Knocking at the Door: Approaching the Other seeks fresh work exploring the theme of reconciling and/or coming to an understanding with the Other as it appears in all aspects of life: personal, political and societal. We want honest chronicles of your struggles to come to terms with the Other in all its forms and your sense of humor. Some of the editor’s favorite authors include Rilke, Ilya Kaminsky, Jack McCarthy and Harryette Mullen, but most of all we love poems with a unique voice of their own that defy categorization.
Think along the lines of Daphne Gottlieb in her book “Final Girl”, Margaret Atwood’s “Solstice Poem”, Paul Celan, Tess Gallagher’s “Conversation with a Fireman from Brooklyn” or Patricia Smith’s “Skinhead”. We’re less interested in poems written to reflect the woe or angst of the persona than poems reaching to understand and explore the world outside.
Submission Guidelines:
Submissions will be accepted from February 15, 2010 to May 15, 2010
No previously published work or simultaneous submissions, please.
Send your submissions via an email to
with the subject line “Submission for Knocking at the Door from
Your name & contact information
A brief author bio
3 – 5 poems, 10 pages maximum, single-spaced in at least 12 pt. font. We will think less of you if you use Comic Sans.
Any submissions that do not follow these guidelines will not be considered.
Notifications will be sent out via email in August 2010.
Payment for publication of accepted poems: 2 copies of the completed anthology in which your work appears.
Send your best words our way! We read and choose writing democratically, pluralistically, ecumenically; therefore, we like to print a mix of writing regardless of its form, genre, school, or politics. We publish newcomers and established writers alike.
- Lisa Sisler & Lea C. Deschenes, Knocking at the Door Editors
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