#0074 How Editors Approach Poetry Versus Prose, Part One

Poetry has no rules

As the managing editor of a lit journal, I collaborate with lots of writers. Sometimes a conversation develops that extends beyond publication. I consider these connections publishing world friendships. 

Inlandia: A Literary Journey published three poems by Mike Sluchinski last fall. He and I have stayed in touch. As a reader (fan?) of 100 Rejections Club, Mike offered this idea for a future post: “i always wondered why the editors pretty sensitive to poetry and offer only light editing but for nonfiction and fiction i get cranked so bad the last piece of non fiction i submitted was deboned like chicken and edited a lot.”

Can I just say, deboned like a chicken, such a great visual and visceral simile! 

Mike got me thinking about the editorial handling of poetry vs prose. I confessed to him that, without taking a survey, I wouldn’t feel competent to address how Editors in the Literary Journal Universe might explain/respond. But I can share my take as an editor (and a writer) here.

Let me start by defining the editor role. 

Editors want to help writers communicate their ideas to their readers with clarity and conciseness. Just like the physician’s oath, we try to do no harm; usually that means not rewriting but recommending. At the end of the project, the editorial hand should be invisible. Sometimes, even the writer doesn’t realize how the editor assisted in the crystallization of meaning. 

Poetry doesn’t follow the rules. (Source: Photo by Trust "Tru" Katsande on Unsplash.)

Free-verse poetry is defined by what it is not: it doesn’t rhyme, it doesn’t follow a meter, it doesn’t adhere to a set of rules. The Poetry Foundation defines free verse as:

Nonmetrical, nonrhyming lines that closely follow the natural rhythms of speech. A regular pattern of sound or rhythm may emerge in free-verse lines, but the poet does not adhere to a metrical plan in their composition. Matthew Arnold and Walt Whitman explored the possibilities of nonmetrical poetry in the 19th century. Since the early 20th century, the majority of published lyric poetry has been written in free verse.

Without any rules to follow, the poet can do whatever? (Not really, but let’s follow this thread…) Which leaves some editors frozen¹ in a quandary and others wonder and question:

A poem ridlded with spelting erorrs seems not redy for publication. Yet might it reflect the reality of the dyslexic² poet?

A poet capitalizes the
First word of
Each line.
Are they purposefully following an older (pre–20th century) convention or lazily (perhaps unknowingly) letting the autoformat³ dictate the style of each line of the poem?

A poem don’t follow the grammar rules. Is the poet reflecting the spoken word⁴ or missed something during proofreading their revision? 

There’s inconsistent spacing after periods. Intentional?   Or did the poet fall back on old typing training (the two spaces after a period of the typewriter age⁵)?

Half a word is CAPitalized. Did the poet accidentally hit the caps lock, or did they intend this presentation?

And on and on and on…

Unless you run across an editor specializing in poetry — more likely at a lit journal dedicated to only publishing poems — or who is a poet herself? You will probably encounter an overworked, underpaid (or volunteer) editor on deadline who would rather not get entangled in your multitude of possible errors. The editor will be very hands-off. Maybe not ask your intentions. Maybe not ask for clarifications. Maybe not help you see how to unlock the potential in your poem.

A word of (my own personal, biased) caution: some one-man poetry journals run by a poet might lean into rewriting rather than recommending because of a lack of editorial training. (Does that sound judgy? Yup, because it is. And because it comes from my experience as a submitter and as a 20+ year editor who trained editors.)

If you’re a poet, or not, if you’re an editor, or not, if you read poetry, or not, let me know your take. Or ask me an editorial question, and I might feature it in a future post!

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Speedrun Schedule

Create: February 2nd–8th
Revise: February 9th–15th
Submit: February 16th–22nd
Embrace the Rejection: February 23rd–28th THIS WEEK

Winter Speedrun Schedule

Create: February 2nd–15th
Revise: February 16th–March 1st CONTINUE THIS WEEK*
Submit: March 2nd–15th
Embrace the Rejection: March 16th–31st

*Remember to research places to submit (if you didn’t in the first half of February) and revise to follow the guidelines.

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Next time: Another SmallStack Seed Pod!

1. Frozen, like a deer in the headlights? Maybe part of that fight, flight, or freeze (#0017) of the sympathetic nervous system?

2. Why the heck is dyslexic the word used for a learning difference that, for instance, often flops lowercase Ds and Bs and flips descending Ys in the brain and is really, really not phonetic? (Don’t get me started on phonetic not spelled fo-NE-tic-LEE or, for that matter, onomatopoeia, which looks like a medical procedure — BOOM!)

3. Which tech bro decided it was a good idea to autoformat everything As. The. Default. You gotta run a spellcheck and grammar check. Why not have to opt in for formatting suggestions?

4. Yes, I’m alluding to spoken-word poetry as well as slam poetry competitions.

5. Check out this Shop Talk at Chicago Manual of Style to read about the history of spaces.