On What POETS & WRITERS Erases—and What It Amplifies
When I “went public” three weeks ago with a (hefty) slice of my history of engaging with the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) on matters pertaining to Israel and Jewish identity, I did not expect to serve up similar fare quite so soon. (As an aside: I’ve updated that earlier post to reflect the “response” that I eventually received from AWP—and the quotation marks around “response” are deliberate. So if you haven’t yet seen that, please check it out at some point.)
Today, instead of sharing with you an account of discreet, behind-the-scenes “counsel culture” concerning a major organization for writers, I’m going to unveil a history of similar (and, apparently, similarly unsuccessful) efforts that I’ve directed toward a major professional magazine: Poets & Writers.
But first, some background, as the magazine presents it:
Poets & Writers Magazine is the leading publication of its kind. From its earliest days as a quarterly newsletter with a distribution of a few hundred copies, Poets & Writers Magazine has addressed issues of importance to creative writers, from finding an agent to promoting one’s book. The bimonthly magazine publishes essays on the literary life, profiles of contemporary authors, and the most comprehensive listing of literary grants and awards, deadlines, and prize winners available in print. Each issue reaches more than 100,000 writers.
The magazine is one component of an organization, founded in 1970, that also goes by the name “Poets & Writers”; this parent organization describes itself as “the nation’s largest nonprofit organization serving creative writers”; as “guided by our core values of service, inclusivity, integrity, and excellence”; and “as committed to becoming an antiracist organization.” Moreover, “select content” from the magazine appears on the organization’s website, “which attracts one million unique visitors per year.” (The same person is listed as Editor-in-Chief for both Poets & Writers, the magazine, and “Poets & Writers Online.”)
What the magazine/website selects to publish—and ignore—with regard to Israel and Jewish identity has, in fact, been a long-standing concern of mine. As you’ll read, some six months ago, I had reason to believe that constructive changes might be afoot.
But here, too—as with AWP—recent developments suggest otherwise. And, as with AWP, I don’t believe there’s any reason for me to keep quiet any longer.
