Happy New Year! Welcome to year two of the strange little poetry and poetics journal called the Philly Poetry Chapbook Review! I created this journal with plans for what we’d publish, but also knowing that it was going to be a process of seeing what features work best and what to lose. I’m proud of our first year and excited for the new features of our second!
A Look Back at Year One (and what worked)
Our first year saw us grow to six contributors of original material, myself included. While I wish we had been to cover more chapbooks, I now have more realistic expectations of review production. My great thanks to contributors C.M. Crockford, Mike Bagwell, Francesca Leader, Drishya, and Shelli Rottschafer! We were able to review a dozen chapbooks and feature four more through author features and interviews.
In March, we began featuring one chapbook every month with a poem excerpt on our front page, and I’m very pleased to have shared ten of these with our readers, bringing the total number of chapbooks covered in 2024 to twenty-six. My thanks to everyone who submitted chapbooks and poems for consideration. We can’t get to every book, but I think we did pretty well for a half-dozen contributors and a one-man staff.
We also published a list of new full-length poetry books every Tuesday (except December with only one post needed) and by mid-year had begun publishing lists of new chapbooks each month.
I’m very pleased with this production, and readers can expect more reviews, interviews, featured chapbook poems, and new poetry book posts in 2025.
What Didn’t Work
By mid-year, I’d found that information on chapbooks was too difficult to find in advance, so I split the new poetry books posts. Each month’s chapbooks post showed what I had found published in the previous month (or two). Our call for craft essays was met with silence and I’ve decided to cancel it. I’ve also decided to adjust our issue format going forward. The bimonthly issue format wasn’t quite right, so starting in 2025, PCR will use a standard seasonal issue format: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall. However, we’ll continue to update on a rolling basis, with content on the front page carrying over from previous issues rather than all issue content published once every three months.
What to Expect
There are two big changes for 2025 and they both involve publishing more poetry!
First, we’ve started publishing original poetry. Calls for submissions will open two months before the start of each issue and run for a month and a half (Feb. 1 to March 15; May 1 to June 15; Aug. 1 to Sept.15; Nov. 1 to Dc. 15) . The previously unpublished work of a new poet will be featured on the front page and shared to channels every other Thursday.
Second, we’ve begun featuring single-poem excerpts from full-length collections. This will begin with one new poem every month from a book that’s forthcoming or published in the past six months, but may increase if we get enough options.
I’ve also updated the front page to include the six most recent featured poems in each category carousel and added links to the same below them. This will ensure that more readers see more content.
What You Can Do
- Read and Share
- PCR is a small journal with next to no advertising budget. I rely on social media and Substack posting for distribution and word of mouth. For the time being, we won’t be seeking donations, so a great way to help is to simply share our publication and content with people you know.
- Become a Contributor or Volunteer
- We are always looking for new contributors of chapbook reviews, chapbook author features, and now unpublished poetry. We pay a small token fee of $10 for contributed work (not including book excerpts). Interested reviewers can contact PCR with a specific pitch or completed draft. You can also reach out about reviewing titles on assignment.
- I’m looking to increase the size of our volunteer staff from one in order to do more. Positions include Poetry Editor, Poetry Reader, Social Media Assistant, and Production Assistant (email and other back-end tasks).
- Submit your forthcoming or recently published poetry collections for review, interview, and poem excerpt consideration.
- While some of our content is solicited, I honestly prefer to draw from the books submitted by email. Digital copies of poetry books can be send to submissions AT PhillyChapbookReview.org.
Thanks for reading,
Aiden Hunt
Creator/Editor
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.