Anne Carson has said, “Poetry is a man on fire running quite fast through it.” If so, how does one prevent Carson’s “man on fire” from being incinerated by their own words? This webinar will walk the totally terrified through the basics of editing poetry—from developing an understanding of what poetry might be, to identifying fundamental elements and building a lexicon to describe editorial feedback. Participants will learn how to listen to a poet’s voice and to find ways to enhance that voice within the framework of the poet’s understanding of what poetry is.
Instructor
Peter Midgley has edited numerous award-winning poetry collections—from regional awards to international prizes—and has worked as an acquiring editor for poetry. He won the Editors Canada Tom Fairley Award in 2013, and the Lois Hole Award for Editorial Excellence in 2014. He has published 3 collections of poetry—his latest collection, let us not think of them as barbarians (NeWest, 2019) was shortlisted for the Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry. Peter lives in Edmonton.