Tag: writing

Cover Letter for Short Literary Fiction

~ Chris Cocca ~ Leave a comment

I suppose “literary” is aspirational until someone publishes the story. Why does the word aspirational make me think of Yeti coolers?

Here’s a redacted cover letter I just sent out with a short piece I’m particularly fond/proud of. (Proud/fond of the story; the cover letter is functional, honest, and sincere, and I’m just sharing it here in case anyone finds it helpful OR if anyone has suggestions.)

Dear Editors,

Please consider my story, [Title]for publication in [Journal]. At just under [Word Count], it [Brief Description].

My work has appeared in Appalachian Review, The Shore, Hobart, Brevity, Belt Magazine, and VIA: Voices in Italian Americana, among others, and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. I hold an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School.

Thank you for considering this submission. I have long admired [Something Meaningful, and, most importantly, Something True].

[Salutation],

[Name]

Good luck, writers!

Now That We’re All Talking About Oasis

~ Chris Cocca ~ Leave a comment
Chuck Klosterman on Noel Gallagher; Me and “Be Here Now”

Here’s a little thing from when I was 32. I’m 45 now. I was 17 when Be Here Now came out. I ran down to the record store (for real) and bought it the day of its US release, played it in the car from Toones Records to the Allentown Fairground where I was about to start my shift at the Fair. It was only a few blocks, so I didn’t get through the whole record. I think “My Big Mouth” was in my head all day. Afterwards, I went to my gf’s house and listened to the rest.

In this re-shared post from 2012, I said sure, it may have been something of a misfire. Friends, I was hedging. It was awesome. It is awesome. It didn’t just get me through my senior year; it may have saved my life.

For a really brilliant look at Oasis then and now, check out Steve Zeitchik:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/music/music-features/oasis-gallaghers-met-life-concert-1236358264/

Agape (Open): For Billy Corgan

~ Chris Cocca ~ Leave a comment

This isn’t quite a poem. It’s certainly not a sermon. It’s a little bit of exercise, and a little bit of grace.

Billy Corgan continues to interest me. Fascinate is too strong a word, but people are on journeys. I think we still allow that.

Billy, if you’re out there: thank you for “Tonight, Tonight.”

Agape (Open)
 For Billy Corgan

It’s said that Billy Corgan pronounces the English word agape like the Koine word agapē (ἀγάπη).

Agape, agape
the bleeding heart of Jesus,
agape, agape
the spear wound in his side;

Agape, agape
the boulder-sealed entombing,
agape, agape
the beating heart of Christ.

Photo by Jose Antonio Gallego Vu00e1zquez on Pexels.com

Let America Be America Again: An Oracle of Langston Hughes

~ Chris Cocca ~ Leave a comment

I remember learning about Langston Hughes at some point, maybe in high school. I am sure we read one (I am sure it was no more than one) of his poems, and talked about him in the context of the Harlem Renaissance. I’m also fairly certain that whichever poem we read was not “Let America Be America Again.”

Hughes wrote the piece in 1935. I didn’t learn it in 1995, ’96, ’97, or ’98. I came across it last night on a poetry playlist on Spotify. Amazing how prescient, especially considering the ironic foreshadowing of the prime political slogan and dog whistle of the last decade. An excerpt, lest you think Hughes was only concerned with things going on in Harlem:

“Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?

I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek—
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.”

Read the full poem here: Let America Be America Again by Langston Hughes

Revamping My Writer Bio (Feel Free to Chime In)

~ Chris Cocca ~ 3 Comments

The flurry of activity.

I took a good look at some things I’d felt were finished years ago. Printed them out. Marked them up.

Some have stayed the same. Some are now better. Many are on their way out the door; we hope for good journeys and stoked editorial reception.

What do we think of this as a streamlined bio?:

Chris Cocca is a Pushcart-nominated poet and writer whose work explores spirituality, memory, and place. His writing has appeared in The Huffington Post, Brevity, Hobart, Appalachian Review, VIA: Voices in Italian Americana, Belt, Schuylkill Valley Journal, and more. He holds degrees from Ursinus College, Yale Divinity School, and an MFA from The New School. Chris lives in Allentown, where he continues to write, teach, and advocate.

Native to You

~ Chris Cocca ~ Leave a comment

About a year ago, I made a decision to stop submitting to literary journals. I wanted to see how the industry (that’s a bad word for an artistic ecosystem that hardly pays anyone) would respond to the fact that AI was already making very human-seeming pieces.

I don’t think that’s been resolved. It’s just a new point in the honor system. Borrow, don’t steal. Use AI for research, but write your own material (otherwise, what’s the point?) Click here to affirm that this piece was written by the interplay of experience and operating system native to you, only to you. This makes me think, for some reason, of Rives saying “I am the emperor of oranges, I am the emperor of oranges, I am the emperor of oranges. Now follow me, OK?”

That makes me think of the King of Carrot Flowers (Jeff Mangum, Neutral Milk Hotel), and the King grows up to be the Emperor. The boy and girl from We’re Going to Be Friends are the same boy and girl from 13 by Big Star. Alex Chilton sang The Letter when he was just 16 (now he stops at traffic lights, but only when they’re green [I’d like to teach the world to sing]). Point is, anything AI can do, we can do slower. AI does it because we say so. We do it because we have to. Our brains seek resolution, our dreams try to even things out (Dreams by the Cranberries is mostly D and A. So is Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Lucky Man, and I think I had a dream about Tom Petty last night).

I fell asleep listening to the 7 new Springsteen albums made from old stuff in the vault. I woke up to James McMurty and Alex Amen, who maybe got there via the algorithm. So I hit “like.”

I wrote a few things in the North Woods last week. A few things on the gravel road out. I lived a few things I’d written before, learned what they’re really about...

love & mercy.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Writing?

~ Chris Cocca ~ Leave a comment
Daily writing prompt
What do you enjoy most about writing?
View all responses

For me, I’d have to say it’s the near-constant rejection. Or maybe the discourse on the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Ha ha.

Seriously, though. Writing is its own reward. The process. Figuring things out, creating a voice or a tone or a character. Describing something with images and meter. Using creative neuro-pathways. All of it.

Right now I’m also enjoying these.