Free Lunch--Introducing the Editor--Ron Offen

Ron Offen
October 2, 1930—August 9, 2010

Ron Offen on the radio
http://www.wbez.org
Search "Ron Offen"

Poet Judy Valente talks with poet and Free Lunch editor Ron Offen on Chicago Public Radio, WBEZ. Offen's latest work is Off-Target.

I started Free Lunch after I had a bout with cancer and was trying to put my life in some perspective. I thought about how important poetry had been to me my whole life and how much it had given to me. So, I thought, I want to give something back to poetry and poets. So that's when I got the idea for Free Lunch. I would give serious poets living in the U.S. a free subscription to my magazine. That list nears 1200 now. Also, I made a promise to myself that I would comment as best I could on all work submitted to me. As a poet myself, I knew how dispiriting it was to get a printed rejection slip with no indication as to why my work was being rejected. I feel that this commitment to commenting on submissions is just one of the unique qualities of Free Lunch.

--Ron Offen, Editor

The poetry magazine RHINO has established the annual Paladin Award to be given to a person who has made a significant, long-term contribution to poetry in Illinois.

The first Paladin Award was presented to Ron Offen, editor of Free Lunch, in April 2010.

Obituary:

Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago Tribune

About Ron Offen:

Winkipedia

Poems from collections by Ron Offen

Poet As Bad Guy | Instead of Gifts | Answers, Questions | God's Haircut | Off-Target