Southern Poetry Review

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Southern Poetry Review

A semi-annual journal dedicated to poetry. Founded by Guy Owen in 1958, SPR continues the tradition

05/31/2025

The Guy Owen Prize deadline is May 31st. (Tonight!)
Ever wonder about our founder and namesake of the prize?
In 1962, Owen took a position at North Carolina State University. He continued over the years to publish stories and poems. His collection The White Stallion and Other Poems won a Roanoke-Chowan cup for poetry by a North Carolina poet. He co-edited several anthologies of state and regional verse, lectured and conducted workshops across the state for writers of all levels, participated in the "poetry in the schools" program, and directed the North Carolina Poetry Circuit, which brought together poets and college students.
https://www.southernpoetryreview.org/spr/guy-owen-award

05/30/2025

Did you know you get full year subscription with your entry fee?
Please share this with anyone or any group that you think has poetry the world should read. This prize is open to all, outsiders, insiders, upsidedowners., flipsiders- but right now the posts about this prize circulate in limited spaces. Turn this post into a chain letter, send it to the first 10 poets on your contacts list. Send it to your mother or your cousin. Good luck on all of you!
Guy Owen Prize
Deadline: May 31
Entry Fee: $20
Cash Prize: $1,000
Website:
http://southernpoetryreview.org/spr/guy-owen-award

05/27/2025

Karen Holberg's poem "Weeding My Mother's Garden was our 2020 Guy Owen Prize winner. As a writer and teacher of writing, Guy Owen adhered to two principles. The first was specificity: "Never write 'flower': write 'rose' or 'marigold' or 'chrysanthemum.'" The second was "Make your reader comfortable," meaning that a writer should give enough information in a clear style to enable the reader to easily enter the writer's world. Karen's poem does both of these things, beautifully.
Our May 31st deadline for 2024 is creeping up on us like thyme. Submit your poems now.
https://www.southernpoetryreview.org/spr/guy-owen-award

05/26/2025

"Never write 'flower': write 'rose' or 'marigold' or 'chrysanthemum.'" - Guy Owen
Guy Owen Prize. A prize of $1,000 and publication in Southern Poetry Review is given annually for a single poem. Submit three to five poems totaling no more than 10 pages with a $20 entry fee, which includes a subscription to Southern Poetry Review, by May 31st
https://www.southernpoetryreview.org/spr/guy-owen-award

05/25/2025

Since its beginning in 1958, the journal has published poets from all over the country, as well as publishing poets from abroad. A small sampling of poets published by SPR might include Betty Adcock, Chana Bloch, Michael Blumenthal, Billy Collins, Albert Goldbarth, Andrew Hudgins, David Kirby, Ted Kooser, Maxine Kumin, Heather McHugh, Robert Morgan, Sharon Olds, Linda Pastan, R. T. Smith, William Stafford.
The journal always has been based in the South, and its new home of Savannah, Georgia, continues that tradition. The journal’s name, however, signifies location for this editorial staff, more than it signals a regional sensibility (if there is such a thing). On the other hand, we encourage southern poets to consider us a receptive audience for their work; poetry that is recognizably southern sometimes has trouble finding a home in journals outside the South. We do not, however, encourage stereotypical southern material that is dealt with stereotypically. Above all, we are more interested in poems that handle language with care and scrupulousness than any particular subject matter or regional stance.
Submit to the Guy Owen Prize today. Deadline is May 31st.

https://www.southernpoetryreview.org/spr/guy-owen-award

05/24/2025

Get those poems submitted!

05/23/2025

$1,000 and publication for an unpublished poem. Submit 3-5 poems, (10 pages maximum), $20 entry payable to Southern Poetry Review (includes one-year subscription) between March 1 and May 31. For online submissions, include contact information only with entry form below, not on any poem submitted.
Deadline is May 31st.

https://www.southernpoetryreview.org/spr/guy-owen-award

05/22/2025

The Guy Owen Prize deadline is May 31st.
Ever wonder about our founder and namesake of the prize?
In 1962, Owen took a position at North Carolina State University. He continued over the years to publish stories and poems. His collection The White Stallion and Other Poems won a Roanoke-Chowan cup for poetry by a North Carolina poet. He co-edited several anthologies of state and regional verse, lectured and conducted workshops across the state for writers of all levels, participated in the "poetry in the schools" program, and directed the North Carolina Poetry Circuit, which brought together poets and college students.
https://www.southernpoetryreview.org/spr/guy-owen-award

Address

Dept. Of Languages, LIterature, And Philosophy, Georgia Southern University, 11935 Abercorn Street
Savannah, GA
31419

Website

http://southernpoetryreview.com/

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