A new book. Is it comforting to know that other people are rejects too? There’s that great Merwin poem, “Berryman,” that describes Berryman’s writing advice to the poet. Lines on rejection:

as for publishing he advised me
to paper my wall with rejection slips
his lips and the bones of his long fingers trembled
with the vehemence of his views about poetry

he said the great presence
that permitted everything and transmuted it
in poetry was passion
passion was genius and he praised movement and invention