Best of the Web: Valparaiso Poetry Review

I am pleased to announce that Dan Wickett of Dzanc Books has recently notified me a poem from Valparaiso Poetry Review has been chosen for inclusion in their upcoming anthology publication, Best of the Web 2009 (guest-edited by Lee K. Abbott), scheduled for release in July. Elise Paschen’s “Hive,” which appeared in the Fall/Winter 2008-2009 issue (Volume X, Number 1) of Valparaiso Poetry Review, was selected from among many hundreds of nominations of literary works across the entire spectrum of online magazines eligible for consideration.

The Best of the Web anthology series was started last year by Dzanc Books as an effort to spotlight excellent literature published in online journals. I was happy at the time to report two poems that first appeared in Valparaiso Poetry Review—“Prophet Township” by Jared Carter and “Walking an Old Woman into the Sea” by Frannie Lindsay—were honored by being chosen for publication alongside nearly sixty other works in that initial anthology of the series. I also was grateful to be able to add that one of my poems, “Island Fever,” which first appeared in Apple Valley Review, received a nomination from that journal’s editor, Leah Browning, and it was selected for inclusion in the Best of the Web 2008 anthology.

As I have mentioned previously, I value all the poems and depend on all the poets in Valparaiso Poetry Review. Yet, I welcome the admirable efforts of the anthology’s editors to bring attention to the growing number of fine works being published in online journals by selecting individual pieces for praise. Also, I am pleased when an opportunity arises for one of VPR’s splendid poets like Elise Paschen to reach a larger audience and find the greater recognition she deserves through inclusion in the anthology. Consequently, I congratulate Elise Paschen on the selection of her wonderful poem for this honor, and I thank her once more for her contributions to Valparaiso Poetry Review.

Also, I wish to take this opportunity to express again my appreciation to all whose works have appeared in Valparaiso Poetry Review during this last year, as well as in the past nine years of the journal’s publication. I hope this latest bit of good news for the journal serves to encourage further submissions of high quality to VPR by many poets. Additionally, I am grateful for all the ongoing support and positive feedback Valparaiso Poetry Review and “One Poet’s Notes” have received from visitors to both locations, and I am confident they can look forward to much more fine work in the future from other contributors to VPR, which I hope readers will find equally as entertaining, engaging, and enlightening.

Readers will find further information about the Best of the Web anthology series and Dzanc Books by visiting the publisher’s web site. In addition, more poetry by Paschen can be found in the current issue of VPR. As well, visitors are invited to examine an interview I conducted with Elise Paschen for Valparaiso Poetry Review.