Words, Woods, and Wellness
Overview
This call is a collaborative initiative—Terrain.org, the Washington State Poet Laureate, Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA), Humanities Washington, and the Olympia Poetry Network—conceived in memory of former board member Wesley Jones. It invites poems that engage the natural world, specifically ecopoetry with a strong sense of place, from young writers who are residents or former residents of Washington State, ages 21 and younger. The series is rooted in the recognition that, in the age of the Anthropocene, attention to the non-human world is a necessary artistic and ethical practice. The selected poems will be published between August 2026 and April 2027, with the goal of featuring a new poem or poetry set at least monthly and at most every other week. Contributors receive an honorarium of $100 following publication. There is no submission fee. Poems need not follow any particular form, and poem/image combinations are also considered—photographs or other graphic elements may be submitted alongside the text. The curatorial vision is to amplify voices of young Washingtonians whose work reflects a deep engagement with the natural environment and a specific sense of place. This is not a general call for youth poetry; it is a focused series that seeks to publish ecopoetry that attends to the non-human world with seriousness and craft. The partnership with state cultural institutions underscores the series' commitment to regional literary ecology and to honoring Wesley Jones's legacy.