WRITTEN RIVER • journal of eco-poetics
A Hiraeth Press Publication
Winter 2014 – 2015 . Volume 5 Issue 2
¶Written River is a literary journal published by Hiraeth Press which focuses on poetry and non-fiction prose exploring nature and our relationship to it. Published as an annual anthology, we strive to encourage the discipline of eco-poetics and return the voice of the poet to the body of the Earth. Eco-poetics is poetry in which the energy of the ecosystem flows through the poem, creating a written river of words which ebbs with the creativity of the entire Earth community. Written River marks the confluence of many streams and many voices as they flow back into the nourishing ground of the watershed. Founding Editors Jason Kirkey L.M. Browning Associate Editor J. Kay MacCormack Issue Design Jason Kirkey Written River is published by Hiraeth Press.
submission guidelines Written River accepts unsolicited submissions. The theme of eco-poetics runs through each issue of our journal, though we define this broadly to include not only poetry but nonfiction essays as well. We are interested in essays and poems that focus on themes of conservation, rewilding, place-based narratives, natural history, and contemplative ecology. We prefer cross-genre pieces that are capable of wedding literary and scientific voices. We also accept work with a contemplative or spiritual theme, but require such pieces to display a strong environmental theme. We recommend that you review a couple recent back issues before submitting to ensure that your work is a good fit for the journal. To submit, please send a short cover letter, biographical statement and a Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx) attachment of: •Up to 5 poems not exceeding 15 pages.
•Nonfiction work of 5000 words or less. Please send a ¶Hiraeth Press has been publishing since 2006 with a focus on environ- query letter if you would like us to consider a longer mental literature.We primarily publish nonfiction books exploring themes piece. of conservation, rewilding, place-based narratives, natural history, and contemplative ecology. We accept submissions that range from meditations on Unfortunately, at this time we are no longer accepting nature to well-researched yet accessible nonfiction titles. Broadly, we are unsolicited art or photography. interested in books that bring together science and poetry, bridging the gap between knowing the earth and knowing the self. Please use the submission form on our website at: www. hiraethpress.com/written-river. We review submissions Poetry is the language of the earth. This includes not only poems but the after the deadline has passed so please be patient if you slow flap of a heron’s wings across the sky, the lightning of its beak hunting submit in the shallow water; autumn leaves and the smooth course of water over early. Submitted works should be previously unpubstones and gravel. These, as much as poems, communicate the being and lished. We are open to publishing a limited number of meaning of things. We strive to produce works of poetry, whether they are poems/ essays may have appeared in print or online, but actual poems or nonfiction. We are passionate about poetry as a means of the author must hold sole rights to the work. Simultareturning the human voice to the chorus of the wild. neous submissions are permitted; however, we ask to be notified promptly if your submitted work is accepted The Welsh word hiraeth (pronounced here-eyeth) encapsulates the spirit elsewhere. by which we strive and that the books we publish hope to inspire. A direct translation of the word might be something like an intense longing for We produce one issue of Written River each year. The one’s homeland. Here at Hiraeth Press we believe that our collective human deadline to be included in each year’s issue is August homeland is the still-wild places of the earth. 1st.