Editor Interview: Raleigh Review

Accessible complexity.

Linda Gregg, C.D. Wright, Dorianne Laux, Carl Phillips, Jenny Xie, Anne Carson, Carolyn Forche, Jack Gilbert, Marie Howe, Charles Wright, Joanna Klink, Frank Stanford, Danez Smith

Ninety-nine percent of our poetry comes from submissions. Our readers are all published poets with varying tastes. We often debate poems into the magazine during our editorial meetings.

We latch onto novel language and images, skilled awareness of sound, visceral reactions. We love a lyric poem and are equally impressed by strong narratives. We want to remember your lines, days later. We want to be surprised and envious.

Totally in control, effortless, articulate word choice, sharp attention to form, music, image.

A cover letter should be succinct, a brief bio that includes previous publications. That's it. And please only upload one submission with multiple poems in one document.

We want to know your previous publications. A few respectable journals will induce a closer read. And a 2-3 sentence literary bio.

I try to give each poem a chance to surprise me by reading it all the way through. But I can usually tell within a few lines if a poem has potential.

Most pieces are read by at least three readers and discussed amongst us before being accepted. I like to see poems that don’t fall apart when discussed in detail. It’s not enough to have a great metaphor. You need a great metaphor with precise line breaks with enviable word choice with gorgeous imagery with impeccable musicality. At the time of our editorial discussion, we’re also considering how submissions fit together for a particular issue. It’s important to have an eclectic set of poems that still complement each other. At times this means we have to turn down a poem we really like.