The window for submissions to Songs of Eretz Poetry Review is now closed. New windows and themes will be forthcoming with the publication of the Winter 2024-2025 issue.What We Pay: We pay a semi-professional rate of seven dollars per poem, work of art, and photograph.
Month Theme Submission Period
February:
Artifacts (objects that carry history, memory, identification—i.e.,
message in a bottle from the past) – February
1-15
May:
In the Kitchen (foods, customs, kitchen talk, preparation, teaching) – May 1-15
August:
Digging (literal or figurative) – August 1-15
November:
Tension
(literal or figurative, life situations, the push
and pull, tension within the poem itself, the complexity
of situations) – November 1-15
Some Guidance for the February Artifact Submission Call (What We’re Looking For):
Consider these definitions of the word “artifact”:
“a
usually simple object (such as a tool or ornament) showing human workmanship or
modification as distinguished from a natural object”; “something or someone
arising from or associated with an earlier time especially when regarded as no
longer appropriate, relevant, or important.” And consider as well these words:
“One of the things that make humans unique is their ability to make and use
tools, and ever since the first rough stone axes began to appear about 700,000
years ago, human cultures have left behind artifacts from which we've tried to
draw a picture of their everyday life. The roots of artifact mean basically
"something made with skill;" thus, a mere stone that was used for
pounding isn't an artifact, since it wasn't shaped by humans for its
purpose—unlike a ram's horn that was polished and given a brass mouthpiece and
was blown as part of a religious ritual.” (Merriam Webster).
Therefore,
as I think about artifacts, and how they might be represented in the shape of
poetry, I’m thinking of objects (and, maybe, people) that are invested with
meaning because of how the objects have been crafted and/or used.
One
of the ways to think about an artifact is through the comic strip, B.C. Peter, one of the characters, writes a
message on a rock and sends it out into the ocean. After a period of waiting, he receives a
return message, written on the other side of the rock. The message reveals a glimpse into the
culture on the other side of the waters.
The rock and the message—even despite the unlikely event of a rock
floating—give a glimpse into the world on the opposite side of the ocean.
I remember reading about the message in a bottle, as explained through
New Historicism. The message comes from
a place and time distinct from the moment of the reader who finds the
bottle. The one who makes the discovery
of the message then attempts to decode all that the message conveys—not just
what it means, but what culture it represents, and what are the tastes,
preconceptions, codes, and ethics of the writer. So much can be guessed. So much remains a mystery. The message, for all that it does not reveal,
yet becomes a key to another way of seeing the world.
Ron Rash, in his short story, “Yard of
the Month,” tells what the narrator and his father find in their yard, a yard
left untended for years: “a rusting Schwinn bicycle”; “an alarm clock”; “a
one-armed teddy bear”; “six rotting newspapers with rubber bands still around
them”; “a skeleton of a large (non-human) mammal”; a hot-water bottle”; “a blue
hula hoop”; “a hubcap”; “over a dozen soft drink bottles”; “two baseballs”; “an
unopened can of Luck’s Blackeyed Peas.”
The list is very specific, but, more importantly, it is a list of
concretes that carries with it the strong whiff of a particular time and
place. Every one of these items might be
identified as an artifact, and not just because it emerges from the overgrown
weeds and grass (as if it has been unearthed).
The item is an artifact because it was made and used by humans (except
for the skeleton), and the presence of each artifact is invested with the
potential of remembered significance.
Therefore, write into memory using an
artifact as the talisman to bring forth significance. Help us, the readers, to know what the object
means to you—why it is loaded with so much memory and meaning. (Charles A. Swanson)
HOW TO SUBMIT
Failure to follow these simple guidelines will result in your submission being discarded or returned to you unread!
6. For poetry & artwork, include a cover letter in the body of your email(s) with answers to the following questions
7. Reprint Policy: We DO NOT accept previously published work (art or poetry).
9. Multiple Submissions Policy: Please wait until after your poem(s), artwork, and photography are published in or rejected by Songs of Eretz before sending more.
All other rights will revert to you upon publication, but we would appreciate the courtesy of allowing Songs of Eretz an exclusive for a few months if that is not too much trouble.
13. Published Format: Songs of Eretz reserves the right to make the editorial decision to publish any poem, artwork, or photography aligned left, right, or centered. If your poem is concrete or requires a special format, please query first.
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