Each U.S. Poet Laureate has, during their tenure, developed at least one project to help spread the love of poetry in the nation. Robert Pinsky, U.S. Poet Laureate from 1997, worked in collaboration with Boston University, the Poetry Society of America and the Library of Congress to create the Favorite Poem Project. For one year, the project accepted contributions from the general public of their favorite poems. During that one year open call for submissions, over 18,000 Americans wrote to the project to share their favorite poems. The respondents were a truly diverse cross section of America, ranging in age from 5 to 97, from kindergarteners to Ph.D.”s, mothers to lawyers to doctors to construction workers. From those submissions, the Favorite Poem Project has created three anthologies of poetry, and nearly fifty videos of favorite poems being read by everyday people. The project also maintains an online database of Favorite Poems, which still accepts submissions online.

The Favorite Poem Project includes a section just for teachers with lesson plans for sharing poetry with grade levels from kindergarten through high school, suggestions for class and school events using the Favorite Poem Project as a base, and ways to bring poetry into the other subjects that you teach with cross disciplinary lessons and suggestions.

The project was launched with a series of five poetry readings in different cities across the U.S., and since then there have been over 1000 Favorite Poem readings nationwide. Want to host your own Favorite Poem Reading? The project has suggestions and offers help in setting up.

Looking for places to submit your work? Every week, we comb through the Poet”s Market and various other sources to highlight three publications, either print or web, that are currently accepting submissions so you don”t have to. These markets are always high quality – the type of publication you”ll be proud to list in your bio – and as often as possible, actually PAY for your poetry. This week”s three publications are:

The Sewanee Review is the oldest continually published literary review in the US. It was begun in 1892 at The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennesee and has never missed an issue in its 113 years of existence. The Sewanee publishes both established and new poets. Poets may submit up to 6 poems at a time. They do not consider simultaneous submissions. For further information on submission guidelines, see the submissions page.

42Opus is an online literary zine that has published some of the foremost contemporary poets as well as unknowns. While they compile their publication into quarterly issues, they actually publish new work on their site weekly – sometimes several times a week. The site is professional and polished, the work is high quality and the publication credit is an excellent one to add to your poet”s bio. You can find out about submission guidelines here.

Poets & Writers magazines doesn”t publish poetry, but it does publish writing ABOUT poetry. If you have words of wisdom to share about getting published, overcoming writers block, forming a writers workshop, what”s hot and what”s not in the world of poetry and publishing, then this is the magazine for you. From their guidelines:

News & Trends: brief articles (500-1,200 words) that keep our readers abreast of pertinent information in the writing and publishing industries.

• The Literary Life: essays (1,500-2,500 words) on the more contemplative aspects of writing, ranging from creative process to the art of reading.

• The Practical Writer: advice and how-to articles (1,500-2,500 words) that offer nuts and bolts information about the business of creative writing.

• Features: profiles of and interviews with (2,000-3,000 words) contemporary writers who reflect the rich diversity of current American literature. Recent featured authors include Anne Carson, Sandra Cisneros, Jonathan Franzen, Li-Young Lee, Chuck Palahniuk, Colson Whitehead, and C.D. Wright. Other features include articles and essays (2,000-3,000 words), frequently grouped into special sections, that provide an in-depth look at subjects of interest to creative writers, such as writers conferences and residencies, small presses, regional writing, and the distinctions of genre.

Complete information on their submissions page.

Sometimes it”s easy to overlook something important because we take it for granted. For months now, I”ve done just that with Ted Kooser”s project, American Life in Poetry. Conceived while he was the Poet Laureate of the United States (2004-2006), American Life in Poetry is a weekly column about poetry that is made available free of charge to newspapers, magazines, websites and other publications. The project, co-sponsored by The Poetry Foundation, Library of Congress and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, seeks to bring poetry back to the daily newspaper.

Says Kooser in the introduction to the project, “”As Poet Laureate I want to show the people who read newspapers that poetry can be for them, can give them a chuckle or an insight.” He recalls a time when poetry was often published in newspapers, and wants to bring it back. “Readers enjoyed it. They would clip verses, stick them in their diaries, enclose them in letters. They even took time to memorize some of the poems they discovered.”

