Welcome to the première issue of Able Muse. My vision in
creating this journal has been to spotlight formal poetry via an online
presentation that is as finely crafted as the poems, book reviews,
essays, and artwork it features.
Despite the plethora of online journals covering a wide spectrum of
literary interests, most of the poetry published on the web has been
free-verse. Given formal poetry's recent rise in popularity in print
journals, and the number of journals that exclusively publish formal
poems, it is surprising that the online medium, with its explosive
growth and aggressive rush to publish a bit of everything, has failed to
represent the best and the brightest of the neo-formalist revival. So, this formalist set out to tip the balance a little the other way.
My goal has been to create a unique and distinctive journal quite unlike
any other online, both in terms of the contents and the site design.
On the technical side, I only tested the site on Netscape 3.0 and
greater and Internet Explorer (IE) 4.0 and greater. It looks best on IE.
I have not yet been able to test on IE 3.0, hence this release does not
support it. However, I intend to have a version for that browser and
other JavaScript and tables-challenged browsers for the next issue, Able
Muse Y2K.
My special thanks go to Beth Houston, our feature poet, not only for
her prolific and proficient writing, but also for stepping up to the
plate at the dying hours, when it seemed I would never finish this
project, and volunteering to proofread everything. And you will
not find a better proofreader anywhere — she not only flushed out
typos, grammar errors and stylebook violations, but also, bugs in
page layout and hyperlinks. If there is an extra space between
words, she will find it!
To conclude, my wish is that this issue of Able Muse will be the
beginning of a new online tradition that, for many years to come, will
publish some of today's best formal poetry in the supportive company of
pertinent reviews, essays, and distinctive art. This will happen with
your support for Able Muse and its contributors. Here is one
web site where you will always find a rich vein of talent.
Sincerely,
Alex Pepple
—Editor.
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