32 Poems welcomes unsolicited poetry year-round with brief hiatuses in May and November. We respond quickly (usually within three weeks) and request that submitters keep that time frame in mind as they submit elsewhere. Poets who have not received a response within 90 days are encouraged to query regarding their manuscript's status.

Poetry Guidelines

As a rule we publish shorter poems that fit on a single page (about 32 lines), though we have been known to make occasional exceptions to accommodate remarkable work that runs a little longer. Send no more than five poems in a submission and no more than one active submission at a time. We do not accept translations or work that have been previously published in print or online.

For online submissions we charge a small reading fee, waived for current subscribers. (Click here to subscribe now.) This money goes to support the publication of 32 Poems, which, as an independent journal with an all-volunteer staff, continues to publish only through the generosity of our dedicated readers.            

Review Guidelines

32 Poems seeks reviews of recent poetry collections for online Prose Features. For us, poetry is a collaboration between poets and readers, and reviews showcase that dialogue. We believe that reviews shouldn’t simply be about good writing; they should be good writing. With that in mind, we aim to introduce our readers to the diverse talents of reviewees and reviewers as well as offer a space for important discussions about craft. While we prefer reviews that eschew ascerbic zingers and aesthetically dogmatic whistle-blowing, we enjoy thoughtful criticism that accounts for a collection’s weaknesses and the various challenges facing contemporary poets.

Potential reviewers should consider the following guidelines and suggestions:

• We prefer longer reviews of 1,000+ words as we believe that this length allows for sustained exploration and questioning, whereas shorter forms more often contain only evaluation.
• Avoid passive voice. (Don’t tell us what the poems are, but rather consider how they work.)
• Consider how this collection relates to others stylistically and thematically.
• Consider how the collection operates as a project as well as in individual poems.