Meridian is a literary magazine that positions itself as a home for poetry that resists the predictable. This submission pool is dedicated exclusively to poetry, distinct from the magazine's Short Prose Prize and Editors' Prize in Poetry. The editors articulate a clear curatorial vision: they are after poems that are 'steeped in the strange, the particular, the individual voice'—work that builds its own world and could not be mistaken for anyone else's. The call emphasizes experimentation with language and form, and poems that 'resist and retaliate.' This is not a venue for the merely competent; it is a space for writing that takes risks and asserts its own necessity. Each submission may include up to five unpublished poems, totaling no more than ten pages, and all poems must be submitted in a single file. The magazine does not accept work produced using AI. Simultaneous submissions are encouraged, but poets must notify Meridian immediately if their work is accepted elsewhere. The reading fee is $3, and the deadline is November 1, 2026. There is no prize attached to this general submission pool; it is a standard reading period for the magazine. What artists receive is publication in Meridian, a magazine that has established itself as a discerning outlet for contemporary poetry. The curatorial vision is one of aesthetic independence and formal adventurousness. The editors are not looking for poems that fit a trend or a theme; they are looking for poems that are unmistakably the work of a singular sensibility. This is an opportunity for poets who are building a body of work that challenges readers and rewards close attention.