Poetica Victorian Critique Center

Our parent company, Poetica Victorian Press, Inc. has just made a new development in Project Modern-Classical Poetry: The Poetica Victorian Critique Center. This free service for poets will allow them to send us works in progress- not for us to consider for publication- and we will set some of our staff members to critique the piece so that the poet can know what actual poetry publishers think their work could use to improve. Note again, this is for works in progress which the poet who send them to desires critique and not for publication. There is no obligation to the poet to publish his work with us; they can accept our advice or not and then send their poems wherever they desire.

So what's the purpose of this? We are doing this because we want more modern classical poems being published in journals around the world. If poets find themselves stuck on a poem and don't know where to go with them we can help them so that they can hopefully get their works published and thus get more modern-classical poetry out into the literary world.

So how does it work? We are currently developing a small web page for this new service which will be up as soon as our web designers finish it. As of now you can send us up to ten "works in progress" poems which you want us to critique. Our staff will then review them within a month (depending on how many submissions we receive) and then send them back to you with our critiques. Send all poems to editorpoetica@gmail.com

Please note that in doing this service we have one small request: the silent poet. What this means is that when we send our critiques to you, unless otherwise noted that we require clarification, please do not respond in anger or in frustration. We critique the poems as a free service but more so we are critiquing them. We are just trying to help so don't lash out if we say something you don't agree with; this is constructive criticism.

How Anti-classic Publishing Almost Gave Up Robert Frost

A new blog by Arthur P. James, former staff member of Poetica Victorian

Part 1

It's an interesting thing to note that when our journal talks about the literary world being anti-classical and refusing to publish works written in rhyme and meter we usually discuss the current literary world. However, history actually tells us that this anti-classical movement began nearly eighty years ago when literary journals and presses began only publishing works which they felt resonated with the existentialism and abstract movement of the time, i.e. no rhyming or form. And it was in those early days when the literary world had changed its views on what was considered good poetry that they refused to publish a poet who wrote in rhyme: none other than the great Robert Frost.

Yes, you read right. Robert Frost was nearly never published. The man who many critics view as one of the greatest poets of the past century was nearly given up by the literary world of the time because he wrote in form. In fact, Frost had to move to London to get his works published and the editors in America scorned him and said he would never get anywhere. The literary world was so sure that their new found distaste of formal poetry was resonating with their audiences that they let Robert Frost go away to England, and truly believed that they were right in doing so.

Fast forward ten years and three bestselling collections, Robert Frost is now the most well known poet of his time. Everyone in England reveres his works and speaks his name in the same breath as Shakespeare, Wordsworth, and Tennyson. He is loved all over Europe and Americans are running to the stores to buy the collections that had captivated Europe. What do the literary world say about the man they let go to Europe and make British publications fat and rich?

Nothing. They didn't invite Frost home or try to publish his works. They could not admit that they were wrong about Frost's classical works. Because the poem they let go was none other than "The Road Less Traveled" and they weren't jumping to get their hands on "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening." It wasn't until Frost moved back to the United States with fame and glory to teach at the University of Vermont that the poetry publications decided to give in and publish him.


To Be Continued and Edited...  

PV in Pictures - Would I Were A Wooded Man

Check out the latest video in our Poetica Victorian in Pictures series on our Youtube channel: "Would I Were A Wooded Man" by Willie Wilberg. Other videos are available for viewing on our Youtube channel http://youtube.com/poeticavictorian

Classical Poetry: Nothing Gold Can Stay

Check out the latest in Poetica Victorian's video series Classical Poetry: "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost. Other videos are available for you to view at http://www.youtube.com/poeticavictorian

The New Website is Here!

It is with great pleasure that we announce the completion of our new website where we will make our final home. Over the past few months we have been working with web designers and tech companies to develop the best website to suit our needs as a small literary endeavor. All that work has come to fruition as our new website is getting ready for its release and is looking beautiful.

There are great new features in the website, many of them not included in our current temporary website that we will be notifying people of over the course of the week.Some of the new features will include: a video news site for things going on at Poetica Victorian and the literary world, the Video Blog, the Classical Poetry Database (to be opened at a later date), the past issues page, and much, much more. We hope that when the new website is opened you will take the time to Explore (you will understand why this is capitalized when you view the new website) our new website and enjoy all the great new features.

Also included in the new website will be our store where we will be doing discounted pre-sales of our first print issue set to be released February 24th, 2014 as well as discounted pre-sales of subscriptions- both deluxe and standard subscriptions (to be discussed at a future date). The store will also be where advertising for the print issue will be sold. For more information please contact us at advertising.poetica@gmail.com

The new website will be available as soon as the coding is finished being copyrighted and the domain name is secured. This should put the schedule for release of the website at around October 1st, 2013.

