Wort: Wort Issue Five — poetry (plant/herb themed)
Overview
Wort positions itself at the intersection of writing and plant practice, specifically within grassroots and folk herbalism and adjacent traditions. The magazine's editorial statement emphasizes reverence for and service to the living earth, its plants, and its people. It seeks work that reflects an intimacy with and experiential knowledge of medicinal plants as multidimensional living beings, and that understands plantwork as resistance and resilience. This is not a venue for botanical illustration or abstract nature poetry; it is a space for writing that emerges from lived relationship with plants. The call is open to both lay and professional practitioners across all lifeways, lineages, and traditions, actively recognizing the diversity of herbalism as 'the people's medicine.' Wort also welcomes co- or collectively written pieces and author-artist collaborations, suggesting an openness to non-traditional authorship and interdisciplinary approaches. There is no submission fee, and the deadline is fixed at October 15, 2026. The magazine is based online and remote, with no physical location constraint. For the poet, this represents an opportunity to place work within a dedicated readership of herbalists, folk practitioners, and others engaged in plant-centered lifeways. The curatorial vision is rooted in experiential knowledge and service, not academic distance. Submissions should demonstrate a genuine, embodied relationship with the plant world, and an understanding of herbalism as both personal practice and collective resistance.