Poetry Northwest

Mission

Poetry Northwest strives to publish the best in contemporary poetry, exploring the intersection of poetry, civic society, and the other arts and sciences. We believe poetry enriches public discourse and helps maintain a purposeful quality of life. As the NW's oldest literary magazine (established in 1959), we serve as the flagship forum where local, regional, and national writers, artists, and audiences intersect, with a special emphasis on emerging writers committed to a poetry of social engagement.

Organization Objectives

Poetry Northwest seeks funding to maintain and expand our nationally-recognized publishing program, including the print and digital editions of our flagship magazine, special features and series on our website, and our nascent book imprint. To diversify our audience and serve our community, to amplify voices emerging and overlooked, we seek to promote a range of writers from around the country. We believe poetry--especially poetry in print--enriches public discourse and helps maintain a purposeful quality of life. In this light, we seek funding to support the ongoing publication of our full-color, semi-annual print magazine, along with a variety of series targeting particular audiences to showcase the ubiquity of poetry in contemporary life.

We print two issues per year, in a large 8 x 11 inch format, which permits various layouts and a mix of graphic arts. Print is expensive, full-color printing with original art all the more so. We are committed to remaining in print, to promoting print values, a slow time alternative to eye-glazing scroll and click. We are equally committed to using art to enhance the presentation of poetry, presenting poetry in graphic, illustrated form, and developing a dialogue between the written word and the figurative image. This has been part of our mission from the earliest days, when Carolyn Kizer commissioned new work from artists such as Mark Tobey and Edward Gorey. In recent years we have featured notable Northwest artists such as David Hytone, Claire Cowie, and Tlingit artist Alison Bremner.

To expand our audience and support a diverse array of poets and artists, we have also developed a variety of special series in recent years, each of which represents our core commitment to public engagement across a range of constituencies and fields:

The Native Poets Torchlight Series is among the first such programs in the nation to spotlight emerging Native poets in a literary journal. The series is curated by Native writer (and senior editor) Jennifer Foerster, and showcases two exceptional poets a year, culminating in the presentation of the James Welch Prize. Line Cook explores the intersections of food and poetry; Life List the experience of birding through the eyes of people of color. The “Presenting” series features an established writer who selects a compelling new poet to present for the first time ever in print, and Land/Form, a prose series, allows extended meditations on the intersections of poetry, landscape, and place. In all cases, we see poetry as a kind of social bond, the language of lasting connection between people and places. Each of these special series allows us to shine a spotlight on particular writers and projects, bringing forth voices which may have been underrepresented or overlooked in the public square. We seek ongoing funding to support the artists and editors involved in producing and presenting this work.

Finally, publishing in the 21st century is a vertical space—using a variety of platforms and channels to reach different readers. The book represents the pinnacle of print publication, and in recent years, through Poetry NW Editions, our nascent book imprint, we have developed a strong commitment in two directions: the first to local youth, through a collaborative publication project with Seattle Arts & Lectures' Youth Poet Laureate Program; the second to writers who have published at least one full-length collection, but are looking for that next step. There are many one-and-done first book contests out there, fewer presses which make a commitment to mid-career poets. We like to think we are helping to fill an important gap.