Grouchy Guy
BIO
I've been writing poetry and reading poetry for over 50 years. My website is thomasjardine.com, where some of my work can be read and heard with links to my Youtube channel. My poetry is not very good.
www.youtube.com/@thomasjardine
A few sendings of poems have arrived. It is important to know how the editor of any site thinks, how poetry is viewed. To see more in a few poetry articles, visit https://thomasjardine.substack.com/
A Note
There is a tremendous amount of personal feeling in all the creative arts, and poetry possibly even more so, because of the weak stature of the art form--essentially, inky lines representing letters which represent words, which represent thoughts and feelings -- all recorded on pieces of paper or read aloud. And the person reading or listening must put an effort forward to understand what is being expressed.
Submission Sending info on the home page.
More info, suggestions, considerations, and so forth. Relax.
Q: Do the poems need to be known formal styles?
No. But if you think and speak in sentences, write in sentences. A real poet can write in meter, in form, if they choose. If you can’t write at least one formal poem say, a perfectly rhyming iambic pentameter Shakespearean sonnet, you probably are not a poet in command of expressive language. You would be just a person pretending to be a poet in the fashion of today. How can you tell? Because you write like other writers, not like an individual. For an analogy, an artist can draw and paint realism — and — the same artist can scribble and splatter. If an artist cannot draw realistically, they are not an artist, they are a fabricator — you know the type — they fabricate stories. For example, if you ask a fabricator what their art or their poem is about, they run away and won’t answer. If you can truly write poetry — any form, formal or not — is achievable. No droning and whining poems.
Q: Are there any group themes to focus on? No. That is poetry-club stuff.However, that being said, poems with the following subjects will be heavily scrutinized: relatives with dementia or Alzheimer’s, relatives with cancer, dead relatives, live relatives, political views, the ecology, rivers that speak, trees that talk, immigrants trying to get into Russia, immigrants trying to get into China, immigrants trying to get anywhere, minority groups, religious groups, sports groups, believers, haters, angels, followers, cultists, poor people, rich people,——do you see what I mean? Poems about ‘nothing’ will also be scrutinized, you know, poems that seem to say something but don’t, poems with half-thoughts, or spacey inferences or shadowy implications that end in a weather report.
Remember, YOU are not that interesting. And no poems about politics. Art and politics can never overlap. Once a poem starts on politics, it becomes an opinion piece for a news journal, in other words, the poem becomes political journalism. Poetry is not about the price of gasoline for gas guzzling cars, busses, airplanes, boats.The only reason a poet will enter politics into a poem is because the person is not a poet — they are a journalist. Such is proof that the person is not a poet because they haven’t a single idea of what could possibly be poetical. When a person learns what a poetical subject is, they will drop politics quickly.
Q: Are you telling poets what they should write about?
Sort of. But what is the point of saying a poem is a poem if the poem is about how to repair a lawnmower and nothing more? Sure, a poem could 'include' a lawnmower, but if you buy a lawnmower, is the repair manual in poetry? No. Someone will say something about repair manuals being poetic in a certain way, with the funny tones and means of expression, and I understand, there is found poetry now and then, but it seldom is interesting for long, just amusing.To continue, why do poets think their political views are so worthy of art? Now, war is a good subject, certainly, but criticising one candidate over another candidate and comparing issues in an emotional manner is not going to make any poem minimally readable.
Q: Are previously published poems accepted? Absolutely, just let us know when and where. There is no reason to keep a poem out of circulation just because the poem found an 'initial home,' as some poets have described it. Think about it, do you think all these millions of writer-poets are really serious about poetry? Nah. There can’t be that many real poets out there; people now and then decide they want to be poets, something gets in their craw and since computers and printers make writing look official, people can easily appear like a poet.it a poem, really? Rolled Gold will publish two poems per issue, that is all. Each acceptance will be paid $150.00 If no poem is sent or chosen, the quarterly notice will say so.Think about it. There aren’t that many real poets writing real poetry these days, or ever. There are, however, millions of hobbyist poets.
Q: Do you differentiate poets by their age?
