Poetry Tips: General Poetry Guidelines for General Poetry Submissions

1.) Read Your Poem As Objectively As Possible: Many of us, myself included, have sent out poems that would not be understood by an outsider reading it. Therefore, make sure your poem can stand alone without explanation unless it is experimental language that fits the journal you are submitting to. Otherwise if you have to explain what it’s about either re-write it or send something else along.

2) Formatting submissions
a) E-mail: Most e-mail submissions should include the subject line “Poetry Submission/Your Last Name” unless otherwise specified. In the body of the e-mail you should address the editor, even if it is simply “Dear Editor,” and thank them for their time in reading your submission. Include your contact information such as full name, address, phone number and e-mail address.

If you read the guidelines some editors require you attach your poems as a separate document and others prefer you copy and paste your poems inside the body of the e-mail.

If the guidelines ask for a bio but do not specify what the bio should contain simply address yourself third person by giving your name, where you are from and any publishing credits you have (name up to three, any more than that and it gets too lengthy for a bio). You can include a personal detail about yourself such as what you enjoy doing besides writing poetry or what you do for a living.


b) Snail Mail: Most editors want a standard A10 envelope. This is basically a standard plain white envelope in which you can easily fold your poem into thirds and tuck it inside. *Always include a self-addressed stamped return envelope.* You can fold up the S.A.S.E. and tuck it in with your poems so the editors can easily mail back your submission.

If the guidelines do not specify how to format your poems, use 8.5 x 11 regular plain white paper, size 12 and regular font such as Arial or Times New Roman.

Also include your contact information on each and every page for each poem submitted. Your basic contact information is your full name, address, phone number, and e-mail address.

Make sure each poem is on its own sheet of paper or if it flows to additional pages that you number them to make it easy for the editor to keep the poems together and sorted properly.

If the guidelines ask for a bio it’s the same as what is described above for e-mail submissions.
For those of you relatively new to submitting poems I hope this helps you and for seasoned veterans any additional input is welcome in the comments section.

Thanks for dropping in, please stop in again next week…

Third Wednesday Open Submissions

Although open year round the deadlines for the Winter issue is August and the deadline for Spring issue is January so please be sure that any seasonal poems are sent at the right time. All styles of poems are accepted and will be judged on the basis of the beauty of expression and the picture left in the editor’s mind(s) at the end of the poem(s). Please do not send previously published poems. Otherwise, you may send up to five poems, no more than three pages in length, via e-mail to:
submissionsATthirdwednesdayDOTorg

Helpful hints: Title your subject line “Poetry submission/last name” and include all of your contact information in the body of the e-mail along with your poems.

You can also snail mail submissions to:
Third Wednesday
174 Greenside Up
Ypsilanti, MI 48197



For more details about submissions, go to:

http://www.thirdwednesday.org/submissions.php


Good luck to all who submit, please drop by tomorrow for more Open Submissions…

Poems Found by Poet Hound

http://www.zygoteinmycoffee.com/100s/issue133tinylittleexplos.html
J. J. Campbell’s “Tiny Little Explosions”

http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/nwong/2011/05/money-in-the-time-of-cholera/
Nicholas Wong’s “Money In The Time of Cholera”


Thanks for clicking in, please drop by tomorrow for more Open Submissions…

Jay Passer's My Part In The Works

Published by Ten Pages Press, Jay Passer’s collection My Part In The Works ranges from surreal to concrete, metaphorical to literal. I am happy to share a couple of them with you below:


Family

my brother the terrorist
wonders why his car was towed away
parked halfway up the sidewalk
crashed into a power pole.

my brother waits for the latest issue of Guns and Ammo to arrive in the mail
he plans to assassinate the President
on Mother’s Day
or maybe around Christmastime.

my brother was a Little-League All-Star
but these days he rides a bicycle through the rain over the French Alps
I saw it on television.

my brother is stuck in the tunnel
beneath a mountain somewhere in the French Alps
the signal on his cell phone’s gone dead.

my brother
like a wet finger on a light switch
is surprised to see the FBI man.

my brother in the old days
negotiated tightropes stretched across Circus Maximus
he’s a terrorist
whose mother wore white on her wedding day.

my brother waits for the result of the election
pistol in hand.

When I first read it, I couldn’t help but hope/wonder if any of these stanzas were true. What a colorful character to have in the family! I asked Mr. Passer about it and he explained that the poem is meant to be “somewhat metaphorical, referring in a generalized sense to the human family.” That explanation works for me, too. The human family is full of bizarre episodes, trials, and tribulations which the poem reveals stanza by stanza.



In The City

grandiose and greatness with capitals in the city
above it all a stunner on the billboard nighttime drama
gesticulate impresarios imps with invisible fingertips
glass-fragile ego of structural integrity staking claim
lawyers and lynch men snarling in the corners
mongers of catastrophe and battle profiteers
driven to the fanatical pulse-beat of our world

the mad grasping ideals, sentinels of our city
driven by hype and horsepower to awaken the type
of gods you don’t see painted on Sistine ceilings.


I like the pace of the poem, no periods or commas to relieve you just like the fast pace of a city. Mr. Passer pokes and prods at the cynical side of the kinds of men who are found there, “snarling in the corners,” “driven by hype and horsepower.” The last line is a perfect closing, a city awakening “gods you don’t see painted on Sistine ceilings,” or that is to say, mere men who believe they are gods when in fact they are not simply because of the ideals they adopt in a large, bustling city.





If you enjoyed this sample, Jay Passer’s collection, My Part In The Works, you’ll be happy to know it is available on-line through Ten Pages Press in its entirety, check it out at:

http://tenpagespress.wordpress.com/


Thanks always for reading, please click in tomorrow for more Poems Found by Poet Hound…

The Nervous Breakdown Website

I love the greeting line to this site: “Your attention span is hilarious.” The poetry tab holds reviews, interview, and of course, poems. It is a fun site to peruse so I urge you to take a look.

Check it out:
http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/


Thanks for dropping in, please stop by tomorrow for another featured poet…