Gloom Cupboard

Greetings all. My name is Joseph M. Gant. In addition to being Gloom Cupboard’s new poetry editor, I have been, and still am, Poet in Residence and Poetry Editor for Sex and Murder Magazine as well as a contributor for Outsider Writers Collective.

In the coming weeks, I will be going through a large number of submissions, both fresh and remaining from Dorla’s time as editor. I wanted to use this interim to introduce myself and to discuss some points of publication of poems. Likewise I would like to thank here both Lena and Dorla for helping to make this transition possible. They are great editors, and I am honored that Lena selected me to fill Dorla’s shoes.

Acceptance or rejection (I hate that term) of a poem for publication is One-Hundred-Percent subjective. It is not my intention to radically change the nature of Gloom Cupboard. I have contributed writing here and have been reading as well for some time. While my taste may differ from Dorla’s, I was chosen for this position because I do know what Gloom Cupboard means in the greater scope.

However, tastes do vary between editors, and again, the process is entirely subjective. Many of you reading this have been regular contributors to Gloom Cupboard, and those long standing relationships will be respected. However, I know from experience that writers can feel a carte-blanch license to publish their work in places they’ve been before. Likewise, many newcomers feel they must “break-in” somehow to an established market. That always changes with a changing of the guard.

The coming weeks may be a bit jumbled while we make this transition. I ask that you be patient with me in my initial picks for publication. I have a reputation for being discerning to a fault. I consider it a strength, and a strength I am bringing to this marvelous publication.

Because of the sheer volume of submissions, old and new, that I have to field, I will be making my initial selections from new and standing contributors blindly based on merit without much regard to prior relationships with Gloom Cupboard. As I settle into my new position, I will become better equipped to account for everyone’s prior standing with Gloom Cupboard.

But, again, this is all subjective. If I may make two requests of contributors. First, please hold further submissions until the next poetry issue goes live; I have a lot of material. Second, contact me if I have overlooked, lost, or rejected (hate that term) a submission. I am sometimes slow to respond, but invite correspondence from contributors. I look forward to building a good working relationship with poets new and established. I do not believe in “form rejections” but I apologize that for this initial round I may be sending my replies as such. Thank you all for taking the time to read this.

Write to live, live to write.