[Jim Hayes]

Wendy, I have never done anything but rejoice publicly and privately in your ability to storm the bastions, I have no axe to grind with you in any way, I'm not privy to your submission process but have always assumed, and still know, your success is gained entirely on merit.

This entire discussion is predicated on the selection and rejection process employed by Poetry. It is a reasonable interpretation of Tim's remarks to assume that a personal fast-track to "Chris" is the most efficacious means of being published.

That'a ALL I've assumed and never at any time had you in mind in so doing. Your name was introduced by Tim Murphy into the discussion for reasons best known to him.

We all know the most essential requirement is first; submit a good poem.
Then make sure, a) it gets noticed and b) that it's not rejected on a technicality.

Excusing me for whining, if for some reason, and I'm not referring to you, the playing field is not perceived as being level. I simply think these things should be discussed and the air cleared.
Currently I suspect Tim did not put his balls on the anvil, they were already there and he simply did a damage limitation exercise.
I would be pleased to be dissuaded of this notion.

[Tim Murphy]

No Jim, I made my position clear with Chris, spoke on behalf of the community and received a reasonable response. I could have had two accepted poems returned with civil regrets.

For the record, I believe that Wendy and Wiman secretly tryst in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

[Roger Slater]

Way to put it on the line, Tim!

I must say the "problems" of many of you posting here seem quite enviable to those of us who do not get prompt personal letters from Chris Wiman or any indication whatsoever that our submissions have actually been read. Once Chris starts sending you personal notes, and does so promptly after somehow spotting your envelope among the thousands he receives each week, it seems to me that you have little to worry about when it comes to being published in Poetry now and then.

Alex, thanks for (knock wood) fixing the Google problem!

[Terese Coe]

FWIW, I never workshopped the "Epitaph for Francois Rabelais" translation published by Poetry. No one opened any back, side, or garage doors for me, nor did lobbyists, bribes or favors enhance what was on offer.

I don't suck up to them and they don't suck up to me. I haven't given them my secondborn child, and if they had taken him (even at three years old) they would have been mincemeat in about a half-hour (as for the firstborn, their minds would have been mincemeat). My kids have minds of their own, to put it mildly. And that's a good thing.

[Roger Slater]

No one ever accused you of anything, Terese. It's encouraging to see that one can be noticed in the blind pool of slush, without so much as a name to drop.

I didn't mean to complain, at least not excessively. Those, if any, who have special access have earned it by their reputations. I would not expect that Richard Wilbur, for example, should have to have his submissions sit in a pile of 20,000 wannabes waiting for some screener to pass it along to Wiman. Nor would I expect my own mailed inquiry to Wiman regarding prior publication to be answered in a week's time with a personal note. Clearly it is okay for Wiman to have certain people he is more eager to hear from than myself. I just wish the real poets would go on strike so I could shockingly cross the picket line and fill in until the strike was over.

[Terese Coe]

"No one ever accused you of anything, Terese."

I know, Bob. I thought I'd preempt any possible accusations, show transparency, and brag about my kids while I was at it.

(Hey, how often in eight years have I taken the opportunity to brag about my kids here? I think never...unless memory fails.)

[Tim Murphy]

Hey folks, we all start out sending over the transom. The first two poems Alan Sullivan sent out were to Poetry and The Spectator. They were accepted. I only started publishing twelve years ago, but I've won the rodeo about three hundred times. First requirement, put your best foot forward. I think Poetry's two great victories in the last twenty years are their discoveries of Kay Ryan and Wendy Videlock. Go to their masthead and read Harriet Monroe's Mission Statement. 106 years later, they are still at it.

[wendy v]

Jim, old friend,

Namaste,

no hard feelings...

My defensiveness is a result of some cumulative stuffs, as I said,
as I'm sure yours are. I figured I'd just put it all out there, vent
my own annoyances, display my application for sainthood, etc.

I do understand publishing frustrations and the accompanying
suppositions. I suffer them, too, but I try to remind myself that I
ought at least make an effort to be half as objective
as I might wish all those editors out there to be.

There's a gawdawful whole lotta poems out there in the world.

Paz --

[Jim Hayes]

Thank you Wendy, your words mean much.

They always do.

Jim

[Alex Pepple]

I've added a guide on Google indexing protection and the protection code usage in the FAQ system. Simply enter the search term 'google' in the FAQ to bring up the relevant instructions. Note that there are other search terms such as 'protection', 'indexing', etc. that will return these instructions as well, but 'google' is probably the most memorable.


Cheers,
...Alex