The Pros and Cons of Themes

From The Editor's Desk

Every week, I receive an email newsletter from Duotrope with a list of “New Listings” (lit mags and presses, projects, contests, agents, etc. that they’ve added to their database), “Market News” (basically, what recently opened to submissions and what recently closed), “Publisher Listings with major status changes” which is a list of very possibly defunct lit mags and presses.

And then there is a section called “Upcoming Themed Deadlines”.

For years, I’ve had discussions with writers and editors about their feelings on lit mag “themed issues”. This issue is surprisingly contentious.

Many poets/writers have told me they never consider submitting to themed issues. They are anathema to the whole concept it would seem.

Maybe or maybe not related, I would expect these same writers would give a big ol’ eyeroll about organizing a poetry collection in four sections based on the four seasons (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter).

ONE ART is a daily publication so I don’t think in terms of issues. That being said, I do think about specific dates, holidays, awareness months, and other factors when considering the best time to publish poems. In general, I try not to beat readers over the head— a rule that also applies to writing poems (and the degree of “handholding”). You lead the reader but you don’t want to give them everything or else there’s no wiggle room for self-discovery.

Going with the seasonal themes… A “beating the reader over the head” example would be publishing a poem entitled “Spring” on the first day of Spring. In the same breath, February 1^st is a terrific time to read Margaret Atwood’s poem “February”… so there are exceptions to every rule.

Here is a list of some recent lit mag issue themes I’m seeing:

Abyss, Birds, Bittersweet, Bliss, Blue, Chaos, Cycles, Living in Wonder (I like this… of course, it’s very much in the lane of Stay Curious and ONE ART), Moments in a Garden, Basic, Soil, Survival, The American South, Fatalism, Tranquility, Transfiguration, Transformation, The Pacific Northwest, Unfurl, Rare, Eco-, Hymns, Movement, Karma, Plum, Resilience, Harmony, Sensation, Gaze, Virginia Poets, Handmade Tales, Wishful Thinking, Avalanche, Peace, Roads, Torrent, Calamity, Snakes, Subterranean, Waterways, Cityscapes, Grief and Grieving, Plants, The Now, Revival, Exclusion, Proximity, Flaw and Favor, Trans Voices in Trump’s America, Pushing Back, Speculative Fiction, Women’s Rights, Disability Pride, Education, Chaos, Impermanence, The Unseen

Truth be told, I added a few. I don’t think there’s any way to tell which I added and which are actual current themes. Often, themes are either very open-ended so that you can read into them in a manner that is similar to astrology (no offense intended) or else they are highly specific and niche.

I’m not taking shots at journals that operate based on themes. There’s nothing ideologically wrong with this approach. I do have concerns about readership in some instances.

I want artist’s work to find the audience that needs to hear that work. Do you think that themes offer a good way for readers to find work they want/need to read? Or, do you find that themed issues are a turn off and you may miss out on good work hidden within an issue that may fall under the umbrella of the overarching theme?

Back to lit mags, like ONE ART, that do not publish issues. What are your feelings about aligning publication with meaningful dates, times of year, holidays, awareness months? Would you like to see more or less of this in lit mags?