Tag ecopoetry

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February Online Events

This month, Mark S. Burrows continues his exploration of poetry and the wisdom of the heart, Richard Blanco reads selections from his latest collection, and Gloria Heffernan offers a free poetry workshop on the power of place.

Homeland of My Body: New & Selected Poems. Join Richard Blanco and friends of The Poet’s Corner as he reads from his latest book, Sunday, February 11, 2024, 4 – 5:30 pm ET. Visit www.https://thepoetscornermaine@gmail.com to register for this free Zoom event.

Sacred Journeys: An Evening Reading And Writing About Place with poet Gloria Heffernan. February 12, 7 -8:30 pm ET. Visit the Raft at www.https://phylliscoledai.substack.com to register for this free event.

Heartwork: Exploring Rilke’s Poetry. Poet, scholar, and translator Mark S. Burrows facilitates this online workshop that explores “how our own heart-work might guide us into greater resilience and authenticity.” Thursday, February 15, 2024, 2 – 3:30pm ET. Cost: $25. Visit www.https://thepoetcorner.org to register.

Aubades: Morning Online Poetry Discussion, Mulberry Street Library, Thursday, February 22, 2024, 10 – 11am ET. Visit the New York Public Library site at www.https://nypl.org to register for this free online event.

A Different Slant

In her review of Refuge for Cranes (Tupelo Quarterly, December 14, 2023), author and poet Aline Soules has written: “On the surface, it would be easy to read these poems as accessible descriptions of the world of ordinary things, to enjoy the beauty the poet highlights from the garden or the woods or the land and creatures around him. But let each poem linger in the mind and their subtle complexity emerges…” www.tupeloquarterly.com

Seven Poems from Refuge for Cranes

Morning Song

I started writing “Morning Song” early one morning and finished the draft within an hour or so. I’d recently seen a yellow grosbeak, unusual for this part of California, and that entered into the stream of things, as did a reference to a “camel inside a camel,” which I think comes from Rumi. The last line was a surprise. I don’t remember giving much thought to loving the unloving before, and these words felt like an opening to begin to see everyone as equally deserving of love. Another way of looking at the last line is as an invitation to love all parts of oneself, so the poem might serve as a prompt for self-care.

Walking Under Redwoods

This poem was brewing on some level even as I was walking through a redwood grove with a friend one crisp December day. As I remember, it was the day after Christmas. Everything was so still and quiet, I almost felt like an intruder. For some reason, our walk prompted my friend to talk about some of her regrets I guess you could call them, and I began to see my own experience through a similar lens. The redwoods seemed to take it all in. Nature, after all, is the best listener. Writing this poem reminded me of the value of silence in our lives, and that includes the silence between words and sentences, the silence of the trees, and the silence of our footfalls on the soft ground. Even the dim rush of the nearby creek was enhanced by that silence around us. 

Sites of the Shutdown

I suppose we naturally look for something positive to come out of the negative, and that was true for me about the pandemic and subsequent shut-down of so many things I took for granted. This poem came out of that sensibility, and it reminded me that what I seek isn’t outside myself, that whatever satisfaction I may find isn’t strictly in the outcome of things but in my response to it. It’s true that the pandemic did acquaint me more with solitude, and it’s not over yet as of this writing. But it also taught me to value even the smallest interactions — at the checkout counter, on the bus, or ordering a meal, for instance. None of these would be possible without our mutual participation.

Earthbytes

This poem was a conscious attempt to put into words the need for an active involvement in the environmental crisis, without being “preachy.” I really wanted to write a poem that encourages commitment to conservation and mindful living. This isn’t necessarily that poem, but it’s a start. It began with a fragment of a line from several years ago, “like the bulb that from darkness emits the bloom,” and evolved from there. Yes, the current crisis is dire but I believe we can make a difference. It won’t be easy, but what’s the alternative?

Enquiry

As I get older, the list of things and people I’m grateful for continues to grow. Sometimes, spontaneous memories of the kindness of friends come back to me. (I lived rent-free in the attics of two different friends for over a year.) It’s a wonderful feeling to thank those special friends once again and to feel reconnected on a deep level, one that transcends time and place. But there’s also the spontaneous feeling of gratitude that arises in everyday activities — gratitude for the cup for holding the coffee, and for the bowl for containing my cereal in the morning. Occasionally, we come across beauty in nature in the least expected of places, as this poem recounts, and these moments are worthy of celebration.

