please do! we talked about a similar strategy towards the end of the livestream (feel free to check the replay when you have a moment) which can be helpful for shifting away from cliche and incorporating fresher language

1) apple 2) her lips 3) where the stick scratched 4) how my father felt when I told him 5) his taillights 6) wrong way 7) before go 8) fever 9) pepper fleck 10) a lick 11) dawn eyes 12) shutoff handle 13) spark that doesn't catch 14) my essay 15) snapdragon I pinch 16) last strand of polish on a nail 17) brick dust 18) stage curtain 19) tea 20) muscle

net of trees is a great image!

slap of flip flops on boardwalk seagulls above me gush of water poured in a sand castle moat

gold parking tickets on the windshield pollen

that first line is a nice opening

Yep, lots of journals nowadays, and lots more poets submitting because of how much easier it is, which means lots more competitive places re: bios, consider that it's not just about submissions, but things you create (e.g., recurring events you run/organize, groups you start, residencies/fellowships you have, etc. For instance, my bio often includes founding diVERSES) Beyond that, it's submitting, and when you get journals you're happy to be in, include them in your bio. Don't feel like you have to name everywhere in the bio: 3-5 journals is fine. Because there are so many out there, eventually what you may find is that you have ~10-20 journals you like the most, and you just continually submit to those most often rather than continuously finding new ones

some general thoughts: 1) this is pretty cold; you can resubmit but they don't sound overly enthusiastic to ride. This feels like a generic slush pule rejection 2) nicely worded, but still feels like a generic slush rejection 3) I don't have enough context for the notes the rejection states, but this sounds like they'd be pretty open to receiving more--receiving personal notes and phrasing like "which I enjoyed" are clues 4) a bit less personal than 3, but still encouraging RE: the questions *even places that don't give personal responses are ok to send back to *unless they specifically ask to see more material ASAP, I'd wait 4-6 months before sending again (of course, check a journal's guidelines for more specific info) *Duotrope numbers are a helpful starting guide, but are inaccurate due to under-reporting and the fact not all writers use it; take everything with a grain of salt Hope this helps!

there's a story here!

like the contrast of "bare", which feels more positive in this case for me, than "empty" which feels heavier

haha don't feel too married to the pictures; it's more about what they suggest/invoke!

so excited to have you here Barbara!

Hey Mia! Excited to dive deeper into writing and poetry with you!

this is a great question that, unfortunately, I don't have a great read on. The list I typically used when I was submitting was this:2025 Literary Magazine Ranking–Poetry – Clifford Garstang but, similar to what you described, it's based mostly on awards and not on style or even quality necessarily The best advice I can give is, unfortunately, the general "read the magazine" to get a feel. That is also tricky because editors change, so the journal aesthetic can as well what I generally did when submitting was: 1) identify key characteristics of my writing (e.g., are the pieces I'm looking to get published more lyrics, more narrative, or more irony; what are my line lengths doing; what are the themes; what is my enjambment doing; how strong is my opening/closing/turn) 2) identify how many of those characteristics are in line with the journal I submit to 3) do I have any connections (e.g., relationships with the editors/readers/previous publications there/etc) there hope this helps some! honestly, a lot of your top tier journals are going to have some similarities that they'll be looking for in terms of hooks, first lines, turns, stakes, and things

let's get it Ezra! It's been great learning more about you and your work!

I think this serves as a valid start aside from little quibbles here and there some things I mentioned in your other question that I think are also valid here: tone--how are words capturing the emotion the piece is conveying stakes--what are the implications for the characters involved; what words/lines indicate it; what is the answer to "so what" motivations--why is/are the character(s) doing what they do turn--how is the poem/interpretation/meaning/character different from the beginning of the poem to the end; where does it occur earned--is the conclusion reached logical/reasonable/feel justified

I don't think the things they mentioned are bad, though perhaps a bit general besides general magazine aesthetic and aspects our submission cannot control (e.g., the issue already has too many poems on the topic my poems are about / the submission came in too late and I need to save a spot for another piece): -are the stakes/implications clear -how strong is the opening line -how strong is the closing line -is the closing earned -have I read a poem like this before--what is NEW in this piece -where is the turn -does the title make me want to read -are there images I've already heard before/how successfully am I avoiding cliche -are there references to other forms/poems/mythologies (etc.) -how layered is the poem just some quick thoughts

windows in windows the sun I glance at glares back

locked tire to bike rack ripple puddle

excited to have you here Debbie!