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  #1  
Unread 09-11-2021, 02:58 PM
john savoie john savoie is offline
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Default Evansville Review

I was surprised to see--maybe it's not new--
that the Evansville Review is distancing itself
from formal poetry. From their guidelines:

Our taste in poems varies wildly, but we tend to shy away from strict formalism.
That doesn't mean we don't accept it, but if you use a form, the work should be excellent.
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  #2  
Unread 09-11-2021, 03:49 PM
E. Shaun Russell E. Shaun Russell is offline
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"If you use a form, the work should be excellent."

Is there a tacit implication here that if you don't use a form, your work doesn't have to be excellent?
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  #3  
Unread 09-11-2021, 04:09 PM
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Sarah-Jane Crowson Sarah-Jane Crowson is offline
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They might just be getting loads of people sending them really terrible sonnets & trying to avoid wading through a slush pile of dodgy rhymes?

There's been an increased interest in poetry, perhaps, since the pandemic (my evidence is anecdata - newspaper articles, combined with personal reflections and a huge uptick in new, possibly not that great, online journals). Many beginning poets try to use rhyme because they think that this is a shorthand for what poetry 'is'.

Sarah-Jane
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Unread 09-11-2021, 04:16 PM
Roger Slater Roger Slater is offline
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My problem with them is that they only publish once a year and they are skipping 2021 (using the pandemic as an excuse).

But their guideline is also ridiculous. How many people read the guidelines and say to themselves, "Damn, I was hoping to send them my bad formal poems but now I have to send them my excellent ones"?
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  #5  
Unread 09-11-2021, 04:21 PM
W T Clark W T Clark is online now
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I'm rather in agreement with Sarah. They don't seem to be distancing themselves from form, simply asking for the best, that surely should be the mandate of any poetry journal. The fact that they don't ask for the best of free verse is worrying, but form is easier to do terribly. In the end, they should really be asking for the best poetry, period.
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Unread 09-11-2021, 04:26 PM
Matt Q Matt Q is offline
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Roger,

Is it ridiculous though? How about people who're thinking: Evansville take form, I'll take a chance with my so-so metrical poems. I think the hope is that such people are dissuaded from doing that. It would make me think twice unless I was very sure of my poem.

Matt
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  #7  
Unread 09-11-2021, 04:45 PM
Roger Slater Roger Slater is offline
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Matt,

I guess so. But I think it's sort of a cliche you find in guidelines. So many journals say in their guidelines that you should only send them your best work, an exhortation that I think is rather pointless when you think about it. What does it mean? "Please send your mediocre stuff to other magazines, but we prefer the good stuff"?
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Unread 09-11-2021, 05:03 PM
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Sarah-Jane Crowson Sarah-Jane Crowson is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Roger Slater View Post
My problem with them is that they only publish once a year and they are skipping 2021 (using the pandemic as an excuse).

But their guideline is also ridiculous. How many people read the guidelines and say to themselves, "Damn, I was hoping to send them my bad formal poems but now I have to send them my excellent ones"?
Lol. It's interesting though. Because it's a particular kind of journal that says 'only send us your best'. For some, it's implicit. If it has to be articulated (regardless of formal/informal/vispo) then that might ask questions - although I'm pretty sure that it's also about avoiding having loads of dodgy poetry to read, too.

Sarah-Jane
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  #9  
Unread 09-11-2021, 05:10 PM
W T Clark W T Clark is online now
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How popular (or for that matter good) a journal is it, might be an interesting question. Bearing in mind I never heard of it before this thread.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sarah-Jane Crowson View Post
Lol. It's interesting though. Because it's a particular kind of journal that says 'only send us your best'. For some, it's implicit. If it has to be articulated (regardless of formal/informal/vispo) then that might ask questions - although I'm pretty sure that it's also about avoiding having loads of dodgy poetry to read, too.

Sarah-Jane
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  #10  
Unread 09-11-2021, 05:41 PM
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Duncan Gillies MacLaurin Duncan Gillies MacLaurin is offline
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I'm sure there's lots of dodgy free verse too. I read it as a clear signal that formal verse isn't their cup of tea.

Duncan
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