an editorial by brian morrisey

“A good poem must transcend the purely personal.” –Linda Lerner

SUBMERGED IN THE DEEP DEPTH OF DREAMS SPREADING ACROSS A RED CARPET WELCOMING TOMORROW to succumb to the ways of modern man surfacing upon the shores of realist intuitions. I walk slowly toward the euphoria of art and poetry, painting everlasting images before my eyes. Communication with fellow pioneers to journey onward as one has been delayed because I cannot move my lips to speak in the open air of our common struggles to reflect and act upon. The call to nature has limited my interaction beyond perception of visions seen forth and put beneath my pen. I speak to you in poetry set gently upon the following pages.

I walk among a herd of small press publishers who are bound by the grace of submissions. There has been recent contemplation as to whether or not distinguished talent is worth dabbling in the small press due to frustration and unreliable editors taking submissions for granted.

This accusation is clearly stated by famed author, Bruce Boston, in his commentary, Small Press Magazines: Should You Bother?, for a website called Writing-World.com. He reminisces about an experience he had waiting for over two years for a response from a submission to a magazine, only to have it returned crumpled with a torn piece of scrap paper stating, "This fell behind our refrigerator."

There is no excuse to provide Bruce, or other authors, with that can justify the means in this matter. I agree that there are some editors out there giving us a bad reputation, but for the most part, editors are often drowning in a slew of submissions and have a large backlog of work they have accepted to publish.

The poet and editor must walk on common ground in order to maintain influence in literature. A clear example that may portray the art of publishing the poet is to approach it like writing a poem. Each submission is a word in a poem that is delicate and thoughtfully arranged in respectable order to portray a true image purely obtained. Often, many revisions take place before the power and raw emotion becomes part of your reality beneath the palette of one’s refined taste.

To add zest to an editor’s palette, I would suggest following a quote from Linda Lerner during a conversation we had this issue, "...the poem must transcend the purely personal." These words are the eyes that guide and illustrate a poetic vision of poetry for Poesy.

As the world fades into me, I lay back to watch the ground touch the sky distilled in deep blue waters that sink into the night waiting for the stars gently