Doll parts

‘I’ve been writing poetry for a decade now, and throughout that time (and despite all the rejections my poems received) I held on to the dream of one day having a pamphlet published,’ writes subscriber Teika Marija Smits.

‘The first poetry publisher I sent the manuscript to was positive. He liked many of the individual poems but wasn’t sure if the pamphlet hung together thematically. He was right. There needed to be more focus to the collection. Then, quite by chance, I happened to see that one of my poems, Russian Doll, which I’d entered into the 2018 Writing Magazine New Subscriber Poetry Competition, had been shortlisted. This was a real boost, and so I took a closer look at my poems and saw that many of them were about my childhood, my Russian mum and motherhood. Russian dolls were also a feature. All became clear – the motif would be a Russian doll, and the poems would be about daughterhood and mothering. Around a year later the award-winning poetry press, Indigo Dreams Publishing, offered me publication, and in spring 2021, my pamphlet, Russian Doll, was published and my long-held dream came true. Publication is not the be-all and end-all – I firmly believe that the very act of creating poetry is an end in itself – but if publication is your dream, keep writing, submitting, listening to feedback and honing your poems. You’ll then find a publisher passionate about sharing your poetry with the world.

‘Russian Doll is available to buy from the publisher as well as other online and physical retailers.’

Website: https://teikamarijasmits.com