Of course not, but if you are under 40 years old, remember that there are 1,000’s of other mags that accept work in progress. If fact, other mags accept anything. Remember, we live in a world where large scribbled brush strokes on a large canvass sell for millions of dollars. No one is willing to explain how this can be so. So, if your poem took five minutes to write, it is probably a five minute poem, which means, the poem took five minutes to write and it is probably quite obviously clearly a dashed-off rough draft, or at least a sketch, no doubt.
Q: Should a bio be sent along with a sent poem?
It is up to you. It is a good idea, but it would also be goodto express your idea of poetry theory, what your work ismeant to accomplish. Be specific. You might say, ‘my ideaof a poetical subject is …..’ Or, “This poem means such and such.” Do you ever get tired of a poem being ‘presented’ and after you read the poem you have absolutely no idea what the poem is about?If you choose not to send a bio, but we may ask for one later, just to see if you are real and not a robot. And a photo. No robot poetry. I sometimes think there are robots out there writing poetry.
Q: Do you accept simultaneous sent poems, sent to other mags?
Sure.. You retain rights afterward. If your poem is good, it will be good, so why worry? Good poetry is not “a matter of taste.” That is a faek excuse to shunt away true criticism. The same is true for the movie medium: many movies are boring, dull, and not interesting. The same can be true for poems. The university Lit departments often have politically correct creeds to not criticize poetry, but that is just faek excuse to keep the tuition payers happy. If someone pays money to a university, how dare the university criticize a students poetry? True poetry matters in the real world. Somewhere, at some time, poetry will make a difference to someone. Many young people are fooled by many idealisms. Rolled Gold is not a beginners club.
Q: Much of what you say sounds, um, shall we say, overly direct.
Oh, thank you. We intend to be put the bar high, to be selective, to consider poetry an art and not a craft. We want poetry to be taken seriously, and not as self-therapy or as politics. Got a problem? Go ask professional listeners and counselors. Got an issue with government policies? Go demonstrate, go vote. Don’t put your opinions in a poem. And, conversely, if you don’t have anything to say, don’t put it in a poem. Poetry is not wallpaper.
Q: Do you accept prose?
No. And no so-called 'prose poetry' as stated previously..No simpering tales about nothing.
Q: What is the story behind starting a poetry publication?
To voice the concern that so much poetry is faek hype,to showcase honest poetry, real poetry, not fashion poetry.Also, to reach out and find the few poetry souls out therewith integrity, who may be misled in the crowds of blind followers. Poetry should be free, and freely given to the world. Writing poetry is not free. Formats, paper, books, internet, are not free. Poems are meant to be gifts. When you give someone a gift, you wrap it up nicely, then you give the gift.
No. But if you think and speak in sentences, write in sentences. A real poet can write in meter, in form, if they choose. If you can’t write at least one formal poem say, a perfectly rhyming iambic pentameter Shakespearean sonnet, you probably are not a poet in command of expressive language. You would be just a person pretending to be a poet in the fashion of today. How can you tell? Because you write like other writers, not like an individual. For an analogy, an artist can draw and paint realism — and — the same artist can scribble and splatter. If an artist cannot draw realistically, they are not an artist, they are a fabricator — you know the type — they fabricate stories. For example, if you ask a fabricator what their art or their poem is about, they run away and won’t answer. If you can truly write poetry — any form, formal or not — is achievable. No droning and whining poems.
Q: Are there any group themes to focus on? No. That is poetry-club stuff.However, that being said, poems with the following subjects will be heavily scrutinized: relatives with dementia or Alzheimer’s, relatives with cancer, dead relatives, live relatives, political views, the ecology, rivers that speak, trees that talk, immigrants trying to get into Russia, immigrants trying to get into China, immigrants trying to get anywhere, minority groups, religious groups, sports groups, believers, haters, angels, followers, cultists, poor people, rich people,——do you see what I mean? Poems about ‘nothing’ will also be scrutinized, you know, poems that seem to say something but don’t, poems with half-thoughts, or spacey inferences or shadowy implications that end in a weather report.
Remember, YOU are not that interesting. And no poems about politics. Art and politics can never overlap. Once a poem starts on politics, it becomes an opinion piece for a news journal, in other words, the poem becomes political journalism. Poetry is not about the price of gasoline for gas guzzling cars, busses, airplanes, boats.The only reason a poet will enter politics into a poem is because the person is not a poet — they are a journalist. Such is proof that the person is not a poet because they haven’t a single idea of what could possibly be poetical. When a person learns what a poetical subject is, they will drop politics quickly.
