Poetica # 21 - An Inner Circle Writers' Group Poetry Anthology

There is a common assumption among poets and readers generally that ‘There is no market for poetry.’ I hear this regularly. This idea arises because, in the big world of publishing, poetry is seen to be a private, highly subjective affair which correspondingly does not sell well. Personal tastes, obscurity of form, and lack of poetic craft all add up to poetry being ‘shoved into the corner’ and usually only self-published or produced as a vanity piece. This is a shame. There are a great many good poets out thousands of voices whose passionate visions of reality are not finding a proper outlet. Without channels to transmit these visions to readers, they can eventually fall silent. The effort of this series of Poetica anthologies is to contribute to the creation of a market for poetry throughout the calendar year. The idea is that, by providing a regular, published venue for poetry from all over the world, poems as media for the communication of important and heartfelt ideas and reflections will gain in respect and become more widely acknowledged. Voices will be heard; channels will be opened. For an individual poet, this potentially provides an ongoing marketplace for poetry. The benefits for a poet of appearing in a Poetica anthology include • the credibility that comes from being independently published, as opposed to self-published • the higher production standards associated with independent publishing • a wider reading audience • the building of a ‘track record’ as a published poet to help with future submissions elsewhere • the boosting of personal confidence and strength of voice which comes from being recognised as a publishable poet. Poetica # 21 features the work of Tim Law, Lisa H. Owens, Catherine A. MacKenzie, Afshan Aqil, Sultana Raza, Michal Reiben, Craig Tickner, Jacek Wilkos, Jannat Fatma, Gerald Jatzek, Jim Bates, DJ Elton, Peter Kenny, the Birch Twins, Ruth Morgan, Poetry by Christina, Tsitsi Faith Mutukwa, Linda M. Crate, Mike Turner, Anne Marie Lake, Jean Frost Smith, Justin Wiggins, Tony Fyler, Dawn DeBraal, Nnamdi Chinkere Anyahara, Kerri Jesmer, Aminath Neena, Linda Sparks, Kaneix, Trish Bailey, David Painter, Suranjit Gain, Kelli J Gavin, Gareth Macready, Maria J. Estrada, Anahit Arustamyan and Giuseppina Marino Leyland.