What is an SASE, and why should it accompany my poems?
A. SASE stands for self-addressed stamped envelope. After your poems are considered for publication, the editor uses this envelope to notify you. If you request that your poems be returned, the envelope is used for this purpose and should bear the correct return postage. If the SASE does not have the correct postage, your submissions will not be returned. If you have submitted poems to a contest, the editor uses the SASE to notify only the winners. Q. I have heard the expression a well-constructed poem. Exactly what does that mean? A. Good poems rarely tell the message; rather they suggest meaning by using tools and techniques available to a poet. These tools include, but are not limited to, the following figures of speech: alliteration, assonance, and onomatopoeia (sounds); personification; simile and metaphor, (comparisons); metonymy and others. Rhyme and rhythm also play an important part. Most editors discourage obvious rhyme unless the poet is writing a form poem. (see Self-Portra
