"Be a Lifer." A Chat with Darren C. Demaree, Editor-in-Chief of Best of the Net & Managing Editor of Ovenbird Poetry
"To be curious all the time..."
Ahoy! I come with our first December interview, freshly wrapped!
Today I spoke with Darren C. Demaree. Like many of us, Darren wears more than one hat. Though quite possibly, Darren wears more hats than most. He is Editor-in-Chief of Best of the Net; Co-Founding and Managing Editor of Ovenbird Poetry; and the author of 23 collections of poetry. He is presently at work on a novel. Oh, he also works full-time at his local public library and is a dad of three.
Today’s conversation was sprawling as we touched on all the projects under Darren’s helm, as well as how he manages his time and advice for fellow writers who are struggling to find their own time for creative work.
The Best of the Net Anthology was launched in 2006 by Sundress Publications. Its aim is
to gather communities of online literary magazines, journals, and individuals that do the work of creating our digital literary landscape. We believe this effort is integral in decentering the literary canon as well as promoting and amplifying voices that are imperative to good literature, responsible culture, and the understanding of today’s social climate.
For this anthology, submissions of fiction, nonfiction and poetry are welcome. Typically nominations come from lit mag editors. However (fun fact!) writers can also self-nominate. To nominate one’s own work for Best of the Net, it must have been published online but not in a literary magazine. Facebook, Substack, and personal websites are all fair game, so long as the writer is able to share a link to the work.
Ovenbird Poetry is an online journal which Darren co-founded and where he now serves as Managing Editor.
At Ovenbird we believe that whether the poetry is written in celebration, in lamentation, in self-defense, or as a threat, we need to see more of it. Once it exists, we need to discuss its meaning, function, and effect (whether it holds tight or all falls apart). Each issue will feature new works that cry out to that largess of spirit, as well as conversations—actual conversations—on books or works with enough weight to knock us around. We hope to raise the blood of poetry, to spark life in its readers, and to learn to better understand our own dramatic connection toward the enlightened art.
Stylistically, Darren was hard-pressed to define the journal, as each issue is guest-edited. This ensures the publication of a broad range of voices and aesthetics in this magazine.
After discussing these projects, we shifted to Darren’s daily schedule, which is rigorous indeed. He wakes at five am each day, works out, goes to his job at the library, typically works on creative projects during his lunch hour, then makes a point of leaving work at 5:30 pm each evening so that he can be present for his family when he comes home.
How, I wanted to know, does Darren avoid work obligations and other distractions in the evenings? How does he measure his daily writing accomplishments? And what does he do to work out? (Weights and bicycling, I learned.)
Darren shared insights about the importance of predictability and stability in order to maintain both a solid work ethic and a state of mental well-being. He encourages writers to think of writing as a lifelong process. He would rather write a bad poem than no poem at all and reminds himself often that two lines written are two lines that never existed before.
He also talked about the importance of community in terms of accountability and goal-setting. “Community” can mean many things, but for people looking to build and make connections, he recommended starting local. Look at what’s around, in your area. There is likely more than you realize.
How has he approached novel-writing from twenty years of focusing on poetry? What advice does Darren have for poets submitting their work to small presses? How should writers think about organizing their collections and finding their “lodestar poems”? And how can all of us make more time for creating art within busy lives?
For all that and more, dear ones, you will have to tune in!
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To all who came out today, thank you for participating! Your faces are the radiant sun I so dearly miss in my too-early-to-be-this-cold December day!
And, of course, thank you to Darren for taking us behind the scenes of both his projects and his process.
Happy viewing!
Views expressed by any editor during an interview do not necessarily reflect my own.