It seems like you read or edit for a number of different magazines. Can you tell me about something they all do well? What drew you there?

I’m quite particular about the target of a certain magazine, and as someone who considers herself a young writer for as long as she can remember, I’m aware that I’m relatively young, so I’m more drawn to youth-led publications. I’m inclined to branch out in the future, but for now, I apply to magazines that feel more like my age, with issues I admire and people I look up to, of course.

As someone who has likely read a high volume of submissions, what do you look for in work sent to your journal(s)? Describe a piece that truly stood out to you.

The first thing I learned after a month or so of being an editor is how subjective the process is, and it truly reshaped the way I initially thought of the submission process. Certain topics are closer to an editor for personal reasons, but despite that, there are aspects that can be controlled.

For instance, sometimes I glance at the structure of a poem and instantly know if the writer has gotten it workshopped or heavily edited before submitting. My favorite thing about poetry is how surprising it can be and how each line can escalate with every passing word. Sometimes my assumptions are proven wrong, but from what I’ve observed, the appearance of a poem makes a huge difference in how it’s perceived. Coming up with creative ways to break lines or turning a free verse poem into something more structured does give it a stylistic edge craft-wise, but of course, that’s not all that matters.

I think letting your work sit and editing it slowly until you feel like you’ve said everything you want to say is the most important step, and many, including myself, tend to overlook this. The issue with poetry as compared to prose is that you don’t necessarily write a poem for its meaning; it’s not as intentional has having a theme established from the very beginning. Sometimes it takes a while to discover its heart. The submissions that stand out to me are those that have found what they want their poems to say, and they’ve quenched out every drop of its meaningfulness.

Organization is certainly one of the most important aspects of the editorial process. How does that happen for you? What are some mechanical processes for judging submissions that work or don’t work?

I’m given enough time to take breaks in the magazines I work in; it’s not an overwhelming amount of work, even during the peak of submissions. For me, I read through a poem, and on a Word document, I make a note if I’d like to accept it, reject it, somewhere in the middle, or if I’m uncertain. The latter two sound the same, but they actually are different to me. If I don’t think I’m in the headspace to understand a poem well, like if I’m already tired, I still want to give it the consideration it deserves. Thus, I leave it unmarked because I do get that some poems are easier to understand than others, but accessibility doesn’t define a “good” poem. After the Word document, I go to our team’s voting sheet and input my feedback, going back to the pieces that aren’t an easy yes or no.

Typically, I can estimate when the influx of submissions will happen, which keeps me more organized; they’re usually at the start and end of the submission window. With this in mind, I start going through submissions heavily in the beginning, then slowly let the poems pile up as the submissions slow down a bit. I never want to rush the process, though, since every piece deserves to be read with care, so I allow myself to read slower because speed doesn’t equate to productivity.

How has your position as editor influenced your own writing? It’s common that many editors find some inspiration in the work that’s sent to them. Do you find this to be the case with you?

Oh, my writing has improved in ways that can’t be put into words since my editing journey. As mentioned, learning the subjectivity of the editorial process opened me up to being truthful in my craft, because whether it gets read by the right pair of eyes is sometimes a game of luck, and perseverance. In that case, why not just make my poems completely speak my truth? What do I have to lose, anyway?

Aside from my attitude towards writing poetry, I became a fierce advocate for the fact that you have to read it more frequently before you can improve. Reading submissions became a necessary way for me to insert reading time into my life, and it pushed me to understand something because I usually think, “What if this poem has a deeper meaning than what I see, and I’m not judging it correctly because I haven’t discovered it yet?” That forces me to take a more serious look at factors like the structure, word choice, and style of the piece; I learn so much about myself and my own writing by assessing the way I view that of others.

As for inspiration, there are multiple pieces of work that leave me in awe. When editors say in an email response that they received countless wonderful submissions per issue, they mean it. Most of my pieces are about health—whether that be physical or mental well-being—so the poems that resonate with me are usually related to that. However, lately I’ve found myself branching out to different topics that are also important to people in my age range, which again is an active choice I made in choosing the magazines I apply for.

Speaking of inspiration, what works and authors have most greatly influenced you on a personal level? Is there one writer with whom you most strongly identify?

As I’ve mentioned above, surprise is one of the aspects I cherish the most in poetry, and it’s my favorite emotion to evoke from it. If I read a chapbook and every line introduces a witty yet unexpected twist or turn, it’s instantly a favorite.

While there’s no particular writer I look up to the most, there are plenty from whom I get my inspiration. I love Ada Limón, Victoria Chang, Sylvia Plath, and many more. My writing is like a collage of a hundred different voices.

Finally, tell me something interesting about yourself that has nothing to do with the literary sphere.

My dream day is at the beach with my poodle, sitting in a hammock with a book and a Polaroid camera, while eating my favorite snack—dried pineapples!