Submit to The Poetry Journal

Submission Guidelines

We seek poems that:

• Explore the ubiquitous and seemingly unimportant moments of everyday life, human experiences, and motivations – in a creative and universally relatable way. Can you magnify pedestrian details and subtle insights within the absurd or trivial existence of places, objects, or animals? We’d love to read your work.
• We love poems that are entertaining and engaging, using wit and humour within their reflections. We appreciate irony and sarcasm. We’ve already said it, but we’ll say it again: we love humour, even in poignant reflections. However, we love it best when it’s used like seasoning in food – don’t force it. After all, you wouldn’t cook a pot of rice with a cup of salt.
• We appreciate poems that are simple, clear and unpretentious without being plain or one-dimensional. We prioritise accessibility over pedantry and adherence to traditional poetry rules. We aren’t fans of purists or excessive ornamentation and abstraction.
• We avoid heavy political, advocacy, or activist themes (such as social justice or identity). Instead, we focus on individual moments within the collective experience of groups. We almost always favour timeless human experiences over contemporary issues. However, if you can elevate the trivial within contemporary issues, we would consider publishing your work.
• We don’t see ourselves as worthy of the honourable goal of seeking social change through poetry. Instead, we have chosen the less noble path of celebrating the subtle insights of life’s mundanities. We prefer writings that remind us of what humans have in common (no matter how trivial) over what sets us apart (no matter how urgent). For example, we may not get giddy about a poem for or against abortion rights, but we would publish one on the awkwardness that follows a child’s public and blunt honesty about an adult’s appearance.
• We love original poems and fresh ideas. The only thing we dislike more than clichés is plagiarism. Please ensure the work you submit is entirely your own.