What's the deal with poetry and getting it published?

[tjdee]

Poetry is particularly frustrating for me because I write it. I'm much better at poetry than prose.

But I don't know what constitutes "good" poetry, i.e., publishable poetry. I don't think I'm any worse or less publishable than some of the stuff that is out there. I know many authors feel this way, but with poetry it's even more baffling. I think.

Anyone have any insight?

[k j]

1. well.....

I am one of three editors for a poetry review that comes out 3x a year. The three of us have different tastes in poems, different writing styles of our own and we generally don't read the same books. However, we pretty much use the same checklist for what we look for in a poem. Here's a general run-down:

1) Tell me something in a way I haven't been told before.
~~What do I mean by that? For example, there are thousands of poems about spring flowers, about old rundown homes in fields, about leaves in the autumn. If I'm going to sort through submissions about any of those subjects, I want to see nouns, verbs and metaphors I haven't seen used before.

2) Keep image poems centered around one metaphor.
~~In other words, keep the poem tight, like a snapshot, by using strong nouns and verbs and eliminating adjectives and adverbs altogether. Extra metaphors? Use them in another poem.

3) Don't be afraid to surprise the reader.
~~You have their attention for a second, grab it. And don't be afraid to use humor... some of my favorite poems are the ones that make me laugh outloud.

4) Narrative poems absolutely positively have to tell an interesting story.
~~One single line can redeem an otherwise, "I've read this before" poem to put it in the catagory of, "Wow, I didn't see that coming."

5) Don't be afraid to experiment by using traditional forms of poetry.
~~The discipline to create a poem inside a structure may not be to your liking, but it can be a great stretching exercise, and you might enjoy the process!

6) Stay open to editing.
~~If an editor takes the time to work with you on your piece, it means they see something worth publishing. Look long and hard at what they're suggesting... if you absolutely can not/will not consider a word or image cut here or there, then don't do it. It's your poem. The poem might find a home in another review, or it might be a poem just for you. (I have several babies that I won't let anyone touch, even if it means they'll never be published.)

7) If your favorite line is cut from a poem, keep it!
~~One line of mine tried to find a home in four different poems before it landed where it belonged.

Personal note: I'm not a fan of abstrast poetry. I love poems that are concrete... in other words, I don't want the poet to tell me what they felt, I want them to make me feel what they felt! That to me is the great art of poetry... you, the poet, are responsible to take your experience, your vision, your insight... and give it to another so they can experience, see and know it as well.

Hope that helps. :-)

[oneighty]

2. Tell us

about your poetry review?

I remember one such that would publish just about any piece of poetry-and then the would be poet could buy a copy of the book for fifty dollars.

Actually it was a nice way for one to see themselves in print.

180

[k j]

3. It's not my review...

and we actually pay a little bit for submissions, not the other way around. :-)
I think we chose quality stuff, although I understand the rep poetry has, and while there is a lot of tripe out there, serious people who take more than a passing interest in the writing form do exist.

In that vein, I took the poster's question seriously and answered her seriously. I have no idea (and often wonder) just what it is that other editors look for when they chose poems to publish.



Edited to add: Think I'll fade back into the woodwork now. tjdee, good luck with your writing. Hope what I said above encourages you to write and that your poems find a great home.

namaste!

[oneighty]

4. Do not fade away

Lend us your expertise.

Have you visited the poetry group?

There are some serious poets there.

And many good efforts.

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[tjdee]

5. Thank you!

Getting back a bit late to the thread, but your reply helped. Thank you for taking the time to respond.

:)

[k j]

6. Poems...

are my passion and I lucked into meeting an awesome mentor who encouraged my style of writing.
Everything I wrote above I learned from him.

Also forgot to add: look for regional journals to submit too... those are often more open to poems that don't sound like like they came straight out of a university workshop.

Two collections I love:
"Against Forgetting: Twentieth-Century Poetry of Witness" edited Carolyn Forche
"The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry" edited by Alan Kaufman

Okay, thanks, this was fun! :hippie: