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Literary Journal

Metphrastics

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About the magazine

Metphrastics is a literary and arts organization that operates primarily through its online platform, metphrastics.com. Founded with the aim of fostering experimental and cross-disciplinary work, it provides a space for writers and artists whose practices engage with language, translation, and hybrid forms. While its public-facing history is relatively recent, Metphrastics has positioned itself as a venue for work that resists easy categorization, often emphasizing process, conceptual rigor, and the materiality of text. Its core mission is to support emerging and underrepresented voices through open calls, digital publications, and occasional collaborative projects, maintaining a curatorial focus on the intersection of poetics, visual culture, and critical theory.

Editorial focus

Metphrastics is an online poetry journal inspired by works in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The editors publish ekphrastic poetry responding to the Met’s permanent collection and special exhibits—all areas, including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, costume, musical instruments, and the Met building itself. All styles are welcome from poets around the world.

Poetry

Submitting your work

Reading periodJan 1 to Dec 31
Reading feeNo
PaymentCash
Response timeLess than 3 months
Simultaneous submissionsYes
Unsolicited submissionsYes

Artists and writers should approach Metphrastics with a clear understanding of its aesthetic: work that blurs genre boundaries, engages with language as material, or employs conceptual strategies is most likely to resonate. Before submitting, review past publications or online features to gauge the tone. Proposals should include a concise artist's statement and documentation that foregrounds process and critical context. Given the organization's limited public output, patience and thorough research are advised; unsolicited submissions are accepted but response times may vary.

Please send up to three poems with a note about the work they reference to [email protected] . Please include a two- or three-line third person bio. Please note: we get a number of submissions about works in other museums, and we get many that are not ekphrastic poems. Only ekphrastic poems about specific pieces at the Met will be considered. Please note the piece(s) in your cover letter.

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Metphrastics — Submissions

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