Cave Wall Open Submissions FAQs
Although March is coming to a close, there’s still time to make the Cave Wall: A Literary Journal of Poetry and Art March-April 2022 submission deadline. To help guide writers through the process, Cave Wall shared this FAQ with us:
1/ Why don’t you take electronic submissions?
Our editor gets ocular migraines that can be triggered by too much screen-reading. But printing out thousands of pages of poems is not feasible. We are working toward a way to take electronic submissions in the future.
2/ How do I know if you got my poems?
If you include a SASP (self-addressed stamped postcard) we will send it back so you know it was received. Or you can email us to check, but be patient if it takes us a few weeks to reply (takes a while to open all the submissions).
3/ Who actually reads my poems?
Editor @RhettTrull reads everything. Every poem that comes in. And we have several contributing editors and an editorial assistant who read batches, as well, so that most submissions get several readers.
4/ I heard that sometimes it takes a long time to get a reply from you.
Gulp. We work HARD but we are small & family-run & get behind when life throws us curve balls. Last round we got extra behind bc we lost in-person help. But we have help again. Query if we go past 6 months.
4.5/ Also, regarding late responses, I will add that our editor likes to send lots of personal notes in response to your poems. That takes extra time. She’s getting faster about that, though (sending 1-2 sentence notes instead of 5-10…well, most of the time).
5/ What kind of poems do you like?
OMG we LOVE so many kinds of poems. Any subject, any style. (Except we don’t like poems that are misogynistic/racist/seeking to do harm with language/etc.). We just want to be moved.
6/ Do I really need to include a SASE? Can’t you just email me? PLEASE include one. Business sized envelope & one stamp is fine. It makes our response process easier/faster. No SASE clogs the machine for everyone. And I like to write on poems that move me and send you that love.
