Remembering Gerald Stern (1925-2022) Anthology
Gerald Daniel Stern (February 22, 1925 – October 27, 2022) was an American poet, essayist, and educator. The author of twenty collections of poetry and four books of essays, he taught literature and creative writing at Temple University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Raritan Valley Community College and the Iowa Writers' Workshop. From 2009 until his death, he was a distinguished poet-in-residence and faculty member of Drew University's graduate program for a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in poetry.
Stern was a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and Columbia University and attended the University of Paris for post-graduate study. He received the National Book Award for Poetry in 1998 for This Time: New and Selected Poems and was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry in 1991 for Leaving Another Kingdom: Selected Poems. In 2000, Governor Christine Todd Whitman appointed him the first Poet Laureate of New Jersey.
Deadline: February 9, 2025
Virtual Event: February 23, 2025
Submission Guidelines: Please submit one poem for our Remembering Gerald Stern anthology.
Keep this poem limited to 35 lines total. When determining the total line length for each poem, include spaces between stanza (ex: a poem of 5 couplets would equal 14 lines). Numbers or section breaks should also be included as lines when calculating the total line length. Count an epigraph as 3 extra lines. A line that has more than 60 characters (including spaces and punctuation) should be counted as two lines. If lines are staggered like a Ferlinghetti poem, estimate the width of the line.
The final book will be printed in 11 point Garamond font on pages that are 4.5 inches wide. Poems with lines longer than 4.5 inches may be changed or denied due to printing constraints.
For questions or inquiries, please email Larry Robin at larry@moonstoneartscenter.com
World Poetry Day 2025
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) founded this day in 1999. Poetry uses rhythms and imagery to elicit emotion and the imagination of the reader. Poetry can rhyme, using what are called meters of long and short syllables. Some poetry, written in what’s called ‘free verse,’ doesn’t employ rhyme or meters. Poems are broken into stanzas, which are like paragraphs, and can be up to 12 lines long. We believe the first known poem appeared 4,000 years ago in Babylon. Today, countless types of poems are available to enjoy, including haikus, limericks, sonnets, and ballads.
Deadline: February 23
Virtual Event: March 21
Submission Guidelines: Please submit one poem for our anthology.
Keep this poem limited to 35 lines total. When determining the total line length for each poem, include spaces between stanza (ex: a poem of 5 couplets would equal 14 lines). Numbers or section breaks should also be included as lines when calculating the total line length. Count an epigraph as 3 extra lines. A line that has more than 60 characters (including spaces and punctuation) should be counted as two lines. If lines are staggered like a Ferlinghetti poem, estimate the width of the line.
The final book will be printed in 11 point Garamond font on pages that are 4.5 inches wide. Poems with lines longer than 4.5 inches may be changed or denied due to printing constraints.
For questions or inquiries, please email Larry Robin at larry@moonstoneartscenter.com
Conflict
In a time, fraught with political strife and armed conflict, how can we reframe, heal, and continue to live in the midst of destruction, chaos, and loss? There is conflict everywhere, on every continent. We seem to have forgotten that we are all human beings. Where is our empathy? How do we reconcile? How do we survive?
Words are the basis of my world and I think that poetry can express our deepest feelings. We cannot hide but must face reality both physically and emotionally, we must reconcile our differences and learn to live together again. We have to talk and write and free ourselves by expressing ourselves. I am reminded of William Butler Yeats’ poem The Second Coming written in 1919 and appropriate today.
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Words lead to action; action leads to change.
We can make this world a better place for our children.
Deadline: March 9, 2025
Virtual Event: April 13, 2025
Submission Guidelines: Please submit one poem for our Conflict anthology.
Keep this poem limited to 35 lines total. When determining the total line length for each poem, include spaces between stanza (ex: a poem of 5 couplets would equal 14 lines). Numbers or section breaks should also be included as lines when calculating the total line length. Count an epigraph as 3 extra lines. A line that has more than 60 characters (including spaces and punctuation) should be counted as two lines. If lines are staggered like a Ferlinghetti poem, estimate the width of the line.
