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Closed for submissions
Guidelines
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Closed for submissions

Guidelines

"America's oldest poetry magazine, publishing in print since 1889. Poet Lore is a biannual print journal of poetry, featuring the finest in contemporary writing. We love featuring poems that broaden the spectrum of what poetry is – and can be – on the page."

"America's oldest poetry magazine, publishing in print since 1889. Poet Lore is a biannual print journal of poetry, featuring the finest in contemporary writing. We love featuring poems that broaden the spectrum of what poetry is – and can be – on the page."

Vibe

Top-tier stuff. Not Paris Review, but ok

Response Time

4-6 months / 178 days

Acceptance Rate

7.27%

  • Payment

    Yes: $50 per piece

  • Fee

    No

  • Simultaneous submissions

    Yes

  • Previously published

    No

  • Expedited response

    No

  • Available in print

    Yes

  • Provides contributor copies

    Yes: yes

  • Examples online

    Yes

  • Active on social media

    Yes

Accepted genres

2 genres

Poetry

Max pieces: 5

10 pages max

Translation

Max pieces: 5

poetry translations

Poetry

Max pieces: 5

10 pages max

Translation

Max pieces: 5

poetry translations

Statistics

We're able to provide them because you use our tracker!
You're the best!

Track submission

118

Total submissions tracked

178 days

Average response time

7.27%

Average acceptance rate

0 days

Fastest response time

324 days

Slowest response time

*Weird response times we excluded from calculations: 972 days, 1084 days, 2274 days

How to submit

Process

We use Submittable. We accept mailed submissions those who are currently incarcerated or otherwise unable to submit online.

Cover letters

Include the titles of all poems in your cover letter (bullet points or numbers are easiest).

Eligibility

No specific eligibility requirements

Formatting

Include all poems in 1 single document and please only submit once per submission period. If a poem is more than one page, please indicate if the second page begins with a new stanza.

Rights for published work

Poet Lore requires first serial rights. We request (but does not require) the right to publish accepted poems on our website, social media outlets, monthly newsletter, and via our publisher’s (The Writer’s Center) triennial magazine. All other rights revert to the author upon publication; although, Poet Lore expects to be credited when poems are republished.

Additional info

Pays! $50 per poem Available in print. Contributors also receive one copy of their issue, plus a copy of the following printed issue of Poet Lore. We nominate select published poems for both the Pushcart Prize and Best New Poets.

About the Magazine

Founded in 1889 | United States

Book-length issues deliver news from the interior—poems that make concerns of our moment both urgent and intimate. Published with the conviction that poetry provides a record of human experience as valuable as history, Poet Lore’s intended audience is broadly inclusive. Like that of Poet Lore’s founders, the continued mission is one of discovery. Unlike most journals, Poet Lore welcomes long poems and sequences. In this way, Poet Lore invites cover-to-cover reading, bringing diverse poems into conversation with one another. Our newly redesigned issue measures 8.5 x 11 inches, allowing us to position multiple poems on one page to invite readers to make connections between each poem. Poet Lore’s reputation for discovery arises from this unique editorial culture: a commitment to considering each submission with care and engaging authors in a meaningful exchange. The goal is nothing less than offering its readers poems built to last.

Masthead

We currently list only main editors, more will be added later! If you are an editor, you can edit your masthead in our admin panel :)

Emily Holland

Editor-in-Chief

Pat Davis

Translations Editor