When I first realized that I wanted to start a journal of my own, I had to ask myself why I wanted to do this, and what I wanted to accomplish. There are so many fine journals already in operation, why add to the noise? For that matter, why bother to write poetry? There is such a proliferation of poets today that to be heard at all is a fantastic feat. The literary world is not a library. It is a concert.
It can't be about fortune – very few poets can buy bread with the money they make from making poems. Nor can it be about fame – I don’t know of any poet-stalking paparazzi. For the most part, poets are camouflaged within their own communities, filling necessary domestic roles. Though you may be standing right beside one, you may not see them, unless you know they’re there.
It is not surprising that poetry itself is chameleon-like. Its ability to survive has been dependent upon its ability to adapt to the world around it. By "world", I mean to say surroundings – cultural, psychic, geographic. This journal seeks to explore this fertile territory by promoting poetry that reflects the habits as well as the habitat of the poet.
In short, poemeleon seeks to make visible the invisible. By placing disparate poems alongside one another I aim to highlight not just their contrasts, but their similarities.
To quote Forrest Gander:
"Like species, poems are not invented, but develop out of a kind of discourse, each poet tensed against another's poetics, in conversation."
Like it or not, poets everywhere are in conversation with each other.
So, the answer to my own questioning is: If I do nothing else to forward the interest of poetry in this life, I would like to have at least contributed to the conversation.
To read the rest of Gander’s article, a Poetry Daily Prose Feature, click here, or check out the articles section of the links page. There you’ll also find links to other interesting articles, as well as interviews, reviews, and journals that we like.
Thanks for tuning in.
Cati Porter, Editor
2006