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Our 10th Anniversary, a message from the founder
I am amazed at how quickly this idea took off 10 years ago. Driving to work one morning it dawned on me that the Internet offered an opportunity the “real world” could not. At least for me. It would be easy, I thought, to start a poetry journal. Initially, that was Interview With A Poet. So in February 2016, I did just that. I thought up five questions about anything to do with poetry, and then asked three poets those same five questions. The difference in answers to the same questions eye-opening. I followed up each month, asking another five questions of another three poets. In May of 2016, I decided to expand and made Interview With A Poet South Florida Poetry Journal-SoFloPoJo. The nomenclature took off. Suddenly, poets were trying their best to say SoFloPoJo without stumbling. I am always amazed that poets and editors I don’t know, know SoFloPoJo. I met several at AWP in Baltimore this past March, who, after seeing my badge, said, Hey, SoPoJoBo, or some version or another.
I couldn’t do this alone. So I enlisted old friends. I tried to surround myself with people who were better at managing than I am. One of those old friends is Michael Mackin O’Mara, who, more than anyone else, jumped into this project headlong. Before I knew it, we were interviewing the likes of Charles Simic, Patricia Smith and Jericho Brown, and so many others, at the Miami Book Fair. See them here in the video section. We added Art, Essays, Flash and a “Special Section” page for miscellaneous ideas such as “Lennon or McCartney” where poets told us which Beatles was their favorite. (Traci Brimhall said Yoko!) We had a blast. (Check out who else answered that question).
Most important are the poems. Over the past 10 years, SoFloPoJo has published poems on the page, with audio, and/or in video, by the most important poets in the country, and the world. I am very proud of that. In 2022 I stepped down as Publisher/Editor, turning all the heavy lifting over to Michael. I remain as a reader, and now and again bring back Interview With A Poet.
Sincerely,
Lenny DellaRocca
I am amazed at how quickly this idea took off 10 years ago. Driving to work one morning it dawned on me that the Internet offered an opportunity the “real world” could not. At least for me. It would be easy, I thought, to start a poetry journal. Initially, that was Interview With A Poet. So in February 2016, I did just that. I thought up five questions about anything to do with poetry, and then asked three poets those same five questions. The difference in answers to the same questions eye-opening. I followed up each month, asking another five questions of another three poets. In May of 2016, I decided to expand and made Interview With A Poet South Florida Poetry Journal-SoFloPoJo. The nomenclature took off. Suddenly, poets were trying their best to say SoFloPoJo without stumbling. I am always amazed that poets and editors I don’t know, know SoFloPoJo. I met several at AWP in Baltimore this past March, who, after seeing my badge, said, Hey, SoPoJoBo, or some version or another.
I couldn’t do this alone. So I enlisted old friends. I tried to surround myself with people who were better at managing than I am. One of those old friends is Michael Mackin O’Mara, who, more than anyone else, jumped into this project headlong. Before I knew it, we were interviewing the likes of Charles Simic, Patricia Smith and Jericho Brown, and so many others, at the Miami Book Fair. See them here in the video section. We added Art, Essays, Flash and a “Special Section” page for miscellaneous ideas such as “Lennon or McCartney” where poets told us which Beatles was their favorite. (Traci Brimhall said Yoko!) We had a blast. (Check out who else answered that question).
Most important are the poems. Over the past 10 years, SoFloPoJo has published poems on the page, with audio, and/or in video, by the most important poets in the country, and the world. I am very proud of that. In 2022 I stepped down as Publisher/Editor, turning all the heavy lifting over to Michael. I remain as a reader, and now and again bring back Interview With A Poet.
Sincerely,
Lenny DellaRocca
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ASSOCIATE EDITORS
ELISA ALBO https://shop.booksandbooks.com/event/elisa-albo-each-day-more-gables DAVID COLODNEY https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/mimeograph-by-david-colodney/ JENNIFER GREENBERG https://twyckenhamnotes.com/issue-twelve/jennifer-greenberg/ GARY KAY BARBRA NIGHTINGALE https://www.barbranightingale.com/ NICOLE TALLMAN https://nicoletallman.com/ GUEST READERS: RITA MARIA MARTINEZ, Aug 2023 Issue # 30 DUSTIN BROOKSHIRE, The Maureen Seaton Poetry Prize NEIL DE LA FLOR, The Maureen Seaton Poetry Prize PROSPER C. ÌFÉÁNYÍ, Nov 2024 Issue # 35 SoFloPoJo has quarterly openings for guest readers. See, read, and review concealed submissions for upcoming issues. Please email [email protected] if you are interested |
EDITORS
LÚCIA LEÃO, ANTHOLOGY & COPY EDITOR https://rhinopoetry.org/reviews/tag/L%C3%BAcia+Le%C3%A3o STACIE M. KINER , ESSAYS https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/inventory-by-stacie-m-kiner/ FRANCINE WITTE, FLASH https://elj-editions.com/francine-witte/ JUDY IRELAND, POETRY, READING SERIES, & SoFloPoJo Press https://www.judyireland.com/ MERYL STRATFORD, POETRY https://www.amsterdamquarterly.org/aq_issues/aq23-genealogy/meryl-stratford-ancestors/ CHRISTINA LINSIN, REVIEWS Open to inquiries at [email protected] KRISTINE SNODGRASS, VISUAL ART https://www.kristinesnodgrass.com/ ______________________________________________ Michael Mackin O'Mara, Editor & Publisher SoFloPoJo & SoFloPoJo Press [email protected], michaelmackinomara.com Lenny DellaRocca, Founding Editor, Former Publisher All of our editors & associate editors (& publishers) are unpaid volunteers |
In Memory of SoFloPoJo Editors:
John Arndt, Don Burns, & Patricia Whiting
John Arndt, Don Burns, & Patricia Whiting
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Purchase our first print anthology of selected poems from the first 10 issues here: VOICES
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Purchase The Secret Life of Love HERE
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