Dear Poets,
I'd like to introduce myself as the new editor of The Spoon River Poetry Review and invite you to submit your poetry to the magazine, whether you are an old fan or completely new to us, as I'm excited to diversify both content and readership. As editor, my aim is to build upon the magazine's long-standing dedication to cross-pollination by publishing excellent poems, including translations in English, from all styles and perspectives, even (especially) those that seem, or have been situated critically, as at odds.
While SRPR already receives thousands of submissions a month, many of which are very strong, I'd like to see more diversity -- more poems by women, more poems by younger poets, more poems that explore embodiment from non-white, non-heteronormative perspectives, edgier & riskier poetics -- as well as excellent poetry that might be identified as more "mainstream." I enjoy reading poems from a wide variety of sensibilities and aesthetics, and am dedicated, as editor, to attracting and cultivating a readership that doesn't feel the need to choose from among various styles and schools, even as the politics of creation and production are brought into relief. I don't, however, want to confuse breadth with anything-goes; as I put it in the forthcoming Poet's Market, "Spoon River is looking for poems that are as intellectually and emotionally ambitious as they are attentive to technique."
Please send your poems, postmarked no later than April 15th, to:
The Spoon River Poetry Review
4241/Publications Unit
Illinois State University
Normal IL 61790-4241.
We are also accepting submissions now for our annual Editors' Prize Contest (up to three poems; single long poems welcome; 10 pages max). Winner receives $1000 & publication; two runners-up receive $100 each and publication; 3-5 honorable mentions receive publication. Postmark deadline is extended this year, to accommodate the transition of editorship, until May 1, 2010. The $16.00 reading fee includes a one-year subscription.
Please see our website for complete submission and contest details (we're in the process of updating the website, too!): www.litline.org/Spoon.
And finally, if you'd like to subscribe to the magazine, the cost is $15.00 for individuals, $18.00 for institutions. Our state funding was cut by over 70% percent this year, so we are in serious need of grass-roots support. To subscribe, send a check or money order (made out to The Spoon River Poetry Review), to The Spoon River Poetry Review, 4241 Department of English, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-4241.
Thank you, and I look forward to reading your work and to hearing your feedback!
All best,
Kirstin Hotelling Zona
Editor, The Spoon River Poetry Review
