June 2021
EDITOR'S NOTE
Dear Villagers,
Please join me in welcoming a new contributing editor - Tricia Knoll. Tricia has been a member of the Verse-Virtual community since early on, and has been a staunch supporter of this group. She is an excellent poet, and I encourage you to not only read her work here on V-V, but to find her books and read them. Welcome, Tricia!
Limiting submissions for June brought me an unexpected surprise: more submissions from people I haven't read before, or who haven't submitted in a long time. Every month, I am delighted at the variety and quality of the poems that I receive, and this was no exception. I may have alluded to this before, but I think it bears repeating. Unlike most other journals, I do not approach my selection of poems with the idea that "only the best of the best of the best" is going to get through. That's like "I dare you to impress me." Verse-Virtual wasn't founded on that kind of exclusionism, and that hasn't changed. So, yes, you will occasionally find poems in V-V that you might look at and wonder why they are included. Here are a few reasons.
I also catch myself smiling when I read a really good poem that hasn't been published yet, and Verse-Virtual will be its debut. I'm contemplating a future issue where the submission requirements will include "previously unpublished" works only. That will be a one-off, but you should be thinking about it.
In aviation, except for personal aircraft, you will always find a pilot and a copilot. The reasons are several, but the most critical is that if the pilot is incapacitated for any reason, there is a trained professional who can take over immediately. It makes good sense. Therefore I am actively seeking a person who can be the Associate Editor for Verse-Virtual, so that I am not the only person who understands how it works, how to create each month's issue, how to track submissions, etc. Feel free to email me to discuss, if you are interested or know someone who might be a good match.
PLEASE NOTE A POLICY CHANGE REGARDING REVIEWS AND COMMENTS. Because of the extra time it takes me to reformat long reviews (first for email, then for Facebook), I am asking that you limit your comments to three to six at a time, not any more or less than that. Favorite lines can be expanded on to explain why those lines appealed to you, which will give the author of that poem more feedback. Emails to individual authors are highly encouraged; Cc'ing me is up to you. I am always interested to see what is happening in the community, but not to the point of needing to know about every email that gets exchanged between members.
SUBMISSIONS for July are open from June 1 to June 10. Read the guidelines, no matter how many times you've submitted to us. READ. THE. GUIDELINES. The OPTIONAL theme for July is "Losing Your Head". As always, that is wide open to your interpretation.
Jim
Please join me in welcoming a new contributing editor - Tricia Knoll. Tricia has been a member of the Verse-Virtual community since early on, and has been a staunch supporter of this group. She is an excellent poet, and I encourage you to not only read her work here on V-V, but to find her books and read them. Welcome, Tricia!
Limiting submissions for June brought me an unexpected surprise: more submissions from people I haven't read before, or who haven't submitted in a long time. Every month, I am delighted at the variety and quality of the poems that I receive, and this was no exception. I may have alluded to this before, but I think it bears repeating. Unlike most other journals, I do not approach my selection of poems with the idea that "only the best of the best of the best" is going to get through. That's like "I dare you to impress me." Verse-Virtual wasn't founded on that kind of exclusionism, and that hasn't changed. So, yes, you will occasionally find poems in V-V that you might look at and wonder why they are included. Here are a few reasons.
- The poem has value based on its content that merits publishing. And this community has demonstrated a willingness to nuture poets who are less experienced.
- The poet speaks/writes English as a second language, but has captured a thought or an image well enough to be included. I sometimes work with those poets to clear up grammar issues, but little beyond that. The payback is cultural education and exposure.
- The poem happens to appeal to me, even if it isn't the most well-written, or sophisticated, or polished. And because I enjoy it, I think the community might also.
I also catch myself smiling when I read a really good poem that hasn't been published yet, and Verse-Virtual will be its debut. I'm contemplating a future issue where the submission requirements will include "previously unpublished" works only. That will be a one-off, but you should be thinking about it.
In aviation, except for personal aircraft, you will always find a pilot and a copilot. The reasons are several, but the most critical is that if the pilot is incapacitated for any reason, there is a trained professional who can take over immediately. It makes good sense. Therefore I am actively seeking a person who can be the Associate Editor for Verse-Virtual, so that I am not the only person who understands how it works, how to create each month's issue, how to track submissions, etc. Feel free to email me to discuss, if you are interested or know someone who might be a good match.
PLEASE NOTE A POLICY CHANGE REGARDING REVIEWS AND COMMENTS. Because of the extra time it takes me to reformat long reviews (first for email, then for Facebook), I am asking that you limit your comments to three to six at a time, not any more or less than that. Favorite lines can be expanded on to explain why those lines appealed to you, which will give the author of that poem more feedback. Emails to individual authors are highly encouraged; Cc'ing me is up to you. I am always interested to see what is happening in the community, but not to the point of needing to know about every email that gets exchanged between members.
SUBMISSIONS for July are open from June 1 to June 10. Read the guidelines, no matter how many times you've submitted to us. READ. THE. GUIDELINES. The OPTIONAL theme for July is "Losing Your Head". As always, that is wide open to your interpretation.
Jim