Humanities WA Salmon poems Call

WAPL Call for Salmon Poems

August 5, 2022
Splabman
Rena Priest, Washington State Poet Laureate, was just awarded a fellowship from the Academy of American Poets! As part of the fellowship, she is creating an anthology of poetry dedicated to salmon, and is calling for submissions.

“Salmon are the unsung heroes of our region,” she says. “Adventurous and brave, they swim from their natal rivers out into the perils of the open ocean. Persistent, resilient, and strong, they swim upstream against swift currents for hundreds of miles to return home to spawn and complete the cycle of life.

“Salmon are sacred to my tribe, the Lhaq’temish (Lummi) Nation. We celebrate them in ceremony and song, and they have long been central to our Sche’le’ngen, our way of life. By celebrating salmon through poetry in every corner of the state, I hope to raise goodwill and a feeling of reverence for the salmon, a feeling that my people have felt since time immemorial.

“Seattle-based writer Timothy Egan writes, ‘The Pacific Northwest is simply this: wherever the salmon can get to.’ Before dams were installed, salmon inhabited streams throughout Washington state, even as far inland as Spokane, the Tri-Cities, and beyond. They have been a huge part of our regional identity, and I hope you will submit a poem or two about our iconic wild salmon.”

The deadline to submit is September 18. For the complete guidelines, click below.

1 Comment

  1. Judy Duncan

    One of the guidelines requests a list of our previous publications. Do you want only our previous poetry publications or all publications? I’m asking because I have never seen this in prior poetry submissions and because my list of poetry and non poetry publications is extensive.

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

You May Also Like

Toward Cascadian Independence:  For the Life of the Place as a Whole

Toward Cascadian Independence: For the Life of the Place as a Whole

What end does politics serve? Surely it must serve ends beyond itself. Why seek greater bioregional autonomy? For self-determination. Yes, but what purpose in turn shall that value serve? None some may say, it’s self-justifying. But then it becomes an absolute unto itself which can be used to justify many different things, some questionable. Why not come right out at the beginning and say what you’re really for?
The primary purpose of seeking greater bioregional identity and autonomy is to serve the life of the place and its people as a whole. Indeed, the primary purpose of Politics is to serve the life of the place and its people on many levels in an equitable and sustainable way.

read more