The mandate and primary aim of Contemporary Verse 2 is to educate, engage, and expand public appreciation of the poetic art form by sharing and promoting high-calibre, original verse and critical writing by local, national, and international poets.

A key component of our vision for CV2 centers around inclusivity. CV2 has historically focused keenly on this aspect of its mandate, and this focus has, in recent years and months, expanded to home in on what, more specifically, it means to be actively – rather than passively – inclusive.

For us, active inclusivity means seeking to diversify both our readership, and the kind of work we publish, and to be constantly and consistently challenging ourselves to assess ways in which we could be more actively engaged in this area of our programming.

CV2 is published by Contemporary Verse 2 Inc., a registered charity which has made it a mission to:
Advance the understanding and appreciation of contemporary poetry through the publication of Contemporary Verse 2: The Canadian Journal of Poetry and Critical Writing and related activities.
Some of these related activities include internships, readings, workshops and the development of an educational resource for teaching poetry in the classroom.

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Contemporary Verse 2

NOTE: This submission form is for international submitters only. If you are a Canadian citizen living in Canada, a Canadian citizen living abroad, a current Canadian resident (this can include asylum-seekers, students, and foreign workers), or a current permanent resident of Canada residing in either Canada or abroad, please use our Canadian submissions form. 
 
Full Submission Guidelines:
 
Contemporary Verse 2 only accepts two submissions per submitter per year.
Contemporary Verse 2 only accepts one submission per submitter at a time.
Any submissions that do not follow correct guidelines or do not include full contact information will not be considered for publication and will not receive a reply. 
 
Length of Submissions

  Poetry submissions: no more than 5 poems, to a maximum of 6 pages.
  Interviews: no more than 6-8 pages in length, double-spaced.
  Articles: no more than 3-4 pages, double-spaced.
  Essays: no more than 2-4 pages, double-spaced.
  Reviews should be 600-1000 words, double-spaced. (Between ½ and 2 pages long.)

Note: For submissions of critical writing, including articles, essays, interviews, and reviews, please include a word count in your cover letter. Authors of critical writing should be prepared for editorial suggestions regarding length, tone, and format.
 
CV2 welcomes poetry submissions in French, as well as translation projects, including both French to English and English to French.
CV2 accepts translations of works in any language.
In your submission, please include permissions and bio from the original artist, and a citation of the original source of the work.
ex – “Title of Poem.” Title of Collection. Publisher, Year of Publication.
 
Please upload your submission as a single attachment of a Microsoft Word, TXT or RTF (rich text format) document.

General Submissions - International Submissions - Nonfiction

General Submissions - International Submissions - Poetry

NOTE: This submission form is for Canadian citizens living in Canada, Canadian citizens living abroad, current residents of Canada (this can include asylum-seekers, students, and foreign workers), and current permanent residents of Canada residing either in Canada or abroad only. If you are an international submitter, you must submit using our international submissions form.     



Full Submission Guidelines:
 
Contemporary Verse 2 only accepts two submissions per submitter per year.
Contemporary Verse 2 only accepts one submission per submitter at a time.
Any submissions that do not follow correct guidelines or do not include full contact information will not be considered for publication and will not receive a reply. 
 
Length of Submissions

  Poetry submissions: no more than 5 poems, to a maximum of 6 pages.
  Interviews: no more than 6-8 pages in length, double-spaced.
  Articles: no more than 3-4 pages, double-spaced.
  Essays: no more than 2-4 pages, double-spaced.
  Reviews should be 600-1000 words, double-spaced. (Between ½ and 2 pages long.)

Note: For submissions of critical writing, including articles, essays, interviews, and reviews, please include a word count in your cover letter. Authors of critical writing should be prepared for editorial suggestions regarding length, tone, and format.
 
CV2 welcomes poetry submissions in French, as well as translation projects, including both French to English and English to French.
CV2 accepts translations of works in any language.
In your submission, please include permissions and bio from the original artist, and a citation of the original source of the work.
ex – “Title of Poem.” Title of Collection. Publisher, Year of Publication.
 
Please upload your submission as a single attachment of a Microsoft Word, TXT or RTF (rich text format) document.

General Submissions - Canadian Submissions - Poetry

General Submissions - Canadian Submissions - Nonfiction

General Submissions - International Submissions - Nonfiction (copy)

Early Bird Deadline: October 1st, 2026: Submit by this date and include an extra poem in your submission, free of charge!
Deadline for all entries: November 1st, 2026
Calling all emerging poets! The Foster Poetry Prize awards $1000 and publication in CV2 to the author of the winning poem. Cash prizes and publication in CV2 are awarded to second and third place, as well as an honourable mention.

Contemporary Verse 2

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The Foster Poetry Prize

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