Editor Interview: Blue Heron Review

Soul nourishing poetry

Cider Press Review, Crab Orchard Review, Rattle, Naugatuck River Review, Prairie Schooner, Crab Creek Review, Room Magazine, Grey Sparrow Press, The Moon Magazine, Words Dance Publishing, Four and Twenty, Your Daily Poem, Verse Wisconsin, RE/VERSE, Copper Canyon Press, Finishing Line Press, Two Sylvias Press, Dancing Girl Press, Four Way Books, Parallel Press, Namaste Publishing, Shambhala Publications

Alice Munro, Margaret Atwood, Margaret Laurence, Anne Lamott, Mary Oliver, May Sarton, Pablo Neruda, Rumi, William Carlos Williams, Stanley Kunitz, Ted Kooser, Adrienne Rich, William Wordsworth, Louise Bogan, Anne Sexton, Emily Dickinson.

As a mystical/spiritual writer myself, I have searched over the years for appropriate and welcoming venues for my poetry. I think what sets Blue Heron Review apart is that, in terms of genre, we are unique in the ocean of small, indie journals. There really aren't too many poetry journals out there that provide a space for life-affirming, soul nourishing poetry.

Read past issues of Blue Heron Review, as well as the writing by guest authors on our monthly Blue Heron Speaks page, to get a genuine feel for the type of writing we publish. Also, I would suggest reading, re-reading and editing your work carefully before submitting.

The ideal submission is hard to put into the words. I know good writing when I see it. Reviewing submissions can be very subjective. It is obvious to me when a poet has not read a sample of writing from Blue Heron before submitting. It's important to always know your venue. The ideal submission would be a poem that sings to me. As Emily Dickinson would say, a poem that makes me feel as if my head is coming off and buzzing, is what I'm looking for. I want to feel engaged within the first few lines of reading a poem. I want the poem to linger and cause me to reflect. The perfect poem for Blue Heron Review is one which gives back to the world in a positive, spiritual way.

I would prefer poems to be pasted into the body of an e-mail, instead of being sent as an attachment to avoid files that are unreadable. This is a mistake that often happens.

I choose poems based on their own merit and do not give preference based on past publishing history. I do ask that poets provide a bio though, because if chosen for an issue, I will include author bios to help promote the work of my writers.

I always honor each submission by reading every poem to the end before making a decision. In fact, I usually read poems several times.

I look for content, flow, imagery, innovative use of language and whether the poem will fit in well with the other pieces in a particular issue.

I divide my time between my own writing, publishing and publicity with the work I do for Blue Heron Review. I am also a community arts promoter and frequent poetry open mic host, so my time is valuable. During an open call for submissions, I check my Blue Heron e-mail 3-4 days per week and devote hours at a time to reviewing and selecting poems. It is important to me to be able to respond to submissions within 6-8 weeks of receiving them. I also maintain both the website for Blue Heron and our Facebook page. Once a month, I update the Blue Heron Speaks page with a featured, guest poet. Making sure that I have a new poet to highlight each month takes up my time too. It is a busy venture, but also a labor of love, to be able to spread poetry wide and provide space for other poets to flourish.