Meet the Editors: Charlotte San Juan
Below is an interview with Charlotte San Juan, Poetry Editor for East Jasmine Review.
- How do you decide to accept or reject a piece? For poetry, the last line can’t suck. If you have two or three great lines but your ending falls off, it’s like you’re deflating a balloon in my face. Also, I’ve been taught to detest the bullet-spray of adverbs and obvious rhymes. I admire a writer who tinkers with unconventional imagery and language to convey something, even if it’s just a small something.
- How long do you usually spend with a piece before you decide? I give each piece 2-3 read-throughs if possible before deciding. Sometimes one read is all it takes to know if I love it or not, but I’ve had a ‘maybe’ poem grow a bit on me after another read.
- What is your favorite piece from East Jasmine Review? I like a piece of all the pieces.
- What is your vision for East Jasmine? To read through it and say, “Yeah, I stand by all of this work.” To be consistently surprised by the quality, regardless of the author’s background.
- What is your favorite publication (excluding ours!)?I don’t play favorites, but some great ones are Carnival, Cadence Collective and Washing Machine Press (currently on hiatus).
- What is your favorite poem? “Any fool can get into an ocean…” by Jack Spicer
- What project(s) are you working on now? I’m working on a poetry chapbook that has much to do with traveling. I’m also working on a collection of hopeful non-fiction pieces, but it’s still super secret. Even to me.
- Do you have a writing schedule? How do you write? Back when I was a kid, I was able to write for hours at a time because I wasn’t afraid of anything. Now I sit down and have anxiety attacks over finishing one poem. What I’m trying to say is, I get the most done between 1-4am, sober or not.
- Name someone influential in your writing life. John Brantingham, author of hundreds of poems, stories and essays published in the US and UK. Without this bearded man’s guidance, I would never have had the courage or know-how to submit my work anywhere. I’m not only a better writer because of him, but I’m also published and a tad more sarcastic.
- What is one thing you always get on a hamburger/sandwich? Pickles, unless we’re talking pb&j.
- What is your favorite, unusually-named color? Shame.
- Cat or dog, or other furry-creature person? Cats and ferrets. I’ve never had either of those hump anything in front of me.
- What are your three favorite TV shows, airing or not airing? Breaking Bad, the seasons of which I finished watching illegally in China. Arrested Development and Parks and Recreation, because I have go-to people that watch them with me, and I get tired of laughing alone.
- What is your Harry Potter House or Game of Thrones House? Slytherin, for Harry Potter. I think I’m the only person who hasn’t watched Game of Thrones yet.
- Which well-known personality is your spirit animal? Does Thom Yorke count as a spirit animal?