Submitting to Literary Journals.docx
this handout on submitting to literary journals
was adapted and condensed from a workshop syllabus
which was likely adapted and condensed elsewhere
we writers
we do this to each other
it’s in our history,
which is to say,
our blood
let’s pretend
your predicament is serious,
is recent poetry,
and you feel small,
vulnerable, publishable
you, mildly familiar with the world,
are feeling lucky, punk
you think your skin,
like armor
against the inevitable rejection,
sufficient
believe it—
you are a poem
let that last stanza breathe
give it space on the page
to seize doubt
let your courage strength raw unjustified belief
carry you to empty fields
populated with contact information
and cover letters
which we will cover next class
remember to be kind
and the right kind of cool:
read work
published in previous issues
(and)
the guidelines
Kiel M. Gregory is a poetry workshop instructor for young minds in the Southern Tier of New York, where he is an M.A. candidate at Binghamton University. His prose and verse appear in Lips, Paterson Literary Review, Stone Canoe, Furrow, 365 Tomorrows, and elsewhere. Visit kielmgregory.com for more.