FAQs
We currently accept both critical and pedagogical materials, as well as materials that may transcend these traditional boundaries.
Just attach your contribution to the Critical or Teaching Materialssubmission form (we prefer word processing files, though we will also accept high-quality PDFs) and we will do the rest. You do not need to be a web master. Please feel free, however, to make comments regarding layout or stylistic elements and we will do our best to incorporate these into the online display.
Absolutely. We are particularly excited to receive original materials. MAPS functions as both a critical/pedagogical archive and an online journal, stressing the connection between previous and current scholarship. As a flexible digital medium, MAPS is especially well-suited to presenting especially short or long essays, essays that organized non-linearily, and essays that are heavily illustrated. We will include a copyright notice along with the author's name and all submissions are refereed. MAPS has a diverse audience of students, faculty, and general readersan audience otherwise difficult to reach.
MAPS has a distinct advantage over print journals in that it is able to incorporate interactive and formally experimental materials, such as essays and syllabi, that link to materials already available on the website or hosted elsewhere. We are very excited to receive such materials that stretch the boundaries of both digital humanities and modern American poetry scholarship. If you are interested in submitting such materials, please send us a note on our Questions and Comments submission form and we will discuss with you the logistics of incorporating the materials into the site.
The easiest way to send illustrations is to use the Critical Submissions form. You can attach the image directly or send us a url to a website where the image is permanently available. We will need permission to host copyrighted materials on the MAPS site.
We do not currently have a way to directly upload audio or video, but we are excited to receive these materials and encourage you to send us a note on our Questions and Comments submission form.
Only within certain limits. Poems published in 1923 or earlier (OR poems by authors who died 70 or more years ago) can be put on line without permission. More recent poems require permission, although we can share poems that are already on line elsewhere. We can also make links to other poetry sites.
Definitely. We usually need permission, but they can look very good there. See, for example, the Harry Crosby site.
Yes. In order to stay within fair use, we have condensed some passages more than we would have liked. We have written for permission for longer excerpts, but we could only manage so many letters. If you would like to see an excerpt from your book or essay expanded, please send us a note on our Questions and Comments submission form asking us to do so and granting permission, along with the text to be added. You can also revise a published analysis that has been reprinted on MAPS. The internet gives every essay a second chance.
Yes. Please send these through our Questions and Comments submission form. If you find any errors or oversights, we'd be happy to hear about those as well.
Definitely. People adding a single new section to a poet's page will be identified as a contributor. People adding multiple sections to a page can become a co-editor. Send brief contributions (or proposals for longer contributions) for review by the editors through the Questions and Comments submission form.
Certainly. We strive to provide criticism on a wide variety of poetry, challenging traditional notions of canonicity based upon racial, gender, sexual, political, or historical oversight. Before adding a poet to the site, we try to achieve a critical mass of criticism that justifies a new poet's presence. Please keep this in mind when suggesting poets. If you can point us to useful criticism at the same time, this will help us immensely.