Guidelines for Reviews and Criticism
For information on payment and copyright, please see the main submissions guidelines.
General Guidelines
HDM is looking primarily for reviews of new books of poems, anthologies, memoirs by or biographies of poets, or books about poetry. "New" is an elastic term which covers everything from yet-to-be-released books to books published within the last few years. Significantly older books may also be considered, but the rule of thumb will be that the older the book is the stronger the argument for reviewing it will need to be.
I'm interested in passionate, incisive criticism that doesn't pull punches. Reviews will average 500-1000 words, but exceptions will be made for works that warrant extended discussion. HDM will also consider shorter reviews.
HDM is also interested in critical essays on topics relevant to poetry. This might be a celebration of the work and/or life of some wrongfully neglected poet, a critical reassessment of some entry in the so-called canon, a consideration of emerging or historical developments in poetry, profiles of specific poetry presses/journals/etc, and so on. Academic writing is discouraged. High-concept is okay, but a reasonably intelligent person should be able to understand your work without having taken an honors seminar on Derrida or [insert your favorite butt-of-theory-joke name here].
Critical essays will average 1000-2000 words.
Interviews
Beginning with the Spring 2006 issue, HDM will publish interviews with poets. Length, format, and miscellany will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Pitches, Submissions, and Queries
For reviews and essays, writers may either submit completed (previously unpublished) work or pitch ideas. If you are pitching, include writing samples and a publication history if you have one. This will allow me to get a feel for your style and interests. For interviews, always send a pitch first. Do not approach poets, or anyone for that matter, on behalf of Half-Drunk Muse until cleared to do so.
All submissions, pitches, and queries regarding reviews and criticism should be directed to Justin@halfdrunkmuse.com. The subject-line of your email should include a descriptive key word and topic sentence (examples— PITCH: "let's hate on Billy Collins till it gets funny again;" "SUB: Completed review of RabbitDuck by Richard Hell & David Shapiro;" QUERY: "who the hell made you an editor?")
All articles are taken on spec, and are subject to the editor's final approval, which may include editing and revision.
Bias
HDM is very interested in small and micro presses. It is also interested in what's happening at other poetry-oriented literary publications, especially when new high-quality poetry journals appear on the scene. HDM lives on the internet, so we like the internet. We're always on the lookout for that great poetry site/board/forum/etc that we didn't know about.
I am extremely interested in everything I haven't thought of yet. Please feel free, even encouraged, to color outside the lines.