The final book will be printed in 11 point Garamond font on pages that are 4.5 inches wide. Poems with lines longer than 4.5 inches may be changed or denied due to printing constraints.
For questions or inquiries, please email Larry Robin at larry@moonstoneartscenter.com
Every year, Moonstone honors International Haiku Day on April 17th. While this is the international recognition of Haiku, every day is Haiku day for us. Richard Wright wrote over 1000 haiku and Sonia Sanchez starts each day writing a Haiku. Send us yours for our annual celebration.
Deadline: March 16, 2025
Reading: April 20, 2025
Haiku Anthology Submission Guidelines: Submit up to 5 haiku. A haibun is also encouraged.
Keep the submission limited to 35 lines total. Though we are open to experimentation with the traditional form of haiku, please note that our printing space is limited. When determining the total line length for each poem, include spaces between stanza (ex: a poem of 5 couplets would equal 14 lines). Numbers or section breaks should also be included as lines when calculating the total line length. Count an epigraph as 3 extra lines. A line that has more than 60 characters (including spaces and punctuation) should be counted as two lines. If lines are staggered like a Ferlinghetti poem, estimate the width of the line. The final book will be printed in 11 point Garamond font on pages that are 4.5 inches wide. Poems with lines longer than 4.5 inches may be changed or denied due to printing constraints.
For questions or inquiries, please email Larry Robin at larry@moonstoneartscenter.com
Biography Submission Guidelines: Please include a biography between 50 to 100 words that focuses on your writing career and poetry itself.
Submission Requirements:
While Moonstone Arts Center and Moonstone Press started out as a Philadelphia based organization, the pandemic and zoom has made us international. We are open to submissions from everyone.
Please submit about thirty-five pages of material. Poems may have been previously published, but the work as a whole must be new.
Simultaneous submissions to other publishers are permitted, but you must promptly notify Moonstone Press if a manuscript is accepted elsewhere.
When determining total line length for each poem, include spaces between stanzas and number/section breaks. Divider pages or section titles should be included in the total page count.
The final, saddle-stitched chapbook will be printed in 11 point Garamond font on paper that is 4 ½ inches wide.
Include a separate cover letter with a biography statement and contact information (mailing address, email address, and phone numbers).
A $15.00, nonrefundable reading fee is required for us to accept and review your work.
All submissions must be sent through Submittable. Mailed, hard-copy manuscripts will no longer be accepted.
Moonstone is nonprofit organization largely run with the help of volunteers. The current review timeline for open submissions is about 6 months. This timeline is not reflective of your work; we are dedicated to giving each submission consideration with the resources we have.
If you have a problem or questions, contact Larry Robin @ 215-735-9600.
Submission Requirements:
While Moonstone Arts Center and Moonstone Press started out as a Philadelphia based organization, the pandemic and zoom has made us international. We are open to submissions from everyone.
Please ready-to-publish material for a full-length poetry book (at least 80 pages). Poems may have been previously published, but the work as a whole must be new. Simultaneous submissions to other publishers are permitted, but you must promptly notify Moonstone Press if a manuscript is accepted elsewhere.
When determining total line length for each poem, include spaces between stanzas and number/section breaks. Divider pages or section titles should be included in the total page count.
Include a separate cover letter with a biography statement and contact information (mailing address, email address, and phone numbers).
If your submission is under 50 pages, please submit to our Open Chapbook Submissions form: https://moonstoneartscenter.submittable.com/submit/91032/open-chapbook-submissions
A $15.00, nonrefundable reading fee is required for us to accept and review your work.
All submissions must be sent through Submittable. Mailed, hardcopy manuscripts will no longer be accepted.
If you have a problem contact Larry Robin @ larry@moonstoneartscenter.com or 215-735-9600