Emmanuel Sigauke, OGOV contributor and Professor of English at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento, California, has agreed to review poems and provide editorial advice to poets.
How the system works, in Emmanuel's own words:
I receive poems by email directly from the poets, then I read and annotate the poems with my suggestions, which sometimes are simply highlights of lines, stanzas, etc, that I did not find interesting.
The poets are given the option to ignore my comments if they wish, but those who make revisions always make me feel proud that I have contributed something of value to the OGOV mission of discovering and nurturing new poetry talent. On this note, all poets are invited to utilize this service. This is a voluntary gig for me, so I may take longer than you like to give my feedback. Although I use my expertise as a poetry teacher to make suggestions on the manuscripts, my comments are at best subjective and can be ignored.
Just remember that if something in your poem causes me to stop reading, chances are that most readers may be affected the similarly. I usually treat content and craft equally, and will tell you what works and what kills the poem. Good luck in your writing.
This is a free service, open to poets currently residing in Africa (other poets, please query first). If interested, please send 1-3 poems to Emmanuel at sigauke(at)crc.losrios.edu. Please make sure to include in the subject line of your email "OGOV Writer's Service".
