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Literary Journal

Rat’s Ass Review

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About the magazine

Rat’s Ass Review is an online literary journal founded in 2013 by poet and editor R. A. (Rick) K. The journal emerged from a DIY, anti-establishment ethos, taking its irreverent name as a badge of honor against the perceived pretensions of the literary mainstream. Its core mission is to publish accessible, unpretentious poetry and short prose that values clarity, emotional directness, and a wry or skeptical outlook over academic obscurity. The journal has maintained a consistent identity as a home for work that might be dismissed by more conventional venues, yet it upholds a discerning editorial standard within its chosen aesthetic.

Editorial focus

Rat’s Ass Review is an online poetry journal whose editorial fancies are no more arbitrary than any other; they are simply more openly so. They print what they like. It has recently begun publishing reviews of poetry ccollects and related works. See the Submissons page for details.

PoetryCreative Nonfiction

Submitting your work

Reading periodJan 1 to Jan 31
Reading feeNo
PaymentNo payment
Response timeLess than 3 months
Simultaneous submissionsYes
Unsolicited submissionsYes

Submit 3–5 poems or a short prose piece (under 1,000 words) via the journal’s online submission system. Read several recent issues first to understand the editorial taste: plain language, concrete imagery, and a tolerance for wit or bleakness. Avoid dense experimentalism, academic jargon, or overly sentimental verse. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but notify immediately if accepted elsewhere. Response times vary from a few weeks to several months; do not query before three months. The journal does not charge fees and acquires first online rights.

Send me your best poetry. I don’t particularly care whether it’s formal or informal, metrical or free verse, rhyming or not. I’ve written all those possibilities myself. A good poem isn’t one that gets the grades for following particular rules. And I’m sure I’ll reject plenty of good poems anyway. RAR ’s response time is usually less than two weeks. We have recently published our first poetry review; email us if you want to submit a review.

Read official guidelines

Submission calls

1 listed
OpenDeadline · 2027-01-01

Rat’s Ass Review — Submissions

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