Free the Verse is currently accepting poetry submissions for its forthcoming Winter Issue, titled 'Good Bones'. The journal seeks work that reimagines the familiar, favoring free verse that disrupts expectation through unusual metaphors and unforeseen parallels. While the theme is provided, contributors are encouraged to interpret it with creative latitude, suggesting an editorial stance that values imaginative risk over literal adherence. The aesthetic criteria are explicit: poems that possess a sense of place and narrative are welcomed, as are experimental pieces. The editors express a preference for the unexpected—work that takes recognizable situations and turns them on their head. This indicates a curatorial vision rooted in defamiliarization and inventive figuration, rather than conventional lyric or strictly formal modes. There is no submission fee, and the issue is published online, making the opportunity accessible to a broad range of poets. While no prize or payment is specified, the journal offers publication in a themed issue with a defined editorial identity. The absence of a fee aligns with an inclusive approach, though the competitive context of a themed issue suggests that submissions should demonstrate both technical control and conceptual originality.