What kind of work are award fellowships looking for?

[Lizzie]

Hi Pigpen! I'm looking for some advice. I want to apply for this.

I will probably have to wait for spring of next year because I don't think that I have 10 top notch poems ready to go. But, it's something that would better my creative life, and I want to work toward it.

Here's my question: what kinds of poems are institutions like this looking for? For instance, one of my last poems was a pantoum -- would writing in form work against me or for me? I think that free verse is the prevailing taste in the States right now, but it's not like I have an inside track on these things. And what about subject matter? Presumably they would want serious works -- I'm guessing that humorous pieces would make me seem like I wasn't serious about writing, but I don't know. I don't know how to say this without sounding slightly Machiavellian, but are certain topics more likely to win (for instance, I have a piece about a massacre that occurred during the Holocaust in the works and one about opium addiction during the civil war)? Do serious topics prove that I'm a serious writer?

Thanks in advance >< ><

lizziep
[url=http://apply.sustainableartsfoundation.org/][/url]

[Achebe]

I'd look at the list of past awardees if I were you: http://www.sustainableartsfoundation.org/awardees/

They have put up their work on their individual blogs, so there's oodles of information for you to process.
I had a brief look - all very technically competent, certainly far more than I, but their work is like enjambment on steroids. Also, mostly about urban or suburban American lives, so not terribly interesting to me. I've seen that movie before.

Humour is a bad idea because it's easy to do.
Anything that's not from your personal experience is a bad idea as it's difficult to pull off. What do you know about the Holocaust other than what you've read in books? If you had a grandma who lived through it, it'd be a narration, and cliched.
Don't do the holocaust.
Don't do the civil war. Or opium addiction, unless it's your personal addiction.

Write about yourself. Always.

[just mercedes]

Hi Lizziep - I don't know the foundation at all - but it sounds as though this fellowship would be a great boost to your work.

I think to get a judge onside with form, you'd have to subvert the form somehow. What they're probably looking for is what all editors look for - a different approach, fresh imagery. The subject is less important than the way text and voice are employed. Write what you know, and take chances.

Believe in yourself! And why not have a trial run this year? You can always apply again next year, if you miss out, can't you?

Whatever you decide, I wish you all the best.

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By the way I'd love to read your work about opium addiction during the Civil War. Are you doing the Whitman MOOC with the Uni of Iowa?

[Lizzie]

I'd look at the list of past awardees if I were you: http://www.sustainableartsfoundation.org/awardees/

They have put up their work on their individual blogs, so there's oodles of information for you to process.
I had a brief look - all very technically competent, certainly far more than I, but their work is like enjambment on steroids. Also, mostly about urban or suburban American lives, so not terribly interesting to me. I've seen that movie before.

Humour is a bad idea because it's easy to do.
Anything that's not from your personal experience is a bad idea as it's difficult to pull off. What do you know about the Holocaust other than what you've read in books? If you had a grandma who lived through it, it'd be a narration, and cliched.
Don't do the holocaust.
Don't do the civil war. Or opium addiction, unless it's your personal addiction.

Write about yourself. Always.

Hey, thanks for the help and going the extra mile to get me more info >< >< ><

Um, it's not my personal addiction, probably because it's not sold over the counter any more I have a direct link: it was my grandfather's grandfather. He became addicted in the war and hung himself after it was taken off the market. The rumor is that it was helping him with PTSD flashbacks. My grandfather is the one who found him. So, that's what I was going to write about. An elegy of sorts.

The holocaust piece was my reactions and reflections on things, how a story has been hitting me personally. I'll probably just post them in novice or something, and everyone can tell me if it's crap. I have no problem with that. But, I hear what you say to always make things personal.

---

Hi Lizziep - I don't know the foundation at all - but it sounds as though this fellowship would be a great boost to your work.

I think to get a judge onside with form, you'd have to subvert the form somehow. What they're probably looking for is what all editors look for - a different approach, fresh imagery. The subject is less important than the way text and voice are employed. Write what you know, and take chances.

Believe in yourself! And why not have a trial run this year? You can always apply again next year, if you miss out, can't you?

Whatever you decide, I wish you all the best.

---

By the way I'd love to read your work about opium addiction during the Civil War. Are you doing the Whitman MOOC with the Uni of Iowa?

I'm still on the fence about trying this year. Every halfway decent thing I've written is here on this site, and I just can't see that I have 10 viable ones. I have an autobiographical short story that I've been working on, but I don't think you're allowed to mix genres in your submission and the short story is not done, by a long shot.

Oh, no, I'm not doing the course. I didn't know about it, and I probably won't be able to commit to something like that until the kids are in school. Maybe they'll offer it again.

But, thanks for the encouragement! Yeah, it would be great for me to win, or even receive an honorable mention.