Eye of the Heart                   

This title came to me long before the poem did and wouldn’t let go. I liked it but wondered if it wasn’t a cliché. But in my initial research, I didn’t find any titles exactly like it. I wonder if the subject might have stemmed from some of my childhood art projects in which I took a black crayon and made curvy lines that crossed and re-crossed each other, creating irregular spaces that I filled in with various colors, finally drawing eyeballs in some of the spaces. It was my version of modern art. The surprise of this poem was the last section. I didn’t see it coming. There’s a tangible joy in the practice of wishing others well that benefits both the sender and the recipient.

It reminds me of the metta meditation from Tibetan Buddhism that begins, “May all beings be well, may all beings be happy, may all beings be free.”  

We, Cranes

What I like to call the “happy we” is introduced as the narrator here. The voice includes both poet and cranes, blurring the distinction between observer and observed, subject and object. Although brief, this poem is probably my favorite in the collection. There’s something magical about these creatures, and they seem to invite us into an almost mythical world in which language feels unnecessary.

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Sandhill Cranes Return to Lodi

Each year in the fall, Sandhill Cranes begin their migration from the northern to southern hemisphere in search of warmer temperatures, food supplies, and nesting sites. West of the Rockies, they journey from western Siberia and Alaska to the Central Valley of California and farther south to Mexico. East of the Rockies, they make their way from Canada, pausing in the Great Lakes region, and down to Arizona, the Gulf, and along the Rio Grande.

Here in California, they can now be found near Lodi where they feed in harvested rice and corn fields, roosting in flooded fields. From late September to February, they can be seen at the Consumnes River Preserve, the Rancho Seco Recreational Area, and the Woodbridge Ecological Reserve, which hosts guided tours. Believed to date to 2.5 million years ago, Greater Sandhill Cranes have a wingspan of up to eight feet and stand approximately four feet tall. Known for their impressive courtship rituals and loud, trumpet-like calls, their populations declined dramatically by the 1940s due to hunting and loss of habitat, but since then breeding pairs in California have increased to over four hundred and fifty.

Climate Action Poem Prize

The 2024 Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize, sponsored by the American Academy of Poets, is now accepting submissions through November 15th for previously unpublished work. Established in 2019, the contest aims to increase awareness of climate change and the vulnerability of the environment. For more information, visit https://www.poets.org. The first place winner will receive $1,000, second place will receive $750, and third place will receive $500. This year’s judges are poet Elizabeth Bradfield and climate scientist Kate Marvel, Ph.D.

Click here to order.

“Refuge for Cranes plunges us wholly into the natural world through a series of poems that are equal parts celebratory, revelatory, and prophetic…” “Like the cranes that give the book its title, birds rumored to be immortal and wise, the poet bravely writes the truth he sees, “scratching our message into this passing world.” – Angela Alaimo O’Donnell, author of Andalusian  Hours and Holy Land

 “These touching poems remind us of the beauty and value of nature now threatened worldwide by our carelessness. Cranes are appropriate carriers of that message as conveyed in Jerome’s work…” – George Archibald, co-founder International Crane Foundation

“The poet’s “Love of Earthly Things” expressed in this rich collection, is a refuge for the reader. If you enter these pages, be prepared to open yourself wider to the world, like a flower to the sun.” – Phyllis Cole-Dai, author and co-editor of Poetry of Presence, I & II

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Book Launch September 12th

Refuge for Cranes will be available to order soon and looks wonderful (okay I may be biased). Thanks to Editor Mark S. Burrows for sheparding it through the editorial process, and to everyone at Wildhouse Publishing who helped to make this collection a reality. Thanks, also, to Design and Production Editor Melody Stanford Martin, who designed the beautiful cover with a photo of Sandhill Cranes in flight, and to Publicity Manager Molly Silverstein, who produced an awesome book trailer.

