REMINDER: One Month to Go on Submissions for Our Poetry Issue

This is just a reminder…oh, hell, you’ve already read the post title. Here are the guidelines again. Read ’em. Follow ’em. Send us something cool.

Guidelines

1. All poems must have a discernible speculative element. We would love to see some poems inspired by myths and legends, so if you have written a ballad about Davy Crockett fighting werewolves in outer space and weren’t sure where to send it, your prayers to Poseidon have just been answered (and ours, too). But we’re open to anything with an otherworldly component.

2. We are particularly interested in metrical poems of all kinds: blank verse, sonnets, villanelles, sestinas, limericks, made-up forms, etc. Rhyming is okay, even encouraged, as long as it is clever. We are impressed by powerful, unique imagery and playful use of sound. Oh, and at least one of us has a soft spot for scifaiku. We will consider free verse poetry, but it should not feel like prose that’s been diced by a sushi chef, or like someone’s drunken ramblings.

3. Humor, whether dark or light, is always a plus. Scary poems can be cool, too. (Poe, anyone?) Just don’t send anything that will make us want to hang ourselves.

4. You may submit up to 100 lines of poetry (excluding titles) in a single document. It can be one long poem or several shorter poems, as long as the total line count does not exceed one hundred.

5. No reprints; only freshly baked poems will be considered. This also means you should avoid sending the poetic equivalent of cheetos you found under your sofa cushions.

6. The deadline for submissions is June 1st.

7. Submit your poems here.

Issue 41 Can Go Sleep at Home Tonight if It Can Get Up & Walk Away

We’ve had lots going on this month, with old JDP friend Stephen Schwegler putting out a new book, our Lovecraft and poetry issues hurtling along towards their closing dates, and our founding editor breaking the sound barrier. But we don’t want to neglect the bedrock of the JDP nation: our monthly magazine. So let’s hear it (again) for our fantastic April Issue, which explores the age-old question of identity. Just who the fuck are you?

Five magnificent stories by Andrea Danowkski, Thomas Broderick, Haley Johnson, Nicola Belte, and Nick Sawatsky. Read it once, read it twice. And if you see something you like, show the writers some love. Commenting is free, people.

NaPoWriMo isn’t over yet

Bad movie. Good poem.

We’re a bit late with this one, but there’s still over a week left in National Poetry Writing Month, which is damn convenient since we’re doing a poetry issue this summer.

You’ve got till June 1st to submit your work to what’s shaping up as a really cool issue. Be sure to check out the guidelines first.

We’re especially keen for metrical verse with a speculative element. So rhyme, dammit, rhyme! (But, you know, in a structured way.)

Need inspiration? Check our io9.com’s list of ten great scifi poems.