There is perhaps no greater mystery than ordering a poetry collection. The decisions can be nerve-wracking: debating which poems will open and close your book, asking which poems pack the most punch to hook the reader, questioning if these poems should sit next to each other for the […]
When I was in art school, I once had a poetry professor who, on the first day of class, introduced himself as a failed painter. Immediately, that proclamation (and others) rubbed me the wrong way and I ended up dropping the class in favor of a film course […]
It might be self-defeating to say this, but you should know it going in: My poet friend Jesse Parent has a list poem about why he doesn’t like List Poems. That’s pretty funny, and it shows you that not everyone is into this form. But I am, and […]
I. Who is Diane? Are you Diane? I channeled Diane—I don’t know from where. I’ve had Diane in me since I was a child. When I was six, I sat on the top bunk and ripped a twenty dollar bill in half (just like Diane would later […]
Last year for Christmas I asked for An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo, Poet Laureate of the United States. I’m an avid reader and a proud lit. major, but I’ve never asked for a book of poetry in my life. If I could take you back in time, I’d […]
As I brood over my newest batch of poems, and cast a crabby eye on the previous batch, as yet unpublished, it seems to me that editing can be focused on three levels. There’s the level of the text on the page: Are the verbs active and surprising […]
Imagine that you are an athlete, and you’ve been preparing to try out for a soccer team. You’ve worked on your fitness, your directional changes, your speed, your dribbling, your passing, your penalty shots for weeks, for months, and you have a strong desire to be on the […]
In my thirty years of writing, I had only published four poetry book reviews until last year. So ending the year with sixteen reviews written and published took a major shift in attitude and practice. You could do this too. why review Reviewing is certainly about being a […]
Now that Gyroscope Review is open again for submissions, I’ve been thinking about rejections. As I read poem after poem, noting yes, no, or maybe, commenting online to the other editors and reading their comments, I’ve been thinking about the responsibility every editor has to the writers who […]
In 2008 I launched a website, The Review Review. The site had a singular goal, and that was to demystify lit mag publishing for writers. To that end, we reviewed lit mags, interviewed journal editors, posted weekly publishing tips specific to lit mag publishing, listed calls for submissions […]
