Poetry Consultations with Luiza Flynn-Goodlett

I love how poetry surprises me, expands the possibilities of language, and pushes the boundaries of what can be said. As an editor, it’s my job to help you bring forward what is most unique, urgent, and essential in your work, whether making a single poem sparkle or a whole collection cohere. I aim to treat you—and your poetry—with great care and gentleness, leading you toward a deeper awareness of the strengths of your individual voice, language, and formal choices, and offering pathways to highlight those strengths during the revision process.

Beyond the nitty-gritty of feedback on your work itself, I can offer a nuanced industry perspective as both a widely-published poet and an editor at the queer and trans literary journal and press Foglifter for over a decade. From my standpoint as a fellow working poet, I can help you hone the mindset to persist in the submission process, assist you in developing a robust organizational framework, and offer suggestions of venues tailored to your work. As an experienced editor, I can offer insights into how literary journal submissions are assessed, decode behind-the-scenes processes of journals and presses, and help you interpret responses you’ve received. I also take deep pride in championing fellow marginalized writers, and have an understanding of how exclusion and tokenism shape how we navigate and engage with the literary community.

Given that I’ve worked closely with five chapbook authors during my tenure at Foglifter and published eight chapbooks of my own (and have a ninth forthcoming with this very press!), I am especially interested in giving feedback on chapbooks. I find the form especially suited to poetic work—a space to expand on ideas that are too complex or diffuse for a single poem or series, but with a length that demands concision and intensity.

I want you to leave our work together feeling seen, nourished, and energized, for us to have broken through any barriers holding you back from finishing this poem or project, and for you to be prepared to continue putting your work out into the world so that it can reach the readers who need it.