Are there too many online poetry journals?

A quick google search of the phrase "online poetry journal" brought back 15,000 entries (without the quotes, it was upwards of 24 million). Most of these had names I had never heard of: Prairie Poetry, The Pregnant Moon Poetry Review, Boiling River.... 

I've been wondering about the average lifespan of a literary journal. At least four of the online literary journals where my own poems have appeared are no longer operational (at first glance, the journals appear to be active, but when I checked the archives new issues have not been posted for over a year or more, usually more.) A quick trip through the Poemeleon links page found that 12 of the 66 original links (or about 18%) were either nonfunctioning or led to pages that indicated the journal had either closed up shop or were on a temporary hiatus. Now, I know at least one of them is gearing up to move from print to online (though that was supposed to happen in January and it's now nearly May), and another that I had worried might have gone under had just moved its site. It does worry me, though, when I see a journal that is obviously not operating and yet their guidelines page still indicates they are accepting submissions. 

The new issue of Poets & Writers magazine includes a special section called "The Lit Mag Moment", and within it contains a story by Sandra Beasley titled "From Page to Pixels: The Evolution of Online Journals". It argues convincingly for submitting our best work online, and makes a case for the viability and sustainability of online journals in general. As an editor of an online journal, I'm inclined to agree on both points, but I'm not entirely convinced.

"The notion that Web-based journals are easily launched -- and are therefore easily abandoned -- is central to the reservations of many writers."

-- Sandra Beasley

The fact is, it is rather easy to start a literary journal -- if you have a little time, are willing to shell out the cash for web hosting, or don't mind using one of the free blog-style formats available, a literary journal can be up and running in an afternoon. My very impatient son did so just last week, using Wordpress as his platform -- and, I'm afraid, he's already lost interest. When I think about how Poemeleon came about-- after an evening discussion about literary journals with my very rational husband, who, over a glass or two of wine, suggested I start my own. I knew I needed to jump on it before he realized what a mistake he'd made. Within a day I had a domain name and a crude version of the site. Within weeks the first submissions trickled in. And the rest, as they say, is history. 

No one can tell you up front how much time it will take to keep your journal running smoothly. It's not just about reading submissions. It's also about continually updating the site's content (my links page is an example of something that I have yet to do). It's about formatting each issue, which takes mondo amounts of time that I can't even begin to calculate (and I use something called Squarespace, which makes the formatting much simpler -- you don't need to know html to have a fully-functioning site). But editors have lives, too. It's easy to see how an online journal could get brushed aside in favor of more self-fulfilling work, like one's own writing. My poor husband had no idea what he was in for. He hasn't had a clean house since, unless he does it himself, after a day at the office. Editing a literary journal really is a labor of love. You have to love it, otherwise the labor isn't worth the effort. Other online journals that I admired at the time I was creating Poemeleon have since disappeared, presumably due to time constraints and other conflicts, like, oh, working for a living. But of course, during that time, new journals have cropped up, and other stalwarts have continued to publish stellar work. 

So, why publish online? Who can argue with being able to google a poet's name and bring up all of their work online, or having the ability to electronically (and therefore more efficiently and cheaply) send out notifications of new work published, complete with a link to the page where the work actually appears? Imagine trying to do that with a traditional print journal. 

So, my advice to those interested in publishing online: send out only your best work, because it's not going to disappear into a black hole; all it takes is your name in the search engine's happy little box to bring up that awful poem you wrote about suicide when you were thirty-one (oh wait, that was mine). And my advice to editors of online literary journals -- if you're forced or choose to fold, please have the courtesy to post something to your guidelines page so that nobody's time is wasted, and try to keep the archives online for as long as possible.

I believe in the power of literature to change people's lives, and I believe in the internet as a tool that can disseminate information quickly and efficiently to anyone across the globe who has access. 

So, the question: Are there too many online poetry journals out there? 

With so many potential readers, how can there possibly be? 

Welcome back!

A couple of years ago I made the decision to consolidate this blog with my own, but Poemeleon has grown a lot since then and it deserves its own space, and I need somewhere to make more public announcements.

To begin with, several of our contributors are up for Rhysling Awards this year. Our congratulations go out to:

Diana Adams

Mary Alexandra Agner

Jeannine Hall Gailey

Lynn Strongin

(We're keeping our fingers crossed for you! To read the full list of nominees click here.)

I would also like to announce our nominees for this year's Best New Poets anthology (published by Meridian, University of Virginia Press):

Jon Stone, for "Bullshit Related Injuries in the A & E"

Ellen Goldstein, for "Landscape"

We've had a little luck with this particular anthology (Alex Grant's "The Steps of Montmartre" was chosen for inclusion in a prior year's issue), and these are certainly memorable poems, so we wish them the best of luck. To be nominated, the poem must have been published sometime during the twelve months prior to the deadline, and the poet must not have a full-collection in print, or in progress to be published before November of the following year. In combing through the issues, I was amazed at just how accomplished our contributors are; there were only a handful who met the requirements, which made it both easier (fewer to choose from) and harder (how to choose?).

