Everything a new poet needs to enter the contemporary literary conversation — what to read, how to read it closely, what editors are publishing right now, how to make a poem good, and how to send your own work out with dignity and craft.
Writing a poem is an act of deep contemplation and artistic rigor. Sending that poem into the world is the vital next stage — it turns private observation into a public bridge, and enters your voice into the ongoing conversation of contemporary poetry.
For those seeking their first print or digital credits, the publishing landscape can seem opaque. This guide exists to de-mystify it: to show you how editors read, which poets reward study, what a good poem actually does on the page, and where a brand-new writer can reasonably send work. It is a practical manual and an invitation both.
Read it in any order. Follow the nested index below to whatever question is most alive for you today. Keep a notebook or a spreadsheet open beside you. Mark deadlines, note the poets who make you jealous, and treat this as your companion for the long, worthwhile work of a writing life.
There are no shortcuts and no secret handshakes. There is only the poem, the reading that sharpens it, and the persistence that finally sends it out. — James F. Mulhern, Silver Current Press
James F. Mulhern
Philadelphia ◆ Silver Current Press
The complete Poetry Submission Guidelines — a seventeen-page handbook of curated literary markets, packet mechanics, cover-letter templates, industry databases, and a glossary of terms — is available as a formatted PDF. Print it, bind it, or keep it on your desk beside your notebook.
17 pages · PDF · Prepared by James F. Mulhern · Silver Current Press
Open any heading to see what lives inside. Each subsection links straight to the passage. This is the whole guide, laid out plainly — read straight through or leap to what you need.
No one writes a good poem who has not read a thousand of them slowly. The poets on the reading page are your true teachers. Steal from them honestly.
A poem is built from concrete images and deliberate line breaks, not from feelings announced. Master those two units and the rest follows.
Rejection is administrative weather, not a verdict on your worth. Track your work, keep it moving, and send it back out the same day.