Making the Poetry Anthology a Reality

[Lugh]

Hey Guys!

 

I have a question for you... lets say we do make this (annual?) poetry anthology a reality and all of you want to participate cause it's such a good idea...

 

what kind of rules do you think it should have?

 

 

As it stands now to participate in the anthology there is a word count minimum. Should poetry be limited to one poem per poet or should collections up to a maximum word count be allowable? Are there any any special themes you would like to play with?

 

If we do this, it would be yours from the start, something you all could help to decide. Think about it and leave some ideas/input please.

 

Lugh

 

(who is adding a simple poll for those who like those type of things)

[Graeme]

As it stands now to participate in the anthology there is a word count minimum. Should poetry be limited to one poem per poet or should collections up to a maximum word count be allowable? Are there any any special themes you would like to play with?

I should add that after discussions with Lugh, the rules for the general anthologies will be changed to make it easier to submit poems. So your input here will impact on more than just a poetry anthology

 

Graeme

GA Anthology Coordinator

[Gregoire]

I don't have anything to contribute rule wise, but I just wanted to say that I'm really excited about the prospect of a poetry anthology. For no reason other than I think that poetry is a unique form of expression and I'm interested in seeing a collection of everyone's thoughts and ideas, though I'm sure that's already been said in another thread.

 

My voting break down is as follows:

 

What kind of rules do you think we should have?

Something simiar to the fiction anthology, but modified for poets would be nice.

 

(I feel like that one is self-explanatory)

 

I have not entered a poem in a past anthology before due to the word count minimum.

I have never written a poem for any GA Anthology

 

(Also self-explanatory...I'm beginning to rethink this submission)

 

The authors should be limited to one poem entered per anthology no matter how short it is, even if it's a seven word haiku.

True

 

(I think that limiting the number of submissions to one forces the poet to put his/her best work forward, because it is by that contribution that they will be judged...which equates to simply "true". Am I saying anything worth hearing?)

 

Having word count maximums in poetry rather than minimums with limited restratints on how those words are divided would allow greater diversity in an anthology and possibly encourage more poets to publish.

False

 

(Well, kinda, because while I don't want to read three pages of "poetry"--that would be ridiculous--sometimes it takes a lot of words to convey your thoughts, other times it takes many less, a limit one way or another stifles creativity...well, that was just wishy-washy wasn't it)

 

And that was my attempt at contributing something. Thank you, ladies and gentleman. I will take my shame and sit in the corner, now.

[Tiger]

I haven't submitted poetry to an anthology for a while, but I do think a special one for poetry is a good idea. I also think that, for poetry, the number of entries per person should have a higher limit than just one like maybe up to five.

[Krista]

I think a poetry anthology would get read, but I think poems are over looked if they're in an anthology for short story writing. I wouldn't mind having a separate anthology every time we have the normal ones. Possibly - same theme, a more structured set of rules for the anthology to better incorporate poetry. Maybe even letting an author who submits a short for the anthology write a poem or two for it as well.

 

But yeah, I think it should have a separate listing at least.

[Lugh]

ok Krista... you say more structured... give me some examples please. You can do that by PM if it makes you more comfortable.

 

This goes for all of you. I would like some ideas here. If you want privacy, send them by PM, I don't mind at all.

[Krista]

Well - Poems shouldn't really be limited to a min-max word count because that can just totally mess things up. You can get by with a word count for stories, but I wouldn't want to limit poetry by word counts.

 

Sometimes to get a good point across or express a theme it may take more than one poem, but a series, unlike word count though, I think we can limit that to 3 per person, it could be interesting to see how someone can do that.

[Johnathan Colourfield]

Very good ideas

 

I'm thinking the 3 poem limit is a good idea. I was thinking that in order to prevent waste of space poems they should go through a screening process to see if they are suitable and if they are rejected there should be a good reason behind it and request the author to edit them to make them seem suitable.

 

Another thing we need to think about is the themes? I'm thinking for poetry it needs to be either a) very flexible or very specific. We can struggle with both but if we all got it organised well it could be a very successful anthology.

 

If we could get volunteers for the screening/theme creation asap? Hehe

 

Just a few ideas

[Lugh]

ok I'm closing this poll as of now (or as soon as I figure out how) but I have the info I need.... and there is now a theme generation thread over in the anthology forum for the poetry anthology. I'm thinking about the rules. Thanks for your input.

[MikeL]

Lugh, I have a poem completed that fits the theme for the Winter 2010 Anthology. If the new rules for a poetry anthology happen to disqualify a completed, but not yet released poem, can said poem be grandfathered under the old anthology rules? Can it be published in the existing anthology since it fits the theme even though there is a separate anthology for poetry?

[Nephylim]

I think that an anthology for poems is a fabulous idea. i don't do poetry, not really, and I have certainly never thought to enter a poem in the general anthology. I think I would certainly write and enter one in a poetry anthology. I am quite excited by the prospect. I certainly think a minimum word count would be pointless. I'm not sure about minimum entries. I would have no problem with someone submitting three or four short poems but if there were three or four really long ones from the same author it could become cumbersome.

[Lugh]

Lugh, I have a poem completed that fits the theme for the Winter 2010 Anthology. If the new rules for a poetry anthology happen to disqualify a completed, but not yet released poem, can said poem be grandfathered under the old anthology rules? Can it be published in the existing anthology since it fits the theme even though there is a separate anthology for poetry?

 

ok let me see if I can help you all out here... the new "rules" will broaden the scope of poets able to submit poems to the anthology not restrict them further. The poetry anthology will be treated like a "special anthology" just for poems in this case. I do not see the new rules disqualifying any poem that qualified under the old rules. That help?

[Graeme]

Lugh, I have a poem completed that fits the theme for the Winter 2010 Anthology. If the new rules for a poetry anthology happen to disqualify a completed, but not yet released poem, can said poem be grandfathered under the old anthology rules? Can it be published in the existing anthology since it fits the theme even though there is a separate anthology for poetry?

Also, to add to what Lugh has said, the poetry special anthology will be next year. You are still free to submit a poem for the current anthology, or any future anthologies. The published rules for the next anthology will include the changes to make it easier to submit poetry, but I'm happy to consider poetry that doesn't fit under the current rules, since we're in the middle of changing those rules.

 

Graeme

GA Anthology Coordinator

[MikeL]

Lugh and Graeme, thank you both. My questions are answered.