We're Back!

Hello everyone!

My name is Joe Elm and I am the new Director of Communications here at Poetica Victorian and it is my pleasure to announce the reopening of Poetica Victorian for the fall season. Our summer doldrums are over and we are ready to begin reviewing all the amazing submissions that were sent to us over the summer. Also if you have subscribed recently we are going to be sending out all new subscribers their issues of Poetica Victorian today.

Let's get ready for a new fall season with Poetica Victorian and a new beginning in which we make great changes and move forward with Project Classical Poetry (more on that one later).

Thanks to all,
Joseph Elm
Director of Communications
Poetica Victorian: A Journal of Classical Poetry

New Video: Classical Poetry Chartless by Emily Dickinson

You can find this video and others like it on our youtube page at: https://www.youtube.com/user/poeticavictorian 

Subscribe to our channel to get more videos like these right when they are published!

Poetica Victorian in Pictures - Should

The poem "Should" by William Wilberg from the first issue of Poetica Victorian: A Journal of Classical Poetry.

Poetica Victorian in Pictures - The Grand Annihilation

Check out the latest Poetica Victorian in Pictures - The Grand Annihilation by Endrit Agolli from Volume 1, Issue 1 of Poetica Victorian.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7qUgZ2KHYk

Bright Star - John Keats

Check out the next Musical Poetry on our Youtube page "Bright Star" by John Keats with the music of the Girl With the Flaxen Hair.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtNc_wKPjng

Musical Poetry: Crossing the Bar - Alfred Tennyson

Check out the first ever Musical Poetry video on our Youtube channel featuring the poem "Crossing the Bar" by Alfred Lord Tennyon played to the music of Dvorak's New World Symphony Rise 2. 

National Poetry Month Article 1

About this Month and its Importance to the Modern Classical Movement

National Poetry Month was established in April 1996 by the Academy of American Poets with three main goals in mind:  to elucidate the legacy and achievements of American poets, to entice more people of the public into appreciating poetry, and to celebrate poetry in all its forms and to recognize their contributions to culture. Since its inception it has been celebrated every April in the same fashion as other months of cultural celebration such as Black History Month, with special programs in libraries, literary contests on poetry forms, etc… Throughout this month people will be making commitments to learning poetry and appreciating poetry. They will either keep poetry journals where they write their own poems or create their own commonplace books filled with their favorite poems. But most importantly they will look at poetry through a lens of broadening their appreciation of various poetry styles.  

This month is about sharing in a love and appreciation of poetry in all its forms, recognizing the divergent ways in which culture has manifested itself in poetry and how in turn those many poetry forms have been crucial in the formation of a stronger culture. As the aforementioned description above indicates, during the National Poetry Month people celebrate poetry in all its forms by studying those forms and coming to appreciate the nuances of those many forms.

As a result those who celebrate in this month are being exposed to forms of poetry they might not have once seen as essential to the culture since articles and programs focused on National Poetry Month are focusing on the different movement in poetry. Believe it or not there are those who have had little to no exposure to the classical style of poetry or have believed that the art form is dead and no longer relevant to culture. However, as they are shown that this is utterly and completely false they will come to appreciate the form that we all know is key to the cultural development of the world. As they study the nuances of classical poetry they will come to realize that no poetry form in the modern era has nearly as many nuances and thus they will come to appreciate the amazing complexity of this form.

It is my belief that the very message that this month brings to intellectuals who appreciate literature –to appreciate poetry in its many forms and celebrate in its contributions to culture- will help our movement grow and bring more people to crave for new poems in the classical styles written in the modern era.  As people read through all the eras of poetry they will know which is strongest in culture and as they will soon know that this art form is not obsolete and can be returned to the vanguard of the modern literary movements. And so this month is incredibly important to the movement of modern classical poetry and we ask you to join with us this month of spreading the idea of a modern classical poem. 

National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month! To celebrate we will be posting weekly articles and classical poems to share here  on the blog at http://poeticavictorian-blog.blogspot.com/ and on Facebook.

The first article which will be about National Poetry Month and its importance to our movement of classical poetry will be released Sunday night.

Share with us this month. Tell us about the poetry you are reading. Spread the culture of classical poetry and suggest classical poems for your friends and family. Let us use this month to advance our message which you have shared with us: that classical poetry needs to remain alive in the literary culture.

Help us share about classical poetry. Tell your friends about our journal or send them a gift subscription at http://poeticavictorian-subscribe.blogspot.com/