Q: Are you telling poets what they should write about?
Sort of. But what is the point of saying a poem is a poem if the poem is about how to repair a lawnmower and nothing more? Sure, a poem could 'include' a lawnmower, but if you buy a lawnmower, is the repair manual in poetry? No. Someone will say something about repair manuals being poetic in a certain way, with the funny tones and means of expression, and I understand, there is found poetry now and then, but it seldom is interesting for long, just amusing.To continue, why do poets think their political views are so worthy of art? Now, war is a good subject, certainly, but criticising one candidate over another candidate and comparing issues in an emotional manner is not going to make any poem minimally readable.
Q: Are previously published poems accepted? Absolutely, just let us know when and where. There is no reason to keep a poem out of circulation just because the poem found an 'initial home,' as some poets have described it. Think about it, do you think all these millions of writer-poets are really serious about poetry? Nah. There can’t be that many real poets out there; people now and then decide they want to be poets, something gets in their craw and since computers and printers make writing look official, people can easily appear like a poet.it a poem, really? Rolled Gold will publish two poems per issue, that is all. Each acceptance will be paid $150.00 If no poem is sent or chosen, the quarterly notice will say so.Think about it. There aren’t that many real poets writing real poetry these days, or ever. There are, however, millions of hobbyist poets.
Q: Do you differentiate poets by their age?
Of course not, but if you are under 40 years old, remember that there are 1,000’s of other mags that accept work in progress. If fact, other mags accept anything. Remember, we live in a world where large scribbled brush strokes on a large canvass sell for millions of dollars. No one is willing to explain how this can be so. So, if your poem took five minutes to write, it is probably a five minute poem, which means, the poem took five minutes to write and it is probably quite obviously clearly a dashed-off rough draft, or at least a sketch, no doubt.
Q: Should a bio be sent along with a sent poem?
It is up to you. It is a good idea, but it would also be goodto express your idea of poetry theory, what your work ismeant to accomplish. Be specific. You might say, ‘my ideaof a poetical subject is …..’ Or, “This poem means such and such.” Do you ever get tired of a poem being ‘presented’ and after you read the poem you have absolutely no idea what the poem is about?If you choose not to send a bio, but we may ask for one later, just to see if you are real and not a robot. And a photo. No robot poetry. I sometimes think there are robots out there writing poetry.
Q: Do you accept simultaneous sent poems, sent to other mags?
Sure.. You retain rights afterward. If your poem is good, it will be good, so why worry? Good poetry is not “a matter of taste.” That is a faek excuse to shunt away true criticism. The same is true for the movie medium: many movies are boring, dull, and not interesting. The same can be true for poems. The university Lit departments often have politically correct creeds to not criticize poetry, but that is just faek excuse to keep the tuition payers happy. If someone pays money to a university, how dare the university criticize a students poetry? True poetry matters in the real world. Somewhere, at some time, poetry will make a difference to someone. Many young people are fooled by many idealisms. Rolled Gold is not a beginners club.
Q: Much of what you say sounds, um, shall we say, overly direct.
Oh, thank you. We intend to be put the bar high, to be selective, to consider poetry an art and not a craft. We want poetry to be taken seriously, and not as self-therapy or as politics. Got a problem? Go ask professional listeners and counselors. Got an issue with government policies? Go demonstrate, go vote. Don’t put your opinions in a poem. And, conversely, if you don’t have anything to say, don’t put it in a poem. Poetry is not wallpaper.
Q: Do you accept prose?
No. And no so-called 'prose poetry' as stated previously..No simpering tales about nothing.
Q: What is the story behind starting a poetry publication?
To voice the concern that so much poetry is faek hype,to showcase honest poetry, real poetry, not fashion poetry.Also, to reach out and find the few poetry souls out therewith integrity, who may be misled in the crowds of blind followers. Poetry should be free, and freely given to the world. Writing poetry is not free. Formats, paper, books, internet, are not free. Poems are meant to be gifts. When you give someone a gift, you wrap it up nicely, then you give the gift.
More About Rolled Gold
More to follow. Got a question?
fellspointpoetrybooks@gmail.com
Q: Are you going to put up your own poems?
