Space Exploration  For this call, we are looking for your best poems about the exploration of space, whether that exploration is external or internal, astronomical or figurative. Inspired by the 2026 Artemis flight, we are looking for poems that capture the spirit of exploration and take us somewhere beyond and (possibly) bigger than ourselves. Send us poems about ships and probes sent into interstellar space, humans discovering new planetary bodies, or our understanding of how space and time intersect. Send us poems exploring the spaces we inhabit, the innovation of the human mind, how we reach outside of ourselves to discover something bigger.

Each submission should be no more than four (4) poems. Poems that do not align with the theme will not be considered for this call. 

What We are Looking for in a Poem

• Poems, whether free verse or form, that pay attention to their structure. Each line break, rhyme, meter, image is employed with intention that contributes to the overall meaning of work. Every word is precise, and each image has been refined by careful editing and revision.
• Poems that play. Poems that aren’t afraid to take risks and explore through the texture of their words and the movement of the form. Poems that are pleasurable to read aloud or on the page. 
• Poems that offer surprise, whether through lush language, evocative images, or just the overall content/topic.
• Poems with purpose that show the reader something true about their connection to existence. Poems that serve as an instrument of clarity in the spirit of helping us understand our shared existence. 

General Manuscript Guidelines:

• Send up to four poems, no more than eight pages total. 
• Send your work as a SINGLE attachment (.doc; .docx; .rtf; PDF); docx preferred. 12pt standard font.
• Please submit no more than one batch of poems per reading period. 
• Title your document with title and name (i.e: TITLE_Jericho Brown).  
• Include a cover letter in the provided space in the Submittable form (not in the document). Include your mailing address, email and phone number, a 50-word bio, social handles, and the titles of the pieces you are submitting.
• Only original, previously unpublished work will be considered. This includes personal websites and social media.
• Should you submit something that is under simultaneous consideration, please indicate this in your cover letter and notify us immediately by sending a message through Submittable letting us know which poem is no longer available.
• We do not consider or review AI-generated work. Submissions utilizing AI tools will be declined.   

Our  current payment is in the form of one copy of the issue for which your  work has been accepted. We buy first rights as well as the rights to  use your name and the accepted work (in whole or part) on our website.  Beyond this use, and following publication, rights revert to the  author.  We ask that Crab Creek Review be acknowledged in any subsequent  publication of the work.   

Order your copy of Crab Creek Review's 2023 Spring/Summer issue here!

From cathedrals to dance floors to climate change, this issue tackles our loftiest questions while celebrating the most personal. It shifts from deep meditations to startling crystallizations as each work takes on a new form and shape.  With this latest issue, you'll find writing from Jory Mickelson, Jared Beloff, Rebecca Martin, Rodrigo Toscano, Julia Mallory, Shilo Niziolek, Sarah Dalton, Forester McClatchey, Shannon K. Winston, David J. Bauman, Melody Wilson, Stephanie L Harper, Benjamid D. Carson, Carolyn Oliver, Jane Zwart, Jude Dexter, Lauren Camp among so, so many others. And we can't wait to share them all with you.