More poetry

Bruce Bentzman, Snakeskin’s roving reporter and noter of curiosities, saw and snapped this view in Swansea, of a poster proclaiming a great truth.

So many! So short! So good

The editorial inbox for November Snakeskin has been the fullest in the magazine’s history. There was a cornucopia of short verse to choose from.

This made the task of editing the hardest it’s ever been. From the hundreds of poems submitted, there were a very large number with merit, a solid phalanx of the worthy. How to choose?

I had started with the idea that I would present an issue with just twenty poems. That idea went by the board. A lot more squeezed in, and there are still poems that I regret not using.

Were the poems I chose ‘the best’? That’s always a bit subjective. They were the ones that struck a chord with me. Many because of what they were saying, some because of their use of words or their use of form. Some because they were funny.

Many thanks to everyone who sent us poems. I’ll try to write a note to all who offered poems, but it’s going to take a while.

Meanwhile – enjoy the issue.

(By the way, the next two Snakeskins will be standard issues. Any length, any subject, any style. Send your poems to the usual address.)

Short poems for November

November Snakeskin will be a Short Poems special issue. Any subject, any style – but nothing over nine lines.

Send your minuscule efforts to editor@snakeskin.org.uk

‘Environs’ deadline

A reminder that the deadline for the ‘Environs’ issue of Snakeskin is August 23rd.

Tristan tells me that he already has a good number of very good contributions, but last-minute arrivals will be welcomed.

Send your poems to tristanmoss@hotmail.co.uk

‘Environs’ Special issue

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September Snakeskin will be a special issue on the theme of ‘Environs’, guest-edited by Tristan Moss. Tristan writes:

Environs will be the theme for the September edition of Snakeskin. Please interpret broadly.

Poems could be about the environs of a town or a city: for example, greenbelts, housing estates, rubbish tips, wastelands, nature reserves or parks. Or could be about the environs of a pub, school, workplace, allotment, shed, farm or space shuttle. Or you might want to write a poem about the virtual environs of a video game or website. Some argue that we now live in a global village, so by this measure the whole world could be seen as our environs.

Poems might show how an area’s environs have changed. Or they might show the effect of change on you (or other people); or the effect you or others have had on an area’s environs.

These poems should have a strong sense of place, with well chosen specific details, but there may be exceptions to this, too.

I welcome all forms of poetry, from traditional ones to experimental ones.

Send your poems to Tristan at tristanmoss@hotmail.co.uk before August 23rd.

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January Snakeskin

A happy and prosperous New Year to all our readers!

January Snakeskin will come online on January 3rd.

On the subject of Libraries…

The special November Snakeskin on the theme of Libraries and Bookshops has been a pleasure to edit. A nice variety of approaches, and plenty of warm feeling for these vital but threatened institutions of our culture. the zine should be going online late this evening.

UK readers who are concerned about the erosion of library services might like to consider signing this petition asking the government to ring-fence library spending. https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/228742https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/228742https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/228742

Bookshops and Libraries

The November issue of Snakeskin will be one of our theme numbers. The subject is

Both of these sometimes look like endangered species these days, but we don’t just want elegies. Tell us about your favourite library, or the bookshop whose owner glared at you. Or the library where you learned the facts of life, or the bookshop where you learned the secret of love. Or whatever. Deadline 27th October.

Archive

I’d let the Snakeskin archive get into a terrible state, but a plea from a poet has finally induced me to clean it up.

It’s working fairly well now, but if you notice any problems or gaps, please do let me know.

Work

The WORK issue is on its way. I hope it will be online tomorrow, all being well. All not being well, it will arrive on Wednesday at the latest.

In terms of numbers of submissions, this has been the most successful special issue ever, I think.  At first I didn’t receive many WORK offerings, but then they arrived and arrived and arrived.

Choosing has been difficult. the main criterion is whether or not it’s a good poem, but I’ve also borne in mind the need for varied subject matter; this issue will present many many kinds of work. I’ve also had a tendency to prefer poems that seem to come from the writer’s own experience, rather than those in which a job is merely imagined – though one or two of those have crept in.

I’m still selecting, rejecting, wondering, making difficult choices. Editing can be hard work. The results of my labour will be online soon.