POETRY FROM PARADISE VALLEY

POETRY FROM PARADISE VALLEY
Click Image to Visit the Pecan Grove Press Web Page for Poetry from Paradise Valley

POETRY FROM PARADISE VALLEY web page

Poetry From Paradise Valley

Pecan Grove Press has released an anthology of poems, a sampling of works published in Valparaiso Poetry Review during its first decade, from the original 1999-2000 volume to the 2009-2010 volume.


Poetry from Paradise Valley includes a stellar roster of 50 poets. Among the contributors are a former Poet Laureate of the United States, a winner of the Griffin International Prize, two Pulitzer Prize winners, two National Book Award winners, two National Book Critics Circle winners, six finalists for the National Book Award, four finalists for the National Book Critics Circle Award, two finalists for the Pulitzer Prize, and a few dozen recipients of other honors, such as fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, etc.

Readers are encouraged to visit the Poetry from Paradise Valley page at the publisher's web site, where ordering information about the book can be found.

Best Books of Indiana 2011: Finalist. Judges' Citation: "Poetry from Paradise Valley is an excellent anthology that features world-class poetry, including the work of many artists from the Midwest, such as Jared Carter, Annie Finch, David Baker, and Allison Joseph. It’s an eclectic and always interesting collection where poems on similar themes flow into each other. It showcases the highest caliber of U. S. poetry."
—Indiana Center for the Book, Indiana State Library

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

VPR Submission Guidelines: A Policy Change

As some readers may have noticed, the submission guidelines for Valparaiso Poetry Review have been altered slightly. Beginning June 1, the option of submitting poems, essays, or reviews through postal mail has been discontinued. When VPR was initiated in 1999, most poets submitted by postal mail. In the past dozen years that situation has continually shifted, and the vast majority of submissions received have been sent by e-mail.

Other editors will confirm that handling e-mail submissions is much more convenient and manageable. Furthermore, writers will verify that e-mail submissions are simpler and inexpensive. In most cases, e-mail submissions result in quicker response times from journals. Therefore, most electronic magazines today restrict submissions to e-mail or use online submission managers, as is the case with the newly instituted Valparaiso Fiction Review.

However, until now Valparaiso Poetry Review has accepted submissions in both e-mail and postal formats, primarily as a courtesy and as part of an ongoing tradition. Indeed, in earlier years, some of the finest poems in VPR offered by a few well-known poets had been presented only because snail mail submissions were acceptable. Nevertheless, I have found lately that all of these poets now also correspond with me through e-mail.

In an informational piece published at One Poet’s Notes in 2009 at the time of a rate hike announced by the U.S Post Office (“VPR Note on Submissions: An Update”), I reported the following: “the vast majority of submissions received in the first few years were sent by postal mail; however, a bit more than three-fourths of the nearly 7,500 poems received in the last year were sent by e-mail.” Yet, statistics of submissions in the past year have shown a further growth in the number of e-mail submissions, which now account for about 95% of the almost 10,000 works received annually.

In addition, virtually all the postal submissions have included an e-mail address in their contact information, and acceptance notices for poems or prose received through postal mail were usually sent in e-mail messages accompanied by a request for an e-mail response containing a Word file of the work. Consequently, the option in the guidelines allowing postal submissions no longer seems necessary, and it has been deleted.

Once again, as I have in the past, I wish to express my appreciation to all who have submitted poetry, reviews, essays, or interviews for appearance in Valparaiso Poetry Review, and I encourage others to consider submitting to VPR with their work.

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