OYO

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
And next year’s words await another voice.”
T.S. Eliot

“I write only because
There is a voice within me
That will not be still”
Sylvia Plath

A new, free-to-enter submission window opened on February 24 with the theme of “One Year On”. It closed on 10 April.

Click here to read published poems

What memory does February conjure up for you? On the world stage, there is the continuing tragedy of Ukraine, where war was triggered by Russia’s invasion on this date last year. Now we are echoing the superbly supported Ukraine feature in last year’s wildfire words — and looking at other anniversaries, sad or celebratory.

Nearer to home, we have anniversaries of St Valentine’s Day weddings, births, first steps, success or failure. All are marked one year on, either from the event, or its last anniversary.

What gift of happiness did this time in 2022, bring you? Were you celebrating either Mardi Gras or Fat Thursday? Did you mark Smelly Thursday with a roasted meat feast in Greece? Perhaps you remembered the anniversary of the creation of the Grand Canyon National Park or began a makeover of your own garden. February is remembered for celebrations as disparate as Black Lives Matter Day and National Pistachio Day in the US.

Did February or March bring a black day for you on a personal level which is still raw one year on? Maybe your special day comes elsewhere in the calendar. Why not share your anniversary memories of that day with us, too.

Click here to submit

We’re looking for poems on any aspect of One Year On that grab our attention, that pull our heart strings, leave us open-mouthed or holding our breath, make us think, make us laugh or cry, and/or are strikingly original. In short, poems that excite us enough to share them with wildfire words readers.

We aim to be inclusive of poets worldwide. We respect all people and their well-being, beliefs, individuality, and free speech, and expect the same from other poets. We’ll evaluate your poetic jewel, whether it’s a cut and polished dazzler or a rough stone with some interesting lustre. So please don’t hesitate to submit.

During this submission window, each poet may make one submission as a single file containing 1, 2, or 3 poems. Poems can be in any form, but no longer than 40 lines including stanza breaks. Do, please, supply a mini-bio of 50 words maximum to be published alongside your poem. We also encourage you to submit an audio recording of your poem(s) or book a place on our free recording sessions list in Events.

Submissions are free and must be sent by 11:59 pm on 31 March.

Submitted poems must be your own original work, in English, and unpublished in print or online, including your own website. Where an original poet teams up with a translator into English, we will consider publishing the work, provided biographies of both original poet and translator are provided.

If your work is published in wildfire words ezine, it will be on a non-exclusive basis for at least one year. The copyright remains yours for all poems, bios, and audio recordings you submit for publication.

If you would like to support the sustainability of wildfire words, a non-profit organization providing publication opportunities for poets worldwide, you can do so on this form. The size of any donation will have no impact on your chance of publication.

Marilyn Timms, Feature Editor