Editor Interview: Datura Literary Journal

Manifold genres.

As a French editor and publisher, I admire many French publications such as Cathy Garcia's Nouveaux délits, or Patrice Maltaverne's Traction-Brabant. There would be more to cite including Swiss and Belgian publications, but I don't think Duotrope's English speaking audience would find it quite interesting. The journal that I did most admire a few years ago was Magnapoets, edited by Aurora Antonovic. It amazed me that she decided to take the reverse path many publications took in the 2000s: from on line to print publication. This was courageous and time proved her right.
Many on line publications also have an impact on the way I now publish Datura, Beakful, and Urtica. The Centrifugal Eye, E'ratio, poeticdiversity, SubtleTea, and so many more.

I publish both. In fiction, social realism is probably what I like best. Though fancy, fantasy, realism with a twist in it is probably best. A fiction writer I published a lot is Jérémy Bérenger. His pieces were straight-forward, well-crafted and always satirical, ironical. He has stopped writing now. I always have in a corner of my brain such great writers as Kafka, Zweig, Rilke, Joyce, James, Wharton, Steinbeck, Zola.
Poetry is probably at the opposite of what I expect from fiction. I don't think poetry can easily fit into an illustration of real life without falling into clichés, using an awkward style. Dreams, unconsciousness, twisted flow. I like to cite poets such as Erich von Neff, JJ Steinfeld, John Grey, or the poets I published through Urtica Press. Past poets would be Blake, Baudelaire, Plath, Dickinson, Prévert, Bishop.
Datura took a turn towards darker work inspired by nihilism, anti-natalism, negative utilitarianism, efilism. Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Benatar, Cioran: "Is it possible that existence is our exile and nothingness our home?"

My inconstancy: I started Mauvaise Graine in Great-Britain, then I moved to France, where the publication stopped for two years before it resuscitated under the name mgversion2>datura. It stopped again and became Datura with a fresh start from number 0.
Datura wants to go back to the original creed: "What I want from the work I read is that it traumatizes me, tortures me or makes me laugh, disturbs me in fact. There is nothing more dreadful than some sterile work which will leave no trace upon you, apart from the need to read something else."
Urtica does the same but on a blog.
Beakful is more mainstream.
Besides, I used to translate the texts in one or the other language (French/English).
Eventually, it has always been a publication opened to world-literature. From the start, in 1996, I published American, British, French, Indian poets. The variety of origins has only widen since then.

Read the latest issues and contact me. I think that you cannot submit poetry or fiction without knowing where you go first; can you?

In terms of form: send it attached or in the body of an email to the right address. The ideal document is in txt format, or doc. In terms of quantity, three to five poems seems to be the right thing, and one piece or two of fiction. Other genres, please query first. In terms of substance, I quote again: "What I want from the work I read is that it traumatizes me, tortures me or makes me laugh, disturbs me in fact. There is nothing more dreadful than some sterile work which will leave no trace upon you, apart from the need to read something else."

They obviously have not read previous issues. They have not read the guidelines correctly when there are some. They seem not to live in the same world as I when they go on about flowers and butterflies.

Datura doesn't publish biographies anymore.
Just a line is necessary under the work published on Beakful or Urtica.
I may need more when the issue - in that case Datura - covers only one poet/writer. This has not happened for years now.
Obviously, this doesn't apply to the press. A short biography, essentials only, is always added at the beginning of the book.

It usually takes one read. Yet, I often have to read the piece twice or three times to make sure I am not making a mistake either in rejecting it or accepting it.

I always check if it is the author's own work - a few years ago, in the French small-press, we had a case of plagiarism. I make sure the author retains their rights if the piece has already been published.
We are now challenged by AI work. It is quite possible to spot the AI "art", but AI "fiction" or "poetry"...

I read the work I was submitted either for Urtica/Beakful or Datura when I feel like it. It can sometimes take me months before answering. I'm a sloth, a procrastinator born.
When I finally start, nothing, no one can stop me. It can be done in one or two days.

Seldom.

No, I don't.