### Q&A With Editor Max Roland Ekstrom *Max Roland Ekstrom holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College. His poetry appears frequently in a variety of literary and academic journals, such as* Arion: A Journal of Humanities and the Classics*,* The Hollins Critic, *and* New American Writing*.* Q: Why did you want to start a poetry journal? A: Two journals I admire closed in recent years: *Hubbub*, edited by Lisa Steinman and Jim Shugrue, and *The Aurorean*, edited by Cynthia Brackett-Vincent. *Hubbub* was beautifully curated and printed. *The Aurorean* had an incredible sense of place; it was a journal of New England. Q: *The Pierian* does sound like *The Aurorean*. Was that on purpose? A: It’s a nice coincidence. I hope Ms. Brackett-Vincent is flattered—and takes it as an homage. The actual origin of our name is a reference to Alexander Pope. Q: Do you think *The Pierian* is successfully filling the gap those journals left? A: *The Pierian* must pursue its own mission on its own terms. I’m inspired, but not defined, by my predecessors. Many poetry journals are essentially indistinguishable from one another. That’s a problem. Q: Despite recent attrition, there is no shortage of journals out there. Can *The Pierian* distinguish itself? A: The community response has been amazing. It’s a special opportunity I don’t take lightly, so we’ll just take one issue at a time. I’m also very fortunate to have Keeley Schell as my editorial copilot, as she offers a corrective to that impulse to seize a work as an expression of contemporaneity. Q: What do you mean by poems as an “expression of contemporaneity”? A: Busy people tend to read poetry in the socio-political moment—editors and readers alike. The distraction of the “now,” amplified by technology, disrupts our ability to get deep. That’s why rediscovering classical traditions in contemporary poetry is core to our mission. Q: Any tips for submitters? A: We don’t read your portfolio front to finish. Our technology enforces anonymity by normalizing font and formatting while shuffling up all the poems. It’s like a Spotify of everything we’ve recently received. So send us pieces that stand on their own. Be bold!