Dear Reader,
Welcome to Issue 9 of the Philly Chapbook Review for Summer 2025! I hope your summer is going well and that you’re ready for more poetry, chapbooks, and reviews.
Summer Poetry, Stats & Status
I’m pleased to share that in addition to increased page views and a growing SubStack audience, the number of original poetry submissions has nearly doubled with every call. I take this as a clear sign that we’re doing some things right, which is great to know.
In our last call, we received 720 poems submitted by 180 North American poets. We chose 21 poems from 6 poets for publication for an acceptance rate of about 3%. Congratulations to William Doreski, allison whittenberg, Alexandra Meyer, Kristiane Weeks-Rogers, Robin Arble, and Makena Metz, whose work will appear as part of the Summer Issue. We’re also pleased to feature new poetry by Laynie Browne, plus poems from Li-Young Lee’s new chapbook and Lisa Sewell’s latest full-length collection for July, with more great excerpts to come from Max McDonough, Scott LaMascus, Selma Asotić, and Winshen Liu in August and September.
When I created PCR in late 2023, I committed myself to a minimum of three years. After a year and a half, my interest in this project has only grown and I’m beginning to look for staff. Since original poetry submissions have also been growing apace, we are starting to use first readers for our poetry submissions.
Poetry Readers Wanted
Love literary magazines and reading poetry? Want to get to know the behind-the-scenes aspect better or have a nice credit for the resume or bio? If so, you might be in luck. Philly Chapbook Review is now accepting applications for first readers of original poetry submissions.
Original poetry submission periods begin February 1, May 1, August 1, and November 1 and run until the 15th of the following month. Readers should be prepared to commit at least 5 hours each week to reading submissions during these periods. Ideal readers will be prepared to participate in at least 4 consecutive reading periods.
Applications will be accepted until September 30. This is a volunteer, unpaid position. Interested applicants can apply by answering questions and submitting a resume using the Google Form linked below.
Click Here to Apply to Be a Reader
Finally, we’re always looking for new contributors of chapbook reviews or author features. More information can be found on our Submissions page. Interested writers should feel free to reach out to me directly.
Warm regards,
Aiden Hunt
Editor/Creator
Contents
Chapbook Poem: The Blessed Knot by Li-Young Lee
“A well-made poem is a knot, but not a tangle. The well-made knot of a poem can disentangle readers from illusion, to free them from confusion. Poetry is a form of disillusionment.” Read the July Chapbook Poem by Li-Young Lee along with words from the poet.
“This work is an archive of my attempts to become more familiar with who I am, and why I am here, to immerse myself in these ancient spiritual questions…” Check out five poems and five images by Laynie Browne along with a few words from the poet.
Book Excerpt: Creating Space by Lisa Sewell
“Yoga, the walks, and the writing became a daily exercise in paying attention—to the world, to the bodies in the world around me and to my own body…” Read the Excerpt Poem of the Month for July 2025 by Lisa Sewell along with words from the poet.
“My poetry tries to examine … the difference between the lives we live inside ourselves and the lives we expose to other people.” Read five poems by William Doreski along with a few words from the poet.
July ’25: Poetry Readers Wanted
Read a note from editor Aiden Hunt about PCR’s Summer poetry and new poetry reader opportunities brought by our growing original poetry submissions.
Four Poems by allison whittenberg
“I grew up as a film buff and I loved reading Hollywood Babylon. Over the years, I have learned to separate the truth from the myths.” Read four poems by allison whittenberg along with a few words from the poet.
Chapbook Poem: August Peaches by Winshen Liu
“I wanted to sit with a particular end-of-summer indulgence, where a host has saved specialty foods to welcome visiting friends and family–fancy chocolate, favorite sodas, a certain snack.” Read a poem from Winshen Liu’s chapbook Paper Money along with words from the poet.
Book Excerpt: Cheesecake Factory by Max McDonough
“This poem lives in the weirdness of the suburban mall spaces a lot of us grew up visiting (or loitering in!), places that feel like they could be anywhere and nowhere at once.” Read a poem from Max McDonough’s chapbook along with words from the poet.
Three Poems by Alexandra Meyer
“Love had made me stronger in a lot of ways, but also showed me the weakest parts of myself that were left crystallized for him to see. This was much like wood morphing into rock during the petrification process.” Read three poems by Alexandra Meyer along with words from the poet.
Three Poems by Kristiane Weeks-Rogers
“Anchored by sensory detail, the poem journeys between childhood safety and adult experience in a canyon town shaped by rivers and monsoons. … This poem is a meditation on time, tastes, and tenderness of memory.” Read three poems by Kristiane Weeks-Rogers along with words from the poet.
Chapbook Poem: The Seventh Age of Shakespeare’s Father by Scott LaMascus
“This poem hit me hard last winter, sitting a moment near my late father, as our family was trying to absorb the meaning of his ALS diagnosis … I wondered, if ‘all the world’s a stage,’ what role had I just been assigned?” Read the featured Chapbook Poem of the Month for September 2025 along with words from the poet.
Book Excerpt: Landscape with footprints in ash by Selma Asotić
“When I want to sound smart, I say things like: a poet is one who leaves. When I accept that I’m not very smart, mostly just perplexed and a little scared, I write poems about ghosts and circle farms.” Read a poem from Asotić’s new book, Say Fire, along with words from the poet.
“All of my encounters with the U.S. healthcare system follow the protocols of the ridiculous. This poem, couched in the conventions of the contemporary sonnet, explores my latest, decisive encounter with a doctor’s office.” Read three poems by Robin Arble along with words from the poet.
September ’25: Best of the Net Nominations
Editor Aiden Hunt announces Philly Chapbook Review’s Best of the Net 2026 anthology nominations in this editor’s note and provides links to the nominated poems.
Verses of Mourning: in the aftermath by Jessica Nirvana Ram
“[Ram] presents a revealing and heartbreaking collection that asks the reader to think about what they remember the most about those they have lost.” Read Alex Carrigan’s full review.
“This poem reckons with our capitalist, product-driven society to ask people why disabled stories are only relevant if they portray the ‘other’ overcoming trauma to become abled people’s inspiration porn.” Read three poems by Makena Metz along with words from the poet.