The Business End: Keeping Track of Poems

I'm curious about how other people do these things & also hoping to glean some better ideas for my admittedly scattered treatment of poems....

Do you track what you read? (All, or just complete books that you can include in LT, or only what catches your eye.)

Do you write notes, reviews, etc. of what you need? Do you annotate and analyze or just enjoy?

Do you keep copies of poems, and if so in what format(s) and how organized?

Do you do backups of any copies and, if so, how?

If you write as well:
How do you keep track of versions/changes in poems?

Do you carry poems with you to work on or just blank paper or audio memo/cell phone?

How do you deal with keeping track of where you have submitted poems, done readings, etc.?

Numbered 'em for you so respondents can just refer to question #.

1. Do you track what you read? (All, or just complete books that you can include in LT, or only what catches your eye.)

2. Do you write notes, reviews, etc. of what you need? Do you annotate and analyze or just enjoy?

3. Do you keep copies of poems, and if so in what format(s) and how organized?

4. Do you do backups of any copies and, if so, how?

5. How do you keep track of versions/changes in poems?

6. Do you carry poems with you to work on or just blank paper or audio memo/cell phone?

7. How do you deal with keeping track of where you have submitted poems, done readings, etc.?

I write poems and I have folder of all of them I have bout 10 maybe 20 and I carry books of paper with me every where I go and if I think of something I can write it down. But normaly mine our about love. There are very few that are dark but they are about books I have read. But I don't really have problems with keeping track of them. I hope this helps.

1 – 2. I use a writing journal to keep notes, comments and text of poems that I come across that catch my attention somehow. I used to make a point of trying to do a formal close reading of one poem from every book I read, but I found myself putting off reading books …

I'm teaching poetry courses at Polytech at the moment, so I've got notes on poems all over the place – my filing system can best be described as “a series of piles”, and is going to be overhauled and sorted into folders very soon.

3-5. Initial writing is done in longhand in a workbook, and then transferred to computer when I'm basically satisfied. I keep printouts of the various versions (complete with changes marked as I go) in plastic loose-leaf folders, with the most current version on top. Twice a year I do a backup of everything and send it off to my OH's work to be stored in a “geographically separate location”. (Sounds more impressive than it is.)

6. I'm a writer full-time, so it doesn't really apply. But if I'm going away and plan to work on something, I take the workbook with me. I go through lots of drafts, so a notebook doesn't have enough space for serious working. But I do carry a notebook everywhere, so I can write down ideas, stray bits of conversation etc.

7. One high-tech and one low-tech method. I have an index card file, with the title of every poem I submit and the date it was “written” (finished to my satisfaction). I list where it's submitted, when, and what the response was.

The high-tech method is Duotrope Digest – it's a website database of journals globally that accept poetry and fiction. It is seriously good, as well as (currently) free. If you register, you can use their submissions tracker to keep tabs on your submissions. It'll even tell you when your submission has been unanswered for longer than is usual for that particular mag, so that you can send a query at the appropriate time.

I use Duotrope as well, but this is for purposes of finding markets for poetry submissions.

As far as responding to your great list of questions, I basically stopped keeping a detailed analysis of poetry and specific titles when I completed grad school. However, I did design a Wordpress blog and have poetry title reviews posted.