Issue #3 of Pig in a Poke now alive and oinking!

Here we go again …

Pig in a Poke, issue #3, is live today … enjoy!

“The third time’s a charm, and Pig in a Poke is charmed to be here. And we hope you’re charmed by the great lineup of poets (fiction writers and essayists) we have for you. I still can’t believe the amazing writers we’ve managed to attract, and Trina and I are grateful for that. As always, we try to put pearls of superb writing in our swinish sty. I think that once again we’ve put together a good mixture of poetry, fiction and some fine literary essays. Trina and I are proud to call this our magazine. A Pig in a Poke it is, because you might never know what you’re getting, but you know it’s going to be good.”  Harry Calhoun, editor.

Harry Calhoun, a.k.a. my husband, edits the poetry and I, a.k.a. Trina Allen, have picked out the stories and laid out the pages. The two of us have pretty much collaborated on choosing the essays.  Not only is there new talent here — new to the Pig, that is — but for this issue we asked several writers to submit stories including Christina Hoag, Lynne Barrett, Anne Woodman and Mark Howell.

I do hope you’ll drop by, give a read, spread the word, and maybe donate to the cause. Let me know what you think.

http://www.piginpoke.com/ currentissue.html

The lineup for this issue includes:

Poetry by

A.D. Winans

Tim Peeler

Robert Demaree

Louis McKee

Lyn Lifshin

Karla Huston

Donal Mahoney

Michael L. Newell

Corey Cook

Doug Draime

Sandy Benitez

M.P. Powers

Mather Schneider

Carol Lynn Grellas

Luis Berriozabal

Fiction by:

Jane Banning

Lynne Barrett

Christina Hoag

Mark Howell

Thomas Sullivan

Laura Garrison

Laurence Klavan

Michael L. Newell

Nathaniel Tower

Essays by:

Anne Woodman

Michael L. Newell

Amanda LaPergola

As always, quality stuff all around . Drop in and wallow a while in the Pig sty … it’s not a bad place to be! Thanks in advance for your support.

Poetry by

A.D. Winans

Tim Peeler

Robert Demaree

Louis McKee

Lyn Lifshin

Karla Huston

Donal Mahoney

Michael L. Newell

Corey Cook

Doug Draime

Sandy Benitez

M.P. Powers

Mather Schneider

Carol Lynn Grellas

Luis Berriozabal

Fiction by:

Jane Banning

Lynne Barrett

Christina Hoag

Mark Howell

Thomas Sullivan

Laura Garrison

Laurence Klavan

Michael L. Newell

Nathaniel Tower

Essays by:

Anne Woodman

Michael L. Newell

Amanda LaPergola

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Trina reads on Blink Ink Fiction

On July 1 at 9 o’clock, the noted poet Lynn Alexander hosts a show on Blog Talk Radio called Blink Ink Fiction. She has invited me to read and discuss my fiction writing. Harry Calhoun and I will also be discussing Pig in a Poke magazine. Go to the Web site and find the July 1 show to listen in or participate.

And look for the second issue of Pig in a Poke magazine, live July 1. We have a line up of very talented poets and story writers. I am proud to be able to publish such exceptional work. It has been fun putting the issue together.

Feed “the Pig” some short stories, please!

Fiction anyone? Where are you fiction writers? I have received only 18 short story submissions to Pig in a Poke magazine, while Harry has already reviewed about 100 poetry submissions, each containing several poems. He was so inundated that we had to temporarily close poetry submissions until May. Essays and fiction are still open.

This got me thinking: are there more poets than fiction writers? Is it simply that stories take longer to write than poems?  Or is Harry receiving more poetry due to his name recognition or the names he has lined up for the first issue?

I am happy that among the stories I received were some very outstanding pieces. I have a good mix lined up for May and June ranging from gripping heartfelt slices-of-life to period pieces and even a couple humorous ramblings. I laughed out loud reading them. Talented fiction writers are submitting, just not as numerous as our poets.

Maybe it is the money. At this time “the Pig” is not a paying market. From my own personal experience, it takes about 20 hours to bring a story from draft to the polished version that I will send to publishers. This is a large time investment for me. I do give my work away to non-paying markets occasionally, but very selectively. On the other hand, Harry can write a poem in less than an hour–much less at times. With the larger time investment in stories, maybe fiction writers want to get paid for their work and poets don’t expect payment. It is hard to make money from poetry. All of this is speculation, of course. But there is the whole starving-artist image of poets.

What are your thoughts? Can you explain the prolific poets?