A virtual launch will take place via Zoom on September 12th at 8pm EST and at 5pm, PST. I’ll be reading a selection of poems from the book and answering questions afterward. I hope you can join me for this live online event but, if not, you can find a recording of it on the Wildhouse website shortly afterwards. Here’s the link to the Zoom launch:

Out of the Fog Podcast

An interview with podcaster Karen Hager will be released on September 12th (www.https://karenhager.com). I’ll be reading a few selections from Refuge for Cranes and we’ll talk about how the collection came together, how poetry can serve as an X-ray of the psyche, and ways to re-enchant ourselves with nature. Karen lived for many years in San Francisco where she began her popular series “Out of the Fog” while studying at Church Divinity School of the Pacific. She now makes her home in southeastern Michigan where she serves as an intuitive guide and teacher.

Contests

The Philip Levine Prize for Poetry, sponsored by California State University Fresno, is now open for submissions. The winner receives publication of a full-length manuscript (48-80 pages), an award of $1,000, and twenty-five author copies. Until September 30th. http://fresnostate.edu/levineprize

The New Women’s Voices Chapbook Contest, sponsored by Finishing Line Press, is open for submissions until September 15th. Winner receives a $1500 prize plus publication. http://finishinglinepress.com

One Page Poetry will award a prize of $2,000 and publication for a single poem. Until September 30th. http://onepagepoetry.com

Dzanc books will award a prize of $2,500 and publication for short story collection (minimum 40,000 words). By September 30th. http://dzancbooks.org

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Refuge for Cranes due in early September

Refuge for Cranes: Praise Poems from the Anthropocene will be available from Wildhouse Publications early September. The poems range in topic from climate fires and the demise of bees to the “transparency of grace” and the “soul’s deep-down unfathoming.” There’s praise here for beauty “glinting among the detritus,” but there’s also a call to action, to restore a damaged world. Poet and author Angela Alaimo O’Donnell has written of the collection that “Refuge for Cranes plunges us wholly into the natural world through a series of poems that are equal parts celebratory, revelatory, and prophetic…Like the cranes that give the book its title, birds rumored to be immortal and wise, the poet bravely writes the truth he sees, “scratching our message to this passing world.”  

Selections from Refuge for Cranes: “Earthbytes”

This poem was a conscious attempt to express the need for active involvement in the environmental crisis, without being “preachy.” I really wanted to write a poem that encourages commitment to conservation and mindful living. This isn’t necessarily that poem, but it’s a start. It began with a fragment of a line from several years ago, “like the bulb that from darkness emits the bloom,” and evolved from there. Yes, the current crisis is dire but I believe we can make a difference. It won’t be easy, but what’s the alternative?

Earthbytes

Perform your natural magic

like the bulb that emits the bloom.

Be in harmony with the brown bear,

the moon, and the music of reeds.

Restore the oceans and rivers,

the kelp forests, marshes and bays.

Repair the hives of bees

and the resting places of monarchs.

Embrace the other, brother and sister.

See no one and nothing as the enemy.

Notice this place as if for the first time

as if it was your own skin, your own bones —

draw strength here, and return it.

                  –  jg

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Summer Writers’ Conferences

The Mendocino Coast Writers’ Conference in Mendocino, California offers “craft seminars, panels, one-on-one-consultations, and open mics.” Registration is now open for the 2023 conference to be held from August 3 – 5. It features keynote speaker Ariel Gore, founding editor of Hip Mama and author of the memoir, Atlas of the Human Heart. www.https://mcwc.org

The Santa Barbara Writers’ Conference in Southern California will be held this year from June 18 – 23 at the beachside Mar Monte Hotel. Celebrating its 50th year, the conference features 30-plus speakers, agents, panels, seminars, and workshops. It can accommodate full or partial week attendees. www.https://sbwriters.com

The Jackson Hole Writers’ Conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, will be held from June 22 -24 at the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts. Featuring a wide range of speakers and craft classes, including a fiction class by Dave Eggers, it offers both day and evening events, as well as individual manuscript critiques. www.https://jhwriters.org

