I often receive emails from subscribers seeking journals that are open to rhyming poetry. Some of these emails are sent by poets that write traditional forms, like sonnets, and some of these emails are sent by writers that simply enjoy rhyming outside of traditional forms.
The vast majority of literary journals don’t have any rules prohibiting the submission of formal poetry or poems that rhyme, but they don’t publish very much of either (particularly poems that rhyme, I’ve actually had many great experiences placing formal poems without a rhyme scheme). Journals that publish a lot of rhyming work are very much in the minority.
I’ve never put together a list on the subject before, but decided the time was finally right.
I tried to make it clear in the listing if the journal was also open to free verse or if they only accepted traditional forms, rather than any poem that rhymes.
Please read all the submission guidelines carefully, and follow their instructions before proceeding.
WestWard Quarterly
They focus on “presenting material that is reflective, inspiring, uplifting, encouraging and humorous.” They are open to poems that rhyme, formal or otherwise.
SPARK & STONE
This biannual literary journal publishes a wide range of poems “including but not limited to free verse, rhymed verse, sonnets, haikus, and experimental forms.”
Sublunary Review
This journal asks for “your most oneiric, moonlit work. We enjoy writing that’s dream-like but tactile—something that lets one feel the moonbeams between the fingertips.” They are open to all forms including rhymed work and prose poetry. They also publish fiction and art.
The Lyric
The oldest magazine in North America in continuous publication devoted to traditional poetry was initially established in 1921. They mostly publish rhymed verse in traditional forms, they occasionally make exceptions for blank or free verse. They accept all submissions by mail and they have two different mailing addresses. One for submissions sent May – October 31st and the other for submissions sent from November – May 1st.
Pulsebeat Poetry Journal
Pulsebeat Poetry Journal focuses on publishing poems with “a strong musical element—a definite rhythm and accompanying melody usually generated by similarity of sounds.”
Prole, Poetry and Prose
The editors are open to all forms of poetry and work both rhyming and free. They stress that they “consider content and quality over form.” They also publish short stories and creative nonfiction.
Innisfree
They publish poems grounded in the specific that are free verse and in traditional forms.
Blue Unicorn
The only paying market on this list, Blue Unicorn has published a lot of formal poetry over the years, alongside free verse.
Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2024 Guide to Manuscript Publishers. She regularly teaches three acclaimed courses on writing and publishing at The Writer’s Workshop at Authors Publish. You can follow her on Facebook here.
