The Lit Mag Bio

While I always enjoy having one of my poems included in a literary magazine, I always cringe at the task of sending on a short biography of myself that describes me and my achievements. Really, it's harder than writing the poem. What should I include in a short paragraph that will help the reader enjoy my work? As an indoctrinated disciple of the New Critic school of criticism (and I know this dates me) I really don't care about the poet--the poem is what matters to me.

So I endeavor to write something that might deepen a reader's appreciation of my poetic philosophy. As Robert Frost remarked that the collection of poems in a book is really a poem in itself, I think that the author bio has the potential to color the reader's interaction with the poem, and, if that is true, is a poem unto itself.

I mention only a few previous publications (a list too long seems to try to shift the focus off of the poem and onto the poet)--ones that I am most proud of or are most accessible--and then try to add a statement about my poetic sensibility. If there is anything a reader might find valuable off the page, might it be the poet's approach to the genre? How many publications seems extraneous to me. Why the poet was compelled to commit the words to paper is more interesting. You can find me modeling this advice if you look at the "About" link above.