It may well be my fault, David, and a whole level of irony may be escaping
me, but I don't think I've properly understood any of your comments, except
perhaps the "gatekeepers of taste" coda, but even there I'm not sure if you
think this a good or a bad thing. Presumably all editors use their judgement
to decide what they want to include and exclude? Though here we have no real
sense of what informs that judgement. How could this extract - which strikes
me as singularly uninformative - inform you of "the ever-present validation
process that seems to be in place with major poetry publishers"? Something
that seems to me absent is described as "ever-present"...
Best,
Jamie
From: "David Lace" <[log in to unmask]>
Well it informed me...of the ever-present validation process that seems to
be in place with major poetry publishers. The gatekeepers of taste, if you
like.
From: Jamie McKendrick <[log in to unmask]>
In what respect "informative"?
Best, Jamie
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Lace"
Subject: Re: Arts Council report on Contemporary Poetry
Informative extract:
“Yet the success of book publication is not to be measured solely by the
statistic of copies sold. The relationship between poet and editor should
ensure that the quality of the work produced is significantly better than it
might have been had the work not been edited, that it is accurately and
attractively produced, and that it appears with the imprimatur of a
publishing house which is a species of ‘guarantor’, providing a ‘license’
authorising the poet. The fact of edited publication remains crucial in the
poetry sector, to the extent that even performance poets, while
acknowledging the aurality of their work, aspire to this kind of validation.
Poets active in the tertiary educational sector are required, to be
considered ‘research active’, to have publications, though hitherto the
educational sector has not been as consistent in discriminating the quality
and level of achievement in terms of poetry book publication as they are in
terms of academic publications.
Other forms of validation include awards and prizes (of which there are
hundreds, perhaps a dozen of which have a national profile), and
appointments in the academic or civic sector which entail a transparent
selection process. Once established in these ways, poets will find they are
more welcome on the reading circuit, receive fees and increase the sale of
their publications many-fold at events. They are also in a stronger position
to apply for academic and teaching posts and other jobs in the sector.”
Pages 9-10
------Original Message------
From: Alec Newman
Sender: British & Irish poets
To: [log in to unmask]
ReplyTo: British & Irish poets
Subject: Arts Council report on Contemporary Poetry
Sent: 24 May 2011 09:42
Anyone who's not seen this might find it interesting. Comments on a
postcard please.
http://www.literaturedevelopment.co.uk/domains/nationalassociationforliteraturedevelopment.org.uk/local/media/audio/Poetry_mapping_DEFINITIVE.pdf
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