[Ned Balbo]

A sad truth is that, from the standpoint of most publishers, readers don't want poetry. Most don't want to read it, let alone buy it. For those of us who've devoted years or lives to the art form, it's a painful realization.

Nor do most publishers have the resources to publicize our books. Those that do direct their resources to other non-poetry projects. My hat is off to those editors of small presses who sacrifice their own writing time to support the poets they publish.

Another factor: more & more readers encounter poetry through other media, often in performance or for free, on-line. With few exceptions, it's tough for even established poets to sell many copies of their books.

For these reasons, my view is that contests help protect & sustain the art of poetry in book form--at the very least, they contribute to sustaining a vital, varied range of voices that might not otherwise receive an editorial hearing. It's just not cost-effective for most publishers to bring out a book of poetry without the "push" that a contest provides.