Kelli Day
Kelli Agodon, Richard Nixon
and I are sharing a birthday today. Two of us will be celebrating and the
other is probably running for local magistrate in whatever circle of hell he
resides in. Kelli notes that it's also Joan Baez's birthday.
It's still cold as <fill in your most colorful cold metaphor> here. Friday
is slated to be the fourth snow storm in as many weeks, at least according to
the Weather Underground. My son Derek wants to drive down to Albuquerque
to transport a big gifted drum kit that his cousin is giving to him, but I'm
waiting to find out just how bad we get hammered again. You can't get to
New Mexico without hitting 6,500 feet along the way on I-25, worse if you try to
take the back way.
Junie and I are having dinner at a good local Cajun restaurant. I'll be
thinking of you.
Meanwhile, I've received an issue of Ploughshares that I've perused
during breaks. One thing that strikes you immediately is the large
percentage of Names. I don't know if that means that their solicitation
percentage is higher than normal or not. Most of the interesting work is
by the Non-Names, frankly. More on that tomorrow or the next day.
Comments
The guest editor of Ploughshares always has the responsibility of soliciting 50% of the issue they are editing. That has been their long-time policy. The other 50% is non-solicited. You also have to factor in the fact "names" submit to Ploughshares, even when not solicited.
Posted by: C. Dale | January 9, 2007 10:49 PM
My immediate response is that somebody has to publish the Names, since plenty of journals publish mainly No-Names.
But I wonder if the failure of said Names to satisfy is, at least in part, more a result of their Name-itude than the quality of the poems. There's a double-expectation at work: we want Names to astound us with their greatness, but their fame has dulled our ears to what's astounding; whereas No-Namers have the element of surprise, so to speak. I imagine there are also generational factors involved, but it seems to me the biggest issue is just familiarity, where fame works against the author and disappoints, ultimately, the reader.
Posted by: Rob | January 10, 2007 12:27 PM
Thanks, CDY, good thing to know when one is submitting :)
Could be, Rob. I'm sure the degree to which the guest editor's aesthetic agrees with you would also tend to be at work.
Posted by: jbahr | January 10, 2007 01:11 PM