The End.

Poetry Midwest has ceased publication. Thank you for your readership.

Twenty-three past issues, three broadsides, and a digital chapbook are still accessible via the Dropbox link in the right column or via this link.

The web address http://www.poetrymidwest.org will expire on March 21, 2013, as I have decided not to renew the domain name registration. Consequently, email sent to @poetrymidwest.org email addresses will fail after this date.

The web address http://poetrymidwest.blogspot.com will continue to work until this website is retired.

Notice

Poetry Midwest is closed to submissions until further notice. I am suspending publication of the journal until I figure out what the heck I want to do with it.

After reading Merlin Mann's post back in 2008, I have had the nagging feeling that I could be doing better with Poetry Midwest. And now I realize that I should do better, and that I must do better. So, I need to take an extended break to rethink, renew, and re-tool. In the meantime, I'll be posting random things over at Poetry Midwest+.

This space will be quiet for a while. And I am okay with that. I hope you are, too.

poetic advice

24. No one says 'ere anymore. Neither should you.

poetic advice

68. Stop formatting your poems using Microsoft Comic Sans. Seriously. Stop.

poetic advice

12. Nothing says overwrought poetry like a one word title based on mental/emotional states, the weather, or nature.

poetic advice

100. Using poetry to funnel your emotions is like using a monkey to plunge your toilet. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

poetic advice

76. Nobody cares about the state of your heart. Unless it's being eaten by a zombie.

poetic advice

43. Only Mattie Stepanek could get away with gushy sentimentality and have people praise it for its insight. We were being NICE to a sick kid, okay?

poetic advice

44. Ellipses do not make your poetry deep . . . man.

poetic advice

97. Make sure your occasional poem has an expiration date.

poetic advice

81. I before E except after C unless you write flarf, in which case, knock yourself out.

poetic advice

37. Never edit a literary journal if you expect to find time to write.

poetic advice

11. Ignore anything an editor says that doesn't directly improve the work itself. See #5.

A List of Poems I Will Automagically Reject

1. Anything about the state of your or someone else's soul, spirit, etc.
2. Sex poems that are only about sex or the lack thereof.
3. Poems about sex with your or someone else's soul, spirit, etc.
4. Homages to a girlfriend/boyfriend/significant other.
5. Homages to a dead rock star.
6. Poems about having sex with a dead rock star.
7. Poems that are merely prose with line breaks.
8. Poems about how living with your mother drives you crazy.
9. Poems about having sex with Satan.
10. Poems about your mother having sex with Satan.
11. Anything reliant on adjectives.
12. Anything centered.
13. Lists of clichéd rhetorical questions about love.
14. Poems not written/translated in English (sorry, that's my native tongue).
15. Poems which peak way too soon.
16. Poems which are too obvious.
17. Poems which are only about the act of writing (way too meta)
18. Poems about shampoo. Not that I have anything against shampoo, but all that rising and repeating . . .
19. Anything marked "©" or "Copyright 200x". Like our culture truly values poetry.
20. Anything attempting to be "cute" in a Hello Kitty way. 
21. Hentai poetry.  No foolin'.

poetic advice

52. Whatever you do, don't imitate Longfellow. Not even on purpose.

poetic advice

117. No one wants to read your poem about "darkness." Turn on a fucking light already.

poetic advice

8. Just because it rhymes does not mean it is poetry.

poetic advice

7. Poems do not always rhyme.

poetic advice

78. Ink smells great. So do incense cedar pencils. Computer screens? Not so much. Chose your tools, but don't fetishize stationery.

poetic advice

132. Verse chorus verse. Verse chorus verse. Bridge! Verse. Chorus. Yawn.