All submissions must be in a classical language, i.e. a
language in a form spoken (or written in standardized form) prior to ~1300AD,
in any location, with a significant literary tradition. Because this is a poetry
magazine, it should be a language in which poetry has been written.
Non-exhaustive examples: Latin; Ancient Greek; Sanskrit; Old Norse;
Old English; Classical Chinese; Tibetan; Classical Arabic; Hebrew;
Sumerian; Akkadian; Avestan.
Submissions should be typed and formatted in Unicode, i.e.
displayable in a web browser.
All submissions must be poetic in an obvious way, i.e.
involving some combination of: musical quality (rhythm or meter); poetic diction;
use of sound (rhyme, alliteration, etc.).
Preference to works which obey (or play with) existing conventions
in the language, but creativity is encouraged.
Despite poetic license, submissions must be grammatical or accept
correction in revision.
All submissions must include an English translation,
both because many or most readers will not speak the language of submissions
and because it will help the editors.
The translation may be in any form, but a reasonable level of
literalness is expected because it is not the primary work of art.
For languages which use non-Latin scripts, a transcription is ideal.
A gloss is also helpful for languages for which several highly
fluent editors are hard to find.
Brief explanatory notes of no more than 500 words are
expected, to expound upon choices (or difficulties) of meter, wording,
etc., as well as the general point of the poem.
However, the poetry must be able to stand on its own without the
essay, which should deal strictly
with interpreting or explaining the poem.
There are several measures of maximum length. Remember,
of course, that longer is not always better. Given the expected diversity
of languages, the longest measure applies:
50 lines
500 words
3 minutes spoken aloud
All work must be original and new. Plagiarized and
AI-generated submissions will be discarded with prejudice.
Translations are, however, permitted.
The editors reserve the right to change the above, either
by appeal (via email) or by a decision that the spirit of the rules has
been broken.
Be creative! Play with conventions. Send calligraphy or
a video recitation with your submission. Set it to music. Give us an
illustration.
That said, the poem is the primary work, and is the main piece
that will be considered.
All works will remain intellectual property of their
authors. This platform is for amateur art, without
a direct interest in commercialization.
Currently, the plan is to publish nine (9) pieces in each
edition, but no more than three (3) pieces from any given
language. The magazine will be published bimonthly, starting
with the months of October and November. The submission deadline is
Friday, November 27th, so that the magazine can be published
by the end of fall (Dec. 20th, but hopefully sooner). The current theme is: