Mission Statement and Submission Guidelines for Q Street Poetry
May 2023 update
Welcome to Q Street Poetry! Here, we operate on an expansive understanding of queer — which refuses confinement, construction, and defining. Loosely, queer is anything different; it is a deviation from the normative. Queer, as we imagine it, embodies an everyday politic that is accessible to anyone who questions, resists, and troubles the status quo.
Queer: A deviation from the normative.
Finding Q Street
I created Q Street Poetry after struggling to find a home for my trans/ non-binary poetry. After submitting several first-submission emails, I was exhausted by editors requiring me to explain and exploit my trauma, just for the price of publication. Too many wanted my works to conform, fit a specific LGB ideal, or be palatable to a ‘broader audience’.
Frustrated, I turned to an old story written by, Kern Carter, one of my writing mentors. In it, he resists the idea of a single Black experience and discusses the struggles of feeling forced into this trope as a writer. Revisiting Kern’s article, was a salve to my wounds. Although we have not faced exactly the same troubles, Kern reminded me that my experiences were not entirely unique. So, Q Street Poetry was born.
STOP. Go read Kern’s story here:
Mission Statement
Q Street Poetry is a home for queer writers. We offer no specifications for what it means to be queer, to queer-ify poetry, or even for what the art of poetry should be. Our main mission is to create a community based on the principles of mutual aid, where we all lift each other up.
Guidelines
The main guideline for submission is that your poetry be socially conscious. We do not tolerate homophobia, transphobia, sexism, racism, ableism, nationalism, or anything generally prejudiced or harmful to any group of people.
It should be noted that queer ideology comes from a colonial and English-centric tradition. Keeping the deep injustices of this tradition in mind, we especially welcome submissions that criticize, disturb, and disrupt coloniality — in all its present-day forms.
Finally, if you include an image or reference another writer, please make sure to give credit! ~~~We practice community support and care at Q Street Poetry~~~
Become a Writer
But do I have to be LGBTQ+ identified to write for Q Street?
Absolutely not.
Do you question, resist, or challenge the status quo? Are you willing to bring an ethic of community care to the publication? Great! You sound like Q Street material!
Community Ethic
Q Street writers are expected to commit to a community ethic. That means clapping for other Q Street writers, highlighting good poetry, and commenting with words of encouragement. Even if you are not a paying member of Medium (hey, we get it — that’s why this article isn’t hidden behind a paywall), please use the “follow” and “subscribe” buttons to uplift this community!
Agreed? Great!
To become a writer, simply follow Q Street Poetry (so other Q Street writers will show up in your feed) and comment on this article with a new writer request. Please be patient! I am not on Medium every day, but I promise I will add you ASAP.
Can’t wait to meet you through your writing,
xx RJ at Q Street Poetry
Writing Resources
Although we do not require any specific formatting at Q Street Poetry, there are often things you can do to help your writing perform better on this platform. If you want to know more, here are a few resources and poetry tools.
Writing on Medium
Poetry Tools
Did I miss some useful Medium tips or poetry tools? Help other writers out by posting them in the comments!
