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Editor Interview: foam:e

This interview is provided for archival purposes. The listing is not currently active.

Q: Describe what you publish in 25 characters or less.

A: poetry inc. typographic

Q: What other current publications (or publishers) do you admire most?

A: Cordite
Shearsman
Kenyon Review

Q: If you publish writing, who are your favorite writers? If you publish art, who are your favorite artists?

A: Pam Brown
G C Waldrep
Thomas A Clark
Colin Cheney
Michael Brennan
R F Langley
Alan Halsey
Helena Eriksson
Cherry Smyth

Q: What sets your publication apart from others that publish similar material?

A: We publish innovative and interesting Australian poetry including visual experiemts in typography and letterpress alongside International work.
The clean quiet page style of the design allows the reader to focus on the poetry without distraction
We review publications by Australian Poets
There is usually an interview.

Q: What is the best advice you can give people who are considering submitting work to your publication?

A: Send us your best work and be patient with replies...we are a small voluntary team.

Q: Describe the ideal submission.

A: making use of the possibilities of language to explore and communicate meaning

Q: What do submitters most often get wrong about your submissions process?

A: they don't read the guidelines and so submit attachments - we don't open links or attachments from people we don't know. That said we should be getting a content management system for our next issue so submissions should get easier all round once that happens!
they don't read the guidelines and so submit outside the submissions period....we don't have the time to read outside the submissions period.

Q: How much do you want to know about the person submitting to you?

A: We are happy to get a short biography but don't need a list of all the people and pets the person lives with - short and relevant and we will read it, anything else and our eyes glaze over.

Q: If you publish writing, how much of a piece do you read before making the decision to reject it?

A: I can usually tell early in reading whether the piece with work for our journal 'foam:e' but I do try to read a bit beyond that point and I often, but not always, read a submission to the end.' All submissions are read by at least two people (joint editors) and very occasionally are sent out to a reader for a another opinion.

Q: What additional evaluations, if any, does a piece go through before it is accepted?

A: We want a work to surprise and engage us...if it does that and the author certifies that it is their own work then it is accepted. We did have one issue of a plagiarist who got through then got caught out and a few years later wanted us to take down the work he had purported to be his. I asked advice on this and we decided to keep it up there as a record of his misdeed - his career had been ruined and we didn't believe in pretending it hadn't happened. He got quite anxious about wanting it hid but we wouldn't comply.

Q: What is a day in the life of an editor like for you?

A: I read submissions
I meet and discuss submissions with fellow editors
I receive books for review and arrange for reviewers usually via email then send out books
I read books sent in for review and write in pencil on the book, reading over and over and thinking about them while I decide what I am going to write (usually over my Christmas Holiday).
I read other poetry online in books not related to the journal I edit and correspond with other poets about current poetry.
I review and write articles, when I have time, for other journals
I reply to those who have submitted
I meet with our web developer and discuss improvements to the templates and style sheets.
I guide the content through to publication with discussions with other edtors, poets and our web developer
I gather information and images for the editorial and submissions page
I send out email notifications to past contributors letting them know a new edition is published
I breathe a sigh of relief and write some poetry of my own.

Q: How important do you feel it is for publishers to embrace modern technologies?

A: I publish both traditionally (print poetry collaborations) often using letterpress and handbinding - these books end up in Institutions like National Library of Australia and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London among other places.
But I also publish an online journal foam:e and that is a much more nimble operation - it can showcase work that is accessible in a different way.
There is space for both because they serve different purposes. We are not likely to move into POD but we are looking to upgrade from a very hand-on submissions processing to a CMS (content management system) for the online journal.
We publicize both through social media