Katie Sarah Zale writes: “In 2003, 11,000 poets responded to Sam Hamill’s request for a poem about George W. Bush’s planned attack of Iraq. In the resulting anthology titled Poets Against the War, Sam wrote, ‘These are the voices of our poets; they come from every segment of society … they also celebrate our country by expounding a compassionate view of the universe. A government is a government of words, and when those words are used to mislead, to instill fear or to invite silence, it is the duty of every poet to speak fearlessly and clearly.’ As a poet, and the writer of an upcoming biography of Sam Hamill, I ask you, as I believe Sam would, to write a poem “for the conscience of our country,” in response to the 2024 USAmerican presidential election.
This is a call for poems for an anthology to be published by inauguration day, January 20, 2025. We are looking for words that come from thoughtful reflection and compassion for the loss we feel for ourselves and this country. (Please no screeds.) We plan a Zoom launch on January 20, 2025, at 1pm PST, 4pm EST. Deadline for submissions is December 15, 2024. Send up to 3 poems for consideration. Submit all poems in one document in Times New Roman 12-point font, each poem beginning on a new page. If the poem you submit has been previously published, please credit the publisher in your notes. No limitations on poem format and length.
The book title is an homage to Gil Scott-Heron’s Winter in America.
This anthology is to be published by Carbonation Press.