I found myself in conversation with another editor recently and realised that despite being a published poet herself, she didn’t send work out to magazines. I asked why. ‘Well, apart from the one I edit, none of them are any good.’ We both laughed at this and I managed to not indignantly exclaim Hold on, what about PBLJ?! It was …
On entering poetry competitions: Tips from a sifter reader by Julia Webb
As a freelancer and believer in the power of the written word I have many hats – some I wear for money and some I wear for the simple love of the hat. Two of these hats involve poetry competitions – one I sift for (for money), the other I print all the poems for and send them to the …
A dream cut out of the air by Joelle Taylor
There is no way to succeed in poetry. There is no way to fail. There is only poetry. Everything else is noise off-stage. The prize is the piece of writing you just found hidden in the air. The prize is indistinct. The prize is each other. The prize is the conversation, is being included, is having your thoughts carefully weighed. …
Academia / Odyssey / Lyric Essay by Jane Burn
Courage is multiplex. Part of courage is admitting what you do / do not know; courage is vulnerability before that which you greatly desire; courage is offering your underbelly to anomaly’s mercy. Courage is scrambling those acclivitous hills – each summit equating where you deserve / where you have fought to be. Academia is negotiation of cryptic terrain. The walls …
Build Your Own Residency by Jo Bell
For many poets, paid time to be in residence at a particular location or organisation is the ultimate dream job. Time to think and write new things, or to build new ways of working with others – no wonder Jo is familiar with the question “So, how did you get this residency?“ It’s a question I’ve been asked each time …
Welcome! What do you need?
All the articles, resources and links you’ll find in our online library fit under the headings ‘Craft’, ‘Graft’, ‘The Knowledge’ and ‘Sustain’ – it’s just our way to focus on different aspects of life as a woman poet. You might find them all useful, or be drawn to one aspect over another at any one time.