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I am happy to report that the initial feedback on issue 83/84 has been everything we’d hoped. Almost immediately there were letters and blog posts complimenting both the external beauty and the quality of the contents. We hope that enthusiasm continues and that this issue pleases its readers as much as the previous one.

The two issues are quite different in feel, the last issue contained a high proportion of work from North America, this issue is much more UK and Irish centred. It is none the worse for that. It may be that some in the UK were waiting to see what happened with the change of editorship before submitting, which lead to a bulge in UK work submitted in the months we were reading for this issue. Perhaps after the North American feel to the last issue, the editors unconsciously wanted something with a more homely flavour. Whatever processes resulted in this selection, we are very happy with it and we hope that you will enjoy it.

I am delighted to see the appointment of Carol Ann Duffy as Poet Laureate. I think that it will be a good appointment for poetry for several reasons: as the first woman appointed to the post, she has finally broken a barrier which has previously stopped excellent female poets, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Christina Rossetti among them, from taking the most prestigious honour that British poetry has to offer. Though I have to say that it makes me sad to see that in 2009 this is still an issue.

Secondly, she seems to be a generous soul who is genuinely interested in the promotion of, and widening the audience for, poetry. So much so that she has elected to give her yearly stipend for the Laureateship back to poetry. I applaud her for that.Though I’m not sure another collection prize is the way to go. We already have several big money collection prizes and I’m not sure another would add much. What I’d like to see is a prize for ‘widening participation in poetry’. That prize might go to a publisher, an event organiser, a poet, or anyone who comes up with a way to significantly increase the participation of the general public in poetry. Rewarding that might really do some good for all poetry and all poets.

Thirdly, I think that she will make an excellent ambassador for poetry. Her work is on most of the school syllabi. A whole generation are already familiar with at least some of her work, which is both good and accessible. Many others will have been aware of her work through the removal of ‘Education for Leisure’ and the controversy of the subject matter. That means a significant proportion of the population will know her as a poet. I have no doubt that many will go back to read her work now, if only out of idle curiosity. One would hope that many of those who do, will find poetry has something to offer them.

I am aware that many poets will not agree with my logic in this, there are poets who will argue that they don’t want a mass audience for their work. I see their point, they write, they would argue, for a select few who have the necessary background reading and awareness of poetic and theoretical concepts to appreciate their work. Okay, but if we can re-engage the general public with the best accessible poetry, perhaps they will go on to acquire the breadth of reference to read this more experimental work with the sophistication the poets concerned demand of their readers. This is not about making a case for ‘Poetry Lite’. It’s about an endeavour to allow the public to re-engage with the whole spectrum of poetry out there: performance based work, accessible, mainstream, or experimental (insert your own labels as you wish). The idea is that if someone comes to poetry through performance poetry or through accessible work, they just might be persuaded to try more experimental work later on. They might discover that their ‘taste’ was broader than they first thought. Which brings me back to the idea for the prize. If we had a major prize that rewarded initiatives that widened participation in poetry, it would inevitably lead to more creativity and activity in that direction.

It is with deep regret that the Editorial Board of Iota note the death of U. A. Fanthorpe, one of the finest contemporary English poets, who was an Honorary Doctor and Fellow of the University of Gloucestershire. We extend our sympathies to her partner R. V. Bailey on her loss. She will be greatly missed, but her work will continue to be read. We would like to dedicate this issue to her.

Nigel McLoughlin
Editor
May 2009