Who we are

We are a journal of the Rust Belt, the Corn Belt, and everywhere in between.

We predominately seek to publish what we call Midwestern Noir. We are looking for the poetry of the basement, the garage, and the back road. We want the grit under fingernails and the mud between toes.

What we seek

We believe in the Objective Correlative. Do not tell us you are lonely; show us the single plate on the table. We want poems with weight. Give us the concrete, bone, and grease.

We want work that is blunt and unflinching. If you can say it in two words, don’t use five. Don’t use “flowery” language for the sake of sounding “poetic.” We prefer a jagged edge to a polished surface.

We don’t do flowers and rainbows for the sake of flowers and rainbows. If you’re writing about nature, it shouldn’t (just be) because it’s pretty. We want the landscape as it actually is: chemically treated, weather-beaten, and indifferent to your feelings.