Editors on Poetry

What makes a poem memorable? Journal What makes a poem forgettable?

The use of fresh language to reveal either deep feelings or profound thoughts. Too much of the poetry we receive uses ordinary, conversational language to reveal superficial thoughts or shallow feelings [MJB]. I'm drawn to artifice, audacity, innovation, and wit. I'm drawn to bravura, idiosyncrasy, and the sense that the writing of the poem required some measure of sacrifice, or at least a little burning [TD] . Boston Review
Mary Jo Bang and Timothy Donnelly Flat language, tired conceits, untransformed situations or events, and tepid emotions [MJB]. All of the above, plus the suspicion that the poet's first allegiance isn't to his or her self, but to an audience. [TD]

An experience, of event or language, that has been distilled into a series of essential moments combined musically, with an ear to cadence and to silence. Five Fingers Review
Jaime Robles Cliched language and/or correct ideas or sentimentality. Sometimes the bad ones are hard to forget.

If it is the 3wild tune2 of which Frost speaks, if it can set you back on your heels for a moment and make you say Yes, I1m awake now, alive, and fully present, here and now, then it1s a memorable poem. The Journal
Kathy Fagan Writing poems is a humbling thing; most of our poems are forgettable after all. But the poems I'm most likely to instantly want to forget are those which are facile, self-aggrandizing, and/or shapeless.

A poem is memorable if it continues to teach the reader each time he or she reads it. Oregon East Magazine
Sheri Edvalson A poem is forgettable if it rhymes perfectly and has no distinct voice.

Sound technique fused with the unexpected. I always go for the lateral, rarely for the linear. Salt
John Kinsella Sound technique fused with predictability.

The poetic music. The images that are vividly detailed. The Seattle Review
Colleen J. McElroy When the language doesn't go anywhere. If you ask the question "so what?" at the end of the poem and then you shrug.

Figurative language that is unstrained and memorable. The poem has a sense of truth and demands that the reader confront an intense emotion. Verve
Ron Reichick Language that is overburdened with clichés, obscurity, and generalizations, and requires generous pruning.

A memorable poem is like hot gossip: it's fresh, perhaps startling; you want to pass it on to others. It has surprises, music to make your mind dance, and urges you to plunge into it again. Whetstone
Sandra Berris, Marsha Portnoy, Jean Tolle Banality; the subject can be banal, but not its exploration.

What makes a poem memorable?	*Journal*	What makes a poem forgettable?
The use of fresh language to reveal either deep feelings or profound thoughts. Too much of the poetry we receive uses ordinary, conversational language to reveal superficial thoughts or shallow feelings [MJB]. I'm drawn to artifice, audacity, innovation, and wit. I'm drawn to bravura, idiosyncrasy, and the sense that the writing of the poem required some measure of sacrifice, or at least a little burning [TD] .	*Boston Review* Mary Jo Bang and Timothy Donnelly	Flat language, tired conceits, untransformed situations or events, and tepid emotions [MJB]. All of the above, plus the suspicion that the poet's first allegiance isn't to his or her self, but to an audience. [TD]
An experience, of event or language, that has been distilled into a series of essential moments combined musically, with an ear to cadence and to silence.	*Five Fingers Review* Jaime Robles	Cliched language and/or correct ideas or sentimentality. Sometimes the bad ones are hard to forget.
If it is the 3wild tune2 of which Frost speaks, if it can set you back on your heels for a moment and make you say Yes, I1m awake now, alive, and fully present, here and now, then it1s a memorable poem.	*The Journal* Kathy Fagan	Writing poems is a humbling thing; most of our poems are forgettable after all. But the poems I'm most likely to instantly want to forget are those which are facile, self-aggrandizing, and/or shapeless.
A poem is memorable if it continues to teach the reader each time he or she reads it.	*Oregon East Magazine* Sheri Edvalson	A poem is forgettable if it rhymes perfectly and has no distinct voice.
Sound technique fused with the unexpected. I always go for the lateral, rarely for the linear.	*Salt* John Kinsella	Sound technique fused with predictability.
The poetic music. The images that are vividly detailed.	*The Seattle Review* Colleen J. McElroy	When the language doesn't go anywhere. If you ask the question "so what?" at the end of the poem and then you shrug.
Figurative language that is unstrained and memorable. The poem has a sense of truth and demands that the reader confront an intense emotion.	*Verve* Ron Reichick	Language that is overburdened with clichés, obscurity, and generalizations, and requires generous pruning.
A memorable poem is like hot gossip: it's fresh, perhaps startling; you want to pass it on to others. It has surprises, music to make your mind dance, and urges you to plunge into it again.	*Whetstone* Sandra Berris, Marsha Portnoy, Jean Tolle	Banality; the subject can be banal, but not its exploration.