It's nice when we can find agreement, Jamie.
Original Message:
An unusual experience but I find myself pretty much on Jeffrey's side here.
Not a moral imperative but ethically desirable so as to allow poets without
connections to established writers (via workshops or writing courses etc.)
to have a chance of being considered.
Though I can see (and have experienced) the misery of what's unpleasantly
called the slush pile, at least it's impersonal.
But the postings by asgill are overloaded with irrelevant detail - why,
for instance, the beef with the Eric Gregory awards - they are open to any
submission from British citizens under the age of 30. The judging panel is
large, changes, and is quite prone to disagreement.
Why the obsession with UEA and Oxbridge?
His remark about Faber is also misleading:
"I hope it isn't Faber's approach, using scouts to go around their own
stomping grounds to find other near-identically educated and tutored poets
to promote."
I've no idea if Faber used "scouts" for its pamphlet series, it's possible I
suppose, but as far as I know its poetry list remains open to submissions.
Jamie
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