Making the Cut

the Challenge Guillotine at All Along Press
photo: JTappenden

I'm grateful for all the poets who keep writing and sending their work. Poetry survives because we poets stubbornly continue to practice our art, in public. And public life is much richer for the effort! 

What follows are some general observations especially for poets who are new to the public practice of their art. If you've read submissions for a literary journal you probably already know these things:

Poets don't pay attention to guidelines, even though they exist to save everyone time. At Architrave, poems must fit on a 5 1/2 x 8 inch card, hence the 33 line limit. Submitting a poem of 10 quatrains wastes your time, because I won't read something I can't possibly publish, no matter how brilliant.

Poets really love coffee. And chocolate. And cats. They love their dogs, too, but cats are favored by a wide margin. It's amazing how much devotion they inspire and how much heartbreak when they're lost! That means your poem about these subjects must be one-in-a-million, because it's got lots of competition. 

Poets love to talk about poems. Our art is solitary by nature, and when asked about it most of us are only too glad to have someone listen. But publishing is not a cocktail party, it's an audition; your poem must brave the spotlight alone. If you feel the need to explain it, then your poem isn't yet ready to stand all on its own against a plain, white page. 

Now count your lines and send me your very best work. Good luck!