Books Noted

A Field Guide to Nature Meditation

In A Field Guide to Nature Meditation: 52 Mindfulness Practices for Joy, Wisdom, and Wonder, author Mark Coleman describes how to develop a “nature-based meditation practice (Awake in the Wild, 2022) A psychotherapist and senior teacher of mindfulness meditation at Spirit Rock in Marin County, California, he also conducts wilderness retreats around the world. “Nature teaches us simplicity and contentment,” he says, “because in its presence we realize we need very little to be happy.” For all seasons and landscapes, for sitting still or for moving, these 52 meditations are designed to deepen awareness and support a sense of well-being. https://www.markcoleman.org

Climate Champions

Journalist and author of Girl Warriors, Rachel Sarah showcases the lives and work of influential women “on the frontlines of science” in Climate Champions: 15 Women Fighting for Your Future (Chicago Review Press, 2023, 12 years and up). Aiming to create a sustainable future for planet earth, the subjects profiled here “do not shy away from showing how racial and social injustices lie at the root of so many climate-related issues.”  

Environmental News

Bats at Risk

White nose syndrome has killed millions of bats in North America since it was first discovered in a cave in upstate New York in 2006, according to a recent article by Wilson Ring (www.https://physorg.com). Of the 154 species found across the United States, Mexico, and Canada, 81 of them are “at risk for white nose infection, climate change, and habitat loss,” the North American Bat Alliance reported last month. The fungus is identifiable by white spots on their noses, which can disturb their hibernation and prompt them to leave shelter in search of food in frigid, deadly temperatures. Yet studies suggest that certain bat populations have evolved “an efficient DNA repair mechanism,” according to virologist Dr. Arinjay Banerjee of McMaster University (PBS News Hour, December 2020), and these bats can “provide hints for possible future medical treatment strategies.”

Bats in Poetry

“…And bats with baby faces in the violet light/Whistled and beat their wings/And crawled head downward down a blackened wall…”

– from The Waste Land, by T.S. Eliot

Many poets have written about bats, including D.H. Lawrence, Emily Dickinson, T. S. Eliot, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and Anne Sexton. My favorite is by D. H. Lawrence. Known mainly as a novelist (Sons and Lovers, Women in Love), he had a keen eye for observation that served him well as a poet, too. Titled, simply, “Bat” (from Birds, Beasts, and Flowers, 1923), it’s full of unexpected rhyme and images, alarm and, finally, humor. https://www.poetryfoundation.org

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Green Zendo Haiku

Recent Haiku

Night Train, a sampling of my haiku, was recently selected by Buttonhook Press (an imprint of OPEN: Journal of Arts & Letters) and is set to be released in a free, PDF format. These twenty-five haiku celebrate night and the wonder of the passing moment. I’ll post more information here as the publication date nears.

silver morning: cattails, April, 2023

peeling posters: hedgerow: a journal of small poems, #142

Flowers of Emptiness

Avrom Altman began his Buddhist studies in 1969, sitting zazen at Tassajara Zen Center with Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. A Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Hokomi Therapist, he’s also Professor Emeritus at Pacifica Graduate Institute. The haiku in his new book, Flowers of Emptiness, sketch a life lived with “an astonished heart.” Dennis Patrick Slattery, Ph.D, has written, “I loved reading them and delighted further in rereading them…Let them resonate within you.” Flowers of Emptiness: Imaginal Haiku (Sungold Editions, 2023)

Opportunities                                                                

bottle rockets press is now accepting haiku, senryu, and other small poem submissions (up to 10 samples) until May 15th. Submissions by snail mail only. Please see the site for more details. https://www.bottlerocketspress.com

Presence Haiku Journal, out of Britain, is accepting haiku, tanka, senryu, and related material for both print and online publication from April 15th to May 31st. For details, visit https://www.haikupresence.org

The Heron’s Nest, a quarterly online journal, is offering cash prizes for winning entries in the Peggy Willis Lyle Haiku Awards, open now until June 1st. Judging is blind and there is no entry fee. For details visit https://www.theheronsnest.com

Karumi

The quality of karumi, or lightness, can be found in Basho’s haiku as early as 1667. He was twenty-three years old when he wrote the following:*

cherry blossoms

in the breeze — breaking out

in laughter 

Haruo Shirane, Chair of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Columbia University, has described karumi as “a focus on everyday subject matter, on the use of ordinary language, and on a relaxed rhythmical, seemingly artless expression.” Here the traditional topic of cherry blossoms takes on an unusually welcome aspect. Rather than contrasting the beauty of the flowers with sadness at their brevity, for instance, Basho depicts the exuberance of the moment. Is it the blossoms that have broken out in laughter or the poet? Or both? In this case, ambiguity adds to the impact of the lines.

