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Jason M. O'Toole's avatar

I'm a poor personal archivist, other than college lit mags and poems that appeared in 80s zines in NYC, I know I had poems and memoir pieces in lit mags out of Manhattan and Detroit. 1993ish. Didn't save copies and forgot to credit one of them when I reprinted a poem.

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Kathryn Mockler's avatar

Oh no that's too bad! Would be so cool to see now.

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Jason M. O'Toole's avatar

I don't even have all the vinyl I've been on. Punks are especially bad at remembering to mail contributor copies. Or royalties.

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Angela St. James's avatar

My first publication was a flash fiction piece I wrote at the age of fifty and it was published a year and a half ago in Wrong Turn Lit, which is here on Substack. https://wrongturnlit.substack.com/p/death-by-jimmy-buffett

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Kathryn Mockler's avatar

That's wonderful! Congratulations. Thanks for sharing.

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Jason M. O'Toole's avatar

I got back into sharing poetry at 50. I did other creative things - making records and painting - but had to get over worries about literary pretention and just submit. I got lucky and the 1st publisher I sent my manuscript to grabbed it. It turned out they knew me from the underground music world. That encouraged me to keep at it. Again, at the age of 50, over six years ago.

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Angela St. James's avatar

That’s fantastic! Do you still make records and paint?

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Jason M. O'Toole's avatar

I have done guest appearances on other people's records. Sometimes they still do a vinyl release. My old records still sell, which is wild. Since I'm not going to tour to support a record, it makes little sense to release physical media for my own stuff. As for painting, I have made tiny paintings for my own amusement, but do sell them now and again when I'm low on supplies.

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Nancy Slavin's avatar

High school and college literary publications. But my first publication outside of college was from Avocet: A Journal of Nature Poems. Second was from Barrelhouse, issue #2!

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Kathryn Mockler's avatar

Wow that's very cool, Nancy!

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Kerry Clare's avatar

My first publication was a story in The New Quarterly in 2007!! I will never forget the joy of receiving that news. It meant everything.

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Kathryn Mockler's avatar

That’s amazing! The New Quarterly is a great magazine too!

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Lilian Nattel 📚♀🌏's avatar

Mine was a short story, “woman menstruating on the Moon" published in Event 1992. I wonder if it still holds up? I love your poem. I can see you then through it.

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Kathryn Mockler's avatar

Thanks Lilian. I love the title of your first publication. Do you still have it? It would be fun to read!

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Lilian Nattel 📚♀🌏's avatar

I have a copy of the issue! I was thinking maybe of posting it to my substack.

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Kathryn Mockler's avatar

You should do it!

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D.A. Lockhart's avatar

"Misplaced Nashville Skyline" (poem), Zaum Magazine, Spring 2009. Zaum out of Sonoma State is still going strong.

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Kathryn Mockler's avatar

Very cool!!!

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