Our Mission

By exhibiting and exploring the art of the editing process through our literary journal, classroom seminars, and collaborative art events Pelorus Press affirms the importance of the creative process.

Through our mission we aim to

·      Make poetry more accessible

·      Provide a teaching tool for the classroom

·      Remind our audience that the act of creating art is an art in itself

Make Poetry More Accessible

Poetry has always been considered an obtuse art form. It is a form of writing for those in their ivory towers, one that has to be analyzed, prodded and picked over. How many times have you said to yourself, “I just don’t get poetry?” You are not alone. In fact, we, the editors of this magazine, have uttered these very words to ourselves. By publishing the drafts of each of our poems, it brings the writing down to a human level. The poetry feels more accessible and it provides the reader different entry points to understand the poem. 

A Teaching Tool for the Classroom

Our journal is a teaching tool for the classroom. Teachers use our journal to share concrete examples of the revision process that can be applied to any form of creative writing. Our journal provides the opportunity to explore why a writing choice works and why another choice might not be as successful.

In conversations about our published drafts, students raise questions such as, Why did the poet choose to omit this line? How would the poem been different if that earlier line made it into the final edit of the poem? How does changing the order of these words change the meaning of the poem? By asking these questions students can begin to apply this kind of critical thinking to their own writing.

Creation as Art

The writing process is where we learn and where we develop our skill. It’s where the work lives. We have become so product oriented in this society that we forget to appreciate what helps us create and arrive at the final product. What we sometimes call mistakes are not mistakes at all, but are instead a valuable part of the process and deserve just as much celebration as the final poem. The art lives in the process of creation. 

Speaking on a larger scale, learning how to edit and how to continue to persevere through a series of drafts teaches us about continuing to try to reach our goals. It teaches us that something we think is ineffective is not a set back, but is instead a learning opportunity that brings us to new understanding. The editing process is a lesson in resilience and it is an exercise of trust. Trust in yourself and in your work; it is a belief that, although a piece of writing may not yet be where it is meant to be, that you as a writer will get it there. This process of learning to trust and persevere is the journey of writing.