All I have is a voice / To undo the folded lie.
—W. H. Auden, “September 1, 1939”
For a new anthology, Sixteen Rivers Press is seeking unpublished poems that respond to the cultural, moral, and political rifts that now divide our country: poems of resistance and resilience, witness and vision, that embody what it means to be a citizen in a time when our democracy is threatened.
Poets are encouraged to interpret this call broadly. We welcome voices raised in passion and in praise, whether lyrical, philosophical, visionary, or personal. Because we hope to create a wide-ranging conversation among the poems, this anthology will combine submitted contemporary work with previously published poems from other periods of unrest and upheaval.
Submission period: Feb 15–April 15, 2017. Submit 1 to 3 unpublished poems, totaling no more than 3 pages, either online by Submittable or by regular mail. There is a $3 reading fee for online submissions to offset the operating costs of Submittable.
Note: This book will be nationally advertised and similar in scope and design to our first anthology, The Place That Inhabits Us, now in its fourth printing.
Guidelines
We are looking for work that has not been previously published, in print or online. We prefer online submissions through Submittable, but we will accept submissions by mail. Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but if the work is accepted elsewhere, please send us a note through Submittable, or if you submit by mail, email us to let us know.
We expect to complete our selection by September 30, 2017; our scheduled publishing date is June 2018. Payment for publication will be two copies of the anthology.
For submissions via Submittable
Please submit up to three poems, totaling no more than three pages, in one Word document (Word, PDF, or RTF). Include contact information in the file that you submit. Your name and contact info will also be included in the Submittable fields.
For submissions via U.S. mail
Poems may be sent by mail to:
Sixteen Rivers Press Anthology
P.O. Box 640663
San Francisco, CA 94164-0663
Please include contact information on each page. Include a self-addressed, stamped envelope so that we can reply. Please note that we will only return poems if the necessary amount of postage has been added to your SASE.