Marginalia
[noun] /ˌmɑː.dʒɪˈneɪ.li.ə/Notes made in the margins of a document or book.
What does revision actually look like?
Sometimes when we look at a finished poem we can forget how much work went into drafting and revising it. In our Marginalia series, poets share their first and final drafts, with notes on what they changed and why. Check out the published pieces below – and if you’d like to send us your drafts, submit your own!
Marginalia Series
Final draft
All I know is I see hunger
Final draft
His grandfather never let him
forget it.
forget it.
Final draft
Now I sit at the edge of the party
praying mutely for forgiveness,
for what? I don’t know.
praying mutely for forgiveness,
for what? I don’t know.
Final draft
The see-saw, like a rack,
and the rubber breaking wheel,
gorged now, remember
their last victims.
and the rubber breaking wheel,
gorged now, remember
their last victims.
Marginalia
Want to see your own revision process published?
Submit your first and final drafts, plus your own annotations on what changed and why, for the chance to be featured in Marginalia. We pay USD $20 per published piece.
