Allen: All right you lot, form an orderly queue, it's time to pose your questions to "Sein und Werden" founder Rachel Kendall!

Diana Magallon - What would you like to be asked as an editor of Sein und Werden?
Rachel: What a great question. Hmmm. I would like to be asked if there are any books I would recommend to "Sein" readers. And the answer to that would be yes, actually, there are. Quite recently I read a book by the fantastic Amanda Palmer who is a solo musician, was once a living statue, and is once again half of the cabaret/ALT duo The Dresden Dolls. Palmer's book The Art of Asking is an extension of her Ted talk and it's basically a love story to her fans, patrons, supporters, musicians, hosts, van-drivers, spare-room lenders, breakfast-makers, everyone who has helped her and her band keep writing and performing and not selling out. It's not just a book for musicians. It's a book for any artist who spills their guts for themselves and for the individuals who love their work, rather than for the buying masses. https://ukshop.amandapalmer.net/collections/books/products/signed-the-art-of-asking-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-let-people-help-book

David Turnbull - Each issue of Sein und Werden has a theme. Is there a particular theme that stands out for you in terms of the level and variety of submissions?
Rachel: That's a good question. The more straightforward the theme, the more submissions I get, as a rule. An issue such as "Now We Are Ten", for instance, generated a lot of submissions, whereas for "Sein, Cos, Tan" I received far fewer, but they were gold. I love the creativity involved in demystifying the themes; it's so interesting to me.

Steve Fried - Since you ask, I've wondered about the theme selection process; specifically how and with whom the issue themes originate and to what extent suggestions for future ones are encouraged, or not.
Rachel: Generally, themes come to me when I'm reading, or watching documentaries. There have only been two unthemed issues - the first one, and a special one-off issue for a literature festival in Manchester. I haven't really encouraged suggestions mostly because I have a list of future possible themes, unless it is being guest-edited in which case we will usually have a discussion about it. That's not to say I won't solicit themes in the future but there are no current plans to do so.

Judy De Croce and Antoni Ooto - We were wondering what, you feel, is the kind of piece that seems a fit for you and the magazine? We know it's not that it just fits the theme but what else resonates with you as the editor?
Rachel: How it fits in with the other pieces, if it flows with the rest of the issue. Also, whether it stands out from the other submissions in terms of style as well as in thematic interpretation. I do occasionally include non-themed work, usually if I feel I haven't received many themed submissions, and sometimes if it's just a fantastic piece and I don't want to let it get away.

Janis Holm - What kind of submissions would you like to see more of? Less of?
Rachel: In terms of format, I'd love to receive more artwork, and more non-fiction pieces (reviews, discussions, interviews, essays etc). Regarding individual content, I'd like to see more stylised pieces, more playfulness, more deconstruction of the themes. I love it when I know someone has written specifically for the theme. I've been told from a number of artists that working to a theme is good for them, that it enables them to flex their creative muscles. And much of that is what "Sein" is about, coming as it did from a place of personal creative burnout.

Judy De Croce and Antoni Ooto - How do you decide, with all the poems you choose for an issue, the layout of the issue?  What is your system of placement?
Rachel: Hmmm, do I actually have a system? There is a definite choice in what goes at the beginning. I like to start off 'light' with a poem that fits the theme well, rather than a short story, and I prefer to sprinkle the artwork inside. It's interesting because, while some guest-editors just send me all the accepted pieces to publish at my whim, others prefer to choose the layout, or at least the order, and it's usually different to how I would place them. So yeah, I guess I do have a system of placement but it's not necessarily a conscious one.

Judy De Croce and Antoni Ooto - Do you have a way of knowing who is reading the Zine?
Rachel: I don't actually. I just rely on feedback to find out what's working, what the zine might benefit from. And if I get some good comments on the material in an issue I'll always pass it on to the contributor.

Mary Cresswell - I wonder how you - and other journal editors established before 2020 - have managed to cope with life since Covid - it seems to me that there has been an explosion in people writing poems (hooray for them - poetry is a great way to avoid despair and madness) and in the work connected with reading and publishing poems. Have you dragged in more people? Have you cut down open reading periods? Or do you all just spend a bit more time than usual swinging from chandeliers and gibbering? Or all of the above?
Rachel: I had actually taken some time away from "Sein" when I started an MA in 2016, while continuing working, parenting and attempting to write. It took me five years and shortly after graduating, COVID hit. When lockdown happened, I knew I was ready to start editing again. I needed something that was for me, the editor, rather than me the parent, employee and temporary teacher. Writing wasn't an option for me at that time so I turned back to editing.

