Poetry Consultations with Isaac Pickell

Writing poetry is more than a vehicle to express emotions and ideas we already have, it is a way to feel things out, to understand ourselves and the world around us in new ways. I think of each poem as a sensory organ like whiskers, or outstretched palms in the dark. The best poems reach out to the reader and help them discover alongside us. Over the last few years working with poets in manuscript consultation, I have learned to seek out and showcase those whiskers, to invest in them, magnify them, or ask them to take up more space on the page.

That being said, when providing feedback I begin and end with the poet’s own intentions and what they are trying to accomplish in the piece so that I can find and feature the heart of the work. Once I’m there, my suggestions will focus on getting that attention across in a clear and powerful manner, style (language, sound, tone), and form (line breaks, stanzas, shape). I’m also a bit of a grammarian, so despite my love of spatial experiments, I’m committed to the fact that even poets are in the business of writing sentences.

Look, I love editing poetry. I love editing poetry because I love writing poetry and editing poetry is the next best thing, uncovering where a poem might go next right alongside the poet. Thank you for sharing your work.