Becoming an Editor

I was always opposed to being an editor. Before having the honor of being a reader for Tributaries, I felt left out and wanted to be the contributor. There was a rush to become the writer I imagined, to create the art I believed I could offer to others. I wanted my poems to line every dreamy literary journal and my art to decorate the cover. That hunger soon subsided as I read other writers’ work. The hunger never disappeared, but rather turned into unquenchable interest for more. I liked my work, and I still do, but nothing fascinated me more than trying to think like another writer––trying to feel like another persona.

When I joined Tributaries, I became the poetry and visual arts editor. It was the greatest joy reading poetry and looking at art and discussing it with Brian Brodeur and my fellow editors. In the process, not only did I try to see and think like the writer, but I tried to be in the viewpoint of my fellow editors as well. I understood the same things in many different ways. Slowly yet subconsciously, this affected my writing in a way I never surmised it would. Characters were clearer to write; my poems sounded different every time I read them. I learned that “cringe” is a mindset. The things we hold back when we are writing are the things that can make our truth blossom, and I saw that happen as an editor. Sometimes it is good to push things too far because someone reading that story will need things to be knocked over. But holding back hides the beauty and flawed truth that needs to be revealed.

I took a break from being a Tributaries editor last year, but I’m immensely grateful to be back and to regain the position of poetry and visual arts editor once again. A lot of magic is handed to us editors, and having the ability to read and think about these pieces is joyous. Becoming an editor is the greatest thing I’ve done for my writing.