Interview Project: Abyss & Apex
In the third of our on-going series of interviews with editors of magazines that publish speculative fiction poetry, we are talking with Trent Walters, Senior Poetry Editor of Abyss & Apex.
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For those readers who might not have previously discovered Abyss & Apex, can you tell us a little about it? What makes A&A unique?
What makes any magazine unique--if it is unique--is the editor's tastes. Since I own my own tastes--intrinsic to my being in part--it would be hard for me to step out of the frame I live in and be completely objective. However, I do know (or delude myself into thinking I know) a few things about my tastes.
In speculative poetry, I am as interested in the speculation as the poetry. Perhaps I emphasize the poem as a stand-alone aesthetic piece more than most poetry editors. I desire poems that surprise, function on a number of levels, and hit the head, heart and/or gut. But even that's not true as I have selected poems that simply captured a spooky moment or conceptually challenged what was thought to be poetry.
When I read SF poetry magazines--if my tastes differ--it's usually because the speculative conceit alone was not enough to carry the poem. And really, if the speculative idea were simple enough to convey in a poem, someone has probably already done it. If it hasn't been done before, it will soon be forgotten as soon as someone with a better sense of aesthetics tackles the conceit. So the poet may as well have focused on the aesthetics, anyway.
Finally, my selection process may be unique (or possibly different) in that I want poems you can read over and over again. Each poem I accept usually has language I can appreciate, novel conceits or treatments or perspectives, and something to think about after the poem is over. Also, I don't select poems based on poets. I'm not sure if this is a mistake or not. But I focus on the poems, not the poets. Poems are pooled semi-anonymously into a pile that I read over and over, both nitpicking and seeking ways to read the poems more deeply. Sometimes selected poets are cellophane new, sometimes old hands; sometimes literary, sometimes speculative. I like being surprised at who gets selected. I dislike rejecting poems by friends (or really anyone because I realize they are artists just trying to make their way).
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How did you become a poetry editor?
My first editing job was with Mythic Circle (which included poetry and fiction). I also did an editing stint with Tony Tost and Zach Schomburg at the short-lived "Smokestack Lightning" poetry zine. As for Abyss and Apex, I seem to recall that I'd just had my first chapbook of poems published by Morpo Press, and Jude-Marie (Kelly) Green and/or Wendy Thies asked me if I'd like to read poetry for A&A. I said, "You bet."
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What's your background? How has that affected your decisions, with regard to individual poems or types? Are you more critical of some genres, subgenres, or tropes than others? If so, why?
My background includes science and literature and education. I've always been interested in all of them. If this background affects any decisions, it's that I may be critical of weak or mistaken scientific aspects or of poor aesthetic execution, but as a teacher I have to believe that people can improve themselves and their work. So I don't take flaws too seriously. Someone may revise a poem into something I might want. It happens.
One subgenre I've never been crazy about is S&S--at least when the language gets too bombastic. But it can be done well. Also, I try to see past any biases I may have, so I may sit on poems for awhile in the hopes that I might gain objectivity.
I should note that I do like horror, but the magazine on the whole does not choose to publish it (except maybe for an October issue). You can try on
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What good is a fantasy?
I interpret this question as asking if there were inherent value in a thing being a fantasy. As has been pointed out before, all fiction is fantasy--even biography which is impossible to know with certainty that the events happened in just the way stated. If one accepts one untrue event, then other untrue events (at least as a category) beg, "Why not accept me as well?" The reason we accept the untrue is for the sake of artifice.
If the question distinguishes realism from fantasy, with reality being superior, then why not move the fiction further into nonfiction, which is more realistic still? I don't generally buy superficial limitations on what makes good fiction.
If the question asks for the opposite--what makes fantasy better than other fiction?--I'm not sure I believe it is superior. It's just something I learned to love while reading L. Frank Baum as a kid: Dorothy plucking lunch pails off a tree still flips my brain. Perhaps the exercise of believing "six impossible things before breakfast" is pointless. But perhaps it gets us outside of being trapped inside a prescribed set of thinking. It's too easy for anyone to think they've got it all figured out.
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What scares you?
I don't think I've ever analyzed my fears and frights. (See the above comment on A&A's policy on horror.)
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Where is the "science" in science fiction? How could SF help us to prepare for the future?
SF seems to be, largely, less about the science than the philosophical impact of science and technology on society. I have no intention of being prescriptive, but if society desires to advance science and technology, it would do well to spotlight engaging and close looks at the sciences and their impact. We can't expect new generations of scientists and technological progress if we don't lay the groundwork.
That said, I'm not going to vote for publishing something that forwards the cause of science unless it has a good aesthetic, a keen poetic sensibility.
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Who are some of your favorite poets, and why?
Albert Goldbarth and Heather McHugh for their playfulness. Emily Dickinson's strange mystery. Wallace Stevens' use of image, symbol and language. Karl Shapiro when he bites. Speculatively, David Lunde for his emotional core and Bruce Boston's more ambitious work.
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What makes a poem poetic?
Whole books have been written on this. Many introductory books on poetry are available. Succinctly, I look for imagery, language, line, sense, speculation, and compression. Poems that make me turn my eyes from the page and into my head stand a good chance. I like to chew on the words.
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How do you feel about rhyme?
The problem with rhyme is that it can have an unfortunate chime. Rhyme should occur as a surprise at an unexpected or silent time, seasoned with a spicy dash of chili lime. We should ask: "Wait. Was that a rhyme?" We shouldn't think: "Here comes another clunky chunk of uninspired rhyme."
Rhyme should also be accompanied by meter. Regularly repeated rhyme without a meter is like watching someone play himself in a game of pong, without the net. Often the poet wastes words in padding or falls away from the poem's power by trying to make the next line rhyme. With meter, the poet plays tennis with the net up. Form should challenge. The poet has to pay attention not only to the sound and content but also do so within a preset confines.
One could do worse than read Philip Larkin.
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What are some of your favorite poetic forms? What catches your eye when you read a submission?
I don't know that I have favorite forms. See "poem poetic" response above for the answer to the second question.
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Which would you rather see in your slush: a SpecFic narrative that's easy to follow, or imagery/lyricism that blows your mind? How compatible are these two elements?
This isn't the kind of question I ask myself. I read poems with two different aims in mind. 1) On the first pass, I look for good language imagery, emotions, and arc (or at least the feeling of completeness). It can be narrative or not. 2) On rereading, I'm looking for something that will stay with me, keeping me invested in and investigating the poem.
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What do find that submitters most often get wrong with their submissions? Is there anything outside of the obvious of the submitter not following guidelines that recurs in the slush? What advice would you give to those submitting to your mag?
Most often wrong for our magazine are a reliance on abstractions (not imagery) and a single-mindedness (focus solely on speculation or rhyme or easy "poetic" words, etc.).
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Is there anything you would like to see more of? Less of?
What I find strange in 98% of speculative poems is the reliance on punctuation and other obvious places to end lines. Why don't more poets try to surprise?
-- Trent Walters, Abyss & Apex.
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For excellent poetry and fiction, please don't hesitate to visit Abyss & Apex! Also, check out their guidelines for submission windows and other cool stuff!