Bronson reads at the Lexington Poetry Month gathering at the end of June 2013.

As the editor of the Accents Blog for three and a half years, I’ve had incredible opportunities and developed lasting relationships that have changed my life in innumerable ways. There’s really no measurement of what Accents has done for me. For this reason, I’ve asked Katerina if she would allow me to train someone else into the position of Blog Editor, giving them the same opportunities I was given as well as truly break out into online mediums the way that no other literary website or blog has before. And after this person is ready, they will replace me as the Accents Publishing Blog Editor.

To begin, I’d like to share a little bit about my journey and what this job has done for me. Afterwards, I’ll go into why I have chosen to leave, which will lead into who my ideal candidate would be for this position.

How I Joined Accents

Katerina Stoykova-Klemer, Founder and Senior Editor of Accents Publishing

In January, 2011, I started a blog called Disposable Tea. It was designed to be an author’s platform. I learned everything I needed to run a blog. I ran this for a year while I wrote and self-published a novel.

In early 2012, Katerina Stoykova-Klemer made a Facebook post asking for an intern. I immediately threw together a resume in Microsoft Word. We met at Common Grounds later that week and went over the duties. I was offered the position and I immediately accepted.

For me, there have been very few people as influential in this community as Katerina. I first met her after I joined the prose group that grew out of Poezia, a poetry feedback group. I would go to Common Grounds every Tuesday night at 7pm to critique or be critiqued. I learned more about writing prose at those meetings than in my entire academic life up to that point. The people I’d met there, such as Julie Farkas, Erin Jensen, and Jay Belt, helped me hone my craft and lead me down the path I’m currently on. None of this would have happened without Katerina.

My Experience as the Accents Blog Editor has allowed me to conduct interviews with poets, from former poet laureates to up-and-coming authors. It has entrenched me further into the Lexington literary community. I’ve had opportunities to attend conferences, festivals, and book fairs on behalf of Accents Publishing. And outside of work for Accents, I’ve met many people who have given me opportunities. I owe both of my current professional positions (tutoring for the University of Kentucky and working for the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning), as well as some of my best friendships, to the relationships developed from this position.

Why I’m Moving On

Robin LaMer-Rahija, former intern, excited to get Matthew Haughton’s autograph

If I am so grateful and proud of my work at Accents, then why would I want to leave? The truth is unfortunately all too simple: I’m not a poet. I’ve written poetry. I’ve published poetry. I’m a lifelong poetry fan. But my writing, the focus of my craft, is prose, and it’s mostly non-literary prose. In order to accomplish what I would like with blogging, I would have to learn everything there is about the literary world. I would need to attend AWP every year and go to seminars and read literary journals. And I’d like to. I do some of that. But they aren’t my priorities; they aren’t where my passions lie. And I know that if I keep working for a respected press, such as Accents, instead of branching out into what I’m really passionate about, I am doing myself a disservice. And more than that, I am also doing the job of someone who is more passionate about poetry and the literary world than I am. If nothing else, this position has taught me to put others before myself, and in leaving, that is exactly what I want to do.

Who I’m Looking For

(left to right) Accents Editor Christopher McCurry with former interns James Pfeiffer and Haley Crigger at AWP

The ideal candidate is someone passionate about poetry and the literary world. They also be interested in building communities as well as the technical details of online content management systems and communications. This person needs to be comfortable in front of people as much as behind the computer.

The ideal candidate needs to be the kind of person who recognizes when someone else is struggling and will offer a helping hand. This person should want to help others around them more than they want the instant gratification of helping themself. But this person should not be too proud to ask for help when it’s needed and would be okay to admit when they couldn’t deliver something that they promised.

This person should have an interest in other cultures and languages, in gaining knowledge more than earning medals, and in looking for light in the world when all they see is darkness (and, hopefully, hasn’t been turned off by my corniness).

The Future of the Accents Blog

Accents Publishing will continue to publish brilliant voices and the Accents blog will continue to host the Lexington Poetry Month Writing Challenge. Outside of that, there are infinite possibilities. The main focus that I’ve been wanting to dedicate my time on, however, has been the community-building nature of Accents blog. In the same way that the LexPoMo Writing Challenge has united so many different people from diverse backgrounds, I feel like the rest of the blog could unite the literary “blogosphere” (for lack of a better word).

There aren’t that many literary arts blogs in general, and there aren’t any that have a community-focused, giving attitude. Many don’t even have comments activated. They also don’t make it easy for readers and authors, alike, to connect to each other. I’ve seen too many book reviews that don’t even link to the author’s page. There are so many ways that we, as a community, can promote connectivity, and I believe that the Accents Publishing blog is in a prime position to help out.

And Now…

This is an unpaid internship. It shouldn’t take more than four hours a week, and will likely take closer to one hour per week on average. If you’re interested in this position, please fill out the following form and let us know who you are, where your passions lie, and how you’d like to help not only Accents, but the international writing community. We will be taking applications until October 24th, 2015.

[contact-form to=’blog.accents.publishing@gmail.com’ subject=’RE: Accents Blog Internship’][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Website’ type=’url’/][contact-field label=’Why do you want to intern for Accents?’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]

Sincerely,
Bronson O’Quinn
Blog Editor
Accents Publishing