NEW POETRY
ISSUE 2
FACING EMILY
If poetry’s to thrive in a blizzard of diversions, large claims for it should be made and credibly supported.
Poets could significantly enhance the presentation of their work.
For our second issue, I asked 150 writers who aren’t poets to name three contemporary poets and cite
one poem meeting the requirements below that Emily Dickinson included in a letter to Thomas Wentworth
Higginson. The poem could be written by a fourth poet. The writers were to feel free to make no recommendations for a virtual anthology. Poets they knew personally weren’t to be considered.
Sixteen writers responded, naming 46 poets and selecting 16 poems. No poet or poem was cited more than once. We may have come a long way from Walter Cronkite and Seamus Heaney. A far larger survey by a
publication with more resources might determine if this lack of consensus represents God’s plenty or is evidence of an end times redshift. In any case, poets may no longer have to wreathe each other’s brows;
critics and scholars again volunteered to take part in the unfunded poetry project of a new journal. Utilizing such unbiased and representative readers, if not the Amherst litmus, anthologists, magazine editors, and prize-givers could change how poems are evaluated and regarded.
I’d be pleased to learn from readers of this anthology if it has or hasn’t directed them to poetry that takes off the tops of their heads. I wouldn’t quote or name respondents without their permission; I’d like to know if they’re poets.
In our first issue, I began looking for ways that a poet could build a readership directly. A few months ago I asked 50 environmental lawyers and writers who have addressed climate issues if they’d view a filmed performance of the 110-line poem I’d sent them, a disaster movie pitch. Seven said they would, more than I could reasonably expect.
That project will have to wait. For the current issue I’ve made two shorter videos, links below, with the help of generous professionals. A prototype invades a titan’s sleep. Shakespaire visits the Ninth Circle. Creating a dramatic framework for a poem could add to its meaning and appeal. Many such performances must have been filmed and more could be.
Even if no camera's involved, poets could find this a fresh way to look at their work. I'm indebted to an Arctic researcher who suggested one change. I’d readily talk with filmmakers who might use poems of mine for their projects; any directions I’ve added would be suggestions and the poems could be modified.
Readers of a literary journal may look at its movies first. A climatologist might rely on Dickinson's standards when reviewing poetry videos for The Guardian and an astronomer could open the envelope for best picture at The Academy of American Poets Awards.
As in the case of the anthology, I’d welcome reader comments about videos. For a number of years, poets haven’t been able to rely on the rapt attention of listeners around a fire waiting for the Hwæt. Their forebears should approve if pictures, like gestures and harps, extend the reach of words.
Polly Rogers, who died last year, helped launch our first issue. Her work can be seen at stanjacoby.com and in the two videos.
The Door, Polly Rogers