Regarding the number of poems received, I don't think there were any more or less submissions during Covid, just quite a number of variations on the theme, ranging from a timeline of events through links to news articles etc, to the distractions of working from home. Covid was certainly a call to arms for artists but, personally, it was the more positive effects of lockdown that I found more poetic - the deceleration of life, the sounds of nature normally overwhelmed by the sounds of traffic, the wild animals' temporary reclamation of our spaces. Had I not been home-schooling and working from home I would have probably written a lot of poetry. And I guess that's one thing that did impact on editing, having a child at home, and being a single parent, meant less time for anything else.

Joseph Pravda - What is your plan, if any, to innovate publishing via A.I., in light of Jensen Huang's accelerated computing breakthroughs?
Rachel: Well, I am a woman without a plan. I just roll with the punches, and by punches I mean "technological advancement" and by rolling I mean ducking out of the way. I am not a techy person, but like many people I use it without thinking about it because it is what it is and we are where we are. Obviously without it I'd be incommunicado and would have gone insane during lockdown. And I create web content so, you know, I'm a hypocrite. But when it comes to AI, I know as much about it as I see and read in the media and no doubt that is the very, very tip of a massive iceberg.

The media tells me that there are exciting and innovative creative uses of AI but I admit my immediate response is to run away in terror. I prefer the integrity of producing art straight from the heart rather than through the filter of AI, but at the same time I did find this video essay about The Disturbing Art of AI really fascinating. Maybe I should dedicate a future issue to it? I wouldn't have the first idea how to do it myself though.

John Allen - What do you think of Surrealism in the 21st century? Who is your favorite surrealist poet who writes for "Sein"?
Rachel: I think it's an artform that didn't, as some suggest, die with Andre Breton. Like punk, it's a movement and a style that comes and goes and I think it's currently making a resurgence with such artists as Jeff Soto and Esau Andrews, and the You Tube musician and animator Jack Stauber. I wonder what the Surrealists would think of AI and whether they would regard it as a sacrilege. Regarding my favourite surrealist poet who writes for "Sein", I don't have one. I can't choose favourites.

Judy DeCroce and Antoni Ooto - And lastly... did you walk to school or carry your lunch?
Rachel: Actually, I rode to school on a snail-drawn carriage while a couple of hover flies carried my lunch. I couldn't understand why I was always late.

Nick Jackson - I would like to know what is Sein's favourite German word.  I was wondering whether to ask how "Sein" would dispose of someone they really didn't like, perhaps someone who might be thought a danger to society, and how the body would be disposed of but on second thoughts perhaps better not to ask - you never know who might be spying on your website or what they might do with the information. 
Rachel: The first word that came to mind was 'wanderlust' which we all know means to have that urge to travel. But there is also the word 'fernweh', which is a kind of homesickness for somewhere that isn't home. I love the construction of German words and the fact there are so many single words for feelings. I decided to consult the web and found some interesting words. I particularly love 'kuddelmuddel' which means mess.

In answer to the second part to this question, all I will say is piranhas. Piranhas operating meat grinders.

Bill Wolak- Does "Sein" have a favorite French poet?
Rachel: I actually don't read much poetry. I am a fan of Cocteau, Artaud, and Breton, but generally for their longer works. Does this make me a bad person?

Julie Blankenship - Sein's relationship to punk rock?
Rachel: The closest "Sein" is to punk rock is perhaps linked to the attitude and ideas around the Riot Grrrrl zines, much in the way dada has been considered to be an arty precursor to punk. And I think any kind of abstract art is punk in its own way because it colours outside the lines and figuratively spits in the face of capitalism. As an aside, I just read Kathleen Hanna's memoir 'Rebel Girl' (for those not in the know, Hanna fronted the band Bikini Kill, and was one of the founding mothers of the Riot Grrrl movement in the 1990s) and it's a great read. And that's another book recommendation from me!

Allen: All right, that's your lot for now. Thanks for your additional questions, folks. Here's to the next two decades!