Hi. How are you doing?
RHP has come a long way in a few short years. 16 issues, plus the
unnumbered specials and e-chapbooks. We've built up a bit of a load of work here. In fact, if you
calculate all the pages, and approximate the area of each page on an
average computer screen, the number of right hand pointing screens
would cover an area the size of one football field plus 3/4 of an
Olympic-sized swimming pool. And, both the football field and the
swimming pool would be really orange and that would freak everybody out
which would be, you know, a bonus.
This is just a simulation. Thanks to Industrial Light and Magic for making the graphic.
This current issue and the one before it have been larger than I would
like. Now, why is this? Ideally, I would like these issues
to contain about, oh, 15 poems, two or three pieces of flash fiction,
and an art thing. We're getting a lot of poem submissions and, in
fact, I've had to hire a bunch of readers to help. Well, I mean
"hire" in the sense of, uh, not paying them. Soon, I'll compile
their names and give them credit, but in the meantime, hey, they are
all Anonymous Chic. I accept about 40% of the poems I get,
although I accept SOMETHING from about 65% of the people who submit
poems. One could argue that I'm taking too much poetry and not
being choosy enough. But, what can I say, I publish the stuff I
like and I like a lot of the stuff I get. I think, also, we
benefit from a nice little word o' mouth deal.
What's happened with the last 2 issues is that I accept work as I get it
(and like it) and then I'm "HOLY CRAP! I've accepted 35 poems!"
So, I'm keeping now a running count and hope to have a shorter
issue the next couple of times.
We could, of course, publish more frequently, but I really can't on account of having a job.
So, that leaves me with turning away work that I like in favor
of work I like more. That may be the way to go, although it
grieves me a little. I kind of like the raw and unschooled stuff.
Maybe I'll keep that and ditch some of the work by smart people.
I hope you enjoy the issue. If it is too big
for you, grab a snack in the middle and watch that TV show about crab
fishermen.
