We are open to original poetry submissions of three to five poems for our Spring 2025 issue until March 15. Full details can be found below.
Original Poetry
We’re looking for serious poetry that has something important to say. This can mean poems about topics important to you, poems telling us about who you are or what you think, or an unusual or clever creative style. Poems don’t need to deal with weighty subjects, but should be meaningful.
We prefer free verse. Exceptions can be made, but common metered verse forms, end-rhyme, haikus, tankas, and other well-worn forms should be avoided entirely. We also like to feature a poet rather than a poem, so submissions must include at least three poems. Each submission is judged as a whole.
A small honorarium ($10) will be paid for first serial and archival rights for accepted submissions and all contributors get a Meet Our Contributor post. All original poetry will be considered for Best of the Net and Pushcart nominations at the end of the year.
There is no fee to submit, but please read and follow the guidelines below:
- Include three to five poems in a .doc or .docx file with page breaks or three blank lines between poems. One entry per poet per issue and a maximum of thirty non-space lines per poem. Title the file with your first initial, last name, and the issue period for which you’re submitting. (e.g. Poetry_AHunt_Spring_2025)
- On the first line in bold, please include your Name, Mailing Address, Email Address, and Phone Number. At this time, we’re only accepting submissions from poets residing in the United States or Canada.
- Send an email with the file attached to poetry @ phillychapbookreview.org with the subject line, “Original Poetry:” followed by your name.
- A cover letter is optional, but it can’t hurt. We’ll be judging your poetry, but if it’s a close call we might let our feelings decide. The cover letter should be in the body of your email.
- Only literary poetry, please. This doesn’t mean that poems can’t fall into a genre, but if they do, they should be meaningful to serious poetry readers.
- Any entries that denigrate another person on the basis of gender, age, ethnicity, sexual preference, or disability will be discarded. We are a small publication run by a disabled person who loves the great variety of voices in poetry.
- Poems may not be previously published in a periodical. (We define periodicals as magazines, websites, blogs, or social media feeds with more than 500 followers.)
- Simultaneous submissions are okay, but please notify immediately if a submitted poem is no longer available.
- Please be sure to let us know if a poem’s spacing/placement is nonstandard and important. This isn’t disqualifying, but we want to make sure we read it properly.
- To allow others a chance, if we’ve published your work before, please wait two full issue periods after the one in which you appear before submitting again.
Contents
Book Excerpt: Further Thought by Rae Armantrout
Read the featured Excerpt Poem of the Month for January 2025, “Further Thought” from Go Figure by Rae Armantrout, along with a few words from the poet.
Read five poems by poet A.L. Nielsen, our first biweekly poet of the Winter 2025 issue, along with a few words about the poem “When We Walked”.
Chapbook Poem: The Poem as an Act of Betrayal by Benjamin S. Grossberg
Read the featured Chapbook Poem of the Month for January 2025, “The Poem as an Act of Betrayal” from As Are Right Fit by Benjamin S. Grossberg, along with a few words from the poet.
Jan. ‘25: Year One: What worked, what didn’t, and what to expect
Editor Aiden Hunt looks back at our first year and discusses changes to Philly Poetry Chapbook Review in 2025.
Three Poems by Shelli Rottschafer
Read three poems by poet Shelli Rottschafer, our second biweekly poet of the Winter 2025 issue, along with a few words about the poem “Because We Remember.”
Dancing With the Dead: On Ragnarök at the Father-Daughter Dance by Todd Dillard
“Todd Dillard successfully transgresses the unspoken cultural embargo on work that grapples with life during the COVID-19 pandemic in his new chapbook, Ragnarök at the Father-Daughter Dance.”
Read three poems by poet Wendell Hawken, our third biweekly poet of the Winter 2025 issue, along with a few words about the poem “First Hurt”.