For over 130 years, poets and writers have turned to Poet Lore for poems that speak to current events, experiences, and urgent concerns. Though the journal has taken many different forms—from a monthly publication, to a quarterly magazine-shaped pamphlet, to its current biannual issues today—the constant heartbeat has been its commitment showcasing voices from around the world.
Poet Lore’s historic impact can be seen in ripples throughout the literary world—Pulitzer Prize winners, Poets Laureate, National Book Award Winners, and Nobel Laureates all have roots in Poet Lore. Many household names, for today’s readers, had their earliest works published in Poet Lore, and many at times when their voices were ignored elsewhere. Contributors have also gone on to create their own literary publications, publishing houses, and reading series’ around the world.
At Poet Lore, we recognize that the publishing landscape, especially the poetry publishing industry, has has been largely curated by a select few editors and publishers. As the oldest continuously published poetry journal in the country, we knew that we needed to reinvent our practices and refocus our mission.
A large part of our commitment to support poets, at all stages of their careers, and to continue to build a more equitable poetry landscape is our new Guest Editor program. Our Guest Editors are paid members of our editorial staff who, for one issue, curate a folio of work on any topic of their choosing.
Another facet of our mission is our payment for contributors. All poets selected for publication will receive $50 per published poem. These payments were kickstarted by generous support from our board and The Poetry Foundation. The continuation of this fund for contributors is made possible through direct support from individual donors via subscriptions, orders and donations.
Our publication selections come from our Submittable queue and we truly appreciate each and every submission. Each submission is read with care by our team of readers and our editor. It is always free to submit your work to Poet Lore and we proudly pay $50 per published poem.
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