All the Glittering Possibilities
Twenty years ago I put together the inaugural debut poets feature, highlighting the early work of Victoria Chang, Tyehimba Jess, and Matthew Shenoda, as well as others who may be less familiar but are no less notable for the verse they put out into the world. The title of that feature, “That Glittering Possibility: Eighteen Debut Poets Who Made Their Mark in 2005,” came from something a publicity assistant at Shenoda’s publisher, Coffee House Press, said to me about the nature of publishing a poet’s first book. “Publishing debut poetry is essential to the legacy of poetry itself,” Lauren Snyder told me. “A handful of today’s debut authors will become tomorrow’s greats, and that glittering possibility is one of the joys of publishing.” She is right, of course, and there is ample evidence in the 222 entries in this issue’s retrospective, “Reflection: Twenty Years of Debut Poets.” The proof of poetry’s legacy can be carefully read, deeply felt, even inhaled, and, indeed, lived by way of the creative, constructive, life-affirming energy that has been generated, and continues to be generated, by this growing cross section of contemporary poets.
One of the poets we’ve added to the list, Darius Atefat-Peckham, part of “The Luminous Life: Our Twentieth Annual Look at Debut Poets” by India Lena González, reminds us of the expansive work of poetry in his response to our question about writer’s block. “Lately I’ve been trying to frame those periods of quiet as necessary time away, as rest, or as time out in the world,” says the author of Book of Kin, winner of the Autumn House Poetry Prize. “One of my early writing mentors, Michael Delp, would remind me, ‘Live first, write second.’ It helped me understand that I am not my writing, not entirely, so my life doesn’t stop when my writing does. Let life become your writing, rather than the other way around.”
Everything we do at Poets & Writers supports this generous definition of a writer’s life, composed as it is of writing, publishing, craft, community, and all its glittering possibilities. I encourage you to read “A Message From the Executive Director” to learn about the exciting resources we are offering to accomplish this, including a much-improved Poets & Writers Groups, a new app, and Grants & Awards: The Writing Contest Newsletter, all part of our new membership program. We are working hard to provide a magazine and website—a multidimensional community—that is worthy of your time and money. Thank you for being such a vital part of it.
