Traumatic moments come in many shapes, and here, Jacqueline Schaalje works to reveal one of the most common: the car accident. Ambivalent and child-like, the speaker of “After an Accident” doesn’t want to forget—they want to capture the “glitter” of…
Thank you all for making this such a wonderful contest this year. Our judges—Don Share, Nicole Sealey, and Matthew Zapruder—have chosen the winning poem and the second and third place poems each tied for second place with the same score.…
As a platform for emerging poets, our mission is to provide practical help for serious writers. The community lifts itself up together or not at all. In that light, we’ve been asking some great editors from around the literary community…
Arn’s “The Salesman” shows all the qualities of a good contemporary sonnet, the perennial form: the subtle bending rhymes inside and ending the lines, the compact story, the lines that break rhythm and syntax with purpose, and the well-timed, twisting…
New month, new courage: submit yourself to these fellowships, magazines, awards and internships. Remember, too, acceptances and rejections are by-products of this journey—crafting your authentic art is the goal. And as always, submit poetry for free to our New Voices.…
Here’s a short selection of some of the best new poems hitting the web. These five poets, both established and emerging, all have talent worth enjoying (& copying). Enjoy, and be grateful, knowing so many awesome poets are making our…
Amy LeBlanc’s poem “Wintering” is a master of the short line—trembling and damaged bodies laid across four syllables. We’re enthralled by the pressed imagery, the slant rhymes, the wish for peace. Wintering he torched the skin that i’m still in.…
Last year, we nominated one of Chaun Ballard’s poems for the pushcart—this year, his debut chapbook won the Sunken Garden Prize from Tupelo Press. Flight is a beautiful little book to hold in your hands, full of family and authenticity and…
Thank you submitters! Please give us 8-12 weeks after closing to reach out selections. We can’t wait to see what you’ve sent in!
By the second pair of lines, the gentle hiding of men in flowers, we were hooked to this poem. Babette Cieskowski’s language blooms in delicate song: the shucked pearls, the blood root, the windowsill—”Dream With Ex-Lover In Red” is a…
