Seeking poems for Issue #5 of Last Stanza Poetry Journal

The theme for issue #5 is Lost / Found / Rediscovered. This can be interpreted in two ways. Do you have poems you’ve written long ago that never were published but you love and want to submit somewhere again? Send them—any subject or style. The other interpretation of the theme is that the poems submitted are about something lost, found, and/or rediscovered. If possible, I’d love to have you send a photo of that item if it is a tangible thing, person, place, etc. Or, if it’s still lost, a photo of a very similar item (or a painting/drawing) that will be published with your author bio at the rear of the journal. I’ll also create an online album of these photos on the Last Stanza Poetry Association’s Facebook page. Poems can be any style. Please submit up to five poems, each no longer than 64 lines, to jennykalahar@att.net as a Word document or in the body of the email. 

The deadline for this issue is June 30th. As with every issue, poems submitted do not need to follow the prompt/theme.

Note: please have permission to use photos that are not your own. I will credit the photographer online and in the journal. All royalties from the sale of LSPJ are used to purchase copies for libraries, so, unfortunately, there is no budget for author copies at this time.

The illustrator for the next issue will be Heather Blaha.

All issues are for sale online in ebook and softcover on Amazon.com and other sites worldwide.

Calling all poets! Submit to Issue #4 of Last Stanza Poetry Journal

Calling all poets! Submissions are now open. The prompt for Issue #4 is The Undictionary. 

I’m a great admirer of clarity, but sometimes the words in the dictionary aren’t the ones you need to precisely describe a person, place, thing, or emotion. Families have Undictionary words, particularly innocuous oaths. My dad’s side of the family said “Ishillimay!” when declaring something was keenly full of nonsense. This was accompanied by both hands swatting at the air dismissively. My parents, brothers, and I used “pank.” We all knew what that was—you panked snow to make a snowball, and you panked the towels into the hall closet to make them fit on the shelf. It was a real word to us. 

For the next issue of the journal, please include one or more words from your own (or your family's) Undictionary in your poems. No need to define them within the poem—the meaning should be clear (or not) within the context. Edward Gorey and Lewis Carroll never needed to explain their nonsense words, after all. If, however, you'd like to add a footnote as to the origin of your made-up word, that would be cool.

As with all prompts for Last Stanza PJ, poets do not have to utilize it. I want to read whatever you’d like to send. The deadline for submitting up to five poems is March 31st. Any form, any length, any topic. Please send them in a Word document or in the body of an email to jennykalahar@att.net. All royalties from the sale of LSPJ are used to purchase copies for libraries, so, unfortunately, there is no budget for author copies at this time.

I'm also seeking illustrators and photographers to feature in the next and future issues, so please spread the word to your visually creative friends. A special thank you to Lylanne Musselman, the illustrator of Issue #3. The illustrator for Issue #4 will be Christina Hollering.

Seeking submissions for Last Stanza Poetry Journal, Issue #3: Altered States

Open to all poets! Now accepting submissions for Issue #3 of 𝐿𝒶𝓈𝓉 𝒮𝓉𝒶𝓃𝓏𝒶 𝒫𝑜𝑒𝓉𝓇𝓎 𝒥𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓃𝒶𝓁. The theme is: "altered states." These are unusual times. What has altered in your life, or in the lives of those around you? What angers you? What is better this year than in the past? What will never be the same going forward?

The deadline for Issue #3 is December 31st, 2020. 

Any form, any length, up to five poems. Non-rhyming poetry is preferred. Please see Issues #1 and #2.

If accepted, I'll ask for a bio and author photo. Submissions are welcome in a Word file or in the body of an email. No reading fees and no obligation to purchase the journal. All proceeds will go toward the purchase of copies for libraries. Send your writing to: jennykalahar@att.net 

I'm also seeking artists for the interior and covers--photographers, painters, sketchers, sculptors, etc. for future issues.

Announcing Issue #2 of Last Stanza Poetry Journal: Marginalia

 

Poets in this issue: David Allen, Shalom Galve Aranas, Michael Brockley, Michael Brownstein, John Cardwell, Dan Carpenter, K J Carter, W. B. Cornwell, Mary A. Couch, Dick Dalton, George Fish, James Green, John D. Groppe, Lois Hambleton, John Hinton, Liza Hyatt, LeAnn Jones, Jordan Krais, Oliver Lake, Jim Landwehr, Lucy J. Madison, Tracy Mishkin, Donna Monday, Guna Moran, Lylanne Musselman, Thomas Alan Orr, Bruce Reed, Mary Sexson, Michael Strosahl, David Vancil, Rp Verlaine, J.E.A. Wallace, Michael T. Young, and Joyce Zephyrin. Illustrations are by Bre A. Domescik. 

Each of these poems has a backstory, a side note, previously unrevealed truths, or specifics about their inspiration. I’ve always loved discovering the pain, joy, loss, love, drama, or unusual experience that went into creating works of art: paintings, songs, novels, and poetry. I asked contributors to let readers look behind the curtain for this issue, and the results are magnificent. Poets are, by nature, brave. Shards of their souls are on display with each piece of writing. With these postscripts, we are allowed to see even deeper into their hearts.

All proceeds from the sale of the Journal are used to purchase copies for libraries.