Poetry Editors on poetry submissions
Fine, they actually call it Editors on Poetry, because they’re not all poetry editors, also some are managing editors and at least one is a slush pile reader, but that makes this article by the Poetry Society of America all the more well rounded. Three questions are put before a slew of editors from a wide variety of journals that publish poetry, regarding submission reading process, cover letter necessity, and handwritten rejection notes. The editors really just say the same things that you always hear, but hearing it from such a wide array of sources seems somewhat more significant. Not sure why. Here’s a sample answer regarding the importance of cover letters:
The Sewanee Review: George Core
Covering letters are not crucial. Just as nothing depends upon a red wheelbarrow, little depends upon the covering letter. I prefer to have one but assume that most of them will not be of much help and that some will contain inflated or dishonest information about the writers in question.