call for submissions

Best Gay/Best Lesbian Poetry 2009 Seeking Nominations for the 2009 editions of this exciting new series celebrating the best in gay/lesbian poetry, A Midsummer Night's Press invites submissions of poems PUBLISHED during 2008 for

BEST GAY POETRY edited by Lawrence Schimel

BEST LESBIAN POETRY edited by Linda Alvarez

Poems can have appeared in print or online magazines, journals, or anthologies; we are also willing to consider poems from books or chapbooks published in 2008, even if the poem was originally published previously in periodicals--so long as the poet has the right to reprint the poem.

We are open to all styles of poetry, from formal to free verse; we are likewise open-minded in terms of content, so long as it somehow fits (even if pushing the boundaries of) what might be considered "gay poetry" or "lesbian poetry".

We are willing to consider slam poetry, so long as it has been published in text form, not merely performed; the poem must also work on the page, for these anthologies.

We are open to English-language poetry from all over the world, and actively look to include non-North American voices.

Please title documents with the poet's surname.

Please include contact information (both street and email address), bio, and where the poem was published WITHIN the .doc file, as documents will be read separately from the emails.

Submissions from individual poets or queries should be sent by email in .doc format to one of the following addresses, as appropriate:


BestGayPoetry@gmail.com

BestLesbianPoetry@gmail.com

Deadline is January 31, 2009.

In each volume, A Midsummer Night's Press also plans to include a round-up of all books/journals/anthologies of gay/lesbian poetry published the previous year. (We also welcome recommendations or suggestions of appropriate poems from editors of journals, anthologies, or presses.)

Books and journals for review can be sent to the attention of the appropriate editor at:

A Midsummer Night's Press
16 West 36th Street
2nd Floor
New York NY 10018
amidsummernightspress@gmail.com


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Have you seen the covers for the 2008 editions? Here's the lesbian anthology cover. And here's the cover for the gay anthology. I'm disappointed. The lesbian cover shows two women gazing at each other. In a public setting. Engaged with each other. Flirting. Maybe alreay in love.

The gay anthology cover gives us beefcake. A handsome young man on the beach. Isolated. Waiting to be gazed at. Maybe waiting for a quickie with the first man who catches his eye.

The cover images enforce stereotypical beliefs about gays and lesbians. Lesbians move in with each other on the second date. Gay men are all about the flesh. I might be reading too much into the covers. Maybe I'm projecting too much.

I wish the cover art for these anthologies would have shown us different slices of gay/ lesbian life.

A lusty lesbian. A gay man in love.