Much haiku is celebratory in nature. An exclamatory haiku such as the one above is a good example of this. Another approach, common to the Basho school of haiku, presents two juxtaposed images, offering up a view that embraces them both. Below, a view of the garden, written near the end of Basho’s life, evokes a minimalist yet wholistic response: 

morning dew —

muddy melons

on the ground

Here there’s no trace of poetic conceit, just the pristine scene as Basho found it. In that sense, karumi may be considered not only in its literal sense as “not heavy or dark” but as possessed of a light artistic touch, allowing the reader to bring to the scene what he or she will. Even on his deathbed, Basho found an unexpected lightness:

flies everywhere —

how lucky they are to meet up

with a sick man

In the 20th century, Nakagawa Soen was a lifelong practitioner of haiku. As a literature student at Tokyo Imperial University, he wrote his thesis on Basho and later became a Zen monk and teacher. This haiku, written in 1946, presents two images pointing to the connection of ordinary things:

small plums

and dewdrops —

alive together

Although penetrating, there’s nothing heavy about these lines. Instead there’s a clarity and freshness, and a sense of happiness at the simple pleasures. We, too, are alive together with the plums and the dewdrops. How wonderful! These are the primary characteristics of karumi.

*all versions by jg

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The Wayless Way

“Within each of us is a divine treasure, and if we hope to discover it we need to go deep into the heart of who we are.” – Meister Eckhart

Readers of Meister Eckhart’s Book of Darkness and Light: Meditations on the Path of the Wayless Way (Hampton Roads), by Mark S. Burrows and Jon M. Sweeney, will no doubt appreciate these lucid translations in poetic form, taken from the “treatises” of Christian mystic Meister Eckhart (1260-1328). The writings of the controversial priest point to a “wayless way” toward inclusive love. “There is a light within you, in your soul, uncreated and uncreateable; it simply is,” Eckhart  wrote. “What Coleman Barks has done for Rumi, Sweeney and Burrows have done for Eckhart — making his insight accessible and his wisdom sing,” observed Carl McColman, author of The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism and Eternal Heart.

Poetry of Presence

This hefty anthology (252 pages) collects some of the best work of contemporary poets, including Ellen Bass, Billy Collins, Jane Hirshfield, Derek Walcott, Li-Young Lee, Tich Nhat Hanh, Alice Walker, and Joy Harjo, along with ancient poets such as Li-Po, Hafiz, and Rumi. A treasure trove of poems from diverse voices, it reminds us that mindfulness is accessible in the midst of everyday activities. Poetry of Presence: An Anthology of Mindfulness Poems, Grayson Books, edited by Phyllis Cole-Dai and Ruby R. Wilson. (Poetry of Presence II is due in May, 2023.)

Poetry of Awakening

This volume collects 78 poems, written mainly by Buddhist and Daoist poets from across the first millennium. Translated by Joe Lamport, the poems in The Poetry of Awakening: An Anthology of Spiritual Chinese Poetry (Fomite) express a sense of liberation through language. A later poem by Su Shui illustrates this paradoxical practice:*

“The bubbling stream is his voice,

the mountains his vast body.

The night bird sings sutras of wisdom —

how can I possibly convey this to others?” 

​ *version by jg

Mountains and Rivers Mind

“The mind is no other than mountains and rivers, the great wide earth, the sun, the moon, the stars.”

​– Dogen

Author and Zen Roshi Ruben Habito tells the story of his teacher Yamada Koun Roshi, who was riding on a train from Tokyo to Kamakura many years ago. He was reading from a book by the 13th century founder of Soto Zen, Eihei Dogen, when he came across the above line that stirred something deep in him. He began laughing, trying hard not to make a spectacle of himself. But lying in bed that night, the line returned with a vengeance. With a “loud burst of laughter,” he realized clearly what it was pointing to — that mountains and rivers, all things of the earth, the sun, moon, and stars, indeed all people everywhere were “no other than me,” that “they are me and I am them.” Experiencing Buddhism: Ways of Wisdom and Compassion, by Ruben L. Habito, Orbis Books; Mountains and Waters Sutra (Sansuiko), translated by Shohaku Okumura with an introduction by Gary Snyder, Wisdom Publications.

