An Interview with Literary Mama Poetry Editors

Poetry editors Libby Maxey and Amanda Roth recently created an interview where they answered some questions that poetry readers and writers might find interesting and (hopefully) useful if they are considering submitting to Literary Mama.

Current publications or publishers we enjoy:

AR: I’m a big fan of journals like West Trestle Review, MER, Whale Road Review, Okay Donkey, SWWIM, Diagram, Fairy Tale Review, HAD, Pithead Chapel, and Poetry Northwest.

LM: I second Whale Road Review, MER, and SWWIM—also Lily Poetry Review, Kestrel, Naugatuck River Review, Crannóg, and, since I lean toward formalism, THINK: A Journal of Poetry, Fiction and Essays.

Poems or poets we love:

AR: I return frequently to the work of Kaveh Akbar, Sarah Ghazal Ali, Traci Brimhall, Leila Chatti, Franny Choi, Eduardo C. Corral, Mag Gabbert, Kimiko Hahn, sam sax, Emily Skaja, Claire Wahmanholm, and Jane Wong. 

LM: Richard Wilbur, Emily Dickinson, and Edna St. Vincent Milay have influenced my own writing quite a bit—Robert Frost, too, although that relationship is in the love/hate category. I do read living poets, of course, and I admire the work of Holli Carrell, Abby E. Murray, and A. E. Stallings.  

What we like to see in a submission:

AR: I am most excited by formally inventive poetry, surprising language, and poems that twist and turn in ways I didn’t expect. I love poems that manage to be both tender and fierce, that reveal their soft underbellies and sharp teeth simultaneously. We read a lot of poems about pregnancy, birth, and nursing, so those poems have to work a little harder to surprise me. I would love to read more motherhood poems that delve into mental health, neurodivergence, disability, gender, politics, and caregiving for aging parents. 

LM: Yes! Any editor reading poetry submissions is looking for something different. That could mean surprising (see above); it could mean exceptionally well-crafted; it could mean taking on a theme that feels fresh, or approaching a common theme from a unique angle. That said, we pass over many poems that appeal to us because they’re too long or too wordy. Poems that are as spare and tight as they can be often have the most emotional impact on a reader, and it’s easier to appreciate interesting language, beautifully balanced lines, and smart poetic turns if there aren’t excess words standing in the way. Explain less! Poetry can educate, but it’s not an expository form.

What is the best advice you can give people who are considering submitting work to Literary Mama?

AR: It feels so boring to say, but read our submission guidelines! We only read two poems per submission and one submission at a time. 

LM: Be sure to read Literary Mama. We often have poems scheduled into issues more than six months in advance, so you can’t know if we recently accepted a poem very similar to the one you’re about to send us. Still, you’ll have a better chance of catching our attention and surprising us if you know what we’ve published in the last year or two.  

Writing advice:

AR: It’s not unique or glamorous advice, but read widely and deeply. Read your favorite poet’s favorite poet. Find magazines and journals that you love and then read the whole issue. When I first started out, I was scared to read other people’s work because I thought it would distract me from finding my own voice. In fact, the opposite was true! My voice became truer and clearer the more I read, experimented, and played with poetic devices and forms. 

LM: I would add that if you’re relatively new to publishing poetry, it’s very helpful to get feedback from other writers/readers before sending out your work. Finding the right writing group can take time and effort, and it takes courage, too, to invite people to critique what you’ve created. Getting a gut reaction from even one person, however, can be invaluable. It can help you see the way to revisions—often small ones—that make a poem more powerful. And don’t forget to read your own work aloud! If you find it difficult to get through a line, readers will, too.