The Poetry Editor Is In

Across the Margin proudly presents their new Poetry Editor, Richard Roundy…..

A note from the Editors of Across the Margin….

For some time now, there has been a steady stream of poetry submitted to Across the Margin. Yet, in our earliest days, when we laid down the underpinnings of what this magazine would be, we had never anticipated poetry to be a part of what we do. Although we love poetry, and are deeply affected by it, we would never proclaim to be poets, nor to be experts in this evocative art form. But as the submissions continued to roll in, we could no longer ignore the waves of poetry that washed upon our literary shores. The words, the feelings, the wordplay, it was all so stunning and so affecting. In time, we made a conscious decision to open our doors wholly to poetry. To give it a life all its own by making it a main category on our homepage and thus, allowing it to become one of the lynchpins of Across the Margin. Although it happened organically, it happened, and we are thankful for that.

The poetry that found its way to Across the Margin presented us with immense pleasure, but also a challenge. We took it upon ourselves to dig into the work zealously, to understand it, and then to present it to the best of our abilities. But due to our limitations in the understanding of poetic composition, we realized that the system in place here wasn’t good enough for us, and for the talented poets who contribute to Across the Margin. It soon became evident that if we were to give the utmost respect that is due to the poetic arts, and to present to our readers the poetry we were so humbled to receive in the most discerning of lights, then we would need to cast our gaze outward and seek out help. And now, we have found that help, in Richard Roundy.

Richard Roundy is a poet, a teacher, and an editor who lives in Brooklyn with his wife, daughters, and dog. Since returning to New York City many years ago, after studying at the storied Poetics Program at SUNY Buffalo, Richard has been teaching English to the city’s young and eager children. His work has been published in English Journal and numerous other literary periodicals, including Shiny, Insurance, Sal Mimeo, Object, Open24hrs, Verse, The Washington Review, Mirage, Big Bridge, Situation, and the anthology Like Musical Instruments: 83 Contemporary Poets (edited by Larry Fagin with portrait photos by John Sarsgard). His chapbook, The Other Kind of Vertigo, was published in 2005. And now you can also find Richard here, manning the Poetry Editor’s desk at Across the Margin.

We welcome Richard to Across the Margin with open arms, the same manner in which he will receive any poetry submissions that come his way. He wants us to assure you, the reader and the writer, that the poetry at Across the Margin has no aesthetic allegiance or ideological bent, and that our primary goal is to publish as much excellent poetry as we can!

Keep writing….all the way Across the Margin,

Michael Shields & Chris Thompson