Poetry News

Wondering Why Your Poems Keep Getting Rejected? Indiana Review Offer a List of Possible Reasons

By Harriet Staff

Here are the top five reasons, according to the Indiana Review Editors, why poems get rejected.

Ok, we’ll give you one of the five. Then, make the jump to read the rest.

2. Over-associating. I’m not a minimalist by any means, but I do believe in earning your fireworks. Your winter breath is not a constellation of fireflies axeing their way through the winter like little lumberjacks. There’s not a hot air balloon filled with jackrabbits in your chest every time she looks at you like a prison guard bleeding sugar. I don’t care that it’s Tuesday. A poem ought to be, I think, more than just a collection of assorted images. What is your poem doing? What does it add up to? How is it governed?

Posted in Poetry News on Thursday, September 27th, 2012 by Harriet Staff.