tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829168697372726752.post9187388219963166114..comments2024-02-10T03:45:25.354-05:00Comments on Blogalicious: Online And / Or Print?Diane Lockwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07614479152159652577noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829168697372726752.post-34288111589535656842008-12-16T16:54:00.000-05:002008-12-16T16:54:00.000-05:00Such concern that poetry not be "degraded" or "dum...Such concern that poetry not be "degraded" or "dumbed down." Is poetry such a fragile beast that we need to appoint ourselves as nurses and caretakers? There are many online journals that show just the opposite: a vibrant, healthy poetry that can withstand a lot. The argument that poetry is sickly and needs to be saved is as old as poetry itself. It's as false now as it ever was.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829168697372726752.post-78734060414750679682008-12-15T19:40:00.000-05:002008-12-15T19:40:00.000-05:00Most journals print the same poets over and over ...Most journals print the same poets over and over and over again. Those poets don't submit their work -- the editors ask for it. There are many online journals that have more stringent guidelines than print. The dumbing down of poetry by the Internet is a sweeping generalization that many of the print die-hards and academics fall back on when their territory is threatened. It's the 21st century. Everyone needs to join it.Collin Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03777180960376039699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829168697372726752.post-45723457005846536872008-12-15T16:27:00.000-05:002008-12-15T16:27:00.000-05:00The difference is, it is a difficult and expensive...The difference is, it is a difficult and expensive process to make a print journal. It takes time, effort and money. To make an ejournal takes three clicks of a mouse, that is why there is thousands of them. There are dodgy print journals out there and it is best to look for print journals with a 'blind' editorial policy too, or ones which have genuinely respected editors who didn't appoint themselves but were hired for their qualifications. As I say, on the internet, anyone can present themselves as anything. I think this week I shall Managing Editor of Blahblah journal. It takes me two minutes to get a domain name, import a wordpress theme, ask my friends for submissions and go around the web pretending I know something about poetry. That is what most ejournals are. It is much harder to do that with a print journal so most people do it with ejournals which is why the have no respect in any sensible company.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829168697372726752.post-25000803027085395632008-12-15T16:05:00.000-05:002008-12-15T16:05:00.000-05:00But couldn't the same comments be made about print...But couldn't the same comments be made about print journals? There's favoritism and cronyism in both, I imagine. Few print journals ask for names to be removed. Why do you assume that there's greater objectivity in the editorial process? I'd like to think that most editors behave ethically, whether print or online. I'll still maintain that some online journals are outstanding and some aren't. But I'll make the same statement about print ones.Diane Lockwardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07614479152159652577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829168697372726752.post-7764049556643611812008-12-15T15:57:00.000-05:002008-12-15T15:57:00.000-05:00I don't read any online journals except one's whic...I don't read any online journals except one's which have a 'blind' editorial policy. There may be good ones out there but they are swamped by the vast majority of ejournals which are created just to pimp the works of people's friends. Unless the magazine makes sure the work is chosen on its own quality by only accepting submissions without the author's name attached, there is no point because everyone knows that most of them are just personal ego gratifications created because someone wants to call themselves 'Managing Editor'and 'publish' their friends. As I say there are some legitimate ones out there but they are tarred with the same brush in the public mind as the thousands and thousands of pointless ego exercises. The fact is most of them aren't read by anyone except the people who are in them. There's no point denying that, it's true. You can have a list of ejournals you've been in as long as your arm, it means nothing in terms of the quality of your writing or your progress professionally as a writer and every publisher and agent on the planet knows it. So I ask, what is the point of being in them?<BR/>The internet is clearly contributing to "a dumbing down and degradation of poetry." because anyone who can schmooze can present themselves as anything. There has never been so much terrible poetry written and 'published' in the world as there is now. Thanks for bringing Ron Offen to my attention, obviously one of the few honest sane and rational poets around. I'll go look him up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829168697372726752.post-26864983287891656652008-12-15T15:38:00.000-05:002008-12-15T15:38:00.000-05:00I just received a journal with one of my poems whi...I just received a journal with one of my poems which consisted of a stapled packet of crooked printouts. My address looked plastered on top of my poem, which was missing its last line. So yeah, anthing is better than that kind of slop.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829168697372726752.post-57327434395647403062008-12-15T07:52:00.000-05:002008-12-15T07:52:00.000-05:00Diane, thank you for this balanced, well written p...Diane, thank you for this balanced, well written post.Michellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07747839768257543728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829168697372726752.post-51919321314321662082008-12-15T05:46:00.000-05:002008-12-15T05:46:00.000-05:00In this time of slashed library budgets, and slash...In this time of slashed library budgets, and slashed university budgets, and rising postal rates, an online journal begins to seem like a safer bet. <BR/><BR/>As a reader, I used to be dedicated to paper over computer screen, but lately, I'm beginning to change my mind. I can read material online at work, and it looks like I'm working diligently at my computer. In many workplaces, even if part of our job is to stay current in our fields, too much reading of books and journals might get you a comment about goofing off. Or maybe I've just worked in strange places . . .Kristin Berkey-Abbotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16841824206762029363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829168697372726752.post-33104253694349671192008-12-14T13:45:00.000-05:002008-12-14T13:45:00.000-05:00I think you've both got it just right. Curmudgeonl...I think you've both got it just right. Curmudgeonly, yes. And I suspect that the editor simply has not investigated the possibilities of online journals. I think that any poet who refuses to have poems in online journals is missing a big opportunity to widen his or her audience. Along those lines is the possibility of sending one's work to readers in other countries. Online journals are also able to intermingle different art forms in ways that print journals can't. But hey, it's a big world. Plenty of room for both online and print.Diane Lockwardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07614479152159652577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829168697372726752.post-52346331471793024542008-12-14T13:17:00.000-05:002008-12-14T13:17:00.000-05:00Nice summary of the case. I highly doubt that any ...Nice summary of the case. I highly doubt that any but the most widely circulated print journals approach the readership of the average online magazine (8,000 unique visitors a month is common). And e-zines offer the very real possiblity of reaching folks who aren't themselves poets, because they're so much more accessible. I never had too strong an interest in going to all the trouble and expense of putting out a print journal precisely because of my impression that "those who view them are chiefly the poets they publish and their friends and relatives." And I love how much easier it is to correct typos and make other editorial changes to published content online.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829168697372726752.post-58472996870383290322008-12-12T22:07:00.000-05:002008-12-12T22:07:00.000-05:00I just can't get with that mindset. Some of the be...I just can't get with that mindset. Some of the best poetry being produced right now is in online journals. I've got a stack of print journals next to me and some of the work is so musty it makes me sneeze. Having a poem printed in a physical journal is not going to make the work "eternal." I find Offen's comments fairly offensive and definitely narrow-minded.Collin Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03777180960376039699noreply@blogger.com