Deadline Extended until Jan. 15 for Love Rise Up Anthology

EXTENDED SUBMISSION DEADLINE: JANUARY 15.

Phil Young and Steve Fellner have been asked to co-edit an anthology for Benu Press; its working title is Love Rise Up. Both have been invested in the literary world for some time. Steve wrote and published a book of poems entitled Blind Date with Cavafy (Marsh Hawk Press, 2007) and a memoir entitled All Screwed Up (Benu Press, 2009); Phil has published in literary magazines such as Antioch Review.

The focus of the anthology is on contemporary poets and poems that succeed on the following levels: 1.) The poem deals with social justice, not simply a social issue. In other words there has to be some action or suggestion of resistance or dealing with a social issue, not just having a social issue somewhere in the background. 2.) The poem offers an element of hope. This hope can be somewhat ambiguous, but at least some level of hope has to be detectable to the average reader. Think “Daybreak in Alabama ” by Langston Hughes. 3.) The poem is an “accessible narrative or lyric that contains elements of genuine drama or comedy.” 4.) If the poem were a movie, it would have to receive somewhere between a G and PG-13 rating.

Phil and Steve would really like to include a poem of yours in Love Rise Up.

If interested, please send us a poem(s) as a Word document to sfellner at brockport dot edu or pyoung at brockport dot edu We’d happily look at new work or previously published. The editors are responsible for paying all fees, so waivers are appreciated. Contributors will include D.A. Powell, Martin Espada (Spit This Rock Featured Poet 2008 and 2010), Denise Duhamel, Rigoberto Gonzalez, David Kirby, Sean Thomas Dougherty, Barbara Hamby, Cheryl Dumesnil, Fady Joudah (Split This Rock Featured Poet 2010), Rebecca Livingston (a past Sunday Kind of Love Feature), Alison Joseph, Laura Kasischke, Idra Novey, Eliot Khalil Wilson, Martha Collins Split This Rock Featured Poet 2010), David Baker, Jason Schneiderman, Minnie Bruce Pratt, among others.

When the anthology appears (in Fall 2010, tentatively), all contributors will receive one copy. Please call 585-637-4607 or e-mail the editors if you have any questions.

If you know that you will be offering something, please let the editors know by January 15. Please send this to anyone who you think may be interested.