“Poetry has remained a perennial expression of our emotional, spiritual and intellectual lives, as witnessed by the tens of thousands of poems written about the tragedy of September 11 that circulated on the Internet. Now I”m hoping to convince editors that there could be a small place in their papers for poetry, that it could add a spot of value in the eyes of readers. Best of all, it won”t cost a penny.”

Each week, American Life in Poetry features a poem by a contemporary American poet, with a short introduction by Kooser. Kooser goes out of his way, he says, to choose poems that are short and enjoyable, easy to read and remember – all terms that describe the poet”s own work. You can find this week”s column at the American Life in Poetry website, along with full archives of the project.

Emily Dickinson wrote in a vacuum, but most poets thrive on open discussion, exchange and critique. Local writers workshops are one avenue, and can be found in nearly any city. Open mic readings, book stores and the like often encourage exchange. The internet is another source of poetry discourse and critique, and poetry groups of all sorts have been part of the online scene almost since its inception. Too often though, budding and established poets are discouraged when they fall into one of those “everything you write is wonderful!” discussion boards where the only acceptable critique is praise, and the watchword of the forums is “sharing your work. Eratosphere at Ablemuse is not one of those.

Sponsored by Ablemuse, an online literary review of metrical and formal poetry, the Eratosphere discussion board offers thoughtful, mature commentary on poetry, both literary criticism of published works by established poets, and workshopping by members on the forums. Headed up by a staff of conscientious moderators, the boards maintain a civilized tone without slipping into the feelgood non-crit that you”ll find on so many other poetry boards. Where can you find comments like:

I have the impression that when you put your mind to it you can produce far better and deeper poetry than this – and occasionally you do. But far too often your focus appears to be on quantity, not quality, on just grinding something out quickly and mechanically, and the poems look simplistic, unworked, often prosey, loaded with the cliches we all tend to spit out in our first drafts. And I usually don”t bother commenting. But every once in a while I get particularly riled, and convince myself that a slap upside the head might do some good. Hence, my comments.

Both moderators and members appear to take the time to read carefully and comment thoughtfully. If you”re looking for a virtual spot to hang your poetic hat, Eratosphere just may be the right place for you. They offer a place for both metrical poetry and free verse, as well as other types of writing and art. There are forums for discussing literature and reviewing poets and books.. in short, there”s a bit of everything for those who are looking for a community of poets and thinkers.

Three poetry markets that are currently accepting poetry. Yep, I”m doing it again like I do every week because I know how disappointing it is to click on a submissions link and find that — they stopped accepting open poetry submissions, or they only accept them in October and this is December so you have to file it away and wait a whole ten months to submit your poem and you wanna submit it NOW. So… if you have poetry burning up pages in your notebook and you want to get it OUT THERE today… here are three poetry markets that are looking for poetry submission now. Today. Get a stamp and get it out.

Bathhouse

Edited by current Creative Writing graduate students at Eastern Michigan University, BathHouse promotes interdisciplinary and hybrid arts with a special emphasis on language and innovation. We are interested in art that blurs the lines of conventional form and genre. While the editors are looking specifically for Russian writers for the web version of Bathhouse – which you REALLY have to check out – the print version will carry other work. If you want your work to be considered for the Fall print version of Bathhouse, check out their submission guidelines. P.S. – if you believe the world wide web is more than books on a tv screen, more than just an alternative to print, this is one site you really do have to check out.

The Baltimore Review
Published biannually, in the winter and the summer, The Baltimore Review is an eclectic collection of writing from Baltimore and beyond. Established in 1996, this critically acclaimed literary journal is distributed nationally and is available in bookstores and via subscription.

The Baltimore Review is a 128-page, 6X9, perfect-bound biannual literary journal. It”s a very very pretty publication. They accept 1-4 poems at a time, no previously publishes work. Check out the submission guidelines for more information.

Circumference is devoted to presenting translations of new work being written around the globe, new visions of classical poems, and translations of foreign language poets of the past who have fallen under the radar of American readers.

We are especially excited to show translation as the vibrant, necessary interaction that it is.

A biannual publication, Circumference prints all poems in the original language side-by-side with their English translations. Circumference accepts translations of new poetry from around the globe year round. Find the submission guidelines here.