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New Book Cover

The cover design for Refuge for Cranes is complete and I think it’s a standout. Designed by Melody Stanford Martin of Wildhouse Publications, it features a photograph of Sandhill Cranes in flight by Chris Briggs that evokes the majesty of these amazing birds (pls. see Books section). My thanks to both Melody and Chris for their beautiful work. I’ll post more information about publication when it’s available.

Susan Fenimore Cooper, “America’s First Recognized Female Nature Writer”

When Rural Hours, a natural history diary by Susan Fenimore Cooper, was first published in 1850, it was done so anonymously “by a lady,” the custom for women writers of the Victorian era. Favorably reviewed, it went into nine editions in Cooper’s lifetime, according to Michelle T. Harris, writing in Audubon Magazine (Jan. 8, 2021). One of the first to warn of the dangers of deforestation, Cooper also lamented the loss of wild Passenger Pigeons (extinct by 1900) and the shrinking populations of other birds. The daughter of popular novelist James Fenimore Cooper, she lived in Cooperstown, New York, where she founded an orphanage and wrote for magazines, including The Atlantic Monthly and Harper’s. Rural Hours was reissued in 1998 by University of Georgia Press.

Sandhill Cranes Return to Platte River

This month thousands of Sandhill Cranes will touch down in the Platte River Valley in central Nebraska, feeding primarily on corn kernels and insects, before moving on to their nesting grounds in Canada, Alaska, and Siberia. Visitors often hear the low, chortling sound of the prehistoric birds before they see them, observes columnist Rick Windham of the Platte River Telegraph. Known as a “rally bugle,” that call “is a sound that moves the spirit,” he says. The Iain Nicolson Rowe Audubon Center in Gibbon, Nebraska, offers guided tours of this annual event. Bird lovers can also observe the cranes in their natural habitat in “virtual tours.” For more information, go to https://www.row.audubon.org/events/.

An Ethics of Wild Mind

Author, poet, and translator David Hinton speaks about his latest book in a recent interview in Emergence Magazine. Drawing on Eastern philosophy, Ch’an, and “an ethics tempered by love,” he discusses the need for a deep relationship between humans and earth. https://www.emergengencemagazine.org

Writing Opportunities

The Annual Permafrost Book Prize in Poetry is open to all writers (including non-U.S. citizens) until March 15th. Winner receives $1000, 50 copies, and publication by the University of Alaska Press.

Passager Journal is now accepting poetry entries for their annual contest issue through April 15th.  An independent press located in Baltimore, MD, it was founded in 1990 for writers over the age of fifty. https://www.passagerbooks.com

The Robert Phillips Poetry Chapbook Prize is open until March 31st. Winner receives $500 and publication by the Texas Review Press.

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Ecopoetry:

An Interview with Gail Entrekin, Editor of Canary Literary Magazine

   Interviewed by Jerome Gagnon

The rise of ecopoetry during the last several years can be seen in the many publications devoted to the environment. Some of the newer periodicals are Ecotone, Emergence, Terrain, Flyway: A Journal of Writing, About Place , and Canary Literary Magazine. These publications carry on the tradition of reverence for nature found in world literatures and serve as witness to the effects of ecological devastation. One of the best of the on-line journalsis Canary Literary Magazine (www.https://canarylitmagazine.org. Started in 2007, it aims to “deepen awareness of the environment and enrich the well-being of the individual,” according to their home page.

I interviewed Editor Gail Entrekin (via email) to learn what influenced her to found Canary and what advice she would give to writers planning to submit their work. A poet, hiker, teacher, and quilt-maker, Gail earned an M.A. in English Lit/Creative Writing from Ohio State University. She’s also the poetry editor of Hip Pocket Press. She taught English and Creative Writing at Sierra College in Grass Valley and, for many years, worked with California Poets in the Schools, teaching poetry to children. Her books of poetry include The Art of Healing, with her husband, Charles Entrekin (2016), Rearrangement of the Invisible (2012), and Change (2005), which was nominated for the Northern California Book Award.

