An Editor's Poetics: On Fiona Sampson as Editor and Curator

Introduction: Notes on the editorial career

Sampson's first notable editorial role was as founder editor of Orient Express: Contemporary writing from Enlargement Europe, which she edited from 2002 to 2005. From 2005 to 2012 she was editor of leading UK- based poetry organ, Poetry Review. She was next founder editor of the equally internationalist Taylor & Francis journal, Poem. And since 2013 she has served as poetry editor for New Humanist.

Sampson had real, palpable success (relatively speaking, for what was a ‘little magazine’) with Orient Express, in that many of the authors she championed there – particularly prose writers – went on to book publication and recognition in the West and the Anglophone world. Names such as: Alek Popov, Alesandr Prokopiev, Peter Zilahy, Goergi Gospodinov, Nenad Velockovic, Sandor Tar, Viivi Luik, Yuri Andrukhovych, Dubravka Ugresic and Drago Jancar, among others.

As it would be later in her editorial career, Sampson's main goal in this role of literary facilitation was to recalibrate various literary scenes, as far as her reach permitted. Editing is and was a global project for Sampson, both geographically and logically. Not only is she an adamant internationalist (and universalist), but editing is for her not merely mentor work, though she has done much of that; it is also, centrally, a way of fine- tuning the ‘instruments’ of poetic ‘life’ in whatever editorial situation she may find herself. Like Mary Shelley's ‘Frankenstein’, as an editor Sampson has built life into many literary scenes, from both the elements on the situated ground and those of her own editorial flair.

As an editor over much of the last two decades she has provided curatorial space for scores of brilliant poets and writers. And though she has indeed published among them what were and remain ‘big names’, her approach is proactive rather than reactive. She seems in her editorial career not just to reinstate the writerly establishment but, in part at least, to help (re)constitute the same. Here's a brief list of names of poets whom Sampson helped to emerge during her time at Poetry Review: Ahren Warner, Sean Borodale, Kim Moore, Dh Maitreyabandhu, Karen McCarthy Woolf and Ruth Stacey. She became involved in the Complete Works mentoring project for BAME poets from the outset.