The Ennui Files

Ennui: (än- wē) n. [French] Boredom.

Mission Statement:

The Ennui Files was created to cure every day boredom with the exploration of creativity. It is a meeting place for photographers and writers to interact with one another. A place where readers can commune with others who have similar tastes.

The Rules:

1. No Copyrighted materials allowed, unless you own the copyright. There are exceptions below.
2. Works of creative writing must not be overtly religious, racist, sexist, prejudice, demeaning, pornographic, or disturbing. There are exceptions to the rules as stated below.
3. If quoting an author, please cite the work. The same goes for using a photograph for an Ekphrasis piece (if using Flickr, they do this already for you).
4. There is no excuse for intentional misspelling of words (unless used in dialogue, but used scarcely). No IM-speak allowed!
5. Please “tag” and categorize your posts as appropriate.
6. No child erotica is allowed. And absolutely no nude child photography is allowed. All models of nude photography must be 18+, no exceptions!

Failure to follow these rules, or those stated below, will cause the contributor to be removed and the post deleted.

What is allowed:

Because The Ennui Files has no stated direction, any sort of genre is allowed. However, there are some restrictions to this freedom.

Because this is a place of creativity, nothing that deals with violence for the sake of violence is allowed. The same goes for sex. All things must be artistically done and serve a purpose within the piece, otherwise the contributor will be deleted and actions to remove the piece will be taken. I have a Zero-tolerance for anyone who breaks the rules.

Genres:

POETRY of all types will be allowed to be posted. However, anything that is overtly preachy, racist, sexist, prejudice, or anything offensive will be removed and the contributor will be deleted. Note: Any poem that deals with religion, but is not to motivate, promote, denounce other people’s beliefs, but deals with allegory or allusions are not considered overtly religious. For example: Amy Lowell’s “Before the Altar” as oppose to Michael Wigglesworth’s “Day of Doom.” For racism “Strange Fruit” instead of “Victory Day.” So in other words, a poem about religion, prejudice, racism, etc., that neither promotes or insults is fine. When doubt, ask via e-mail.

PROSE:
There are several types of prose out there and while most are allowed, I would like to keep the length a respectable level.

For fiction, any of of these are allowed: Micro-fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Story, and the Novelette are allowed. For descriptions of what is consider any of these, please click here. I prefer the first three rather than the latter, but it’s up to you what you want to post. Again, as with the poetry restrictions, anything overtly religious, racist, etc. will not be allowed. We’re also not looking for a moralistic tale where a sinner finds Jesus and life is better - please make the story as realistic as possible, e.g. there are no happy endings. But this is a slippery slope as a piece of fiction where one leaves religion is accepted. However, when doubt, e-mail me.

The type of essays The Ennui Files look for are personal essays, creative nonfiction, whatever you want to call it. Unlike the poetry and fiction restrictions, an overtly religious piece will not be removed, but only if it is about a personal experience (i.e. your path way to God, Allah, Jesus, Buddha, etc.) and not your opinion of those who have no religion. A personal dealing with personal demons as a racist (but not racist in itself) is allowed, as long as you do not belittle any race - with the exception of dialogue within the piece - and must show that a person can change by the end. So in other words, a memoir as a racist who is no longer one. For more info, please refer to Tell it Slant.

The PROSE POEM is probably going to be one of the most popular with The Ennui Files because it gives us something new rather than the same old genre the two words make up. Once again, I’ll bring back the restrictions from earlier. The most favorable type of prose poem is Ekphrasis. If you write an Ekphrasis piece, please be sure to include the art work you’re writing around. However, DO NOT POST COPYRIGHTED ART WORKS. All works that are copyrighted, should be linked unless used with permission from the artist, falls under public domain, or it belongs to you. However, Flickr users sometimes allow other people to blog their photos and art work. This only works if the artist allows you to blog the photo. If the blogging option is not allowed, then link the photo on your post (make sure you select that the link opens to a new window).

Another type of prose poem allowed is the Lyric Essay, which is defined as:

“By definition, a lyric essay implies: “a poetic sensibility concerned more with language, imagery, sound and rhythm over the more linear demands of narrative….Lyric essays favor fragmentation and imagery….Such a stance leads to a diversity of forms and styles that defy neat categorizations….The writer of the lyric essay brings the reader into an arena where the questions are asked; it’s up to the reader to piece together possible answers and interpretations.”

The same restrictions apply here.

PHILOSOPHY essays are allowed as long as they are not overtly religious, racist, demeaning, etc. If using references, please cite them. I don’t care how you do it, what form you do it in, as long as you cite them. No political philosophy is allowed.

EROTICA is allowed, however, it must NOT be pornographic. Confused? Nerve as oppose to Nifty. Or better yet, Delta of Venus instead of Naked Lunch. Erotic poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction all fall into this category. Sex in the piece must be sensual and not the only purpose for the piece. An Ekphrasis piece written around art work will also include the artwork, or a link to it, however, no pornographic (See photos) images are allowed. NO CHILD EROTICA IS ALLOWED!!!

PHOTOGRAPHY:
Photographers are welcomed to share their abilities with us. They must follow restrictions as well. Because it is hard tell what is overtly religious, racist, sexist, etc., none of these restrictions can be pushed. However, if the image is graphic in a nature that is disturbing and raises complaints, we may remove it without punishment toward the artist.

Now, erotic photos are allowed. However this constitutes as erotic, while this constitutes as pornographic. Anything overtly sexual (e.g. masturbation, penetration, oral sex, etc.) will be removed and the contributor will be deleted. If you feel that it’s good enough for Playboy, then it’s good enough to post here; however, if you think you’d be a hero in Hustler, I suggest you submit there.

Also, NO CHILD NUDES are allowed. All erotic photo models must be 18+, no exceptions.

Who can post?

Anyone with WordPress account may post after sending the e-mail address for your account. You must follow the rules or else you will be removed.

Please e-mail all inquiries to dfwpoetry at gmail dot com. Please include Ennui Files in the subject line.