Close editing is an act of colossal creative
generosity, one of the best gifts a poet can receive. It's no wonder that such
scrupulous, time-consuming attention is becoming less and less commonplace, but
a top-notch poetry editor is worth their weight in gold and very seldom valued.
Stanza by stanza, line by line, word by word, comma by
comma, a good editor enables a poet to understand their own method, makes them
question and/or justify their choices, helps them spot their own weaknesses,
encourages them to raise their game a notch. Such close editing places a
draining demand on the person who does it, requiring a high level of
engagement. It takes so much out of the editor that they often struggle to
sustain their own writing at the same time. And this sacrifice is another
reason why editing is generous.
Helena Nelson at HappenStance Press is the editor I
know best, and her example is the point of departure for this post. Few
publishers work as closely with their poets. What's more, her graft on others'
behalf is definitely detrimental to her own terrific poetry. I’d suggest that U.K.
Poetry could do with a few more Nells, though she's a one-off. In fact, you
could do far worse than get hold of her latest top-notch collection, Pearls,
which hasn’t received the attention that it so richly deserves. It’s available
to purchase here.