We publish anthologies featuring the work of multiple writers. And poetry patriots aren’t the only ones who love Poetic License Press. We’ve won over poetry grouches, skeptics, and the poetically indifferent. How do we do it? We publish creative writing that is authentic, accessible and engaging.
We support our writers by offering them opportunities to read, discounts on Poetic License Press publications, and even the chance to showcase their books published by other indy presses. We play well with others.
The path to publication typically begins with a Call for Words (or a Call for Words and Art) circulated by Poetic License Press. If you would like to be notified of upcoming Calls for submission or publications from Poetic License Press, let us know. We are not able to accept unsolicited manuscripts at this time.
See our current Call for Submissions here.
Currently available from Poetic License Press
Poems from the Wellspring
A celebratory anthology commemorating the 20th anniversary of Wellspring House Writers' and Artists' Retreat in Ashfield, MA. This captivating volume includes poems written by 43 writers while in residence at Wellspring House, Contributor's Notes that contextualize the poems and their writer's experience at Wellspring House, and a bonus selection of poems by WH proprietors, Preston M. Browning, Jr., and the late Ann Hutt Browning, and their daughter Sara Browning. Order here.
from "Hill Town Satori Journal Excerpts"
Bent maple bough
outside window
its tip snapped-off
under weight of snow
Curved like a lens—
the focus of all my attention.
~ Mark Pawlak
In Plein Air: poems and drawings of the natural world
After Gods Fade
Now the world reclaims itself.
A woman looks out at the dawn
through aspen flooded with sunlight.
White bark lambent, every burning leaf
a little god.
- Patricia Zylius
An anthology of 52 poems by 43 poets in response to the natural world. This book immerses readers into a diverse range of landscapes: rural, urban, fragile, timeless, buzzing, silent. Illustrations hand-drawn expressly for this collection enhance this limited edition of 220 individually numbered books. Order here.
A Midnight Snack: Poems for Late Night Reading
egg roll
vegetables
and meat
wrapped
in the cozy embrace
of a pastry blanket
a lesson for us
on a cold night
- Wilda Morris
Trouble sleeping? Take a poem to bed. A poem won’t start snoring before you’ve nodded off. In fact, poems will stay up with you as long as you like. And if you wake in the middle of the night unable to fall back asleep, shake awake a poem to keep you company – it will be happy to oblige. So, have a midnight snack with these twenty-seven tireless poets who have gathered together from the parabolic parameter of the Earth to get you through the night! Order here.
Dog Nap
for Scout
Oh to surrender to the afternoon
light, lie your honey colored
self down on the oak floor boards,
the sun blessing you in a quilt
of shadowed window panes.
The kitchen hums in shades
of amber. April shines
her countenance upon you.
- Arlyn Miller
A Light Breakfast: Poems to Start Your Day
Experts recommend reading a poem every morning as part of a healthy breakfast to lower the risk of heart disease, increase mental functioning and libido, and decrease the incidence of road rage. From the far corners of the globe, twenty-four valiant poets have joined forces to help you do just that --- get your day off to a promising start with a nutritious poem! Order here.