I saw this too, David, but it's irrelevant given that these names represent no more than a small percentage of Salt's authors. It proves nothing whatsoever. And the names of Tom Raworth (in respect of a residency) and Sandra Tappenden (who once taught at my local 6th-Form College-cum-night-school) on the list don't suggest that the compiler can separate his apples from his oranges. I rather suspect that Carcanet would score more highly on the factors that the anonymous poster dislikes. Not that that's actually relevant either....

Does anyone here really think that any publisher has a moral imperative to retain an open-door policy to submissions? I do here at Shearsman, but I assure you that I can see very good reasons for not doing so.

Tony



On 4 Aug 2010, at 18:20, David Lace wrote:

> Long but interesting comment by “asgill” on Guardian comments thread:
> 
> 
> “And with respect, if anyone here is suggesting there is only one or two types of worthy poetry out there, it is tacitly Salt itself, by deciding to remove its Submissions section: this immediately implies that its editorial board alone know what 'good poetry' is, and also shows a truly worrying self-confidence that if there's anything genuinely good out there, you know how to find it. I'd like to know how exactly. 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. 
> 
> Finally Chris you say with some sense of mystical insight that you will find poets out there if they're any good, and it's up to them to show themselves...but where exactly? If you go purely by poetry readings then you're going to be seriously limiting yourself since many poets don't do them! Indeed, you might say many poets are actually more busy developing their craft and voices to be constantly out on the razz giving public performances. The Salt Cellar sounds like an interesting idea but then isn't that in a way like a slightly decentralised way of still getting poets to come to you? I applaud it as a good new direction, as a start, but I do think poetry publishers have every bit as much obligation and responsibility to go out and seek poets as poets do to go out and seek them - after all, without poets you'd have no purpose for your poetry list. Isn't it possibly more a case that the CW uni courses present poets to you as ready packages so you don't feel you need to do outreach so much? And wouldn't things just be simpler if you actually had a straightforward and quicker Submission system? Someone posted here about how much time was wasted returning manuscripts - has anyone actually stopped to think how much time was wasted by the poets who were submitting their manuscripts?
> 
> But to continue the hair-splitting – of course Salt is a Cambridge-based press but the amount of poets who are also Oxbridge graduates and academics is quite extensive, not to mention the numerous Eric Gregory awardees, and there is a plethora of ex-CW course poets, just not specifically the UEA but that’s probably because most of them have got into Faber, Carcanet, Picador, Cape and so on. 
> 
> From the Salt list: 
> 
> Vincent De Souza studied English and Philosophy at UEA.
> 
> Matthew Francis: Matthew Francis is Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.
> 
> M.E.J. Hughes: Jane Hughes is a lecturer in English and has been a Fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge, since 1987.
> 
> John Kinsella He is a Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge University
> 
> Kate Lilley Fellow at Oxford University
> 
> Paul Margs He lectures in Creative Writing at the Manchester Metropolitan University
> 
> Richard Marggraf Turley He teaches in the Department of English and Creative Writing, Aberystwyth University
> 
> E. A. Markham He was Professor of Creative Writing at Sheffield Hallam University
> 
> Sophie Mayer She has studied and taught at the Universities of Cambridge and Toronto
> 
> Janet McAdams: Janet McAdams grew up in Alabama and attended the University of Alabama, where she was graduated with a B.A. in English and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing
> 
> Leo Mellor: Leo Mellor is a fellow and college lecturer in English at New Hall, University of Cambridge
> 
> Peter Middleton: Peter Middleton was born in 1950 and grew up in both England and the United States. After a first degree at Oxford University, he took a PhD at Sheffield University
> 
> Drew Milne He has been a lecturer at the universities of Edinburgh and Sussex, and is the Judith E. Wilson Lecturer in Drama and Poetry, Faculty of English, University of Cambridge
> 
> Tim Morris: Tim Morris completed his doctorate at King’s College, University of Cambridge in 2001, and has since worked as a English Tutor at various Cambridge Colleges and as an Associate Tutor in the School of Literature and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia
> 
> Manuel Munoz: Manuel Muñoz was born and raised in Dinuba, California. He graduated from Harvard University and received his MFA in creative writing from Cornell University
> 
> Ian Patterson he now teaches English at Queens’ College, Cambridge
> 
> Katy Price: Katy is Lecturer in English and course leader for Creative & Professional Writing at Anglia Polytechnic University in Cambridge
> Tom Raworth ex-Resident Poet at King's College, Cambridge
> 
> Peter Robinson He was educated at York and Cambridge.
> 
> Sandra Tappenden Sandra Tappenden was born in Kent. Previously a Creative Writing tutor for Exeter College
> John Temple: John Temple was born in 1942 in Stockton-on-Tees and grew up in the East Midlands and the Northeast. After reading English at Caius College, Cambridge (1961-64)
> 
> I think it would be good for presses like Salt to also outreach into other communities other than relying so heavily on top academic circles."