter,
and assuring him that / will never mo-
/ lest his calm with the offer Of any
verses, / am respectfully yours. and
/ his, ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.