How to Submit Your Poetry
Submission Standards for Open Reading Period
Looking for submission standards for the CONTEST?
Click here!
We have one open reading period yearly at present. We are presently accepting submissions January 1 to postmark March 15, 2008.
Submitting your poetry to the Editors of The Comstock Review can be made easier for both editors & poets if you are willing to try. We do not accept e-mail submissions for either the contest or the reading period. General submissions sent outside the reading period are generally returned unread.
While there are myriad styles for submitting poetry, we prefer to see submissions in the following format:
Frequently Asked Questions and Suggestions:
Comstock Review is in its 22nd year of publication in 2008. We accept poetry strictly on the basis of quality, not reputation. We do not accept pornography, sentimental or greeting card verse and very few haiku. Poems which are over one to 1 1/4 of our page limits (approx. 38 to 50 lines counting spaces between stanzas) are seldom taken.
What we like to see is well-crafted poetry, either free or formal verse, written in understandable and grammatically correct English. We like metaphor and fresh, vivid imagery. It can be about any subject, although we have a slight bias toward poems dealing with the human condition in all its poignancy and humor.
We do not feature previously published poems, although we will consider poems published in newspapers or on e-zines (that will not be published in print form) for the open reading period ONLY. Please identify poems falling in this category when you submit. (This rule does NOT apply to contest poems.)
Please consider our format when sending poems. Page length is maximum 38 lines including spaces between the lines, not counting the author's name or poem title unless it is very long. Consider very long titles or quotes that lead into your poems as part of the line count. Our maximum character width is approximately 65 per line. The magazine is 5 1/4 by 8 1/4, perfect bound.
Considering the volume of work that we read, our turn-around time is very good. We answer within 8-10 weeks after the end of the reading period, often with comments. Poems received outside the reading period may be acted on, but not on a timely basis. Most will simply be returned.
For the open reading period, we prefer that you do not do simultaneous submissions but understand that there are times when you need to get your work in circulation. Should you receive an acceptance from another journal for the same poem submitted to us, it is incumbent upon you to make certain that the piece receives only one publication. E-mail to poetry@comstockreview.org is acceptable We will reply so you know your e-mail was received. (If you do not receive an e-mail confirmation within one week, please send by snail mail.) It is very unethical to have your poems appear in more than one journal, particularly without acknowledgment. And, it is unconscionable to accept prizes for the same poem from more than one venue unless the rules of entry state it is acceptable.
(Contests: The rules for submission for contests are posted separately. Please click here. Specifically, the identifying information is often either on the back or a separate sheet and we do not need cover letters, bios, etc. Also we do not return contest entries so a simple small (#10)envelope for contest announcements is all the SASE you will need. See announcements elsewhere on this site for specifics.)
Formatting Your Biography
The Comstock Review is presented to poets and readers of poetry without pretense. It is offered at 100+ pages filled with poems and little else except a one page editorial, a few pages of information, and typically about 6-8 pages of biographical notes on the poets published.
Those notes are very important to the Editors and to the readers. No decision on the poetry, however, is made on the basis of your bio!
The information offered usually includes name, city, state, occupation, recent publications and major awards. This is what interests subscribers. We do not print cute, humorous or bizarre insights into the poet's personal life. We believe that it is demeaning to the work to read that the poet once hang glided over his house or likes to paint the toenails on her Siamese. When we get that kind of “you are telling us more than we ever wanted to know” stuff, we do our best to edit. When it is impossible to edit, we simply state name and city.
We know many periodicals that relish this kind of touchy-feeley bio. We are warm, caring individuals (or we would not do this) but we are also professionals. In a professional publication, the bios are professional as well.
To assist you in writing a bio consistent with The Comstock Review format, we suggest:
Su Kim recently moved to New York City where she appears in off-Broadway theater productions. Recent work in Runes and Rhino. Foothills published her first book, New View from the Brooklyn Bridge, in 2006.
Sarah Jones is a waitress from Laguna, CA. This is her first publication.
John R. Smith (New Haven, CT), English professor at Yale. His book, French Poets of the Renaissance, was published in 2002. Chapbooks include: Falling Rain; Dripping Water; and Rising River. Recent publication credits include: Atlanta Review, Nimrod and Paris Review .
Frederick Walker (Butte, MT) is an artist and professional photographer whose poetry is featured widely in e-zines.
Book & Chapbook Reviews
We rarely review unsolicited manuscripts, except from former Comstock Review poets. Reviews are only published on the website and not in the magazine. We advise writing in advance of sending a copy or you can take your chances and sent a completed manuscript for review. One of the editors may have interest and time to do it. Go HERE to contact us.
Comstock Review present and former poets: Jennifer MacPherson has made an effort to review every present and former Comstock Review (and Poetpourri) poet whose work we have received or she has read in her extensive search of great poetry. We are not only delighted to present these short reviews, but enjoy seeing the successes of poets "met" for the first time in submissions or contest entries. We link to poets' and independent press websites as a service to our contributors. (To see reviews, and find out more, click HERE.)
So, make Jenny's day and send your review copy to:
Poetry Consulting Services (click on underlining for more info)
If you are experiencing any of the following problems in getting your poetry in reputable journals:
- rejection letters
- near misses
- complaints with no direction
- returned poems wrapping dead fish
- editors leaving no forwarding address
- workshops with no vacancies
- offers to publish for a fee
or
- simply a desire to write stronger poems
Consider using the Consulting Services offered by the Comstock Writers Group, Inc. While the above is done with humor, it is no laughing matter when you send out your favorites and no one wants them. It is not funny when you put your heart and soul into your writing and it is not appreciated.
It is possible that you are failing to meet your potential because of small errors in grammar, mistakes in form or simply one clanging line or phrase or word that rings untrue to the reader. It is also possible that you should write only for your own pleasure... actually that isn't such a bad thing, you know!
Whatever the problem, you can be better directed. John M. Bellinger, our Current Managing Editor or Georgia Popoff, Senior Editor, will read up to five of your poems (maximum 40 lines each) and critique your work offering suggestions for improvement and guiding you toward becoming a more accomplished writer. You will receive a written analysis of overall appeal to the editor as well as notes on each poem. For further information and bios on the consultants, click here. Consults are assigned on a rotating basis unless you make a special request as of 2/07.
Send your poems in the same format (include SASE) that you would to the editor of a journal. You may include both a cover letter and a bio. Those will be critiqued as well. $25 will cover all critiquing fees.
CWG Consulting Services
c/o The Comstock Review
4956 St. John Drive
Syracuse, NY 13215
Poetically Speaking
Can you write articles about poetry? Do you have something to teach or enlighten other poets? Can you write a salient discourse on form? Style? Literary devices? Can you critique journals, books, chapbooks?
If so, maybe your work can be included in our website... (maybe not, too... don't take it personally). We are willing to take a look at your articles with an eye to including some of them on the site for the edification and enjoyment of other poets. You may e-mail them to our address... if they have been published elsewhere, kindly include that information to be cited.
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