Poems

We like poems of any length. Try to send several poems as opposed to a single piece, but no more than five or six at a time. We're looking for poems that move us, pieces that might make us laugh or cry, or teach us something new. Though most of the poems that we publish tend to be free verse, that doesn't mean we don't like traditional forms. We read a lot of poems, and only those that are unique, insightful, and musical stand out. Since our issues include about 80-100 pages of poetry, one of the main things we're looking for is diversity; we have enough room to be eclectic, and we plan on using it. So while most magazines suggest reading their back issues to get a sense of what they like to publish, we'd suggest reading to get a sense of what we're having trouble finding--if you notice a style or subject matter that we don't seem to be publishing, send us that!

Each issue of RATTLE contains 60 or more poems in our regular section, and nearly all of them come from unsolicited submissions. Your submissions keep us going, and we always appreciate them.

Tributes

Every issue of RATTLE gathers poems from a specific ethnic, vocational, or social group, comprising a special section of about 30 pages. We're currently seeking submissions from Poets in Law Enforcement for our Summer 2012 issue. We are interested in poems of any style, length, or subject, but they must be written by poets who work or haved worked in the field of Law Enforcement -- police officers, sheriffs, investigators, jailers, etc. See this Wikipedia page for a list of work we're referring to.

We're also seeking essays on the relationship between Law Enforcement and poetry. For more information, see our call for submissions page. To submit poems or essays, just follow the regular guidelines and make a note that you have had a career in Law Enforcement.

Visual Poems

RATTLE is always seeking visual poetry for Dan Waber's biannual e-issue column, and black and white visual poems that we might use in print. To submit, just follow the email guidelines, and be sure to keep any image files (.jpg, .pdf, .tif) under 1 MB each.

Reviews

Note that we no longer publish print reviews. Due to the overwhelming success of the new E-Reviews section of our website, we've decided to use the print reviews space to publish more poetry. From now on, reviews will only appear online. Please refer to the E-Review section for complete guidelines, but in general, anything goes--reviews may be any length (min. 600 words), on any book, chapbook or anthology relating to poetry. Payment for an E-Review is one copy of a forthcoming print issue of RATTLE.

Required Information

If possible place this information on each piece submitted:

Name, Mailing Address, Phone Number, Email address

In addition send a short bio of the author. Your bio should tell us who you are and why you love poetry. Our bios section is something that makes issues of RATTLE unique, and many say it's as fun to read as the poetry itself. Bios should be in the first person, and follow the format of this sample:

Erik Campbell: "One afternoon in the summer of 1994 I was driving to work and I heard Garrison Keillor read Stephen Dunn's poem 'Tenderness' on The Writer's Almanac. After he finished the poem I pulled my car over and sat for some time. I had to. That is why I write poems. I want to make somebody else late for work." (email address goes here at the end if you'd like it included)

Bios in this form are only needed upon acceptance--it doesn't have to be included with each submission, though we would enjoy it.

Please note that submitting to Rattle implies an interest in the magazine, and anyone who submits will be added to our mailing list to receive occasional updates on new issues, events, and calls for submissions. We never buy, sell, trade, or share you information with anyone. You may opt out of our mailing list at any time, in writing or with an email to:

Payment

Payment is one copy of the issue in which your work appears, plus a one-year subscription (or extension) to the magazine. Contributors also may preorder additional copies at a discounted rate.

Rights & Rules

All rights revert to the authors upon publication. To get technical, we require First Serial Rights, meaning we want to be the first media outlet to publish your poems. They may have been posted online to personal blogs or message boards, self-published as chapbooks, etc, but any third party venue that provides literary content to a readership is considered publication, regardless of the format. If you submitted someone work, and they chose to publish it, then that means it's been published and we don't want it.

Though authors do retain all rights to their work, we post everything we publish on the back-issues section of the website six months after print publication, and so require non-exclusive electronic permissions.

Response Time

Response times vary, but we can generally make a decision within 4-8 weeks. If you haven't heard back from us in two months, feel free to query by email, as submissions have been known to get lost in the mail, and more often in cyberspace.

Revisions

Please note that you cannot revise a poem while it's being considered. If we decide we'd like to publish any of them, you will have an opportunity to revise author galleys at that time. Updating submissions is too time-consuming for our small staff. Please proof-read your work carefully before you submit.

That said, we're looking for the best poems we can find. Typos happen; we don't frivolously discard poems because of them.