Absolutely not. No side entry doors here. That kind of thing rings not truthful. I am trying to have fun, and to have a few friends. You know, an invite to a party where you are supposed to bring something, a bottle of wine, a cake, a pie, cookies, a new poem.
Q: You are going to get high criticism for this site, which seems narrow minded.
I know. The editor side of me does not really want to make such a website for poetry, but poetry is not a party game or a community effort to improve city life or country life. Poetry is 30,000 miles above earth and looking and searching for the best of humanity and for the truth of what is really happening on and to the fragile little earth.
The split second “poetry is not this or that,” the freaky-acceptance sorts will object — why? Because they must “belong’ — reduce all artists to the same level — so art is frequently lowered to the same level to represent the group, not the individual.
The pursuit of happiness cannot be dictated by overbearing control. The individual and independence is the energy in poetry, not oppression in any form.
Think about all the poems today which are written exactly alike by different people. An analogy: what would you think if you go into a gallery displaying different artists and every single artist is using the exact same brush strokes, the same structures, the same clichés, even the same subjects? Sometimes the artwork has no subject — very common.A poem without a subject is an exercise. Wall paper art, wall paper poems.
If you are reading this you are probably a poet. Count up your poems and check which ones are negative and which ones are positive. There used to be a time when poetry had meaning. People, today, the general public, are usually sickened by what is known as poetry today — and one reason is that the faek form of difficulty and abstract nothing ideas and confessional negative stuff is simply depressing. When you go to the movies you want something other than the daily news or personal therapy sessions. Sick contemporary negativity is not the same thing as a poem about losing a loved one. Or having someone you love reject you.
If you cannot tell a story clearly and succinctly, you are not a poet yet. How many of your poems are positive towards anything?
Poetry can no longer be written without knowledge of modern psychodynamics. Everything is psychology, your life, the lives of others, all the factors in anyone’s life. Without psychology, your own psychology known to you, you and your writing will be walking and writing blind. In other words, the lack of self-awareness will surely be evident in anyone’s writing. A poor substitute for science is poetry — I am talking the practical discussion — not conflating science / poetry / philosophy / aesthetic vision, and so forth. Without self-awareness any artistic endeavor will expose emotional struggle as fraudulent subject. Your biography might be interesting but your biography isn’t poetry. How did therapy sessions on display in a shop window become poetry? How has soap-boxing become to be considered poetry? This article, standing on a soapbox, does not purport to be poetry.
The split second “poetry is not this or that,” the freaky-acceptance sorts will object — why? Because they must “belong’ — reduce all artists to the same level — so art is frequently lowered to the same level to represent the group, not the individual.
The pursuit of happiness cannot be dictated by overbearing control. The individual and independence is the energy in poetry, not oppression in any form.
Think about all the poems today which are written exactly alike by different people. An analogy: what would you think if you go into a gallery displaying different artists and every single artist is using the exact same brush strokes, the same structures, the same clichés, even the same subjects? Sometimes the artwork has no subject — very common.A poem without a subject is an exercise. Wall paper art, wall paper poems.
If you are reading this you are probably a poet. Count up your poems and check which ones are negative and which ones are positive. There used to be a time when poetry had meaning. People, today, the general public, are usually sickened by what is known as poetry today — and one reason is that the faek form of difficulty and abstract nothing ideas and confessional negative stuff is simply depressing. When you go to the movies you want something other than the daily news or personal therapy sessions. Sick contemporary negativity is not the same thing as a poem about losing a loved one. Or having someone you love reject you.
If you cannot tell a story clearly and succinctly, you are not a poet yet. How many of your poems are positive towards anything?
Poetry can no longer be written without knowledge of modern psychodynamics. Everything is psychology, your life, the lives of others, all the factors in anyone’s life. Without psychology, your own psychology known to you, you and your writing will be walking and writing blind. In other words, the lack of self-awareness will surely be evident in anyone’s writing. A poor substitute for science is poetry — I am talking the practical discussion — not conflating science / poetry / philosophy / aesthetic vision, and so forth. Without self-awareness any artistic endeavor will expose emotional struggle as fraudulent subject. Your biography might be interesting but your biography isn’t poetry. How did therapy sessions on display in a shop window become poetry? How has soap-boxing become to be considered poetry? This article, standing on a soapbox, does not purport to be poetry.
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