Public School Poetry is online journal of poetry and craft essays, in which each contributor writes an essay about another contributor’s poems. Despite their name, they are not specifically seeking poems about school, and they are not specifically seeking poems written by students. You can read the journal online to get a sense of what they publish.
Public School Poetry launched in 2023, and since then they’ve published two online issues each year: in April and September. Each issue contains poems from ten contributors, alongside a craft essay about those poems. They publish more than one poem (usually two to four) by each poet. They also host readings for each issue, and nominate poets published in the journal for The Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net.
They hold two submission periods each year, from October 15 through December 1, and from April 15 through June 1. Poets may submit four to six poems during these times.
All poets published in Public School Poetry must agree to write a five-paragraph essay about another contributor’s poems, which are randomly assigned. Essays should be 300-600 words.
Public School Poetry accepts submissions online using Submittable, not via email or by post. They do not accept previously published work.
Public School Poetry only accepts submissions that follow the guidelines they’ve posted online. Please read these guidelines in full before submitting.
If you would like to learn more or submit to Public School Poetry, please visit their website here.
Bio: Ella Peary is the pen name of an internationally published author and editor. After earning a Master of Fine Arts degree in poetry from Sarah Lawrence College, she lived as a monastic for five years. She now lives as a lay monastic, and teaches poetry, flash fiction, and literary publishing at the Authors Publish Writers Workshop. Her writing has been published in Room, The Apple Valley Review, Fourteen Hills, and elsewhere. And a number of full-length manuscripts she’s edited have received major international awards, including The Best Graphic Novel of the Year (Comics Finlandia), The Montaigne Medal, and The National Indie Excellence Awards. She’s also a long-time literary journal reviewer and editor at Authors Publish Magazine.
