Dear Identity Theory Readers,
This week, we published two new poems from Paula Aamli.
One of the tasks that goes with publishing poetry on the site is selecting a photo to accompany the poems. I had a tough time with these. The poems mention old graduation photos, musty boxes from a garage, airport gates, and drinking gin at a bar, so I spent what felt like hours scouring images related to those lines.
Scrolling galleries of relevant photos made for a dreamlike journey through other people’s loosely relevant nostalgic pictures, and eventually, after looking at 100+ images of gin-filled glasses and UK pubs, the Gin Blossoms song “Pieces of the Night” got stuck in my head.
I like to play long-forgotten songs on repeat when they arrive mysteriously in my subconscious, so that is what I have been doing: listening to “Pieces of the Night” on loop. Who knows what type of newsletter may come of this?
Anyway, here is one of Paula’s poems:
And, okay, here’s the photo from a Denver airport bar that I chose to accompany it:
You Should Have Been There
This week, we held a poetry staff Zoom meeting. One takeaway: The poetry editors want you to know that they spend an exceptional amount of time reading and discussing your poetry submissions. We’re going to try to do a better job of conveying how much work goes into the poetry evaluation process—and why it can take so long. Maybe we’ll make little TikTok videos about the process. The point is, if you’ve had a poetry submission lingering with us for a while, know that our team is reading it with care.
Speaking of staff Zoom meetings, this is a reminder that we’re hiring a volunteer flash/microfiction editor and a visuals editor. I’ll post additional staff openings for 2024 in the coming weeks. Maybe the visuals editor position will morph into an art director position so someone else can experience the Gin Blossoms phenomenon after scrolling endless photos to go with a poem. Anyway, you should apply. Who knows what type of experience may come of it?
The Return of an Old Flame
When I launched Identity Theory in the year 2000, we tried to spotlight one contributor every month. That feature faded over time. I am trying to bring that spirit back in the form of interviews with our contributors. We may put these out monthly, weekly, or for every contributor—I haven’t decided yet. For now, I’m aiming for at least one per month, then maybe will move on to one per week. The first contributor convo, featuring Will Musgrove, went online today. Musgrove wrote last week’s flash piece “Demolition” and one of last year’s Best Small Fictions nominees, “The Funeral Clown.” As a bonus, this chat includes three A+ photos of his dog. He also name-checks past Identity Theory contributors Kyle Seibel, Kirsti Mackenzie, and Melissa Ostrom. Read our contributor convo with Will Musgrove.
Looking Back, That Was a Good Time
This week’s cartoon from Ampydoo.
“We Go After Something Everyone Should Know”
November’s great for writing projects. NaNoWriMo, #JustWriteNovember, and many others. This year, I’m doing
’s free Essay Camp through Substack. It’s a fun daily nonfiction writing practice including helpful advice and additional readings. I highly recommend the Five Things strategy, especially if you want to delve into long-forgotten pieces of the night. It may help to put one song on repeat while writing.What are you getting up to this month?
Somewhere in the Distance,
Matt Borondy
Founding EIC
Identity Theory
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P.S. The headline quotes are from The Gin Blossoms’ “Pieces of the Night.” (Obviously.) You can read our 2008 interview with Gin Blossoms frontman Robin Wilson here.
An excellent musical choice. Which has been stuck in my brain all day long now.