Katy Lewis Hood
Poetry pushes at boundaries: boundaries of language and boundaries of thought. When it does so, it clears a new space. By calling attention to language as a medium, poetry can participate in response to a crisis, but also in daily acts of noticing. For me, both the brave and experimental and the subtle and understated open up the possibility for new forms of engagement, for different ways of seeing and being in the world. In the international community of writers and readers that make up The Missing Slate, this is a process of sharing.
In my role as Poetry Editor for the magazine, I hope to promote linguistic innovation in a range of voices and styles, including new work in translation. I also aim to promote work that — explicitly or implicitly — challenges existing structures of oppression. Often these challenges do not emerge from grand statements, but instead from moments in which we are encouraged to pay attention to particular experiences and sensations, and to our relationships with people and environment. The Missing Slate gives me the opportunity to read the work of people writing from a range of social, cultural, and political perspectives. It is a privileged position, but one for which I am entirely grateful.