Poets & Writers Magazine welcomes feedback from its readers. Please post a comment on select articles at pw.org, e-mail editor@pw.org, or write to Editor, Poets & Writers Magazine, 90 Broad Street, Suite 2100, New York, NY 10004. Letters accepted for publication may be edited for clarity and length.
Letters
Feedback from readers
John Lee Clark’s “Twelve Tips for Collaborating With a Cat (Who Wants to Help You Write)” in the January/February 2023 issue was delightful. Although I’ve occasionally wondered if my two felines truly wish to assist my endeavors or distract me from them, I’m grateful that they remind me to take meditative breaks, stretch, and make time for play. I have also learned the wisdom of hitting Save the instant one of them launches toward my desk, or before a paw or tail-stroke sweeps across the touchpad.
Lauren Goodsmith
Baltimore, Maryland
In response to the concerns of Jane Frame, the reader who wrote the letter in your January/February 2023 issue (Reactions), believe it or not there are some of us who have no other option but to submit our writing through the mail. The some of us I am referring to, of course, are incarcerated individuals who have managed to use all of our poor choices and bad decisions to become writers and poets. I can only speak for myself, but I know I am not alone in saying that my writing is all I’ve got, and my writing is the only thing that keeps me sane in here. In prison, especially at the maximum-security level where I reside, you are pretty much left on your own as far as any type of personal enrichment or growth is concerned. The only validation I ever get, the only thing that makes me feel like anything other than the sum total of my mistakes is when I am lucky enough to have a piece of my writing accepted. Seeing my name in print is the closest thing to freedom for me right now. That being said, it is a shame that more and more publishers seem to be shutting their doors to people like me in favor of using only Submittable and other electronic-only submission platforms. I may not have access to a computer, but I still have a voice that somebody may want to hear. Thank you for your time and for putting out a wonderful magazine.
Dan Grote
United States Penitentiary Canaan
Waymart, Pennsylvania
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Since we launched the online interview series Ten Questions in 2018, approximately two hundred and fifty authors and translators have pulled back the curtain on their writing lives, offering a peek at what they read, how they work, and what they’ve learned while composing and publishing their books. Each installment has included the same final question: “What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received?” We compiled ten of the most compelling answers from the past year for “Ten Writers on Writing Advice: 2022” (12/27/22) and shared it on social media. On Facebook, one reader, Marian Haddad, offered her own: “Don’t let anyone’s rush become your rush.” Solid advice.
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Three of the most popular posts from pw.org
1.“The Beauty of Being: Our Eighteenth Annual Look at Debut Poets” (January/February 2023) by India Lena González
2.“Q&A: U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón” (January/February 2023) by Rigoberto González
3.“Game Changers: Literary Magazines as the Gateway to Your Career” (January/February 2023) by Laura Maylene Walter
[Correction]
The number of terms served by former U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo was incorrectly stated in “Q&A: U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón” (January/February 2023) by Rigoberto González. Harjo served three terms.