OMG. Being an editor is a lot of work. Currently, I am guest poetry editor of Bayou Magazine at the University of New Orleans. It's not a cakewalk.
I've been reading stacks and stacks of submissions while managing two grad assistants and my own life. I've probably read over 300 poems over the last 2 months. My grad assistants are a tremendous help, but the responsibility of making sure the poetry section of the journal is on schedule and publishes worthy poems is a bit of a dance.Weeding out the great from the good from the God awful is more time consuming then one might think. I've probably created extra work for myself because I am on the hunt for poems that are crafted well but also challenge notions of what makes a good poem. What type of poems/poets are allowed in journals? What poems and poets are not given a chance because they are deemed spoken word or non-academic? I'm being intentional about creating literary equity.