TIH Editorial Issue #63

EDITORIAL ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The editorial, like many a D.H. Lawrence poem, is something which, as often as not, has a tendency to grow under the pen: I think about what’s current in the world of poetry, realize that I am rarely up-tospeed, can’t be bothered to reflect much upon what I am aware of and then wander off on my own, to stroll around the bazaar and haggle over some carpet that no one but I am interested in buying. This one, however, is all about a celebration of other people and their selfless contributions to the tree we call ‘poe’. For the first time, we have put into effect Operation Guest-Edit. And, lo, it was Good. Please take a bow Carole Bromley and Georgi Gill who have been super-efficient and so easy to work with I thought I’d retired. Carole, as many of you are aware, is a wonderful poet, whose recent collection The Stonegate Devil I rate very highly; she is also a teacher and stalwart judge of the YorkMix Poetry Competition for the annual York Literature Festival: used, then, to the odd download downpour of incoming poetry. Georgi, is the Learning Manager at the Scottish Poetry Library, a rising star in her own right and someone who not only wipes her feet when entering the House but unblocks the sink, retunes the telly and cooks us all a hearty meal. Don’t be surprised if she ends up owning it. There were reasons both ideological and practical for inviting guest editors to help with this issue. It was always my intention to bring in fresh perspectives and new pairs of eyes: my single best decision remains, for example, the appointment of Chuck Lauder as Deputy Editor. However, even two of you, trying very hard to be open-minded, can fall into reading habits and preferences of which you may not yourselves be aware. So, it felt only fair to poets – those sensing, perhaps, an imagined or real impasse in getting their efforts into the magazine – to bring on board different readers susceptible to different voices, styles and modulations. Personally, and at the risk of causing offence to those looking for it, I have little truck with heavily gendered or self-consciously ‘sound’ approaches to ink marks on a page. Nevertheless, it felt important to leaven the fact that the magazine is edited by two men. So having two female guest editors on board was of and in itself a Good Thing, particularly two writers and readers whom I rate. Hopefully, then, what you will find in this issue is a broadening of the palette and the inclusion of some new writers whom, with the best will in the world, we might have previously missed out on. For this we heartily rejoice. If you are included here, be assured that you made it in the face of the usual high submission numbers, many, many of whom would grace the pages of any poetry magazine. If you didn’t make it, more specifically, if you haven’t made it still, please just keep trying. There’s little worse than the sense one gets when repeatedly turned down by a journal but, honestly, it so often isn’t to do with just the quality of your work but a matrix of other factors, often more random than poetry editors have a care to admit. This issue, also, was a genuine reminder of the human context of running a magazine. Carole and Georgi were helping me out at a time of particular pressure on my efforts to get a PhD thesis finished and handed in on time, after a three-year period of somewhat unprecedented personal intensity. Their support couldn’t have arrived at a better time since, during this reading period, we had a member of the editorial team both hospitalized (he’s now fine, fingers crossed) and subject to a family bereavement. The pressure eased on us, then, by Carole and Georgi being so efficient and quick in their turnaround was welcome indeed. These facts serve to remind us that poetry journals are run by people who, like everyone else, are subject to the same demands of time, space, income, health and family as everyone else. Please cut them some slack, then, if they sometimes appear distracted from your own efforts to make sense of it all. In an unwontedly apposite vein, we were heartsick to learn of the death of a regular and valued contributor to The Interpreter’s House: David Attwooll. As well as being a very fine poet, David was an all-round good chap. He was in the last issue with a poem full of his usual quickness and wit. Indeed, I have in front of me a postcard sent only recently and his handwriting (God, handwriting!) serves as a poignant reminder of just how fleeting is our grip on this very great gift of time. I’d like to send my condolences, then, to his family and dedicate this issue to his memory. Finally, a reminder that our Open House Poetry Competition is what keeps us afloat and pegs the cover price to my beloved ‘People’s Fiver’. It is that time of year again when I encourage you to enter next year’s competition, which will be judged by the excellent young Bloodaxe poet, Niall Campbell. Martin Malone