Editor Interview: Three Line Poetry

Three Line Masterpieces

Poetry Quarterly, though I am bias. I have been enjoying sudden fiction lately. Long poems interest me. Small poems thrill me. Publishers I admire? The Overlook Press seems to have a great eye for a wide range of titles. Those types of publishers, who take what they like, where they find it, and make it work, I like that.

Carver, Wright, and various New York School poets from the 50's through the early 70's. I'm trying to appreciate the Iowa hype but it's just not there for me, though Collins is always so fun to read.

It's not Haiku, but it is three lines. We look for reverberation, and I don't care so much about the subject matter. It needs to appeal to some people, but I'm not overly concerned with everyone loving every poem. I want a nice mix, where there is something outstanding for everyone within a wide range of poems in each book. These tiny poems come together with punctuation and line breaks that would never be allowed at the most professional Haiku venues like Haiku Journal and one or two others. What results are collections full of surprises. I like that.

Keep it short. Choose interesting words with and multiple meanings is better. Try to say more than seems possible on a handful of words. Don't allow one line to be too dependent on another. Never send your first draft. Short poems are not easier.

Write it. Rework it. Read it out loud. Put in in a drawer. Come back and read it again. Rework it. Send it when it's ready or throw it away. It should be something people can relate to. Don't try to be funny. Don't rhyme. When it's ready, you will know. When I read it, I should know.

They send long lines or rhyme. And then there are the love poems...I don't care if she left you on a bleak Tuesday and the only mark that she was ever yours is the ring of coffee she left indelibly staining the nightstand you have enshrined in your memory. The readers don't care about dribble and I don't print it.

The submission form we use prevents us from viewing any extra information. We see the poem. We don't know if the poet bought books in the past, or went to Harvard, or anything else. It's a strange phenomena, the way poets what to have pages of publishing credits. I'd much prefer a poet who builds a relationship with presses, and fosters friendships and loyalties in the business. We don't know anything about a writer in the slush pile, unless we have published them and recognize them as one of "ours" in which case we root for their success like they are family.

Three Lines... I read them all several times before I decide. Occasionally I know fully that a poem is a dud, or a keeper, but usually I revisit them a few times before I decide.

We check to see if it was printed elsewhere, or plagiarized. Usually more than one reader will comment on a poem. I review the comments after my first read, to try and ensure my attitude is not influenced. Sometimes we send them back for edits.

A volunteer reader, or my assistant editor will read everything and make comments. I read and review every piece and then review the comments. Usually we all agree, but if we don't then we have arguments and fight like crazy people to defend our favorite poems and protect them from the reject pile... sometimes they throw things at me... it's unseemly.