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Also, I've made a change to the publication schedule:

As many of you know, after mothering two small boys for nearly ten years, last year I decided to go ahead and apply to a MFA program that would allow me to work from home while still managing the household, Poemeleon, as well as my own writing and reading schedule (nevermind the fact that I am expecting again, which should throw a brand new wrench into the works!). I will complete my first year this June, but something that I hadn't factored in was that the mandatory residency period falls just when Poemeleon's issues should be coming due (June & December). This past issue was delayed until March as I struggled to get caught up after the new year, so I have decided that to better serve everyone's needs the new publication dates will be October and April. The next issue, which will focus on the issue of gender, has a submission deadline of June 30. Last year we implemented an online submission form which is now in full swing. It has made for a more efficient way to read and keep track of submissions. And as always, we encourage you to track your submission through Duotrope's free submission tracker.

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In other news:

Every associate editor has come to me first as a contributor: Maureen Alsop and Ren Powell had poems published in the first two issues, and Tom Hunley, who sent me poems first, then later book reviews. In keeping with what seems to be our tradition, we are adding a new Associate editor. We have published her in several issues, and as she is retiring from her University position this year, we are pleased to welcome to the staff Judy Kronenfeld. A little more about Judy:

Judy Kronenfeld is the author of two books and two chapbooks of poetry, the most recent being Light Lowering in Diminished Sevenths, winner of the 2007 Litchfield Review Poetry Book Prize, which was published in Summer, 2008. Her poems, as well as the occasional short story and personal essay have appeared in numerous print and online journals. Recent and forthcoming poem credits include Natural Bridge, The American Poetry Journal, The Innisfree Poetry Journal, Calyx, The Hiram Poetry Review, The Pedestal, The Cimarron Review, as well as a number of anthologies, including Bear Flag Republic: Prose Poems and Poetics from California, edited by Christopher Buckley and Gary Young (Greenhouse Review Press/Alcatraz Editions, 2008) and Beyond Forgetting: Poetry and Prose about Alzheimer’s Disease, edited by Holly Hughes (Kent State University Press, 2009). She is also the author of a critical study: KING LEAR and the Naked Truth (Duke U.P., 1998). She has taught in the Department of Creative Writing, at the University of California, Riverside for twenty-five years.

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And if you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, the humor issue launched last month. It includes poems, reviews, and essays by:

Malaika King Albrecht, Sherman Alexie, Renee Ashley, Diego Baez, Lavina Blossom, Deborah Bogen, Jason Bredle, Patrick Carrington, Alex Cigale, Barbara Crooker, Carol Dorf, R.S. Dunn, Tim Earley, Kate Fetherston, Ann Fisher-Wirth, Richard Garcia, David Graham, Alex Grant, Matthew Henrickson, Paul Hostovsky, Tom Hunley, Luisa Igloria, Roy Jacobstein, Julie Kane, Janet Kirchheimer, Judy Kronenfeld, Robert Krut, Haley Lasche, Wayne Lee, Paul Lieber, Sarah Maclay, Holaday Mason, Ann E. Michael, Jessy Randall, Moira Richards, Penelope Scambly Schott, Marian Kaplun Shapiro, Martha Silano, J.D. Smith, Mari Stanley, Jon Stone, Marilyn L. Taylor, Charles Harper Webb, & Katherine Williams.

Have a look, and if you want to keep up with what's going down on Poemeleon, subscribe to the NewsBlog, or if you're on Facebook be sure to join the Poemeleon group page.

Many thanks for three fruitful years and many more to come!

Cati Porter

Founder & Editor, Poemeleon: A Journal of Poetry

Form issue just released, and some news

The form issue has just gone live at Poemeleon -- check it out!

Also, a quick note about this blog: I am discontinuing it in an effort to consolidate things. I have imported the posts from this blog into my new blog. From now on, please check either the Newsblog or my personal blog (just click the Poemeleon link in the tag cloud) for information about the progress of this journal. I've just been way too spread out. Having everything in one place just plain makes sense.

Thanks!

All Notifications Sent: Take Two

Phew! ALL notifications have been sent.

Thanks for your patience.

Apologies....

Unfortunately, I have just found another thirty submissions that I have not sent notifications for. They are not unread, just unresponded-to.

Please forgive the late reponse, and if you haven't heard from me, that's probably why (they are all, however, rejections, but please don't be discouraged... I'm officially looking for prose poems for the next issue, so try again).