Interview with Sara Russell, Founding Editor of
Poetry Life & Times, currently resident poet here,
by Richard
Vallance
Sub-edited
by PLT
First
published Vallance Review 59, autumn 2006 (With Permission)
Richard:
Hello, Sara. I understand that you were the editor of Poetry Life & Times from 1998-[April] 2006*. You are also the founder of this internationally known e-zine, is that correct? Can you tell us how and why you founded Poetry Life & Times in the first place?
Sara:
It started with Café Society, the help
page for poets. I had this notion of helping poets to promote and
publish their work, since the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook had no
section for poetry publishers, they were all jumbled up with fiction
and factual book publishers. Then I decided to have a news journal for
poets as part of it: Poetry Life & Times.
Richard: Since I first met you in the summer of 2001, I have read many issues
of Poetry Life & Times, and I've noticed that you frequently
publish English poets from several nations, not just the United
Kingdom. As I understand, these countries include Australia, Canada and
the United States, amongst others. Can you tell us why you decided to
publish poets from around the world?
Sara:
I thought it would be good to reach a large
audience. Poets everywhere often feel marginalised, since many
publishers feel that poetry doesn't sell. All over the world poets need
advice and exposure for their work. Also different languages and
cultures can bring different shades of musicality and wisdom into the
spectrum of poetry.
Richard: Shortly after I got to know you in 2001, you will recall that I
asked you whether you would be willing to let me write monthly critical
reviews on sonneteers, historical and contemporary. I suppose this
started as an experiment for the both of us, but the review eventually
evolved to become a hallmark of Poetry Life & Times. From your
point of view, could you explain how this came about?
Sara:
I noticed that you often wrote detailed reviews
of poems in your Yahoo poetry forums. I could see that many of them
could easily be expanded into a full essay-style review for a poetry
journal, and that some of them could be very helpful to students and
poets, giving insights into different structures of classical poetry,
in both form and idiom.
Richard: So I take it that you have been satisfied with the Vallance Review
overall?
Sara:
Yes. They make a great historical collection,
over the years. Students of English literature will find many of them
very useful to their studies.
Richard: But the Vallance Review has been only a small part of Poetry Life
& Times, and only since September 2001. Prior to that, the e-zine
featured several outstanding poets, and after the Vallance Review got
its steam up, your Interviews with poets always remained the main
feature of Poetry Life & Times. I have always had the distinct
impression that you loved giving interviews. Why, you could have been a
literary journalist! Certainly most of the poets you've interviewed are
quite well known. Can you tell us which criteria you used to decide
which poets you decided to interview?
Sara:
I like to interview new, young poets, to help
bring exposure for their work. It is also very useful to interview
ezine and book editors, as their opinions can help poets to improve any
weak areas in their work. And of course interviewing poets who are also
editors helps to generate a larger readership on both sides.
Richard: On the other hand, you often interviewed relatively unknown
contemporary poets. It seems to me you really tried to balance your
interviews so that all sorts of poets were afforded the opportunity for
public literary exposure. Can you clarify your policies for us in this
respect?
Sara:
I always liked to help talented poets who were
only just beginning to get published, perhaps online or in printed
journals. As long as their only reason for being unknown was bad luck
or lack of contacts, rather than lack of quality in their poetry.
Richard: Another remarkable thing I've noticed was your decision to publish
non-English poets from many other nations. You have frequently
published poets writing in French and German, amongst other languages.
What languages, apart from those I've just mentioned, have been
represented in your truly international poetry journal?
Sara:
Several Dutch and Italian poets have also been
featured, with translations. Also we occasionally featured poetry in
Hebrew by the well-known Israeli poet Elisha Porat.
He and I found a
way of making his work appear in the correct Hebrew character set, in a
jpg picture, along with the English translation in another column. More
recently Amparo
Arrospide's Spanish poetry was featured. She now
co-edits Poetry Life & Times with Robin Ouzman Hislop.
Richard: Can you let us know who were favourites amongst English and
non-English poets you interviewed (myself excluded of course), in
Poetry Life & Times, from 1998 to [April] 2006?
Sara:
Some of the most enjoyable interviews were with Lyn Lifshin, Barbara Crooker, Ward Kelley, Joseph Armstead and the Jazz poet Ralph Alfonso. These poets have also sent me some wonderful material including books and audio recitals of their poetry. Ralph sent me three free CDs of his jazz poetry, one of which included a rather cute animation. Ward Kelley, Lyn Lifshin and Barbara Crooker are three very friendly, approachable poets. And I found myself having a lot in common with Joseph Armstead, who writes a lot of dark, Gothic poems and stories. It's worth looking him up on AuthorsDen. Elisha Porat was great to interview too; he has a lot of charm and humility.I also very much enjoyed interviewing Sage
Sweetwater, whose poetry
and lifestyle are highly unconventional.
Editors' Note: In the original interview, the month
was ommitted. Robin Ouzman and Amparo
Arrospide became co-editors following April 2006.
Several
quoted authors' works may be searched using the Google tool below or
looking at the Archives
- Literary Review on Ancient Heart Anthology 2006
- Poet Katherine Gordon on Ancient Heart Anthology 2006
- Aberjhani: An Interview
- by Randy Barfield, sub-edited by PLT
- Elisha Porat as a visual poet
- Elisha Porat: a few Hebrew texts.
- Moon calendar + music files
- by PLT artists.
- Poesie's Laissez Faire
- From Richard Vallance
- Vallance Review Canada
- From Richard Vallance
