I want to thank each and every one of you for sending your work in to us for consideration. I also wish to express my appreciation for your patience with us through all the delays and deadline extensions. Both Gloria and I have complicated, busy lives and while that's not an excuse, it is at least an explanation. The rest of my comments are to those of you who sent in poems that were not chosen.
Poetry is difficult.
It's difficult to write well and can even be difficult to read. Judging poetry should certainly be included as one of the tortures in Dante's Inferno . What made this so troubling a task for me was the recognition that every single work submitted had merit in one way or another. Without exception, even the least of these works spoke from the heart and was an expression of deep and profound feeling. You people were bleeding on the pages and sending them to me to decide yes or no.