Zingara Poetry Picks seeks submissions of previously unpublished poems (on-line or in print) of 40 lines or fewer for 2016 picks. New, emerging, and established poets are encouraged to submit and all submissions will be given careful consideration.

Please keep the following in mind when submitting your best poems:

• Reading period for Zingara Poetry Picks is from August 15 to December 31st. Unless the deadline is extended, submissions received outside of this time period will not be acknowledged or considered. In fact, they will be deleted.
• There is no fee to submit
• Title of poem(s) should appear in the email subject line. Poems should be attached as word documents and mailed to zingarapoet@gmail.com
• The body of the email should include a cover letter and a professional biography of 50 words or fewer written in the third person
• Attach a word document with no more than three poems of 40 or fewer lines
• Only one submission at a time (please wait to hear back before submitting more poems)
• Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please let ZingraPoet know immediately if submitted work is accepted elsewhere
• ZingaraPoet does not accept previously published work
• Published poets receive bragging rights and the chance to share their work with a diverse audience
• Poets who are published on Zingara Poetry Pick should wait 24 months before submitting again
• Do not submit if you have had a poem featured on Zingara Poetry Picks in the last 24 months.
• Submissions which do not follow these guidelines will be deleted without acknowledgement
• If accepted work is later published elsewhere, please acknowledge that the piece first appeared as a Zingara Poetry Pick.

What I look for in a poem:

Like all editors, I like to see interesting poems that do what they do well. Whether traditional, conceptual, lyrical, or formal, they should exhibit the poet’s clear understanding of craft and, just as importantly, revision. Very elemental poems that have not undergone effective revision will probably not make the cut. Likewise, poems which are contrived, sacrifice meaning for the sake of rhyme, feel incomplete, do not risk sentimentality (or are too sentimental), or lack tension when tension is needed, will also be dismissed. Finally, poems which perpetuate harmful stereotypes of gender, race, or class will most certainly not be considered.

For a very good discussion on the elements of effective poetry, take a look at Slushpile Musings by James Swingle, publisher and editor of Noneucildean Cafe’

A note on formatting: poems that contain lines which are flush with the left margin are more conducive to publication on a blog site than those which have unconventional indention or unusual margin settings. Likewise, poems which feature long lines may require additional line breaks or may require the right-scrolling function to be viewed in full.

Response time is 6 months.