In this edition of Inside the Den, we’re pleased to feature Roa’a Eid, who joined Black Fox as a poetry reader at the start of 2026. Though new to the team, Roa’a brings a deeply thoughtful and inquisitive approach to the poems she reads. With a sensitivity to both craft and possibility, she engages each submission with an eye toward what language can do at its most deliberate and surprising.
Black Fox Literary Magazine: How did you become a poetry reader for Black Fox?
Roa’a Eid: I had actually bookmarked the Submittable page for Black Fox for an open poetry call (although now I don’t remember if it was a general one or themed). However, life got in the way, and I missed the deadline. So, when I opened the bookmarked Submittable page, sadly lamenting my missed opportunity, I saw that there was an open call for poetry readers. Even though I had never been a poetry reader for a lit mag before, I was determined to not have saved the page in vain. Now, here I am :).
BFLM: What draws you into a poem right away?
RE: Innovation, not only in terms of experimentation with forms and such, but new metaphors and images that I’ve never seen before. While I love placing myself in the point of view of the speaker, I also love when a poem is about something or describing a feeling or evoking an image I had never thought of or experienced before (and maybe never will).
BFLM: What’s your biggest pet peeve when it comes to reading poetry submissions?
RE: In terms of the poems themselves, it’s when the piece feels like some quick thoughts someone typed in the Notes app, then randomly placed line breaks, and now they believe they have a poem on their hands. Poetry is a craft like any other and takes time. Sometimes we get very clear first drafts that need a second (and third and fourth) run through.
My technical pet peeve is when writers don’t submit each new poem on a new page in the combined doc. It’s a little thing, I know, but it really irks me.
BFLM: What’s something that elevates a poem from good to great for you?
RE: Deliberate use of stylistic tools. I love when the line breaks, enjambment, or form of the poem are clearly elevating and adding to the overall idea(s) of the poem.
I also really love poets who play with sound in a very interesting and deliberate way, that’s not just rhyming; I’m talking consonance, internal rhymes, harsh dissonance, etc.
BFLM: Has reading submissions changed the way you read or write poetry?
RE: Definitely!
In terms of writing, I’ve realized the sheer number of people that also write poetry, and I’ve gotten more attentive to making my own writing stand out amidst the pile. Plus, I’ve started to pay more attention to potential “cliche” or common metaphors and images that are present in my own writing. I just realized I need to step it up a bit more!
In terms of reading poetry (just for my own leisure), I’ve started to appreciate the lit mags and different poetry pages I follow more. The slush pile is large and the work is daunting (feeling like you’re in control of someone’s publishing dreams). Especially now that I’m more aware that much of the work is done by people working other jobs as well who simply have a passion for this, it takes on a new meaning. Finally, I realized just how subjective it all is. There are published poems out there that I read in magazines that, had I encountered in the submissions stage, I might’ve downvoted.
It’s a strange thing, this play with words we’re all doing.
BFLM: What’s a line of poetry you love and think about often?
RE: Oof, this was tough, and not only because as soon as I read the question, I completely forgot every single poem I have ever read. I’ve managed to narrow it down to two lines/groups of lines:
From “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44694/if-we-must-die)
“What though before us lies the open grave?”
From “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46560/dulce-et-decorum-est)
“My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.”
BFLM: If your approach to reading poetry had a theme song, what would it be—and why?
RE: I’m so glad I get to answer this question after Raye has released her new album “This Music May Contain Hope”! Because now, the only theme song I can imagine applying to this situation is “Nightingale Lane.” Ultimately, the feelings this song describes of nostalgia and a love that once was feels exactly how I approach reading poetry: I open every and any poem wondering if I’ll feel the way I felt that first time I read a poem when I was eleven years old.
And with some poems, that feeling does return.
BFLM: Many thanks, Roa’a, for the curiosity and care you bring to our poetry submissions. Your thoughtful attention to craft and willingness to engage deeply with each piece enriches the work we’re proud to publish.
Stay tuned for more staff spotlights in upcoming editions of Inside the Den—because every page begins with a reader.
Roa’a Eid is an Egyptian writer, poet, and researcher, obsessed with all things real and unseen, while keenly understanding why her ancestors worshipped cats. Her creative nonfiction and poetry are featured in Writing Women, The Brussels Review, rainy weather days, Poetry Archive Now, The Aleph Review, and more. One of her poems was also an Honorable Mention in the 2024 Art of Unity Literary Award and published in the collection Never Again: Remembering to Heal and Overcome. Recently, she facilitated the Reimagining Homelands writing workshop, organized by Wasl Collective and Darb 1718 in Old Cairo. In 2026, she launched The Writer’s Desk platform on Instagram with a January daily writing challenge to bring together writers and creatives from the SWANA region. She has been a volunteer poetry reader with Black Fox Literary Magazine since January 2026. Through her writing, she explores the impossible and emotional sides of identity—ultimately, what makes humans question everything.
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