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What follows is an interview that Derick Varn conducted with C. J. Sage.

How long have you been writing and publishing poetry?

I have been writing poetry for less than ten years, seriously for about four years, and sending my work out for publication for about three years. Interestingly, I had only submitted to one or maybe two literary magazines before my first book manuscript was solicited for publication. A publisher saw my poems on an internet poetry workshopping board and asked if he could publish a collection of my work.

Since you started have kind of trends have you noticed?

Well, there seems to be a bit of a swing back toward formalism lately, which I think could be a good thing for poetry. Though I had studied the formal poetry of others early on, I started writing mainly in free verse. My poetry has since then moved more toward formalism, though I'm really more of a poetry moderate, I suppose.

Perhaps you can tell me how you started writing?

Oh, I have such a poor memory for these things! I think I was originally inspired by Rumi and Rilke. Of course my own early poems were often quite terrible, so I got myself into a whole bunch of poetry workshops and went to work on craft.

Any authors you have been particularly touched by that you discovered on the 'net?

It seems to me that the poets I most admire publish in paper magazines rather than exclusively in electronic magazines. Though I was very pleased to come across poems by Sarah Lindsay apparently first published in a web magazine a year or two ago.

Do you read any internet literary journals or sites?

Honestly? I read much more poetry in paper books and magazines. I usedto read lots of poetry on the internet, but I don't much anymore. I do read versedaily.org almost every day, though. It's only one poem a day--and usually it is very good -- I can handle that much internet reading.

How about print only journals, magazines, or 'zines? How do you feel they compare? Do they at all?

While it can be difficult to find really good electronic magazines, it can also be difficult to find good paper magazines. But there are probably more good paper magazines out there, since, traditionally, experienced poets are much more likely to submit to paper magazines. This might be unfortunate for us, since the web can offer a poem many more eyes than a typical paper magazine. But it is understandable. People are worried about copyrights, book sales, prestige, and so on.

What kind of writing have you done and published on the internet?

When I first started submitting my poetry, I published what I now feel was too much of it on the internet. It simply wasn't ready. I simply wasn't ready. Many poets regret publishing their earliest works, though, so I don't worry too much about it. It's part of the learning process. I still publish a poem on the web every once in a while--usually if someone asks me for a submission, or if I come across an electronic magazine that is doing good things.

Do you feel your aesthetic has been influenced by the work you do or have read on internet?

I think I have been influenced mainly by formal study and practice, by a desire to improve my work. Therefore I have looked to the writings of poets I've most admired; those poets, unfortunately, are not often found on the internet.

Have you noticed any stigma related to internet publishing? Any bias against it?

There is definitely a stigma for some people. In soliciting new poems for DMQ, for example, I have often found that poets don't want to give apoem to an electronic magazine unless the poem has already been published on paper. (This is partly the reason that DMQ started offering a yearly cash prize -- to encourage more good poets to submit their work.)

Have you ever worked on a print journal?

I have recently edited a print poetry anthology, AND WE THE CREATURES, but I have not edited a print magazine. I might like to do that some day, time permitting.

DMQ Review is an excellent site, how do you think the internet format helps the journal's structure?

One thing that is wonderful about internet publishing: if a poet discovers an error in a poem that has already been published, she can still get it fixed. That's a huge benefit for poets and for publishers. And, as I mentioned earlier, the distribution can be much wider than that of a paper magazine -- especially since it is free and easily accessible, people have less reason not to read an electronic magazine. On the downside, some believe that the attention spans of internet readers are much shorter than those of traditional book readers. If one believes this, he might be inclined to publish less work and shorter work in an electronic magazine.

Do you think that the internet speeds up production time per issue and submission screening? Does it effect it or do you think it is about the same as print?

Yes, it definitely speeds up and eases both magazine production and submission processing. We can produce the magazine ourselves with much less expense than is required for a paper magazine. And, there are no mailing costs -- for us or for those who submit their work to us. We get to save poets time, money, and supplies by allowing them to submit electronically, and we get to save our hands from paper cuts.

Are there any disadvantages to internet publishing?

As there are pros and cons to most things, I suppose there are some disadvantages to internet publishing. If lots of your work is published on the internet, it might negatively effect book sales. That is, the old rhetorical question "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?" might apply here. On the other hand, publishing some of your work on the net can positively effect book sales, not to mention name recognition, since you have world wide exposure when you publish here. For this reason, a poet should select carefully the poems she publishes on the internet. Many people tend to think that they should send their second or third or fourth string work to net magazines instead of their best work, saving their best for the famous paper mags. But the poems you publish on the net are likely to be in 'circulation' for a longer time and to many more readers, so if you are concerned about your literary reputation it seems wiser to publish at least some of your best work on the net! Frankly, I wish someone had given me this advice early on.

Does the DQM Review ever have copyright conflicts?

The DMQ Review has, a few times over the past few years, discovered that a poem it published first was then published elsewhere without the proper, customary acknowledgements to the first publisher. This is unfortunate and disappointing, of course. Once it was an honest mistake and was corrected when brought to the attention of those involved. Another time correction was refused. DMQ instituted its permissions and copyright agreement policy to avoid this sort of uncomfortable situation in the future. We do the best we can to keep things kosher and we ask our contributors to do the same; this way we feel that we are operating ethically.

Do you feel that the internet venues has arisen from the tons of MFA programs that are producing more work than print venues can handle?

No. I am very grateful for the many fine MFA poets who submit their work to net magazines. Without them there would be much less good poetry for net magazines to publish! As you probably know, the ratio of submissions to good submissions can be quite frustrating, and doubly so for submissions to net magazines. So whenever we receive a submission from someone who has really studied and practiced their craft we are pleased. But to answer your question: I think that internet venues have multiplied because 1) it is fairly inexpensive and easy to maintain a magazine electronically; 2) electronic magazines -- some of them, at least -- tend to be faster to respond to submissions and tend to accept simultaneous submissions; 3) many people find it easier, and more affordable, to submit their work electronically; and 4) the 'distribution' of net magazines may be much larger than many paper magazines.