By Lisbeth Coiman
There have been times in my life when I have gone through more than my heart could take. So much has happened to me. But I chose to brag about what saves me. In times of difficulties, I rely only on the moral support of friends and acquaintances who have expressed their encouragement to me. I take their words of wisdom, even a sympathetic smile, as the driving force to continue moving forward.
One extraordinary piece of advice came from an unexpected source. I had been rejected several times in my search for housing because I couldn’t produce two W2 in a row with the same employer. “Frequent changes of address. Too many red flags,” one lender said as he stood up and walked me to the door. I left banks and rental offices in tears because I thought nobody would care about my personal circumstances. And besides, there is the risk of a stranger using my vulnerabilities against me.
Until one afternoon, I decided to tell my pathetic little story to a banker. After all, my money is as good as anyone else’s. “I am in the process of divorcing, starting on my own. I am over 50.” I straightened my back as soon as I felt the tears welling along the bottom eyelid. “We changed addresses a lot because my then husband was relocated from Canada to the US, twice in Oklahoma, and now California, where we finally split,” I said in one gulp while touching the mark the wedding band had left in my finger after so many years.
The woman looked into my eyes and explained she had been divorced once and knew first-hand about the predicament I was in. She said that she then wrote a letter of “Compensating Circumstances” explaining why she didn’t have a continuous employment history. That’s how she bought her first house. “Take notes.” she said.
‘Your business card presents you as a writer. Use those skills to create the most convincing story you can, in one page, in brief bullet-point form,” she instructed.
“I write memoir. I got this,” I told myself, feeling empowered as I left the bank. The resulting “To-Whom-It-May-Concern” letter summarizes the last 25 years of my life in one page. I divided the letter in personal, employment, and financial history, rewriting failure as success.
A failed marriage turned into a 31 years steady relationship with one single partner. Stability. Frequent relocations through (three countries, eight cities) showed how I supported my immigrant family as we all sought higher goals and better opportunities. They grew, now it’s my turn. Resourcefulness and patience. My choppy employment history showcases a solid 25 years career in education, in every possible position, from substitute teaching in juvenile corrections to college administration, to the adult ESL classroom. Hard work and adaptability. My finances, complete with Schedule Cs filed since 2012, the year I decided to become a writer, highlight the careful planning of a woman who left her home country 23 years ago with two suitcases and now is near a comfortable retirement. Savings and good credit, two magic words any banker wants to hear.
I have tweaked the letter several times, and it has yielded three positive results. With it I found the apartment I live in, the car loan for my current vehicle, and pre-approval to purchase a house in the LA county in the upcoming months.
Apart from this valuable tip for dealing with lenders and landlords, what I learned from the experience is to make the best of my personal narrative. I do not want to underestimate the fact that in the wrong hands exposed vulnerabilities can hurt the individual. What is important here is that the right person will prove that personal stories still matter.
Submission Calls
The following publications seek and welcome the work of emerging writers.
1. The Altadena Poetry Review
Gender: Poetry, fiction, non-fiction, creative non-fiction, essay
Prize: $0. Winners may purchase own copies at a discount
Submission Fee: $0
Word Count: up to 3 poems in separate pages/ 2 single-spaced pages of prose
Deadline: Sept. 30/2019
Submission Guidelines
2. Border Crossing
Gender: Poetry, fiction, non-fiction
Payment: featured writers receive $100 and interview with editor.
Submission Fee: Does not specify
Word Count: 3 -5 poem, up to 5000 words for fiction and non-fiction
Deadline: Starts Sept 15, 2019 and closes on Feb. 1, 2020
Submission Guidelines
3. Tupelo Press: The Sunken Garden Chapbook Poetry Prize 2020
Gender: Poetry
Prize: $1000, publication, publicity, distribution, promotion, and 25 copies
Submission Fee: $25
Word Count: 26-30 pages of poetry
Deadline: October 31, 2019
Submission Guidelines
Lisbeth Coiman is an emerging, bilingual writer wandering the immigration path from Venezuela to Canada to the US. She has performed any available job from maid to college administrator, and adult teacher. Her work has been published in Hip Mama, the Literary Kitchen, YAY LA, Nailed Magazine, Entropy, and RabidOak. She was also featured in the Listen to Your Mother Show in 2015. In her self-published memoir, I Asked the Blue Heron (Nov 2017), Coiman celebrates female friendship while exploring issues of child abuse, mental disorder, and her own journey as an immigrant.
She lives in Los Angeles, where she teaches at Harbor Occupational Center and speaks for NAMI about living with a mental disorder. She likes dancing salsa to beat depression.