Image by Laurette Folk
Call for Submissions: Hope and the Human Spirit
Hope is the thing with feathers
Emily Dickinson - 1830-1886
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
What is this thing, the human spirit? What is this thing, hope, the tenacious part of us that makes us rise not only to the occasion, but out of bed? What is this human spirit that fumbles forward through the dark, powered by a peculiar knowing? Dickinson acknowledges its perseverance ("never stops at all"), but sees it as a separate entity ("Yet, never, in extremity/ it asked a crumb of me") exempt from the human element, perhaps divine. For the spring edition of The Compassion Anthology, we are looking for poems, essays, fiction, and visual art that inspires this universal and at the same time intensely personal attribute without being sentimental or cliché. Like the Italians in Siena singing to one another from their balconies as covid-19 ravages their country, we want flashes of beauty, of courage and power to get us through this fearful and foreboding March. I write this, coincidentally on the ides, a historically ominous time, when the Roman senators murdered Caesar, when, according to Plutarch, "the orb rose pale and without radiance...and the fruits, imperfect and half ripe, withered away and shrivelled up." Send us your own published work (see below) or give us recommendations (we will attempt to secure permission, however it would be best if the public domain applies).
Deadline: April 15, 2020
General Submission Guidelines
To submit to the anthology, please observe the guidelines below for your genre. There is no fee to submit to the anthology, however, we welcome donations via our Donate button on the home page. Not all submissions are guaranteed acceptance into the anthology and exhibits.
For this edition, we will consider only PUBLISHED work for poets and writers. Permission must be obtained by the author from the original publisher.
A maximum of 3 accepted submissions is allowed per artist/writer for an anthology edition, and all authors/artists retain the rights to their work.
Examples of our favorite compassion-themed literature and art are as follows: "Strokes of Compassion," a series by Anne Neilson, and "Sentience" by Dawn Fisher for visual art; "The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me" by Sherman Alexie and "On Compassion" by Barbara Lazear Ascher for essays; "Woman Hollering Creek" by Sandra Cisneros and "The Bear Came over the Mountain" by Alice Munro for fiction; "Singapore" by Mary Oliver and "Translucence" by Denise Levertov for poetry.
General Visual Art Guidelines
Visual art includes drawings, paintings, photography, sculpture, video and mixed media collage. Images of work must:
Emails must be sent to compassionanthology@gmail.com.
General Poetry, Fiction, and Essay Guidelines
All poetry, fiction and essays must:
Emails must be sent to compassionanthology@gmail.com.
Exhibits
There is no exhibit at this time.
Hope is the thing with feathers
Emily Dickinson - 1830-1886
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
What is this thing, the human spirit? What is this thing, hope, the tenacious part of us that makes us rise not only to the occasion, but out of bed? What is this human spirit that fumbles forward through the dark, powered by a peculiar knowing? Dickinson acknowledges its perseverance ("never stops at all"), but sees it as a separate entity ("Yet, never, in extremity/ it asked a crumb of me") exempt from the human element, perhaps divine. For the spring edition of The Compassion Anthology, we are looking for poems, essays, fiction, and visual art that inspires this universal and at the same time intensely personal attribute without being sentimental or cliché. Like the Italians in Siena singing to one another from their balconies as covid-19 ravages their country, we want flashes of beauty, of courage and power to get us through this fearful and foreboding March. I write this, coincidentally on the ides, a historically ominous time, when the Roman senators murdered Caesar, when, according to Plutarch, "the orb rose pale and without radiance...and the fruits, imperfect and half ripe, withered away and shrivelled up." Send us your own published work (see below) or give us recommendations (we will attempt to secure permission, however it would be best if the public domain applies).
Deadline: April 15, 2020
General Submission Guidelines
To submit to the anthology, please observe the guidelines below for your genre. There is no fee to submit to the anthology, however, we welcome donations via our Donate button on the home page. Not all submissions are guaranteed acceptance into the anthology and exhibits.
For this edition, we will consider only PUBLISHED work for poets and writers. Permission must be obtained by the author from the original publisher.
A maximum of 3 accepted submissions is allowed per artist/writer for an anthology edition, and all authors/artists retain the rights to their work.
Examples of our favorite compassion-themed literature and art are as follows: "Strokes of Compassion," a series by Anne Neilson, and "Sentience" by Dawn Fisher for visual art; "The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me" by Sherman Alexie and "On Compassion" by Barbara Lazear Ascher for essays; "Woman Hollering Creek" by Sandra Cisneros and "The Bear Came over the Mountain" by Alice Munro for fiction; "Singapore" by Mary Oliver and "Translucence" by Denise Levertov for poetry.
General Visual Art Guidelines
Visual art includes drawings, paintings, photography, sculpture, video and mixed media collage. Images of work must:
- be included in the body of the email or attached as a jpg.
- include an artist statement (no more than 50 words) in the body of the email
- include size, medium
- include a bio with contact information in the body of the email
- include the genre in the subject line, as well as your last name
Emails must be sent to compassionanthology@gmail.com.
General Poetry, Fiction, and Essay Guidelines
All poetry, fiction and essays must:
- be previously published works
- include permission to reprint
- be typed in 12 point Times New Roman or be linked to the email
- include a short bio (50 words) in the body of the email with name and contact information
- be 1500 words or less (for poetry, 3 poems each a page)
- include the genre in the subject line of the email as well as your last name.
Emails must be sent to compassionanthology@gmail.com.
Exhibits
There is no exhibit at this time.