Colin Powell inadvertently describes the state of the "poetry community."

"If we don't reach out more, the party is going to be sitting on a very, very narrow base. You can only do two things with a base. You can sit on it and watch the world go by, or you can build on the base."

Of course, the above is Colin Powell describing the Republican Party's current desire to purge itself of moderates--leaving nothing but hardcore "strict constructionist" doctrinaire conservatives.

But take a look at the HOUSTON LITERARY REVIEW's submissions guidelines [with certain passages I've highlighted] and decide for yourself if they don't come off a little Cheneyesque:
Whether you are a veteran craftsman or learning to use your voice or artistic sight, The Houston Literary Review wants to hear from you. However, if you have thin skin, believe your work is in no need of copy editing, or believe your words should not be edited, PLEASE do not submit.

THLR staff spend untold hours laying out pages, copy editing, and trying to make sense of prose masquerading as poetry and or voices that take too long to say what it is they are trying to say. We reserve the right to edit according to our style.

Please take a moment to consider that THLR is published monthly using volunteer resources and some part-time editors who work for very little salary. THLR is not a vanity publication and strives to give every writer and visual artist an opportunity to develop their voices.

The above sounds to me like THLR wants to watch the world go by--with nontraditional voices told not to let the door bruise them on the way out.