Sidevent Adkick Day 18: What's Going On Here?

We're nearly at the end of our Advent romp, with just under a week to go until the Christmas monkeys arrive. Here's a speedy recap of the Sidekick madness so far:

1. Lots and lots of bots!

His Silken Fetters I Unty'd, / And THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY display'd

— Tephra Behrrigan (@BostonLibertine) December 18, 2016

Choose from Percianne Shellmoore, aka @anarchypangolin, Edwhirl Learchester, aka @QuoththePelican, @PearlvQueen, @AnimeCarson, @SunsetPlaytime, Tephra Behrrigan, aka @BostonLibertine, @Gertrudes_Gifts, the humble award winner @BestMaleLead and Dorothy Parker meeting Philip Larkin for an @AmbulanceParty.

2. Special gift editions of our micro-anthologies!

Our mini-collections get the special treatment with hand-collaged cards and themed charms!

3. Play-poems galore!

Explore Twine-made verse adventures with Meat & Mustard, Shag v Cormorant, Mothra and In Search of Lost Species!

4. Miscellaneous Fulmaniacal utterances, including our call for submissions, the good doctor's Naughty/Nice list and a poem collaged from words of "gender alchemist" RuPaul Charles.

Sidevent Adkick Day 6: Catullus and Aquanauts poetry call!

For Day 6, we're trumpeting our ongoing call for submissions for two anthologies!  These are:

AQUANAUTS will focus on the submarine world, from just below the water's surface to the darkest depths and the strangest creatures (like this lovely anglerfish).

BAD KID CATULLUS will be a book of new translations, transformations and twists on and of the filthy satirical poems of Catullus.

Full guidelines can be found here, but in general:

• We will consider all kinds of poems, but we are particularly looking for calligrams, visual poems, concrete poems, and work which extends these genres: in essence, work which is immediately visually striking and typographically performative as well as readable. We are also favourably disposed toward poems that perform (and foreground) complex formal ‘feats’, such as palindromic or anagrammatical poems.

• Multiple submissions are encouraged. We are happy to consider work that has been previously published if it’s a good fit for the remit as described above.

• Ideally, each individual submission should fit comfortably on a single page. The page size for both titles is 124mm x 182mm. Submissions that use multiple pages to particular effect (eg. a poem in sections) will also be considered.

• Collaborations between poets and visual artists are welcome and encouraged, but we’re looking for words deployed artistically, or with visual elements, rather than illustrated poems.

• Submissions do not need to be typed or made using a word processor. We will consider pieces where the lettering is hand-drawn or painted, and we encourage experimentation with type using photo-editing software.

• We are planning to include a number of colour pages in each book, so submissions that use colour will definitely be considered.

• Please submit in the form of docs, docxs, pdfs, jpgs or pngs. If submitting jpgs or pngs please make sure the resolution is at least 300 dpi. If submitting docs or docxs, please make sure that all spacing is achieved using the space bar, rather than tabulation (this is so that we can easily transfer the work to another program without having to reconstruct it).

DEADLINE: 7th January 2017

Call for Submissions!

It's not often we do this! Sidekick is issuing an open call for submissions over the next three weeks for two brand new anthologies: Aquanauts and Bad Kid Catullus. But there's a twist: we're after calligrams and visual poems primarily. For further details, follow the link.

PS. You will notice that the Sidekick site is mid-reconstruction at the moment as we gradually move our way over to a Wordpress content management system. Bear with us!

Call for Writers

posted by the Judge

Like most other poetry webzines, Dr Fulminare’s Irregular Features is run on a non-profit, voluntary basis by its staff and depends on the passion of its reviewers to provide the high standards of articles it is committed to deliver. Thus, our call for writers is ongoing: if you are interested in publishing reviews or feature articles on contemporary poetry of any kind, then we want to hear from you.

Though we are not able to pay you for your writing, we are happy to provide review copies; if there are any collections you are particularly keen on reviewing, we will do our best to get you a free copy of that. What kind of writers are we looking for? A university background in the humanities is appreciated, but we are also happy to interact with thinkers from outside the academic institutions or with experience in different fields, especially if they are able to refer to their experience to provide an unorthodox or fresh perspective on poetry. Undergraduate students are welcome to apply, but should be aware that a considerable work of revision will likely be requested of their drafts, and some may be turned down altogether. Our purpose is to develop a consistent critical voice, meaning that, while we will consider pitches for one-off reviews or articles, we are mostly looking for long-term writers who are willing to embark on a project with us and become part of our regular staff. In exchange, we can offer a readership which includes many of the prominent artists, editors, critics and publishers working in British poetry today, and of course free poetry books.

We have specific standards for both our reviews and feature articles. We will be expecting a critical approach that questions rather than simply promotes the values inherent in both the poetry being analysed, and the (sub)culture of poetry in general. Our writers can expect – especially for the first few articles – a work of exchange and revision in partnership with our editor to ensure that the site’s standards are met and that its ideological mission is being respected.

If you think the Drfulminare project is something you would like to be part of, and if you believe you know your poetry, then send a line to our reviews editor at avptallarita@hotmail.com. Briefly state who you are and what you do, and attach a sample of your critical writing (either a review, a feature or an academic essay – no creative writing, please).

We’ll get back to you.

The editors.