Q. I’d like to start by saying how in awe I am with the overall work and aesthetics of the magazine. The combination of text and photographs is always very inviting visually. Can you please share with us what motivated you to found Canary?

A. I don’t know. It was the thing that was on my mind at the time. Our area of the world (Nevada City, CA) had been gold mined back in the day and there was mercury in many areas that was damaging the soil and the water supply. We were fighting the powers that be not to dam the beautiful and scenic Yuba River, and the air quality was heading down due to the pollution rising up to us on our mountain from Sacramento down below. The more I learned, the more upsetting it was. So it seemed to me that what I could do to help was small, but perhaps it would help some people to wake up. And if nothing else, it might serve as a reminder of all the beauty, the connection to the natural world that we were betraying and stood to lose.

Q. Please tell us a little bit more about your background and what you find most satisfying about the editing process.

A. I started a local online publication for women first, to showcase and discuss work in progress (Women’s Writing Salon). It was wildly popular and I expanded it into a local reading series in Nevada City, where I was living at the time, Beyond that, I’ve been employed as an editor in one way or another, on and off, for about 40 years. I also run poetry critiquing workshops, and an important aspect of critiquing is noticing how line breaks, word choices, etc. contribute to the success or failure of a poet’s ability to reach their desired goal for the poem. I love, love, love the opportunity to read work by so many talented and passionate, mostly unknown writers that I would not have read otherwise — people leading their own quiet campaigns in their neighborhoods to save a small piece of the planet on their watch.

Q. What have you learned in your tenure as an editor?

A. At this point, the only things I learn are the new ways the language is changing: new pronoun usage, use of back slashes within lines, etc.


Q. Do you believe that Canary has had a concrete impact on environmental/ ecological issues?

A. No, I fear that we’ve had very little direct impact on the crisis at hand. I think most of our readership is already well aware of the loss of habitat and species that we’re experiencing. We circulate Canary to friends and fellow writers, though, and my hope is that someone becomes more aware of what’s happening and is able to have some small impact in their own world.

Q. What advice would you give to writers who are planning to submit their poetry, and how would you describe your editorial style?

A. I guess I’d give the same advice any editor would give: read the magazine before you submit, so you understand what kind of work we publish. Be sure to read our mission statement on our home page so you understand what we’re trying to accomplish. I never change anything larger than a comma or a spelling error without letting the author know what I’m doing. If I do more than that, I send them my edited version for approval. Poets are especially interested in the formatting of their poems and they don’t take well to unauthorized changes.

Q. Your mission statement says that the theme of the magazine is “the environmental crises and the losses of species and habitat.” Can you give us an example of a poem from one of your issues that addresses that? What is it that you admire, and how do you think your own tastes help or hinder the selection process?

A. The very first poem I selected for Canary was “Birdsong from My Patio”by Ellen Bass, which I solicited (and which considers the effects of pesticide and acid rain on birds and nature – jg). I hoped for more of these and, indeed, there are many. But after a while I branched out into broader stories of events which are contributing to these losses, and too many pieces that simply praise what IS. Some tell of human indifference to other living things, a broader way of considering what’s coming to pass. “Little Fires” by Christina Lovin, for example, in Issue #4 is about the bats we killed. I can think of so many…

As for the last part of your question, I like poems that have something at stake, that are authentic, and reflect both the passion of the poet and the skill and craft to convey that passion. I can’t know, of course, how who I am affects the decisions I make. I try hard to be open to all kinds of styles of poetry that are new to me or that initially fail to move me. Clichés, awkward language, confusion or lack of logical progression, and lack of images and/or metaphors are all serious drawbacks. But I feel very excited when I come across beautiful and well-crafted work that teaches or moves me. I want to share this work with the world. Those are the finest moments in this job.

Q. Thanks very much, Gail. I have just one last question — how do you approach beginning writers?

A. I always give a read to all pieces in a person’s submissions because sometimes a beginning writer stumbles onto one good poem. If I feel someone is almost there, I often say that and ask them to submit again in the future. I sometimes tell a writer who is really pretty good what I like and how I felt the poem fell short.