We love visceral poetry with stunning concrete imagery. Our editors want to be transported to new landscapes. Let us walk the streets of your cities, explore your abandoned buildings, and meet your “angelheaded hipsters.” In addition, we want readers to be able to visualize and experience the world from fresh perspectives. Overall, we love imagery that punches like Muhammad Ali. However, we also adore the variety of meditative imagery written by talented haiku writers.

Our editors also love poets who are gifted storytellers. The idea of the poet as a Bard is extremely important to our poetic philosophy. We agree with Joy Harjo when she writes “the word poet is synonymous with truth teller,” in her note after the poem “A Postcolonial Tale.” If your poetry contains compelling narratives, shares the stories of specific regions, and engages the lives of specific peoples, your poetry is probably for our publication.

Bold figurative language is also important to our staff. We love poets who craft innovative similes and metaphors. If you can captivate us with your figurative language, we will read your poetry on numerous occasions. Tomas Tranströmer’s similes in the poem “April and Silence” are some of our favorites.

Empathy is one of the most important qualities we are looking for in the poets we publish. Think of these lines from Anis Mojgani’s poem “Shake the Dust” when you submit your writing:

“This is for the hard men who want to love but know it won’t come
For the ones who are forgotten
The ones the amendments don’t stand up for”

Our mission is to spread peace and understanding one poem at a time. Our goal is to build communities, support marginalized individuals, and promote the creation of new relationships. We want your vast Grand Canyon heart, your earthquake voice, and your open bird nest palms.