Call for Poetry
In celebration of the creative spirit in America at 250 and beyond, The Art of Democracy is a non-partisan art gallery and poetry anthology project examining the themes and aspirations of democracy, freedom, equity, justice, and voting. Consider how poetry might witness, educate, organize, illuminate, invent, fortify, inspire, and invigorate.
We seek poems by a diverse range of writers, including voices and perspectives that have historically been underrepresented in the literary sphere. We welcome established and emerging writers, wherever they reside.
All submissions must be uploaded through our Submission Form by May 15, 2026, and will be read by our poetry co-editors. If you have trouble with the form, need to withdraw a poem, or have a question, please email us: poetry.artofdemocracy@gmail.com.
We will respond to submissions by July 1, 2026. Kindly wait to query until after this date.This project will be published exclusively online. Submissions are free for all. Please read the guidelines below before you submit.
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Send 1-2 poems in a single Word .doc or .docx file.
Use Times New Roman, 12pt font, single-spacing. Please begin each poem on a new page.
Do not underline titles or put them in bold.
Poems that fit on one page will be given preference over longer poems.
Poems may be unpublished or previously published (list original credit below the corresponding poem, inside your file).
Include a 50-word, third-person bio statement.
Include your social media links (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky), if applicable.
Do not include artwork in your poetry submission.
Simultaneous submissions are welcome. To withdraw a poem that has been accepted elsewhere, email us as soon as possible at poetry.artofdemocracy@gmail.com.
Submit only once during this submission period. Multiple submissions cannot be read.
Send only work you consider to be complete and ready for publication. We cannot consider revisions.
The Art of Democracy is not currently a paying market. Our staff members are all volunteers. Contributors’ work will be published on our website and promoted on social media. We do not accept submissions of AI-generated work. We reserve the right to withdraw acceptances of any work found to be AI-generated, even after publication. We do not accept translations. Partisan, racist, homophobic, sexist, misogynistic, violent, or hateful speech is not welcome and will not be considered for publication. We may not be able to accommodate special formatting in our online format, but we will try our best.