Editor Interview: Plant-Human Quarterly

plant-human interactions

Terrain, Ecotone, Vox Populi, Mudlark, The Commons, Manhattain Review, Adroit Journal, Plume, as well as some of the usual suspects (Georgia Review, Paris Review, New England Review, and so on).

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We focus exclusively on poems and essays about plant-human communication, whether through heavily researched pieces, close observation, or more intuitive ways of knowing -- and we favor work that centers on plant life, rather than reducing them to bit actors in a human drama or as symbols for human interactions. We also favor work that acknowledges much of the new research about plant life, including work by Suzanne Simard, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Merlin Sheldrake, Micahel Pollan, and others.

Please read an issue of Plant-Human Quarterly to see the kind of work we publish. For instance, we rarely print work in which plants talk (or think) like humans, though there have been notable exceptions, and it's those exceptions you might want to read.

Work that not only delivers interesting information and perspectives on the botanical world but also does so with linguistic zest and styistic innovation.

They fail to follow submission directions (e.g. include all of your poems in ONE Word document), and they clearly haven't read a copy of the magazine before submitting.

I read the submitted work first. If I'm interested in the poems or essay, then I look at the cover letter, where some literary background (education, list of publications, etc) is appreciated.

I can usually tell within a few paragraphs or stanzas whether the work is right for Plant-Human Quarterly.

Every accepted piece has been read by at least two editors.

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Often, we accept poems or prose as is. And often, we suggest revisions to the work -- from basic proofreading corrections to substantive editing. The author always has final approval.

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