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For
inclusion in Featured Poets, please send up to six poems (from which
four or five might be chosen), a concise biography mainly about your
poetry, and a jpg picture of yourself, or gif. A picture is not
essential but it adds interest for readers. In the case of pictures,
you can send the URL of a picture on a website. Please do not send an
enormous TIF or bitmap picture, which could tie up our email for a long
time. For biographies, please try to keep it to no more than two medium
length paragraphs. Rather than listing every ezine you have ever
appeared in, prefix the list of links with something like: "has
appeared in numerous online journals including...." or after a short
list, add: "plus many more". Long biographies tie up file space which
could be used to showcase more poetry.
Send your bio and poems pasted into the text of an email, not as an
attachment. If you are copy/pasting from a WP program like MS Word or
MS Works, paste into a blank text (MS Notepad or Mac Simple Text)
document first - that will avoid the disappearance of certain
characters like foreign accents, apostrophes and long hyphens. If you
want any text in italics, put asterisks either side of it. If you have
any technical problems at all with losing these text characters, mail me for advice.
Please
do not send the URL of a website with your work - if you want someone
to publish it, they should not have to go looking for it themselves.
Most editors prefer the actual poems being sent in an email.
REPLY TIME: If a poem in your submission does not
appear in the PL&T
issue within 5 (five) months following the date you send it
to us, and if we
have not notified you regarding publication in a
future issue, it will
not appear. The editor's decision is final. Your
work reverts to you and
you are free to submit it elsewhere without risk of
an inadvertant
simultaneous submission. Please understand that
editing a monthly
publication keeps us too busy to write routine
emails of acceptance or
rejection if we are to give your work the attention
it deserves. Also, your work may suit a later issue of PL&Times --as we are fond of compilations and anthologies.
Actual Content of Poems: We have no
preference for rhyme over free
verse,
or vice versa. But please try to send good quality work which would
impress un-biased readers such as fellow poets on poetry forums, not
simply something your friends or relatives would praise. It is often
extremely difficult for a busy poetry editor to find something
encouraging to say about a poorly-written poem - and even harder to
explain tactfully why something will not be published.
So here are some guidelines about our likes and dislikes......
If your poems are written in a witty,
clever and original way,
they have a very good chance of being showcased in Featured Poets.
Poetry also has a good chance if it is written with a feel for form,
rhythm and the musicality of language, whether or not it rhymes. Does
it stir the senses? Is it vivid? If so, we'll love it....
We accept poems in different languages,
if
they fit the
criteria above, if they are submitted with well-written English
translations. In case you have trouble with the translation, we
shall be pleased to help you as both Editors are expert translators
into English.
Please do not send mawkish poems about deceased pets or broken
love affairs. If you do write poems about tragic subjects, think
attractively-poignant rather than whiningly-plaintive. Be original and
take care that the poem does not come across like bad Country &
Western song lyrics. Readers will only identify with your feelings if
they admire the style of the poem.
If you submit poetry about the worlds' problems, such as war
or crime, please try to avoid sending any which have a "preachy" tone.
Avoid submitting poems which contain
expletives. We all swear
sometimes, but the harsh sound of expletives does not, to us, have the
ring of true poetry. Swear words belong in ordinary conversation;
poetry is better than that. What works for hard metal rock lyrics will
not always work for poetry.
If you submit a simple poem that did not
take long to write,
the chances are that we might find it too simplistic or sloppy. Even
haiku takes time and careful thought before it is ready to send to a
publisher or ezine editor. One good way to avoid seeming too
simplistic, or using generic adjectives, is to be influenced by good
poetry, not by potentially cliché-ridden influences such as pop song
lyrics. Many ezine editors I have interviewed have stated that poets
should read as much poetry as they write - this is very good advice. So
let the maestros of literature be your guide.
Please do not try to influence us to choose one poem in
particular if it is a favourite of yours, as we may prefer different
poems from your submitted selection.
Have
a look through some recent back issues
of Poetry Life & Times before deciding which poems to put in the
email. This is a good idea with any ezine. Sort of like market
research... it gives you a better chance of having your work featured.
Editors and publishers who have been interviewed in previous issues
have often been asked questions such as "what is your idea of what
makes a good poem?" or "what advice would you give to a young poet who
wishes to improve his or her work to publication standard?" ...If you
are just beginning to write poetry, their answers to these questions
will provide you with valuable information about writing and submitting
your poetry - to their ezines as well as this one.
If
you have had poems featured in Featured Poets before, please keep a
note of which ones and when, to avoid duplication. It's OK if some of
your poems have appeared in other ezines, but not if some have already
been in this one. Poetry Life & Times has been online every month
for over three years, yet there will always be someone, somewhere, who
could spot a repeat.
Lastly,
most importantly, please spellcheck your work. We can spellcheck it,
but it gives a better impression if there are no typos. This would
apply for all ezines (and book publishers).
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