Resources, updated: 21 formal-only (or nearly so) magazines and presses

An email enquiry that I received about formal-only poetry magazines makes me think I should update my resources list with that focus.

Able Muse – US magazine and press; website is not always completely current
Asses of Parnassus – Canada: short, witty, formal poems, snarky is fine, hosted on Tumblr.
Blue Unicorn – US: print only; prefers formal but will take other work
Chained Muse – US: prefers classical themes. Dodgy political bias
Crab Orchard Review – US
Extreme Formal series of anthologies from Rhizome Press. US.
Grand Little Things – US: “Returning versification to verse”
Light – US: large biannual issue, also the home of weekly topical light verse
Lighten Up Online (LUPO) – UK: light formal verse, quarterly
Lyric – US: “Founded in 1921, The Lyric is the oldest magazine in North America in continuous publication devoted to traditional poetry.” Lyrical, positive… flowers and countryside.
New Verse Review – US
Poetry Porch – US: lyrical
Pulsebeat Poetry Journal – US
Road Not Taken: The Journal of Formal Poetry – US: hard to find online because of its name, but a good small publication for formal and semi-formal verse.
Snakeskin – UK: probably the longest-established poetry zine in the world; no longer 100% formal, but still a great favourite.
Sonnet Scroll – US: a sonnet-specialized alcove on the Poetry Porch
Sonneteer – US: substack emails
The HyperTexts (THT) – US: an enormous assemblage of verse from all times and places; the editor’s personal preference for formal and leftist verse doesn’t rule out selections by Walt Whitman or Ronald Reagan! The works are mostly republications, but if you have a body of strong work the editor may be interested in creating a page for you.
Think – US: formalist, conservative, Christian
Verse-Virtual – US: a monthly publication for a caring community of poets
and finally:
Wergle-Flomp Humor Poetry Contest, No Fee – US: $3,750 in prize money

Lyme Park, Cheshire – Formal garden” by reds on tour is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

1 thought on “Resources, updated: 21 formal-only (or nearly so) magazines and presses

  1. Unknown's avatarAnonymous

    Thank you so much. AI has not yet mastered the complexities of formal verse, so quite possibly the worm has turned and the pendulum swung.

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