Changing the landscape of verse

For Wiman, it's all about finding balance, as he would when writing a poem. There must be both urgency and restraint, intellect and emotion. Form and function must intertwine.

That's the case with Wiman's own poetry, which has earned him several awards - including a Ruth Lilly Fellowship from the Modern Poetry Association (now the Poetry Foundation). Critics have praised Wiman's work for its fresh language and graceful cadences: "A willow swayed so slow/ When we went by it seemed submerged in water." His rhymed poems have a subtle precision:

Postolka (Prague)

When I was learning words
and you were in the bath
there was a flurry of small birds
and in the aftermath

of all that panicked flight,
as if the red dusk willed
a concentration of its light:
a falcon on the sill....

Wiman's mix of innovative thinking and attention to craftsmanship - which some find antiquated - distinguishes him as both an editor and poet. His approach to his duties is straightforward, no-nonsense, as one might expect from a man who grew up in the stark landscape of west Texas. He and two assistants handle the 90,000 poems that Poetry receives annually. His infrequent notes to contributors are brief. He prefers to spend his time in strategy meetings with the foundation's three-member staff, which is planning education programs for the local and national level.

Even Wiman's office reflects his priorities. The small room contains two bookcases, purchased by the foundation, and a desk, which was donated. There are no curtains or blinds on the large window; afternoon sun is almost overwhelming. The one whimsical touch in the room is a small plastic basketball, which Wiman squeezes when he reads manuscripts.

Wiman expects writers to pay attention to form - the scaffolding that supports a poem. "The most powerful effect in art is the formal effect," he says, with just a hint of a drawl. But he quickly adds that "the need for formal order and an [emotional] response to experience have to be in equal measures."

When Joseph Parisi - his predecessor - asked Wiman to take the position, the well-traveled Texan was stunned by the offer. He had published poems, book reviews, and critical essays in the magazine, but he had no editorial experience. "I thought he would ask me to edit a single issue," recalls the soft-spoken Wiman.

Once he caught his breath, "I played it cool," he says. But "I was thinking of everything I could do with the magazine."

What Wiman didn't consider was how Poetry would change his life. Suddenly, he felt the need to project a more formal, dignified image, in keeping with the magazine's venerable history. There's a slight stiffness to his walk, and he rarely offers more than a half smile.

More surprising, perhaps, was the chilling effect that editing has had on his writing. He has penned almost nothing - except editorials - in the last year, he says. All of his creative energy has gone into the magazine.

That's the scariest part, he acknowledges. "If you're using poetry to organize your life and then poetry is denied to you, you've got a problem."

• Elizabeth Lund is on the Monitor staff. To read her poetry blog, visit blogs.csmonitor.com/the_poetic_life/.

Page: 1 | 2